QUICK HITS

1

Sentencing won’t be delayed: A Florida judge has refused to delay the sentencing trial of Nikolas Cruz in the 2018 shooting at a high school in which 17 people were killed. Cruz’s lawyers had argued recent shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, unleashed “a wave of emotion” nationally that could bias the jury against him and that the scheduled July 18 start is too soon.

2

Extradition appealed: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has appealed against the British government’s decision last month to order his extradition to the U.S. The appeal was filed Friday at the High Court, the latest twist in a decade-long legal fight sparked by his website’s publication of classified U.S. documents. Julian Assange has battled in British courts for years to avoid being sent to the U.S., where he faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse.

3

Execution dates set: The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday set execution dates for six death row inmates, just hours before an attorney for one planned to ask for a rehearing in his case. Execution dates for James Coddington, Richard Glossip, Benjamin Cole, Richard Fairchild, John Hanson and Scott Eizember were scheduled, starting Aug. 25 with Coddington.

4

Websites blocked: Turkey’s media watchdog has banned access to the Turkish services of U.S. public service broadcaster Voice of America and German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. The government enforced a February warning to the companies, which air Turkish-language television content online, to apply for a broadcast license or be blocked.

5

Sculpture return set: Germany and Nigeria are set to sign an agreement in Berlin paving the way for the return of centuries-old sculptures known as the Benin Bronzes that were taken from Africa in the 19th century.