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Saturday, July 4, 2026
FROM THE EDITOR · July 4, 2026
Day 127. America turns 250 today — fireworks on the Mall, a birthday two and a half centuries in the making. Tehran spends the same day opening six days of funerals for the man killed on day one. I won’t pretend the split-screen doesn’t sit heavy. Everyone’s quoting the Doha readout: ‘positive progress.’ Maybe. But the same government’s negotiator is telling millions of mourners to turn out and ‘avenge’ Khamenei, and its armed forces are promising a ‘swift response’ to anyone near Hormuz. That’s not how a deal sounds when it’s closing. Rubio says no country can toll an international strait; Tehran says it’ll start charging once the 60 free days lapse. Same water, two stories, and only one side controls the shoreline. I’ll believe the strait is open when the tolls never come. Save me a pour.
— T.
The Run Down
Updated Sat Jul 4 · 6:16 AM PDT
IRAN
Iran Opens a Days-Long Funeral for Khamenei; U.S. Talks Pause for the Mourning
Iran began a state funeral Saturday for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in an airstrike at the war’s outset in late February, unveiling his casket in a glass case at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla.
AMERICA 250
Washington Locks Down the Mall for a Supersized 250th
The capital’s Salute to America is the first Fourth to carry a National Special Security Event designation, funneling crowds through two screened entrances with no bags, chairs, or water allowed.
HEAT
Record Heat Dome Bakes the Eastern Two-Thirds of the Country
More than 200 million people sit under a heat dome pushing the index past 110 in spots, with over 300 records in reach by Saturday.
UKRAINE
Russia’s Summer Push Stalls Even as Its Missiles Find Kyiv
Ukraine says it killed some 40,000 Russian soldiers in June while Moscow’s net gain for the first half of the year came to 97 square kilometers.
OIL
Crude Holds Near $69 With Hormuz Tankers Back in Force
Oil sat close to its late-February level heading into the long weekend as flows through the Strait of Hormuz climbed back above 10 million barrels a day.
WORLD CUP
U.S. Will Face Belgium Without Its Top Scorer in Seattle
FIFA confirmed Friday that Folarin Balogun’s red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina carries a one-match ban, sidelining the tournament’s three-goal American for Monday’s round-of-16 tie at Lumen Field.
You’re receiving the morning dispatch from Four Fingers News.
