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Assange Strikes Plea Deal, Will Walk Free

Your unbiased daily news brief

Author

James Kratch
June 25, 2024

Good Tuesday morning. A Canadian man is embroiled in a legal battle with his city because he does not want to mow his lawn. And, it turns out, he is far from the only person butting heads over the height of his grass. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

  • Minnesota: Dam partially fails

  • South Korea: Battery plant explodes

  • Planned Parenthood: Election plans

  • Novo Nordisk: $4B expansion

  • Florida Panthers: Win Stanley Cup

... and more

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Top Tips

1) Plea and clear

The U.S. government's almost 15-year entanglement with Julian Assange will apparently end rather anti-climactically.

  • Long time coming: The WikiLeaks founder has reached a plea deal with Department of Justice. Assange is expected to plead guilty to a felony federal conspiracy count tomorrow in the Northern Mariana Islands; he is expected to be sentenced to time served in a British prison and allowed to return to his native Australia.

  • Catch up: Wikileaks published classified U.S. diplomatic and military materials in 2010, sparking an international scandal. The website then published hacked emails by top Democrats in 2016, upending that year's presidential race. Assange has spent over a decade trying to avoid extradition to the U.S, first taking asylum in Ecuador's London embassy and then spending the last five years in a British jail.

  • Big picture: President Joe Biden said in April he was considering a request by Australia's government to drop the charges against Assange. There was no guarantee the United Kingdom's High Court would sign off on his extradition; Assange had a full appeal hearing scheduled for next month. And some legal experts questioned whether DOJ could prove his actions did not fall under First Amendment press protections.

2) Another blockbuster

The Supreme Court is once again wading into a contentious social matter.

  • What happened: The high court will hear a challenge to a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for minors during its 2024-25 session, which begins in October. The Biden Administration urged the justices to take on the case; the plaintiffs are a group of anonymous transgender teenagers and their parents.

  • At issue: The DOJ argues the Tennessee law violates the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, as minors who are not transgender can still receive identical treatment methods in the state. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said the Supreme Court should respect a lower court ruling upholding the law as constitutional.

  • The significance: This will be the first time the Supreme Court directly addresses transgender protections. The high court allowed Idaho to partially enforce a similar law earlier this year, but did not address its constitutionality. Twenty-four states have passed laws that ban medications like puberty blockers for minors since 2021, but the results of subsequent legal challenges have been mixed. The eventual court decision will likely set a precedent.

3) High stakes

Two controversial House members face primaries today.

  • In New York: The state's 16th Congressional District is the site of a Democratic Party war and the most expensive primary contest in history. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a fierce critic of Israel backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and other progressives, is trying to fend off Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Latimer was endorsed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and has benefitted from pro-Israel groups spending against Bowman.

  • In Colorado: Rep. Lauren Boebert will finish her term in the state's 3rd District, but the infamous Republican is trying to earn re-election in the 4th after barely winning her seat in 2022. Boebert opted not to run in the special election to finish retired Rep. Ken Buck's term, but is competing in the parallel GOP primary. Boebert is favored to prevail, but polling has been scarce and some are concerned voters will be confused by the simultaneous races.

  • Elsewhere on the ballot: Former CNN analyst John Avlon is vying for the Democratic nomination in New York's 1st District. South Carolina's 3rd District will see a GOP runoff that former President Donald Trump has been involved in.And Utah will select its GOP Senate nominee, who will likely succeed retiring Sen. Mitt Romney, while incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox faces a potentially tricky primary of his own.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

  • Minnesota's Rapidan Dam suffered a partial failure due to flooding on the Blue Earth River. A earthen levee is being built as a precaution in North Mankato; officials said there were no plans to evacuate residents as of last evening (More)

  • Hunter Biden's attorneys have requested a new trial in his felony gun case. The president's son's legal team wants his conviction vacated on procedural grounds (More)

  • The defense rested in the Karen Read murder trial, concluding almost two months of testimony. The Massachusetts woman is accused of fatally hitting her boyfriend with her car during a blizzard; her attorneys allege she was framed (More)

World News

  • A lithium battery factor in South Korea exploded yesterday, killing at least 22 people. The plant is located about 30 miles outside of Seoul and is believed to have contained 35K batteries to power electric vehicles (More)

  • An Interpol Secretary General candidate faces allegations he was involved in a plot against a pair of Indian businessmen. Zambia's Mubita Nawa is accused of participating in a kidnapping and extortion scheme; the alleged victims' lawyers say he cannot lead the international police force (More)

  • Princess Anne will be hospitalized for several days after suffering a concussion and minor head wounds. King Charles' sister reportedly was hit in the head by a horse at her home; she is expected to make a full recovery (More)

Campaign News

  • Planned Parenthood will spend $40M to back President Biden and congressional Democrats this election cycle. The healthcare non-profit said it believes abortion rights are "the message of this election" (More)

  • Virginia Rep. Bob Good will try to block certification of the Republican primary in the state's 5th Congressional District. Good currently trails State Sen. John McGuire by about 375 votes; the House Freedom Caucus leader has insinuated election fraud occurred without evidence (More)

  • The Biden campaign does not believe it can win Florida's 30 electoral votes. Campaign Chairwoman Jen O'Malley Dillon told Puck News she does not view it as a battleground state; she also conceded Trump will likely win North Carolina (More)

Business & Markets

  • Major indexes closed mixed yesterday. The Dow Jones was up over 250 points (Dow +0.67%, Nasdaq -1.09%, S&P 500 -0.31%).

  • Novo Nordisk announced plans to build a new $4B manufacturing plant in North Carolina. The pharmaceutical company will use the site to boost its output of weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, as well as other injectable medications (More)

  • U.S. prosecutors have recommended criminal charges against Boeing for violating a settlement related to a pair of fatal plane crashes. The Department of Justice has until July 7 to pursue a case against the embattled aerospace company (More)

Entertainment & Sports

  • The Florida Panthers avoided a historic collapse and won their first Stanley Cup, downing the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1, in Game 7 of the finals. Edmonton was bidding to be the first team to win a title following a 3-0 series deficit since 1942 (More)

  • Tennessee held off a ninth-inning rally by Texas A&M to win the College World Series. The Volunteers beat the Aggies, 6-5, in Game 3 of the championship series to win their first-ever national title (More)

  • Several major record labels are suing a pair of artificial intelligence music-making companies. Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group are among the plaintiffs alleging copyright infringement (More)

Quick Hitters

  • Medical First: A British teenager with severe epilepsy has received the world's first brain implant designed to control seizures. The device has reduced the boy's daily seizures by 80%.

  • Chow Down: Take advantage of the ample fresh produce that summer brings. Here are close to 100 fresh recipes to try.

  • Go Deep: Research shows children are particularly vulnerable to noise pollution generated by traffic and traveling. Schools in cities and urban settings are taking steps to make classrooms (and roads) quieter.

  • No Breaks: Americans have a hard time getting away. A new report by Expedia found U.S. workers take the fewest paid time off days in the world, even as the average length of vacations has ticked up in recent years.

  • Life Hack: You never know when something unexpected and unfortunate may happen, but you can be prepared if and when an emergency occurs. Here is a look at how to build a "rainy day fund" and how much should be in one.

  • OPTIMIZE ME: Researchers “found convincing evidence that higher intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with 50% increased risk of cardiovascular disease-related death, a 48% to 53% higher risk of anxiety and common mental disorders, and a 12% greater risk of type 2 diabetes.”

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Europe used to be a hotbed of filmmaking. What happened?

Looking Ahead …

We may all be able to travel in airplanes powered by microwaves someday. No, really. Many hurdles exist, but this report explains how the technology that reheats your soup could eventually get you from one place to another.

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