June 25, 2024

Good morning.

1. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange reached a plea deal with the US government, agreeing to plead guilty to one espionage charge, after more than a decade of legal battles. He is expected to return to Australia (AP: nwppr.co/z555).

2. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the military must draft (once-exempt) ultra-Orthodox men for mandatory service. The ruling could affect the stability of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition government (NBC: nwppr.co/y555).

3. Protests in Kenya against a bill increasing taxes escalated significantly after the measure was passed, including protesters entering the parliament building (which is partially on fire) and police gunfire (AP: nwppr.co/x555).

4. A US federal judge sentenced Germine Joly (former leader of the 400 Mawozo gang in Haiti) to 35 years in prison for weapons smuggling and laundering ransoms related to the 2021 kidnapping of 16 US citizens (AP: nwppr.co/w555).

5. Several major record labels sued music-generating AI startups Suno and Udio, alleging use of copyrighted songs to train models (BBC: nwppr.co/v555).

6. The EU said Apple is violating its Digital Markets Act by restricting app developers from directing users to cheaper alternatives in a preliminary view (CNBC: nwppr.co/u555).

7. China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft successfully returned to Earth with the first-ever samples collected from the far side of the Moon (BBC: nwppr.co/t555).

8. The Florida Panthers won hockey’s Stanley Cup, beating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 (CBS: nwppr.co/r555).

–Editors