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Pope Leo chose America's Independence Day to deliver a pointed message on immigration from Europe's migrant frontline, as Iran turned Ayatollah Khamenei's funeral into a show of national defiance and a deadly boat disaster unfolded in Congo.

Plus, holiday heat strains the U.S., Europe moves to secure vital oil routes, and America's 250th celebration grows increasingly political.

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Pope Leo marked July 4 with a visit to Lampedusa, Italy's frontline island for migrant crossings. America's first US-born pope laid a wreath at the migrant cemetery before celebrating Mass.

Leo sent a July 4 letter to Americans, arguing that protecting life also means welcoming immigrants. Italy has counted 14,464 migrant sea arrivals this year, sharply fewer than last year but with proportionally more deaths.

A wooden boat carrying students home from exams sank in Congo's Kasai province, killing at least 20. Officials confirmed 80 survivors, but one witness says the vessel carried more than 200 passengers.

The sinking occurred Friday at the confluence of the Sankuru and Kasai rivers, a route many students use to reach exam centers. Local civil society leaders blame boat owners for prioritizing profit over passenger safety limits.

Iran began a six-day funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, a date organizers chose deliberately. Hundreds of thousands packed Tehran's Grand Mosalla chanting against the United States and Israel.

Khamenei died at 86 in a February airstrike that ended months of war. Foreign delegations from Russia, Pakistan and Iraq joined a procession expected to draw millions before burial in Mashhad.

Vladimir Putin visited Russian troops near the Donbas front and pledged to take more Ukrainian land, mocking Kyiv's leaders as "play actors" chasing "imaginary achievements." The rare battlefield appearance signals Moscow's confidence heading into the summer campaign, with little sign either side is ready for meaningful talks.

Germany's far-right AfD reelected its leaders as roughly 31,000 protesters clashed with police outside. Weidel won 81% of the vote as the party now polls first nationally ahead of a September state election.

Ukrainian drones struck a major oil terminal in Russia's St. Petersburg, with President Volodymyr Zelensky calling the site key infrastructure that funds the war. The strike deep inside Russia extends Kyiv's campaign to squeeze Moscow's energy exports, which remain the Kremlin's largest source of hard currency.

Justice Samuel Alito gave no indication he plans to step down after a term that delivered conservative wins on voting rights, immigration and guns. His decision to stay keeps the court's 6-3 majority intact and dampens speculation about a summer vacancy.

A new federal rule is pushing roof-replacement costs onto homeowners just as hail and hurricane season ramps up, forcing families to choose between filing a claim that spikes premiums or paying cash. The timing lands hardest in the Gulf, Southeast and Plains states, where storm damage claims run highest.

Trump will be the first president to visit Turkey since 2015, attending Ankara's NATO summit at Erdogan's request. Officials are weighing new F-35 sales despite bipartisan Senate opposition tied to Turkey's Russian S-400 purchase.

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Trading volumes on Kalshi and Polymarket hit record highs in June on the back of World Cup wagering, while newer platform Rothera cleared $2 billion in volume. The tournament has turned prediction markets into a mainstream product, blurring the line between betting apps and financial exchanges.

Data show a 50-year-old founder is roughly twice as likely to succeed as a 30-year-old one, with older workers increasingly launching businesses to sidestep hiring bias. The finding cuts against the Silicon Valley myth of the dorm-room prodigy and points to experience as the more reliable predictor of startup outcomes.

BTIG named an athleisure company and a cybersecurity stock among its second-half top picks. Analysts see both sectors benefiting from steady consumer spending heading into year-end.

Governments are racing to court AI giants with cash and infrastructure deals. Macron secured 3.1 gigawatts of SoftBank data centers, while Modi landed a $48 billion Amazon pledge.

Nigerian researchers built a Chutes & Ladders variant that teaches kids to avoid a worm disease. A six-month study of 275 students found awareness of the treatment drug jumped from near zero to two-thirds.

Scientists identified a mineral never before seen on Mars inside a strange rock preserved on the planet's ancient surface. Because Mars lacks Earth's active tectonics, its rocks act as time capsules, and each new mineral rewrites part of the planet's early chemistry.

Morocco eliminated co-host Canada from the World Cup, winning 3-0 behind a brace from Ounahi. Canada becomes the first of three co-host nations knocked out of the tournament.

Jonas Vingegaard's team grabbed an early Tour de France lead over Tadej Pogačar. Visma-Lease a Bike beat Pogačar's UAE squad by 12 seconds in the opening team time trial.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek lost in the Wimbledon third round to 21-year-old Alexandra Eala. No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina also fell, upset by Belgium's Elise Mertens.

Max Holloway predicted a win over Conor McGregor ahead of their UFC 329 clash. He floated a possible trilogy rematch at Allegiant Stadium if he wins this weekend.

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Beyoncé dropped the previously unreleased "Morning Dew (Donk)" on July 4, teeing up the 20th-anniversary reissue of "B'Day." The surprise release is the first taste of an expanded edition that fans have been petitioning for since the album's 2006 debut.

Jesse Eisenberg said he does not want to be associated with Mark Zuckerberg and won't reprise his role in Aaron Sorkin's upcoming "The Social Reckoning." The Karlovy Vary comments effectively confirm a recast for the sequel to Fincher's 2010 hit.

July's streaming slate brings "Enola Holmes" back to Netflix and "Silo" back to Apple, though the overall month is thin enough that canceling a service or two makes financial sense. It's a rare window to trim the subscription bloat without missing much.

What it is: President Trump used the run-up to the country's 250th birthday to deliver overtly political remarks, including a Friday address at Mount Rushmore. He is set to headline a campaign-style rally on the fenced-off National Mall Saturday night, complete with an 850,000-firework display timed to break a world record.

The detail: At Mount Rushmore, Trump called communism the nation's greatest threat, language that echoed Red Scare-era rhetoric and drew immediate backlash from historians and opposition lawmakers alike. Mamdani countered hours later by calling America a nation of contradictions, while a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found most Americans, including three-quarters of Democrats and half of Republicans, think the celebrations have turned too political.

Why it matters: A milestone meant to unify the country around a shared founding story is instead becoming another battleground in an already polarized political moment, with historians warning that turning a bicentennial-style celebration into a campaign stage has few clean precedents. How Americans remember Trump's specific role in the 250th, rather than the anniversary itself, could end up shaping the tone of political debate heading into next year's midterms.

What to watch: Tonight's National Mall speech is the real test, since it will show whether Trump repeats the confrontational tone he used at Mount Rushmore or pivots toward something closer to unity for the cameras. Crowd size, the reaction from opposing officials like Mamdani, and any competing events staged by Democratic-led cities will all get read as early signals of how deep the political split over the anniversary really runs.

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—The Five Minute Daily Team