The 10-Point: Bin Laden’s Reading, Rate Rises, Bank Fines and More

CLICK HERE to sign up for this briefing by email.

Bin Laden’s Bookshelf

The Obama administration has released hundreds of letters, books, magazine articles and other materials that it says were seized during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden at his compound in Pakistan. The trove yielded evidence of the banal bureaucracy of terror, his abiding obsession with conspiracy theories and his hands-on leadership of al Qaeda in the weeks before his death. The documents include an application form to join the terror group and information on how to obtain a U.S. passport. Check out this rundown of materials released and a full list of the books and magazines from Bin Laden’s bookshelf. (Pictured above: Pakistani police officers stand guard outside a burnt compound used by Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad following his death on May 3, 2011.) June’s Too Soon

When 2015 began, it seemed possible that the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates by midyear. But at their April meeting Fed officials said, in the most explicit terms yet, that they are unlikely to start raising short-term interest rates in June. The minutespublished Wednesday showed no surprise for most investors, who said they had already expected little chance of a move in rates at next month’s meeting. Since April, Fed officials have seen a mixed bag of economic data, including several disappointing indicators of economic output. Market participants are increasingly looking toward September—or beyond—for a rate increase.

Bank Job

A long-running U.S. investigation into whether traders colluded to move foreign-currency rates for their own financial benefit may finally be coming to an end. Five global banks agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges and pay more than $5 billion in penalties. Read the plea agreements from the five banks: UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, Citi, J.P. Morgan Chase and Barclays. The settlements largely close the book on the latest industrywide investigation, though other global regulators have active investigations and the U.S. is continuing to pursue individuals. The penalties extracted are expected to be routed to the U.S. Treasury Department.

The Etiquette of Modern Flying

As planes get more crowded and passengers get grumpier, manners seem to be in short supply. For example, a passenger was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight earlier this year for allegedly poking a snoring passenger with a pen. Our Middle Seat columnist Scott McCartney provides guidelines for proper etiquette that may come in handy for summer travelers. Keep your legs within the chair frame, only use the overhead bins above your seat and switch seats to accommodate families, he writes, among other pointers. And if you’ve been wronged, file a complaint, he advises, rather than argue yourself into trouble.

TOP STORIES

U.S.

Amtrak Train Crash Probe Looks at Engineer’s Cellphone Use

In Baltimore, Arrests Down and Crime Up

WORLD

U.S. Shifts Iraq Focus to Western Province

Israel Calls Off Palestinian Bus Segregation Plans

BUSINESS

At Zappos, Banishing the Bosses Brings Confusion

Criminal Cases Roil Food Industry

MARKETS

A Debt-Ratings Rift Rattles Chicago

U.S. Oil Prices Snap Losing Streak

NUMBER OF THE DAY

105,000 gallons

The estimated size of an oil spill near the shore in Santa Barbara County, Calif., in a worst-case scenario outlined yesterday by the burst pipeline’s operator.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

‘Now everyone has a smartphone and a lot of those employers at least tacitly suggest you be available 24/7, so courts are going to be a little more willing to see that as company policy.’

—Linda Doyle, a partner at law firm McDermott Will & Emery, onseveral lawsuits accusing companies of expecting employees to work unpaid and off hours via iPhones, BlackBerrys or other digital devices.

TODAY’S QUESTION

Should employees get overtime pay for checking company-issued smartphones? Send your comments, which we may edit before publication, to 10point@wsj.com. Please include your name and location.

—Compiled by Khadeeja Safdar

READER RESPONSE

On yesterday’s question about public records requests, Roy Farrow of Nevada wrote: “Politicians generally view public records as ‘public’ records, which are subject to their discretion as to the extent the records are actually available to the public. The Clintons -- it sounds more sinister when you corporatize the phrase -- are the acknowledged masters at the process, the envy of other politicians.” Paul Kahle of California commented: “The Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) provides, with some exclusions, that the public has a right to know what its government is doing. The President has promised the most transparent administration in history. And yet it is apparent that only through the courts are agencies under his direct supervision, like the State Department with respect to Hillary Clinton’s activities, being forced to release the information requested.”

This daily briefing is named “The 10-Point” after the nickname conferred by the editors of The Wall Street Journal on the lead column of the legendary “What’s News” digest of top stories. Technically, “10-point” referred to the size of the typeface. The type is smaller now but the name lives on.

Photo: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images