The Rundown: Supreme Court Rules On DACA

➤SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST TRUMP BID TO END DACA: The Supreme Court ruled yesterday against President Trump's attempt to end Obama-era protections for some 650,000 young immigrants who were brought to U.S. illegally as children. The split 5-4 decision, in which Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the high court's liberals, means the eight-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program remains, providing protection from deportation and authorization to work in the U.S. The decision wasn't based on the merits of DACA or its repeal, but said Trump's administration didn't take the proper steps to end the program.

Roberts wrote, "We address only whether the agency complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action. Here the agency failed to consider the conspicuous issues of whether to retain forbearance and what if anything to do about the hardship to DACA recipients." Trump blasted the ruling, which came three days after the court said gay, lesbian and transgender people are protected from employment discrimination, tweeting, "These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives."

➤CALIFORNIA ORDERS MASK-WEARING AS CORONAVIRUS CASES RISE: California has been seeing a rising number of coronavirus cases as it's been reopening its economy, and on Thursday the state ordered that people will have to wear masks in most places indoors and outdoors when distancing isn't possible. Governor Gavin Newsom said he issued the order because too many Californians aren't wearing masks, saying, "They are critical to keeping those who are around you safe, keeping businesses open and restarting our economy." California joins some other states, including Michigan, New York, Maine, Delaware and Maryland, that already have statewide mask orders.

Weekly Unemployment Claims: There were 1.5 million Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment last week, according to Labor Department figures out yesterday, the 11th straight week of decline since the height of the impact of the coronavirus shutdowns. However, the weekly figure is still more than twice what the record high was before the pandemic, and the total number of people getting unemployment benefits is at 20.5 million.

Study: Asymptomatic May Have Weaker Immune Response: A small new study from China suggests that people with the coronavirus who are asymptomatic have a weaker immune response, finding patients who'd been asymptomatic had significantly lower levels of antibodies than patients who'd had mild symptoms.

Blood Type May Affect Severity: A genetic analysis of thousands of people with the coronavirus in Europe suggests that blood type might affect whether someone develops severe disease. Scientists found that those who had Type A blood were more likely to have severe disease, and those with Type O were less likely to. The study doesn't prove a blood type connection, but it confirms an earlier report of China of a blood type link.

Daily Toll: There have been more than 118,300 deaths in the U.S. as of last night, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 2,188,000 confirmed cases.

Atlanta Journal-Coonstution 6/19/20

➤ATLANTA POLICE CALLING IN SICK IN PROTEST OF MURDER CHARGES AGAINST OFFICER: Atlanta police officers were calling in sick Thursday (June 18th) as a protest over murder charges being filed against an officer who fatally shot a man in the back in a Wendy's parking lot. It's not clear how many have called in sick, but Interim Police Chief Rodney Bryant told AP they have enough officers coming in to work to protect the city. Vince Champion of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers told AP the Atlanta officers are calling in sick or not responding to calls because they feel, quote, "abandoned, betrayed, used in a political game."

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced felony murder charges on Wednesday against Garrett Rolfe, the officer who shot Rayshard Brooks after the 27-year-old grabbed a Taser during a struggle and ran, firing it at the officer. Howard said Brooks was not a deadly threat at the time and that Rolfe kicked the wounded Brooks and offered no medical treatment for over two minutes as he lay dying. The officer with Rolfe, Devin Brosnan, who Howard said stood on Brooks’ shoulder as he lay wounded ,was charged with aggravated assault and violation of his oath. Rolfe and Brosnan turned themselves in Thursday. Rolfe was being held without bond and Brosnan released on a $30,000 bond.

➤FACEBOOK REMOVES TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADS WITH SYMBOL USED BY NAZIS: Facebook has removed campaign ads for President Trump that featured an upside-down red triangle, a symbol used by the Nazis in concentration camps to designate political prisoners, communists and others, saying Thursday that it violated their policy against, quote, "organized hate." The ads had begun appearing on Facebook a day earlier. Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said the inverted red triangle was a symbol commonly used by antifa so it was included in an ad about the leftist militants. However, AP said some experts disputed that the symbol was commonly used as an antifa symbol.

➤PELOSI ORDERS REMOVAL OF PORTRAITS OF HOUSE SPEAKERS WHO SERVED IN CONFEDERACY: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday ordered the immediate removal from outside the House chamber of the portraits of four 19th century speakers who served in the Confederacy. Pelosi said that the men -- Robert Hunter of Virginia, James Orr of South Carolina, and Howell Cobb and Charles Crisp of Georgia -- quote, "embody the violent bigotry and grotesque racism of the Confederacy." She stated, "There is no room in the hallowed halls of Congress or in any place of honor" to commemorate the Confederacy. The portraits were removed soon after and put in storage.

➤KLOBUCHAR WITHDRAWS AS POSSIBLE BIDEN VP: Senator Amy Klobuchar announced last night that she'd asked Joe Biden to remove her name from consideration as his potential vice presidential running mate. Klobuchar said on MSNBC that, quote, "this is a moment to put a woman of color" on the Democratic ticket. Biden has promised that he will choose a woman as his running mate. Since the death of George Floyd, Klobuchar has faced scrutiny over her record when she was chief prosecutor for Hennepin County, when she declined to bring charges in more than 24 cases in which people were killed by police.

➤UNIV. OF FLORIDA ENDING 'GATOR BAIT' CHEER BECAUSE OF RACIST HISTORY: University of Florida president Kent Fuchs announced yesterday that the school will no longer allow the "Gator Bait" cheer at sports events, saying, "While I know of no evidence of racism associated with our 'Gator Bait' cheer . . . there is horrific historic racist imagery associated with the phrase." When the school band plays the tune for the cheer, fans make a chomping motion with their arms and shout "Gator Bait!"

ESPN cited the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia as saying African American babies were used as alligator bait, citing newspaper articles and imagery from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and the term was also used as a racial slur against African Americans. Lawrence Wright, who was a black player at Florida, popularized the phrase, "If you ain't a Gator, ya Gator bait, baby," after saying it after a 1995 win. He told The Gainesville Sun he's upset with the school's decision.

➤PLAYERS PROPOSE 70-GAME SEASON TO MLB: One day after it was reported that MLB believed it had reached agreement with the players union on a "framework" for a coronavirus-delayed 60-game regular season with players getting full prorated salaries, the union disputed that and on Thursday proposed a 70-game regular season with prorated salaries. The union's proposal would also have players wear advertisement patches on their uniforms for the first time in MLB history. But Commissioner Rob Manfred rejected it and said, "This needs to be over," adding, "Until I speak with owners, I can’t give you a firm deadline."