Data Vis Dispatch, July 15: "Big Beautiful Bill," extreme weather, and other challenges

Since we were busy last week celebrating the 200th Dispatch and spilling the tea on what goes into making one, this will be a rare double edition where we look at great data vis created in the past two weeks.

That's why our first topic is the Big Beautiful Bill, a controversial package of laws signed by U.S. President Trump on July 4, and its consequences:

While Harvard University is looking at major budget cuts, people in the U.S. are facing a number of other challenges, including wealth inequality, measles, and massive landfills:

It wouldn't be a summer edition without a mention of extreme weather. This time, we have a map and two charts, looking at high temperatures in Europe and in rural vs. urban areas:

On the upside, global investments in energy transition keep going up:

Other notable visualizations of the week covered animals in children's stories, chances of seeing the Northern Lights, pop culture, and more.