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All your news in a single email. We scour 100+ sources so you don't have to. Culture, science, sports, politics, business, and more - all packaged in a 5-minute read below.
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Happy Birthday (Eve), America.
Congratulations America, tomorrow marks the 242nd commemoration of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress. The Congress actually voted to separate from Great Britain two days earlier, and some argue that the US didn't really become a country until we began operating under the Constitution in 1789. Since that first 4th of July the country has changed tremendously - from 13 colonies to 50 states, from 2.5 million to 325 million people, from under $1 billion in inflation-adjusted GDP (the measurement of a country's annual output) to over $19.4 trillion, and more. Advances in public health have cut the child mortality rate from over 45% to under 1%, and people live 35 years longer on average (though minorities rates still lag behind). We've built over 2.6 million miles of paved roads and over 5,000 airports. In 1800, 95% of the population lived in rural areas - now over 80% live in urban areas. And demographics have shifted, with minorities representing close to 30% of the population. We look forward to what the next 242 years bring.
Have fun and be safe - almost 13,000 people went to the emergency room last year with firework injuries.
Missing Soccer Team Found in Thailand.
Rescuers located twelve young boys and their soccer coach yesterday, ending a frantic search that drew widespread international attention. The group has been stuck in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave for over nine days with little food or light after flash floods submerged the entrance to the tunnels. While the group has been located, they haven't been rescued - a team of international divers navigated the flooded cave network to access the elevated ground where they found the group. It's unknown whether they will try to bring the team out one-by-one via guided dive, or provide the team with supplies until the waters recede - both dangerous options.
See video of the moments the rescue team reached the group here.
Heat Wave Grips Eastern US.
The eastern United States is in the midst of the worst heat wave of 2018, with temperatures rising 10 to 20 degrees above average and reaching 100 degrees in areas from Pennsylvania to Maine. The region is the most populated in the US, placing nearly 60 million people under a heat watch. The blazing temperatures rolled in from the Rockies over the weekend, with Denver tying its all-time high of 105 degrees last Thursday. The National Weather Service forecasts the high temperatures to last until Thursday, with punishing humidity pushing the heat index - or how hot it actually feels - to as high as 110 degrees in the region.
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Science & Technology.
> Six-year-long study of 33,000 Chinese infants reveals range of environmental factors on infant health, including receiving progesterone too early in pregnancy increases risk of needing c-section ( More)
> Comcast begins throttling video streams to 480p resolution when received over cellular data streams ( More)
> Polio outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo spreads to Ugandan border, prompting fears of an epidemic across Africa ( More)
Learn Something New Today. As digital technology becomes more integrated into daily life, making our interactions with computers look, feel, and sound human will be incredibly important. Brush up on the field with our partner General Assembly's newest white paper on human-centered design, released just this week.
Business & Markets.
> Personal computer giant Dell will buy back shares in software company VMware, which allows Dell to return to the stock market without IPO at estimated $60-70B valuation ( More)
> Probe into Facebook's Cambridge Analytica data breach broadens to include questions around investor & public disclosures ( More)
> Online media business Quartz sells to Japanese media business Uzabase for up to $110M ( More)
Politics & World Affairs.
> FBI nabs suspect it says planned to bomb Fourth of July celebrations in Cleveland, Philadelphia ( More)
> Trump administration send letters pushing NATO allies to meet minimum defense spending levels of 2% GDP or US may reconsider troop positioning in Europe ( More)
> German Chancellor Angela Merkel agrees to tighten immigration restrictions to keep country's coalition government together, reversing earlier stance ( More)
Sports, Entertainment & Culture.
> Belgium rallies to beat Japan 3-2 in World Cup; see 90 (minutes) in 90 (seconds) highlights ( More) | Brazil defeats Mexico 2-0; Sweden/Switzerland and England/Colombia square off today in the final round of 16 matches ( More)
> Cardi B becomes 1st female rapper in history with two #1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart ( More)
> DeMarcus Cousins signs 1-year deal with Golden State Warriors ( More) | Veteran point guard Rajon Rondo joins LeBron in signing with L.A. Lakers ( More)
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What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
Speech | Frederick Douglass. Widely considered one of the greatest speeches in American history, Douglass passionately laid out a case against slavery to the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester, NY. (Read)
The Origin of the Coney Island Hot Dog is a Uniquely American Story.
Smithsonian | Erick Trickey. Detroit is Ground Zero for the specifically-named dogs - Greek immigrants fleeing the 1893 depression passed through New York and carried the name to the Midwest as a sign of authenticity. (Read)
King Killers in America.
Longreads | Michael Walsh, Don Jordan. After helping plan the assassination of King Charles I in 1651, two co-conspirators fled to America. Officials of the Crown pursued them into the New England heartland - and into unexpected resistance. (Read)
Why is American Beer So Bland?
The Atlantic | Joe Pinsker. Even Thomas Jefferson complained about the lackluster brew. A nice history of Americans wanting to drink during lunch. (Read)
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The Fourth of July in 9 graphs.
The best strange-but-true facts about the US.
Which cities have the best 4th of July fireworks.
11 perfect podcasts for the holiday (from the New York Times).
Worth Knowing: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died hours apart - on the Fourth of July (1826).
The quintessential America fiction, as rated by the rest of the world.
Different Gallup polls combine for 10 things you need to know about America.
A letter from John Adams to his wife on the eve of signing the Declaration of Independence.
Historybook: Battle of Gettysburg ends following Pickett’s Charge (1863); HBD Tom Cruise (1962); Jackie Robinson is 1st African American inducted in Baseball Hall of Fame (1962); HBD Olivia Munn (1980); RIP Andy Griffith (2012).
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"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."
- Jackie Robinson
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