Good morning, and TGIF! Here are some of the stories we're following today:
1. Veterans commemorate D-Day’s 70th anniversary
World leaders, including President Obama, joined veterans of World War II to pay tribute today to American and Allied forces who fought valiantly in the D-Day landings on the shores of Normandy, France. “Normandy, this was democracy’s beachhead,” Obama told those gathered on the beach. “And our victory in that war decided not just a century, but shaped the security and well-being of all posterity.” D-Day marked a turning point in World War II, and the commemorations have become even more poignant in recent years as fewer veterans from the war are living. Read more in NEWS.
2. Students help capture suspect in deadly campus shooting
Students pounced on a man who opened fire at Seattle Pacific University on Thursday, and were able to prevent him from reloading, police said. But the 26-year-old suspect, identified as Aaron Ybarra, managed to kill one person and injure three others during his rampage. Police said it appeared that the man — who was armed with a shotgun, a knife and an unspecified number of extra rounds of ammunition — acted alone and wasn't a student. Read more in NEWS.
3. Bergdahl’s condition ‘improving daily’ in hospital
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is talking and “becoming more engaged,” hospital officials in Germany said today. His slow recovery comes after five years in Taliban captivity that ended Saturday after the U.S. was able to orchestrate a prisoner exchange with the Taliban that included giving them back five Gitmo detainees. Updates on his treatment come amid a fierce debate on Capitol Hill and inside the military on whether the Obama administration should have made the trade. Read more in NEWS.
4. Canadian Mounties capture shooter after tense manhunt
Police captured 24-year-old suspect Justin Bourgue just after midnight today, ending a more than 24-hour search for him in the small city of Moncton, New Brunswick. Officials say the suspect fatally shot three Mounties and two others on Wednesday night, and then disappeared into the neighborhood. The suspect’s motives weren’t immediately known, but Bourgue’s purported social media pages reveal anti-police pro-gun posts. Read more in NEWS.
5. VA scandal grows as new secretary vows to change system
After reports that dozens of veterans may have died while waiting for care from VA hospitals, the new head of the department promised change on Thursday. “I will not be part of some effort to maintain the status quo here,” Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Sloan Gibson said in Phoenix, where the scandal grew. He said 18 veterans who were kept off official waiting lists in that area have died, but does not know whether the deaths were related to the long wait times. Read more in NEWS.
6. Heat wilt to Spurs in Game 1 of NBA Finals
LeBron James was forced to watch the Heat suffer after a cramp led him to sit out near the end of the game. To make matters worse, the air conditioning at the AT&T Center in San Antonio short circuited, making the temperatures unbearable. In the end, the Spurs edged the Heat 110-95. Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday. Read more at NBC SPORTS.
… What’s trending today?
The singing nun who blew judges away in the Italian version of “The Voice” was crowned the winner of the competition Friday.
Sister Cristina Scuccia, 25, was considered the front-runner in the show, tackling everything from Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” to, appropriately, Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
“My presence here is not up to me, it’s thanks to the man upstairs!” Scuccia said after her win.