Friday morning news - June 19, 2020

Supreme Court upholds DACA program » Chief Justice John Roberts joined the liberal wing of the Supreme Court on Thursday to uphold DACA. 

That is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The Obama-era program provides legal protections for immigrants who illegally entered the United States as children. 

DACA recipient Alejandra Gonzalez said she breathed a big sigh of relief. 

GONZALEZ: Obviously, I’m relieved. I’m really excited. I’m really happy because this means continued protection for dreamers. 

The program provides legal shelter for about 650,000 immigrants.

Many opponents of the program did not oppose the policy as much as the manner in which it was enacted. After the DREAM Act failed in Congress, President Obama went around lawmakers to create the DACA program by executive order in 2012.

The Trump White House argued that Congress must replace DACA with legislation and that the courts had no authority to review its decision to end it. 

The Department of Homeland Security moved to halt the program in 2017. And Chief Justice Roberts said the department did have the authority to do that. But he said DHS violated procedure by failing to consider—quote—“whether to retain forbearance and what if anything to do about the hardship to DACA recipients.”

The court’s more conservative-leaning justices argued that the protections were illegal in the first place and the Trump administration ended the program by the book. 

Bolton blasts Trump in interview ahead of book release » In an interview with ABC News, former national security adviser John Bolton this week blasted his former boss. Bolton sat down for an interview ahead of next week’s planned release of a tell-all book about his time in the Trump White House.

BOLTON: I don’t think he’s fit for office. I don’t think he has the competence to carry out the job. 

The Trump administration has sued to delay release of the book, saying it contains classified information. 

In the book, Bolton said President Trump did tie foreign aid to Ukraine to investigations of his political rivals. That accusation was at the heart of Trump’s impeachment in the House. 

He also alleges that Trump asked China for help with his reelection. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer disputed that claim. 

LIGHTHIZER: Absolutely untrue. Never there. I have no recollection of that ever happening. I don’t believe it’s true. I don’t believe it ever happened. 

On Thursday Trump denounced the book as “a compilation of lies and made up stories, all intended to make me look bad.”

Trump campaign to hold first 2020 rally tomorrow » Meantime, President Trump’s reelection campaign is shaking off Bolton’s claims and moving forward with its first big rally tomorrow in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

But local officials are urging anyone at high risk for COVID-19 to stay home. The rally comes as the state has seen an increase in new confirmed cases. 

Oklahoma GOP Senator James Lankford noted, however, that hospitalizations and deaths are not rising. He added that an uptick of cases was expected as the state reopened businesses. And he said the Trump campaign is putting several safety measures in place for the rally.

LANKFORD: We have 80 different test sites across the state. And they’ve told folks, they advise them to go get a test before they come and they’re going to pass out masks and hand sanitizer and do temperature checks as they enter the rally as well, so they’re trying to make it as safe as possible.

The Republican mayor of Tulsa, G.T. Bynum, called it a “tremendous honor” to host the president’s rally. But he also said—quote—“I’m not positive that everything is safe.” And he added “Any rational person looking at any large grouping of people would have concerns about this weekend.”

Brazil fighting coronavirus surge » Brazil is not the only South American country where the coronavirus is surging. WORLD’s Anna Johansen has that story. 

ANNA JOHANSEN, REPORTER: Peru now ranks second on the continent and seventh in the world in confirmed cases. The nation has reported nearly 241,000 confirmed cases. But that number likely understates the spread of the virus. Peru has conducted roughly half the tests per capita that the United States has conducted. 

More than 7,000 Peruvians are confirmed to have died from the disease. The country’s government has extended its lockdown through at least June 30th.

Meantime, Turkey is now requiring citizens to wear face masks in three major cities after seeing an uptick in infections. And in China, the government is racing to halt a new outbreak linked to a food market in Beijing. Officials put up barricades around neighborhoods with confirmed cases after more than a hundred people tested positive in the area. 

China’s top epidemiologist said the new outbreak suggests the virus thrives in markets with “seafood or meat.” He added, “the cold, wet environment may be able to keep the virus alive for a long time.”

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen. 

Twitter, Square to designate Juneteenth a company holiday » Employees at several corporations are enjoying today as a paid holiday. Juneteenth is recognized every year on June 19th and companies now giving employees the day off to celebrate include Nike, Twitter, Vox Media, and tobacco company Altria. At Target stores across the country, employees who work will be paid time-and-a-half.

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas and told slaves that the Civil War was over and they were free.

Many African-Americans view Juneteenth as another independence day. Forty-seven states recognize it as a ceremonial or state holiday.

World War II “Sweetheart” Vera Lynn dies » An entertainment icon of the World War II era has died. 

AUDIO: [We’ll Meet Again]

Dame Vera Lynn became known as the “Sweetheart” of the Allied forces for serenading British troops. 

During the war and long after, Lynn drew crowds smiling and singing along with favorites like “We’ll Meet Again,” and “The White Cliffs of Dover.”

She died in East Sussex on Thursday, surrounded by family at the age of 103. 

Tributes poured in from political leaders, entertainers, veterans, and fans. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said her “charm and magical voice entranced and uplifted our country in some of our darkest hours. Her voice will live on to lift the hearts of generations to come.″

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient Roberto Martinez, left, celebrates with other DACA recipients in front of the Supreme Court on Thursday, June 18, 2020, in Washington. 

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