10 things you need to know today: July 5, 2023

A young boy in China stands in a fountain on a hot day

July 3 was the hottest day ever recorded on Earth

(Image credit: Kevin Frayer / Getty Images)

Jump to category:

1. Average global temperatures reach hottest on record
2. Biden renews call for gun reform after a 'wave of tragic and senseless shootings'
3. Judge limits how Biden officials can communicate with social media companies
4. Israel withdraws from Jenin but unrest continues
5. Hamas: Tel Aviv car attack was response to Israeli military operation in Jenin
6. Kremlin reportedly open to prisoner swap negotiations involving WSJ reporter
7. Taliban orders the closure of women's beauty salons in Afghanistan
8. Meta set to release Twitter-like app Threads on July 6
9. Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo defend their Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest titles
10. Cocaine found in White House

published 5 July 2023

1. Average global temperatures reach hottest on record

Monday was the hottest day ever recorded on Earth, as average worldwide temperatures hit 63 degrees Fahrenheit (17 degrees Celsius). The previous record, according to the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, was 62.4 degrees (16.9 degrees Celsius). The records date back to the end of the 19th century. Scientists believe "mankind's ongoing emissions of carbon dioxide" as well as El Niño are driving the change, the BBC reported. El Niño is a weather phenomenon in which water surface temperatures rise in the tropical eastern and central Pacific Ocean. It can last up to 12 months. China and the U.S. are in the midst of extreme heatwaves. "This is not a milestone we should be celebrating, it's a death sentence for people and ecosystems," said Friederike Otto, a senior lecturer at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment.

Following several deadly shootings over the 4th of July holiday weekend, President Biden on Tuesday called on Republican lawmakers to "address the epidemic of gun violence that is tearing our communities apart" and put forward "commonsense reforms" of gun laws. On Sunday, two people were killed and 28 others injured when a shooting took place at a block party in Baltimore. Mass shootings occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday, leaving five dead in Philadelphia and three dead in Fort Worth. Biden called this a "wave of tragic and senseless shootings," and said it's time for Congress to act and "ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines ... require safe storage of guns ... end gun manufacturers' immunity from liability ... and enact universal background checks."

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In response to a lawsuit filed by the Republican attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri, a federal judge on Tuesday severely limited how U.S. government officials can meet and communicate with social media companies, The Washington Post reported. The attorneys general claimed that officials from Biden administration agencies encouraged the social media companies to crack down on misinformation related to Covid-19 and elections, which amounted to "the most egregious violations of the First Amendment in the history of the United States of America." Judge Terry A. Doughty, a Trump appointee, wrote in the injunction that the attorneys general "have produced evidence of a massive effort by defendants, from the White House to federal agencies, to suppress speech based on its content." Doughty has not made a final ruling in the case, and his order allows for communications regarding national security threats and criminal activity.

Israel began withdrawing troops from the Palestinian city of Jenin on the West Bank Wednesday, ending a two-day operation that killed 12 Palestinians and marked "one of Israel's largest West Bank operations in years," Sky News reported. Israel launched the operation after it said there were weapons in a Jenin refugee camp "known as a bastion of Palestinian militants." Gun battles continued inside the camp between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants. Even as the Jenin withdrawal was completed, Israel carried out airstrikes after intercepting rockets shot from within Gaza. No group claimed responsibility for the rockets but Israel blamed Hamas. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the Jenin operation would not be a "one-time action," the BBC reported.

Eight people were injured in Tel Aviv on Tuesday after a driver rammed a car into pedestrians and then got out and began stabbing people, Israeli officials said. An armed civilian killed the attacker, a police spokesperson told CNN. Hamas has claimed responsibility, saying in a statement that the attack was in retaliation for the Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin. Israel began withdrawing from Jenin Wednesday, but tensions remained high. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Tel Aviv incident a "heinous terror attack" and said it would not "deter us from continuing our fight against terrorism."

Russia indicated Tuesday it may be open to discussing a potential prisoner swap with the U.S. that could involve jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, The New York Times reported. The Kremlin said any talks must be private. "We have said that there have been certain contacts on the subject, but we don't want them to be discussed in public," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "They must be carried out and continue in complete silence." The State Department released no details on the negotiations. Gershkovich was arrested in March and accused of espionage, allegations he and the Journal deny. The U.S. engaged in a prisoner swap with Russia last year to secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for the release of notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The Taliban is banning women's beauty salons in Afghanistan and giving the businesses one month to shut down, a government spokesman confirmed Tuesday. This comes after the Taliban prohibited women and girls from attending middle school, high school, and university; barred them from holding most jobs; and banned them from public spaces, like gyms and parks. The United Nations said it is talking to Taliban authorities in an attempt to get them to reverse the salon ban, with the U.N. mission to Afghanistan tweeting that the restriction on women's rights "will impact negatively on the economy and contradicts stated support for women entrepreneurship."

Meta is expected to unveil Threads, its alternative to Twitter, on Thursday, with the new social media app available for pre-order in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. This is Instagram's "text-based conversation app," Meta said, where users can "follow and connect directly with your favorite content creators and others who love the same things." Images from the App Store show that users will be able to like, reply and repost stories, and can also keep their Instagram usernames. As Threads prepares to launch, its rival Twitter continues to make major changes to the platform, including limiting the number of tweets users can see and forcing people to sign in to view tweets.

When it comes to eating hot dogs, Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo continue to reign supreme. During the annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Tuesday in Brooklyn, Chestnut won the men's division, downing 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes, while Sudo was victorious in the women's division, eating 39.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes. This was Chestnut's 16th win and Sudo's ninth, and they both took home $10,000. The men's contest was delayed for several hours due to a thunderstorm, which sent thousands of spectators running for shelter.

The U.S. Secret Service is investigating how cocaine got into the White House after the substance was discovered in the West Wing on Sunday. The discovery prompted an evacuation. President Biden wasn't at the White House when the substance was found. Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said "the item was sent for further evaluation and an investigation into the cause and manner of how it entered the White House is pending."

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