10 things you need to know today: July 3, 2021

(Image credit: GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)

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1. Miami area condo evacuated
2. Elsa strengthens into season's first hurricane
3. U.S. added 850,000 jobs in June
4. Trump reportedly tried to call Arizona official after election
5. At least 19 people missing after mudslide in Japan
6. Software provider allegedly hit by cyberattack
7. British Columbia heatwave likely linked to surge in sudden deaths
8. 2 cargo plane pilots rescued after landing off Hawaiian coast
9. MLB places Bauer on 7-day leave
10. Sha'Carri Richardson addresses suspension

published 3 July 2021

1. Miami area condo evacuated

After an audit prompted by the collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, the nearby city of North Miami Beach ordered the evacuation of a condominium building on Friday. The review found Crestview Towers to be in unsafe condition, and City Manager Arthur Sorey III said the structure would be "closed immediately" out of "an abundance of caution" until a further safety assessment. Authorities are reportedly helping evacuated residents find places to stay in the meantime. Officials across Florida are evaluating older high-rise complexes in the wake of the Surfside collapse, CBS News notes. The death toll from the incident has risen to 22, with 128 people still unaccounted for.

Elsa, the third named storm of the 2021 hurricane season, became the year's first hurricane on Friday morning after strengthening significantly. The Category 1 storm has sustained winds of 85 miles per hour, with gusts reaching as high as 105 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said. On Friday, Elsa hit Barbados and St. Vincent and continued to track westward, with warnings in effect for Jamaica, and parts of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba. It is expected to head north by Monday morning and could move over Florida, though it's still unclear which parts of the state may be in the storm's path.

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The U.S. added 850,000 jobs in June, "far surpassing expectations" and putting the country on pace to reach pre-pandemic levels of health by "the end of 2022," per The Wall Street Journal and the Economic Policy Institute. Average growth over the last three months came in at 567,000, and unemployment changed little, up to 5.9 percent from 5.8 percent. Friday's jobs report appears a "promising sign that the recovery continues on track," after job growth fell short of expectations earlier this spring, writes the Journal. The labor market remains "more than seven million jobs short of where it stood just ahead of the pandemic," but, according to the EPI, June's report reveals "no indication of labor shortage." The Council of Economic Advisers warned on Tuesday, however, to not put "too much weight" on Friday's number as job growth remains "more volatile than before the pandemic."

Former President Donald Trump last winter attempted to reach Clint Hickman, then the Republican chair of Arizona's Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, over the phone following the 2020 presidential election, records obtained by The Arizona Republic show. Hickman confirmed the calls, but said he let them go to voicemail, The New York Times reports. Arizona's GOP Chair Kelli Ward and Rudy Giuliani were also pressing Hickman to investigate unfounded claims of voter fraud in the state's most populous county, which President Biden won, as part of an effort by Trump's allies to overturn the results.

At least 19 people are missing in Atami, Japan, after a huge landslide hit the city on Saturday, burying several houses. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has put together a task force to respond to the disaster, which is the result of heavy rainfall along Japan's Pacific coast; Atami, home to about 35,000 people, received 12. 4 inches of rain in a 48-hour period, which The New York Times notes is 30 percent more than the area's average rainfall for the entire month of July. The surrounding region remains at risk of further flooding and mudslides, and residents in Shizuoka, Kanagawa, and Chiba prefectures have been ordered to evacuate.

Kaseya, an international software provider, announced Friday that it was the victim of a ransomware attack and warned all its customers to immediately stop using its services. Several of Kaseya's immediate customers may have been compromised, and because those companies manage an untold number of other businesses, the cyberattack is expected to continue to spread. So far, the cybersecurity firm Huntress Labs estimates it has hit around 200 organizations, making it one of the largest criminal ransomware attacks in history, per NBC News. The hack is believed to be affiliated with the ransomware gang REvil, which collected an $11 million payment from meat producer JBS SA last month.

Record-breaking temperatures in British Columbia, Canada's westernmost province, may have killed nearly 500 people, The Guardian reports. The province's chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said Friday that 719 "sudden and unexpected deaths" had been reported over the past week, a number reportedly triple the average in a similar period. "It is believed likely the extreme weather [British Columbia] has experienced in the past week is a significant contributing factor to the increased number of deaths," LaPointe said. The Canadian heatwave, which has also affected parts of the United States' Pacific-Northwest, is accompanied by more than 130 wildfires, many of which were reportedly sparked by lightning strikes. The town of Lytton was evacuated and destroyed by a fire after the temperature reached 121 degrees Fahrenheit, Canada's highest-ever recorded figure.

Two pilots of a cargo plane are reportedly in stable condition after making an emergency water landing off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii, on Friday morning. The pilots told air traffic controllers that the Boeing 737 they were flying was having engine trouble after taking off from Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International. They attempted to return to the nearby Kalaeloa Airport, but said they could not maintain the necessary airspeed and altitude, forcing them to land approximately two nautical miles south of Kalaeloa in the ocean. One of the pilots was rescued by the Coast Guard, the other by Airport Rescue Fire Fighters. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the incident.

Major League Baseball has placed Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer on seven-day paid administrative while it conducts an investigation into allegations that Bauer sexually assaulted a woman. The league would need an agreement with the players' union to extend the leave. The decision comes after a woman filed for a domestic violence restraining order against Bauer and accused him of assault, alleging he punched her in the face and the vagina and strangled her until she became unconscious, The Athletic reported. The temporary restraining order was granted. Bauer has denied the encounters were not consensual.

Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson on Friday addressed the news of her positive marijuana test which may prevent her from competing in the Olympics later this month, telling the Today show she's "disappointed" but takes "responsibility for my actions." She explained that the death of her mother sent her "into a state of emotional panic," and she was trying to "hide my pain." "I apologize for the fact that I didn't know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions during that time," she said. On Friday, the United States Anti-Doping Agency said Richardson will be suspended for one month beginning on June 28, which "could clear her in time to run in the 4x100 meter relay that takes place later in the Games — if she is named to the U.S. team," The New York Times reports.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.