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Date: Thu, Jul 9, 2015 at 12:18 PM
Subject: NYT Now: Your Thursday Briefing
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View in Browser | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. Thursday, July 9, 2015 Thursday, July 9, 2015 nytnow.com » Enjoy this newsletter? The NYT Now app for iPhone is now completely free. It's the fastest way to catch up with the news throughout the day. Download now. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, joined South Carolina legislators to celebrate today's flag vote. John Bazemore/Associated Press Your Thursday Briefing By ADEEL HASSAN Good morning. Here's what you need to know: • Flag is voted down. Hours of emotional debate ended early this morning, when the State House of Representatives voted 94 to 20 in favor of removing the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the State Capitol. It could be removed before the weekend. In Washington, the House may vote again today on banning the display of Confederate flags at historic federal cemeteries in the country's South after protests about a voice vote. • A nation in economic pain. With banks closed until Monday and the government virtually out of money, Greece is on the verge of economic collapse and isolated from the international economy. "We're living like we did 60 years ago," said one businessman, referring to a bleak period that followed World War II. Greece has until Sunday to reach another bailout deal with its international creditors. • Nuclear talks on Iran in overtime. Negotiators are working in Vienna today, after two missed deadlines, on last-minute squabbles over a weapons embargo, inspections, and missile and economic sanctions. They plan to hold talks until Friday. • Syria's grim milestone. The number of Syrians who have fled into neighboring countries to escape civil war is more than four million, the biggest refugee flight from a single conflict in a generation, the U.N. said today. And the number is rising, with the fighting there dragging into its fifth year. • Abused girls in the U.S. justice system. As many as 80 percent of the girls in some states' juvenile justice systems have a history of sexual or physical abuse, a report today says. The study recommends that girls who have been sexually trafficked no longer be arrested on prostitution charges. • Change in Maryland. An interim police commissioner takes over in Baltimore after the mayor fired the police chief who oversaw this spring's riots. The ouster followed a police union report that accused the chief of taking a passive approach during the unrest set off by the death of Freddie Gray. MARKETS • Wall Street stock futures are ahead a day after the New York Stock Exchange stopped trading for several hours. The average retail stock customer most likely did not notice the glitch because many brokerage firms use the 10 other Wall Street exchanges, which kept operating. Traders were told a software update contained a bug that could not be fixed without shutting down the system. • Chinese markets had another rocky day but ended higher today, bringing other Asian stock indexes up, too. Shanghai's shares have lost 30 percent of their value over the past month. • IBM said today it produced working versions of ultradense computer chips with roughly four times the capacity of today's most powerful chips. The semiconductor industry has struggled to maintain its legendary pace of doubling transistor density every two years. • Global food prices fell in June, led by dairy and sugar prices, continuing an almost uninterrupted slide since April 2014, the U.N. food agency said today. NOTEWORTHY • The Pope's day. Pope Francis gives an open-air Mass today in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. He drank tea made of coca leaves, chamomile flowers and anise seeds to ward off altitude sickness on the flight from Ecuador. • On the grass. At Wimbledon today, Serena Williams faces Maria Sharapova and Garbiñe Muguruza plays Agnieszka Radwanska in the women's semifinals (8 a.m. Eastern, ESPN). On Tuesday, Richard Gasquet, the No. 21 seed, upset Stan Wawrinka, No. 4, in five sets. Gasquet joins the top three seeds — Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray — in the men's semifinals on Friday. • On the charts. The Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill reached No. 1 on the Billboard album chart this week, the last of the Monday-to-Sunday rankings. More than 45 countries have agreed to make Friday the official release day for albums, after decades of doing so on Tuesdays in the U.S. and other days elsewhere. • Parting ways again. Keith Olbermann, who returned to ESPN two years ago to host a show on ESPN2, will leave the network this month in what was described as a business decision. • The future is bright. Many people with a sunny disposition gather today in New Orleans for the Optimist International Convention. BACK STORY More than 130,000 admirers of sorcery, superheroes and science fiction are expected in San Diego today for the start of Comic-Con International, the biggest annual exhibition of its kind in the world. It was started in part by Sheldon Dorf, who loved comic books and newspaper comic strips, and who even served as the model for a couple of cartoon characters. Mr. Dorf, who was born in Detroit, tried to organized a comic book show in that city in the '60s. But there wasn't a lot of interest. In San Diego, where he and his family relocated, the first Comic-Con drew 300 people in 1970. Then it took off. The event became informally known as the "nerd prom" because it was popular with geeks, some of whom attended in capes and tights. Today, the event has more of a Hollywood flavor, providing a place for movie studios, TV networks, publishers and toy companies to test-drive their creations. Numerous other conventions have emerged with similar names, but they are unrelated to the San Diego giant. Comic-Con International, which takes in about $15 million in convention revenue, remains a nonprofit, with the stated mission of creating appreciation for comics. Victoria Shannon contributed reporting. Your Morning Briefing is published weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern and updated on the web all morning. What would you like to see here? Contact us at briefing@nytimes.com. Want to get the briefing by email? Here's the sign-up. ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NYTNOW @NYTNOW NYT Now app for iPhone Now the news keeps up with you Available on the App Store Get more NYTimes.com newsletters » | Sign Up for the Morning Briefing newsletter » ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's NYT Now newsletter. As a member of the TRUSTe privacy program, we are committed to protecting your privacy. 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