Thursday, July 2, 2026

NASA's TESS mission has discovered a planet orbiting a distant star using gravitational microlensing for the first time, detecting a super-Jupiter about 40,000 light-years away by observing ripples in space-time rather than the transit method it was designed for.^[1]

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opens to the public on July 4 in Medora, North Dakota, coinciding with America's 250th anniversary. The AI-powered museum features galleries with holograms and immersive storytelling, and is the only carbon-neutral presidential library.^[2]

A University of Colorado-led research team has developed experimental osteoarthritis treatments that restored damaged joints to a healthy state in animal studies within weeks using a single regenerative injection. Human trials could begin within 18 months.^[3]

The United States declined to renew the USMCA trade agreement with Canada and Mexico in its current form on its six-year anniversary, meaning the deal will now undergo annual reviews while the three nations continue negotiations.^[4]

Life Biosciences has administered the first human dose of a cellular rejuvenation drug, ER-100, in a landmark clinical trial. The treatment uses partial epigenetic reprogramming to potentially restore vision in patients with age-related eye diseases including glaucoma.^[5]

Researchers at Virginia Tech have made a surprising discovery about how the brain's movement center works, finding that two key cerebellar cell types thought to be tightly linked often don't behave in predictable ways, potentially reshaping how scientists study movement disorders like dystonia and tremor.^[6]

A record-breaking heatwave is gripping the US East Coast, with Washington DC forecast to have three consecutive days above 100°F starting Thursday—potentially breaking daily temperature records as the nation prepares for July 4th celebrations.^[7]

Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to strengthen and modernize the military and stamp out corruption in a speech marking the Communist Party's 105th founding anniversary, addressing political and military leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.^[8]

A Maltese tycoon has gone on trial accused of masterminding the 2017 car bomb assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, in a case that drew global condemnation and brought down a government. Five people have already been convicted in connection with the killing.^[9]