Celebrating

• A 10-year-old resident expressed their personal enthusiasm for celebrating the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States in a letter to the editor. • Separately, Coconino County election officials are urging voters to use official drop boxes for any remaining early ballots to ensure they are counted. • Local government activity continues with council candidates discussing infrastructure and development during a recent forum on Fourth Street.

• To mark the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States this July 4 weekend, NPR is exploring media that portrays the "American dream." • Aisha Harris and Linda Holmes from NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour are discussing specific films, TV series, and musical works that capture the national experience. • The conversation highlights Stevie Wonder's song "Higher Ground" as a key example of the collective resilience and the struggle for a better life in America.

• A drone strike in the Sudanese city of El Obeid hit an empty fuel tanker parked near a school on Tuesday, resulting in injuries to students. • The United Nations reported on Wednesday that ongoing fighting in the city continues to endanger civilians and cause significant damage to local infrastructure. • This incident highlights the escalating risks to non-combatants and educational facilities amidst the broader Sudanese conflict.

Video taken after the shooting shows a woman sobbing over the pet with nearly a dozen officers standing aroundPolice in California shot and killed a family’s pet dog wearing a New York Knicks jersey after they were called to a report of a screaming woman who turned out to be celebrating the basketball team’s championship win.Video of the aftermath of Saturday’s shooting of the two-year-old doodle named Jameson, “the sweetest boy in the world”, according to the dog’s owner, received millions of views on TikTok on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Regime, which executed 243 people last year for drug offences, accused of investing in entertainment to whitewash its human rights recordThe acclaimed Australian film-maker Phillip Noyce is being paid by the Saudi regime to make a feature film portraying the repressive state’s narcotics officers as heroes.The Watchful Eyes, based on a real Saudi ministry of interior narcotics case, is billed as a dramatic depiction of the “heroism of security men in combating drugs”. Continue reading...