Links 7/5/2026 | naked capitalism

Hey America! Happy 250th Birthday, darling! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Wishing you the brightest Independence Day yet.

May the next 250 years shine even brighter.

Cheers today 🥂

4th of July, 2026. pic.twitter.com/VMuP3a7Ano

— Muse (@xmuse_) July 4, 2026

20 animals that look like nothing else on Earth Quartz

American Colonists in 1776 Lived With Pain Every Day and Their Medical Tools Show How Brutal Life Was ZME Science

Astronomers Spot an Extremely Rare Galaxy Mega-Merger Universe Today

College Students Are Testing at the Level of 10-Year-Olds Futurism

COVID-19/Pandemics

Diabetes worsens long Covid complications Healthcare in Europe

Ebola cases in DR Congo jump to over 1,500, death toll rises to 473 Andolu Agency

Climate/Environment

The Heat Is the Story—Climate Change Is the Cause Scheerpost

The cooling divide: how air conditioning is creating a new climate inequality The Conversation

South of the Border

Venezuela: The Tortuous Road After the June Earthquakes Fair Observer

Once a source of national pride, Cuba’s healthcare system declines as energy shortages deepen crisis AP

Keiko Fujimori declared winner of Peru’s presidential election weeks after vote BBC

China?

🇨🇳🔥Esta es una fábrica de plantas en China, un sistema de cultivo vertical totalmente en interiores.Las estanterías de varios niveles, que ahorran espacio, permiten una producción de alto rendimiento en una superficie reducida.#China pic.twitter.com/GfpfGSRKb7

— Hermosa China（Beautiful China） (@90Hercost) July 3, 2026

China’s Latest Satellite Engine Sets Global Record: High Performance Allows For Larger, Faster and More Manoeuvrable Spacecraft Military Watch Magazine

China’s express delivery volume tops 100 billion parcels by end June CGTN

China’s military promotes 2 new generals after anti-corruption purge thins ranks AP

Beijing sends new coastguard force into waters east of Taiwan SCMP

India

Skyroot Aerospace targets July launch window for India’s first private orbital rocket Cryptopolitan

India, Japan deepen business ties Semafor

‘Fearmongers wallowing in depths of despair after India successfully navigated energy crisis’: PM Modi Deccan Herald

Africa

The Deadliest War You’re Not Hearing About Fair Observer

Africa’s Security at a Crossroads: A Continent Confronts a Changing World In Depth News

South Africa deploys troops as anti-migrant protests escalate Africa News

European Disunion

European Commission attempts to spur EU defence teamwork with five new major projects Euronews

EU moves to block retail investors from explosive boom of multibillion-dollar prediction markets CoinDesk

Von der Leyen admits ‘technical problems’ with new EU airport border checks Politico

Old Blighty

Celtic nations begin to plan for breakup of UK in event of Reform election win The Guardian

Andy Burnham should take a taxi Prospect Magazine

Israel v. Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iran

Breaking 🚨 Israel has once again launched a blind, tempest-like assault on Lebanon, reducing homes and walls to heaps of rubble. The footage clearly reveals that, after such widespread carnage, Israel is finally bent on total destruction. pic.twitter.com/n2nl6z9LqU

— Asif Ali (@AsifAli_Haider) July 4, 2026

Lebanon-Israel deal betrays ‘victims of war crimes’, rights groups say Al Jazeera

Israeli strike kills Palestinian in Gaza as army continues demolitions Andolu Agency

This Week in Palestine: 1,000 Days of Genocide, as Israel Continues to Kill Kids Zeteeo

250 Candles, One Funeral: How Iran Turned July 4th Into a Judgment Day Think BRICS substack

New Not-So-Cold War

Russia claims taking control of 5 settlements in eastern, northeastern Ukraine Andolu Agency

Brief Frontline Report – July 3rd, 2026 Marat Khairullin substack

Ukraine hits major oil terminal in Russia’s St Petersburg BBC

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

US Air Force Engineer Charged With Sawing Down Flock Surveillance Cameras Receives Thousands of Dollars from Supporters Across the Country Futurism

“Invisible Cameras” Reshaping Daily Life—Privacy Concerns Mount as Smart AI Glasses Proliferate Finance BigGo

Imperial Collapse Watch

Outraged reporter says Austin’s $125million public library is now being used as a filthy homeless shelter Daily Mail

America Needs 250,000 New Shipbuilders to Build the Submarines It’s Already Paid For — and It Can’t Find Them 1945

Trump 2.0

Trump launches America’s 250th birthday celebrations with partisan attack The Guardian

How Trump became the president of Washington, DC Semafor

Trump shares strong hints he’s about to add HIS face to Mount Rushmore as White House sends message supporting his inclusion on iconic monument Daily Mail

Trump’s $600M memecoin income revives ethics fight over Senate crypto bill Cryptopolitan

Musk Matters

Tesla sales roar back to life after backlash over Musk’s political adventures This Is Money

DOGE self-deletes on July 4th. The grand experiment fell apart long before that. Politico

Elon Musk’s X Money — New Details On Bank Killer Super App Benzinga

Elon Musk literally sat down for a 45-minute talk with Y Combinator that explains how to build world-changing companies better than any business school on earth. This is the advice he gave a room full of young founders:

1. Don’t try to build something great. Try to build… pic.twitter.com/7ecpzklwmK

— Lewis 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@WaldronLewis) July 2, 2026

Democrat Death Watch

James Carville warns radical democratic socialists’ victories signal ‘end of the two-party system’ NY Post

Democratic Infighting Threatens Party’s Bid To Reclaim House Majority Foreign Policy Journal

Immigration

Trump Border Wall and ICE Expansion Illustrate Long-Term Shift in U.S. Immigration Enforcement Davis Vanguard

Appeals court rules ICE must allow bond hearings after 90 days of detention Fox News

Our No Longer Free Press

Media leadership unity in defying Trump’s assault on free speech: standing tall against historic comparisons Fortune

A.G. Sulzberger: On Independence Day, we must remember the free press’ role in our freedom Dallas Morning News

Mr. Market Is Moody

America In Focus: consumers still gloomy about economy; US hiring falls in June AP

3 Reasons the Trump Bull Market Can Implode in the Second Half of 2026 The Motley Fool

Cleveland Fed president says AI spending is fueling inflation — and warns of interest rate hikes Quartz

AI

Alibaba’s DAMO Academy AI Autonomously Discovers 4 New Superconducting Materials, Verified by Experiment Finanace BigGo

ByteDance discovers new scaling law that could sustain the AI boom past its current limits Crypto Briefing

AI is Driving Utilities to Spend a Record $240 Billion in 2026. Buy These Stocks to Capitalize on the Power Surge. The Motley Fool

The Bezzle

Kebab firm fed millions of Britons goat, chicken drumsticks and animal fat mislabelled as lamb in scandal likened to horsemeat food fraud crisis Daily Mail

OMB says fraud losses ‘in the hundreds of billions’ annually The Center Square

Guillotine Watch

The richest people in the world (1987-2025), created by ‘TopDataChart’

Sources: Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg

pic.twitter.com/lRvsoonKoL

— Science girl (@sciencegirl) February 7, 2026

Top 10 Richest Families in the World:

1. 🇺🇸 Walton family – $513.5 Billion2. 🇦🇪 Al Nahyan family – $335.9 Billion3. 🇸🇦 Al Saud family – $213.6 Billion4. 🇶🇦 Al Thani family – $199.5 Billion5. 🇫🇷 Hermès family – $184.5 Billion6. 🇺🇸 Koch family – $150.5 Billion7. 🇺🇸 Mars… pic.twitter.com/jfWAbJhFt8

— Global Statistics (@Globalstats11) January 30, 2026

Antidote du jour (via)

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here