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Big Stories

Pentagon document thief gets busted

The FBI arrested Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira on Thursday in connection with the leaked Pentagon documents that exposed secrets about the Ukraine War and other top national security issues. The 21-year-old IT specialist is being charged under an Espionage Act provision that outlaws the removal or transmission of classified national defense information.

How the heck did an IT specialist get highly classified documents? 
Teixeira’s official title was “cyber transport systems specialist”, making him responsible for overseeing and securing military communications networks. He was given a higher level of clearance because he was in charge of protecting the network, according to an anonymous defense official.

What motivated him to leak the documents?
According to investigators, nothing more than school-boy pride. Teixeira began writing about the classified information during discussions about the Ukraine War in a Discord chatroom. Eventually, he felt like he wasn’t being taken seriously and began posting photos of the documents.

Big picture:
US national security agencies and the Justice Department are still investigating the leak’s damage to national security while trying to ease tensions with upset allies.

Florida passes 6 week abortion bill

The Florida State legislature passed a bill on Thursday that bans abortions after 6 weeks. The bill now heads to the desk of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who has vocalized his support of anti-abortion laws.

Why it matters:
People in southern states have sought abortion care in Florida since bans in nearby states — Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana — have caused clinics to close.

Details about the bill:
Currently, the state allows abortions until 15 weeks. The new bill will reduce that to 6, prohibiting healthcare providers from “knowingly performing or inducing” abortions.

However, abortions can be performed between 6 and 15 weeks…

• To save a pregnant person’s life or “avert serious risk” to the patient’s health.

• If there’s a fatal fetal abnormality.

• And in cases of rape, incest, or human trafficking.

Moving forward:
If passed, the bill will not take effect until the Florida Supreme court upholds the legality of the current 15 week ban, which is currently being challenged.

Little Stories

Business

*Walmart is selling Bonobos to WHP Global and Express for $75 million, making it the second e-commerce brand the giant retailer has offloaded this year. Walmart purchased the brand in 2017 for $310 million.

World

*Ft. Lauderdale Airport was shut down on Thursday after flash floods smacked Florida’s east coast. 25 inches of rain fell in 24 hours, washing out roads, power, and shuttering schools.

*Police arrested tech consultant Nima Momeni in San Francisco on Thursday for the murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee.

Politics

*President Biden announced that hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the US illegally as children can apply for health insurance.

*$6 billion in student loan debt will be cancelled after the Supreme court sided with students in a class-action settlement that claimed the colleges in question misled students. This is a different issue than the Biden Harris Administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan.

Sports

*Dan Snyder agreed to a preliminary deal on Thursday to sell the Washington Commanders to Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris for $6 billion. The new ownership group also includes billionaire Michael Rales and Magic Johnson.

*The Tampa Bay Rays have opened up the season with 13 straight wins. Only two other teams in the last 139 years have started the Major League Baseball season on a 13-game win streak.

One Liners

*Thieves stole 100K worth of dimes from a truck in a Walmart parking lot.

*Check out California’s massive wildflower superbloom.

*German officials catch cooked-bat smuggler at a border crossing.