NASA Administrator: ‘Are we alone? Personally, I don’t think we are’

By AJ Willingham, CNN

A spectator waving a sign caused a disastrous pile-up at the Tour de France, and now French authorities have opened an investigation.

Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.

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1. Condo collapse

Rescue crews are still searching through the debris — and families are still waiting in agony — after a Miami-area condo building partially collapsed last week. At least nine people are confirmed dead and 152 are unaccounted for this morning. Crews have carved out trenches, contained a deeply rooted fire, and burrowed into the site to pull out remains as those above ground use K9s, sonar and heavy equipment to locate the missing. Some families have expressed frustration at how long rescue and recovery efforts are taking. Three years ago, a structural report on the building showed major issues in need of repair but didn’t indicate whether it was at risk of collapse. Officials are now inspecting nearby buildings for signs of structural damage.

2. Coronavirus

We know the Delta variant of the coronavirus could become a major problem in the US, but experts say it won’t be as pervasive as the stages of the pandemic we’ve seen so far. Rather, it will be hyper-regionalized, devastating dense at-risk communities across the country. Those pockets will have low vaccination rates and low rates of prior infection. Meanwhile, Australians are feeling the frustration of repeated lockdowns. The country was praised for its early handling of the pandemic, but outbreaks of the Delta variant — and low vaccination rates — have led to prolonged restrictions in some regions.

3. Airstrikes

President Biden directed military forces yesterday to conduct defensive precision airstrikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region. The President directed the actions after recent attacks by Iran-backed groups on US targets in Iraq, the Pentagon’s press secretary said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi supported the airstrikes in a statement, calling them a “targeted and proportional response to a serious and specific threat” but said Congress would review the formal notification of the operation. This isn’t the first time Biden has ordered such an airstrike. The military’s first known action under Biden came in February, when it struck a site in Syria, prompting concern among lawmakers who said Biden had not asked for the necessary congressional authorization.

4. Infrastructure

Biden also this weekend tried to walk back a rogue comment he made last week when he said he wouldn’t sign the big bipartisan infrastructure bill unless it came paired with a multi-trillion dollar Democratic spending plan for “human infrastructure.” He was referring to huge economic recovery bill backed by Democrats. Biden assured potential defectors that he wasn’t issuing a veto threat, and for now, it looks like the bill is back on track with bipartisan support. Republican senators like Mitt Romney accepted that Biden’s comments were a flub — but the mistake gave opposing GOP members the opportunity to paint Biden’s comments as deceptive.

5. China

Indonesia and the United States have broken ground on a new $3.5 million maritime training center in the strategic area of Batam on the edge of the South China Sea. The body of water has been the site of increasing tensions among nearby powers, including China. The move is yet another factor in an evolving US-China relationship that some in Washington are starting to see as a new “Cold War.” China is about to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, and Biden and world leaders just discussed Beijing as part of a growing threat to global democracy.

BREAKFAST BROWSE

Cardi B debuts baby bump at last night’s BET Awards

Some people celebrate their pregnancy with a Facebook announcement, and others with a bedazzled bodysuit at a major awards show.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks about being a ‘Jeopardy!’ guest host 

DREAM JOB. 

Nude sunbathers running from deer fined for violating Sydney lockdown

You really can’t explain your way out of something like this.

A civil engineer broke the world record for stacking M&Ms

There truly is a record for everything.

Book series about sexy blue aliens is taking over Amazon best seller lists

When the world gets too rough, you can always fantasize about being blasted out of the solar system to a planet of giant, amorous alien barbarians.

TODAY’S QUOTE

“With the exception of the one instance where we determined with high confidence that the reported UAP was airborne clutter, specifically a deflating balloon, we currently lack sufficient information in our dataset to attribute incidents to specific explanations.”

An excerpt from the US intelligence community’s unclassified report on unidentified aerial phenomena (aka UFOs). In the report, intelligence personnel admitted they don’t have an explanation for all of the reported UAPs and may need further scientific knowledge to understand them.

TODAY’S NUMBER

108

That’s how hot, in degrees Fahrenheit, it got Saturday in Portland, Oregon, setting a new high temperature record there. More than 20 million people are under a heat warning or advisory as an unprecedented heat wave bakes the West.

TODAY’S WEATHER

Check your local forecast here>>>

AND FINALLY

Flying high 

America’s best, most brilliant athletes are punching their tickets to Tokyo … and among them is, of course, gymnast Simone Biles, who polished off this great floor routine over the weekend. (Click here to view.)

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