2. Christie heads to the beach: One of the few people on a New Jersey state park beach this holiday weekend is the man who ordered everyone else off them. Gov. Chris Christie spent time with his family on a beach at a state park he ordered closed to the public after a government shutdown in the state. Christie's family was using the state residence at Island Beach State Park for the holiday weekend, according to The Associated Press. Christie took a state helicopter to the residence to join his family after holding a press conference about the government shutdown.
3. U.S. ship: A U.S. Navy warship sailed on Sunday near a disputed island in the South China Sea, the second time in six months a U.S. ship has done so. The USS Stethem, a guided-missile destroyer, sailed within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island. The island is among those that make up the Paracel Islands group. It's located in the South China Sea between China and Vietnam, and has been the subject of a dispute between China, Vietnam and Taiwan. The Stethem was followed by a Chinese warship as it passed the island, according to U.S. officials.
4. The battle for Raqqa: US-backed rebel forces have surrounded Raqqa, Syria, the city seen by members of the Islamic State as its capital. According to leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the battle for the city is in its final phases. The offensive to liberate the city began on June 6. Fighting in and around the area has been fierce, according to SDF leaders.
5. Road rage death: A Pennsylvania man turned himself in Sunday, days after he allegedly shot an 18-year-old girl in the head during an incident of road rage. David Desper, 28, was charged with first- and third-degree murder, possession of an instrument of crime and reckless endangerment in the death of Bianca Roberson. The two were trying to merge into a single lane on a Pennsylvania road last Wednesday, according to authorities, and Desper became upset with the jockeying for position. He pulled out a gun, police allege, and shot Roberson in the head, killing her instantly. Roberson's car went off the road and crashed into a tree. She had recently graduated from high school and was set to start college in the fall in Florida.
And one moreThe pilot of a small plane radioed air traffic controllers about a "local weather phenomenon" moments before the aircraft disappeared from radar and was later found crashed. Six people were killed when the plane went down near Harmony, Wisconsin, northwest of Milwaukee. The plane was found near a state highway.
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