Comment on Today in History: July 5, Dolly the sheep marks cloning breakthrough

PARIS — A coalition of the French left won the most seats in high-stakes legislative elections Sunday, beating back a far-right surge but failing to win a majority. The outcome left France, a pillar of the European Union and Olympic host country, facing the stunning prospect of a hung parliament and political paralysis. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The political turmoil could rattle markets and the French economy, the EU’s second-largest, and have far-ranging implications for the war in Ukraine, global diplomacy and Europe’s economic stability. In calling the election on June 9, after the far right surged in French voting for the European Parliament, President Emmanuel Macron said turning to voters again would provide “clarification.” Read More: Midway Through the Ultimate Election Year: How the World Has Voted So Far On almost every level, that gamble appears to have backfired.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Episode 4 of House of the Dragon Season 2. The fourth episode of House of the Dragon Season 2 gave us our first proper dragon battle. (No offense, Luke, but you didn’t put up much of a fight against Aemond.) “A Dance of Dragons” is a thrilling episode, but it also raises a number of questions about how, exactly, Targaryens and their dragons can inflict harm on one another. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] During the Battle of Rook’s Rest, Rhaenys’ dragon Meleys, who is on the older side, faces off against King Aegon’s Sunfyre and Aemond’s massive Vhagar.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Episode 4 of House of the Dragon Season 2. Anyone who thought House of the Dragon‘s second season was moving slowly was in for a welcome surprise in the final 20 minutes of Episode 4. As Sunday’s installment, the midway point of Season 2, careened toward a wild finish, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) arrived at House Staunton’s seat of Rook’s Rest with his rapidly expanding army—and prepared to spring a trap.

The scammers are winning. Sophisticated overseas criminals are stealing tens of billions of dollars from Americans every year, a crime wave projected to get worse as the U. S. population ages and technology like AI makes it easier than ever to perpetrate fraud and get away with it. Internet and telephone scams have grown “exponentially,” overwhelming police and prosecutors who catch and convict relatively few of the perpetrators, said Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention at AARP’s Fraud Watch Network. Victims rarely get their money back, including older people who have lost life savings to romance scams, grandparent scams, technical support fraud and other common grifts. “We are at a crisis level in fraud in society,” Stokes said.

Festival-goers attend the Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver on July 7, 2024. The Cherry Creek Arts Festival showcases more than 250 juried artists from around the world during the Fourth of July weekend in the heart of Cherry Creek. The festival is produced by CherryArts. CherryArts is a nonprofit whose mission is to provide access to art experiences and support arts education in Colorado, all year long. Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.

A staggering 129 million Americans have at least one major chronic disease—and 90% of our $4.1 trillion in annual health care spending goes toward treating these physical and mental-health conditions. That financial and personal toll is only projected to grow. We know this is unsustainable. But there are solutions, because health outcomes are shaped by more than just medical care or genes.