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JPMorgan Settles With Epstein Survivors, Pat Sajak Retires, and a Bear at the Beach

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Today’s Big Stories

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JPMorgan Chase reaches settlement with Epstein survivors

JPMorgan Chase has agreed to a tentative $290 million settlement deal on Monday with a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein.

Why it matters: The suit accused the bank of providing Epstein loans and allowing him to withdraw large sums of cash from 1998 through 2013 despite being aware of his participation in sex trafficking.

Catch up: Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal charges accusing him of paying underage girls for massages and molesting them. He was found dead in jail later that year and medical examiners ruled his death a suicide.

Case details: The accuser, identified as Jane Doe, brought the suit on behalf of herself and other survivors. She said she was sexually abused from 2008 to 2013, overlapping with the timeline that the bank was doing business with Epstein.

  • On Monday the judge ruled in favor of making Doe’s lawsuit into a class-action lawsuit for all the victims of Epstein’s sex crimes.

  • However, the settlement amount must be approved by the court before it is awarded.

Big picture: JPMorgan isn’t the only bank on the hook for doing business with Epstein. Last month, Deutsche Bank agreed to a $75 million settlement with Epstein’s accusers.

Moving forward: Sigrid Crawley, an attorney for Doe and other victims said, “the settlements signal that financial institutions have an important role to play in spotting and shutting down sex trafficking.”

Denver Nuggets win the chip

The Denver Nuggets clinched the first NBA Championship in franchise history on Monday after beating the Miami Heat 94-89 in game 5 of the NBA Finals.

By the numbers: In the end the series wasn’t close: Denver won three of their four games by double digits.

  • Denver suffered their first postseason home loss in game 2 but bounced back to win the next three.

  • Nikola Jokic finished the playoffs with 600 points, 269 rebounds, and 190 assists; the first player in NBA history to lead the playoffs in all three categories.

  • Jokic is the lowest drafted player ever (41st) to win the Finals MVP award.

The other side: Miami was simply outmatched but defied expectations after nearly missing the playoffs. The Heat are the second 8th seed to ever make the Finals.

Zoom out: Stan Kroenke is the first owner to win titles in three major North American sports. Football - Rams Feb. 2022, Hockey - Avalanche June 2022, Basketball - Nuggets June 2023. Not a bad 16 months.

Quick Bites

Business & Economy

U.S. stock markets closed higher on Monday (S&P +0.93%, Nasdaq +1.53%, Dow +0.56%)

Nasdaq Inc. agreed to purchase financial-software maker Adenza for $10.5 billion in the companies biggest ever deal.

GM will invest $653 million for production of its next generation pickup truck at a plant in Indiana.

World

Militias attack and killed 45 civilians in a camp for internally displaced people in Congo on Monday.

China recorded its lowest number of marriages in 30 years last year and has their government concerned about a shrinking population crisis.

Former Italian Prime Minister and billionaire media mogul Silvio Berlusconi died on Monday at the age of 86.

US News, Politics, & Government

Officials recovered a body while clearing wreckage from the I-95 collapse in Philadelphia on Monday, and said that the highway rebuild is expected to take months.

Parts of the U.S. are likely to experience more poor air quality for the rest of the fire season as Canadian wildfires show no signs of slowing down.

A two-year-old died after accidentally shooting an unsecured firearm in Michigan on Sunday.

Sports & Entertainment

Oklahoma pitcher Jordan Bahl announced she will transfer to Nebraska after leading the Sooners to back to back women’s softball national championships.

Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak said he will retire at the end of this year’s season.

Golfer Adam Hadwin got tackled by security while celebrating fellow Canadian Nick Taylor’s win.

Science, Health, & Tech

An experimental vaccine shows promise in preventing the return of an aggressive type of brain cancer.

Octopuses can rewire their brains when exposed to cold water to protect delicate parts of their nervous systems.

Obesity impairs the brain’s response to nutrients, even after weight loss, according to a new study in Nature Metabolism. (Read the full study here)

Extras

Beachgoers film a bear going for an ocean swim near Destin, FL.

Travel inspiration: The 25 most beautiful places in Europe. 

Watch: Man walks 14,000 miles to map America’s perimeter trail.

A “dead” woman was found breathing in her casket during the funeral.

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