Today is Thursday, July 2, the 183rd day of 2026. There are 182 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law a sweeping civil rights bill passed by Congress prohibiting discrimination and segregation based on race, color, sex, religion or national origin.
Also on this date:
In 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution saying that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.”
In 1881, President James A. Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau (gee-TOH’) at the Washington, D.C., railroad station; Garfield died the following September. (Guiteau was hanged in June 1882.)
In 1917, rioting erupted in East St. Louis, Illinois, as white mobs attacked Black residents; at least 50 and as many as 200 people, most of them Black, are believed to have died in the violence.
In 1937, aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight along the equator.
In 1962, the first Walmart store opened in Rogers, Arkansas.
In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Gregg v. Georgia, ruled 7-2 that the death penalty was not inherently cruel or unusual.
In 1979, the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin was released to the public.
In 1986, ruling in a pair of cases, the Supreme Court upheld affirmative action as a remedy for past job discrimination.
In 1990, more than 1,400 Muslim pilgrims were killed in a stampede inside a pedestrian tunnel near Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
In 2002, Steve Fossett became the first person to complete a solo circumnavigation of the world nonstop in a balloon.
In 2018, rescue divers in Thailand found alive 12 boys and their soccer coach, who had been trapped by flooding as they explored a cave more than a week earlier.
In 2020, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in New Hampshire on charges that she had helped lure at least three girls – one as young as 14 – to be sexually abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. (Maxwell would be convicted on five of six counts and sentenced to 20 years in prison.)
In 2022, the police chief for the Uvalde, Texas, school district stepped down from his City Council seat amid criticism of his response to the mass shooting at an elementary school in which 19 students and two teachers were killed on May 24 of that year.
Today’s Birthdays: Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos is 97. Racing Hall of Famer Richard Petty is 89. Former White House chief of staff and former New Hampshire governor John H. Sununu is 87. Writer-director-comedian Larry David is 79. Actor Wendy Schaal is 72. Actor-model Jerry Hall is 70. Former baseball player Jose Canseco is 62. Race car driver Sam Hornish Jr. is 47. Former NHL center Joe Thornton is 47. Singer Michelle Branch is 43. Retired figure skater Johnny Weir is 42. Actor-singer Ashley Tisdale is 41. Former professional soccer player Alex Morgan is 37. Actor Margot Robbie is 36. Singer-rapper Saweetie is 33. U.S. Olympic swimming gold medalist Ryan Murphy is 31. Actor Caitlin Carmichael is 22.
Wednesday, July 1, the 182 day of 2026. There are 183 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On July 1, 1867, Canada became a self-governing dominion of Great Britain as the British North America Act took effect. Called Dominion Day until 1982, the national holiday is now known as Canada Day.
Also on this date:
In 1863, the pivotal, three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, resulting in a Union victory, began in Pennsylvania.
In 1903, the first Tour de France began. (It ended on July 19, won by Maurice Garin.)
In 1944, delegates from 44 countries began meeting at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, where they agreed to establish the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
In 1963, the U.S. Post Office inaugurated its five-digit ZIP codes.
In 1973, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was established.
In 1984, the first movie rated PG-13 (“Red Dawn,” starring Patrick Swayze) was released.
In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated federal appeals court judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, beginning an ultimately successful confirmation process marked by allegations of sexual harassment.
In 1997, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony.
In 2004, actor Marlon Brando died in Los Angeles at age 80.
In 2015, after more than a half-century of hostility, the United States and Cuba declared their intent to reopen embassies in each other’s capitals, leading to a historic full restoration of diplomatic relations between the Cold War foes.
In 2018, LeBron James announced that he would be signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving Cleveland for the second time in his career.
In 2019, 15-year-old Coco Gauff, the youngest player to qualify at Wimbledon in the professional era, defeated 39-year-old Venus Williams in the first round.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor-dancer Leslie Caron is 94. Actor Jamie Farr (TV: “M*A*S*H”) is 92. Dancer-choreographer Twyla Tharp is 85. Actor Genevieve Bujold is 84. Rock singer Deborah Harry (Blondie) is 81. Actor Terrence Mann is 75. Rock singer Fred Schneider (The B-52s) is 75. Pop singer Victor Willis (Village People) is 75. Actor-comedian Dan Aykroyd is 74. Actor Alan Ruck is 70. Mystery novelist Louise Penny is 68. Singer Evelyn “Champagne” King is 66. Olympic track champion Carl Lewis is 65. Actor Pamela Anderson is 59. Actor Henry Simmons is 56. Hip-hop artist Missy Elliott is 55. Actor Julianne Nicholson is 55. Singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens is 51. Actor Liv Tyler is 49. Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla is 49. Actor Hilarie Burton is 44. Actor Lea Seydoux (LEE’-uh say-DOO’) is 41. Actor-singer Chloe Bailey is 28. Actor Storm Reid is 23.
