Julian Assange walks free | First Thing

After pleading guilty to violating US espionage law in a deal ending an extraordinary 14-year legal saga, the WikiLeaks founder has arrived home in Australia. Plus: Suing big oil for heatwave deaths

Good morning.

Julian Assange has walked free from a court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific, after a plea deal that brings to a close an extraordinary 14-year legal saga that included five years in a high-security prison and seven years at an Ecuadorian embassy.

What did Assange say in court when he pleaded guilty? Assange took a long pause before answering the judge that he was indeed pleading guilty to the charge. He has long maintained that he had believed that the US first amendment, which protects free speech, shielded his activities.

How has the US responded? Assange faced 18 criminal charges and up to 175 years in prison. But immediately after the three-hour hearing, the US government withdrew its extradition request from the UK, dropped all remaining charges pending in the US, and banned Assange from returning to the US without permission.

What's next for Assange? Assange's plane has touched down in Canberra, Australia, where he was reunited with his family.