It’s something of a Fourth of July tradition: Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo defended their hotdog-eating contest titles.
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1. Fourth of July celebration
Despite worries from Democrats and other critics, President Trump pretty much stuck to the script and delivered a unifying messageyesterday during his Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall. The President’s 20 minutes of remarks were a tribute to America’s early history and the military. He also looked to the future, saying the US flag would soon be planted on Mars. It rained during the event, but that did little to dampen the spirits of the thousands who assembled along the mall to hear Trump and to cheer at the various flyovers of military aircraft. CNN’s Stephen Collinson said this speech “lacked the dark imagery of many of his campaign speeches and struck a more optimistic tone.”
2. Sudan
Looks like the standoff between Sudan’s military leaders and its burgeoning pro-democracy movement might be coming to an end. Today a power-sharing agreement between the military and the opposition was announced. The two entities agreed to form a rotating, joint sovereign council that will govern Sudan for at least the next three years. Residents took to the streets of the capital of Khartoum to celebrate the arrangement, which was brokered by the African Union. Talks between the two groups had collapsed on June 3 after a military crackdown on a sit-in killed more than 100 protesters.
3. Earthquake
The Fourth of July fireworks started early out West, as a 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook residents from Southern California to Las Vegas. The quake was centered near a town in the Mojave Desert and was the strongest earthquake to hit the region in almost 20 years. So far it’s caused at least 159 aftershocks. One seismologist said there is a 50% chance of another large quake hitting the area next week. There were no reports of deaths or major injuries, but lots of widespread damage. The quake forced the temporary shutdown of rides at Disneyland and rocked gamblers at Las Vegas casinos. One thing the earthquake didn’t do was trigger Los Angeles’ quake detection app to send out an early warning. City officials are making tweaks to the app.
4. Chris Cline
Chris Cline, a coal billionaire and philanthropist from West Virginia, was killed in a helicopter crash near the Bahamas yesterday. There aren’t a lot of other details out about this crash yet, but Cline was on board the helicopter with several other people, including his daughter. There was no immediate word on the fate of the others on board. Cline came from a family of coal miners and later founded the Cline Group, an energy development company. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice praised Cline’s generosity and called him a West Virginia “superstar.”
5. Climate crisis
Humans are doing everything from reducing emissions to not eating meat to not having kids in an effort to combat climate change. But this could be the most effective move of all: Reforestation. Restoring the world’s lost forests could remove two thirds of the planet-warming carbon that’s in the atmosphere because of human activity, a new study says. Humans have added about 300 billion tons of extra carbon to the atmosphere. Restoring lost forests could capture about 205 billion tons of that carbon. (Remember, trees are natural carbon removers, and store it above and below ground.) The researchers say there’s enough suitable land on the planet where trees could be planted to increase the world’s forests by about a third.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
Mad, mad world
If you like Mad Magazine, you’ll need to get a subscription or pick it up at a comic book store, because after next month you can’t get it on newsstands.
Bourbon blues
About 45,000 barrels of Jim Beam have been burning for days at a Kentucky warehouse. A situation so sad it’s enough to make a man (or woman) drink.
‘Beijing bikini’
Jinan, China, has had enough — enough — of middle-aged men rolling up their T-shirts above their bellies to cool down.
Wrong Halle
No, Halle Berry wasn’t cast as the “The Little Mermaid.” The iconic Disney princess will be played by R&B singer Halle Bailey in the live-action remake.
HAPPENING LATER
Jobs, jobs, jobs
The June jobs report comes out later this morning. Will there be a bounce back from last month’s disappointing report?
TOTAL RECALL
Quiz time
This 15-year-old tennis phenom defeated Venus Williams in a stunning upset at Wimbledon.
A. Naomi Osaka
B. Cori Gauff
C. Yulia Putintseva
D. Simona Halep
Play Total Recall, CNN’s weekly news quiz, to see if your answer is correct.
NUMBER OF THE DAY
89
The temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit) reached on July 4th in Anchorage, Alaska. That’s an all-time record.
TODAY’S WEATHER
AND FINALLY
Great escape
“Let’s put a gate up to keep the cat in that room.” Yeah, right. (Click to view)
