Good morning.
Climate scientists have detected warning signs that suggest the Gulf Stream might collapse, one of the planet’s main potential tipping points in the climate crisis.
Researchers found “an almost complete loss of stability over the last century” of the currents, which are already at their slowest point in at least 1,600 years, but the new analysis shows they may be nearing a shutdown.
“The signs of destabilisation being visible already is something that I wouldn’t have expected and that I find scary,” said Niklas Boers, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, who did the research. “It’s something you just can’t [allow to] happen.”
Such an event would have catastrophic consequences around the world, and would:
Severely disrupt the rains that billions of people depend on for food in India, South America and west Africa.
Increase storms and lower temperatures in Europe, and push up the sea level in eastern North America.
Further endanger the Amazon rainforest and Antarctic ice sheets.
Apple plans to scan US iPhones for child sexual abuse images
Apple has unveiled controversial plans to scan iPhones in the US for images of child sexual abuse, with the help of a tool called neuralMatch that will scan images before they are uploaded to iCloud.
The plan has drawn praise from child protection groups but raised concerns that the system could be misused, including by governments looking to spy on their citizens.
Apple also plans to scan users’ encrypted messages for sexually explicit content as a child safety measure, which also alarmed privacy advocates.
Dixie fire leaves much of California town of Greenville in ashes
The fast-moving Dixie fire reached the northern California mountain town of Greenville on Wednesday evening, gutting much of its downtown, including a gas station, hotel and bar.
The quiet, close-knit Sierra Nevada town, which was partially destroyed by an 1881 fire, dates to California’s gold rush era and has some buildings more than a century old.
The three-week-old Dixie fire, the state’s largest wildfire this year, has charred more than 500 sq miles (1,300 sq km) and burned dozens of homes, with 5,000 firefighters battling the blaze.
Biden sets goal for 50% of new US vehicles to be electric by 2030
Joe Biden is pressing ahead on cutting emissions from vehicles and has set a goal for half of all new US vehicle sales to be electric by 2030 while also tightening pollution standards for cars and trucks, in an attempt to reduce the largest source of planet-heating gases in the US.
At the White House with car makers and unions on Thursday, Biden said the future of the car industry is “electric and there is no turning back”. He was set to sign an executive order demanding that 50% of all new cars and trucks sold by the end of the decade be powered by electric batteries.
In other news …
CNN has fired three employees who violated company policy by coming to work unvaccinated against Covid-19. “Let me be clear – we have a zero tolerance policy on this,” wrote Jeff Zucker, the media company’s president, in a memo.
Eight people have died and thousands had to evacuate their homes in southern Europe as extreme wildfires continue to rage in the region.
Superstar Lionel Messi is leaving FC Barcelona after “financial and structural obstacles” made it impossible to renew his contract, the club said on Thursday. The forward, who has spent his whole career there, had been expected to re-sign after his deal expired in June.
Virgin Galactic has said it will open ticket sales on Thursday for space flights starting at $450,000 a seat, weeks after the company’s billionaire founder, Richard Branson, zoomed to the edge of space.
Stat of the day: US has worst healthcare among 11 wealthiest countries despite spending most
The US came last on a ranking of healthcare systems of 11 of the richest countries in the world, although it is spending 17% of its gross domestic product on healthcare, “far above” the other 10 countries, according to a new report.
Don’t miss: is your sunscreen killing the sea?
Up to 14,000 tonnes of sunscreen lotion ends up in coral reef areas each year, but scientists are divided on how we can best protect our skin without harming the environment, Emine Saner reports.
Climate check: Facebook left fossil-fuel industry’s climate misinformation unchallenged
Facebook failed to enforce its own rules to curb an oil and gas industry misinformation campaign over the climate crisis during last year’s presidential election, according to analysis released on Thursday.
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Last Thing: The cat-loving, beret-wearing Republican would-be mayor of New York
Curtis Sliwa, 67, is running against Eric Adams in November’s mayoral election in the US’s most populous city. Can the attention-loving founder of the neighborhood protection group Guardian Angels, who was shot six times in the 1990s after speaking out against a powerful New York crime family, upset the odds? Adam Gabbatt reports.
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