10 things you need to know today: July 1, 2015

Greek pensioners try to get into a bank in Athens.

(Image credit: AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

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1. Greece signals readiness for concessions after defaulting on IMF debt
2. U.S. and Cuba to reopen embassies
3. Chris Christie launches bid for GOP presidential nomination
4. Death toll from Indonesia crash reaches 142
5. Iran nuclear talks extended until July 7 as deadline passes
6. Seventh Southern church burns
7. Oregon law legalizing recreational marijuana takes effect
8. Misty Copeland becomes first black top-ranked dancer at American Ballet Theater
9. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner call it quits
10. U.S. women beat Germany to advance to World Cup final

By Harold Maass, The Week US

published 1 July 2015

1. Greece signals readiness for concessions after defaulting on IMF debt

Greece missed a Tuesday deadline to make a $1.8 billion loan payment to the International Monetary Fund, becoming the first developed country to default on a debt to the IMF. Hours earlier European ministers rejected the Greek government's request for an extension on its bailout. European finance ministers, who are demanding tax hikes and social spending cuts in exchange for new financing, are meeting Wednesday to discuss a new bailout proposal from Greece, after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras signaled he was willing to make most of the big concessions demanded by creditors.

The Obama administration announced Tuesday that the U.S. and Cuba have reached a deal to reopen embassies in each other's capitals. The initiative is the biggest step President Obama can make toward restoring normal ties with America's neighbor and former Cold War rival. It also is the most decisive move Obama can make on his own. Only Congress can lift the economic embargo against Cuba, which the communist Caribbean nation's leaders say must be part of any rapprochement.

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie formally announced Tuesday that he would run for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. "I am now ready to fight for the people of the United States of America," the straight-talking second-term governor said in the gymnasium of his old high school in Livingston, New Jersey. Christie criticized Congress and President Obama as dysfunctional, and said the country needs his "strong leadership and decisiveness."

The death toll from the crash of an Indonesian military transport plane into a residential neighborhood has risen to 142, a police official said Wednesday. The C-130 Hercules aircraft slammed into a densely populated area on the island of Sumatra and exploded. Authorities said 122 people were on the plane, including 12 crew members. Search crews do not expect to find any survivors. The rest of the victims were on the ground when the plane hit.

Nuclear talks with Iran have been extended to July 7 as a June 30 deadline passed without a deal. The announcement coincided with the return of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to the talks, boosting hopes that an agreement can be reached to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for world powers lifting economic sanctions against the country. The Obama administration has until July 9 to send any agreement to Congress, which would then have 30 days to review the deal.

A fire on Tuesday destroyed a South Carolina church that was torched by the Ku Klux Klan in 1995. The church, Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church in Greeleyville, was the seventh predominantly African-American church to burn since a white gunman shot and killed nine people during a Bible study at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church. Investigators could not immediately say what caused the blaze.

A law legalizing the smoking and growing of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use took effect in Oregon on Wednesday. Voters approved the measure in November. Pot is expected to become available in shops in the state by next year. Oregon became the latest in a string of states on the West Coast to make recreational marijuana use legal. Alaska and Washington state already have put similar laws into force.

Misty Copeland, one of the country's most famous ballerinas, was promoted to become the first African-American female principal dancer ever in the American Ballet Theater. Copeland has been performing with the 75-year-old company for more than 14 years — eight of them as a soloist. Copeland has said becoming the first black woman to be named as a principal dancer at the prestigious company was one of her goals.

After 10 years of marriage, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are calling it quits. "After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce," the pair told People in a joint statement. "We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children." The celebrity power couple originally met on the set of 2001's Pearl Harbor, and became involved two years later when they were costars in 2003's Daredevil. They have three children together.

The U.S. women's soccer team upset top-ranked Germany 2-0 on Tuesday to advance to the finals of the World Cup. The U.S. on Sunday will play the winner of a match between England and reigning champion Japan. The U.S. will be making its second appearance in the Women's World Cup final in four years. Midfielder Carli Lloyd led the U.S. squad with a goal and an assist. "I've just been training my tail off for the last 12 years," Lloyd said after the match. "These are the moments that I live for."

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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.