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Good Tuesday morning. There was apparently a 27th letter in the alphabet as recently as 200 years ago. Who knew? Have a great day!
In Today’s Brief
Karen Read: Jury claims
Russia: ‘Depraved’ attack
Veepstakes: Closing stretch
Jerome Powell: Senate testimony
Ryder Cup: U.S. captain named
... and more
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Top Tips
1) Stunning statistics
A significant number of U.S. citizens lack easy access to heart specialists.
The study: Almost half of the nation's counties do not have a practicing cardiologist, according to research published by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. About 22M people are impacted in the "cardiology deserts" and have to travel 90 minutes round trip on average for specialty health care. Another 10% of counties only have one specialist.
Vulnerable populations: The study found close to 90% of the counties without a cardiologist are located in rural areas. Residents in the counties tend to have lower income levels, less access to healthy food, more complex medical issues and receive less overall medical care. A separate study found a third of Black Americans have little or no access to cardiologists.
Big picture: Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death for men and women in the U.S. It is also the leading cause of mortality for most ethnic and racial demographics. About two people die per minute of heart disease and it accounted for about 20% of national deaths in 2021.
2) Bring it on
President Joe Biden challenged the Democratic Party to try him as the turmoil surrounding his re-election bid continued.
On the offensive: Biden released an open letter to Congressional Democrats reiterating his intention to stay in the presidential race. He then called into MSNBC's Morning Joe, telling co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough that he will be the Democratic nominee, the "average voter" is behind him and that he dares someone to oppose him at next month's party convention in Chicago.
Talking it out: Both House Democrats and Senate Democrats will have caucus meetings today. They are seen as critical tests of Biden's viability moving forward. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has not taken a public stance; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has backed the president. Several House party leaders reportedly want Biden to exit the ticket.
Press mess: CBS News' Ed O'Keefe and Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made headlines with a heated spat during the daily briefing. At issue was Jean-Pierre's refusal to answer questions about a report that a neurologist who specializes in Parkinson's disease visited the White House at least eight times in the last year. She did say Biden has not been treated for Parkinson's, but would not go beyond that.
3) Star in court
Actor Alec Baldwin's felony involuntary manslaughter trial begins today in New Mexico with jury selection.
Catch up: Baldwin pointed a gun at late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while filming Rust in 2021; the gun went off and fatally shot her while wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin claims he did not pull the trigger when the weapon misfired. FBI testing in 2022 concluded the gun would not have fired without a trigger pull. Prosecutors will argue his negligence led to Hutchins' death; Baldwin says it was not his responsibility to know the gun was loaded and the FBI test was tainted.
Second try: Baldwin originally faced more serious charges, but they were dropped before a grand jury revived the case last year. He faces up to 18 months in prison if convicted. The film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in April and is serving an 18-month sentence; prosecutors blamed her for the gun containing live ammunition. Assistant Director Dave Halls pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor as well.
Early victory: Baldwin notched a win yesterday in a pre-trial hearing when Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled his role as a producer of the film cannot be used in the trial. The prosecution was expected to argue Baldwin had a special responsibility to ensure a safe working environment. The trial is expected to last about two weeks before jury deliberations begin.
Quick Tips
U.S. News
Karen Read's attorneys claimed a jury unanimously agreed she was not guilty of murder and leaving the scene. The defense is arguing a second trial after last week's mistrial would violate double jeopardy protections in federal and Massachusetts law; jurors are said to have communicated they were only split on a manslaughter while driving drunk charge (More)
Columbia University has "permanently removed" three administrators for texts regarding an event about Jewish life on campus. The Ivy League school was the site of controversial pro-Palestinian protests earlier this year (More)
Over 2M people were without power in Texas due to Tropical Storm Beryl. The storm hit the state as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening; at least three people were killed amid flooding and high winds (More)
World News
Russia hit a Ukrainian children's hospital in a wave of missile attacks that killed several dozen people and injured over 100. New United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack as "depraved" (More)
NATO's annual summit begins today in Washington. Canada's failure to hit alliance military spending targets is expected to be a top issue; several Pacific nations will attend amid bloc tensions with China (More)
The Economic Community of West African States warned it is on the verge of disintegration. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have formed a breakaway union and announced their intention to leave the group after military juntas seized power in each nation (More)
Campaign News
Former President Donald Trump will name his running mate by next Monday. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance are reportedly the top finalists for the nod; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is said to have an outside shot (More)
The Republican National Committee revised its official platform for the first time since 2016. The new document notably dropped the party's call for a national abortion ban at Trump's request; it will be finalized at next week's GOP Convention in Milwaukee (More)
Preserve America will spend $61M on anti-Biden digital and television ads timed to coincide with the Paris Olympics and run through Labor Day. The super PAC is tied to billionaire GOP donor Miriam Adelson (More)
Business & Markets
Major indexes closed mixed yesterday. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 achieved record closes for the second straight session (Dow -0.08%, Nasdaq +0.28%, S&P 500 +0.10%).
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify before the Senate Banking Committee today. Several members have criticized the central bank's hesitancy to cut interest rates; Powell will testify before the House tomorrow (More)
Eli Lilly will buy Morphic for $3.2B. The acquisition gives the pharmaceutical giant ownership of drugs and research to treat Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and other chronic issues (More)
Entertainment & Sports
Keegan Bradley was named the U.S. Ryder Cup Captain ahead of next year's matches at New York's Bethpage Black golf course. The PGA of America had been in talks with Tiger Woods to hold the role; Team Europe is the reigning champion in the biannual event (More)
AMC Theatres said it had 4.2M patrons from July 3 to 7. It was the chain's busiest domestic Wednesday-to-Sunday period this year; overall industry box office revenue is up 21% YoY (More)
The Copa America and Euro continental soccer tournament semifinals begin today. Argentina and Canada will meet in the first CA semi and France will play Spain in the Euro semi; the other two matches are tomorrow (More)
Quick Hitters
Feel Good: A young English girl lost her beloved teddy bear at Disney World. But park employees somehow found it and ensured it got back across the pond safe and sound.
Be Safe: Costco has recalled prepackaged salads that were delivered to locations in 16 states. The Grain and Celery Salad may contain undeclared almonds and soy.
History Lesson: There were concerns Japan would invade Hawaii after the attack on Pearl Harbor and seize U.S. currency. So the federal government literally set $200M on fire.
Go Deep: While ample recycling systems exist, very little recycling actually gets done. Researchers at MIT say a national bottle deposit program would change that.
Life Hack: Interested in composting? This how-to guide can help you get started and on the road to kick-starting your garden.
OPTIMIZE ME: Researchers “found convincing evidence that higher intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with 50% increased risk of cardiovascular disease-related death, a 48% to 53% higher risk of anxiety and common mental disorders, and a 12% greater risk of type 2 diabetes.”
Want more health and wellness news? Subscribe to our brand new newsletter, Optimize Me, and start living a healthier life through diet, exercise, sleep, and mindfulness:
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Links
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Go inside a British celebration of everything America 🇺🇸
Weather forecast accuracies depend on where you live ☔️
Looking Ahead …
Vending machines that sell bullets may be coming to a grocery store near you. American Rounds has installed six ATM-like ammunition dispensers across three states with over 200 more pending requests in six other states.