U.S. and world news for July 27

Heat wave: President Biden was scheduled to talk with Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix and Mayor Ron Nirenberg of San Antonio today about how their communities are being impacted by the extreme heat. The White House said that Biden was preparing new measures to protect workers and communities across the country from the impacts of the extreme heat. The Department of Labor is ramping up enforcement to protect workers who must work during a heat wave.

Russia’s nuclear weapons: The president of Belarus and Russian President Vladimir Putin say that Russia has moved nuclear weapons into Belarus, which is next to Ukraine. Alexander Lukashenko says that Belarus pilots and missile crews have been trained to use the nuclear weapons. It’s believed that they are tactical nuclear weapons for use on the battlefield as opposed to warheads for intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Mayorkas defends Homeland Security: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has testified before the House Judiciary Committee. He pushed back against Republicans on the committee who charged that Homeland Security has failed in its job of protecting the country’s southern border.  He said that illegal border crossings are way below the levels at which they were under the Trump Administration. He also said his department’s agents stopped more than 10,000 pounds of the drug fentanyl from being smuggled into the U.S. last year alone.

Niger coup: Soldiers in Niger claim that their coup has been successful. President Mohamad Bazoum was being held under house arrest. Officials from his government say the country and its people will never allow a military takeover to stand.

Tesla service appointments: The news agency Reuters reported today that Telsa created a special team of employees tasked with canceling service appointments made by Tesla car owners who were unhappy with the mileage their cars were getting between charges. Reuters reported that one reason the customer were unhappy and felt their cars needed service was that Tesla had exaggerated the distance the cars could go before needing to be charged again. Reuters said that Telsa service centers were swamped with appointments and each was costing the company $1,000.

O’Connor death not suspicious: Police in London say that they are not treating the death of singer Sinead O’Connor as suspicious. They say she was not responsive when found in her London home yesterday. O’Connor was 56 years old. Police say a report on her death is being prepared.