Good morning. It's Tuesday, July 25, and we're covering raging fires across popular Greek islands, an eyeball-scanning cryptocurrency project, and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.
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Israel Limits Supreme Court |
Israel's legislature voted to proceed yesterday with a highly contested law that will limit the Supreme Court's power to overrule government actions it deems "unreasonable." Backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the measure was passed with a 64-0 vote after the 56-member opposition walked out of the chamber in a boycott.
The bill is part of a series of reforms aimed at reducing the court's influence—including giving the government control over the appointment of judges—and has triggered 29 consecutive weeks of protests across the country (see our previous write-up). Supporters argue the changes are necessary to balance the court, while critics claim the reforms give Netanyahu nearly unchecked power and weaken the court.
The Movement for Quality Government, an Israeli nongovernmental organization, filed a petition to block the law with the Supreme Court immediately after the vote took place, citing its unconstitutionality and potential to disrupt the system of checks and balances. See an explanation of the reforms here. |
Wildfires across three popular Greek islands have triggered what authorities consider to be the largest fire evacuation in Greece's history, prompting roughly 32,000 tourists and residents to flee to safety as hundreds more await evacuations in gyms, schools, and hotel lobbies. No injuries have been reported.
A heat wave across southern Europe and high winds have partly contributed to the spread of the wildfires in the islands of Rhodes, Corfu, and Evia, with temperatures expected to reach highs of between 107 and 111 degrees Fahrenheit today. Greece has seen roughly 600 fires over the last 12 days, or 50 new fires a day, officials said. They also said some of the fires may have been started by arson. See satellite imagery of the Rhodes wildfires here. See video of the fires in Corfu here (via Twitter).
The European Union and neighboring countries, including Turkey, Croatia, and Egypt, have sent in firefighters and aircraft to help Greek authorities tackle the fires. |
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the creator of AI chatbot ChatGPT, announced the launch of Worldcoin in 20 countries yesterday, an ambitious digital currency and user-identification network. The culmination of a three-year project, it aims to reliably distinguish humans from bots online while ensuring user privacy, among other broader social equity goals (see background).
The coin—which is not yet available in the US due to regulatory issues—is tied to a novel proof-of-personhood system called WorldID, a mechanism that creates digital proof of a user's unique humanity. The system works by having users scan their eyeballs with the company's so-called "Orb," a bowling ball-sized chrome scanner—only available in select locations—which generates and stores a unique digital fingerprint (see explainer). A 2021 report outlines various ethical issues with the project's early stages scanning thousands of beta users in developing countries.
To incentivize adoption, the company is offering weekly deposits of one Worldcoin to users, with one coin valued at just over $2 as of this writing. |
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The Everyday Investors Beating Billionaires |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
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> Paris Saint-Germain accepts record-breaking $332M transfer offer from Saudi club Al Hilal for French superstar Kylian Mbappé (More) | FIFA Women's World Cup group stage continues; see latest group standings and schedule (More) |
> Ex-volleyball and ex-football player among the latest former student athletes to file lawsuits against Northwestern University over hazing allegations (More) |
> Jury deliberations begin in Kevin Spacey's London criminal trial on sexual assault charges (More) | George Alagiah, longtime BBC journalist and author, dies of cancer at 67 (More) |
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> Twitter owner Elon Musk reveals interim "X" logo, replaces company's longstanding bird icon on the platform (More) | See previous write-up (More) |
> Plane manufacturer Embraer says it will build new flying taxi production facility near São Paulo, Brazil, aims to test flights with new aircraft by 2026 (More) |
> Scientists create anticancer therapy via "click chemistry"; formulation combines three components—one targeting cancer cells, one attracting immune system T cells, and one disabling cancer cell's defenses (More) | How does click chemistry work? (More) |
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> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq +0.2%); Dow up for 11th consecutive session, first time since 2017 (More) |
> Federal Reserve to fine UBS $387M for risk management misconduct related to Credit Suisse’s dealings with failed hedge fund Archegos (More) |
> FedEx pilots reject contract proposal of 30% pay increase; negotiations to be supervised by National Mediation Board (More) |
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> Russia accuses Ukraine of drone strikes on nonresidential buildings in Moscow as Russian forces strike port infrastructure on the Danube River in southern Ukraine (More) | See more updates on the war (More) |
> Justice Department files lawsuit against Texas over buoy barrier deployed in the Rio Grande meant to deter border crossings; DOJ says Texas officials were required to request and obtain permission from the federal government (More) |
> At least 11 people killed and 10 others trapped in northeastern China after roof of school gym collapses (More) | North Korea fires two ballistic missiles after second US submarine arrives in South Korea (More) |
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> 'The Vanishing Family'
NY Times Mag | Robert Kolker. A portrait of a family where every member has a 50% chance of having a genetic mutation that causes early-onset dementia and what it is like to live with that knowledge. (Read)
> Killer Eye Drops
Bloomberg | Peter Robison, Priyanka Pulla. In 2022, drugstore eye drops containing an antibiotic-resistant superbug killed four and resulted in 18 cases of vision loss. A look at how the drops, made in an Indian factory, slipped past the Food and Drug Administration. (Read) |
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In partnership with Masterworks |
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