News Recap - July 30, 2024

Highlighted national news events from July 30, 2024

Each day is packed with events happening all over the world. Cut through the noise so you can stay on top of what matters most.

Domestic

The acting Secret Service director was questioned at a rare joint Senate committee hearing Tuesday and said he will be making changes to improve security for future events. He told congress that he “cannot defend why that roof was not better secured,” referring to the location from which the Trump suspect allegedly shot at the former president on July 13. [More]

The Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), marking the first major internet child protection bills in two decades, with a vote of 91–3. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hailed it as “a momentous day” and urged the House to pass the bills swiftly. Speaker Mike Johnson has said he is “committed to working to find consensus.” [More]

The US pledged $500 million in military aid to the Philippines to counter China's aggression in the South China Sea. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called the funding "unprecedented" and a clear signal of support from the Biden administration. [More]

President Joe Biden has proposed several reforms for the Supreme Court: a code of ethics, term limits for justices, and a constitutional amendment to restrict presidential immunity from prosecution that was established by the court in its recent decision on former President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 case. "We need these reforms to restore trust in the courts and preserve the system of checks and balances that are vital to our democracy,” Biden said in a speech. [More]

Companies

Meta will pay $1.4 billion to Texas to settle a lawsuit over the company’s use of facial recognition and photo tags. This is the largest data privacy settlement brought by a state. [More]

Tesla is recalling 1.85 million vehicles due to a software issue that may result in a failure to detect an unlatched hood. Such an event could increase the chance that the hood fully opens, thereby obstructing the driver’s view and raising the risk of a crash. [More]

International

Israel said it has killed a top Hezbollah military commander in a rare strike on Beirut. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the commander’s death. [More]

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran according to Iran and the terrorist group. Haniyeh was killed after attending the swearing-in of Iran’s new president. [More]

Health

The FDA warns that more ground cinnamon products contain unsafe levels of lead, and advises consumers to stop using and discard the recalled items. This is the agency's third public health alert about ground cinnamon this year. [More]

Boar’s Head is recalling an additional 7 million pounds of meat and poultry products, including 71 items like beef and bologna, due to possible listeria contamination following a lawsuit claiming their deli meats caused severe illness. Last week, over 200,000 pounds of ready-to-eat deli meats were also recalled amid a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to deli-sliced meats. [More]

The CDC said it plans to spend $10 million to prevent bird flu infections in livestock farm workers. This includes $5 million for seasonal flu vaccines - the agency hopes to vaccinate all of the US’s ~200,000 livestock workers this year and is working with states to develop plans to reach the workers, CDC's principal director Nirav Shah said. He noted that while the seasonal flu doesn’t protect from the bird flu, the vaccine push could reduce the risk of someone getting infected with both seasonal and bird flu at the same time - such a scenario could lead to flu virus mutations. He also said the risk to the general public from bird flu is still low. [More]

Daily Inspiration

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.

– Aristotle

---