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The only news for today is an update on the raging fires in eastern Canada. Air pollution in the US and Canada is now breaking records, with the smoke suffocating the Northeastern US. The air quality alerts reach as far west as Minnesota, and as far south as North Carolina. Meteorologists expect the smoke to calm down in a few days, but it will not completely fade until the Nova Scotia wildfires are fully extinguished.

Today, we have a huge load of news, so let’s dive right in! Over 114 million people are now under air quality alerts as dozens of wildfires rage across eastern Canada, and the smoke is suffocating the Northeastern US as well. Skies in New York City and Boston were bright red this morning, with officials saying that the worst is still yet to come. Over 13,000 people have been evacuated from the Nova Scotia area of Canada, and hundreds of firefighters are tirelessly fighting the flames. On another note, the Kakhova Dam in the disputed Kherson region between Ukraine and Russia has collapsed, and it is a big plus for Russia. Ukraine immediately blamed Russia for the disaster, as there are multiple pros for Russia in the collapse. Firstly, the river splits the two forces in the area, with Russia on retreat after Ukraine blitzed the capital and took it back from Russian hands. With the dam collapsing, it makes it almost impossible for Ukrainian forces to cross the river, which allows Russia to re-energize and get ready for another attack. However, Russia is pointing the blame at Ukraine. They say that with the dam collapse, the water would flood more Russian territory and destroy the defenses that Russia has been building up for months. However, the environmental toll will be very great, and thousands of people are being forced to evacuate in just a matter of hours. Whether this was a natural disaster or a man-made one, both sides are losing something in this dam failure. Also, we have some big news for sports fans! Lionel Messi, the man who took Argentina to victory in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, is joining the US Major League Soccer team, Inter Miami! He recently announced his departure from his long-time team, Paris Saint-Germain, and he has just surprised the sports world by joining an MLS team! Congratulations to Inter Miami fans- we look forward to seeing him play for the team in the upcoming season! Lastly, the US state of Hawaii’s famous active volcano, Kilauea, has just erupted again! Kilauea has an enormous history of eruptions, though. In fact, the volcano actually erupted almost nonstop from 1983 until 2018, when a slow-moving eruption destroyed almost 700 homes and filled multiple bays with lava. However, soon after, it started erupting again! It finally stopped in December of 2022, which was the first time it had stopped since September 2021. Then, it erupted again in January, but stopped soon after. However, it showed signs that it would erupt again in May, and the eruption has finally come. Thankfully, the eruption poses no threat to any populated areas, and the lava is staying in Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park.

The Nova Kakhovka in Ukraine was destroyed today and it caused mass evacuations. Intelligence officers claim that Russian forces blew up the dam "in panic" but Moscow denied any involvement in the event. On another note, over 13,000 people have been affected by flooding in Haiti, which left over 42 people dead. It caused flash floods, rockslides and landslides, according to the UN.

Today, we have a long update on Apple's new announcements, so we have put it last (in case you are not interested)- so you can read other relative news without getting bored! However, if you do want to read the Apple news, we suggest you read that first and go from down to up. Over 50 people have been killed and dozens more are injured after a raid on a Nigerian town by bandits. Officials also reported that children who had been collecting firewood in the forest had been kidnapped. Armed gangs have increasingly been a problem in northern Nigeria, where security forces are far and few in between, so bandits take advantage of unprotected villagers. On another note, over 42 people are dead and hundreds more are missing after a weekend of extremely heavy rains in Haiti, leaving thousands of people homeless. Rain is a huge problem in the Caribbean country, with lots of people living in flimsy housing that is near a water body. Due to this, many homes fall into the water, and it happens even more often in a country that is suffering from increased hurricane strength. Lastly, Apple made some huge announcements in their Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) today, including iOS 17, a new MacBook, but most importantly, the Apple Vision Pro. Let's take a look: The big tech company had been hinting at a new 'mixed-reality headset' that 'brings objects to life,' as people are able to see everything (like apps on your phone) in 3D. You can also see through the goggles, so you will not be isolated from the people around you- you can see them and they can see you. The Vision Pro is also being called 'Apple's first spatial computer.' However, there is a catch: the price is $3499. Yikes! Apple also announced a new MacBook Air, which will feature a 15-inch screen and be the thinnest laptop ever made (11.5 mm), plus weighing in at only 3.3 pounds. The laptop will also contain their M2 processor chip and a six-speaker sound system, coming in at $1200. Along with that, Apple launched their new M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips, which promise maximum quality and ultra-high speeds. Then, Apple announced new iOS 17 updates to FaceTime and Messages on iPhones. On FaceTime, customers will have 'contact posters,' which will allow you to create your own custom contact photo to appear when someone calls. People can add images and their own 'memoji' to this contact card. A new feature called Live Voicemail allows iPhone users to see a voicemail in real time, while another called NameDrop enables people to share their contact information just by touching the two phones together. Lastly, they disclosed some upcoming updates for the iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods. For the iPad, the long-awaited lock screen customization features will finally arrive, along with new interactive widgets for the home screen. The Apple Watch will receive a widget smart stack as well, and the AirPods will get a new feature called 'adaptive audio.' This new update will enable them to learn the listener's music likings so that it can change songs/playlists without user intervention.

Following the deadly train crash in India on Friday, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reported that signal error is to blame. “The change in the electronic interlocking caused this accident and whoever did it and whatever are the reasons will be known after investigation," says Vaishnaw. More to come on this soon. On another note, the US Capitol complex recently went on elevated alert after an unresponsive civilian pilot in a Cessna 560 Citation V plane was intercepted by NORAD and the plane crashed near the George Washington National Forest in Virginia.

Following the start of Atlantic Hurricane Season, a tropical storm has just formed and dissipated. Tropical Storm Arlene formed on June 2nd, 2023, but it only lasted for an extremely short period of time. It has just faded out into a minor thunderstorm, but more dangerous storms are sure to come this season. On another note, 288 people were killed and over 800 others were injured in a massive, deadly train crash in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. The crash seemed to have involved two passenger trains and a freight train. Apparently, a high speed passenger train was not signaled that there was a stopped cargo train up ahead, and the two collided in a huge blast. The train, coming from Kolkata, had been traveling at top speed because it was not planned to stop at the station up ahead. When the two trains collided, twenty-one of the passenger train cars flew off the track, with three of them landing on a different, parallel train track. However, another passenger train, coming from Bengaluru- traveling in the opposite direction, on the track where the derailed railcars were- did not know about the crash in time, and it derailed after hitting the three train cars that were sprawled onto its track. When India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, arrived on the scene, he said, "This is a very serious incident for the government. We have given directions for all lines of inquiry, and whoever is found responsible will be given the strongest punishment. They will not be spared.” The accident is the country's worst in over two decades, and questions are now arising over the safety of India's rail network.

Weather lovers, Atlantic Hurricane Season has officially begun! Most officials are predicting between 12-17 named storms for the season, and they are currently watching an area near Florida called Invest 91L. These areas are typically numbered between 90 and 99, and an 'invest' is an area of interest. Also, the L shows that it is in the Atlantic. Areas in the Pacific are labeled with E instead (ex. instead of 91L, it would be 91E). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also predicts five to nine of those to become hurricanes, and at most four of those to become major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger). On another note, the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals took place on Thursday night, with Dev Shah bringing home the prestigious trophy. After 14 grueling rounds, he and Charlotte Walsh faced off in the final round, with Shah somehow spelling bathypitotmeter with ease, and Walsh misspelling the word daviely. After that, Dev Shah, number 36, at fourteen years old, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee with the word, psammophile. Congratulations Dev!

Amazon has just announced that they are willing to shell out $30 million over privacy complaints in their Ring doorbells and Amazon Alexas. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found out that the household devices recorded their information as normal, but Amazon kept some of the videos and audio that their devices took. Amazon denied this in a company statement, but they are now going to give this money to customers to settle the complaints. On another note, amid the new news of Canada introducing warnings on individual cigarettes, another country is nearing a milestone in cigarette use. The Scandinavian country of Sweden is almost the first smoke-free country in the world. Sweden's tobacco usage has been waning recently, and cigarettes are getting harder and harder to find around the area. Good news for the Swedes!

Air New Zealand, who were recently ranked as the best airline in the world, have announced that they will now be weighing passengers before they get onto the airplane. The new survey will only be for passengers on international flights going out of Auckland, Air NZ says, and that the info will be completely confidential. Passengers' weights will be anonymous, and even the person managing the scale will not see the weights on their screens; the info is directly and anonymously entered into the data. The airline stated that the survey is to help gather information on the weight load and distribution of the plane, and will be used to help further improve their flights. On another note, Canada is now taking a step to stop cigarette use. Health Canada has recently announced that cigarettes in Canada must now have warnings on each individual cigarette, making it the first country in the world to do so. The warnings will be in English and French, and include the phrases, "poison in every puff,” “tobacco smoke harms children,” and “cigarettes cause impotence.” They also said that they are aiming for the new strategy to reduce tobacco use to under 5% by 2035, as tobacco use kills approximately 48,000 Canadians per year.

Check out our new deep dive article by Mihir Gupta: Pakistani Turmoil! Read the new article here. Now, let's get into today's news. At least 10 people and 55 others were injured when a bus fell into a massive gorge in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Officials say that the bus was carrying too many Hindu pilgrims, and it tumbled off the road and off a Himalayan cliff, into a gorge. Some people suspect that the bus lost balance because it was overloaded, but the cause is still being investigated.