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SCOTUS immunity ruling helps Trump, angers Democrats. Plus, July 4th travel tips
Today’s top stories
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that former President Donald Trump has broad immunity from federal prosecution. In a 6-3 opinion along ideological lines, the justices said a former president is entitled to a presumption of immunity for his official acts but lacks immunity for unofficial acts. The court sent the case back to the judge in Trump’s election case to determine whether any of Trump’s actions were part of his official duties. President Biden said the ruling sets a “dangerous precedent” and “undermines the rule of law” in remarks from the White House.
President Biden gives remarks on the Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity at the White House on July 1.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/Getty Images North America
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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/Getty Images North America
- 🎧 The timing of the court’s decision means there’s “no chance” voters will have a verdict in Trump’s Jan. 6 case before the November election, NPR’s Domenico Montanaro tells Up First. Trust in the court has nosedived due to controversial decisions and ethics issues, according to an NPR poll. The next president could potentially nominate three new justices, as Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Sonya Sotomayor are all above 70. If Trump wins the presidency and is able to appoint younger, conservative justices, it could “set Democrats back another 20 years,” Domenico says.
Hurricane Beryl strengthened to a Category 5 storm yesterday after it made landfall on Grenada’s Carriacou Island in the Caribbean. It’s the earliest Atlantic hurricane to reach this strength on record due partly to record-high ocean temperatures.
- 🎧 The speed at which Beryl grew is something climate scientists have been expecting, NPR’s Michael Copley says. Though climate change is still an active area of research, Copley says it’s clear hotter temperatures are strengthening hurricanes. Coastal communities will see the biggest risk from storm surges, which are walls of water that get pushed on shore. Hurricanes can also hold a large amount of water vapor, causing torrential rains and floods that threaten inland communities, even if they’re not in the storm’s path.
- ➡️ Experts are expecting an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season. The best time to prepare is before a storm forms. Learn how to pack a go bag, an essential tool during natural disasters.
Longevity researchers have their eyes on a generic drug that they think could help extend people’s lives. The FDA first approved rapamycin in the 1990s for transplant patients to suppress the immune system and prevent transplant rejection. At lower doses, it helps decrease inflammation. Now, the FDA has approved rapamycin testing in patients with gum disease — a common condition that tends to accelerate with age. Jonathan An, the doctor leading this research, gum disease is the “canary in the coalmine” of age-related diseases, as it’s linked to a higher risk of heart disease and dementia.
Life advice
Nearly 71 million people are expected to make trips for the Independence Day travel period, AAA predicts.
David Schaper/NPR
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David Schaper/NPR
Nearly 71 million Americans are expected to travel for the Fourth of July this week, the AAA predicts. It could be the busiest Independence Day travel season on record — both in the air and on the roads. Here’s what to know and how to avoid slowdowns if you’re planning a trip this week:
- ✈️ It’s vital to get to the airport well before your departure time, says Gerardo Spero, the TSA’s federal security director at Philadelphia International Airport. Travel volumes are up at many airports, so allow extra time for parking,, checking your bags and security.
- 🚗 Drivers in metro areas can expect the worst traffic tomorrow. If you haven’t hit the road already, the best time to start is before 10:00 a.m.
- ☀️ High temperatures and thunderstorms may slow trains and planes. Traveling in the morning or evening can offset these risks.
- 🚫 If a flight is canceled, airlines must offer travelers a refund or book another flight. But the rules for flight delays are more complicated. Check your airline’s policy on the Transportation Department website.
Picture show
Abdul Jabbar’s Boli Khela, a century-old traditional wrestling competition in Chittagong, draws thousands of eager spectators annually. In this picture captured in Chittagong, Bangladesh on April 24, 2023, two individuals are seen wrestling on a sandy stage in front of a street audience.
Sanchayan Chowdhury
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Sanchayan Chowdhury
A pack of pelicans, a snowed-in village and a wrestling match: these are some finalists for the 2024 Siena Drone Photo Awards. Thanks to technological advancements, drone photography has evolved over the years. Drones can fly faster, secure better-quality images, and move more precisely, allowing photographers to capture stunning aerial shots. Emanuela Ascoli, one of the judges, says she’ll consider each photograph’s “emotional and aesthetic impact” and how well it captures “the perfect moment.”
3 things to know before you go
An image of 15-year-old Carlo Acutis is unveiled during his beatification ceremony at the St. Francis Basilica in Assisi, Italy in October 2020.
Gregorio Borgia/AP
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Gregorio Borgia/AP
- Carlos Acutis, a teen tech whiz who died of leukemia at age 15, will be canonized as the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint. Acutis is fondly remembered as “God’s influencer” and the “patron saint of the internet” for his work cataloging Eucharistic miracles worldwide.
- Naomi Osaka won her first Wimbledon match in six years yesterday. In 2021, she took a short hiatus from tennis for mental health reasons. She’s been vocal about her struggles on the court
- Celebrity stingray Charlotte, who was declared pregnant without a male mate earlier this year, has died. The North Carolina aquarium where she lived previously announced she had a “rare reproductive disease.”
This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.
new video loaded: Protester Hit by Car at Newark ICE Detention Center
By Cynthia Silva
June 6, 2026
A lifeguard overlooks an outdoor swimming pool.
Etienne Laurent/Getty Images
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Etienne Laurent/Getty Images
Teenagers hoping to hold the whistle as a lifeguard or camp counselor, or just work any job this summer are having a hard time getting hired.
“They now have more competition. There may be fewer jobs available,” says Brad Hershbein, an economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. “They kind of get stuck with the short straw.”
Many factors are contributing to the competition for entry-level jobs: AI, inflation, tariffs, even those oil tankers stuck in the Persian Gulf. But all signs are pointing to 2026 being the worst job market for teens in decades.
“So many people are increasingly desperate to find a job, any job, especially if they have college loans,” Hershbein says. “That makes it that much harder for someone younger to be able to compete.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 219,000 fewer teens working this May compared to last May. Their participation in the labor force has been sliding since a peak of nearly 58% in the 1970s. Today, about a third of teens are in the labor force, either working or looking for summer work.
Mariella Silva, 19, had to hustle before finding a summer job as a barista at Zeke’s Coffee, a roastery and coffee shop in Washington, D.C.
She says now that she’s working, she feels more grown up. She is learning from her older coworkers and starting to understand and appreciate the value of money. She says, “Every time I spend something, I’m like, oh, this is like two hours of work.” She says she really feels the pinch of inflation when she considers whether to buy a meal out in the world, “I’m like, hmm. . . there’s food at home.”
Her boss, Jesse Lauritsen, doesn’t actually hire many teens. For starters, their schedules are hard to accommodate. Teens often have school or sports commitments and are new to the idea of carving out big chunks of time for work shifts.
“If they can only work one day a month, there’s no point in really hiring them,” Lauritsen says.
Economist Brad Herschbein notes that hiring managers may view teens as an investment that won’t pay off right away. “It’s almost a community service, rather than getting that productivity right away,” he says.
The dwindling job opportunities for teenagers means that plenty of them won’t get their first workforce experience while they’re still young, he adds. “A growing share of 18- to 19-year-olds are neither employed nor in school. They’re not really engaged in child care either.”
Economists call such people “idle.” It’s a strong term, but might be accurate, according to time-use surveys.
“They do seem to be engaging in a lot of leisure,” says Hershbein “The quintessential stereotype is, you know, someone’s playing video games all day.”
That pattern doesn’t just worry their parents. Many cities and school districts are trying hard to line up job opportunities for young people.
At a community pool in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Gayle Hurn hires over a hundred lifeguards and swim instructors every summer: She says she’s got a roster full of teenagers from around the city. “I think we need to start viewing teens as a really important part of the infrastructure of the workplace.”
Hurn says everyone who visits the pool feels the joy that her young workers bring to their job, even if she admits that teenagers can be hard to manage. “It’s my job to help them not just get a paycheck, but really build them so that when they move on from me, they can be super successful and really great contributors to whatever other work environment they join.”
Hurn makes them put away their phones, she works around their vacation schedules and she helps them through difficult conversations.
Happily, she adds, her teen employees are totally worth it.
A ranger who was assigned to a climbing patrol on Mount McKinley in Alaska, North America’s tallest peak, died after falling into a crevasse on Thursday, the National Park Service said.
Officials identified the ranger as Robin Pendery, 33, of Enumclaw, Wash., a seasonal employee for the park service, and said she had been near a camp that sits at about 14,000 feet up the mountain when she fell. Parks Service workers responded immediately, the agency said, but Ms. Pendery did not survive. It did not release further details about the incident.
Ms. Pendery’s death came just over a week after three members of a Latvian climbing expedition died in an accident on the same mountain in Denali National Park and Preserve.
The Park Service said that Ms. Pendery had joined the mountaineering staff at the park in 2024.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of a member of our Denali family,” Brooke Merrell, the park’s superintendent, said in a statement. “Our mountaineering rangers dedicate themselves to serving visitors and helping others in one of the most challenging environments in the world. Today, we mourn the loss of a valued colleague, friend and teammate.”
Ms. Pendery was a nursing student at the University of Washington, according to her LinkedIn profile, and then became a registered nurse. She had nearly a decade of experience as a seasonal mountain guide, including for Alpine Ascents International, an expedition company based in Seattle.
A biography page for Ms. Pendery on the Alpine Ascents website said that, along with Mount McKinley, she had climbed Mount Rainier, Mount Baker and Mount St. Helens in Washington State and Mount Hood in Oregon.
“She was a serious and compassionate professional,” Gordon Janow, the director of programs for Alpine Ascents, wrote in an email on Friday. “Highly respected by peers, thorough, competent and an absolute pleasure to spend time with. We guided together in India, and her level of care for clients and passion for the mountains were unsurpassed. We’re devastated and her companionship will be sorely missed.”
Mount McKinley, which soars to 20,310 feet above sea level, was renamed as Mount Denali, the name long used by Alaska Native tribes, by President Barack Obama in 2015, but last year, President Trump reinstated the name that honored the former U.S. president William McKinley.
The recent stretch of the climbing season in the national park, which typically runs from late April through mid-July, has been particularly deadly.
Last week, three members of the Latvian Mountaineering Association died and a fourth was critically injured in what officials described as an accident at about 18,000 feet on the mountain.
The recent death toll is above average for the mountain, where more than 130 people have died since the park started keeping records more than a century ago. Three people died in Denali National Park in 2025, according to Park Service data, and there was one death in the park in both 2024 and 2023.
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