Good morning. It's Monday, July 26, and we're covering the Olympics opening weekend, western wildfires, and much more. Have feedback? Let us know at hello@join1440.com.

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NEED TO KNOW

Slow Start in Tokyo

The 2020 Olympics got into full swing in Tokyo over the weekend, with swimmer Chase Kalisz picking up the first gold medal for the US after winning the 400-meter individual medley. The US swim team added five more medals (two silver, three bronze) on day two, a strong performance in the program's first Olympics without record-setting medalist Michael Phelps since 1996. 

The wins in the pool compensated for an otherwise slow start by the Americans, who did not medal on day one of the Summer Games for the first time since 1972. Punctuating the weekend was a loss by the men's basketball team to France, its first Olympic defeat since 2004. 

There were some bright spots. The women's soccer team bounced back from a loss against Sweden, pounding New Zealand 6-1 and likely clinching a place in the quarterfinals. Separately, 18-year-old Anastasija Zolotic became the first American to claim gold in women's taekwondo (the celebration is worth watching).

China leads the medal count as of this writing (track here). See the full schedule of events here. 

Western Fires Grow

More than 2,200 emergency responders continue to battle Oregon's Bootleg Fire, now the third-largest wildfire in the state's history. The blaze has consumed almost 410,000 acres in the Fremont–Winema National Forest, about one-fifth of the forest's total 2.2 million acres. Believed to have been sparked by a July 6 lightning strike, the fire is 46% contained as of this morning.  

Meanwhile, roughly 200 miles to the south, California's Dixie Fire destroyed at least a dozen homes and forced hundreds to evacuate across towns in northern California. The fire is currently the state's largest, having burned more than 193,000 acres (20% containment).  

More than 85 large wildfires are burning at the moment, having consumed 1.4 million acres across a dozen states. See a list of total acreage burned annually over the past four decades here.

Protests in Iran

As many as eight people have died amid protests in southwest Iran, according to reports from international aid groups. The violence came as security forces cracked down on demonstrations in the southwestern oil-producing region of Khuzestan. One of the wealthiest of the country's 31 provinces, the area has suffered under severe drought conditions since March. 

While being home to roughly 80% of the country's onshore oil reserves, much of the region is involved in the hard-hit agriculture industry (see background). The anti-government protests accuse the Iranian regime of mismanaging water supplies while being slow to respond to the crisis. Government officials counter the shortages are due to seasonal rainfall that is more than 50% below the historical average.  

The unrest is expected to be one of the first challenges faced by incoming President Ebrahim Raisi.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Baseball's Cleveland Indians to change their name to the Guardians following 2021 season (More) | Social media reacts to name change (More)

> Civil rights activist and math educator Bob Moses, best known for work during 1964 Freedom Summer, dies at 86 (More) | Jackie Mason, former rabbi turned comic and Emmy winner, dies at 93 (More)

> Check out best TV and film reveals from San Diego Comic-Con, which was virtual for a second straight year (More) | Celeb chefs Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich settle sexual harassment suit with former employees for $600K (More)

Science & Technology

> Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg dies at age 88; Weinberg helped develop a model that unified the electromagnetic and weak forces, two of the four fundamental forces of the universe (More) | What is the Standard Model of the universe? (More)

> Researchers show swarms of tiny robots with minimal autonomy can act together to carry out complex actions (More)

> Study finds junk DNA—sections of genetic material that appear to have no purpose—may play a role in the aging of certain cells (More)

Business & Markets

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> US stock markets up Friday (S&P 500 +1.0%, Dow +0.7%, Nasdaq +1.0%); all three indices reach fresh record highs as Dow passes 35,000 for first time (More)

> Electric vehicle maker Rivian raises $2.5B in financing led by Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Ford, and others; company has raised $10.5B (More)

> Shares of American Express up Friday as credit card giant beats expectations; June cardmember spending exceeded pre-pandemic levels (More)

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Politics & World Affairs

> US braces for a heat wave bringing five to 10 degrees above average across most of the country; heat expected to last through most of the week (More)

> Seven-day average of US COVID-19 cases surpasses 50,000 per day; deaths, a lagging indicator, hover around 270 per day (More) | Previous reports suggest the majority of severe cases and deaths are from those who are unvaccinated (More)

> House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, CA-12) appoints Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, IL-16) to panel probing the Jan. 6 storming of the US Capitol (More)

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ETCETERA

Photo of bear cub who survived Oregon wildfire goes viral. 

An Olympic robot nails free throws.

Study suggests crows understand the concept of zero.

Archaeologists discover an ancient Egyptian warship.

Analysis reveals the last meal of a mummified bog body.

We're becoming obsessed with cephalopods—check out a rare encounter with a Joubin's squid.

Meet Truffles, the cat who isn't ashamed to wear glasses.

Clickbait: Passing helicopter rescues man harassed by bear.

Historybook: US Postal Service is established (1775); the Federal Bureau of Investigation is founded (1908); HBD Sir Mick Jagger (1943); HBD actress Dame Helen Mirren (1945); RIP former Argentine first lady Eva Perón (1952).

"The trick in life is learning how to deal with it."

- Dame Helen Mirren

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