Today’s Top Stories from NBC News
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In today’s newsletter: As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, here’s a look at what’s planned for the day, along with experts’ predictions for the country’s next 50 years and beyond.
Here’s what to know today.
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(Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Happy 250th birthday, America! Two and a half centuries after the founding fathers adopted the Declaration of Independence, the country is commemorating the day with events nationwide.
The holiday weekend is already in full swing. Yesterday, President Donald Trump visited Mount Rushmore where he gave an address touting American greatness while vowing to crush a “communist” movement. In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered a solidly pro-immigration speech flanked by recently naturalized citizens.
The celebrations continue today, beginning with Sail4th 250, when ships and aircraft from 46 nations will converge on New York Harbor. Here’s how to watch. In Washington, D.C., the day’s main event, Salute To America, will feature performances, flyovers, remarks from Trump and a fireworks show that the president has touted as the largest in history. (It's likely to be a nerve-racking evening for many D.C. dogs — and their owners.)
A record heat wave is also disrupting travel and some festivities, bringing triple-digit temperatures to large swaths of the country — talk about an unwelcome birthday gift.
Despite the celebrations, this monumental birthday comes during a time of deep political division, when many in the country are grappling with what it means to be an American. We dive into some of those ideas below.
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America 250 offers a chance to reflect on centuries of history and culture — and to imagine what comes next. Predicting the future of a nation this large at such a pivotal moment is no easy task, so NBC News asked two dozen experts to do it instead.
A sampling:
π “By the 2050s, the U.S. will have no single racial or ethnic group as a majority; in other words, not one racial or ethnic group will be more than half the nation’s population.” — Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research at the Pew Research Center
π³ “The big question is whether we will still have a democracy. In the last decade, key reforms first shaped during the bicentennial that strengthened our democratic institutions have since been severely weakened. In the next 50 years, will we endure?” — Michael Waldman, president and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice
❤️ “Perhaps there’s going to be AI concierges who will prescreen our matches, or there could be predictive algorithms that will tell us who we might be interested in based on our biometric data, and perhaps we’ll even be in virtual reality spaces to meet people across the world. So the search will be different, but what we will be searching for will be the same.” — Logan Ury, dating coach and Hinge’s lead relationship scientist
What experts in sports, tech, the economy and other fields think.
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While the Stars and Stripes represent the nation, many now see the flag as a symbol of political division rather than unity. Like so much else in American life, it has become entwined with the politics of Trump. Some Americans say they've stopped displaying the flag altogether, while others pair it with symbols that signal their left-leaning views.
NBC News asked readers to share their feelings surrounding the flag:
πΊπΈ A Rhode Island teacher, who used to wave the flag proudly, said she has watched the Trump administration change its meaning. “I have a gay son and a trans son and felt that that flag was now a symbol flown by people who don’t want my children to exist.”
πΊπΈ Dave Cavannah of Monson, Massachusetts, questions protests about the flag. “I believe Americans should be proud to fly the flag and fly it the right way,” he said. “What’s shameful is that people who hate Trump are flying the flag upside down.”
How other Americans view the Stars and Stripes.
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Most people might think America’s 250-year history can’t be summarized in 20 minutes, but this park ranger does it every day. At Philadelphia’s Independence National Historic Park, Michael Doveton spends his days taking visitors through Independence Hall, offering a guided tour of American history.
In less than half an hour, he covers both the triumphs and the darker chapters of the nation's history. How to present those events is a question the park has grappled with since the federal government took control in 1952. The unscripted tours vary from ranger to ranger, but Doveton said nearly all discuss slavery despite Trump's criticisms.
“We don’t want to tell people how to think, and we don’t want to tell people how to feel,” Doveton said. “We are helping them to make their own connections.”
Take a virtual field trip to Independence Hall.
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While big cities celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks and festivals, things are much more quiet in the remote reaches of north-central Montana. Here, wide-open grasslands give way to the rugged beauty of the Bears Paw Mountains. On Rocky Boy’s Reservation, established in 1916, the Chippewa Cree Tribe is happy for the reintroduction of bison, America’s national mammal, to the land.
In 2021, the project started with 11 buffalo. Today, the herd has grown to 60. These numbers may sound small, but what they represent is large. Now, the Chippewa Cree Tribe has the chance to restore its cultural identity, advance food sovereignty and perpetuate a species that is central to the nation’s heritage.
How the bison’s history is intertwined with the tribe’s.
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- Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce tied the knot in front of a thousand friends and family members in a ceremony officiated by Adam Sandler at Madison Square Garden. Here’s what we know about the secretive affair.
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- Iran’s former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will be laid to rest after a sprawling multiday funeral ceremony set to be a grand religious and political spectacle. NBC News’ Richard Engel is in Tehran with insight and analysis as it begins.
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π¦π· vs. π¨π»: Argentina narrowly staved off elimination with a 3-2 victory against Cape Verde in extra time. Most of the game boiled to a contest between two elder statesmen: 39-year-old Messi, vs. Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper, Vozinha.
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π»: With the England vs. Mexico game kicking off at 1 a.m. Monday in Britain, Keir Starmer promised an emergency legal measure to give bars blanket permission to stay open until 5 a.m.
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π What to watch today: The round of 16 kicks off with Canada vs. Morocco at 1 p.m. ET. Paraguay takes on France at 5 p.m. See the full schedule.
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- Christian Pulisic
- Weston McKennie
- Tyler Adams
- Folarin Balogun
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Find out the answer and test your knowledge of this week’s most-read stories. (The answer to the question is also at the bottom of this newsletter.)
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▼ NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
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It’s America’s 250th birthday, and NBC Select is celebrating by rounding up all the best sales to shop right now, including discounts on brands like Brooklinen, Lands' End, Shark and more. Right now, you can save up to 65% on mattresses, outdoor furniture, ACs and summer clothing. Hurry, these deals won’t last all weekend.
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Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.
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Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson, Delia Sara Rangel and Kayla Hayempour.
By the way, the answer to the quiz question above is D. Folarin Balogun.
If you have any comments — likes, dislikes — send us an email at: MorningRundown@nbcuni.com
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