10 things you need to know today: July 5, 2016

(Image credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

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1. Suicide bombers attack in three Saudi cities
2. Juno spacecraft enters Jupiter orbit
3. Trump dismisses uproar over anti-Clinton tweet as overreaction by 'dishonest media'
4. Cities step up security presence for Independence Day celebrations
5. Homeless man arrested over death of American student in Rome
6. Toxic algae forces beach closures on Florida's Treasure Coast
7. Noel Neill, the first onscreen Lois Lane, dies at 95
8. Kevin Durant leaves Oklahoma for Golden State Warriors
9. Williams sisters, Federer, Murray advance at Wimbledon
10. Joey Chestnut sets record at Nathan's annual hot dog eating contest

published 5 July 2016

1. Suicide bombers attack in three Saudi cities

Suicide bombers struck in three Saudi cities on Monday, extending a wave of terrorist violence that has also hit Turkey, Bangladesh, and Iraq. The deadliest of the Saudi Arabia attacks killed at least four security officers at a security office near one of Islam's holiest sites, Medina, where the Prophet Muhammad is buried. Another blast hit near the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, killing the bomber and injuring two police officers. The third attack, which killed only the bomber, occurred near a mosque in Qatif, a city that is home to many members of the Shiite Muslim minority.

NASA's Juno spacecraft sent signals home overnight confirming it had successfully entered orbit around Jupiter after a five-year trip. Juno had to complete a 35-minute engine burn to be pulled into orbit around Jupiter — the largest, oldest planet in our solar system. It takes 48 minutes for the spacecraft's signals to reach Earth, 534 million miles away. "NASA did it again," principal investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute said early Tuesday. "It's almost like a dream comes true — and now the fun begins. The science."

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Donald Trump said Monday that the media overreacted to the image of Hillary Clinton he tweeted over the weekend that has been criticized as anti-Semitic. The tweet, which an aide said the campaign lifted from an anti-Clinton Twitter user, was of a graphic featuring Clinton, $100 bills, and what appeared to be a Star of David containing the words, "Most corrupt candidate ever." Early Monday, Trump posted another tweet, saying, "Dishonest media is trying their absolute best to depict a star in a tweet as the Star of David rather than a Sheriff's Star, or plain star!"

New York and other major U.S. cities celebrated the 4th of July holiday on Monday with increased security on the heels of the Orlando terrorist shooting and bombings in Iraq, Turkey, Bangladesh — and, on Monday, in Saudi Arabia. The New York Police Department deployed eight "vapor wake" dogs trained to sniff out explosives on a moving target in a crowd. Chicago addressed an increase in gun violence by ramping up patrols, deploying more than 5,000 officers on a long weekend in which three people were killed and 34 wounded in shootings.

Italian authorities charged a homeless man with murder on Tuesday in connection with the death of University of Wisconsin-Madison student Beau Solomon, whose body was found Monday in the Tiber River with a head wound. Solomon, 19, disappeared after going to a bar with friends hours after arriving in Rome on Thursday to study in a summer program at John Cabot University. Solomon's 23-year-old brother Cole said thousands of dollars in charges were made to his brother's credit card after he went missing.

Toxic algae blooms forced tourists and communities on Florida's Treasure Coast to cancel many coastal 4th of July celebrations on Monday. The algae, which locals have described as "vile" and "guacamole-thick," has forced officials to close some public beaches. Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) declared a state of emergency in four counties, and the Army Corps of Engineers said last week that it would reduce freshwater releases from Lake Okeechobee in a bid to address the problem.

Noel Neill, who starred as Lois Lane in movie serials and TV's Adventures of Superman, died Sunday at her home in Tucson. She was 95. Neill first played Lois Lane in a 15-chapter serial for Columbia Pictures in 1948, and picked up the role again in 1950 for another serial, Atom Man vs. Superman. In 1953, she took over for Phyllis Coates, who played Lois Lane in the first season of the Adventures of Superman, starring in 78 episodes until the show ended in 1958. She then left show business, except for a couple of brief appearances in later Superman films.

Four-time NBA scoring champion and former MVP Kevin Durant is leaving the Oklahoma Thunder and signing a two-year, $54 million contract to play for the Golden State Warriors. The Thunder have not made it to the NBA Finals since 2012. The Warriors this year had the best record in NBA history (73-9) and made it to the finals for the second straight year. Durant, 27, has played his entire pro career for Oklahoma City, but said now he needs to "find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man: moving out of my comfort zone."

World No. 1 Serena Williams defeated Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 6-0 on Monday to advance to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Williams is seeking her seventh title at the storied tennis tournament. Her sister, five-time champion Venus Williams, also made it into the next round by beating No. 12 Carla Suarez Navarro 7-6 (3), 6-4. Roger Federer breezed into the men's quarterfinals on Monday, beating 29th-ranked American Steve Johnson 6-2, 6-3, 7-5. The No. 3 seed is going for his record eighth title. No. 2-seeded Andy Murray also advanced.

Joey Chestnut won the annual 4th of July hot dog eating contest at Nathan's Famous in Coney Island, downing a record 70 dogs and buns in 10 minutes. Chestnut set the previous record of 69 in 2013. He had won eight straight contests before being upset by fellow San Jose, California, resident Matt Stonie last year. This time Chestnut beat Stonie by 17 hot dogs to reclaim the Mustard Yellow International Belt. Miki Sudo of Las Vegas defended her title in the women's division, winning by eating 38 1/2 hot dogs.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.