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Menendez to resign, a new climate record, and a moment of Palestinian unity

 
Today's politics story

Bob Menendez to resign after corruption conviction

What happened
A week after he was convicted of 16 federal corruption charges, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez announced Tuesday that he would resign from the Senate seat that he has held since 2006, effective as of Aug. 20. 

Who said what
Menendez submitted his letter of resignation to New Jersey's Governor  Phil Murphy a day after the Senate Ethics Committee announced plans for an "adjudicatory review." Such a review is " required when the committee considers disciplinary actions, such as expulsion or censure," the panel said. 

By quitting well ahead of the end of his term, Menendez will "allow Democrats to avoid a potentially ugly intraparty fight at a highly fraught political moment," The New York Times said. His conviction had "become a distraction for Democrats on the Hill," said The Washington Post, "with one of his colleagues, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), even following him around the hallways at times, yelling at him to resign." 

What next?
Menendez is due to be sentenced in late October and "could face decades in prison," The Wall Street Journal said. Democratic Rep. Andy Kim is the party's nominee to replace Menendez, winning the nod after a "bruising contest with Tammy Murphy, the wife of the governor," the Times said. In the interim, the governor has the "sole authority to select a temporary replacement," NJ.com said.

 
 
Today's climate story

The Earth just saw its hottest day on record

What happened
Sunday, July 21, was the hottest day in recorded global history, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (CCCS), Europe's top climate-monitoring organization, which announced the preliminary findings on Tuesday. 

Who said what
Earth's average temperature on July 21 was 62.76 degrees Fahrenheit, "breaking a record set only last year," The Washington Post said. "We are in truly uncharted territory," CCCS head Carlo Buontempo said. "We are bound to see records being broken in future months and years." 

Extreme heat is "nothing new," USA Today said. Our planet has seen "over 550 consecutive months with temperatures above the 20th-century average."

What next?
Many scientists are bracing for this year to "outrank 2023 as the hottest year since records began" due to "climate change and the El Niño natural weather phenomenon," Reuters said. 

 
 
Today's international Story

Hamas and Fatah sign unity agreement in Beijing

What happened
Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, have signed a unity agreement aimed at "ending division and strengthening Palestinian unity," China said Tuesday.

Who said what
The deal, finalized after three days of intensive talks, lays the groundwork for an "interim national reconciliation government" to rule post-war Gaza, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. The "core outcome" is that the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) is the "sole legitimate representative of all Palestinian people."

It was "unclear from Wang's comments what role Hamas, which is not part of the PLO, would play," said CNN.

What next?
Reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah would be a "key turning point" in internal Palestinian relations, said Al Jazeera. The two main political parties in the Palestinian territory have been "bitter rivals" since a power struggle in 2006 erupted into a civil war that left Hamas in control of Gaza while Fatah retained power in the West Bank.

The Beijing-brokered accord is part of China's bid to "play a more direct role in international politics," the BBC said. Beijing continues to push a "vision of a Chinese-led world order" while criticising what it sees as the "failures of US 'hegemonic' leadership."

 
 

It's not all bad

In a decision that environmental activists called "historic," a court in Ecuador has ruled that pollution violates the rights of the Machángara River flowing through Quito. The country's constitution recognizes that nature has the "right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate," and conservationists argued that those rights are violated when the local government dumps contaminants into the Machángara. Under the ruling, delivered earlier this month, the government must put together a plan to clean up the river.

 
 
Under the radar

Prisons unprepared for extreme heat

Prisoners in the American carceral system have been some of the biggest victims of heat-related illness, with many prisons lacking the equipment and infrastructure to keep its inhabitants cool. A 2023 report by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) found that many prisons within the state lack important equipment to combat heat, including "central air-conditioning, updated ventilation, shade structures or backup generators to power fans and other cooling devices during outages," said the Los Angeles Times. Temperatures have been steadily rising, reaching over 100 degrees Fahrenheit on some days. 

California is not the only state with overheated prisoners. Inmates in Texas have complained of being "cooked to death" amid high temperatures, said The Texas Tribune. While heat is a substantial threat, it is not the only risk. "No one can outrun a wildfire, outswim a flood or escape a heat wave, least of all if you're inside a prison," Guadalupe Gutierrez, one of the authors of the CDCR report, said to the Los Angeles Times. "As these climate hazards become more common in these areas, it's important that the system has a plan or strategies in place to make sure that these folks are safe." "What is truly infuriating is the failure to acknowledge that everyone in the system" is at "direct risk of being impacted by something that has a simple solution that has been around since the 1930s, and that is air-conditioning," Texas attorney Jeff Edwards said to reporters.

 
 
On this day

July 24, 1847

After a thousand-mile journey from Nauvoo, Illinois, Brigham Young led a group of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints into Utah's Great Salt Lake Valley. The group considered it the founding of its Mormon homeland. The arrival is remembered annually in the state on Pioneer Day, which is traditionally celebrated with parades, speeches and festivities.

 
 
TODAY’S newspaperS

Israel "left behind," says the New York Post, after Kamala Harris declined to preside over Benjamin Netanyahu's Congress speech as the Democrats "shamefully shun ally." The Wall Street Journal focuses on the "energetic campaign trail debut" of the party's expected presidential nominee, during which she depicted Donald Trump as an "agent of chaos." USA Today's front page is dominated by the resignation of Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle after the "attempt on Trump's life exposed failures" in security. The Washington Post looks further afield to Sudan, where "devastating warfare" is forcing "desperate choices."

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

'Adult only' chips 

A group of 14 teenagers were admitted to a Tokyo hospital complaining of pain around their mouths and nausea after sharing a bag of super spicy potato chips. The chips contain ghost pepper, one of the world's spiciest chilis, and the website of manufacturer Isoyama Corp. is filled with warnings about eating the snack. The company "forbids" anyone under 18 or with a weak stomach from trying the chips, advises people not to eat them "when they are alone" and said consuming too many can cause diarrhea.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass, Summer Meza, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Yuki Iwamura / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Selcuk Acar / Anadolu via Getty Images; Pedro Pardo / Pool / AFP via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images