Good morning. It's Friday, June 19, and we're covering a surprise decision by the Supreme Court. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Communities Recognize Juneteenth 

Today marks the 155th anniversary of the formal end of slavery across the United States; a commemorative day long-celebrated by African American communities and citizens across the nation known as Juneteenth.

The Emancipation Proclamation took effect at the start of 1863, midway through the Civil War, changing the legal status for millions of Confederate slaves—though they still needed to escape to Union-controlled territory. When the war did end in May 1865, news of Confederate surrender was slow to spread. Texas, at the time a remote slave state, became the last to recognize emancipation on June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger read Order No. 3 throughout the city of Galveston. 

In the wake of nationwide protests, sparked by the death of George Floyd three weeks ago, the date has taken on added meaning, with a number of companies making the day a paid holiday. Groups have also called for the day to be recognized as a federal holiday, with New York and Virginia proposing to make it a paid day off for state employees. 

Spend a few minutes today exploring the National Museum of African American History's online collection.

DACA Rollback Rejected

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program must continue while the Trump administration reevaluates the justification for its termination. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's four liberal justices in a 5-4 decision.

The Obama-era program defers deportation of certain undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers—an estimated 700,000 children and young adults who were under 16 years old when they entered the US. President Trump announced an end to the program in 2017, though the proposal has made its way through court challenges since. 

While the case has been viewed as a proxy in the broader debate over immigration policy, the court did not actually rule on DACA itself. Rather, the court concluded (full opinion) the administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which provides guidelines for how to change executive branch policy, by using "arbitrary and capricious" reasoning in its decision. The issue now returns to the Department of Homeland Security for further consideration.

Unemployment Claims Stay at 1.5 Million

Nearly 1.5 million Americans made initial unemployment claims last week, worse than the 1.3 million expected by analysts and just under the 1.56 million reported in the previous week. It is the 12th straight week with first-time claims above 1 million, bringing the total number of initial claims to more than 45.5 million. Before the pandemic, the all-time weekly high was 695,000 in 1982. Analysts say the figures reflect a job market still dealing with the effects of the coronavirus. Despite every state in some phase of reopening, many businesses that deal in person with customers are operating at reduced capacity, spurring broad-ranging layoffs. 

Continuing claims—workers who have been collecting benefits for at least two weeks, a clearer picture of current unemployment—fell slightly from the previous week to 20.5 million. A current boost to unemployment benefits expires at the end of July; at least one senator has proposed a $450 "return to work" bonus. Markets were mixed on the news, with the Dow down 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq up 0.3%.

Read about the different ways unemployment is calculated here.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> AMC Theaters, the largest cinema chain in the world, to reopen 450 US locations July 15 at 30% capacity (More)

> Dame Vera Lynn, beloved British singer best known for World War II-era music, dies at 103 (More)

> Colin Kaepernick joins board of directors of Medium, a blogging platform with 170 million monthly readers, as their only minority board member; will create content on civil rights and race (More)

Science & Technology

> Western Siberia experiencing a record-breaking heat wave, with some spots reaching 45 degrees Fahrenheit above average (More) | Wide-ranging study links air pollution and heat exposure to preterm birth, low birth weight, and stillbirth (More)

> Machine-learning algorithm helps create 3D model of an earthquake fault zone in California, showing a four-year series of earthquakes was triggered by fluids; such zones have traditionally been studied in two dimensions (More)

> Light-activated CRISPR technique lets researchers make precision cuts in DNA in seconds while monitoring how the cell repairs the edited region (More)

Business & Markets

> Carnival Cruise Line reports $4.4B quarterly loss; $700M revenue is down 85% over last year, expects to burn $650M monthly during pandemic (More)

> Food delivery app DoorDash raises $400M at $16B valuation (More) | Data analytics giant Palantir raises $500M from Japanese insurance company Sompo (More)

> Private equity-backed Albertsons grocery store kicks off IPO roadshow, plans to raise up to $1.3B (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> California issues statewide order requiring face masks in public; order follows the state's biggest single-day increase in new cases at 4,084 (More) | US reports 2.19 million total cases, with 118,435 deaths, as of this morning; see three-day moving average (More)

> President Trump to hold first campaign rally since pandemic began tomorrow in Tulsa, Oklahoma (More) | Facebook removes Trump campaign ad for using a symbol associated with Nazi political prisoners; campaign says symbol is used by Antifa movement (More) | Background on symbol here (More)

> Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) withdraws from consideration as vice-presidential candidate for Joe Biden, urging him to pick a woman of color (More)

IN-DEPTH

African American Inequality in the United States

Harvard Business School | Staff. A comprehensive and data-centric review of the historical context of African Americans in the US, along with a look at discrete policies affecting them since the Reconstruction period. (Read, PDF)

Night Shift

San Antonio Express-News | Lauren Caruba. Follow along for 18 hours while the rest of a city sleeps, with frontline medical workers caring for the most severe COVID-19 patients. (Read)

What if COVID-19 Isn't the Big One?

Wired | Maryn McKenna. When all is said and done, the coronavirus may kill close to 1 million people globally, causing trillions in economic damage. But zoonotic diseases have no set timeline, and could strike again at any point—can the US muster a 9/11-style response before that happens? (Read, $$)

With Marc Andreessen

Observer Effect | Sriram Krishan. One of the country's most highly regarded venture capitalists discusses time management, how to be productive, and how to set and achieve goals. (Read)

The Cold Hard Truth

The Constant | Mark Chrisler. (Podcast) In 1909, famed explorer Robert Peary became the first person to reach the North Pole—or did he? A fascinating look at the race to reach the world's iciest frontier. (Listen)

Editor's note: Hat tip to Find That Pod for flagging the series, which has become one of our favorite history podcasts.

ETCETERA

How 132 epidemiologists are deciding when to send their children back to school. ($$, NYT)

What it's like to eat inside Seattle's CHOP zone.

The San Diego Zoo's baby pygmy hippo makes its debut.

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What the Milky Way looks like in the middle of the ocean.

Don't miss this weekend's "ring of fire" solar eclipse.

A rare giant squid washes up on a South Africa beach. 

A real-life fighter pilot breaks down iconic midair movie scenes.

Take a trip in this terrifying space balloon.

Clickbait: A man known for his bad dad jokes is on the hunt for the worst of the worst. 

Historybook: First recorded game of baseball (1846); Baseball great Lou Gehrig born (1903); HBD author Salman Rushdie (1947); Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed for espionage (1953); HBD actress Zoe Saldana (1978); RIP Koko the gorilla (2018).

"Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ballgame. Free speech is life itself."

- Salman Rushdie

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