1. ISLAMISTS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST MORSI'S OUSTER
Egyptian Islamists are rallying on Friday to protest the army's overthrow of the country's first freely elected president, Mohamed Morsi, and the arrest of dozens of leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. The military said it had acted to "correct the path of [Egypt's] glorious revolution" and reunite a nation divided over Morsi's pro-Islamist policies. "What kind of national reconciliation starts with arresting people?" asked the son of one Brotherhood official who was arrested. [New York Times]
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2. FIREWORKS ACCIDENT INJURES 28
At least 28 people were injured Thursday night after an explosion shot fireworks into a crowd of 10,000 people in Simi Valley, Calif., near Los Angeles. A few minutes into the Fourth of July fireworks show — after several rockets had lit up the sky — witnesses heard a boom, and fireworks began zooming and exploding along the ground. "People were screaming," said Justice Allen, 17. "Everybody was just terrified." [Los Angeles Times]
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3. TUTU URGES MANDELA RELATIVES TO STOP A PUBLIC FAMILY FEUD
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu is pleading with relatives of Nelson Mandela to end an ugly family feud, saying it is tainting the anti-apartheid icon's name as he lies near death in a hospital. Mandela's oldest grandson buried the remains of three of Mandela's children near his village to attract tourists to a visitor's center he built. His relatives won permission from a court to rebury them in the family cemetery. Tutu said the fight is "like spitting in [Mandela's] face." [BBC News]
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4. MORALES THREATENS TO CLOSE THE U.S. EMBASSY IN BOLIVIA
Bolivian President Evo Morales is threatening to close the U.S. embassy in his South American country in retaliation for the grounding of his plane in Europe on Tuesday over suspicions that he had fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden on board. Several other Latin American leaders have rallied to Morales' side, calling the incident an outrage and violation of Bolivia's sovereignty. "Without America," Morales said, "we are better off politically and democratically." [BBC News]
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5. SAN FRANCISCO TRANSIT WORKERS RETURN TO WORK
Commuter trains will start running again in the San Francisco Bay area Friday afternoon after transit workers agreed to end a strike they began on Monday. Their union still has not signed a contract, but "both parties have agreed and are putting good faith in the continuing negotiations," said Marty Morgenstern, the leader of the state Labor and Workforce Development Agency. The union workers want better pay and benefits. [CNN]
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6. PAKISTAN ENDS ITS BAN ON THE DEATH PENALTY
Pakistan's new government has ended the country's moratorium on the death penalty in a push to discourage rampant crime and extremist militancy. The government of Pakistan's new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, says there are 400 people on death row, although other estimates put the number as high as 8,000. Amnesty International said the decision not to renew the ban, in effect since 2008, was "shocking and retrograde" at a time when 150 nations have abolished executions. [Reuters]
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7. VOLCANIC ERUPTION FORCES MEXICAN AIRPORTS TO CANCEL FLIGHTS
Six U.S. airlines — U.S. Airways, Delta, United, American, Spirit, and Alaska Airlines — canceled about 50 flights into and out of Mexico City and Toluca airports on Thursday, after the Popocatepetl volcano spewed out ash, steam, and glowing rocks into the sky. On clear days, the 17,886-foot volcano serves as a backdrop for Mexico City's skyline. [USA Today]
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8. NASCAR SEIZES ILLEGAL PARTS FOUND ON 31 RACE CARS
NASCAR confiscated illegal parts from 31 race cars on Thursday after inspectors spotted them before practice runs at Daytona International Speedway. Officials said that all of the teams involved had made changes to reduce the weight of part of the roof flaps that keep cars on the ground during spins and high-speed wrecks. The teams were cleared to practice with new, unaltered roof flaps, but NASCAR is considering imposing penalties. [ESPN]
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9. U.K. OPENS INQUIRY INTO MADELEINE MCCANN'S DISAPPEARANCE
British police said Thursday they were opening a new investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, who vanished at age 3 during a family vacation in Portugal six years ago. Portuguese authorities closed their case in 2009. Scotland Yard, however, said it had "new evidence and new witnesses" suggesting that the girl might still be alive, and it is looking at 38 "persons of interest." [Reuters]
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10. CHESTNUT SETS A RECORD TO WIN HIS SEVENTH STRAIGHT HOT DOG–EATING CONTEST
Joey Chestnut of San Jose, Calif., inhaled a record 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win his seventh straight Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest championship on New York's Coney Island. "Things came together today," he said. "The hot dogs were really good." Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas won the women's competition, downing almost 39 franks. [USA Today]
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