5 things to know for July 9: Severe weather, NATO summit, Ukraine, Mass tourism, Airbnb hidden cameras
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Apple, Google and other tech companies have rolled out a growing slate of AI-powered tools to make life easier for people with disabilities. For instance, some apps can help blind users hail taxis, create matching outfits, or determine if a carton of milk has expired. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. Beryl has weakened to a tropical depression but still threatens to produce catastrophic flooding and tornadoes in the US as it moves inland. Millions of Texans slammed by the deadly and destructive storm are expected to be without power for days or weeks, posing a dangerous scenario for residents who will not have air conditioning as sweltering heat settles over the state. Forecasts show the center of the storm will arrive in Arkansas early today and continue through southern Missouri and Illinois. It is then expected to blow into Indiana on Wednesday and race through Ohio and Michigan and into Canada by the end of the week. President Joe Biden is set to host a crucial NATO summit in Washington today where new announcements over the alliance’s military, political and financial support for Ukraine are expected. The meetings will also serve as a public test of Biden’s health and cognitive capacity as the president seeks to quell concerns following his dismal debate performance late last month. Biden is scheduled to hold a solo news conference on Thursday where he can expect a volley of questions about his mental fitness for office. Records show that a top Parkinson’s disease specialist visited the White House eight times over the past year and met with the president’s physician, though the circumstances of the meeting are unclear. Russia launched a series of rare daylight strikes on Ukraine Monday that partially flattened the country’s largest children’s hospital. The attacks killed at least 39 people and injured nearly 200 others, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Local officials said the medical center has been vital in caring for some of the sickest children from across the country. Every year, around 7,000 surgeries — including treatments for cancer and hematological diseases — are conducted at the hospital. The UN Security Council will hold a special meeting today to discuss Russia’s deadly strikes after Zelensky called for an emergency assembly while vowing retaliation. Dozens of protesters in Barcelona recently sprayed visitors with water as part of a demonstration against mass tourism. The demonstrators were seen chanting “tourists go home” and squirting them with water pistols, while others carried signs with slogans including “Barcelona is not for sale.” Almost 26 million visitors made an overnight stay in the Barcelona region in 2023, spending around $13.8 billion, according to official figures. However, the Assemblea de Barris pel Decreixement Turístic said overwhelming crowds are driving up prices and increasing social inequality. Complaints about mass tourism are also being raised at other popular destinations around the world, which have experienced record visitor numbers as the travel industry roars back from a pandemic-induced downturn.
FBI says it has disrupted major Chinese hacking operation that threatened US critical infrastructure
The FBI has used a court order to seize control of a network of hundreds of thousands of hacked internet routers and other devices that Chinese government-linked hackers were using to threaten critical infrastructure in the US and overseas, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday.
The Federal Reserve is preparing to cut interest rates for the first time in the Biden era after the White House spent the last three years grappling with Americans’ dissatisfaction with the cost of living, raising new questions about the health of the economy and the impact on voters at the ballot box.
Israeli officials notified the US that the country was going to carry out an operation in Lebanon on Tuesday but did not give any details about what they were planning, according to three sources familiar with the matter, including in a call between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant early Tuesday morning.