| What Happened, Why it Matters | | | June 25, 2015 Second Prison Worker Faces Charges | ISIS Returns to Kobani | Obama Wins Trade Fight | Greek Talks Go Nowhere | Court Makes Holland Cut CO2 |
|  | | A crowd gathers to watch the ISIS assault on Kobani, Syria, from the other side of the Turkish border. Source: Getty |
| | | He didn't know the meat was loaded, Your Honor. At least that's correction officer Gene Palmer's story. The 57-year-old is accused of aiding murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat by delivering hamburger meat with tools frozen inside, which the pair used to break out of the Clinton County Correctional Facility on June 6. Palmer, who is expected to plead not guilty at his arraignment today, is the second employee to be charged, following a lovesick seamstress accused of smuggling the contraband into the prison. The escapees remain on the lam. CNN, AP |
| | They always lash back. This time the militants couldn't have picked a better target: The Syrian border town of Kobani, site of last year's long-running campaign that ended with Kurdish fighters, aided by U.S.-led airstrikes, driving ISIS out. This morning's assault hit the town from three sides, beginning with a car bomb near a Turkish border crossing that killed eight. An offensive by Kurdish forces had raised Western allies' hopes in recent weeks, but the jihadists' latest effort puts any dreams of victory on hold. Al Jazeera, Reuters |
| | In the end it wasn't even close. Though realpolitik in Congress threatened to kill the bill, which would increase the president's authority to make trade deals, the Senate has approved the measure 60-38. Some have deemed its powers essential for negotiating the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, opposed by many Democrats as a job-killer. The next stop is the Oval Office, in what's being called a rare Republican-assisted win for Obama. Once the president signs, he'll be able to fast-track trade deals through both houses. NYT, WSJ (sub) |
| | It's crunch time — again. Talks with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras dragged on for seven hours last night with no sign of real progress, while Athens faces default if it can't make its $1.8 billion IMF loan repayment by Tuesday. Eurozone bailout monitors are reportedly pushing Greece to cut pensions and drive home a pro-austerity agenda with little wiggle room. Tsipras, meanwhile, hopes to offset modest benefit constrictions with higher taxes, but first he needs to quiet whisperings of revolt among political allies back home. FT (sub), BBC |
| BRIEFLY... Iran experts warn that nuke deal may 'fall short.' (NYT) Survivors scoff at Boston bomber's apology. (CBS) Mother and baby survive plane crash, five days in jungle. (BBC) Obama to heckler: 'You're in my house.' (Bloomberg) Facebook touts Messenger app without 'friends.' (WSJ) sub |
| | | Do more! That's the message of the 886 plaintiffs who sued their government and prevailed with a verdict that orders the Netherlands to fight the "imminent danger of climate change" by reducing 1990 emissions levels 25 percent by 2020. Environmentalists in other countries, including the U.S., have tried similar tactics, but it's never worked — partly because it's difficult to enforce. This historic verdict could influence planned cases in Belgium and Norway that hope to use judicial pressure to force companies and individuals to do what's best for Mother Earth. Popular Science, Salon, Mashable |
| | Naturally, folks don't like being cheated. The Big Apple is investigating the organic grocery chain after tests showed its packaged foods sold by weight were mislabeled 100 percent of the time, and usually not in a good way. The city has walloped the company with 800 infractions, but the firm — despite having paid $800,000 last year in California for similar violations — is vigorously denying the charges. Now a Department of Consumer Affairs probe must verify who has to take care of that cleanup in Aisle Two. Mother Jones, N.Y. Eater |
| | They can finally call heads or tails. It only took four decades, but scientists have determined whether a little creature named Hallucigenia was coming or going. Discovered in 1977, the 508-million-year-old critter was so odd researchers didn't know which end was the head. They've finally determined its blobbier ballooned end is the backside. The spiny, many-legged creature was named when the scientist who discovered it thought he must be seeing things, and experts hope new research will shed light on its descendants — like the seemingly indestructible tardigrade. Quartz, National Geographic |
| | Did Jane Austen characters twerk? Oxford English Dictionary lexicographers have uncovered the word's earliest known use in the 1820s as "twirk" (a "twisting, jerking movement") and determined it had acquired its modern spelling by 1901. "Twerk," meaning the derrière-dangling dance taken mainstream by Miley Cyrus, is one of 500 words, including "meh" and "twitterati," that have just been added to the OED, an honor that's only bestowed after a word has been in circulation for at least a decade. Next step? A thousand Scrabble fights. Daily Mail, Sky News |
| | The improbable Cavaliers triumphed after all. Having lost their first game of the championship, the University of Virginia battled back to take two straight — the second a 4-2 thriller yesterday — over Vanderbilt, last year's champs. After the Commodores scored a pair in the first, Cavs freshman Pavin Smith equalized with a two-run blast in the fourth. Ever-dependable lefty Brandon Waddell allowed just four hits over seven innings, hurling 104 pitches in a heroic effort to secure the Atlantic Coast Conference's first title since 1955. ESPN |
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