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Good evening. Here’s the latest.
1. Battle tanks and fighting vehicles are being moved onto the Washington Mall, in preparation for President Trump’s “Salute to America” for Thursday’s July 4 celebrations.
Aside from the problems of the vehicles’ weight (the District of Columbia was, after all, built on an actual swamp), there is some concern from retired and active-duty military officers, and even some Defense Department personnel, about the appearance of politicizing the armed forces.
As a retired four-star Marine general put it, “Put troops out there so we can thank them — leave tanks for Red Square.”
It is unclear what the salute will cost taxpayers, but at minimum, it’s in the millions of dollars.
2. The president isn’t letting the citizenship question go quietly.
“We are absolutely moving forward, as we must, because of the importance of the answer to this question,” President Trump tweeted about the contentious proposed addition to the 2020 census.
And the Justice Department followed suit, reversing course a day after saying it was dropping the effort. We’ll be following the fight, which is enduring despite the Supreme Court’s finding that the administration’s justification for adding the question “appears to have been contrived.” Above, demonstrators outside the court last week.
The question, if added, is expected to make the census less reliable. But its accuracy is also vulnerable because of new technology that opens the door to hacking, glitches and disinformation.
3. Female candidates are climbing in the polls and dominating debates. Yet Democrats are still being asked: Can a woman be elected president?
Polling, focus groups and interviews show that much of the concern about a woman’s electability centers not on what Democratic voters say they want but a prediction of what they believe others will support, a calculation loaded with the anxiety of their 2016 defeat. Above, Senator Kamala Harris in Columbia, S.C.
Looking ahead to the July debates in Detroit, 14 of the Democratic candidates are assured a place onstage, but seven others are battling it out for the six remaining slots. A single percentage point of support in one poll could turn their fates.
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4. Iran’s president said the country would begin enriching uranium at a higher level beginning Sunday, in the latest escalation of tensions with the U.S.
President Hassan Rouhani’s pledge to “take the next step” would bring Iran closer to producing a nuclear weapon. Mr. Rouhani, above center, said that Iran would increase levels “in any amount that we want, any amount that is required,” regardless of the limits set by the 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by the U.S.
President Trump responded with a tweet: “Be careful with the threats, Iran. They can come back to bite you like nobody has been bitten before!”
5. Prosecutors dropped a manslaughter charge against an Alabama woman who had been shot in the stomach for the death of her fetus, saying that pursuing the case was “not in the best interest of justice.”
The grand jury that indicted Marshae Jones late last month blamed her for starting the altercation in which she was shot, and declined to charge the woman who shot her.
The case sparked outrage across the country — though not so much in Alabama, where state law recognizes a fetus at any stage of development as a “person” for criminal homicide or assaults.
6. Did a 16-year-old accused of rape deserve leniency because he was an Eagle scout from “a good family”?
A New Jersey family court judge, James Troiano, said that he did, reasoning that the encounter with a clearly intoxicated 16-year-old girl — which the boy recorded and circulated among his friends — wasn’t rape, and that she should have been told that pressing charges would destroy his life.
Now an appeals court has rebuked the elderly judge and cleared the way for the case to be moved to a grand jury, where the boy will be treated as an adult. New Jersey’s appellate division has also rebuked a second judge for not allowing a 16-year-old boy to be treated as an adult after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.
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7. The World Cup final is set: The U.S. women will defend their title on Sunday against the Netherlands, which beat Sweden in today’s semifinal 1-0.
It’s the first World Cup final for the Dutch women, the reigning European champions.
And just call her Coco. Cori Gauff, 15, is the phenom of Wimbledon. She won in the second round today, after knocking out Venus Williams in the first. Here are 10 things to know about her, including her favorite meme.
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8. Thirty years ago, a wave of young black filmmakers took Hollywood by storm. But not for long.
In our round table, six directors who were at the center of the 1990s boom — many of whom had never met — discussed why it went bust: “You think you’re like every other filmmaker, but then you realize, no,” said Darnell Martin, above, who directed the 1994 romantic comedy “I Like It Like That.”
Separately, does it feel as if Keanu Reeves is everywhere this summer? Perhaps it’s his Everyman quality, our reporter suggests. And “Stranger Things” is back for Season 3 tomorrow. Here’s where we left off in Hawkins, Ind.
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9. I scream, you scream, in fact, all of America screams for … you guessed it.
Ice cream has been around for only a few hundred years, but it arrived in time to have always been part of U.S. history. And its flavors have multiplied, our food critic Ligaya Mishan writes, “to match the collage of cultures that defines us as a nation.”
From vanilla and chocolate to kesar pista, above, and ginataang mango malunggay, here is a sampling from a dozen shops across the country. And if you’re still hunting for picnic inspiration, here are our editors’ favorite Fourth of July recipes.
Speaking of traditions: We took a look at the rich and complicated history of “God Bless America.” Kate Smith’s rendition has been tainted by her own legacy of racist songs, but Irving Berlin’s love letter to his adopted country still has the power to stir.
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10. And now, the grand finale.
Fourth of July celebrations in New York will be seen by millions. But the planning for the annual Macy’s fireworks show begins months in advance. We sent a photographer to the California desert to see how it all comes together.
Thousands of people will become American citizens around Independence Day. But first they had to pass a citizenship test. Could you do the same? Try the 10 hardest questions yourself.
Have a sparkly Fourth. We’re off for the holiday weekend, so see you on Monday.
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