1. U.S. flag raised over embassy in Cuba
Speaking to crowds in both English and Spanish, Secretary of State John Kerry oversaw the raising of the American flag at the U.S. embassy in Cuba on Friday morning, marking the first major breakthrough in diplomatic relations between the two nations since the early years of the Cold War. He acknowledged the relationship will likely be difficult, but said, "We are each confident in our intentions, in the contacts we have made, and the friendships we have begun to forge."
NBC News The Washington Post
2. ISIS leader raped American hostage Kayla Mueller, officials say
U.S. counter-terrorism officials report that Kayla Mueller, an American humanitarian worker who died earlier this year after being taken hostage in Syria, was repeatedly raped by top ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Mueller’s family confirmed the information, which they received from officials in June, on Friday. These revelation dispels rumors that Mueller had cooperated with ISIS or was willingly Baghdadi's spouse.
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3. Eurozone finance ministers approve Greek bailout
Finance ministers of the eurozone approved an €85 billion ($95 billion) bailout for Greece on Friday. Earlier in the day, after a contentious all-night session, Greece's parliament approved the deal with the country's main creditors, which are the eurozone, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank. Some eurozone members' national parliaments still need to approve the deal.
The Wall Street Journal
4. Hillary Clinton jokes about email scandal, chalks it up to 'politics'
Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton brushed off the federal investigation into her use of a private email server as secretary of state as nothing more than "politics" on Friday. "You may have seen that I recently launched a Snapchat account," she joked to a crowd of more than 2,000 at a dinner for Iowa Democrats. "I love it. I love it. Those messages disappear all by themselves." Clinton has said she did not use the private server to send any classified information.
ABC News
5. Arkansas, Utah move to defund Planned Parenthood
Arkansas and Utah are attempting to defund Planned Parenthood following the release of controversial secret video footage showing officials discussing the organization's fetal tissue program. Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.) ordered his state department to cut the group's Medicaid funding Friday, while Gov. Gary Herbert (R-Utah) ordered the state to stop acting as a go-between for federal Planned Parenthood funding. The states join Louisiana, Alabama, and New Hampshire in attempting to defund the women's health group.
The Hill
6. Shinzo Abe asserts Japan cannot apologize for World War II forever
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe broke with recent tradition on Friday, the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, by pointedly declining to personally apologize for his nation's role in starting the war. While describing feelings of "profound grief" and recognizing that Japan had inflicted "immeasurable damage and suffering," he also stressed that "we must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize."
The New York Times
7. FDA approves OxyContin for severe pain in kids 11 and up
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of opioid painkiller OxyContin in children as young as 11 on Thursday. Doctors were already able to legally prescribe OxyContin off-label, but now they have federal guidelines to go off of, a move experts hope will make the drug safer to use. Historically, OxyContin is a drug fraught with abuse in the U.S., leading to high rates of overdose.
The Wall Street Journal
8. Obama releases summer Spotify playlists
The White House joined Spotify on Friday, and President Barack Obama had the honor of crafting the account's first two playlists, summer-themed daytime and evening choices. He went old-school with picks like Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, and Aretha Franklin, but newer tracks by Justin Timberlake and Florence and the Machine made the cut as well.
The White House
9. Michael Sam steps away from football for mental health reasons
Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to be drafted in the NFL, announced Friday he is stepping away from football. "The last 12 months have been very difficult for me, to the point where I became concerned with my mental health," he tweeted. Sam, 25, had joined the CFL's Montreal Alouettes after he didn't get a spot on the St. Louis Rams or the Dallas Cowboys.
ESPN
10. Disney is making a 'Jack and the Beanstalk' adaptation
Disney is making an animated adaptation of the classic English fable "Jack and the Beanstalk," the company's animation studio announced Friday. The film, dubbed Gigantic, is set to be directed by Tangled's Nathan Greno. Perhaps more importantly, Frozen song-writers Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez have also signed on. Expect it to hit theaters in 2018.
Variety
