10 things you need to know today: June 8, 2015
Erdogan's party loses its majority in Turkey, Fun Home takes the Tony for best musical, and more
- 1. Ruling party loses majority in Turkey
- 2. Fun Home takes best musical Tony
- 3. Texas officer suspended after pulling gun on teens outside pool party
- 4. New York offers reward for information leading to arrest of escaped murderers
- 5. Blanca, once a powerful Pacific hurricane, weakens and nears Mexico as tropical storm
- 6. Bikers protest detention of 100 still held over deadly May brawl
- 7. Abortion rates decline across the U.S.
- 8. G7 leaders push for emissions cuts and a firm stand against Russia
- 9. LeBron James and Cavaliers take thrilling Game 2 in NBA Finals
- 10. Wawrinka upsets Novak Djokovic to win French Open
1. Ruling party loses majority in Turkey
Turkey's ruling party lost the outright parliamentary majority it held for 13 years in Sunday elections. The results marked a stinging setback for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an Islamist who has cracked down on critics and attempted to expand his power by rewriting the country's constitution. Erdogan's critics, including Kurd's secular leaders, picked up seats. Erdogan's Justice and Development Party won far more seats than its rivals, but he said Monday that no party had a mandate to govern on its own.
2. Fun Home takes best musical Tony
Fun Home won five Tony awards on Sunday night, including best musical, best director, and best leading actor for Michael Cerveris. The King and I won best revival, and as well as the first Tony (after five previous nominations) for lead actress Kelli O'Hara. The biggest non-musical winner at the 69th Tony Awards was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which won five awards, including best play and best leading actor for Alex Sharp. Helen Mirren won best leading actress in a play for her role in The Audience.
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3. Texas officer suspended after pulling gun on teens outside pool party
A Texas police officer was placed on administrative leave on Sunday after a cellphone video surfaced showing him pushing a 14-year-old girl outside a pool party, and pulling his gun on several people who tried to come to her aid. The video shows several white officers shouting at a group of black, bathing-suit-clad teenagers. Greg Conley, police chief in the town of McKinney near Dallas, said his department had launched a formal investigation into officer's actions.
4. New York offers reward for information leading to arrest of escaped murderers
New York state authorities on Sunday offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Richard Matt and David Sweat, two murderers who escaped early Saturday from the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility about 20 miles south of the Canadian border. "These are dangerous men," Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said. Cuomo urged anyone with information to come forward, saying the fugitives were "capable of committing grave crimes once again."
5. Blanca, once a powerful Pacific hurricane, weakens and nears Mexico as tropical storm
Former hurricane Blanca was downgraded to tropical storm status as it neared Mexico's Baja Peninsula on Sunday. A day earlier, Blanca had gained enough strength to become a category four hurricane, with top sustained winds of 130 mph. The storm continued to track toward shore early Monday with its top winds down to around 70 mph. The storm was expected to continue weakening on Monday as it headed north-northwest near the Baja Peninsula's southern tip and continue parallel to shore.
6. Bikers protest detention of 100 still held over deadly May brawl
Hundreds of bikers rallied outside a courthouse in Waco, Texas, on Sunday to protest the continuing detention of about 100 of the more than 170 motorcycle-gang members arrested after a deadly May 17 brawl. The silent "All for 1" rally was organized in response to the crackdown that followed the fight, erupted during a large biker gathering in a Twin Peaks restaurant and spilled outside. Nine people were killed and another 18 injured.
7. Abortion rates decline across the U.S.
Abortions have declined by 12 percent since 2010 across the country, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from state health departments. Several states with the most aggressive new anti-abortion laws, including Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, and Oklahoma, had drops of around 15 percent — but so did many more liberal states with open access to abortions. A major contributing factor was a drop in teen pregnancies, which fell in 2010 to the lowest level in decades.
8. G7 leaders push for emissions cuts and a firm stand against Russia
Group of Seven (G7) leaders focused on climate change on the second and final day of their summit in Bavaria on Monday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, once known as the "climate chancellor," called for her fellow democratic leaders to commit to sharp cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases. On Sunday, Merkel, President Obama, and their counterparts from the UK, Canada, Italy, France, and Japan took a firm stand on sanctions against Russia over its support for separatist rebels in Ukraine.
9. LeBron James and Cavaliers take thrilling Game 2 in NBA Finals
LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 95-93 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night. James scored 39 points, and had 16 rebounds and 11 assists — his 13th triple-double in post-season play. Warriors star and NBA MVP Steph Curry scored just 19 points on 5-for-23 shooting. The win was critical for the Cavaliers, evening the series 1-1 on the road before returning to Cleveland for Game 3 on Tuesday night.
10. Wawrinka upsets Novak Djokovic to win French Open
Eighth-seeded Stan Wawrinka defeated world No.1 Novak Djokovic to win the French Open, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. The upset denied Djokovic the one championship he needs to complete a career Grand Slam. The Serbian Djokovic was considered a heavy favorite, especially after he dispatched nine-time French Open champ Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the quarterfinal, but Switzerland's Wawrinka hit 60 winners to end Djokovic's 28-match winning streak. "I played the match of my life," he said.
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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
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