Ten years ago: The largest spy swap between the U.S. and Russia since the Cold War unfolded as 10 people accused of spying in suburban America pleaded guilty to conspiracy and were ordered deported to Russia in exchange for the release of four prisoners accused of spying for the West. Violent protests erupted in Oakland, California, after a Los Angeles jury convicted a white former transit officer, Johannes Mehserle (yoh-HAH’-nes MEZ’-ur-lee), of involuntary manslaughter (instead of murder) in the videotaped fatal shooting of an unarmed black man, Oscar Grant. During an ESPN prime-time special, basketball free agent LeBron James announced he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat.
Five years ago: On a rough day for tech, a “router issue” at United Airlines suspended all of the company’s flights for nearly two hours, leading to 800 flight delays and 60 cancellations; a “technical problem” at the New York Stock Exchange halted trading; and the Wall Street Journal’s website, WSJ.com, had “technical difficulties.” (Government officials said it did not appear that the incidents were related, or the result of sabotage.) Medicare said it planned to pay doctors to counsel patients about end-of-life care, the same idea that sparked accusations of “death panels” and fanned a political furor around President Barack Obama’s health care law.
One year ago: Iran began enriching uranium to 4.5%, just breaking the limit set by its nuclear deal with world powers. Billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein was charged with sexually abusing dozens of underage girls; the newly unsealed federal indictment came more than a decade after he secretly cut a deal with federal prosecutors to dispose of nearly identical allegations. (Epstein was found unresponsive in his jail cell a month later; the medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.) After a remarkable run at Wimbledon, 15-year-old American Coco Gauff lost to former No. 1 Simona Halep, 6-3, 6-3, in the fourth round.