A prisoner exchange is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release individuals. But since USA does not deal with terrorists, there's now lots of talk about this soldier being a military deserter.

Immediately following the release of the last U.S. prisoner of war in Afghanistan, a national debate in heating up on whether the deal to free 28 year old Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was missing since 2009.

His welcome home celebration has now been cancelled, while the military determines if charges will be filed against Bergdahl.

King Juan Carlos has announced that his son Prince Felipe will begin a new era of hope for the people of Spain. Meanwhile, Spanish people take to the streets to demand a national referendum on the future of their monarchy.

After reigning for 40 years on the throne King Juan Carlos of Spain has finally announced his intention to abdicate. The 76 year old King is stepping aside for Prince Felipe, his 45 year old son to take over the reigns.

This was preceded by a long running corruption investigation and King Juan Carlos has experienced health problems recently.

New York City homeowners hit by Hurricane Sandy are spared a property tax hike under a new legislation which provides relief to residents of NYC subject to higher property taxes as a result of repairs to homes severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy.
The tax break will affect about 1684 buildings, whose owners will save $1077 on average, officials said.

The new legislation was unveiled by both the Mayor and the Governor of New York in April at the 2014 NY Rising Community Reconstruction Spring Conference in Albany.

This Week in History, Jun 1 - Jun 7

Jun 01, 1980
CNN launches. On this day in 1980, CNN (Cable News Network), the world's first 24-hour television news network, makes its debut. The network signed on at 6 p.m. EST from its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, with a lead story about the attempted assassination of civil rights leader Vernon Jordan. CNN went on to change the notion that news could only be reported at fixed times throughout the day. At the time of CNN's launch, TV news was dominated by three major networks--ABC, CBS and NBC--and their nightly 30-minute broadcasts. Initially available in less than two million U.S. homes, today CNN is seen in more than 89 million American households and over 160 million homes internationally.

Jun 02, 1935
Babe Ruth retires. n this day in 1935, Babe Ruth, one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, ends his Major League playing career after 22 seasons, 10 World Series and 714 home runs. The following year, Ruth, a larger-than-life figure whose name became synonymous with baseball, was one of the first five players inducted into the sport's hall of fame. George Herman Ruth was born February 6, 1895, into a poor family in Baltimore. As a child, he was sent to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a school run by Roman Catholic brothers, where he learned to play baseball and was a standout athlete. At 19, Ruth was signed by the Baltimore Orioles, then a Boston Red Sox minor league team. Ruth's fellow teammates and the media began referring to him as team owner Jack Dunn's newest "babe," a nickname that stuck. Ruth would later acquire other nicknames, including "The Sultan of Swat" and "The Bambino."

Jun 03, 1989
Crackdown at Tiananmen begins. With protests for democratic reforms entering their seventh week, the Chinese government authorizes its soldiers and tanks to reclaim Beijing's Tiananmen Square at all costs. By nightfall on June 4, Chinese troops had forcibly cleared the square, killing hundreds and arresting thousands of demonstrators and suspected dissidents. On April 15, the death of Hu Yaobang, a former Communist Party head who supported democratic reforms, roused some 100,000 students to gather at Beijing's Tiananmen Square to commemorate the leader and voice their discontent with China's authoritative government. On April 22, an official memorial service for Hu Yaobang was held in Tiananmen's Great Hall of the People, and student representatives carried a petition to the steps of the Great Hall, demanding to meet with Premier Li Peng. The Chinese government refused the meeting, leading to a general boycott of Chinese universities across the country and widespread calls for democratic reforms.

Jun 04, 1942
Battle of Midway begins. On this day in 1942, the Battle of Midway--one of the most decisive U.S. victories against Japan during World War II--begins. During the four-day sea-and-air battle, the outnumbered U.S. Pacific Fleet succeeded in destroying four Japanese aircraft carriers while losing only one of its own, the Yorktown, to the previously invincible Japanese navy. In six months of offensives prior to Midway, the Japanese had triumphed in lands throughout the Pacific, including Malaysia, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines and numerous island groups. The United States, however, was a growing threat, and Japanese Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto sought to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet before it was large enough to outmatch his own.

Jun 05, 1933
FDR takes United States off gold standard. On June 5, 1933, the United States went off the gold standard, a monetary system in which currency is backed by gold, when Congress enacted a joint resolution nullifying the right of creditors to demand payment in gold. The United States had been on a gold standard since 1879, except for an embargo on gold exports during World War I, but bank failures during the Great Depression of the 1930s frightened the public into hoarding gold, making the policy untenable. Soon after taking office in March 1933, Roosevelt declared a nationwide bank moratorium in order to prevent a run on the banks by consumers lacking confidence in the economy. He also forbade banks to pay out gold or to export it. According to Keynesian economic theory, one of the best ways to fight off an economic downturn is to inflate the money supply. And increasing the amount of gold held by the Federal Reserve would in turn increase its power to inflate the money supply. Facing similar pressures, Britain had dropped the gold standard in 1931, and Roosevelt had taken note.