A protestor looks on during clashes with Turkish police near Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office in Istanbul, on June 4.
The Week
1. UNIONS JOIN TURKISH PROTESTS
A federation of labor unions in Turkey launched a two-day strike on Tuesday to show support for demonstrations against what opponents call the “fascism” of the governing party of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. A demonstrator was shot and killed in a town near the Syrian border Monday night at a rally to denounce Erdogan’s government. Erdogan said the protesters were “arm-in-arm with terrorism.” [CNN]
………………………………………………………………………………
2. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS LAW ALLOWING POLICE TO TAKE DNA FROM SUSPECTS
The Supreme Court — split 5-4 — ruled Monday that police can take DNA samples when booking suspects for serious crimes. The majority, narrowly upholding a Maryland law, said the government has the same legitimate interest to collect DNA as it does to take photographs or fingerprints. Critics called the practice an unlawful search. The ruling could clear the way for more widespread collection of DNA samples. [Washington Post]
………………………………………………………………………………
3. FRANK LAUTENBERG, THE SENATE’S LAST WWII VET, DIES
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), the Senate’s oldest member and its last World War II veteran,died early Monday of complications from viral pneumonia, his office said. He was 89. Lautenberg had battled stomach cancer in recent years. Admirers mourned Lautenberg, who wrote some of the nation’s most sweeping health and safety laws, as one of the left’s unsung heroes. [USA Today]
………………………………………………………………………………
4. PISTORIUS RETURNS TO COURT AS JUDGE POSTPONES HIS MURDER TRIAL
Olympic sprinter and double amputee Oscar Pistorius, who is facing murder charges for the Valentine’s Day shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, appeared in a South African court Tuesday for the first time since he was released on bail in February. After 15 minutes, a Praetoria magistrate granted a prosecution request to delay the trial until August so police can have more time to complete their investigation. [BBC News]
………………………………………………………………………………
5. HASAN WILL REPRESENT HIMSELF IN FORT HOOD MURDER TRIAL
A military judge will allow Maj. Nidal Hasan to represent himself at his murder trial for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas, which left 13 people dead. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, plans to use a “defense of others” strategy. Legal experts say that suggests he will argue he was protecting fellow Muslims from soldiers deploying to Afghanistan. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday, but Hasan is asking for a three-month trial delay to prepare his defense. [CBS News, Associated Press]
………………………………………………………………………………
6. U.N. INVESTIGATORS SAY SYRIA USED CHEMICAL WEAPONS
United Nations investigators said Tuesday that they had “reasonable grounds” to believe that chemical weapons had been used in Syria’s civil war. The latest report says witnesses and victims have accused both government forces and rebels of using the banned weapons, although there is more evidence pointing at the Syrian military. [Reuters]
………………………………………………………………………………
7. PROSECUTORS SAY SECRETS LEAKED BY MANNING REACHED BIN LADEN
On the opening day of Pfc. Bradley Manning’s trial, prosecutors said Monday that some of the classified information that the former Army intelligence officer sent to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks was found in Osama bin Laden’s hideout after the raid that killed the al Qaeda leader. Defense lawyers said in their opening statement that Manning was “a little naïve, but good-intentioned,” and thought he was helping the world by leaking U.S. secrets. [NBC News]
………………………………………………………………………………
8. PRIEBUS PRAISES COLLEGE REPUBLICANS FOR THEIR BITING 2012 CRITIQUE
The College Republican National Committee released a stinging report Monday, saying that the GOP failed to win over young voters last year because people under age 30 see the party as “closed-minded, racist, rigid, [and] old-fashioned.” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus praised the report, calling it a great step toward figuring out how the party can win over young voters. [Politico]
………………………………………………………………………………
9. THE LAST BOSTON MARATHON VICTIM LEAVES THE HOSPITAL
The last of the Boston Marathon bombing victims left a Boston hospital Monday. Erika Brannock, 29, lost a leg in the April 15 blasts. She said now she wants to return home to Baltimore and hug her family, eat steamed crabs, and be reunited with her preschool students at Trinity Episcopal Children’s Center. “I just want to sit on the floor with them and read them a story,” Brannock said. [Associated Press]
………………………………………………………………………………
10. THE HEAT CRUSH THE PACERS TO ADVANCE TO NBA FINALS… AGAIN
The Miami Heat defeated the Indiana Pacers in game seven of the Eastern Conference finals Monday night, advancing to the NBA championship playoff for the third straight year. Tensions were high as the Heat, with their reign as NBA champions on the line, squared off against the Pacers one last time, coming off of Miami’s worst offensive game of the season in game six. In the end, however, the Heat demolished the Pacers, 99-76, with star LeBron James scoring 32 points. [ESPN]
