Secret Service Director Gets Grilled

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Big Stories

Secret Service Director Congressional Hearing

Congress grilled Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle over the Trump assassination attempt.

• During the hearing, Cheatle admitted that her agency failed to protect former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally on July 13. The incident has been called the Secret Service’s biggest failure in decades. Cheatle apologized to Trump and acknowledged that the Secret Service had been warned about the shooter but did not act effectively.

• Lawmakers from both parties demanded Cheatle's resignation. They questioned how the gunman got so close to Trump and why the rally continued despite warnings. Cheatle said there is a difference between identifying someone as suspicious and as a real threat. She also mentioned that there were no agents on the roof where the shooter was and that the investigation is still ongoing.

• Despite the security failure, Cheatle insisted she is the right person to lead the Secret Service. Some lawmakers disagreed, comparing her situation to the resignation of the Secret Service director after an attempt on President Reagan's life. The attack on Trump has been the most serious attempt on a president or candidate since Reagan.

Russian-US Journalist Jailed

Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was jailed for six-and-a-half years in Kazan for spreading false information about the Russian army.

• Kurmasheva works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and was arrested in Russia last October for not registering as a foreign agent. She denies any wrongdoing, and RFE/RL President Stephen Capus called her conviction a "mockery of justice.

• Kurmasheva, who holds dual U.S. and Russian citizenship, has been unable to speak to her daughters since her arrest and her health is worsening. Last October, she traveled to Kazan from the Czech Republic for a family emergency and was detained while waiting for her return flight. Both of her passports were seized, and she was later arrested on the foreign agent charge and then accused of spreading false information.

• Kurmasheva's conviction may be linked to her work on a book opposing the war in Ukraine. Russian authorities often use repressive laws to silence journalists, especially since the invasion of Ukraine.

• Another U.S. journalist, Evan Gershkovich, was recently sentenced to 16 years for espionage.

Ocean Floor Metals Produce “Dark Oxygen”, Research Finds

Scientists have discovered that metals on the ocean floor can produce "dark oxygen" electrically.

• The discovery was made over 13,000 feet deep in the Pacific Ocean, an area rich in metals used for green technologies like electric car batteries.

• The research team found that the metals in the seabed might split water into hydrogen and oxygen, adding to the sources of undersea oxygen. This could change our understanding of how life in the oceans began.

• Plans to mine the ocean floor for industrial metals have faced opposition from environmental groups worried about harming marine ecosystems. Officials at the International Seabed Authority in Jamaica will discuss the new findings as they work on creating rules for deep-sea mining.

• While advocates of deep-sea mining argue it is less harmful than land mining, environmentalists caution that the unknown impacts, highlighted by this discovery, make seabed mining risky.

Little Stories

• Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign raised $81 million in the first 24 hours after she announced her candidacy, setting a new record. Over 888,000 grassroots donors contributed, with 60% making their first donation of the 2024 cycle. (More)

• Thousands of people protested against too many tourists on the island of Mallorca on Sunday. They marched through Palma de Mallorca, holding signs rebuking the influx of visitors of cruise ships. The protest is part of a larger pushback against mass tourism in Spain. (More)

• CrowdStrike shares dropped 30% over the last two trading days as the company continued helping clients recover from a massive outage caused by their software. Last Friday, an update to their Falcon software caused millions of Microsoft Windows devices to crash. This affected 8.5 million devices, causing issues like grounded flights and canceled medical appointments. (More)

• A dangerous heat wave is hitting the West, affecting states like California, Oregon, and Washington. Large wildfires are burning out of control, making the situation worse. Warnings have been issued for millions in several states, and firefighters are struggling to control the fires. (More)

• At least two people have died, and dozens more have been hospitalized due to a listeria outbreak linked to deli meat, according to the CDC. The outbreak has hospitalized 28 people in 12 states, but the actual number of cases might be higher. New York has seven cases, and Maryland has six. The two deaths were in Illinois and New Jersey. (More)

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