1. KIDNAP SUSPECT FATHERED CHILD BORN IN CAPTIVITY
A DNA test identified the suspect in the Cleveland kidnapping case, Ariel Castro, 52, as the biological father of the 6-year-old girl born in captivity to victim Amanda Berry. Authorities say the child was born in a plastic children's swimming pool on Christmas Day in 2006. [Reuters]
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2. WHITE HOUSE EDITED BENGHAZI TALKING POINTS
Twelve White House documents obtained by ABC News suggest that talking points first written by the CIA concerning the 2012 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi were extensively edited with input from the State Department to remove references to Islamic extremists. Republicans say this proves that the Obama administration politicized the attack. [ABC News]
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3. MORNING-AFTER PILL RESTRICTION APPEAL DENIED
An appeal by the government to delay a federal judge's ruling that emergency contraception should be available over-the-counter to women of all ages was struck down on Friday. Last week, the FDA announced that it was making one morning-after pill, Plan B, available to women 15 and older, down from the previous age limit of 17. The judge said that the age limit was "nonsensical" and limited women's access to emergency contraception. [Associated Press]
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4. WORLD TRADE CENTER BECOMES TALLEST BUILDING IN AMERICA
Construction workers officially made One World Trade Center the tallest building in the United States when they permanently fixed a silver spire to the top of it. The building, located on the site where the twin towers were destroyed on September 11, 2001, now stands at 1,776 feet tall. [USA Today]
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5. TEXAS POLICE LAUNCH CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO FERTILIZER PLANT EXPLOSION
Texas law enforcement officials have announced they are launching a criminal investigation into the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas that killed 14 people and injured more than 200 others. Up until now, officials have portrayed the explosion as an industrial accident. Investigators did not elaborate on why they were starting a criminal investigation. [Associated Press]
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6. IRS ADMITS TO TARGETING CONSERVATIVE GROUPS
The Internal Revenue Service admitted to inappropriately investigating Tea Party and other conservative groups during their applications for tax-exempt status between 2010 and 2012. IRS official Lois Lerner apologized and said the agency "didn’t use good judgment." The revelation prompted angry responses from Republican politicians and Tea Party leaders. [The New York Times]
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7. POSSIBLE CONNECTION BETWEEN BOSTON BOMBING SUSPECTS AND TRIPLE HOMICIDE
Law enforcement officials in Massachusetts say they have "mounting evidence" connecting Boston bombing suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, with an unsolved triple homicide involving Tamerlan's former roommate Brendan Mess, who was found dead in 2011 with two other men covered in seven pounds of marijuana. [ABC News]
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8. FAST FOOD STRIKE HITS FOURTH CITY
The growing strike by fast food workers spread to Detroit on Friday as McDonald's employees walked off the job to protest the $7.40 minimum wage. In April, around 400 fast food workers in New York City went on strike, followed by workers in Chicago and St. Louis. [Huffington Post]
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9. REPUBLICANS BLOCK WHITE HOUSE EPA NOMINEE
The White House's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy, was blocked when all eight Republicans on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works refused to appear for a vote. A day earlier, Republicans used an obscure procedural rule to delay the nomination of Thomas Perez as labor secretary.
[Washington Post]
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10. POST OFFICE LOSES $1.9 BILLION
The U.S. Postal Service announced it lost $1.9 billion in its second quarter, which is actually an improvement over last year, when the agency lost $3.2 billion over the same time period. The Postal Service announced a plan in February to cut service on Saturdays to save money, but it was vetoed by Congress. [Reuters]
