By Jade Walker

The airspace above Vancouver International Airport had to be shut down on Tuesday after someone "hijacked" a small plane. The suspect flew a stolen Cessna 172 north for about 40 miles and then began circling, prompting air traffic controllers to divert nine planes to other airports. 

Here's what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

House Speaker Mike Johnson at Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, DC, on Tuesday. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Epstein files

Many MAGA supporters are frustrated by the Justice Department’s latest claims about Jeffrey Epstein. Now, one of President Donald Trump's most loyal allies in Congress is calling for “transparency.” On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson became the highest-ranking Republican to say he, too, wants to see more details about the DOJ’s investigation of the late, disgraced financier and accused sex trafficker. “It’s a very delicate subject,” Johnson said. “We should put everything out there and let the people decide it.” Last week, the DOJ issued a memo that said Epstein had not been murdered in prison, nor did he leave a client list. The memo contradicted some of the conspiracy theories previously promoted by Trump and his top lieutenants. According to a CNN poll that was conducted after the memo’s release, half of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the amount of information the Trump administration has revealed about the Epstein case.

DOGE cuts

The Senate is one step closer to a final vote on spending cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency. The bill, known as a “rescission package,” would slash billions in federal funds that Congress had already approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting. Full Congressional approval would codify the DOGE cuts into law so that they couldn't be reversed by the next administration and would help to insulate the Trump administration from legal challenges. Although three Republican senators joined Democrats in voting against advancing the package, the final tally for both votes was 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breakers. The package must pass the Senate and the House by Friday.

National Guard

The Trump administration has released 2,000 National Guard members from their “federal protection mission” in Los Angeles. On June 7, President Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard members — against the wishes of California’s governor and LA’s mayor — in response to immigration protests. Several days later, he deployed an additional 2,000 members to help quell demonstrations. LA Mayor Karen Bass praised the cut in National Guard ranks and described it as a "retreat." “I hope the administration heard that," Bass said. "Our soldiers are trained to fight to kill foreign enemies in foreign lands. There was never a need for them here before and there isn’t a need for them now."

DoD contracts

The Department of Defense has awarded contracts of up to $200 million each to OpenAI, Alphabet’s Google, Anthropic and Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, the agency said on Monday. Doug Matty, the DoD’s chief digital and AI officer, said the deals will help the agency develop AI workflows that will address critical national security challenges. Musk’s xAI also announced on Monday that it was making a suite of its products called “Grok for Government” available to federal, local, state and national security customers. Just one week ago, xAI’s chatbot Grok pushed antisemitic tropes in its responses to some users’ queries. When asked by a user “who is controlling the government,” the bot replied with an answer containing even more anti-Jewish tropes.

All-Star Game

The National League defeated the American League at the MLB All-Star Game in a historic fashion: a home run swing-off tiebreaker. After nine innings, the game at Truist Park in Atlanta was tied 6-6, so each team chose three batters. Brent Rooker, Randy Arozarena and Jonathan Aranda were tapped to hit for the AL, and Kyle Stowers, Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso were selected to swing for the NL. Each player was then allowed to take three swings and whichever team hit the most home runs won the game. By the end of the nail-biting swing-off, the NL had triumphed, smashing four homers to the AL’s three. This was the first time a swing-off has happened since the rule was instituted in 2022. 

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The suspect, who is from Australia, has been charged with “malicious mischief.”

Check your fridge: Yogurt products recalled
Danone US announced a recall of all flavors and sizes of YoCrunch products with expiration dates between early July and early September.

Jumping jellyfish! SpongeBob to appear on US stamps
The US Postal Service has announced plans to sell four new forever stamps featuring SpongeBob SquarePants and the gang from Bikini Bottom.

Archaeologists unearth giant shoes near Hadrian’s Wall
The ancient shoes are calling into question what we know about Roman soldiers. 

When a chance encounter on vacation becomes a lifelong adventure
A 23-year-old librarian said she felt a "thunderbolt" when she first locked eyes with a tall, handsome yacht captain while on vacation. 

75+

That’s how many former federal and state judges have called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the nomination of Emil Bove, President Trump’s former personal attorney, to an appeals-court judgeship. 

“What you are looking at, right now, in America is a government of the billionaire class, by the billionaire class and for the billionaire class.”

— Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, on how the wealthy few are redefining the US.

Canadian kindness breaks the internet  
An ad promoting tourism in Canada has gone viral for its compassion. 

5 Things AM is edited by CNN's Andrew Torgan.

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