Swimming Gold, Hurricane Debby, & A Four-eared Kitten.

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Big Stories

U.S. Capture Swimming Gold Medal Race

On the final night of swimming at the Paris Olympics, the U.S. set two world records, winning the swimming gold-medal count over Australia.

• Bobby Finke set a new record in his gold medal swim in the 1,500-meter freestyle. The American women also set a record in the 4x100-meter medley relay, with Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske, and Regan Smith finishing in 3 minutes, 49.63 seconds. Australia took silver and China took bronze. The U.S. swimming team finished with eight golds and 28 medals overall — one gold ahead of rival Australia. Sarah Sjöström of Sweden claimed her second gold medal of the games in the women’s 50 freestyle.

• China won the gold in the men's 4x100-meter medley relay, ending the U.S.'s dominance since the event started in 1960. The Chinese team included swimmers who previously tested positive for banned substances at the Tokyo Games. The Americans won silver, and France took bronze. The U.S. had only missed gold in this event once before due to the 1980 Moscow Games boycott.

• Elsewhere, American Noah Lyles became the fastest man in the world in the 100m spring. Novak Djokovic added the only hardware missing from his trophy case, a gold medal in men’s tennis. Scottie Scheffler made 4 birdies in a row to complete a come-from-behind win in golf. Kristin Faulkner won gold in the women’s cycling road race and Suni Lee took bronze in the women’s uneven bars. (More)

Tropical Storm Debby to Hit SouthEast

Tropical Storm Debby has strengthened while heading toward the Gulf Coast and is expected to hit as a hurricane today.

• Debby is expected to hit the Big Bend area of Florida first. It could bring life-threatening storm surges and up to 30 inches of rain in parts of the Southeast. Richard Pasch from the National Hurricane Center warned of possible catastrophic flooding.

• Due to weak steering currents, Debby will move slowly after hitting Florida, making it a threat to multiple states. Governor Ron DeSantis activated the Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard for help. President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Florida, allowing FEMA to help with disaster relief.

• Debby is large and slow and will also be a serious threat to the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. Debby might rapidly intensify with winds potentially reaching 90 mph at landfall. Heavy rainfall could continue for multiple days and reach up to 30 inches in some areas. The storm is expected to affect areas from Savannah on Tuesday night to the South Carolina coast on Thursday night.

U.S. - Russia Prisoner Swap

U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan returned to the U.S. after being freed from Russian detention in the largest prisoner exchange between the two countries since the Cold War.

• The secret deal, negotiated by the White House with help from Germany and three other countries, involved 24 prisoners. Sixteen moved from Russia to the West, and eight went back to Russia. Among those exchanged was Vadim Krasikov, convicted of murdering a dissident in Berlin.

• The prisoner swap marks a major success for the Biden-Harris administration ahead of the presidential campaign. In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the returning prisoners, saying they would receive state awards. Putin emphasized that Russia had not forgotten about its citizens.

• Despite the deal, White House officials warned it doesn't signal improved U.S.-Russia relations. Critics worry that releasing Russians convicted of serious crimes could encourage more hostage-taking by U.S. adversaries.

Little Stories

• U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin canceled plea deals with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the man accused of planning the 9/11 attacks, and two others held at Guantanamo Bay. The plea deals, likely involving guilty pleas to avoid the death penalty, were agreed to earlier in the week. On Friday, Austin took over the authority from Susan Escallier, who was in charge of the Guantanamo court, and officially withdrew from the deals. (More)

• At least 90 people were killed in Bangladesh on Sunday due to worsening clashes between police and anti-government protesters. Student leaders have started a campaign of civil disobedience, calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down. The student protest began with a demand to abolish quotas in civil service jobs but has now become a larger anti-government movement. (More)

• The leaders of seven EU countries urged Venezuelan authorities to publish detailed voting results of last Sunday's presidential election. Election officials declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner but the opposition rejected them. They want the results released to ensure transparency and integrity in the election process. (More)

• The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon told Americans to leave the country “on any flight possible” because of fears about a possible war between Hezbollah and Israel. The State Department raised the security threat level in Lebanon to “do not travel”, which caused many flight cancellations. Most major airlines have stopped flying to Lebanon, making it hard for people to leave. (More)

• Berkshire Hathaway's cash pile reached a record $276.9 billion last quarter as Warren Buffett sold tons of stock, including nearly half of his shares in Apple. Buffett has sold stocks for seven straight quarters but offloaded more than $75 billion in the second quarter alone. (More)

Extra Credit

Starter homes now cost $1M in at least 237 US cities, half being in California.

A visual deep-dive into the history of the ancient Olympic Games. 

A kitten was born with four ears.

What color is the night sky?