Organ fraud, NATO, and robot dogs.

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Big Stories

Sweden joins Nato

Hungary's parliament voted to support Sweden's entry into NATO after 18 months of delays.

• The vote passed with 188 in favor and 6 against. The approval came after months of efforts by Hungary’s allies to persuade government officials to lift a block on Sweden's NATO membership.

• Sweden's approval marks the second expansion of NATO in a year, after Finland. Both countries applied to join the alliance shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The invasion was allegedly launched to prevent NATO expansion.

• Hungary's approval strengthens NATO with its capable armed forces and defense industry. It’s also seen as a global sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t succeed in closing NATO’s door to would-be applicants.

Supreme Court hears Florida, Texas social media cases

The Supreme Court is considering laws from Florida and Texas aimed at regulating social media companies' content moderation abilities

• The court reviewed laws from Texas and Florida that challenge tech companies' ability to moderate content based on politics. The tech companies argued that they have a First Amendment right to moderate and remove user content, per their own rules.

• SCOTUS raised concerns about the broadness of the laws and their potential to limit online speech. Justices also said the laws could end up including sites like Etsy and force them to sell products they don’t want.

• The decision's outcome could influence tech platforms' content policies, but until Congress acts, companies have broad discretion to remove whatever content they want under the First Amendment.

US investigates Organ collection groups

US authorities are investigating non-profits that manage organ donations that they suspect are defrauding the federal government.

• Fifty-six organ procurement organizations (OPOs) collect organs from deceased donors at hospitals and have them transported to surgeons at medical centers across the US that perform transplants. Each OPO has a government-guaranteed monopoly over a US territory where it operates.

• The federal investigation is focusing on OPOs suspected of knowingly overbilling the Department of Veteran Affairs and Medicare — two agencies that reimburse OPOs for finding organs. The inquiry is also looking into whether OPOs gave kickbacks to each other.

• The organ transplant system has had its share of issues. A 2022 investigation found that transporters lost donated organs and that poor screening of donated organs caused 70 deaths between 2008 and 2015.

Little Stories

• Nine thousand junior doctors in South Korea are on strike against the government's plan to increase medical school admissions by 65%. The government has given them four days to return to work, threatening to suspend their medical licenses and pursue legal action if they don't comply. The strike has caused significant disruptions in hospital services, including numerous surgery and treatment cancellations. (More)

• The FTC and a group of attorneys general have sued to stop the merger of Kroger and Albertsons, saying that it would raise grocery prices and lower wages. Kroger and Albertsons had planned to sell over 400 stores and other assets to address previous antitrust concerns. (More)

• Don Henley denied ever giving away handwritten pages of draft lyrics to Eagles hits like "Hotel California," saying they were "very personal." He testified that the documents were stolen from his barn in Malibu, California, and was shocked when he discovered the material appearing at auctions in 2012. (More)

• President Biden said he is optimistic about a potential cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. National security adviser Jake Sullivan is meeting with Middle Eastern leaders and told Biden that progress is being made on a cease-fire agreement that could be announced by Monday. (More)

• Senate leaders warned on Monday that time is running out to prevent a partial government shutdown by the end of the week. Despite progress made over the weekend, major hurdles, particularly regarding "poison pill" policy riders in spending bills, remain unresolved. An agreement is not expected until at least Tuesday evening. (More)

Extra Credit

Deep sea explorers photograph hundreds of new animal species.

Robot dogs can now breach doors.

Major League Baseball players don’t like their new see-through pants.

Are you storing your ketchup correctly?