Today’s Big Story

Peak People

As birth rates fall, U.N. report says global population will start shrinking within the century

Every year, the world gets a little smaller as our planet’s population grows. In fact, every year that amounts to around 83 million—or an increase of 1.1% per year. Earth’s population has grown from less than 1 billion in 1800 to around 8 billion in 2024. But that won’t last forever. In fact, scientists now predict when we should expect the turnaround.PM

According to the United Nation’s biennial World Population Prospects report, global population is projected to peak at around 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s from the current 8.2 billion. It is expected to gradually decline to 10.2 billion by 2100—6% lower than anticipated a decade ago. “In some countries, the birth rate is now even lower than previously anticipated, and we are also seeing slightly faster declines in some high-fertility regions,” U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Li Junhua, told CNBC.

Globally, women are having an average of one fewer child than they did in 1990, the report said, and in more than half of all countries and territories, the average number of live births per woman is below 2.1. That’s the level needed for a country’s population to maintain its size without migration. Nearly 20% of the world—including China, Italy, South Korea and Spain—have what ABC News outlines as “ultra-low” fertility, with women having fewer than 1.4 live births.

According to the report, in 2024 population has already peaked in 63 countries and territories, including China, Germany, Japan and Russia. In this group, the total population is projected to decline by 14% over the next 30 years. In another 48 countries and territories—including Brazil, Iran, Turkey and Vietnam—the population is projected to peak between 2025 and 2054, the report said.

This also means the world will collectively get older. Life expectancy is once again on the rise. Globally, life expectancy at birth reached 73.3 years in 2024 and is predicted to reach an average longevity of 77.4 years globally in 2054. By 2080, persons aged 65 or older will outnumber children under 18.

Biden Defends His Fitness for Office

The president expounds on policy while his party frets over his delivery

It seemed like all eyes were on President Joe Biden as he approached the podium at the NATO summit in Washington Thursday night for the most anticipated news conference in recent political history. With a growing number of Democrats calling for Biden to bow out of the 2024 campaign and otherwise questioning whether he can continue, Biden sought to soothe his party’s—and the country’s—concerns.

Democrats who were bracing for the worst, instead saw a passable performance. He spoke about gun violence and taxes, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s economic leverage over Europe. But at this perilous point in his candidacy, policy positions aren’t necessarily what his audience needed to hear. He also did himself no favors by wrongly referring to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” in the run-up to the news conference and calling Vice President Harris “Vice President Trump” early in the questioning.

More importantly, it doesn’t appear to have calmed Capitol Hill’s panic around his candidacy. The Washington Post reports that just moments after the briefing ended, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called for Biden to end his bid. Several others joined in, including Rep. Scott Peters of California—who just Tuesday had told reporters he believed Biden “deserves reelection.” He told Politico that while the nation “owes an enormous debt of gratitude” to Biden, the president should now withdraw from the campaign because “the stakes are high, and we are on a losing course.”

U.S. Inflation Cools

Expectations spike for a Fed rate cut

Inflation in the United States cooled in June for a third straight month, a sign that the worst price spike in four decades is steadily fading and may soon usher in interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Measured from one year earlier, prices are up 3%—a vast improvement from 9.1% two years ago.

According to the Associated Press, the new data will likely help convince the Fed’s policymakers that inflation is returning to their 2% target. A brief pickup in inflation early this year had caused the officials to scale back their expectations for interest rate cuts. Policymakers said they would need to see several months of mild price increases to feel confident enough to cut their key rate from its 23-year high.

While cooling price growth may be welcomed at gas pumps and grocery stores, it can be concerning for savers who want to earn the highest returns possible. After all, lower inflation could produce lower interest rates, which may shrink returns on deposit accounts. As inflation falls, long-term CDs are becoming more attractive. CBS News outlines a few reasons why you may want to stash your money there.

Flight Cancellations Are Way Down

However, only 78% of flights operated on-time

One of my great frustrations in life is a delayed flight. I hate that feeling of being stuck at the airport, wondering when my plane will take off. Thankfully, new data from the Department of Transportation reveals that flight cancellations are at historic lows for the first half of 2024—despite a record number of flights taking to the skies. Only 1.4% of flights were canceled over the first six months, which is the lowest rate in over a decade.

For comparison, in 2022, Travel + Leisure says about 3% of flights were canceled. And they previously reported how Frontier Airlines had the most canceled flights in 2023, followed by JetBlue and Spirit Airlines.

And while the low number of canceled flights is definitely good news to travelers, only 78% of flights operated on-time between January and March 2024. In some cases, airlines may delay a flight several hours before canceling it outright.

A Weekend Pairing

‘Fly Me to the Moon’ + a Canned Gin & Tonic

If you’re going to make another movie about the moon landing, you need a clear purpose—an angle, as they say—to differentiate it from the many, many movies that have already been made about the 1960s space race. Set in 1969, Fly Me to the Moon follows an enemies-to-lovers plot line that pits the noble ambition of a moon-landing mission against marketing. In the corner of scientific endeavor stands the strapping NASA launch director (played by Channing Tatum); in the other corner, a slick Mad Men-era advertising maverick (played by Scarlett Johansson) trying to sell the country on the benefits of a moon landing.

Critics don’t seem to know what to make of the film. Is it a fun, summer blockbuster or a space film that doesn’t take the gravity of the mission seriously? Mashable says the all-star cast breathes life into one-liners and extravagantly long bits. Other critics agree, but still others felt that the ring-a-ding retro vibe didn’t quite work.

Don't wait.