10 things you need to know today: July 3, 2023

1. Israeli army launches airstrikes against West Bank camp

At least five people were killed and 25 wounded during an overnight military operation in the West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Monday. The Israeli Defense Forces said that airstrikes were carried out against "terrorist infrastructure in the Jenin area," adding that militants from the Jenin Brigades have a "unified command center" inside the Jenin refugee camp. Through his spokesman, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called the military operation "a new war crime against our defenseless people," and said "security and stability will not be achieved in the region unless our Palestinian people feel it." This is the second military operation to take place in Jenin in the last two weeks; at least five Palestinians were killed and eight Israeli soldiers injured during a June raid that turned into a firefight.

CNN

2. Janet Yellen set to go to China to stabilize relations

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is heading to Beijing this week to meet with senior officials, less than a month after Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to China to speak with President Xi Jinping. This is part of an effort to improve relations between the U.S. and China, and Yellen is expected to not only share with Chinese officials the "three principles guiding America's economic relationship with Beijing," Axios reported, but will also state her concerns over economic coercion by China. Yellen said she will use the trip to "reestablish contact," telling MSNBC last week that "there are a new group of leaders, we need to get to know one another." Her visit to Beijing was supposed to happen earlier, but was postponed in February after President Biden ordered the military to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon flying over the U.S.

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Axios

3. Extreme weather threatens July 4 holiday plans

The National Weather Service issued weather alerts for more than 110 million people as extreme weather events threaten 4th of July plans for Americans across the country. In Chicago on Sunday, torrential rains flooded streets and closed interstates. Severe thunderstorms were expected across the Mid Atlantic and Great Plains Monday, while more than 18 million Americans remained under excessive heat warnings. Sacramento, Calif., registered a temperature of 109 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, tying the record high for that day set in 1991. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg blamed the severe weather for flight disruptions over the holiday weekend.

Axios The Hill

4. Southern California hotel workers strike for better wages

Thousands of hotel workers in Southern California went on strike Sunday, with union organizers calling for better wages and health care benefits and larger pension contributions. The strikers are from Unite Here Local 11, representing cooks, dishwashers, servers, room attendants, bellmen, and front desk agents. The union has about 32,000 members in Southern California and Arizona, with the strike affecting about half. While talks have stalled between the union and dozens of hotels involved in negotiations, a tentative agreement was reached last week with the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in downtown Los Angeles, its biggest employer with more than 600 workers.

Los Angeles Times

5. Grandmother of French teen shot by police asks rioters to stay home

The grandmother of a 17-year-old boy who was shot and killed last week during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb is calling for calm after six nights of rioting. The woman, identified by French media as Nadia, said the rioters are using the death of her grandson, Nahel, as an excuse to destroy property. "I'm telling them to stop," she told BFM TV. Nahel, whose parents are Algerian and Moroccan, was shot by a police officer who told investigators he fired his gun in order to prevent a dangerous chase. Since the shooting, there have been nightly riots in Paris and other major cities, with people lighting cars on fire and looting stores, but police said the protests began to ease Sunday night. More than 2,000 people have been arrested in connection with the rioting.

Reuters

6. 3 D.C. businesses hit with explosives

Three businesses in Washington, D.C., were targeted with explosives early Sunday morning. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said a suspect detonated explosive devices outside an ATM and a Nike Store, and then threw "a Molotov cocktail style object" at a Safeway store. All three attacks happened within a 15-minute period. No one was reported injured. The suspect fled in a gold Acura TL model with a Maryland plate tag. The MPD is calling for help from the public in identifying the suspect.

The Hill MPDC

7. Tesla reports record quarter for sales

Tesla announced on Sunday that from April to June, its worldwide deliveries rose 83%. This was a record quarter with more than 466,000 vehicles delivered, and the boost was likely due to steep price cuts, The Wall Street Journal reported, with one example being the Model Y SUV, which started at $65,990 in early January and is now at $50,490. Tesla is the world's No. 1 seller of electric vehicles, and has been aiming for 50% annual delivery growth on average. The company also revealed that in the second quarter, it produced 479,700 vehicles. From January to June, Tesla's shares more than doubled, and ended June at $261.77; this is below the stock's peak of more than $400 a share in November 2021.

The Wall Street Journal

8. North Carolina amusement park shuts down roller coaster after visitor notices crack

The Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina, confirmed on Sunday that it shuttered the Fury 325 roller coaster after learning that there was a large crack in a steel support pillar. In a statement, the park said the ride is undergoing a "thorough inspection" and will remain closed until the issue is fixed. On Friday, park guest Jeremy Wagner posted a video to Facebook showing the damaged support beam, which he said looked to move several feet when the coaster car went by on the track. Wagner told WCNC once he noticed the crack in the beam, he immediately notified Carowinds. Fury 325 is the longest steel coaster in North America, Carowinds said, at more than 1.25 miles long. It is 325 feet tall and crosses both the North and South Carolina state lines.

NBC News

9. Wimbledon 2023 kicks off in London

The Wimbledon tennis championships kicked off Monday and will continue through July 16. Venus Williams is playing on day one, 26 years after her first Wimbledon appearance. The 43-year-old sister of Serena Williams has said she has no retirement plans and wants to play until she is 50. World number one Iga Swiatek will also play Monday, against China's Zhu Lin. Fan favorite Nick Kyrgios, a 28-year-old Australian who BBC said is "known for his fiery temperament as well as his exciting tennis," had to withdraw from the competition due to a wrist injury. Novac Djokovic is trying to claim his 24th Grand Slam singles title, and tie Roger Federer's record eight Wimbledon wins. "Even in the twilight of his career," CNN said, "Djokovic continues to play some of the best tennis of his life."

Reuters CNN

10. Wife and mother of Titan passengers speaks of their final hours

A woman whose husband and son were killed on the Titan submersible last month shared details with The New York Times of their final hours. Christine Dawood "watched from the support ship" as her husband Shahzada and 19-year-old son Suleman boarded the craft headed for a deep-sea tour of the wreckage of the Titanic. Dawood told the Times Suleman carried a Rubik's cube and Shahzada took a Nikon camera with him "to capture the view of the seafloor through Titan's single porthole," the Times reported. The two men were killed along with three others on board when the Titan imploded during its descent.

The New York Times