TODAY'S NEWS

Today's featured article U.S. Route 491 is a north–south U.S. Highway serving the Four Corners region of the United States. One of the newest designations in the U.S. Highway System, it was created in 2003 as a renumbering of U.S. Route 666. With the 666 designation, this road was nicknamed Devil's Highway because of the common Christian belief that 666 is the Number of the Beast. This satanic connotation, combined with a high fatality rate along the New Mexico portion, convinced some people the highway was cursed. The problem was compounded with persistent sign theft. These factors led to two efforts to renumber the highway, by officials in Arizona and then in New Mexico. Since the renumbering, as a result of safety improvement projects, fatality rates have decreased. The highway runs through Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, as well as the tribal nations of the Navajo Nation and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Features along the route include an extinct volcanic core named Shiprock, Mesa Verde National Park, and the self-proclaimed pinto-bean capital of the world, Dove Creek, Colorado. (more...) Recently featured: Transformers – The Sun Also Rises – John Brownlee as Attorney-General of Alberta Archive – By email – More featured articles... Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that a May 2011 flood along the Musselshell River (pictured) was one of several floods that resulted in a state of emergency being declared in 51 Montana counties, cities, and Indian reservations? ... that Ang Singsing ng Dalagang Marmol (c. 1905) is one of the Philippines' first historical novels written in the twentieth century? ... that Louisiana Tech University English professor Robert C. Snyder worked on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, during World War II? ... that Tonogayato Garden in Kokubunji, Tokyo is built on the terraced cliffs of Musashino, with a lawn on the hilltop overlooking a bamboo forest and pond at the bottom? ... that in the 2002 Jammu & Kashmir Assembly election, communist candidate Mohammad Khalil Naik won the Wachi seat by only 80 votes? ... that "Déjame Entrar" by Colombian singer-songwriter Carlos Vives was awarded the Latin Grammy Award for Best Tropical Song? ... that despite Spider-Man 2 being the most critically praised entry in the franchise, it is also the lowest grossing in the trilogy? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news In tennis, Petra Kvitová (pictured) wins the women's singles and Novak Đoković wins the men's singles at the Wimbledon Championships. Former President of Brazil Itamar Franco dies at the age of 81. Treasure worth at least 25 billion rupees (€385 million) is found at Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala, India. The wedding of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Charlene Wittstock takes place at the Prince's Palace in Monaco. Astronomers announce the discovery of ULAS J1120+0641, the most distant quasar yet found. The Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, the world's longest cross-sea bridge, opens in Shandong, People's Republic of China. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events... On this day... July 4: Independence Day in the United States (1776) 1054 – Chinese astronomers recorded the sudden appearance of a "guest star", which was in actuality the supernova that created the Crab Nebula. 1776 – In Philadelphia, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, announcing that the thirteen American colonies were no longer a part of the British Empire. 1862 – In a rowing boat on the River Thames from Oxford to Godstow, author Lewis Carroll told Alice Liddell and her sisters a story that would eventually form the basis for his book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. 1945 – The Brazilian cruiser Bahia (pictured) was accidentally sunk by one of her own crewmen, killing more than 300 and stranding the survivors in shark-infested waters. 2005 – The NASA space probe Deep Impact impacted the nucleus of the comet Tempel 1, excavating debris from its interior so that its composition could be studied. More anniversaries: July 3 – July 4 – July 5 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now July 4, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured list To date, there have been 25 female officers in the United States Cabinet, including Hillary Clinton (pictured), the current Secretary of State. No woman held a Cabinet position before the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920, which prohibits states and the federal government from denying any citizen the right to vote because of that citizen's sex. Frances Perkins was the first woman to serve in the Cabinet; she was appointed Secretary of Labor in 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1953, Oveta Culp Hobby became the second woman to serve in the Cabinet, when she was named head of the then newly formed Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953. Patricia Roberts Harris, who was Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare before the department split and had earlier served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 1977, became the first female Secretary of Health and Human Services in 1979. Harris was also the first African American woman to serve in the Cabinet. (more...) Recently featured: World Heritage Sites in Cuba – Bodley's Librarian – Signs and symptoms of diving disorders Archive – More featured lists...

Today's featured picture "Join, or Die", a 1754 editorial cartoon by Benjamin Franklin, a woodcut showing a snake severed into eight pieces, with each segment labeled with the initials of a British American colony or region (not all colonies are represented). It was originally about the importance of colonial unity during the French and Indian War against France, and re-used in the years ahead of the American Revolution to signify unity against Great Britain. Restoration: Adam Cuerden Recently featured: Giovanna degli Albizzi – Painted turtle distribution map – Ontario Highway 401

july 1 special....

On this day...

July 1: Canada Day; Independence Day in Rwanda and Burundi (1962)

• 1770 – Lexell's Comet passed closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of 0.015 AU.
• 1874 – The Remington No. 1 (pictured), the first commercially successful typewriter, went on sale.
• 1963 – The British Government revealed that former MI6 agent Kim Philby had engaged in espionage for the Soviet Union.
• 1999 – Legislative governance of Scotland was transferred from the Scottish Office in Westminster to the Scottish Parliament.
• 2008 – Rioting erupted in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the recent legislative elections.