10 things you need to know today: July 17, 2023

A photograph shows the Kerch bridge between Crimea and Russia collapsed due to damage

A Ukrainian official said Ukraine was responsible for blasts on the Kerch bridge

(Image credit: Crimea24TV / AFP via Getty Images)

Jump to category:

1. Russia closes key Crimea bridge after explosions
2. Georgia police kill mass shooting suspect in shootout
3. Excessive heat intensifies as records continue to fall
4. 5 die in Pennsylvania floods; 2 small children missing
5. Teen's family settles wrongful death suit over Murdaugh boat crash
6. South Korean flooding kills 39 people
7. Iranian morality police resume hijab patrols
8. Russia halts Ukraine grain deal
9. Tesla builds 1st Cybertruck, 2 years late
10. Carlos Alcaraz beats Novak Djokovic in men's Wimbledon final

By Harold Maass, The Week US

published 17 July 2023

1. Russia closes key Crimea bridge after explosions

Russian officials on Monday halted traffic on a bridge linking Russia's mainland with the Crimean Peninsula, a part of Ukraine Russia annexed in 2014. A ferry service between Russia and Crimea also was halted. The traffic was stopped after explosions hit the Kerch Bridge, killing at least two people. The head of the Russian-controlled administration in Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said the shutdown was due to "an emergency situation." A Ukrainian official said Ukraine was responsible for the blasts. The bridge, a key supply line for Russian forces in Crimea, was partially closed in October after a truck bombing. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the 12-mile span's construction and inaugurated it in 2018.

Police on Sunday shot and killed the suspect in a Georgia mass shooting that left four people dead on Saturday in Hampton, Georgia, about 30 miles outside Atlanta. "The monster is dead," Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrettt said Sunday. A sheriff's deputy and a police officer were wounded in the shootout with the suspect, Andre Longmore. Both are expected to survive. Longmore, 40, allegedly opened fire in a residential area in Hampton, killing three men and a woman — Scott Leavitt, 67; his wife, Shirley Leavitt, 66; Steve Blizzard, 65; and Ronald Jeffers, 66. Police have not said what prompted the killings.

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A wave of extreme heat intensified across the Southwest on Sunday, with Las Vegas, Nevada, tying a city record of 116 degrees Fahrenheit and California's Death Valley hitting 128 degrees at Furnace Creek. That's the spot where the hottest recorded temperature on Earth, 134 degrees, was measured in 1913. The current high temperatures, which have left more than 110 million people across the United States under extreme heat warnings, are the kind of heat wave "becoming more and more likely to occur" due to global warming, said Randy Ceverny of the World Meteorological Organization, which tracks world records. Excessive heat warnings are expected to remain in effect in Las Vegas and many other areas until Tuesday.

Five people were killed in floods caused by torrential rains in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, over the weekend. Authorities continued to search on Sunday for a 9-month-old boy and his 2-year-old sister, who were swept away when their family's car was caught in floodwater as they headed for a barbecue. Their mother died. A grandmother survived, as did the children's father and 4-year-old brother. Eleven vehicles were trapped on Route 532. Twelve people remained unaccounted for, and authorities fear the death toll could rise. "It's only beginning, sadly," said Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck.

The family of Mallory Beach, a 19-year-old woman killed in the 2019 South Carolina crash of a boat allegedly driven by Paul Murdaugh, has reached a $15 million settlement in its wrongful death lawsuit. Paul Murdaugh was the son of the once-powerful lawyer Alex Murdaugh, who is now serving a life sentence for murdering his wife Margaret and Paul in 2021 in what prosecutors said was an attempt to divert attention from his own financial crimes. Most of the Beach family's settlement will be paid by Parker's Kitchen, the convenience store chain that sold Paul Murdaugh alcohol hours before the accident. The family also will get some of Alex Murdaugh's court-controlled assets.

The death toll from days of heavy rain in South Korea rose Monday to 39 people, including a dozen in a tunnel that was filled with water in a flash flood after a river levee collapsed. The tragedy prompted some drivers to criticize the government for failing to block access to the underpass when flood danger was high. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol blamed the rising death toll on authorities he said hadn't followed disaster-response rules as the rainy season reached its peak.

Iran's morality police are renewing a crackdown to force women to wear hijabs in compliance with strict Islamic dress codes, the state-run Fars news agency reported Sunday. Saeid Montazeralmahdi, spokesperson for Iran's enforcement body, Faraja, said officers started conducting vehicle and foot patrols on Sunday, 10 months after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody after she was arrested for allegedly wearing her hijab, or headscarf, improperly. Nationwide protests erupted after her death. The government violently suppressed the demonstrations, but the morality police halted patrols during the unrest.

Russia said Monday it was ending its deal to allow the export of Ukrainian grain. The announcement came after the Kremlin blamed Ukraine for an attack that forced the closure of a key bridge Russia uses to resupply its troops in Crimea. But Moscow said its decision on the grain deal had nothing to do with the explosions reported on the bridge. Russia says conditions concerning Russia's interests, including the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the international SWIFT payment system, haven't been fulfilled. "As soon as the Russian part of the agreements is fulfilled, the Russian side will return to the implementation of this deal immediately," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a call with reporters.

Tesla produced its first Cybertruck over the weekend, two years behind schedule. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the futuristic electric pickup truck in 2019, but the company has repeatedly pushed back mass production of the vehicle. Last year, Musk announced another delay, blaming supply chain shortages. In May, Musk told shareholders the company hoped to produce 250,000 of the vehicles annually, if there's enough demand. Reuters reported last year that Tesla was aiming to start mass producing Cybertrucks by the end of 2023.

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain beat long-dominant Novak Djokovic 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 to win the Wimbledon men's singles title on Sunday. It was the first Wimbledon championship for Alcaraz, 20. Djokovic was chasing a fifth straight win at Wimbledon, and a record 24th men's Grand Slam singles title. But top-seed Alcaraz outlasted the Serbian star to take his second major title, after taking the U.S. Open last year. "Even if I lost, I would have been proud of myself. To be able to play in these stages of these occasions — as a boy of 20 years old — is really fast," he said. "I'm really proud of myself."

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.