What are Americans searching for?
Fauci, Facebook, Football and a $668 Million Dream
What Americans are reading on Thursday morning, July 30, 2026
The United States is fighting a war with Iran. American warplanes are striking Iranian military targets, Iran is firing missiles toward American forces, and people are being killed.
But that is not the only America reflected in this morning’s reading habits.
Google’s real-time search trends show a country looking in several directions at once. As of early Thursday morning, Americans were heavily searching for Anthony Fauci’s Senate testimony, Meta and Microsoft stock, a soccer match between Liverpool and Wrexham, a country singer who stopped her concert, women’s basketball and the Powerball numbers.
Google Trends does not tell us everything Americans are reading. It measures subjects receiving sudden increases in searches. But it gives us something close to a national window: not what editors believe should interest us, but what people are curious enough to look up themselves. (Google Trends)
Fauci returns to the center of the political fight
More than 100,000 searches were connected to Senator Bernie Moreno, with related searches involving Anthony Fauci, the Fifth Amendment and Senator Josh Hawley.
Fauci appeared before a Senate committee Wednesday and repeatedly invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination. Republicans questioned him about the government’s handling of COVID-19, research connected to China and whether he had misled Congress.
Fauci said Senator Rand Paul had an obsession with putting him in prison and that the hearing was designed to trap him into making statements that could be used against him. Paul said he would pursue contempt proceedings.
The hearing quickly became less like an investigation and more like political theater. It contained accusations, insults, personal attacks and the kind of confrontation that produces short video clips made for television and social media.
Whatever Americans believe about Fauci, many of them wanted to see the fight. (Reuters)
Americans watched two technology giants move in opposite directions
“Meta stock” received more than 100,000 searches, while searches connected to Microsoft stock exceeded 50,000.
Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of about $90 billion, helped by strong growth in its cloud-computing and artificial-intelligence businesses. Its shares rose sharply after the report.
Meta moved in the other direction. The owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp reported growing revenue, but profits were hurt by legal expenses, severance costs and enormous spending on artificial intelligence and data centers. Investors sent the stock down.
Most Americans searching those companies probably do not own enough stock to become rich from a one-day move. But millions have retirement accounts, pensions or mutual funds tied to the market. The technology companies building the artificial-intelligence future are also gambling with a great deal of ordinary people’s money. (AP News)
Soccer drew more attention than many American political stories
More than 100,000 searches were connected to Liverpool’s exhibition match against Wrexham at Yankee Stadium.
Liverpool won 1–0 after Rio Ngumoha scored in the 75th minute. The match attracted attention partly because Liverpool is one of the world’s best-known soccer clubs and partly because Wrexham has developed an American following under celebrity owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
There was a time when most Americans would have had little interest in two British soccer clubs playing a preseason match. That time is gone. (The Guardian)
A sick country singer stopped her concert
More than 50,000 searches concerned Megan Moroney and a Denver concert that ended after only three songs.
Moroney, who was ill, tearfully told the audience she could not continue and promised to return. The concert has been rescheduled for August 27, with the original tickets still valid.
It was not war, politics or the economy. It was a young performer crying in front of people who had paid to see her. Sometimes that human moment travels farther than the larger story. (People.com)
Women’s basketball continues to attract readers
The game between the Atlanta Dream and Dallas Wings produced more than 50,000 searches.
Atlanta came back from 15 points behind to defeat Dallas 82–81. Allisha Gray scored five of her 25 points in the closing seconds.
The searches are another sign that women’s basketball is no longer a small story followed only by devoted fans. People are checking scores, watching players and arguing about games just as they do with men’s professional sports. (WNBA)
And then there was the Powerball dream
Powerball searches began surging early Thursday morning as people checked Wednesday night’s numbers.
The jackpot was estimated at $668 million. The winning numbers were 30, 36, 40, 42 and 57, with Powerball 2. No ticket won the jackpot.
One Maryland ticket won $1 million by matching the five regular numbers, but for almost everyone else, Thursday morning began as usual. They checked the numbers and then went back to work. (Powerball)
What America read this morning
America did not wake up thinking about one thing.
It woke up angry about Fauci, worried about its investments, curious about artificial intelligence, excited about soccer and basketball, concerned about a sick singer and hopeful that six numbers might eliminate the need to worry about money ever again.
That may not be the news editors would place in order of importance.
But it is the America that went looking for something to read.