Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson, and this is five things you need to know Tuesday,

the 11th of July, 2023.

Today, Sweden gets closer to NATO membership, plus how well might Biden's backup plan

for student loan forgiveness hold up in court, and climate change is causing cities to sink.

Sweden is one step closer to joining NATO, ahead of a summit that kicks off today.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan is withdrawing his country's long-standing opposition to

Sweden's NATO bid, paving the way for the Nordic country to join the military alliance.

Erdogan's sudden change of heart came as a surprise because Turkey had objected to Sweden's membership

since last year, claiming the country was sympathetic to Kurdish militants that Turkey considers

a threat to national security.

Earlier yesterday, Erdogan demanded acceptance into the European Union in exchange for signing

off on Sweden's NATO membership.

Sweden agreed to help on block Turkey's progress toward joining the EU, something that's been

on hold since 2018. It's not clear what role President Joe Biden played in Turkey's decision.

Biden spoke with Erdogan by phone on Sunday and said yesterday that he stands ready to work

with Turkey on enhancing defense in the Euro-Atlantic area. Biden has emphasized NATO's solidarity

as a defense against Russian aggression. That aggression has prompted Finland and Sweden

to abandon their decades-long policy of non-alignment. Finland, which borders Russia,

became NATO's 31st member in April.

The Supreme Court ruled last week that President Joe Biden overstepped his authority

when he used a 2003 law to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt.

Hours after that decision, he rolled out a kind of plan B. But as USA Today's Supreme Court

...