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Peru's Female President, Fauci Journals, & Shark Week

News without the noise

Good Morning! Today’s edition is 833 words, a 4-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

  • Earthquake rattles Japan

  • Apple tops $5T

  • What to do with digital photos when you die

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Big Stories

Peru’s First Female President

  • Keiko Fujimori was sworn in yesterday as Peru's first woman elected president by popular vote, returning her family's political movement to power nearly three decades after her father, former President Alberto Fujimori, left office.

  • Fujimori narrowly won the presidency after campaigning on a tough-on-crime platform amid rising violence and extortion. She now takes office facing a worsening security crisis and years of political instability that have seen Peru cycle through eight presidents in the past decade.

  • The inauguration marks the return of one of Peru's most polarizing political dynasties. Alberto Fujimori governed from 1990 until fleeing the country in 2000 amid corruption scandals before being convicted of human rights abuses and corruption. Keiko Fujimori has defended her father's presidency while promising to revive many of the anti-crime policies that defined it.

Fauci Journals Released Before Senate Hearing

  • Sen. Rand Paul released more than 1,000 pages of Dr. Anthony Fauci's personal journal entries ahead of the former COVID adviser’s Senate testimony today, where lawmakers are expected to question him about the origins of the pandemic and the government's response.

  • The journals chronicle Fauci's private thoughts from December 2019 through his retirement in 2022, revealing his early uncertainty about the virus' origins, his evolving views on the lab leak theory, his interactions with President Donald Trump and his frustrations with critics, including Paul. (Read the full release here)

  • The hearing comes as questions over COVID-19's origins remain unresolved. While many scientists continue to favor a natural spillover from animals, U.S. intelligence agencies have reached differing conclusions, with the FBI and CIA assessing that a laboratory-related incident is plausible or more likely, though the CIA says its judgment carries low confidence.

Powerful Earthquake Shakes Southern Japan

  • A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Japan's southern island of Kyushu yesterday, leaving dozens injured, trapping people beneath collapsed buildings and prompting evacuation advisories for more than 260,000 residents. Officials said at least two people were feared dead as rescue efforts continued.

  • Part of a shopping mall collapsed, leaving multiple people missing, while a paper factory chimney crumbled and trapped workers beneath the debris. The quake also damaged roads, bridges and buildings, caused power outages and fires, and briefly prompted a tsunami advisory before it was lifted.

  • The quake struck the same region devastated by a series of earthquakes in 2016 that killed more than 200 people. Japan, which sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

Quick Stories

U.S. News

  • Florida executed two death row inmates yesterday, marking the state's first same-day executions in more than six decades. (More)

  • A powerful tornado carved a 12-mile path through northeastern Wisconsin, destroying homes and businesses while injuring multiple people. (More)

  • Recordings from former President Joe Biden's interviews in the classified documents investigation were made public after years of legal battles over their release. (More)

World

  • U.S. diplomats staged a walkout during a U.N. Security Council meeting after France condemned Washington's stance on human rights. (More)

  • Chad announced it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court, citing concerns over the tribunal's effectiveness and alleged anti-African bias. (More)

  • Toronto police identified a woman murdered nearly 90 years ago using investigative genetic genealogy, solving one of the city's oldest cold cases. (More)

Business & Economy

  • U.S. stock markets closed mixed on Tuesday (S&P +0.21%, Nasdaq -0.22%, Dow +1.03%) as oil prices continued to dip and investors rotated out of chip stocks. (More)

  • Apple briefly topped a $5 trillion market capitalization, becoming only the second publicly traded company to reach the milestone. (More)

  • Visa plans to cut about 2,600 jobs, or roughly 7% of its workforce, as the payments giant streamlines operations and invests in growth areas. (More)

Sports & Entertainment

  • CBS's "60 Minutes" added Norah O'Donnell, Ross Douthat and three other contributors as the news program continues a major editorial overhaul. (More)

  • Browns cornerback Denzel Ward agreed to a two-year extension that makes him the NFL's highest-paid defensive back for the second time in his career. (More)

  • Notre Dame reached a record-setting jersey sponsorship deal with SoFi, marking the first time a corporate logo will appear on Fighting Irish uniforms. (More)

Science, Health, & Tech

  • Ancient footprints found in Kenya suggest an extinct human relative traveled in groups 1.4 million years ago. (More)

  • The global expansion of industrial poultry farming has accelerated the spread and evolution of Campylobacter, the leading bacterial cause of diarrhea worldwide. (More)

  • A decades-long study found persistent financial hardship was linked to faster cognitive decline and poorer brain health later in life. (More)

Extra Credit

Shark week has arrived. See the viewing programming here.

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