10 things you need to know today: June 4, 2015

1. Former FIFA officials describe corruption

Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner, already charged in the corruption scandal engulfing soccer's global governing body, said Wednesday he would reveal an "avalanche" of secrets implicating the organization's longtime president, Sepp Blatter, and others. Blatter denies any involvement but resigned this week, days after his reelection. Also on Wednesday, a 2013 plea hearing transcript was released in which FIFA whistleblower Chuck Blazer said he and others accepted bribes to vote for South Africa's bid to host the 2010 World Cup.

NBC News The Sydney Morning Herald

2. Mourners pay respects to the late Beau Biden

Public ceremonies to honor Beau Biden, Delaware's former attorney general and the eldest son of Vice President Joe Biden, begun Thursday, as hundreds of mourners crowded the Delaware Capitol building to pay their respects.

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The body of the younger Biden, who died of brain cancer Saturday at age 46, laid in honor Thursday at Legislative Hall. A viewing at St. Anthony of Padua church in Wilmington is set for Friday, followed by a Saturday funeral Mass, during which President Obama will deliver a eulogy. Beau Biden had planned to run for governor in 2016.

NBC News

3. Boston say man fatally shot by officers planned to behead police

A Boston man slain by law enforcement officers was involved in a plot to behead police officers, FBI agents said Wednesday. The man, Usaama Rahim, 26, allegedly had told a man identified as his nephew, David Wright, in a wiretapped conversation that he planned to "go after them, those boys in blue." Rahim, who was under 24-hour surveillance by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, was shot and killed by a Boston police officer he allegedly attacked with a military-style knife. His nephew, David Wright, was arrested the day Rahim was killed.

Reuters

4. Lincoln Chafee launches campaign for Democratic presidential nomination

Former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee officially announced Wednesday that he will run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Chafee, a former Republican, made the announcement during a foreign policy speech at George Mason University. He joins a relatively narrow Democratic field, which includes frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley. Chafee's early focus is attacking Hillary Clinton's record as secretary of state.

The Guardian The New York Times

5. Rick Perry joins GOP 2016 presidential race

Former Gov. Rick Perry is making an announcement outside Dallas on Thursday, and if you had any doubts about whether he's joining the increasingly crowded 2016 Republican presidential field, the answer is yes, according to his official campaign website, which went live Thursday morning. The site touts Perry's "tested leadership" and "proven results" on jobs, especially. This will be Perry's second run for the White House, and he will be the 10th official GOP candidate in the race. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is slated to become the 11th when he launches his own presidential campaign on June 15.

USA Today Reuters

6. North Carolina legislature approves 72-hour abortion waiting period

North Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill calling for a 72-hour waiting period before a woman can get an abortion. Gov. Pat McCrory (R) said he planned to sign the bill, which also adds other new rules for doctors and clinics that perform abortions. Three other states — Missouri, South Dakota, and Utah — also have three-day waiting periods. Oklahoma has one taking effect in November.

The Associated Press

7. Texas executes its oldest death-row prisoner

Texas on Wednesday executed Lester Bower, 67, who had spent 30 years on death row. He was convicted in 1983 of fatally shooting a man while attempting to steal an ultralight plane the man was trying to sell, then killing another three people who unexpectedly arrived at the airplane hangar. Bower was the 15th person executed in the U.S. this year, and the oldest prisoner on death row in Texas. His lawyers argued that the evidence used to convict him was circumstantial.

The Washington Post

8. Billionaire gives Harvard its biggest gift ever

Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson is giving Harvard University $400 million, the largest gift in the Ivy League university's history. Paulson pledged the money to Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, which will be renamed in his honor. Paulson graduated from the Harvard Business School in 1980. Critics chided him for giving so much money to a wealthy school instead of the poor, but he said the gift would help the engineering school's new campus become the "next major center of innovation."

Harvard Crimson The New York Times

9. Duggars say son's molestation confession made them feel like "failures"

Michelle Duggar told Fox News in an interview that aired Wednesday that she and her husband, Jim Bob, "felt like failures" as parents when they learned more than a decade ago that their son Josh — now 27 — had molested five young girls as a teenager. Four of the victims were his younger sisters. The Duggars, stars of the TLC reality series 19 Kids & Counting, said they got Josh counseling and had him talk to police. "We did the best we could under the circumstances," Jim Bob Duggar said.

E! Online The New York Times

10. Cavaliers and Warriors head into first game of NBA Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors meet Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Golden State, led by league MVP Stephen Curry, enters the series as narrow favorites. Many analysts, however, think the Cavaliers will hard to beat if their superstar, LeBron James, delivers a dominant performance like the ones that earned him NBA Finals MVP honors when he helped the Miami Heat win titles in 2012 and 2013. The Warriors will host the first two games.

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