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Today is Thursday, July 9th. One of the year's most closely watched Senate races just got turned upside down. We'll tell you what's next now that Democrats top candidate has dropped out. Also, how a tragedy has gone viral, raising big questions about how social media can help and hinder death investigations. Plus, expectations for this year's unusual hurricane season. Two AI companies both releasing their most powerful models yet. And the biggest standouts and snubs from this year's Emmy nominations. Those stories and even more news to know next. Welcome to the newsworthy all the days news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica. Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. A high profile candidate who Democrats once believed could help flip the US Senate has now ended his campaign. Graham Platner has dropped out of the U.S. senate race in Maine. Remember, he had been facing intense pressure from all corners of the Democratic Party after a woman he used to date accused him of rape. But even as he withdrew from the race, Platner insisted the accusations against him are false. And he implied that large forces were behind those accusations and said the timeline of it all is political. He said those in power are now using the allegations as an excuse to take away even basic things he needs to run a campaign for like funding voter data and other resources. And that's the real reason he's now dropping out of the race. As he put it, quote, we live in a political system that is not built for normal people. Now it's up to the main Democratic Party to pick his replacement. It will hold a convention to choose a new nominee by the end of this month. Platner says he hopes whoever winds up on the ticket aligns with his politics, taking into account the wishes of voters who backed him last month in a landslide. Of course, Democratic Party leaders will be looking for whoever is most likely to beat Republican US Senator Susan Collins. She's running for her sixth term representing a state that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the last presidential race. If Democrats are to win control of the US Senate in November, they'll need to win four seats now held by Republicans and hold on to all of their own. To be continued. A small town investigation into a teenager's mysterious death is now drawing national scrutiny. 18 year old Nolan Wells was last seen on the 4th of July going on a boat trip with friends to the popular horn island, about 10 miles off the coast of Mississippi. The friends left and boated back to the mainland without him that afternoon. Wells did not have a cell phone with him, so his Exact movements from that point are unknown. He was found dead two days later. The local sheriff says the way he understands it from others, Wells chose to stay and that authorities don't suspect foul play, but believe he drowned. It could be weeks before the medical examiner determines an official cause of death. Still, investigators want more information. Now they're hoping to speak with other people who were on Horn island and are looking for any other original photos, videos and sound recordings. Already, one particular video has gone viral online showing big crowds on the island and and arguing that can be heard in the background. It's not clear, though, if that had anything to do with Wells. And there are other reasons this case is drawing scrutiny. One rescuer who assisted in the search said his blood alcohol level was not at an intoxicated level and Wells was apparently a good swimmer. Also, Wells was black and was with a group of white friends, though again, it's not clear if that had anything to do with what happened. Now, authorities say social media has been a barrier in this case. Since some people have been trying to submit tips based on secondhand information from the Internet. They're now asking the public to help separate fact from fiction. Meanwhile, Wells family hired a renowned civil rights lawyer to conduct a separate investigation. Stay tuned. The US Military launched a second night of strikes against Iran, and President Trump is warning of more to come, saying he now considers the ceasefire to be over. And again, it seems Iran is retaliating with strikes on nearby countries that host the American military. The U.S. says these latest strikes are meant to make it harder for Iran to keep threatening ships in the Strait of Hormuz. That's, of course, a key route for global energy supplies. Well, shipping traffic in the strait has once again come to a halt, and Yesterday oil prices rose 5% in response. As for what happens next, Trump says Iran still wants to make a deal and that he's open to negotiations. And while also saying it's a waste of time dealing with Iranian leaders. As of this morning, Iran has said nothing publicly about new talks. President Trump has reiterated America's support for Ukraine at this week's NATO summit. He said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has done an amazing job. And Trump even supported Ukraine's deep strikes inside Russia. It's a far cry from what he said last year when he accused Zelenskyy of gambling with World War iii. And this week's meeting went beyond praise. Trump also seemed to grant one of Ukraine's long held requests, saying the US Will give Ukraine the license to make American designed Patriot missiles. The interceptors are used to knock down Russian missiles and drones from the sky before they can strike cities. Separately, at the NATO summit, President Trump told his Syrian counterpart that he would remove his country from the U.S. list of state terrorism sponsors, a move that will unlock international trade and investment. And Trump says there are already American companies ready to invest in Syria. But Trump was less friendly with one of America's key allies, Spain, calling the country a wasted cause. And the president said he was cutting off trade with Spain over defense spending, though it's not clear exactly how that will work since Spain is part of the eu, which is in charge of trade policy for all of its member countries. Earlier in the summit, Trump had also criticized Spain and other allies for not supporting the war in Iran or his push to acquire Greenland. But in the end, Trump called the NATO summit a great success and said there was a lot of love and a lot of unity. A big update came out to an influential hurricane forecast. It says the Atlantic hurricane season could actually be among the calmest in recent memory. Meteorologists from Colorado State University now expect nine named storms to develop in the Atlantic this year, including four hurricanes and one major hurricane. And when you factor in the storm's intensity and how long they last, they expect overall hurricane activity to come in at less than 75% of the long term average. That forecast covers the whole season that typically peaks between August and October, but runs through the end of November. NOAA has also released its forecast similarly predicting a below average season. But forecasters stress that it only takes one storm making landfall to have a devastating impact. So they're urging people in hurricane prone areas to stay alert and prepared, just as they would in any year. We have much more news for you still ahead, but first a quick break to tell you about our sponsor. Summer is when I appreciate a wardrobe that does not need much thought. I want pieces I can grab, wear comfortably and know that they'll work whether I'm doing camp pickup, heading to dinner or packing for a weekend away. 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That's Q-U-I-N c e.comnewsworthy for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quints.comnewsworthy now back to the news. SpaceX AI and the AI coding startup Cursor have unveiled a new version of Grok. That's the AI chatbot you might see on X, formerly Twitter. The new model is called Grok 4.5, and it's the first one the two companies have built together just weeks after SpaceX agreed to acquire Cursor. The new model is apparently meant to handle long, complicated tasks that can take hours rather than minutes, like reviewing legal documents, analyzing financial data, or working through large software projects. It's the latest sign that AI companies are shifting their focus away from general purpose chatbots and towards specialized tools they hope businesses will pay to use. Separately, the Trump administration has reportedly lifted restrictions on OpenAI's most advanced AI model yet. Remember, the company had been asked to hold back the release of its new GPT 5.6 model while the US government reviewed its capabilities and OpenAI conducted additional safety testing. And now it's finally gotten the green light, clearing the way for a public launch. Today, the Trump administration is putting new pressure on states to change the way they conduct elections. Letters went out this week telling the state election officials that they could face criminal prosecution over noncitizen voting. These are just the latest efforts by the Trump administration to influence details of elections, and that have long been primarily state managed, despite election officials and investigators finding widespread voter fraud to be exceedingly rare. For example, just last month an announcement for a FEMA anti terrorism grant included a list of election related requirements like transitioning to paper ballots, conducting post election audits, verifying voter citizenship, and more. In other words, states were told to change the way they conduct elections or risk losing tens of millions of dollars in federal terrorism prevention funds. Courts have already blocked similar efforts by the administration to require voting changes, saying federal officials likely exceeded their authority. Since the Constitution grants power over elections to states, so these new actions may also face legal pushback. Utah officials moved to shut down the boarding school, where socialite Paris Hilton and others say they were subjected to abuse. They revoked the license for the Provo Canyon school's Springville campus, citing unnecessary restraint, aggressive physical contact and instances of neglect as some of the issues. Hilton has alleged staff members beat her, fed her unknown pills, locked her in solitary confinement without clothing and more. Other current and former students have shared similar experiences, and now state regulators have told the school it must close by next month and the owners won't be able to apply for a new license for five years. In the past, the school has denied the allegations and it now says it's considering an appeal against the decision. Meanwhile, Hilton is celebrating. She called the decision a milestone not only for herself, but also for many former students who have spent decades speaking publicly about their experiences with abuse, neglect and trauma. She thanked fellow survivors and advocates who helped bring attention to the issue the Primetime Emmy Award nominations are out, putting the best TV performances from the last year back in the spotlight. The drama series the Pit led all nominees with 25, while hacks broke the record for the most nominations for a comedy series with 24. As far as snubs go, fan favorites like Stranger Things and Landman were left out of the top categories and one of the biggest hits of the year, Heated Rivalry was not eligible since it was a fully Canadian production, but the show's star, Connor Story, did secure his first nomination for his hosting gig on Saturday Night Live. Other nominees included the late Rob Reiner for his guest acting on the Bear, Bad Bunny for his super bowl halftime show and Taylor swift for the eras tour. The Final Show Concert Special the 2026 Emmys are scheduled for September. That's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Thing to Know Thursday. But first, thanks to our sponsor, every pet owner knows that your pet is part of your family. That's why I was so interested in Smalls when their food arrived for my cat. Everything about it felt thoughtfully made fresh, high quality and designed around what cats are actually meant to eat. 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That's 60% off your first order, plus free shipping and free treats for life when you head to smalls.com newsworthy now back to Thing to Know Thursday. About one in nine Americans now take a GLP1 medication for weight loss. That's according to a new Gallup poll released this week. That's 11%, and it's a record high, a huge jump from the 3% who reported taking a GLP1 just two years ago. And as the usage goes up, obesity rates are going down. Poll data also found the percentage of Americans who are obese fell to about 36%, down from a record high of nearly 40% in 2022. That's the year GLP1 medication WeGovy was first approved by the FDA to treat weight loss. Gallup also notes the rates of diabetes diagnoses are now steady after more than a decade of increases. And these trends are expected to continue since new drugs continue to come out, some in pill form and prices have crept down. The existing medications have also been cleared to treat new conditions beyond weight loss, like liver disease, kidney disease and sleep apnea. All that said, the FDA is still urging people to only take approved GLP1s for approved reasons, despite a growing market for unapproved drugs. Just last month, the FDA issued a warning calling copycat medications potentially risky, and it says it will continue to crack down. Thank you so much for listening today. We'll catch you up on more news to know tomorrow. Until then, have a great day.