10 things you need to know today: June 30, 2013
The EU accuses the NSA of spying, the Tour de France enters its second stage, and more
1. NSA ACCUSED OF SPYING ON EUROPEAN UNION
European officials are expressing shock and anger at German magazine Der Spiegel's reports that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's documents revealed that the U.S. placed listening devices in the EU's representation in Washington, infiltrated its computers, and carried out cyberattacks in New York and Washington against EU bodies. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said it is aware of the press reports, and has raised the issue with U.S. authorities in Washington and Brussels. [Wall Street Journal]
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2. THOUSANDS STAGE ANTI-MORSI PROTESTS IN EGYPT
Protests calling for the resignation of Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi have kicked off in Cairo and around the country. Morsi's opponents say he has failed to tackle economic and security problems. The protests come on the first anniversary of Morsi's election as the country's first Islamist president. [BBC]
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3. BIDEN ASKS ECUADOR TO REJECT SNOWDEN'S ASYLUM REQUEST
Vice President Biden asked Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa to turn down an asylum request from NSA leaker Edward Snowden. The Friday phone call between Correa and Biden — the highest-level conversation between the U.S. and Ecuador to be disclosed since Snowden began seeking asylum — added to the confusion about Snowden's status. [Politico]
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4. WESTERN U.S. HEAT WAVE CLAIMS ONE
A Las Vegas man died Saturday afternoon in a heat-aggravated incident as a relentless heat wave continued to blister through the desert southwest. Large swaths of the western U.S. sweltered under extreme heat warnings, which are expected to last into Tuesday night, and perhaps even longer. In southern California, Palm Springs peaked at 122 on Saturday. [USA Today]
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5. PELOSI DISCUSSES 2014, 2016 ELECTIONS
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is supportive of a Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, but hesitant to make an official endorsement. "I make a habit of not endorsing people until they make a decision to run," Pelosi said on Sunday's Meet the Press. "But I think there are many people who are waiting to see if Secretary Clinton runs." Pelosi added that she's concentrating more on successful 2014 midterm elections for Democrats than the 2016 presidential race. [Politico]
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6. OBAMA MEETS WITH MANDELA'S FAMILY
President Obama, who built his current Africa trip around the hope of meeting with former South African President Nelson Mandela, was unable to make his dream come true, instead meeting with members of Mandela's family Saturday. Pointing to Africa's crippling lack of electrical power, Obama is due to announce on Sunday a $7 billion initiative over five years to double access to power in sub-Saharan Africa. [New York Times, Reuters]
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7. ANNUAL GAY PRIDE PARADES EXPECT HIGH ATTENDANCE
Cities across the U.S. are gearing up Sunday for what are expected to be especially well-attended gay pride parades following the U.S. Supreme Court decisions restoring same-sex marriages to California and granting gay couples the federal benefits of marriage they were previously denied. The gay pride celebrations scheduled in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle, and St. Louis are annual, and in most cases decades-old events. [Washington Post]
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8. USERS PREPARE FOR THE END OF GOOGLE READER
On Monday Google will end its Google Reader service, which has allowed users to read various news feeds and articles in one central web application. After July 1 the service will no longer be usable, as Google announced in March that usage of the product had declined and that it would prefer to focus on fewer products. [ABC News]
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9. GETTYSBURG GEARS UP FOR 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF BATTLE
Merchants in Gettysburg, Pa., are capitalizing on the opportunity to cash in as tourists descend upon the town to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War battle. More than 200,000 people — including thousands of re-enactors — are expected to visit the small Pennsylvania town through Fourth of July weekend to mark the milestone. [Fox News]
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10. TOUR DE FRANCE IN STAGE 2 AFTER EVENTFUL START
German rider Marcel Kittel set out in the yellow jersey on Sunday's second stage of the 100th Tour de France. The sprinter stayed out of trouble to win Saturday's chaotic first stage, which saw riders crashing and a bus parked on the finish line until moments from the end. [Washington Post]
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Terri is a freelance writer at TheWeek.com. She's a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and has worked at TIME and Brides. You can follow her on Twitter.
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