By Jade Walker

The world’s largest iceberg is “rapidly breaking up,” scientists say. Although Iceberg A23a previously weighed nearly 1.1 trillion tons and was slightly bigger than the state of Rhode Island, it has shrunk to about the size of Greater London. 

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(Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Harvard

Harvard University won a landmark victory in its battle against the Trump administration on Wednesday. A federal judge sided with the Ivy League school in its effort to restore more than $2 billion in federal funding for research frozen by the White House. US District Judge Allison Burroughs rejected the administration’s argument that it was targeting the university due to antisemitism on campus. “A review of the administrative record makes it difficult to conclude anything other than that defendants used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country’s premier universities,” Burroughs wrote. She also noted that the administration’s actions had jeopardized decades of research and the “welfare of all those who could stand to benefit from that research.” The White House said it plans to appeal.

Health care

The governors of California, Washington and Oregon announced Wednesday that they will form a West Coast Health Alliance to coordinate public health guidelines separate from the CDC. The alliance will rely on guidance from national medical associations, like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which recently broke from the CDC’s recommendations on Covid-19 vaccines. “To protect the health of our communities, the West Coast Health Alliance will continue to ensure that our public health strategies are based on best available science,” the statement says. The move comes just one day after more than 1,000 current and former HHS employees signed a letter demanding that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. resign. The employees claimed Kennedy’s leadership had “put the health of all Americans at risk." Kennedy will testify before the Senate Finance Committee today.

Maine mass shooting

Survivors of Maine’s deadliest mass shooting and relatives of the victims are suing the US government, alleging its conduct “directly and proximately caused” the attack. In October 2023, US Army reservist Robert Card opened fire at a Lewiston bowling alley and bar and grill, killing 18 people. Two days later, he was found dead by suicide. An independent commission concluded that there were numerous opportunities for intervention by both Army officials and civilian law enforcement as Card’s mental health deteriorated. “By March 2023, the United States and its personnel knew Card was paranoid, delusional, violent, and lacked impulse control. The Army knew he had access to firearms. The Army promised to remove his guns but did not fulfill that promise,” the lawsuit states. Army officials conducted their own investigation after the shootings that found “a series of failures by unit leadership.” Three Army Reserve leaders were disciplined for dereliction of duty.

Aviation safety

Fewer meteorologists are working with air traffic controllers due to burnout, fatigue and low morale, as well as other factors, including the Trump administration’s hiring freeze and deferred resignations, a new report said. National Weather Service meteorologists support air traffic command centers and air route control centers by providing updates about weather events that could impact operations and safety. Currently, only eight of the country’s 21 “weather service units” are fully staffed with four meteorologists. Oakland, California; Boston; Washington, DC and Jacksonville, Florida, have two or fewer meteorologists on staff. As of June, five of these units were also missing a local meteorologist-in-charge. According to the Government Accountability Office, urgent actions are needed to address these staffing issues. 

Climate change

Dozens of climate scientists submitted over 400 pages of public comments to the Energy Department this week to denounce a report that downplayed the severity of climate change. The department's Climate Working Group report, which portrayed climate change as potentially beneficial, was authored by five well-known climate change contrarians who were handpicked by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former fracking company executive. In contrast, the climate scientists described the report as grossly misleading, full of mistakes, and lacking in both substance and peer review. “The science of climate change is incredibly solid,” said Andrew Dessler, a climate researcher who helped organize the public comments to push back against the report. “All they’re trying to do is muddy the waters here, create this idea that there’s a debate, and then the government will use that to roll back regulations.”

People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.

Newsmax sues Fox News
The lawsuit between the two far-right, pro-Trump outlets marks a notable fracture in the once-cohesive world of MAGA media.

Shein takes down controversial listing
The fast-fashion giant is conducting an investigation to determine why a shirt was promoted with what appeared to be an edited image of the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO last year.

Cyclist Chris Froome suffers life-threatening injury in crash
The four-time Tour de France winner is on the mend, but his wife said “it’s going to be a long recovery process.”

New ‘Dancing with the Stars’ contestants announced
Comedian Andy Richter, former child star Corey Feldman and actress Danielle Fishel will join other celebs in the battle of the ballroom.

Sen. Cory Booker is engaged
The Democrat from New Jersey popped the question to his girlfriend while vacationing in Hawaii.

$1.7 billion

That’s how much the estimated Powerball jackpot has grown to since no winner matched all six numbers in Wednesday’s drawing. The new jackpot is the third largest in both Powerball and US lottery history.

“Instead of interdicting it, on the president’s orders, we blew it up. And it’ll happen again. Maybe it’s happening right now.”

—Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on the deadly US military strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean that marked a significant and escalatory shift in the Trump administration’s fight against drug trafficking.

World’s tallest bridge passes crucial load test 

Imagine the sheer tonnage of bravery it took for these 96 truck drivers to cross the Huajiang Canyon Bridge for the first time. Whew!

5 Things AM is edited by CNN's Andrew Torgan.

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