Story Highlights
Route 66 caught international attention in 1928 with its first major promotional event. Famously known as the Bunion Derby, this foot race across the United States drew athletes from around the world and captivated newspaper and radio audiences for months. Racers endured harsh weather, injuries, hardships, and fatigue in a bid to come out on top and make it home with some prize money. The Bunion Derby only occurred twice at the very beginning of the Mother Road, but it helped launch its notoriety across the nation and the world. Join host Kathleen Seale as she explores this historic race and shows vintage film footage of the race through Missouri, which is part of the SHSMO collections at the Rolla Research Center.
Register: https://umsystem.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_eIc8FR-xRBmbcO_ti7XXaw#/registration
Jeffrey Mervis, Senior Correspondent, News from Science
Every congressional hearing has a subtext. And this week, when Democrats on a House spending panel sharply criticized the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russ Vought on his recently proposed new rules for overseeing federal research grants, their real message was: We’re going to end your assault on science once we’re back in the majority.
As the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D–CT) is widely expected to become chair if her party wrests control of the House from Republicans in the November midterm elections. And at Tuesday’s hearing on next year’s budget request for the OMB, she led the grilling of Vought, who authored the proposed rule changes.
DeLauro is 83 and was first elected to Congress in 1990. Over the years, she’s been a strong voice for biomedical research. And at 83 she’s lost none of her passion. “For someone working on Tourette syndrome or cancer or Alzheimer’s disease, it shouldn’t be a question of the president’s priorities,” she told Vought. “This is peer-reviewed science, and you are reversing that by putting all these grants through a political lens.”
In particular, DeLauro and her colleagues on the panel accused Vought of dismantling peer review at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) so that Vought and other political appointees could make new awards—and terminate existing grants—based on the “whims” of his boss, President Donald Trump.
“Why are you a better judge of an NIH clinical trial than a panel of medical doctors and researchers?” DeLauro asked Vought, who muttered “not true” in the midst of her grilling. “And what is the set of criteria that you will be using to judge these grants?”
Vought’s response—“You’re misconstruing the proposal; OMB will not be making these determinations”—did little to blunt her anger. “And it also says that peer review is no longer binding,” she went on. “It’s all spelled out in this 412-page document. But maybe you thought people wouldn’t read it.”
Critics of the proposed changes have asked OMB to extend by 45 days the 13 July deadline for public comments in hopes of delaying its implementation until after the election. Vought told the committee that wasn’t in the cards, although he acknowledged that it would take some time for OMB to satisfy the requirement to respond to all the comments—70,000 and counting—it receives.
As would be expected, the Republicans on the panel avoided any discussion of research grants or the proposed rules in their much more gentle questioning of Vought. The panel’s chair, Representative Dave Joyce (R–OH), even ceded the last word to DeLauro, who tipped her hand.
“You flout the Constitution, and you’ve been doing it every day for the last 18 months,” she berated Vought. “It’s wrong, and we’re not going to allow that to continue to happen.”
Sharing the Spirit of America
Rangers will read the Declaration of Independence in the rotunda. Just as the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time to the people of Philadelphia on July 8, 1776, Americans across the country will read the Declaration on July 8, 2026. Across the US and on all 7 continents, from Europe and Africa, across North and South America, across the Pacific (including Australia), to Asia, and to Antarctica, we will read the Declaration of Independence ‘together’.
Join us for a relaxing and re-centering exploration of the Kemper Art Museum’s permanent collection guided by a Museum educator, followed by meditative art making led by certified recreation therapist and yoga teacher Aysha McRoberts.
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kemper-refresh-meditation-and-creation-tickets-1990430385865
Few tickets left. May have more openings in the coming days.
Join us at Subterranean Books for an author talk, Q&A, and book signing for Ian Bogost’s latest book, The Small Stuff.
Event Schedule:
6:00 Welcome
6:05-6:25 Author talk
6:25-6:45 Q&A
6:45-7:00 Book signing
RSVP: forms.clickup.com/68650/f/231a-453493/HHJBWLLFBCA61BNYR8
WashU Medicine is excited to pilot composting in the Neuroscience Research Building Kaldi’s location starting June 8!
Composting diverts waste from landfills, cuts greenhouse gas emissions, strengthens soil, promotes healthy plant growth, and reduces the need for pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Composting also supports waste reduction & materials management goals outlined in the Sustainable Operations Strategic Plan 2025-2030.
To make this program successful, we need your help! We are looking for volunteers to help educate Kaldi’s customers about waste sorting during lunchtime to reduce contamination. While helpful signage will be widely posted, people are much more likely to learn how to properly sort waste from their peers.
If you are interested in volunteering, sign up here. No experience is necessary – we will teach you everything you need to know!
Questions? Contact Jenna Schaefer, Sustainability Coordinator at schaefer.j@wustl.edu
Government shutdown, staff shortages have complicated effort to meet 30 September deadline to spend funds
https://stlzoo.org/news/saint-louis-zoo-voted-best-free-attraction
For the second time, the Saint Louis Zoo has been voted “Best Free Attraction” in the United States by the USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards. To celebrate the recognition, the Zoo’s most popular experiences will be included with free admission on Wednesday, July 1.
This is the fifth time USA TODAY 10BEST has polled for “Best Free Attraction” and the second time the Saint Louis Zoo has won first place.
The following guest experiences will be free during regular Zoo hours Wednesday, July 1:
Twice daily giraffe feedings, face painting, caricatures, animal experiences and Zoo parking are not included. Regular rates will apply.
Faced with uncertainty in federal funding and rising costs, chemistry departments are taking fewer students
In a C&EN survey, 20 chemistry departments reported that their 2026 incoming PhD class would be smaller—down by an average of 37% from 2024—and the data suggest there could be more than 1,000 fewer graduating chemistry PhDs across the US in just a few years.
Scientists in China, Europe, India, and South Africa say uncertainty surrounding US research policies is beginning to reshape international scientific partnerships.
Already, the campaign has secured $3.5 billion in support of its efforts to address the world’s most pressing challenges.
WashU Libraries’ Film and Media Archive collection is hosting a free film series this summer featuring popular social justice documentaries from its Kartemquin Films collection to celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary.
To kick off the documentary film house’s anniversary, Washington University will screen four of its films, including the 1994 sports documentary “Hoop Dreams” at 2 p.m. June 28. It will also screen the 1974 short film “Viva La Causa" and the 1988 documentary “Golub,” which both discuss themes of art and activism, at 7 p.m. July 28. “The Trials of Muhammad Ali” will screen at 7 p.m. Aug. 20. All films will show at the Hi-Pointe Theatre.
Experience history where it happened this Fourth of July. Gateway Arch National Park will host a live reading of the Declaration of Independence to celebrate the holiday.
The reading takes place at 12 p.m. in the rotunda of the historic Old Courthouse, offering a unique opportunity to connect with more than 200 years of St. Louis and U.S. history.
This is a free program.
Celebrate Independence Day with music at White Haven!
Join White Haven Brass—a quintet of talented staff and volunteers from Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site—for a spirited performance honoring America 250. Enjoy classic patriotic favorites along with marching songs once sung by Union soldiers and supporters during the Civil War.
The concert is free and will take place on Saturday, July 4 at 10 AM on the front lawn of White Haven. Bring a chair or blanket. In case of inclement weather, we will move the performance indoors to the auditorium.
Join WashU Libraries as we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States of America. Enjoy activities for all ages throughout the event, including the Declaration of Independence and Unalienable Rights exhibitions, coloring and button making stations, and an opportunity to write your own poetry inspired by the Declaration of Independence.
Free and open to all, registration requested. https://wustl.libcal.com/event/16957796
Schedule of Events
Live Near Your Work, WashU’s innovative forgivable home loan program, is expanding its footprint of eligible neighborhoods to include downtown and portions of south St. Louis, north St. Louis and north St. Louis County.
As Forest Park celebrates its 150th anniversary this month, join us for a conversation with Public Historian Amanda Clark and Alan Kretchmar, author of Restoring the Glory: Forest Park from 1986 to 2026, as they reflect on what has made Forest Park the crown jewel of St. Louis and the remarkable story of its revival over the past four decades.
In the 1980s, the park faced serious decline—crumbling roads and stairways, unsafe bridges, failing infrastructure, rising crime, and lakes filling with sediment. At the same time, outside groups were seeking to claim portions of the park’s land. Discover how Forest Park transformed from a struggling public space to one of the city’s most treasured landscapes today, and learn about the challenges and opportunities facing the park in the decades ahead.
Following the presentation, Alan Kretchmar will sign copies of his book, which will be available for purchase in the Sold on St. Louis museum shop.
Summer in St. Louis can only mean one thing: the sweet symphony of cicada sounds, wasp wings, and other critter calls. Join professors Aimee Dunlap and Sara Miller from UMSL's Dunlap and Miller Labs, respectively, as they discuss their research on our favorite flying friends, all while you craft some wearable antennae. It’s a bug bash!