Five Things To Know Today

1.  Today is Friday, July 8. The National Weather Service predicts mostly cloudy skies, with fog early this morning and a chance of rain and thunderstorms. The high temperature will reach 74 degrees; the low will dip to 64 tonight.

2.  The annual fireworks show along the Thames River will be held at 9:20 p.m. on Saturday. Jay Dempsey and Highway Call will perform at Fort Griswold starting at 6 p.m., and will continue playing through the fireworks.

3.  Shennecossett Golf Course is hosting the 2011 Connecticut Senior Open on Monday and Tuesday. Players from 10 states, including 13 past champions, will compete for the title, according to a report by the town manager. The group includes 142 players, ranging in age from 50 to 81 years old, the report said. A reception for the competitors will be held at 6 p.m. on Sunday at the Mystic Marriott.

4. Captain Glenn M. Sulmasy, humanities department chairman at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a national security and human rights fellow at Harvard University, will speak about the 9/11 attacks and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, during a lecture at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Groton Public Library. Mohammed was part of the al-Qaeda terrorist network. The program is free and open to the public.

5.  Taco Bell on Route 12 and Pizza Hut on Long Hill Road are taking part in a fundraising drive for the Jimmy Fund Clinic in Boston. If you stop in from July 13 to August 3, you may be asked to contribute $1, $3 or $5. Customers who donate will have their names displayed in the stores. The Jimmy Fund Clinic is part of Dana Farber Cancer Institute and treats children with pediatric cancers.