NATO Defense, Heat Dome, & a Bear at the Dentist

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Adam Rogers
June 26, 2025

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NATO allies committed to 5% defense spending by 2035, while Spain secured an exemption.

Thirty-one of thirty-two NATO allies agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, a 2.5-fold jump from the current 2% target that some members still haven't met. The target includes at least 3.5% for traditional defense and 1.5% for security infrastructure. Spain negotiated an exemption after threatening to derail the summit and will maintain its commitment to spend 2.1% of GDP on defense.
The deal is the alliance's largest financial commitment increase in decades, driven by the war in Ukraine and years of pressure from President Trump for European allies to shoulder more defense costs. Spain, NATO's lowest military spender at 1.28% of GDP last year, called the 5% target "incompatible with our worldview" but said it believes "Europe should take charge of its own defense."
For major economies, 5% could mean hundreds of billions in additional annual spending. Germany alone would need to increase defense expenditure by roughly $200 billion per year. The timeline gives countries a full decade to phase in the spending increases.

A judge ruled that training AI on copyrighted books is legal, but Anthropic still faces a trial for using pirated copies.

Federal judge William Alsup ruled that training AI on copyrighted books qualifies as "fair use.” Alsup rejected Anthropic's motion to dismiss the lawsuit entirely, ruling the company must stand trial for building its training library from over seven million pirated books.
Three authors, including bestselling thriller writer Andrea Bartz, sued Anthropic last year, arguing the company built its multi-billion-dollar business on stolen content. The judge's ruling, one of the first major decisions on AI training rights, establishes a legal distinction: AI training itself doesn't violate copyright, but companies can't break the law to obtain their source material. Notably, the authors didn't claim Claude actually reproduces their books for users.
AI companies across the industry face similar lawsuits over training data, with some already striking licensing deals with publishers to avoid legal battles. Anthropic could face damages of up to $150,000 for each of the millions of copyrighted works in its library, creating massive financial exposure.

The Trump administration has given California 10 days to ban transgender girls from school sports or face funding cuts.

The Department of Education found California's Education Department and the California Interscholastic Federation in "clear violation" of Title IX for allowing transgender girls to compete on girls' teams. Federal investigators opened cases after California officials refused to follow Trump's executive order, saying it conflicted with 2013 state laws protecting transgender students' sports participation.
California must sign an agreement requiring schools to ban transgender girls from girls' sports and adopt "biology-based" gender definitions. The state must also transfer records and titles won by transgender athletes to the next non-transgender finisher and send apology letters to the affected athletes "on behalf of the state of California for allowing their educational experience to be marred by sex discrimination."
The ultimatum follows Trump's funding threat over transgender track athlete AB Hernandez, who qualified for state championships earlier this year. Governor Newsom previously called transgender athletes in girls' sports "deeply unfair," but his office dismissed the federal action as "dramatic, fake, and completely divorced from reality.”

Zohran Mamdani, 33, won New York's Democratic mayoral primary Tuesday, defeating Andrew Cuomo and potentially becoming the city's first Muslim mayor. He faces incumbent Eric Adams in the general election. (More)

Temperatures are forecast to drop 30 degrees today after a record-breaking heat wave broiled the US East Coast Wednesday, putting 127 million Americans under heat advisories. (More)

Twenty people were injured by lightning while swimming at South Carolina's Dominion Beach Park on Tuesday. Lightning energized metal cables around the swimming area, sending 12 to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. (More)

A massive cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles sank Monday in international waters 450 miles southwest of Alaska, according to the US Coast Guard. It also carried thousands of metric tons of fuel oil. (More)

Iran executed three people accused of spying for Israel's Mossad and arrested over 700 alleged "Israeli mercenaries" amid growing fears the regime is using the war to crack down domestically. (More)

Pope Leo XIV affirmed Wednesday that priests must remain celibate and ordered bishops to take "firm and decisive" action against sex abusers during a meeting with 400 bishops from 38 countries. (More)

US stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday (S&P -0.00%, Nasdaq +0.31%, Dow -0.25%). The S&P traded flat, flirting with a return to its all-time high. (More)

Nvidia shares rose over 4% Wednesday to a record $154.31, making the AI chip giant worth $3.77 trillion and the world's largest company by market cap, surpassing Microsoft and Apple. (More)

Bumble shares rallied more than 26% Wednesday after the dating app company announced plans to cut 30% of its workforce, or about 240 roles, to save $40 million annually. (More)

The Dallas Mavericks selected Duke's Cooper Flagg first overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. San Antonio took Rutgers' Dylan Harper second, and Philadelphia snagged VJ Edgecombe third. (More)

Fitness influencer Brian Johnson, known as "Liver King," was arrested Tuesday in Austin, Texas, for posting threatening social videos challenging podcaster Joe Rogan to fight. (More)

A 22-year-old fan was banned indefinitely from Chicago’s Guaranteed Rate Field after heckling Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte with derogatory comments about his late mother. (More)

University of Arkansas researchers found that canaries fed high-protein diets showed better immune function against infections than those fed fatty diets, suggesting bird feeder food affects wild bird health. (More)

Texas A&M scientists created living materials that automatically turn Mars dirt into building blocks without human help, potentially enabling the construction of houses and structures on Mars using local resources and 3D printing. (More)

Archaeologists reconstructed thousands of fragments of 2,000-year-old Roman frescoes discovered in central London, revealing luxurious wall paintings from at least 20 walls of an ancient villa. (More)

An Alaskan brown bear visits the dentist.

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