First Up

U.S. gymnast Sunisa Lee finishes on the uneven bars during the gymnastics women's all-around final at the Summer Olympics on Thursday.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Here's what we're following today.

Sunisa Lee has won Olympic gold in the marquee individual competition of women's gymnastics after heavy favorite Simone Biles pulled out to take care of her mental health. In an already history-making Olympics, Lee's role in this year's games makes her the first Hmong American to make the U.S. Olympic team.

The U.S. economy grew at a 6.5% pace as the country emerged from the darkest days of the coronavirus pandemic. With the delta variant surging, a slowdown is inevitable; the question is how bad it will be.

Senate Democrats and Republicans came together to advance a roughly $1 trillion proposal to improve the country's aging infrastructure, a deal months in the making. Read more here.

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Today's Listens

Volunteers fight a wildfire in northeastern Siberia on July 17th. Heat waves in the Russian Arctic and boreal forests have fueled intense, widespread blazes that can damage trees and release enormous amounts of stored carbon dioxide from forests and permafrost.

Ivan Nikiforov/AP

Weather-wise, it's been a disastrous summer. Scientists say climate change is driving deadly weather disasters around the world, as hotter temperatures produce deeper droughts and heavier rains. Listen here.

Before You Go

Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, performing in Austin, Tex. in 2019. Hill has died at age 72.

Rick Kern/WireImage/Getty Images

Dusty Hill, bassist for the enduring Texas blues rock band ZZ Top for over half a century, has died at age 72. Read more about his life.
Beginning in March 2022, a new exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art will feature hidden gems selected by the museum's own security guards.
Three baby black-footed ferrets at the National Zoo have new names: Aster, Aspen and Swiftly.