I hope you all had a marvelous Independence Day yesterday! I celebrated by volunteering at Meadow Garden, the only home of a Signer of the Declaration of Independence still standing in Georgia. It’s tradition that we open with the reading of the Declaration, which can be viewed here in its entirety.
Any time I get the pleasure of compiling the Morning Reads, I like to find goofy holidays or observances to include, but this one’s less cute than my usual fare. As you can see from above, it’s Workaholics Day. If you’re at work today when it’s not essential… why? Go home! Forbes has 10 red flags that you’re working too hard.
Speaking of labor, it’s also the anniversary of San Francisco’s Bloody Thursday.
Pat Conroy
- Your power bill is probably going up next year.
- Georgia welfare rolls have been cut by two-thirds since 2006.
- Governor Kemp has appointed Bob Barr to the Judicial Qualifications Commission.
- Another person in Georgia has died in custody this year, this time in Augusta.
- Baldwin County Commissioners continue their quixotic campaign to punish voters by defunding their portion of the public libraries. The city has now sued the county.
- The AJC has obtained and posted Georgia’s “Puerto Rican Interview Guide.” It’s… something else.
Alice Walker
- President Trump’s “Salute to America” in pictures. The presidents’ remarks were nonpartisan, though occasionally inaccurate. There were incidents between supporters and protesters all the same.
- Yesterday’s 6.4-magnitude earthquake in California produced over 100 aftershocks.
- Forty percent of Americans struggle to pay their bills on time.
- Twenty-one undocumented, former Trump employees are appealing to him to keep them from being deported.
- Manslaughter charges have been dropped against the Alabama woman who lost a fetus after being shot.
- Here’s a look at the push to win statehouses in 2020 ahead of redistricting.
- Former Rio de Janeiro governor says he paid a $2 million bribe to host 2016 Olympics.
- Research has uncovered that China has “re-education camps” targeting the children of the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
- The Amazon lost the equivalent of one and a half soccer fields every minute during the month of June.
Flannery O’Connor
- Idris Elba rushed off stage during a performance to help a patron having a seizure.
- An unfortunate reminder from a motorist in Rocky Mountain State Park in Colorado to use your parking brake. (Warning: There is language that’s not safe for work or small ears!)