William Brangham:
These dozens of deaths come as Israel and Hamas may be inching closer to a possible cease-fire. Hamas is seeking guarantees that any proposal would eventually lead to the war’s end. But, today, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, reiterated that Hamas has no future in Gaza.
In Europe, a record-breaking heat wave is moving east, bringing some much-needed relief to Spain and France, but sizzling other parts of the continent, like the Balkans. In North Macedonia, residents leaped into rivers in order to stay cool amid triple-digit temperatures.
But, elsewhere, the heat, along with a severe drought, has allowed wildfires to rage in Greece, Germany and Turkey. The blazes have killed at least one person and forced thousands to evacuate.
There is good economic news heading into the July 4 weekend. U.S. employers kept hiring at a steady clip in the month of June while unemployment fell. The stronger-than-expected 147,000 added jobs beat expectations and were in line with the 144,000 new jobs back in May. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent in June. It was 4.2 percent the month before.
All of this points to a stable labor market. And experts say that likely means Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell won’t be in a hurry to lower interest rates when the Fed meets later this month.
Stocks rose today on the job numbers news. The Dow Jones industrial average added nearly 350 points, while the Nasdaq gained more than a percentage point. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hit new record highs.
The Chicago suburb where Pope Leo XIV grew up has approved plans to buy his childhood home. The board of trustees in the village of Dolton, Illinois, voted unanimously to purchase the small two-story house. The city will preserve it and turn it into a historical site. Many visitors have already flocked to the home since the new pope’s election in May, some of them treating it as a pilgrimage.
And acclaimed actor Michael Madsen has died. He was found unresponsive in his Malibu home. His manager said the apparent cause of death was cardiac arrest. Among his best-known roles was his menacing performance as Mr. Blonde in the crime thriller “Reservoir Dogs.” Madsen often teamed up with director and friend Quentin Tarantino, lending his chilling character portrayals to other films like “Kill Bill” and “The Hateful Eight.”
He had an acting career that spanned over four decades. Michael Madsen was 67 years old.
