Good morning. It's Thursday, June 19, and we're covering the Supreme Court ruling on a transgender ban, the largest jewel heist in US history, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.5 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 yesterday to uphold Tennessee’s ban on medical treatments for transgender minors. The court found the law did not amount to sex discrimination, barred under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. Read the decision here (US v. Skrmetti).
An estimated 300,000 children ages 13 to 17 identify as transgender in the US (42,000 kids received gender dysphoria diagnoses as of 2021, up nearly threefold from 2017). Tennessee is one of 27 states (see map) restricting or banning medical interventions for those kids, including hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgery. The Supreme Court ruling is expected to pave the way for state bans to remain in effect, though some legal questions—including on parents’ rights—remain unresolved. Following the ruling, Justice Sonia Sotomayor took the rare step of reading her dissenting opinion from the bench.
Separately, the Supreme Court ruled to temporarily resume nuclear waste storage sites in Texas and New Mexico. See an overview of outstanding cases for the 2024-25 term here. |
Honda successfully tested a reusable rocket prototype on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido this week. The surprise announcement marked the carmaker’s first space-related update since late 2021, when Honda said it was exploring space technology.
Honda said it launched its 20-foot-tall device to an altitude of nearly 1,000 feet Tuesday, with the rocket flying for nearly one minute before landing within 14 inches of its target (watch the test flight here). The experiment moves Japan’s second-largest carmaker closer to its goal of achieving suborbital spaceflight by 2029. Honda says it has not finalized a commercialization plan but cites a growing need for satellites; Goldman Sachs estimates the market will grow sevenfold by 2035, from $15B to at least $108B.
SpaceX is the leader in commercialized reusable rockets, though other companies—including Blue Origin and startups in China and Europe—have entered the field. Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker by sales, announced this year it is working to mass-produce launch vehicles. |
Seven California men have been charged in what federal prosecutors say is the largest jewelry heist in US history. They allegedly stole about $100M worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and watches from an armored truck in July 2022.
The men, aged 31 to 60, reportedly followed a Brinks semitruck over 300 miles from a trade show to a rest stop north of Los Angeles. Just after 2 am, while one guard was getting food and another was asleep, they nabbed 24 of the 73 bags of jewelry in the truck. The historic escapade took under 27 minutes. See the loot here.
Cellphone records and surveillance footage were critical to identifying the suspects, several of whom are also linked to a string of smaller robberies. Authorities recovered some jewelry and arrested two men Monday. Another suspect is serving time for unrelated charges and four remain at large. The charges announced Tuesday carry maximum sentences of five to 20 years in prison.
Learn about six other major international jewel heists here. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Indiana Pacers tonight (8:30 pm ET, ABC) in Game 6 of the NBA Finals; the Thunder are up 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and will look to win the franchise's second NBA title (More) | Buss family to sell majority stake in Los Angeles Lakers at a $10B valuation, the largest ever sale of a US sports team (More) |
> Film and TV mogul Tyler Perry accused of sexual assault in $260M lawsuit; actor Derek Dixon alleges Perry threatened career retaliation if Dixon didn't accept his advances (More) | Karen Read found not guilty in murder of boyfriend, police officer John O'Keefe (More) |
> David Hekili Kenui Bell, actor best known for "Lilo & Stitch" live-action film adaptation, dies at age 46 (More) |
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> US health officials approve twice-a-year preventive HIV shot after clinical trials showed a reduction of at least 96% in new infections; researchers say it may bring a long-sought end to the AIDS epidemic (More) | See previous write-up (More) |
> Self-driving startup Waymo files permit to conduct self-driving testing in Manhattan with human oversight; company has fully autonomous cars in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin (More) |
> China’s “Dragon Man” skull identified as belonging to a Denisovan; 146,000-year-old specimen allows facial reconstruction of the ancient human relative (More) | Fewer than a dozen remains of the species, mostly small fragments, have ever been recovered (More) |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.0%, Dow -0.1%, Nasdaq +0.1%) (More) | Federal Reserve leaves benchmark interest rates unchanged, still forecasts two more rate cuts this year (More) | See overview of the Fed's projections (More) |
> US Steel shares stop trading on NYSE as Japan's Nippon Steel finalizes its nearly $15B purchase of the iconic American firm; combined company will become world's fourth-largest steelmaker (More) |
> Cryptocurrency firm Circle shares rise roughly 34% a day after the US Senate passed a bill to establish federal regulations for stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to the US dollar; bill now heads to the House (More) |
Steve Jobs: This week's 1440 Business & Finance newsletter explores the life and times of the iconic inventor. It hits inboxes this morning at 8:30 am ET—sign up here for free! |
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> Israel says it destroyed Iran’s internal security headquarters (More) | The US moves at least 30 military planes to Europe as President Donald Trump weighs direct US involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict (More) | See live updates (More) |
> Federal judge blocks executive order limiting passport sex markers to male and female (More) | State Department resumes processing of foreign student visas, requires access to applicants' social media accounts (More) |
> Medicare and Social Security trust funds projected to run short of funds by 2033 and 2034 respectively, limiting full benefit payouts, per new report (More) |
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> Rogue Jumping Genes
Knowable | Amber Dance. Scientists have found ancient “jumping genes” in our DNA that can unexpectedly reactivate in diseases like ALS and Alzheimer’s, damaging neurons and triggering inflammation. (Read)
> The World's Hardest Bluffing Game
The Atlantic | Jason Anthony. How Iraq’s centuries-old pastime of mheibes—a high-stakes game of deception and perception—has shaped Iraqis into world-class experts at reading lies and subtle cues. (Read) |
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