The Chinese tile-based game has surged across America in recent years, especially among women.
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Good morning, happy Monday! Here are today’s top stories: |
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Women across America are turning to Mahjong in droves. Our reporter, Jacki Thrapp, dropped by a meetup in Memphis to find out why this Chinese tile-based game is finding a fanbase over here.
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🏆 Spain won its second-ever World Cup yesterday, beating Argentina with an extra-time goal after 19 shots. France’s Kylian Mbappé won the tournament’s Golden Ball, becoming the first player to win it back-to-back, after Saturday’s goal fest against England for third place. But they weren’t the only champions of the competition, here’s a look at other winners—and losers—of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
- A U.S. service member was killed in Iraq in an attempt to detonate an Iranian drone, the third service member to die in recent days, the Pentagon said.
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Today marks the 27th anniversary of the beginning of the Chinese communist regime’s persecution of the spiritual group, Falun Gong. The sweeping suppression has led to an untold number of practitioners losing their lives. The CCP has waged a comprehensive campaign to smear the practice both in China and overseas. Hundreds of practitioners paraded through the streets of New York’s Chinatown, calling for an end to the persecution.
- 🍵 Health: People who speak multiple languages may be walking around with brains that are years younger than their age suggests—up to 13 years younger, according to new research.
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(Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock) |
MEMPHIS—Rib joints in Tennessee to department stores in Oklahoma are filling up with women Charlestonning their way through a resurgence of mah-jongg. Mah-jongg is a tile-based game that originated in 19th-century China and was brought to the United States in the 1920s.
The game surged in popularity after the coronavirus pandemic, as people, especially women, sought to reignite their social circles with a little friendly competition. There are approximately 1,026 mah-jongg clubs across the United States, according to research published by Bam Good Time in April.
States with the most clubs include Texas, Florida, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The rule-filled hobby is not easy to learn, but can be addictive once mastered, as players match patterns on domino-style tiles to those on a universally used pre-approved card.
The pre-approved mah-jongg cards most groups play with include The Official American Mahjong card published by the National Mah Jongg League, and The Big Card, published by the Mahjong Line and I LOVE MAHJ. Health and Social Benefits
Both cards are distributed nationwide annually, with new patterns each year. The new patterns aim to mix up matches in competitions; players describe the game as a mix of chess, bridge, and the social aspect of a book club.
The Epoch Times dropped into one meetup at a barbecue restaurant in a suburb of East Memphis on June 19. It was filled with dozens of gaming women attending a “Lunch and Play” afternoon put on by the group MahJ Squad 901. The group was founded by sisters Patricia Ford and Sandy Sissom shortly after the pandemic.
“We just started playing, and it just kept growing and growing,” Sissom said. “And now we teach all over the mid-South.” (More) |
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White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents carrying out traffic stops will have to record the stops. Homan also said that ICE vehicle stops have resumed across the country, adding that “at least one body camera” must be worn during the stop.
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The United States military launched a new round of airstrikes against Iran, marking the ninth consecutive day of attacks. The U.S. State Department has also issued a worldwide travel caution for Americans over heightening tensions with the Iranian regime, citing a “potential for unforeseen escalation.”
- Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) has jumped into the race for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Darline Graham, who is serving out her brother’s term following his sudden death. Trump earlier backed Darline Graham to run for the seat, though she has not yet decided.
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President Donald Trump called on lawmakers to add Iran to a Russia sanctions bill that was originally introduced by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.
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Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, announced Sunday the birth of their fourth child—a boy.
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Elon Musk’s Music City Loop in Nashville, Tennessee, will nearly double in length to almost 25 miles from 13 miles, according to a revision on the tunnel’s website.
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A sample of shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico has tested positive for the Cyclospora parasite, the FDA said. It comes after the FDA traced the outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.
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A second person has died in connection with an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Health Department.
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A Chinese state-owned enterprise in eastern Shandong Province has ordered employees to report their use of Anthropic’s AI coding assistant, Claude Code, and replace it with domestic alternatives, reflecting Beijing’s expanding restrictions on foreign AI tools.
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What’s Next? Let’s Make Some Independence Day Promises—by Jeff Minick (Read)
- I’m Sorry We’re Back Here—by Mollie Engelhart (Read)
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The Moral Framework of the Odyssey—by Scott Masson (Read)
- Trump Has Just Weeks Left to Finish the Iran Conflict—by Victor Davis Hanson (Read)
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Rodri #16 of Spain lifts the FIFA World Cup Winner’s Trophy as they celebrate the World Cup champions following the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 19, 2026. (Buda Mendes/Getty Images) |
💸 Money: Claimed Too Early? A Social Security Do-Over Most People Miss (Read) 💛 Inspiration: What Is a Lady in the 21st Century? (Read) |
(Illustration by The Epoch Times/Shutterstock) |
People who speak multiple languages may be walking around with brains that are years younger than their age suggests—up to 13 years younger, according to new research. The findings, recently presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies Forum 2026, suggest that the more languages you speak, the younger your brain appears.
The study’s findings are consistent with a growing body of neuroscience research suggesting that lifelong multilingualism is associated with greater cognitive reserve and may help the brain remain more resilient as we age, Dr. Paul E. Bendheim, a clinical professor of neurology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and chief medical officer of BrainSavers Inc., who was not involved in the study, told The Epoch Times. BrainSavers Inc. educates and coaches healthy seniors at risk for Alzheimer’s.
“However, the broader message extends beyond language itself—the brain appears to benefit most from sustained, effortful learning,” he said.
The findings indicate a gradient effect: The more languages a person speaks, the more slowly their brain appears to age, study author Lucia Amoruso, from the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, San Sebastián, Spain, said in a statement. She added that proficiency and the age at which languages are learned appear to play a role.
Those who spoke two languages had brains about six years younger than their actual age. Those who spoke three languages had brains about seven years younger, and participants fluent in four languages had brains approximately 13 years younger, the new study found.
The study was a collaborative effort between teams located at institutions in Spain, Chile, Argentina, and Ireland. It focused on a group of 728 people from the Basque region of Spain who spoke between one and four languages, including Spanish, Basque, French, and English. (More) |
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—Cathy He, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li. |
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