Good Tuesday Morning! A look ahead at NATO’s historic summit; Biden tells Democrats he won't step aside; and Alec Baldwin's trial to start today in the fatal shooting of cinematographer.

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Good morning,

If you are traveling to Spain this summer, look out for locals with water guns. Thousands of people in Barcelona demonstrated over the weekend, chanting "tourists go home” — some going so far as to squirt diners with water, while others used red tape to close off hotel and restaurant entry points.

• It comes as Spain has had an explosion of tourism. Last year, a record-setting 85 million international tourists visited the country. Madrid and Barcelona are both among the top 10 most visited cities in the world.

• Protesters say it’s leading to untenable housing costs for locals and city centers only catering to visitors.

• Barcelona’s mayor renewed his “firm commitment” toward eliminating Airbnb style short-term rentals in the city within five years.

We hope no one’s paella got too soggy!

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

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📌 HISTORIC NATO SUMMIT STARTS TODAY: UKRAINE & CHINA ON THE AGENDA

The leaders from the 32 NATO countries will begin several days of meetings in Washington DC today. The military alliance celebrates 75 years, but it is facing a number of major challenges moving forward, including the 2.5 year old Russian war on Ukraine.

“The vibe ahead of the summit regarding Ukraine is uncertainty and anxiety,” according to Politico.

TOPICS OF INTEREST
European defense spending is top of the agenda, with NATO members concerned that a second Trump presidency could cause the military bloc to fracture.

• Trump has said he would not defend NATO members that fail to meet defense spending targets.

  • (We’re looking at you, Canada.)

    • Countries have committed to spending 2% of their GDP on defense spending, but only about a third of the 32 member nations did that in 2023.

    • This year, 23 of the 32 NATO members will hit the mark.

• Another topic: China and Russia’s budding military partnership.

  • A couple NATO members have also been hedging their bets lately: namely Turkey and Hungary. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán— a vocal critic of aid to Ukraine— visited Beijing to back China’s peace plan to end the war. Last week, he met with Putin.

    • Notably, NATO has no bylaws on how to kick a country out of the alliance.

UKRAINE AID AND MEMBERSHIP
Member nations agreed at last year's summit in Lithuania that Ukraine would become a NATO member "when Allies agree and conditions are met."

• This year, that commitment will remain, but Ukraine still has a number of goals to meet before being admitted.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be at the Washington summit, where a “historic” aid package is expected to be announced.

• It comes as Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine. On Monday, Russia fired a barrage of missiles, including one that hit a children’s hospital. Dozens of people were killed and many more are thought to be stuck under the rubble.

📲 Mo News is on the ground, reporting at the NATO summit this week. Head over to the Mo News Instagram for live coverage, or back here for major events this week.

📌 BIDEN SAYS HE’S DONE TALKING ABOUT DEBATE AND IS STAYING IN RACE

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This week’s NATO summit will also be an opportunity for President Biden to show he’s up to the job nearly two weeks after his disastrous debate performance.

Yesterday, the president had a message for his fellow Democrats in Congress as they arrived back from the July 4th recess. In a letter, he said he’s the nominee, he is “staying in this race,” and he beat Trump in 2020 and will do it again.

• He then called into his favorite cable news show, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” and slammed his critics as “elites.” He dared them to run against him at the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

• Biden said concerns over his abilities and age are fair, but his actions since the debate should prove that he’s fit to serve — flying across the country to campaign events and staying up late.

  • A recent CBS News poll found that 72% of registered voters said Biden should not run for president. Democrats are just about split 50/50 on the question.

ON CAPITOL HILL
Democrats want to hold onto their slim majority in the Senate and gain a handful of seats to take control of the House in November.

• House Democrats will meet today, the first caucus-wide in-person meeting in person since the June 27 debate. Several House Democrats have already called on Biden to go, but a much larger group has pledged to back Biden.

• Last night, Biden’s virtual meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus — a powerful group of lawmakers — seems to have rallied the group.

📌 ALEC BALDWIN’S MANSLAUGHTER TRIAL TO BEGIN TODAY IN NEW MEXICO

Actor Alec Baldwin is set to stand trial starting today nearly three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed on a New Mexico film set. ‘Rust' director Joel Souza was also injured.

• Jury selection is set for today, then opening arguments tomorrow. It is expected to be a 9-day trial.

Baldwin, who shot the gun, is charged with involuntary manslaughter. The prosecutor says he was negligent.

BEHIND THE SCENES
Back in Oct. 2021, Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer of ‘Rust,’ was rehearsing when the gun went off.

• He has said that someone told him to point the gun toward Hutchins, who was behind the camera, yelled “cold gun” (meaning the gun did not have live rounds), and that the gun misfired a bullet — claiming that he pulled back the hammer, but didn’t touch the trigger.

• The film’s armorer, or person who oversees weapons, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, faced the same charge and was found guilty earlier this year. She is currently serving 18 months in prison.

  • However, it has never been officially determined who brought the live rounds to the set. They look just like the dummy rounds that were meant to be used.

• New Mexico special prosecutor Kari Morrissey says Baldwin didn’t pay attention during a safety training on set and that Hutchins is dead “because he didn't participate in the safety check.” She will likely bring up SAG guidelines that advise actors to never point a weapon at a person.

• Baldwin has pled not guilty and faces 18 months in prison if found guilty.

• The trial will be broadcast by several outlets, including Court TV.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Biden is now deporting more people than Trump (REUTERS)

📌 Columbia removes (but still employs) three deans, saying texts touched on ‘antisemitic tropes’ (CNN)

📌 Beryl unleashes high winds and heavy rains, stranding Texas residents and leaving 2.7M without power (AP)

📌 Chicago reels from violent holiday weekend: More than 100 shot, 19 fatally (ABC)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 2024 set to be world’s hottest year on record as June sets new records (REUTERS)

📌 Putin meets Indian prime minister in Russia on his first visit since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine (AP)

📌 Kyiv children’s hospital hit as Russian missile attack kills at least 29 in Ukraine (GUARDIAN)

📌 El Salvador’s Bukele threatens gang-crackdown style tactics against price gougers (NBC NEWS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Air travel demand is breaking records. Airline profits are not (NBC NEWS)

📌 Johns Hopkins medical school will be free for most thanks to $1 billion from Bloomberg Philanthropies (CBS NEWS)

📌 Boeing to plead guilty to criminal fraud charge stemming from 737 Max crashes (CNBC)

📌 Children with autism carry unique gut flora, study finds (NY TIMES)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 The Bachelorette Jenn Trann unpacks emotional premiere episode (THE WRAP)

📌NBC Sports taps ‘Call Her Daddy’ host Alex Cooper for Paris Olympics (VARIETY)

📌 Matthew McConaughey shares life advice to son Levi for his 16th birthday (GMA)

📌 Justin Bieber reportedly was paid $10 million for pre-wedding performance for Indian billionaire (ET)

📌 Cara Delevingne discusses sobriety journey and recalls drinking at 8 years old: 'What a crazy age to get drunk' (PEOPLE)

🗓 ON THIS DAY: JULY 9

• 1877: The first Wimbledon tennis tournament took place at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. Tennis is based on a French sport developed in the 1200s, and played on grass.

• 1965: Sonny & Cher released ‘I Got You Babe.’

• 2001: The British TV series ‘The Office,’ created and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, debuted. It was closely followed by an American version.