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ESCALATION
Gary Dawson, Barcroft Media / Landov
1. Turkey Calls for NATO Meeting
Turkey on Sunday called for a NATO meeting to discuss Syria after that country shot down one of Turkey’s warplanes Friday. Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said Sunday that the warplane had entered Syrian airspace, but left quickly for international airspace after being warned. Davutoglu said the plane was clearly marked as Turkish, dismissing Syria’s earlier statements that it had not known the plane was Turkish. Investigations suggest the shooting was not an accident. A NATO spokesman said the council will meet Tuesday. The incident marked the first time since the Syrian uprising began that the crisis has been placed on NATO's agenda.
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EGYPT
Fredrik Persson
2. Morsi Reassures Israel on Accords
Egypt’s newly elected president Mohamed Morsi vowed to “preserve international accords and obligations” in his first speech on Sunday evening. The comment seemed to be a reference to the peace treaty with Israel. He also called army and police “brothers,” despite the military council’s recent attempts to curb presidential power. And implying that he would not attempt to Islamize Egypt, Morsi promised to be a president to all Egyptians: "Muslims, Christians, the elderly, children, women, men, farmers, teachers, workers, those who work in the private and public sectors, and the merchants."
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SHOWDOWN
Nicholas Kamm, AFP / Getty Images
3. Poll: Most Americans Oppose Obamacare
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Sunday showed that a majority of Americans oppose President Obama’s health-care law—although they support most of its provisions. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the law sometime this week. Although strong majorities support individual parts of the law, 61 percent of people are against the “individual mandate,” which forces Americans to purchase medical insurance. Overall, 56 percent of people are against the health-care law, and 44 people are in favor of it. Meanwhile, a majority of 56 former Supreme Court clerks said earlier this week that they believe the court will shoot down the law.
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GROUNDBREAKING
12. Saudi Arabia Allows Women in Olympics
Saudi Arabia announced Sunday that it would allow female athletes to compete in this summer’s Olympics—the first time the conservative country has allowed women to participate. There had been speculation recently that Saudi Arabia’s team could be disqualified on grounds of gender discrimination, and since the games are just weeks away, only one female competitor is set to make the team: show jumper Dalma Rushdi Malhas. Many in the religiously conservative country fiercely oppose women’s sports, and Saudi officials said that female atheletes will still be required to dress in a manner that will “preserve their dignity.”
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Scary
Bryan Oller / AP Photo
5. Colorado Fires Spread Toward Landmarks
Massive wildfires in Colorado spread to many tourist destinations over the weekend. One blaze near Colorado Springs grew to over three square miles on Sunday, forcing more than 11,000 residents to evacuate. In Rocky Mountain National Park, a wildfire destroyed vacation cabins and clouds of smoke were blowing towards the Stanley Hotel that inspired Stephen King’s “The Shining.” Governor John Hickenlooper said that half of the nations firefighting fleet is in Colorado fighting the fire, and more planes are on the way. Eight wildfires are currently burning in the state, which is having its worst wildfire season in a decade.
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RECOVERY
Kris Connor / Getty Images
6. Alex Trebek Hospitalized
Jeopardy host Alex Trebek was hospitalized Saturday after suffering a mild heart attack, his rep confirmed. He is expected to make a full recovery and be back in time for filming the show’s 29th season in July. Trebek is reportedly in good spirits and is undergoing further testing. The show also won a daytime Emmy on Saturday night.
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ACCIDENT
7. Freight Trains Collide in Oklahoma
Three crewmembers were missing after an eastbound and a westbound freight train collided in Oklahoma. The two Union Pacific Railroad trains collided around 10:08 a.m. outside of Goodwell, Oklahoma. Two of the westbound train’s locomotives caught fire, and one locomotive from the other train caught fire as well. One of the trains carried a resin solution, but authorities said it was not burning. The train had a crew of two and officials have been unable to account for the two engineers and one conductor. The other conductor escaped apparently unharmed.
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PLAYING POLITICS
Gerardo Mora / Getty Images
8. Romney Disputes Bain Attacks
Mitt Romney defended his former company Bain Capital after a Washington Post report claimed that the venture-capitalist firm invested in companies that outsourced jobs. Calling the report “fundamentally flawed,” Romney insisted that the “outsourcing” does not necessarily mean that jobs were sent overseas, which is known as “offshoring.” A super PAC supporting President Obama launched an attack on Romney’s record at Bain this weekend, which features a plant employee building a stage to announce layoffs proposed by Bain who said it was like “building my own coffin.”
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PREPARATIONS
NOAA / AP Photo
9. Tropical Storm Churns in Gulf
Tropical Storm Debby churned in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, inching closer to the northern rim of the region. Forecasters are still uncertain of the storm’s path, and authorities warned of flood possibilities from Florida to Texas. As of 5 a.m. Sunday, Debby was about 165 miles southeast of the Mississippi River and was moving north at three miles per hour. At least one tornado linked to the storm touched down Saturday in southwest Florida, and heavy squalls pounded the state. Forecasters said Debby could near hurricane strength by Monday night.
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TERRIFYING
10. Ontario Mall Roof Collapses
At least 22 people were injured and a number of people are missing Sunday after a parking garage atop an Ontario mall collapsed the day before. Ontario Provincial Police said they have a two-page list of people who are unaccounted for. They also said none of those who were wounded had life-threatening injuries, and they did not believe there were any fatalities. The collapse occurred at 2:20 p.m. Saturday. Cars came crashing through the roof, and the cave-in triggered a gas leak, causing officials to cut power to the building during the search.
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UH-OH
AP Photo
11. NYC Nightclub Hit With 14 Violations
The hits keep coming. The New York City nightclub where Chris Brown and Drake alleged brawled was charged with 14 violations Friday. The charges against W.i.P. also include one count of not stopping the alleged fight. It could lose its liquor license over the matter. On Friday, San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker filed a $20 million lawsuit against the club’s owners after the bottle-throwing brawl, which Parker says scratched his cornea.
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GROUNDBREAKING
12. Saudi Arabia Allows Women in Olympics
Saudi Arabia announced Sunday that it would allow female athletes to compete in this summer’s Olympics—the first time the conservative country has allowed women to participate. There had been speculation recently that Saudi Arabia’s team could be disqualified on grounds of gender discrimination, and since the games are just weeks away, only one female competitor is set to make the team: show jumper Dalma Rushdi Malhas. Many in the religiously conservative country fiercely oppose women’s sports, and Saudi officials said that female atheletes will still be required to dress in a manner that will “preserve their dignity.”
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BAD TIMING
Kostas Tsironis / AP Photo
13. Greek P.M. to Miss EU Summit
Newly named Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will not attend a summit of European Union leaders this week since he is still recovering from eye surgery, a government spokesman said Sunday. Greece is expected to ask the EU to ease the harsh terms of the bailout at the Brussels summit. Incoming finance minister Vassilis Rapanos will also miss the summit after being hospitalized Friday for intense abdominal pain and dizziness. Representing the Greek government will be Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos and outgoing Finance Minister George Zanias.
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SPORTS
Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP Photo
14. Lolo Jones Wins Olympic Spot
Runner Lolo Jones secured her spot on the U.S. team Saturday night after coming in third in the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the Olympic trials. Jones, who had been on the Olympic team in Beijing, had surgery last August and a pair of hamstring injuries in the past few months, making her Olympic dreams seem unreachable. “I had my sports psychologist on speed dial 1, my pastor on speed dial 2, and my mom on speed dial 3,” Jones said after the trials.
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SCANDAL
Graham Morrison, Bloomberg News / Getty Images
15. Horace Mann Teacher Admits Sex
Retired Horace Mann teacher Tek Young Lin, 88, said he had sex with some students at the school—saying that in those days, “it was very spontaneous and casual, and it did not really seem wrong.” Lin is the first teacher to come forward and admit to having sex with students after a New York Times exposé of the school earlier this month, and all the teachers who had been named are dead. Three students interviewed by The Times described inappropriate contact by Lin, although Lin said he is “surprised” they remember, saying, “It was all so casual and warm.”
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CONVICTION
Centre County Correctional Facility / AP Photo
16. Juror: No Doubt on Sandusky’s Guilt
One of the jurors who voted to convict former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky said Sunday that he is “confident” he made the right decision. Joshua Harper said he did not see any sign of regret as the verdict was announced—which proved to Harper that Sandusky “knew it was true.” “It was just eye-opening on all the things that happened because we got a whole lot of detail on what Sandusky was doing,” said Harper, a Penn State graduate. Meanwhile, residents of Happy Valley, the area where Penn State is located, said it will take “years” to recover from the trauma of Sandusky’s scandal. “The damage is done,” said one resident, Rick Scott. “It’s like a scar. It will be there forever.”
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PARTY LINES
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
17. Issa: Holder Vote ‘Bipartisan’
Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican leading the House investigation into the bungled gun sting Fast and Furious, said Sunday that he believes the House will vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt—and that it will be a “bipartisan” vote. Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Issa accused Holder of “lying” to Congress about the bungled gun sting, and he insisted they needed the documents that President Obama has invoked executive privilege to protect. Congress will vote this week on whether to hold Holder in contempt over his statements regarding Fast and Furious, and Issa believes Holder knew the gun sting had been bungled before Holder claims he knew.
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REVOLUTION
Bernat Armangue / AP Photo
18. Morsi Declared Egypt’s Winner
Mohamed Morsi has been declared the winner of Egypt’s presidential election, the first Islamist head of state to rise from the Arab Spring uprisings. Morsi was declared the victor over former prime minister and Mubarak ally Ahmed Shafiq by nearly 1 million votes. Morsi is the candidate from the political wing of the popular Muslim Brotherhood, and there had been widespread threat of violence if Morsi had not been declared the winner. Cairo’s Tahrir Square erupted in cheers upon the news of Morsi’s victory. Egypt’s Army ruler for the past year, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, has already congratulated Morsi on his victory, Egyptian state television reported.
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