Elected

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the left-wing former mayor of Mexico City and a vocal critic of President Trump, won election on July 1 to become Mexico’s new president. After a fiery populist campaign, “Amlo” (a nickname based on his initials) on election night sought to calm worries that he would put Mexico on the path of Venezuela, where socialist policies have brought about an economic collapse. He said his government would not nationalize businesses or raise taxes, and he promised he was “not looking to construct a dictatorship, either open or hidden.” He also seemed to soften his stance on Trump, saying he would seek friendly relations with the United States.

Achieved

Tom Goron, 12, set a new record for crossing the English Channel. The French boy set out from the Isle of Wight at 5 a.m. on June 27 in his tiny children’s sailing dinghy. He made the crossing alone, but his father followed close behind to protect him if there was an emergency. “I’m proud of him,” his mother told the press. “He is stubborn, ambitious, and persevering.” After five hours in the dinghy and a bout of seasickness, Goron asked to stop, but his father convinced him to keep trying. Goron reached France in 14 hours and 20 minutes, beating the previous record holder, Violette Dorange, by 36 minutes. According to the BBC, Goron hopes one day to set a new world record for solo round-the-world sailing.

Permitted

Nine months after Saudi Arabia’s ruler promised to drop the ban on women driving cars, the new rule went into effect. Tens of thousands of women have applied for licenses, but two reasons in particular are reportedly holding others back. This includes poverty (as the price of a driver’s education is about $800) and concerns women have about leaving themselves vulnerable to assault in a country dominated by Wahhabi Islam. “Men here have a very low mentality,” a 20-year-old chemistry student told The New York Times. “I mean, think about how they’ve been taught for so long.” Others may be unlikely to pursue a license because of the conservative Islamic belief that women must stay isolated to protect their femininity.

Died

Charles Krauthammer, a Pulitzer Prize–winning conservative columnist, died on June 21 at age 68. Krauthammer was born in 1950 in New York and grew up in Montreal, Canada. In his first year of medical school he dove into a concrete swimming pool and broke his neck, leaving him a quadriplegic. After extreme physical therapy, Krauthammer graduated from medical school and began practicing psychiatry. His journalism career began in 1981. Politically, he was a neo-conservative who championed the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the defense of Israel. Krauthammer’s influence as a public intellectual won him a voice in a variety of political magazines and frequent appearances on cable news. In a June 8 farewell note, he called his work “a noble undertaking.”

Confessed

Reality Winner, a former contractor for the National Security Agency, has pleaded guilty to espionage. Winner was arrested a year ago and charged with giving the press a top-secret report about Russian interference with the presidential election. The Intercept, an online news outlet, had informed the FBI they possessed such a document after publishing an article on the information. The FBI found emails to the news outlet on Winner’s computer, and she eventually admitted she printed the report and hid it in her pantyhose to leave the office. Winner pleaded guilty to charges under the Espionage Act in exchange for a shortened sentence. She will be in jail for five years and three months.