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From today's featured article

Simone Russell is a fictional character that appeared from 1999 to 2007 on the American soap opera Passions on NBC. A member of the show's Russell family, Simone is the daughter of Eve and T. C. and the younger sister of Whitney. Conceived by the soap's founder and head writer James E. Reilly, the role was portrayed by three actresses: Lena Cardwell (1999–2001), Chrystee Pharris (2001–2004), and Cathy Jenéen Doe (2004–2007). The character's love interest in the early years is Chad Harris-Crane, but Doe's character comes out as lesbian and pursues a relationship with Rae Thomas. Passions became the first soap opera to show two women (Simone and Rae) having sex, and the first to feature an African-American lesbian. The show won GLAAD's 2006 Outstanding Daily Drama award for its portrayal of Simone. The representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender topics, and Doe's performance as Simone, received mixed responses from critics. (Full article...)

Part of the Russell family (Passions) series, one of Wikipedia's featured topics.

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Did you know...

The Vyne estate

... that before William Wiggett Chute improved The Vyne estate (pictured), access was so bad that it had to be "approached upon stilts"?
... that at the Battle of Negapatam, when most of the fleet turned away from the action, HMS Sultan was one of four British ships that turned into it?
... that 98 years ago, biologist Edith Roberts founded the first ecological laboratory in the US, inspiring landscape architect Elsa Rehmann to use native plant communities in garden design?
... that the discography of pianist Daniil Trifonov includes one Grammy Award-winning album and two Grammy-nominated albums?
... that during the Boxer Rebellion, Xu Yingkui collaborated with other high-ranking Chinese officials to defy the declaration of war made by the Qing imperial court on Western countries?
... that the ant species Zatania electra is named for the amber in which it was found entombed?
... that Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas, was built of bricks salvaged from the recently burned Texas State Capitol?
... that Carmen y Laura, sisters who formed a duo for mostly Tejano music, learned to harmonize by singing together while doing chores in separate rooms?

In the news

Tham Luang Nang Non cave entrance

Twelve boys and a man trapped in Thailand’s Tham Luang Nang Non cave (entrance pictured) are found alive after ten days missing, with rescue operations ongoing.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador is elected President of Mexico.
The Japanese sample-return spacecraft Hayabusa2 arrives at the asteroid 162173 Ryugu.
Saudi Arabia lifts its ban on women driving.
Canada legalizes the recreational use of cannabis with effect from October 2018, making it the second country to do so.

On this day

July 5

The Shard, London

1594 – The Portuguese governor of Ceylon Pedro Lopes de Sousa began a failed attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Kandy.
1775 – The Second Continental Congress of Britain's Thirteen Colonies adopted the Olive Branch Petition in the hopes of avoiding war with Great Britain.
1937 – The Hormel Foods Corporation introduced Spam, the canned precooked meat product that would eventually enter into pop culture, folklore, and urban legend.
1948 – Aneurin Bevan, the Health Minister of the United Kingdom, launched the National Health Service, one of the major social reforms following the Second World War.
2012 – The Shard (pictured) in London was inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 m (1,020 ft), but was surpassed by Moscow's Mercury City Tower four months later.

Sarah Siddons (b. 1755) · W. T. Stead (b. 1849) · Albrecht Kossel (d. 1927)

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Today's featured picture

The Courtyard of a House in Delft is an oil painting on canvas completed by Pieter de Hooch in 1658. An example of Dutch Golden Age painting, it offers a clear and direct depiction of domestic architecture typical of the artist's middle period, using a composition similar to his Courtyard with an Arbour. It is now held by the National Gallery in London.

Painting: Pieter de Hooch

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