Good morning. It's Thursday, July 8, and we're covering upheaval in Haiti, another title in Tampa, and more. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Assassination in Haiti

Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, 53, died in an overnight attack at his private residence on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince Wednesday. His wife Martine was also shot and wounded. Government officials said highly trained attackers were involved and declared a “state of siege,” with national borders closed and martial law temporarily imposed.

By yesterday, four suspects had been fatally shot by police and two others arrested in a reported hostage-taking situation.

The assassination comes as the impoverished Caribbean country has been plagued by violence and political unrest for months. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, worsening the country’s humanitarian crisis, as rival gangs battle with police or one another to control the streets. 

Separately, Moïse was waging a political war against his opposition. He assumed the presidency in 2017 after a year of contested election results to which he insisted entitled him to one more year in power—a claim the opposition was disputing. In February, many citizens and opposition leaders called for Moïse to resign. 

It is not immediately clear who will replace Moïse.

Another Title in Tampa

The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup last night, beating the Montreal Canadians in Game 5 by a score of 1-0. The victory, the third title in franchise history, makes the Lightning the second back-to-back champion since the NHL's salary cap era began in 2005. Tampa Bay beat the Dallas Stars in a pandemic-disrupted last season. 

Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who stopped 94% of shots in the finals, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff's most valuable player. The trophy is the latest feather in Vasilevskiy's hat—he notched the league's most goaltending wins each of the past four seasons, while taking home the Vezina Trophy in 2018-19 as the best goaltender. 

Combined with last year's Stanley Cup win and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl LV victory, the city has enjoyed three major sports championships in the past nine months.

Trump Sues Zuck (and Others)

Former President Donald Trump filed class-action lawsuits against the heads of major social media companies yesterday. The suit alleges the platforms unfairly censor conservative voices, exceeding the protections afforded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (see 101). Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai (Alphabet owns both Google and YouTube) are reportedly named in separate complaints. 

The former president had his social media accounts restricted following comments made in the wake of the Jan. 6 storming of the US Capitol. He is banned permanently from Twitter, for at least two years from Facebook, and indefinitely on YouTube. Data suggest social media engagement on Trump-related stories has dropped by a factor of 10 to 20 since January.  

The suit comes just days after former Trump associate Jason Miller announced the launch of a new platform, Gettr, though it's unclear whether the former president will join. 

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Eleven finalists compete in 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee finals tonight (8 pm ET, ESPN2) from Orlando, Florida, after last year's event was canceled (More) | First lady Jill Biden to attend the bee in person (More)

> Director and actor Robert Downey Sr., father of Robert Downey Jr., dies at 85 (More) | Suzzanne Douglas, "The Parent 'Hood" actress, dies at 64 (More)

> Tokyo Olympics likely to be held under state of emergency as COVID-19 cases in Tokyo hit two-month high (More) | England tops Denmark 2-1 in Euro 2020 to reach its first major final since 1966 (More)

Science & Technology

> New studies suggest COVID-19 may affect the brain in a number of ways, including attacking certain cells directly, reducing blood flow, and triggering the release of harmful immune system molecules (More)

> Chinese researchers claim to have demonstrated a quantum computer calculation using 56 qubits; Google's Sycamore was the previous record holder, demonstrating a 54-qubit calculation in 2019 (More)

> North America experiences its hottest June on record, with average temperatures 2 degrees above the 1991-2020 baseline (More)

Business & Markets

> US job openings at record high 9.2 million in May, per Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report (More) | Thirty-six states and Washington, DC, file antitrust lawsuit against Google over 30% app store commission (More) 

> Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates will continue as co-chairs of Gates Foundation; French Gates will step down after two years if the former couple determines they cannot work together (More)

> Chobani files for confidential initial public offering; analysts expect the yogurt maker could be valued at approximately $10B (More)

Politics & World Affairs

Brought to you by Ground News

> At least one person dead, multiple people injured as Tropical Storm Elsa moves up the East Coast; system will pass over the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast through tomorrow (More) | Officials say efforts in Miami-area building collapse move from rescue to recovery phase; death toll reaches 54 (More)

> Federal judge rules the US Air Force bears responsibility for a 2017 Texas church shooting that left 26 dead and 22 injured; officials failed to input the criminal history of the shooter, veteran Devin Patrick Kelley, in a federal database (More)

> Former South African President Jacob Zuma turns himself in for a 15-month prison term; Zuma was found guilty of contempt of court for failing to show during a corruption trial (More)

From our partners: Want to break free from your echo chamber? There's an app for that. Ground News is the world's first news source comparison platform that empowers you to compare how outlets from the left, center, and right are covering any story. Adopt a balanced news diet and Download the Ground News App for free today.

IN-DEPTH

Better than Babe?

Sports Illustrated | Tom Verducci. Shohei Ohtani is poised to become the first player to play in Major League Baseball's All-Star game as both a hitter and a pitcher. Is it time to start comparing the Los Angeles Angels' star to the all-time greats? (Read)

Hot Streak

Popular Science | Megan Gannon. Venus is similar to Earth in size and composition but exists under extreme conditions, with temperatures near 1,000 degrees and pressures close to 100 times that of our planet's atmosphere. These researchers are on a mission to determine why the two planets took such divergent paths. (Read)

ROBOTS REDUCING WATER BILLS

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ETCETERA

Americans' life ratings reach a record high.

... but American men face a friendship recession. 

Picasso painting found in Maine closet sells at auction.

Scientists confirm a massive Antarctic lake disappeared in just days. 

HBO releases the third-season trailer for hit show "Succession."

Child prodigy earns physics degree at age 11, seeks immortality.

A giant 3D cat takes over Tokyo.

Alternative meat product made from a Yellowstone hot spring fungus.

Clickbait: Whale watchers fail at watching whales.

Historybook: Businessman and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller born (1839); RIP "Gone with the Wind" actress Vivien Leigh (1967); Atlantis is launched on final mission of US Space Shuttle program (2011); RIP former first lady and social activist Betty Ford (2011).

"I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance."

- John D. Rockefeller

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