FROM KCCI: How permanent daylight saving time could impact Iowans. A proposed bill in the U.S. House to make daylight saving time permanent could end the twice-a-year clock changes, but it would also mean Iowa stays on "spring forward" time all year long. Each March, clocks "spring forward" one hour as daylight saving time begins, giving us later sunsets in the evening. In November, clocks "fall back" one hour and return to Standard Time, bringing earlier sunrises and earlier sunsets during the winter. Under the proposed legislation, Iowa would no longer "fall back" each November and would instead remain on daylight saving time year-round. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Iowa soldier injured in Iranian drone strike benefits from weekend event. An Iowa soldier is still recovering from a March 1 Iranian drone strike in Kuwait, with a benefit being held here at home this weekend. Master Sgt. Josh Steinback was inside a building when the drone strike hit, killing six members of the 103rd Sustainment Command based out of Des Moines. Two of those killed were Iowans, including Major Jeffrey O’Brien from Waukee and Sgt. Declan Coady from West Des Moines. Many soldiers are still recovering, including Steinback. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: 2 boys hospitalized after car hits train near Lakota, Iowa; passerby hailed as hero. Two minors are in the hospital after a crash with a train near Lakota, Iowa, according to the Kossuth County Sheriff's Office. Just before 4 p.m., Alex Horak of Lakota called 911 to report a car crashed into a train just south of Highway 9 on 190th Avenue, a gravel road. A Chevy Impala, with a 16-year-old driver and 12-year-old passenger, had been heading south on 190th Avenue when they struck a Union Pacific train heading east. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: US expands strikes into northern Iran and disables ship trying to run blockade. The United States intensified its strikes on Iran early Thursday, hitting targets further north as American forces also fired into a ship the U.S. accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting U.S. allies in the region before dawn and warned its attacks may escalate. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: Flooding forces evacuations in parts of South Texas as slow-moving storms swamp the region. Widening evacuation warnings and high-water rescues in Texas mounted Wednesday under relentlessly heavy storms that turned roads into rivers, washed away vehicles and spun up a tornado across a busy interstate in San Antonio. Texas Game Wardens have participated in rescues of more than 40 people so far in the flooding, mostly in the Uvalde County area, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Dozens of Catholic churches celebrate final weekend Mass of year amidst consolidation. Thousands of parishioners attended their last weekend Mass Sunday at dozens of churches across Eastern Iowa. The milestone comes as a consolidation plan for the Archdiocese of Dubuque is set to reorganize its 160 parishes into 24 pastorates beginning Tuesday. The new interim weekend mass schedule is scheduled to last until at least January. ... READ MORE

Carousel Theatre of Indianola – “The Marvelous Wonderettes"
July 17-19 and 24-26. July 17, 18, 24, 25 at 7 p.m. and July 18, 19, 25, 26 at 2 p.m. Emerson Elementary School Gymnasium, Indianola.

Shakespeare on the Lawn. "Measure for Measure." July 15-19.

World Cup winners
Soccer. It is no longer a minor sport in America. The round of 32 and 16 games for USA, as well as for Mexico, drew more TV viewers in the U.S. than the NBA finals, the NHL finals, World Series, March Madness and the U.S. Open. For the Mexico matches, 47% of the viewing audiences watched the English language feeds. 

Pepsi. Pepsi's red, white and blue color scheme was chosen during WWII to align with American patriotism. Later redesigns kept the colors but added layers of meaning tied to science, feng shui and brand energy. It worked for patriots during World Cup and America’s 250th. Hiring David Beckham to remind people, “It just tastes better,” was a winning scheme, too. 

Stella Artois. Again, Beckham made his beer of choice look like the coolest thing to drink. He didn't hurt Home Depot either. 

Cabo Verde islands. The archipelago nation of only half a million people drew huge attention to its economic miracle and ridiculously beautiful beaches. (Cabo Verde’s gross domestic product has been growing at 6.5% annually for four years.) Its fishing resources and tourism drive it while its low taxes draw foreign money to develop it. There is already huge tourist demand for next winter’s holidays.

Petco. Credit card researchers say that soccer merchandise for dogs, ducks, hamsters and horses has sold out at unprecedented rates, while impulse-buy items like keychains are being restocked constantly to keep up with in-person demand. 

Kansas City. Because World Cup was expensive, most tourists had previously been to America. Few had ever been to the nation's heartland, and Kansas City and Dallas were wildly popular. One meme, reshared more than a million times, read, "If you want to hate America, read the American media. If you want to love America, drive through the Heartland and talk to the people." 

Deals today
• The Empire's (223 Fourth St., Des Moines) Thursday special is baked spaghetti for $10.
 
• Thursday is $10 kebabs and wings day at Desi Bites (3828 100th St., Urbandale). 
 
• Marianna's (1305 University Ave., Des Moines) offers tacos for $1.50 Thursdays during the World Cup from 3-6 p.m.
 
• Talk Shop Lounge (3357 St. Charles Road, St. Charles) has two deals Thursday: jambalaya dinner for $15, lasagna for $10.
 
• Cowboy (1234 E. Euclid Ave., Des Moines) has ribs on special today, $2.99/per rib.
 
• The False Nine Social Club (206 Fifth St., Valley Junction) has jacket potatoes on sale Thursdays for $10.
 
• The Waveland (4708 University Ave., Des Moines) has BLTs and street corn on special today.
 
• B&B (S.E. Sixth and Hartford, Des Moines) has a Thursday special Killer's double hot Polish with fries and a soda for $12.95.
 
• Thursdays are triple-decker Reuben day at Graziano Brothers (1601 S. Union St., Des Moines).
 
• Quarter-pound cheeseburgers and chicken sandwiches are $3.39 each on Thursdays at Kwik Star.
 
• Striking Sparrow (1930 S.E. Sixth St., Des Moines) has a Thursday special breaded pork tenderloin with fries and soda for $12.
 
• Taco pizzas are the Thursday special at Walker's Place (475 N.E. Broadway Ave., Des Moines).
 
• Sale Barn Cafe (Lamoni) is offering chuck loaded fries specials today.
 
• Liver and onions dinners are today's special at Crouse Cafe (115 E. Salem, Indianola).
 
•  AJ's (Prairie Meadows) has an early bird menu on Wednesday and Thursday from 4-6 p.m. Half-pound burgers with frites, $15; pasta and chicken dinners, $20-22; seafood and steak dinners, $27-30. Prime rib dinners for $30 all night.
 
• Guesthouse Tavern and Oyster (9500 University, West Des Moine) offers spaghetti dinners with 8-ounce meatballs and salad for $22 on Wednesdays.
 
• Chelsie's Courtyard Diner (100 MLK, Des Moines) has buck burgers Thursdays. $1!
 
• Istanbul Grill Cafe and Bakery (3281 100th St., Urbandale) has a Thursday special of $11.99 for a döner wrap with fries as well as $5 off döner plate which comes with Turkish salad and your choice of rice or bulgur. 
 
•  Hot beef sandwiches are a Thursday special at Club 2000. 
 
• Maxie's (1311 Grand Ave., West Des Moines) Thursday special for $20.95 is half a fried chicken with potato, side of spaghetti, and a salad. Lunch and dinner.
 
• Mullets Norwalk offers two, two-topping pizzas for $20 on Thursdays, 4 p.m. to close.
 
• Buzzard Billy's (615 Third St., Des Moines) has $2 off appetizers on Thursdays.
 
• Whatcha Smokin? (Highway 17, Luther) has a pork belly burnt ends special on Thursdays.
 
• Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines) offers $10 country fried breakfasts and $9 tenderloins or shrimp/fish tacos on Thursdays.
 
• Ruth's Chris (Ashworth Road at Jordan Creek Parkway) has a Thursday special with their decadent RBAR burgers and fries going for $16.
 
• Steak Nights: Sirloin steak dinners are featured specials today at Johnny's Italian Steakhouses (before 4 p.m.), Sully's Irish Pub (860 First St., West Des Moines); Front Row (9956 Swanson Blvd., Clive); Winn’s Pizza and Steakhouse (122 W. Ashland Ave., Indianola); and Hy-Vee Market Grilles. The Station on Ingersoll (3120 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has a $12 ribeye sandwich special on Thursdays. Gilroy's (1238 Eighth St., West Des Moines) offers ribeyes and sirloins only on Thursdays after 5 p.m.
 
• Mullets has a Thursday pizza special — buy one large specialty pizza and get a free 14-inch two-topping pizza.
 
• ShortE's BBQ (8505 Chambery Blvd., Johnston) has $1 smoked wings Thursdays.
 
• Jethro's Thursday special is a pound of boneless "wings" for $8.
 
• Bevy’s Tavern (1300 50th St., West Des Moines) has a special of beef stew and cornbread Thursdays for $13.
 
• Destination Grille (2491 E. First St., Grimes) has a "Comfort Thursday" special chicken fried De Burgo, a gluten free spin on DSM's classic. $16
 
• The Dam Pub (2710 Beaver Ave., Des Moines) has a throwback Thursday special goulash with garlic toast.
 
• The Continental (407 E. Fifth St., Des Moines) has $7 loaded fries on Thursdays.
 
• Buffalo Wild Wings offers two orders for the price of one Thursdays on orders of six, 10 and 15 boneless wings.

• Price Choppers have sales through Monday on red cherries at $2.99/pound, watermelons at $5.99 and Colorado peaches at $1.99/pound.

• Aldi stores have sales through Tuesday on cherries at $2.79/pound, strawberries at $1.89/pound, and pork bellies at $2.99/pound.

• Fresh Thyme (2800 University Ave., West Des Moines) is running a sale through Sunday on boneless USDA prime ribeye at $19.99/pound and snow crab clusters at $10.99/pound and through Tuesday on red leaf, green leaf or Romaine lettuce heads at $1.49.

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

1945: The first atomic bomb test is successfully exploded. On July 16, 1945, at 5:29:45 a.m., the Manhattan Project yields explosive results as the first atom bomb is successfully tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico. … READ MORE

1969: Apollo 11 launches. At 9:32 a.m. EDT, Apollo 11, the first U.S. lunar landing mission, is launched on a historic journey to the surface of the moon. After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19. … READ MORE

1973: Existence of Watergate tapes is revealed in live testimony. On July 16 , 1973 — a little more than a year after the break-in at the Watergate Hotel led to a widening scandal — explosive news is revealed during a live broadcast of the Watergate hearings in the Senate: A secret taping system inside the White House had recorded all of President Richard Nixon’s telephone calls and in-person conversations. … READ MORE

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