The U.S. Men's National Team plays a crucial match against Germany in the World Cup today—one that could determine whether or not the team advances into the knockout stage of the tournament. Want to understand it, non sports fan?
A cafe in Perth, Australia was slapped with fines after its absurd pay docking policies were deemed officially absurd by the country's Fair Work Ombudsman, which discovered penalties for small mistakes no employee could ever afford to accidentally make. They include losing $112 from your paycheck for not getting a pork belly dish "crispy enough."
Police arrested Sarah Anne Markham of Casselberry, Fla. today after she reportedly refused to have her newborn child eat or be treated with non-vegan food or medicine. The child, dehydrated and losing weight, was eventually taken to the hospital and placed into state custody. Markham was charged by police with child neglect.
The U.S. Army announced today that they "have no reason to believe" that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was involved in any misconduct during his five years in captivity. Soldiers who had served with Bergdahl in Afghanistan had accused him of supplying information to the Taliban. Bergdahl remains in outpatient care in Texas.
Joseph Robert Patterson was arrested by police in Sioux Falls, S.D. after reportedly kidnapping and attacking the mother of Tyrese Doohen, the two-year-old son of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson he is accused of having beaten to death last year. He's currently being held on $1 million cash bond.
Scientists digging around an ancient Neanderthal campfire site in Spain called El Salt stumbled upon what they believe to be the oldest human poop. Other than the poop being 50,000-years-old, analysis of the feces, as published this week in the scientific journal PLOS One, indicates that Neanderthals may have enjoyed an omnivorous diet, contrary to previous thought that they exclusively dined on meat.
A suicide bomber attacked a hotel in Beirut today, killing one (the bomber) and seriously injuring several others. The Associated Press reports that the bomber detonated on the fourth floor of the hotel while security officers were raiding the building in search of terrorists believed to be connected to ISIS militants.
A bit of encouraging news came today from Washington: The Supreme Court understands smartphones.
William Walters seemed like a typical civic-minded resident of Tacony in Northeast Philadelphia. He'd served as a Republican committeeman for a decade and had been on the neighborhood watch for five years. Until neighbors found out about his enthusiasm for this other organization.
So here is an intriguing media rumor: Rupert Murdoch is angling to purchase Gawker Media. Yesterday, at least two media reporters approached at least two Gawker Media employees about a potential sale to Murdoch’s News Corp—or, more likely, 21st Century Fox. Apparently the rumor was first posted to Secret, the anonymous messaging smartphone app, though we couldn’t find a copy of the actual post. Efforts to determine the rumor’s origin came up empty.
Last we heard from North Korea on James Franco and Seth Rogen's Kim Jong-un assassination flick The Interview, friend-of-the-regime Kim Myong-chol said it showed the "desperation of the US government and American society." The country's foreign ministry gave a much more strongly worded review today.
Abby Dean, a four-year-old from Washington, Wisc., was at home with a babysitter when two teenagers broke into her house and stole an Xbox, Wii, iPod, and her kitty coin bank. The babysitter told police both culprits were black and looked like Dean's next-door neighbors.
