10 things you need to know today: June 14, 2021
G7 leaders criticize China in summit statement, Israeli lawmakers approve coalition ousting Netanyahu, and more
- 1. G7 leaders close summit with statement blasting China
- 2. Israeli lawmakers approve new coalition, ousting Netanyahu
- 3. Biden meets with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle
- 4. Apple: Trump DOJ subpoenaed White House counsel's data
- 5. Exit polls: Swiss voters reject 'carbon dioxide law'
- 6. 6 die, 39 wounded in 4 weekend mass shootings
- 7. 'In the Heights' has disappointing box-office opening
- 8. Oscar-nominated character actor Ned Beatty dies at 83
- 9. Pekingese named Wasabi wins Westminster dog show
- 10. Djokovic comes back to win French Open
1. G7 leaders close summit with statement blasting China
Group of Seven leaders on Sunday closed their three-day summit in England with a statement criticizing China for its human rights record and the erosion of Hong Kong's autonomy, while demanding that Beijing thoroughly and transparently investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. The group of wealthy democracies — the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom — also formally pledged to donate more than 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer nations, and agreed to a minimum corporate tax. "What we as the G7 need to do is demonstrate the benefits of democracy and freedom and human rights to the rest of the world," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. Some global health advocates called for bolder action against the pandemic and climate change.
The Associated Press The Washington Post
2. Israeli lawmakers approve new coalition, ousting Netanyahu
Israeli lawmakers voted 60 to 59 on Sunday to install a new coalition government, ousting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power after a record 12 years. The incoming coalition includes parties from the right, center, and left. It will be led for the next two years by Naftali Bennett, an Orthodox leader of Israel's religious nationalist movement who used to be a Netanyahu ally. Outgoing conservatives shouted "shame" before the vote, which broke a two-year electoral deadlock. "We are incapable of sitting together — what is happening to us?" Bennett said over boos ahead of the vote. "I am proud of sitting with people who have very different opinions. We have decided to take responsibility." Under a power-sharing deal, centrist politician Yair Lapid will replace Bennett after two years.
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3. Biden meets with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden had tea at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth II at the end of their U.K. visit. The British monarch has met with 13 U.S. presidents — every one since World War II except Lyndon Johnson. Biden said the queen asked about the leaders of China and Russia, and that he had invited her to the White House. "I don't think she would be insulted, but she reminded me of my mother in terms of the look of her and just the generosity," he said. Biden had met Queen Elizabeth once before, when he was serving as a senator from Delaware. Biden traveled to Europe to attend the Group of Seven summit in Cornwall, England. He heads to a NATO summit Monday, followed by meetings with European Union and European Council leaders. His last stop will be in Geneva for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
4. Apple: Trump DOJ subpoenaed White House counsel's data
Apple told former President Donald Trump's White House counsel, Don McGahn, that the Trump administration Justice Department had subpoenaed data from one of his accounts in February 2018, The New York Times reported Sunday, citing two people briefed on the matter. Apple said DOJ said at the time that it was barred from informing McGahn, whose wife received a similar notice. It was not immediately clear what accounts were reviewed, or whether McGahn, who had been the 2016 Trump campaign's top lawyer, was the focus of the matter the Justice Department was investigating. The news that the Trump administration secretly investigated one of its own came after revelations that the Trump DOJ had seized the data of reporters and at least two Democrats in Congress as part of an investigation into leaks regarding contacts between Trump associates and Russia.
5. Exit polls: Swiss voters reject 'carbon dioxide law'
Swiss voters appeared to have rejected a proposed "carbon dioxide law" that sought to raise taxes on fuels linked to emissions that cause climate change, according to exit polls on Sunday. Switzerland's temperatures have been rising at twice the global average, according to its government, which has concluded that greenhouse gases are the primary cause. The initiative, proposed by the anti-pesticide citizens group Future 3, sought to bolster an existing law intended to reduce the Alpine nation's CO2 emissions this decade. The measure would have imposed new taxes on natural gas and fuels that generate carbon dioxide. It also would have added an airline-ticket tax. The Swiss farming sector had strongly opposed the proposal, as had the government, which feared the taxes would have reduced farm production and driven up food prices.
The Associated Press The New York Times
6. 6 die, 39 wounded in 4 weekend mass shootings
Police in Austin, Cleveland, Chicago, and Savannah spent Sunday investigating a weekend burst of mass shootings that left at least six people dead and 39 wounded. The shootings were the latest in a series of multiple-casualty attacks that has fueled worries of a potentially violent summer as people emerge from the forced isolation of the coronavirus pandemic. "It's very disturbing what we're seeing across the country and the level of gun violence that we're seeing across the country. It's disturbing and it's senseless," Savannah Police Chief Roy Minter, Jr., said after one person was killed and eight others, including an 18-month-old baby, were wounded in a Saturday shooting in his city. Investigators found 60 shell casings at the scene. Austin police arrested one suspect and were searching for another after a shooting there left 14 wounded.
7. 'In the Heights' has disappointing box-office opening
In the Heights brought in $11.4 million at the domestic box office this weekend, a disappointing four-day total after rave reviews raised expectations that the musical would gross closer to $20 million, Variety reported on Sunday. A Quiet Place Part II edged out In the Heights with $11.65 million to return to the top spot after its Memorial Day weekend opening. The highly anticipated In the Heights, the film version of the Broadway musical with lyrics and writing by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, also was available to stream on HBO Max. It was unclear how much the option of watching at home cut into ticket sales at theaters, which are just starting to reopen after pandemic-induced shutdowns.
8. Oscar-nominated character actor Ned Beatty dies at 83
Ned Beatty, a character actor who appeared in more than 150 movies and television shows, died Sunday of natural causes at his Los Angeles home. He was 83. Beatty spent years in regional theater before being cast in 1972's Deliverance, an iconic film about river boaters terrorized by backwoods thugs. Beatty's character, Bobby Trippe, was forced to "squeal like a pig" in one of the movie's most memorable, frightening scenes. Beatty received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his role as a corporate executive in 1976's Network. He also had roles in Superman and other films in which movie-goers recognized his face even if they didn't know his name. "For people like me, there's a lot of 'I know you! I know you! What have I seen you in?'" Beatty said in 1992.
9. Pekingese named Wasabi wins Westminster dog show
Wasabi the Pekingese on Sunday won Best in Show at the 145th Westminster Kennel Club's famous dog show, the second-longest running continuous sporting event in the United States. This year, the show was pushed back from February to June, and moved from New York City to Tarrytown, New York, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Wasabi beat out more than 2,400 dogs from 209 breeds to win the top prize. It marked the fifth time a Pekingese has won Best in Show after winning the Toy Group. Wasabi's grandfather, Malachy, won in 2012. FOX asked Wasabi's handler, David Fitzpatrick, how the canine would celebrate its win, and he replied: "He can have a filet mignon, and I'll have champagne."
10. Djokovic comes back to win French Open
Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece to win the men's singles title at the French Open on Sunday. Djokovic came back from a two-set deficit to win his 19th Grand Slam championship 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in a marathon match that lasted four hours and 11 minutes. Two days earlier he beat Rafael Nadal, a 13-time French Open champion, in the semifinals. Djokovic, 34, is now the first man to win all four major tournaments twice in the Open Era (since 1968). He heads to Wimbledon next with a chance to tie Roger Federer and Nadal for the most men's Grand Slam titles. Tsitsipas, 22, was going for his first Grand Slam win.
NBC Sports The Washington Post
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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.
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