Midday Roundup: Trump secures nomination with unbound delegates

Magic number. Donald Trump has secured the delegates needed to clinch the Republican presidential nomination, according to the Associated Press. A group of unbound delegates, who don’t have to vote based on primary or caucus results, decided this week to throw their support behind the billionaire businessman, pushing him one delegate past the magic number of 1,237. Several major primaries still remain, including California and New Jersey. Trump will likely earn a large number of delegates in both contests, giving him a much wider lead in the nominating race than analysts predicted months ago. But Trump still has work to do in uniting the party and securing the support he needs to win the general election in November.

Close call. Kansas residents are counting their blessings today after a massive tornado plowed across the plains for about 90 minutes yesterday, missing most homes and businesses in the area. About 20 homes suffered damage, but no one died during the major storm. Because the twister moved slowly through a 23-mile stretch of rural Dickinson County, residents had plenty of time to take shelter. One woman, whose home was completely destroyed, survived by huddling in her basement. The twister missed by about a mile the town of Chapman, home to 1,400 people and the scene of mass devastation caused by a deadly tornado in 2008. Forecasters warn that Kansas could see more severe weather today.

Happy homecoming. Ukrainians gave pilot Nadezhda Savchenko a hero’s welcome Wednesday after she returned from nearly two years in a Russian jail. Savchenko gained her freedom as part of a prisoner swap that also freed two Russians convicted of waging war in eastern Ukraine. A Russian court convicted Savchenko of complicity in the deaths of two Russian journalists covering the conflict and sentenced her to 22 years in prison. Savchenko maintained Russian fighters captured her several days before the journalists died. Seizing on an opportunity to appear magnanimous, Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned Savchenko on “humanitarian” grounds and at the request of the journalists’ family members, he claimed. Meanwhile, skirmishes continue in the fight between Ukrainian forces and Russian separatists backed by Moscow. More than 9,300 people have died in the conflict since it began in April 2014.

Floppy what? The federal government is spending about three-fourths of its $80 billion technology budget to maintain aging systems—some dating back 50 years. In one eye-popping example, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed some systems at the Pentagon still use floppy disks. “Clearly, there are billions wasted,” GAO information technology expert David Powner told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Outdated systems perform vital functions in a variety of agencies, including Social Security, Treasury, Defense, Medicare, and Transportation.

Hacker sentenced. The Romanian who claims he hacked into Hillary Clinton’s private email server pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday on two counts of unauthorized computer access and identity theft. Both counts relate to hacking into private emails of the Bush family in 2013. Marcel Lazar, the 44-year-old hacker nicknamed “Guccifer,” entered a plea bargain that resulted in seven other counts being dropped in exchange for his cooperation with federal authorities investigating his actions. It is known he hacked into Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal’s email account—part of the investigation into how the former secretary of state handled emails during her tenure as secretary of state.

WORLD Radio’s Mary Reichard and the Associated Press contributed to this report.