A rare solar storm is bringing the northern lights to 17 states in the United States, including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Maryland. The best time to view the northern lights is at night, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, and away from the lights of a city. Cities such as Helena, Montana; Montpelier, Vermont; Minneapolis and Milwaukee are expected to have “highly active auroral displays” visible overhead.
News Mash
This week, nearly 100 million people in the United States will be affected by a record-breaking heat wave caused by the return of El Niño. Global average temperatures have set new records or tied existing ones for four days in a row, beginning July 3, indicating that the heat wave is not only affecting the United States, but the entire world. The National Weather Service has issued warnings for those in the affected areas to take precautions to stay safe in the heat.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, a private military company, on June 29th. The meeting, which was attended by 35 people, could signal a possible reconciliation between the two men and have implications for the group's operations around the world, including the conflict in Ukraine.
Elina Svitolina advanced to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon after defeating Victoria Azarenka in three sets, but had to sacrifice her tickets to a Harry Styles concert in Vienna. Styles responded to a Wimbledon post about Svitolina's sacrifice, offering her a ticket to his show, which she has yet to respond to.
Turkey has agreed to support Sweden's bid to join NATO, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreeing to submit the ratification documents to the Turkish parliament "as soon as possible". This agreement is seen as a major step forward in the process of Sweden's accession to NATO, and a sign of improved relations between Turkey and the European Union. Once the documents are submitted to the Turkish parliament, the process of ratification will begin, and Sweden will become a full member of the alliance.
Sarah Silverman has filed a lawsuit against the creator of ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, for using her 2010 book “The Bedwetter” without her consent. The lawsuit is part of a larger trend of content creators taking legal action against companies using their work without permission. As AI technology continues to develop, it is becoming increasingly important for content creators to protect their intellectual property.
David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in charge of the federal investigation into Hunter Biden, has released a letter to Congress clarifying the misperception of a cover-up and to avoid future confusion. Hunter Biden has been charged with two misdemeanor tax charges and a felony gun charge, and the outcome of the investigation remains to be seen. Despite the claims of a cover-up, there is very little evidence to substantiate them.
A federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump has denied the Justice Department's request to pause a sweeping ruling preventing many government entities from flagging social media misinformation to the platforms. The ruling prevents top Biden administration officials and several agencies from contacting social media companies, and Judge Doughty stated that those being "censored" suffered far a greater injury than the government. The Justice Department argued that the injunction was too broad, but Judge Doughty rejected this claim, saying that the injunction was narrowly tailored to protect the First Amendment rights of the citizens of Missouri and Louisiana.