10 things you need to know today: June 30, 2015

Obama proposes expanding overtime pay to millions, Greece's finance minister confirms it won't pay back IMF loans, and more

Greece's prime minister prepares for a TV interview.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

1. Obama expands overtime pay to millions

President Obama announced Monday night that his administration is proposing to expand overtime eligibility for up to five million Americans by 2016. Currently, those with salaries over $23,660 are considered managers or professionals exempted from mandatory overtime pay for working more than 40 hours in a week. The rule change would raise the threshold to $50,440. "In this country, a hard day’s work deserves a fair day's pay," Obama wrote in a Huffington Post op-ed.

Politico The Huffington Post

2. Finance minister confirms Greece won't pay back IMF loans

Greece's finance minister confirmed Tuesday that the country will not pay back the 1.6 billion euros it owes to the International Monetary Fund by this evening's deadline. A default could force Greece out of the eurozone. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by 350 points, or 2 percent, Monday on fears the crisis would spread. Thousands of Greeks rallied for a "no" vote in a July 5 referendum on whether to accept tough financial reforms demanded by Greece's lenders.

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Reuters TIME

3. Supreme Court allows controversial drug that was used in botched execution

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Monday that a controversial drug used in a botched lethal injection was allowable under the Constitution. Three death-row inmates in Oklahoma had sought to have the drug, a sedative called midazolam, banned, saying it risked causing excruciating pain. The majority said the inmates had failed to show the drug raised the risk of pain. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a scathing dissent that the lethal cocktail was a "barbarous method of punishment — the chemical equivalent of being burned alive."

The New York Times The Washington Post

4. David Sweat says he and fellow escapee planned to flee to Mexico

Recaptured murderer David Sweat told authorities Monday that he and fellow escapee Richard Matt had planned to flee to Mexico after breaking out of a maximum-security prison in upstate New York three weeks ago. The plan unraveled when prison tailor-shop manager Joyce Mitchell decided not to drive off with them as planned, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said. Sweat and Matt tried to make it to Canada instead, but Matt was shot and killed shortly after the pair split up. Sweat was shot and captured by a state trooper on Sunday.

USA Today

5. Egyptian prosecutor dies in bombing

Egypt's state prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, died Monday in a bombing that hit his convoy in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis. Barakat had presided over the government's crackdown on Islamist groups. He was the highest ranking official successfully targeted by apparent militants in the clash with Islamists, which began nearly two years ago. The assassination occurred on the eve of the anniversary of 2013 protests that led to the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader.

Los Angeles Times

6. Obama signs fast-track trade bill

President Obama on Monday signed a bipartisan bill giving him fast-track authority to put trade deals to an up-or-down vote in Congress, with no chance for amendments. The legislation was nearly blocked by Obama's fellow Democrats who sought greater protections for U.S. workers, before supporters managed to revive it. The fast-track authority was seen as necessary to help Obama seal a 12-nation Pacific trade pact.

The New York Times

7. Supreme Court blocks Texas law from closing abortion clinics

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily blocked Texas from implementing an abortion law threatening to close more than half the state's 19 abortion clinics this week. The law, scheduled to take effect Wednesday, would impose tough new standards and require doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The stay is expected to remain in force through the summer as the court considers whether to take up the case in its next term.

The Washington Post

8. Indonesian military plane crashes into neighborhood, killing at least 30

An Indonesian military transport plane crashed into a residential neighborhood in northern Indonesia on Tuesday, killing at least 30 people in the plane and on the ground. The Hercules C-130 transport plane hit houses and a hotel in the Sumatra city of Medan about two minutes after taking off. The plane, with 12 people on board, was flying low and hit the roof of the hotel and exploded, a witness said. The pilot reportedly had asked to return to the air base due to technical problems.

Reuters

9. Christie joining Republican presidential field

Blunt-spoken New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is expected to announce Tuesday that he is running for president. He will be the 14th candidate in a crowded GOP field. Christie turned down calls from supporters to run four years ago, saying, "now is not my time." As he enters the race, he faces record-low home-state approval as New Jersey's economic recovery sputters. After his announcement, he plans to start making his pitch to centrist voters in New Hampshire.

Bloomberg

10. NBC dumps Donald Trump over comments on Mexican immigrants

NBC on Monday announced that it was dropping the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants over derogatory comments Donald Trump, part owner of the pageants, made about Mexican immigrants when he declared himself a candidate for president last week. The network also reiterated that Trump would not appear in The Celebrity Apprentice any longer. "Respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values," NBCUniversal said in a statement. Trump last week threatened to sue Spanish-language network Univision when it, too, dropped Miss Universe.

USA Today

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.