Today's Politics story

Kamala Harris rules out run for California governor

What happened
Former Vice President Kamala Harris said yesterday she will not enter the 2026 race to become California's next governor. The announcement ended months of speculation about the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee's plans for the contest while reigniting questions about her political future. "I love this state, its people and its promise," Harris said in a statement, but "for now, my leadership — and public service — will not be in elected office."

Who said what
Harris would have "begun the race" to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) as an "imposing frontrunner," Politico said, and her announcement "upends" what had been a "largely static" contest. This is the "clearest sign yet" that Harris may "still be considering a third run for president," said the Los Angeles Times.

Harris had been "exploring a run for the state's top office" since returning to Los Angeles in January but "had done little to express enthusiasm for the job," The New York Times said. And she only "weighed in selectively" as President Donald Trump's immigration raids and military deployments ushered in a "summer of political turmoil in California."

What next?
Harris is now "exploring the prospects of forming new groups" designed to "keep her involved in politics and positioned to advocate for the ideas she championed during her 2024 campaign," according to The Washington Post.

Today's NATURE Story

'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet undersea

What happened
A Chinese-led team of researchers exploring 9.5 kilometers (31,000 feet) below sea level in the northwest Pacific Ocean discovered "thriving communities" of tubeworms, mollusks and other creatures living in some of the ocean's deepest trenches, they reported yesterday in the journal Nature. Traveling in a submersible called Fendouzhe for hours at a time, the international team covered 1,500 miles of the little-explored Kuril–Kamchatka and Aleutian trenches over 40 days last summer.

Who said what
It's "exciting" to "go to a place that human beings have not explored," study co-author Xiaotong Peng told the BBC. "And what we saw was quite amazing." The researchers photographed and filmed beds of clams and "dense clusters of tubeworms with tentacles tinged bloodred" being scaled by "iridescent snails" as "bristly, white creatures" wriggled between them "like rush-hour commuters," The Washington Post said. Some of them are believed to be unknown species.

The existence of these creatures, living in the frigid, pitch- black waters under high pressure, challenges "long-standing assumptions about life's potential at extreme depths," the authors said. They posited that the trench-dwelling invertebrates survived off the chemosynthesis of near-freezing methane and hydrogen sulfide seeping from the ocean floor.

What next?
Future studies will "focus on how these deep-sea creatures adapted to survive in such extreme conditions and how exactly they harness chemical reactions for food," The Associated Press said. "They must have some trick, or they must have some unique metabolic pathway, to adapt to the high pressure," said co-author Mengran Du.

It's not all bad

Sharks outfitted with sensors on their dorsal fins may help scientists better understand Atlantic hurricanes. As they swim out to areas inaccessible to researchers, the sharks' monitors collect information, like water temperature and depth, that could potentially be used to "predict the power and trajectory" of storms, said The Washington Post. Sharks move faster than the robotic gliders currently used to gather oceanic data, and the fin-attached sensors are less expensive to operate.

Under the radar

The first country lost to climate change

The island nation of Tuvalu is becoming the first country completely lost due to rising sea levels. But it probably won't be the last without significant actions taken to mitigate climate change.

Tuvalu, located in Oceania, is expected to be completely underwater by 2050. To evacuate the country's 11,000 residents, Australia and Tuvalu signed the Falepili Union Treaty, an "agreement that provides for a migration scheme that will allow 280 Tuvaluans per year to settle in Australia as permanent residents," said Wired. The first climate visa of its kind, it operates through a ballot system and "will grant beneficiaries the same health, education, housing and employment rights enjoyed by Australian citizens." Tuvaluans will be able to return to their home country if conditions allow.

The U.S. is not free from the threat of climate-forced relocation. Several coastal states, such as Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi, are at risk of losing their coastlines. New York City, Chicago and several cities in California are also sinking, which could eventually require evacuation. In addition, the Gulf of Mexico is rising three times faster than the global average, according to a study published in the journal Nature. Without measures to combat climate change, mass migration may be the only way to survive.

On this day

July 31, 2012

Michael Phelps won his 19th Olympic medal, surpassing Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina to become the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time. Phelps accomplished the feat with a gold medal in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay. He ended his Olympic career in 2016 with a total of 28 medals, a record that still stands.

TODAY'S newspaperS

'Economy hit by ICE raids'

"State economy hit by ICE raids," the Los Angeles Times says on Thursday's front page. "Deportations chop into farmers' till," with "labor shortages a threat to industry and communities," USA Today says. "Economy returns to growth" in the second quarter, "but signs of weakness emerge," says The Wall Street Journal, while "AI is killing the entry-level job." The "AI future" is "powered by geriatric nuclear plants," The Washington Post says. "Brown University makes a deal with Trump," The Boston Globe says. "Altimeter error possible factor in D.C. crash," says The New York Times.

► See the newspaper front pages

Tall tale

Monkey see, monkey take

A gang of long-tailed macaques is targeting tourists who visit Bali's Uluwatu Temple, stealing their valuables as currency to trade for food. "They're running a scam," victim Jonathan Hammé, whose sunglasses were pilfered, told The Wall Street Journal. Researchers studying the monkeys found that some even understand that wallets and smartphones are high-value items compared to hats and shoes. A team of monkey handlers on site helps tourists negotiate with the macaques, giving them fruit and eggs in exchange for the stolen objects.

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