Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot – More than 2,000 temperature records have been matched or broken in the past week, as the brutal heat wave continues in much of the U.S. In June, more than 3,200 reocords were topped, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Five states had more than 100 record temperatures broken in June. Texas had 237 records broken, followed by Colorado (226), Kansas (164), Missouri (126), and Arkansas (115).
Twitter Privacy Issues – (via Reuters) "Of the 849 total government requests for user information during the period spanning January 1 to June 30 this year, 679 -- or 80 percent -- took place in the United States, typically for use in criminal investigations, Twitter said. ... On Monday, a New York judge ruled that the company must hand over tweets published by Malcolm Harris, an Occupy Wall Street protestor arrested during a demonstration on the Brooklyn Bridge in October. Twitter had fought to dismiss a request from prosecutors seeking the tweets as evidence, arguing that they belonged to Harris under the company's terms of service."
Top PolicyMic Stories – Iran Responds to Oil Embargo With Aggressive Show of Force (Georgi Ivanov) – Tehran has begun a three-day missile exercise in the northeast of the country with twin objectives: maintaining a blockade on the Hormuz Strait and fighting as far away as Israel.
Why is Cory Booker Launching a Millennials News Site? (Nomiki Konst) – No matter how tech savvy Cory Booker is, he cannot pretend to be a millennial. And that's the problem with his new website.
The Busy Trap: Why the Viral Article Doesn't Apply to Young People (Sarah Swong) – A recent article on how the "busy trap" harms our lives misses a major point about millennials.
July 4th BBQs: The Best Way to Change Negative Stereotypes About Muslims (Khurram Dara) – Celebrating July 4 can improve the image of Islam in America.
Video of the Day – In honor of LGBT military families, this heartbreaking video called Freedom to Serve, Freedom to Marry shows everything that's wrong with DOMA.
In Case You Missed It – CNN's Anderson Cooper comes out in an open letter to Andrew Sullivan: "The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud. ... In a perfect world, I don't think it's anyone else's business, but I do think there is value in standing up and being counted. I'm not an activist, but I am a human being and I don't give that up by being a journalist. ... I love, and I am loved."
Tuesday Fun – Study: Apple's Siri is wrong 1/3 of the time (Digital Trends); 50 Olympic athletes to watch (TIME); Why wooden roller coasters are best (NY Times); Beach reading for smart people (The Atlantic).
What We’re Reading – Obama's Bain attacks are working (MSNBC); Syria creates "archipelago" of 27 torture facilities (CS Monitor); States with highest obesity oppose Obamacare the most (National Memo); Unemployment is still a BFD for Obama (Investors.com); Wall Street still giving to the President (WSJ).
Dessert – In honor of today's release of the Amazing Spiderman, Sarah Swong explains why Peter Parker would be destroyed in today's hyper-connected, Twitter-dominated world.
