Hello America! Happy 250th Birthday, sweetheart! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
We wish you the happiest Independence Day yet.
May the next 250 years be even brighter.
See you today 🥂
July 4, 2026. pic.twitter.com/VMuP3a7Ano
— Muse (@xmuse_) July 4, 2026
20 animals that look like other things in the Quartz World
American Colonists In 1776 Lived With Pain Every Day And Their Medical Tools Show How Savage Life Was ZME Science
Astronomers See Universe’s Most Unusual Galaxy Mega-Merger Today
College Students Test the Level of 10-Olds Futurism
COVID-19/Pandemics
Diabetes worsens Covid-19 health problems in Europe
Ebola cases in DR Congo exceed 1,500, death toll rises to 473 Andolu Agency
Climate/Environment
Heat Matters—Climate Change Is the Cause scheerpost
Cooling separation: how the wind creates new climate imbalances Discussion
South of the Border
Venezuela: Torturous Road After June Earthquake
Once a source of national pride, Cuba’s health care system is in decline as energy shortages deepen AP crisis
Keiko Fujimori has been declared the winner of Peru’s presidential election just weeks after a BBC poll
China?
🇨🇳🔥This is a plant factory in China, a system of vertical cultivation totally indoors.
Las estanerías de varios nivels, que ahorran espacio, permanente una producción de alto performance en una surface reducida.#China pic.twitter.com/GfpfGSRKb7— Hermosa China (Beautiful China) (@90Hercost) July 3, 2026
China’s Latest Satellite Engine Sets World Record: High Performance Enables Clock Magazine for Bigger, Faster and More Maneuverable Spacecraft
China’s delivery volume exceeded 100 billion parcels at the end of June CGTN
Chinese army promotes 2 new generals after rooting out corruption in AP
Beijing is deploying new coast guard forces in waters east of Taiwan SCMP
India
Skyroot Aerospace is aiming for a July window launch of India’s first secretive Cryptopolitan rocket
India, Japan deepen business ties Semafor
‘Those who fear him are wallowing in the depths of despair after India successfully navigates the energy crisis’: PM Modi Deccan Herald
Africa
The Deadliest War You’ll Ever Hear About Fair Observer
Africa’s Security at the Crossroads: The Continent Faces a Changing World on Deep Issues
South Africa deploys troops as anti-immigrant protests intensify Africa News
The breakup of Europe
The European Commission is trying to promote EU defense cooperation through five major Euronews projects
The EU is trying to block retail investors from the explosion of multi-billion dollar prediction markets CoinDesk
Von der Leyen admits ‘technical problems’ with new EU airport border checks Politico
Old Blighty
Celtic nations start planning UK breakup if they win Reform election The Guardian
Andy Burnham should take a taxi Prospect Magazine
Israel v. Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iran
Breaking 🚨 Israel has once again launched a blind, hurricane-like attack on Lebanon, reducing homes and walls to piles of rubble. The pictures clearly reveal that, after such widespread destruction, Israel is finally determined to destroy completely. pic.twitter.com/n2nl6z9LqU
— Asif Ali (@AsifAli_Haider) July 4, 2026
Lebanon-Israel deal betrays ‘victims of war crimes’, rights groups say Al Jazeera
Israeli strike kills Palestinian in Gaza as troops continue to demolish Andolu Agency
This week in Palestine: 1,000 Days of Genocide, as Israel Continues to Kill Teeo’s Children
250 Candles, One Funeral: How Iran Turned July 4 into Judgment Day Consider the BRICS Foundation
The New Cold War
Russia claims it controls 5 settlements in eastern, northeastern Ukraine’s Andolu Agency
Previous Brief Report – July 3, 2026 Marat Khairullin small stack
Ukraine hits major oil terminal in St Petersburg BBC Russia
Big Brother is Watching You
US Air Force Engineer Charged with Spotting Ground Flock Surveillance Cameras Gets Thousands of Dollars From Fans All Over The World Futurism
“Invisible Cameras” Are Reshaping Everyday Life—Secrets Rise as AI Smart Glasses Raise Funds BigGo
Imperial Collapse Watch
Angry reporter claims Austin’s $125 billion library is now being used as a filthy homeless shelter Daily Mail.
America Needs 250,000 New Shipbuilders to Build Submarines Already Paid – and Not Getting Them in 1945
Trump 2.0
Trump launched America’s 250th birthday celebrations with an attack on The Guardian group
How Trump became president of Washington, DC Semafor
Trump is sharing strong plans to add HIS face to Mount Rushmore as the White House sends a message supporting his inclusion on the iconic monument The Daily Mail.
Trump’s $600M memecoin income sparks fight over Senate crypto bill Cryptopolitan
Musk Matters
Tesla’s sales are booming after a backlash over Musk’s Le Yimali political antics
The DOGE is removing itself on July 4. The main trial broke up long before that. Politics
IX Money by Elon Musk — New Details on Bank Killer Super App Benzinga
Elon Musk sat down for a 45-minute talk with Y Combinator explaining how to build world-changing companies better than any business school in the world. Here’s the advice he gave to a room full of innovators:
1. Don’t try to build something big. Try to build… pic.twitter.com/7ecpzklwmK
— Lewis 🏴 (@WaldronLewis) July 2, 2026
Watching Death of a Democrat
James Carville warns Democratic victory ‘signals ‘the end of the two-party system” NY Post
Democratic Infighting Threatens Party’s Bid to Acquire House Majority’s Foreign Policy Journal
Immigration to another country
Trump Border Wall and ICE Expansion Show Long-Term Change in U.S. Immigration Enforcement Davis Vanguard
Appeals court rules ICE must allow bond hearings after 90 days of arrest Fox News
Ours is No Longer Free
Media leadership’s unity in rejecting Trump’s attacks on free speech: standing apart against historical comparisons Fortune
AG Sulzberger: On Independence Day, we must remember the role of a free press in our freedom The Dallas Morning News
Mr. Market Is Moody
America In Focus: consumers still depressed about economy; US employment declines in June AP
3 Reasons A Trump Bull Market Could Enter the Second Half of 2026 The Motley Fool
Cleveland Fed president says use of AI is fueling inflation – and warns of interest rate hikes Quartz
The AI
Alibaba’s DAMO Academy AI Automatically Discovers 4 New Superconducting Materials, Verified by Experiment Finanace BigGo
ByteDance finds new scaling law that could support AI boom beyond its current limits Crypto Briefing
AI to Drive Record $240 Billion Utilities by 2026 Buy These Stocks to Capitalize on Energy Supply. The Motley Fool
Bezzle
Kebab firm fed millions of Britons goat, chicken drumsticks and animal fat mislabeled as lamb in scandal likened to horsemeat fraud scandal Daily Mail
OMB says fraud losses are in the ‘hundreds of billions’ annually Center Square
Guillotine Watch
World’s richest people (1987-2025), created by ‘TopDataChart’
Sources: Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg
— Science Girl (@sciencegirl) February 7, 2026
The 10 richest families in the world:
1. 🇺🇸 The Walton Family – $513.5 Billion
2. 🇦🇪 Al Nahyan Family – $335.9 Billion
3. 🇸🇦 Al Saud Family – $213.6 Billion
4. 🇶🇦 Al Thani Family – $199.5 Billion
5. 🇫🇷 Hermès Family – $184.5 Billion
6. 🇺🇸 Koch Family – $150.5 Billion
7. 🇺🇸 Mars… pic.twitter.com/jfWAbJhFt8— Global Stats (@Globalstats11) January 30, 2026
Antidote du jour (via)
See yesterday’s links and the Antidote du Jour here
