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Marcus Trescothick (born 1975) played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club and represented England in Test matches and One Day Internationals (ODIs). A left-handed opening batsman, he made his first-class debut for Somerset in 1993, his ODI debut in July 2000, and his Test debut a month afterwards. He held the record for the most ODI centuries of any English player and for the fastest half-century in English Twenty20 cricket. Trescothick also positioned as slip fielder and a right-handed medium pace bowler; he kept wicket for England in five ODIs and was England captain for two Test matches and ten ODIs. A stress-related illness in 2006 forced him to withdraw from the national squad. He joined Somerset in 2007 and played while working as a commentator and analyst for Sky Sports in the off-season. Trescothick retired in 2019, holding several Somerset batting records. He is currently the lead batting coach for the England Test team. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Flatiron Building

... that past tenants of New York City's Flatiron Building (pictured) have included a consulate, musicians, and a crime syndicate?
... that reggae musician Mo'Kalamity derives her stage name from American frontierswoman Calamity Jane?
... that the board game Endeavor: Deep Sea, in which players lead a group of marine-life specialists, won the industry Connoisseurs' Game of the Year award?
... that, for the 2026 China–US summit, China used a transliteration of the US Secretary of State's name beginning with a character meaning 'reckless', 'clumsy', or 'crass'?
... that Lamborghini-supported Colin Queen is a racing driver despite having a congenital heart defect?
... that Rochdale v York City in April 2026 was the first time that a single English football league match was a title-decider since Liverpool faced Arsenal in May 1989?
... that a Buenos Aires public square was renamed in honor of a teenager murdered in 2013?
... that a travel magazine said Cabo San Lucas was seen as "a T-shirt town" before Puerto Paraíso opened?
... that, after doctors told him he had a year to live, Leon Milton Birkhead went into debt to visit Nazi Germany?

In the news

A collapsed building in La Guaira

Heatwaves affect Europe, leading to more than 3,300 deaths.
Two earthquakes strike Venezuela (damage pictured), leaving more than 2,290 people dead and tens of thousands of others missing.
Former chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan dies at the age of 100.
Keir Starmer announces his intention to resign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

On this day

July 3

The 2017 Boundary Fire

1810 – Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811: A French frigate squadron under Guy-Victor Duperré defeated a convoy of three British East Indiamen near the Comoro Islands.
1970 – The Troubles: The British Army began the Falls Curfew in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which resulted in greater Irish republican resistance.
1988 – The US Navy warship Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
2005 – Same-sex marriage became legal in Spain with the coming into effect of a law passed by the Cortes Generales.
2017 – In the U.S. state of Arizona, the Boundary Fire (pictured) burned out after 32 days, burning 17,788 acres (7,199 ha) of the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests.

Li Shizhen (b. 1518)
Jerónimo Saavedra (b. 1936)
Crystal Dunn (b. 1992)
Diogo Jota and André Silva (d. 2025)

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Chaplain Emil Kapaun

The Medal of Honor is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to service members who have distinguished themselves in combat situations by acts of valor. It has been awarded to over 3,500 people; among those recipients are ten members of the Chaplain Corps: nine chaplains and one chaplain assistant. Four of the chaplains who received the award served in the Union army during the American Civil War, one in the Navy during World War II, one in the Army in the Korean War, and the remaining three in the Vietnam War: two in the Army, and one in the Navy. All five chaplains awarded the honor since the Civil War have been Catholic priests, two of whom, Emil Kapaun (pictured) and Vincent Capodanno, are in the process of canonization as saints. Francis B. Hall of the 16th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment was the first chaplain to receive the Medal of Honor, for actions at the Battle of Salem Church in 1863. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The de Havilland Mosquito is a British twin-engined multirole combat aircraft introduced during the Second World War. Nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", it features a mostly wooden airframe. Originally designed as an unarmed fast bomber, it was adapted for roles including photo-reconnaissance, night fighter, fighter-bomber, maritime strike aircraft and transport. One of the fastest operational aircraft of its era, it relied on speed and maneuverability rather than defensive armament to evade enemy fighters. The Mosquito served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other air forces, taking part in operations across Europe and Asia. This air-to-air photograph, taken around 1942–1943, shows a Mosquito serving with the No. 105 Squadron RAF.

Photograph credit: unknown photographer; taken from the Royal Netherlands Air Force photo prints collection; restored by Chris Woodrich

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