Today is Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
It is the 176th day of the year.
189 days remain.
PROGRAMMING NOTE
We will have an amended publication schedule next week ahead of the Independence Day weekend.
MONDAY, JUNE 30 - WEDNESDAY, JULY 2: We’ll send our “lite” version, including similar content but fewer pieces.
THURSDAY, JULY 3: A special Independence Day edition with holiday-themed facts and trivia.
FRIDAY, JULY 4: No newsletter.
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WHAT’S ON TAP
NOTABLE & NOTEWORTHY: The fragile ceasefire in the Middle East appears to be holding as of Tuesday evening.
Both sides rest in DIDDY’s sex trafficking trial and AARON RODGERS wants people to stop seeking out his wife. More in SHOWBIZ.
SHANE GILLIS will host this year’s ESPYS. Details in CASTING CALL.
PRINCE HARRY is expected to extend another olive branch to his family. Details in ROYALS.
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Despite an uncertain morning in the Middle East yesterday, the ceasefire first announced on Monday appears to be holding – for now.
The official line from the White House now is that American involvement in the conflict is done and that Trump has communicated as much to Israel. Trump explicitly told reporters Tuesday he does not favor regime change in Iran because it would create chaos.
SPEAKING OF EXPLICIT: Trump cracked off an f-bomb while leaving the White House early Tuesday morning, after persuading Israel to not break the ceasefire terms, saying, “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the [f—] they’re doing.”
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A WalletHub study of 148 major American cities ranks the municipalities with the best local governments. The researchers compared the quality of city services against total spending as a mark of monetary efficiency.
Overall, Provo, Utah, came in with the best-run city hall. The study cited solid business growth, a 91% high school graduation rate, low crime rates, and good roads.
Rounding out the top five are 2) Nampa, Idaho; 3) Manchester, New Hampshire; 4) Boise, Idaho; 5) Nashua, New Hampshire.
Rounding out the bottom were 144) Philadelphia; 145) New York City; 146) Oakland, California; 147) Detroit, Michigan; 148) San Francisco. [via WalletHub]
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The National Hurricane Center named the first tropical storm of the season, Andrea, on Tuesday.
The cyclone formed deep in the Atlantic and registered relatively low-speed, 40 mile per hour winds, traveling under 20 miles per hour. It’s expected to have dissipated overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. [via ABC News]
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An unnamed tourist visiting an art museum in Italy faces charges of “damaging cultural heritage” after he tripped and fell through a three-century-old painting.
The man was spotted on security footage posing in the same position as the subject of the work – a depiction of Ferdinando de Medici of Tuscany – before losing his balance and piercing a hole through the canvas.
GO FIGURE: He lost his balance because he was leaning back against a step on the floor that’s designed to keep tourists a comfortable distance away from the art hung on the walls.
Museum management has issued a terse statement about future protocols that will prevent “behavior that is not compatible with the sense of our institutions and respect for cultural heritage,” adding, “The problem of visitors who come to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media is rampant.” [via New York Post]
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AAA reports that 72.2 million people are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home for the July 4th holiday weekend.
Of those, 5.84 will take to the skies to reach their destinations, while 61.6 million will travel by car, and 4.78 million are projected to take a bus, train, or cruise.
Wednesday, July 2, and Sunday, July 6, are predicted to be the busiest of travel days.
TRAVEL COSTS: The good news for both is that domestic ticket prices are the lowest they’ve been in four years, and gas prices are the lowest they’ve been since 2021. [via AAA]
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