An Ignoble Experiment: Biden and NATO leaders enter summit with a show of force

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Tuesday 07.11.23

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By Alexandra Meeks

President Joe Biden arriving at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

NATO

NATO leaders are meeting at a key summit in Lithuania today as Russia's war in Ukraine remains a top agenda item, along with discussing a future pathway for the war-torn country to join the alliance. While the issue has prompted some division among leaders, the White House said the alliance will "send a united, positive signal" on Ukraine's path to NATO membership — but declined to give a specific timetable. This comes a day after Turkey's lifting of its blockade on Sweden's entry into the alliance. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has voiced frustration that "uncertainty" over Ukraine's NATO membership is motivation for Russia to "continue its terror." All eyes are now turning to several highly-anticipated meetings that Zelensky is scheduled to have with President Joe Biden and NATO leaders scheduled for today and Wednesday.

Floods

More than 3 million people are under flood alerts across the Northeast today after multiple rounds of intense rainstorms forced water rescues and evacuations across the region Monday. Parts of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine are expecting more showers today, with the highest risk of excessive rainfall covering much of Vermont. "We have not seen rainfall like this since [Hurricane] Irene, and in some places, it will surpass even that," Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said. Hurricane Irene brought destructive flooding to the state in 2011, leaving entire communities under water. In New York, where six counties are similarly under a state of emergency, at least one person died after being swept away by floodwaters as she tried to evacuate, officials said.

Twitter

Twitter's traffic tanked following the launch of Meta's rival app Threads, which topped more than 100 million users within five days after it launched, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Monday. Its successful debut marked a staggering feat for any social network and one that puts it on pace to rapidly pass Twitter's audience size. Twitter traffic had already been trending downward for months, but the pace of its decline accelerated in recent days, likely reflecting a mass migration from the platform owned by Elon Musk to the one run by Zuckerberg. In addition to countless celebrities that have joined Threads, more than 100 US lawmakers have signed up as well — though few world leaders appear to be on the platform at the moment.

Volcano eruption

A volcanic eruption in Iceland is sending plumes of smoke across a region known for its sweeping lava fields and geothermal activity. The eruption occurring south of Iceland's capital Reykjavik began Monday, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, and so far no disruption has been reported at the country's Keflavik Airport. Since the eruption took place in an uninhabited area, there were also no "immediate risks" to communities or infrastructure, the IMO said — but it warned people not to venture near the area, saying there will be an accumulation of "dangerously high levels of volcanic gases." Scientists had warned of possible eruptions after hundreds of minor earthquakes were detected in recent weeks.

Wimbledon

A year after tennis players from Russia and Belarus were banned from playing at Wimbledon following the invasion of Ukraine, organizers of the 2023 tournament accepted entries from players from the two countries if they compete as neutral athletes and follow "appropriate conditions." Still, the war remains a touchy subject at Wimbledon on and off the court. Belarusian tennis player Victoria Azarenka said "it wasn't fair" that the crowd booed at the end of her fourth-round match Monday against Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who ended up winning the tight contest. Separately, tennis star Novak Djokovic has called for earlier start times at Wimbledon amid a curfew controversy that is halting matches earlier than most players —and fans — would like.

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Hawaiian pro surfer Mikala Jones died in a surfing accident in Indonesia over the weekend, according to social media posts from his daughter and other professional surfers. He was 44. Jones was well known throughout the surfing world for the mesmerizing photos and videos he took while riding inside massive breaking waves.

1,000

That's around how many major companies pledged to leave Russia after President Vladimir Putin launched his war in Ukraine — but several are continuing their operations, according to Yale research. The companies allegedly "breaking their promises" to scale back their presence in the country include Heineken, Unilever, Philip Morris and Oreo maker Mondelez, according to the research.

Never stop dreaming of being your ultimate and confident you.

— Beauty queen Rikkie Kollé, sharing words of affirmation after becoming the first transgender pageant contestant to win the title of Miss Netherlands. She will go on to represent her country in Miss Universe later this year.

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