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Arming Ukraine, monitoring prisons and hanging in space

 
Today's INTERNATIONAL story

Ukraine's new F-16 fighter jets to fly 'this summer'

What happened
NATO members have begun sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the White House said Wednesday. The initial shipment of the American-made planes, long sought by Kyiv, are being transferred from Denmark and the Netherlands and "will be flying in the skies of Ukraine this summer," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as NATO leaders met in Washington for a 75th anniversary summit.

Who said what
The high-tech fighter jets "bring just and lasting peace closer" and demonstrate that "terror must fail everywhere and at any time," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, thanking the NATO nations for planes.

The transfer, initially approved in May 2023, follows this week's deadly bombing of a Ukrainian children's hospital, an attack "some observers said was Russian President Vladimir Putin's message to the NATO alliance," Politico said. Conversely, The Washington Post said, the F-16 deliveries, combined with a separate announcement that powerful U.S. long-range missile systems will be deployed in Germany in 2026, "seemed designed in part to capture Russia's attention." The U.S. and its NATO allies have "steadily moved toward providing more advanced weapons to Ukraine" as its war with Russia drags into a third year, The Wall Street Journal said.

What next?
Kyiv anticipates fielding at least "60 F-16s eventually," the Post said, "with a host of nations banding together to provide pilot training, weapons and logistical support."

 
 
Today's POLICY story

Congress approves greater prisons oversight

What happened
The Senate on Wednesday passed the Federal Prison Oversight Act, bipartisan legislation that boosts monitoring and transparency at the troubled federal Bureau of Prisons. The House passed the bill in May. 

Who said what
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), who sponsored the legislation with Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), said its passage was a "major milestone" after Senate and Associated Press investigations "revealed an urgent need" to tackle "corruption, abuse and misconduct in the federal prison system." The bill was backed by a broad coalition including prison employee unions and advocates for incarcerated people.

The legislation empowers a new independent ombudsman to collect, investigate and report complaints from staff and inmates amid "dozens of escapes, chronic violence, deaths and severe staffing shortages," the AP said. In April, as the bill advanced in the House, the Bureau of Prisons announced the closure of its "women's prison in Dublin, California, known as the 'rape club'" due to "rampant staff-on-inmate sexual abuse."

What next?
Once President Joe Biden signs the bill into law, the Justice Department's inspector general will conduct an initial assessment of all 122 federal prisons, assigning each facility a risk score and reporting the findings and recommendations to Congress and the public. Higher-score facilities would get more frequent inspections.

 
 
Today's SPACE Story

NASA, astronauts shrug off Starliner return trip delay

What happened
Astronauts Suni Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore said Wednesday they are enjoying their extended stay aboard the International Space Station after their return to Earth was indefinitely postponed due to thruster glitches and helium leaks on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. The two astronauts had planned on an eight-day stay after arriving at the ISS on June 6, on the Starliner's maiden crewed voyage.

Who said what
"I have a real good feeling in my heart that the spacecraft will bring us home, no problem," Williams told reporters from the ISS. In the meantime, "it's great to be up here. I'm not complaining that we're here for a couple extra weeks." Wilmore said despite the thruster issues, the Starliner has been "truly impressive."

Boeing and NASA said the astronauts could fly the Starliner home now in an emergency, but the in-orbit and on-the-ground testing will add more assurances and help with future flights.

What next?
Steve Stich, who oversees NASA's commercial crew program, said the earliest the Starliner could return to Earth is late July. There has been "no discussion" about sending a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft up to "rescue" Williams and Wilmore, he added.

 
 

It's not all bad

Researchers at the University of Delaware have developed a chemical recycling method to separate artificial fibers like nylon from natural ones such as cotton, potentially revolutionizing clothing recycling. The new process, led by chemical engineer Erha Andini, uses a solvent activated by microwave energy to break down polyester and nylon, allowing both types of fibers to be recycled. This approach promises a more sustainable approach to handling textile waste.

 
 
Under the radar

There has been a surge in homeschooling since the pandemic, and now a new trend called unschooling is gaining interest. In June, spiritual influencer Mami Onami went viral after discussing the approach. "We don't teach our children anything," she said on TikTok. "Everything that they learn is in response to either their interest or their questions." Onami's comments prompted backlash, but she is far from alone in pursuing this alternative education route. 

Unschooling is a "method in which there is no imposed curriculum on the child," Peter Gray, a professor at Boston College and one of the founders of the Alliance for Self-Directed Education, said to Rolling Stone. This approach puts the child in charge of their learning and is "based on the idea that children naturally learn what they are naturally curious about." Some unschoolers stick to a schedule and provide light instruction, Rolling Stone said, while others "eschew structure altogether, allowing their kids to create their own schedules."

Unschooling theory is rooted in the doctrine of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who held that children should be free to explore their own interests. Homeschool advocate John Holt coined the term "unschooling" in the 1970s. The movement has become increasingly diverse, with many Black and lower-income families gravitating toward it.

Some people worry that unschooling may prevent children from having social interactions that will teach them how to fit into society. But Onami said that's intentional. "The system is broken," she told Rolling Stone. "And school is the institution that prepares people to live in that world."

 
 
On this day

July 11, 1804

Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a duel. Burr was never tried for Hamilton's death despite dueling being illegal, but the incident effectively ended his political career. The duel was reignited in pop culture with the opening of the Broadway musical "Hamilton" in 2015.

 
 
TODAY’S newspaperS

As the 2024 campaign nears the home stretch, "not all politicians want to be jerks," USA Today says on Thursday's front page. In Arkansas, the secretary of state disqualified a proposed ballot measure to expand abortion access, "citing missing paperwork," the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette says. "Two GOP women lobbied for Texas Republicans to move on from abortion," unsuccessfully, The Washington Post says, quoting one of the women: "They want to kick us out of our party." Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is out of the country, complicating federal hurricane relief efforts, the Houston Chronicle says, citing the White House. "As 1.4 million Houston-area customers approach another sweltering night without power," the Chronicle adds, CenterPoint Energy says "it's going to be days" before electricity is restored.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Nuclear option

A rhino is killed for its horn every 20 hours in South Africa, for use in traditional medicine or as a status symbol, but experts are turning to nuclear technology to try to stop the bloodshed. Scientists have implanted radioactive material in the horns of 20 rhinos to make them poisonous and prevent smuggling, with the hope they would set off radiation detectors installed at land border crossings, ports and airports to prevent nuclear terrorism. The rhinos are not harmed by radioisotopes, scientists said.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Simon Wohlfahrt / AFP via Getty Images; Photographer Name / Getty Images; NASA / AP; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images