10 things you need to know today: June 25, 2015

1. Boston bomber apologizes at death sentence hearing

Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev apologized to his victims for the first time on Wednesday as a judge formally sentenced him to die. "I am sorry for the lives that I've taken, for the suffering that I've caused you," said Tsarnaev. He confessed openly that he and his late brother had committed the attack, which killed three people and injured more than 260. A survivor called the apology "insincere." Judge George O'Toole told Tsarnaev, 21, that the only thing anyone would remember about him was "the evil you have done."

CNN

2. Mourners pay respects to slain South Carolina lawmaker

About 4,000 people lined up in South Carolina's Statehouse on Wednesday to pay their respects to state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, whose open casket was placed in the Capitol a week after he and eight others were killed at his historic black church in Charleston, allegedly by a white gunman. Black curtains were hung over two doors during the viewing, obscuring the view of a Confederate battle flag flying over the grounds. The first of the victims' funerals is scheduled for Thursday.

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The State

3. Jindal joins crowded GOP presidential field

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal announced Wednesday that he was running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, bringing the crowded GOP field to 13 candidates. "There are a lot of great talkers running for president already," said Jindal, 44. "We've had enough of talkers. It is time for a doer." Even supporters concede that Jindal is a longshot candidate. He has less national recognition than many rivals, and his popularity has fallen as his state's budget deficit rose.

The New York Times

4. Senate passes fast-track trade bill

The Senate voted 60-38 Wednesday to give President Obama fast-track trade authority. The approval of the bill is expected to help Obama seal the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership by letting him present trade deals to Congress for up-or-down votes with no amendments. The bill now heads to Obama's desk to be signed into law. The vote is considered a major victory for Obama, who found an unlikely ally in House Republicans after House Democrats tried to force more U.S. labor protections into the bill.

The Associated Press

5. Alabama removes Confederate flags

Alabama Gov. Robert Bently unexpectedly ordered the removal of the Confederate battle flag from a memorial at the State Capitol on Wednesday. Bently's decision was the latest swipe at the flag since a white gunmen killed nine African Americans at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. Bently said he checked to make sure he had the authority to do it, then ordered Confederate flags removed so they would not become a distraction. "We have work to do," he said. "And it was my decision that the flag needed to come down."

AL.com

6. Hate-crime charges likely in Charleston church massacre

Law enforcement officials said Wednesday that the Justice Department would probably file federal hate crime charges against Dylann Roof for the massacre at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church, an historic black church. Roof, who is white, already faces nine counts of murder, so he could face the death penalty, which would make a hate-crime prosecution largely symbolic. A racist manifesto Roof allegedly posted online would be crucial to a hate-crime prosecution.

The New York Times

7. Second New York prison worker charged in escape case

A second New York prison worker has been arrested in connection with the escape of convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat from a maximum-security upstate prison. Guard Gene Palmer was charged with several crimes, including promoting dangerous prison contraband, his lawyer said Wednesday. Palmer, who is on paid leave, allegedly brought frozen ground beef with smuggled tools into the inmates' cell area. Prison tailor Joyce Mitchell, the first worker charged, allegedly brought the tools into the prison.

Reuters

8. Pakistan heat wave death toll passes 1,000 as temperatures cool

Even though rains and sea breezes have eased southern Pakistan's heat wave, the death toll from the crisis rose above 1,000 on Wednesday. Government and private hospitals reported at least 229 deaths on Wednesday. About 40,000 people have suffered heatstroke. Most of the victims were reported in Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city, where at least 950 people have died since the heat wave began Saturday.

Dawn

9. Greece balks at demands for more spending cuts

Emergency talks between Greece and its creditors got bogged down on Wednesday over the nature of financial reforms Greece will commit to in exchange for bailout loans it needs to avoid default. The government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has proposed mostly tax hikes, but Greece's European lenders are demanding more spending cuts. Tsipras' anti-austerity government was "unable to agree on such a course," a Greek official said. The talks are scheduled to resume Thursday.

The Washington Post

10. Bobbi Kristina Brown moved to hospice care

Bobbi Kristina Brown, the daughter of late singer Whitney Houston, was moved to hospice care on Wednesday as her condition continued to deteriorate five months after she was found face down and unresponsive in a bathtub. Brown, 22, has been in a medically induced coma, and doctors said she had suffered irreversible brain damage. Bobbi Kristina's court-appointed conservator filed a $10 million lawsuit Wednesday accusing her former boyfriend, Nick Gordon, of domestic abuse and stealing more than $11,000 from her bank account.

Reuters