10 things you need to know today: June 20, 2016

The Cavaliers beat the Warriors to win the NBA Finals, four die in Southwest heat wave, and more

The Cleveland Cavaliers celebrate
(Image credit: BECK DIEFENBACH/AFP/Getty Images)

1. Cavaliers beat Warriors to win NBA title

The Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA championship Sunday night with a 93-89 win over the Golden State Warriors, giving Cleveland its first NBA title ever and its first professional championship in 52 years. The game stayed close to the end, with Kyrie Irving putting the Cavaliers ahead for good with a three-pointer over Warriors star Stephen Curry with 53 seconds left. The Cavaliers, led by Finals MVP LeBron James' 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, became the first team ever to trail 3-1 and come back to win the NBA Finals.

2. Four die in Southwest heat wave

A record-breaking Southwest heat wave killed at least four people in Arizona over the weekend, and temperatures are forecast to keep rising early this week. Temperatures in Phoenix are forecast to hit 119 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday after hitting 118 degrees on Sunday — a record high for June 19 in the city, and its fifth hottest day on record. Forecasters said the state could see temperatures close to its record of 122 degrees, set in 1990. The heat wave also hit California with 120-degree-plus temperatures, fueling five major wildfires.

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NBC News USA Today

3. Trump renews call for racial profiling in wake of Orlando shooting

Donald Trump on Sunday repeated a call he first made in December for racial profiling to help prevent terrorist attacks. Trump first suggested racial profiling after the San Bernardino, California, attack, which left 14 people dead, and he brought it up again following last week's mass shooting in Orlando, which killed 49. "I hate the concept of profiling, but we have to start using common sense," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said in an interview on CBS' Face the Nation.

The New York Times

4. Senate plans to hold gun-control votes

The Senate is preparing to hold procedural votes on four gun-control proposals on Monday. The measures include: letting the attorney general deny gun sales if there is a "reasonable belief" the buyer is a terrorist; alerting law enforcement officials when someone on the terror watch list tries to buy a gun; making it harder to add mentally ill people to the background check database; and closing the so-called gun show loophole on background checks. Support for gun control has increased in the wake of the Orlando mass shooting, although none of the four measures is expected to get the 60 votes needed for further action.

The Associated Press

5. Stocks surge as Brexit support weakens

Global stocks rose on Monday and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 200-point gain, or 1.2 percent, as the latest polls indicated that British voters were leaning toward deciding to remain in the European Union in a June 23 referendum. As recently as last week the "Leave" camp was ahead. Campaigning was suspended for three days at the end of last week following the murder of British lawmaker Jo Cox, an outspoken advocate of remaining in the EU. Global markets have been rattled this month due to concerns about potential economic fallout of "Brexit."

Reuters MarketWatch

6. Officials to release partial transcripts of phone calls with Orlando shooter

Authorities will release partial transcripts of phone conversations with Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Sunday. "They will talk about what he told law enforcement on the ground as the events were unfolding," including Mateen's "pledges of allegiance to a terrorist group" and his critique of American policy, Lynch said. The full transcripts will be withheld out of sensitivity toward the massacre's survivors.

CNN

7. Israeli leaders approve more money for West Bank settlements

Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved adding $20 million to a financial aid package for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Some of the money will go toward building hotels and encouraging tourism. The settlements have caused friction within Israel and with the Palestinians. The new funding commitment came after right-wing leaders gained a greater role in the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It came as Netanyahu's new defense minister, hard-liner Avigdor Lieberman, makes his first visit to Washington in his new post.

The New York Times The Times of Israel

8. Actor Anton Yelchin dies in freak accident

Actor Anton Yelchin, who portrayed Pavel Chekov in three Star Trek films, died Sunday in a freak accident, pinned against a brick mailbox pillar by his own car at his Studio City home. He was 27. Yelchin appeared as Chekov in 2009 and 2013 Star Trek films, and reprised the role in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond, which opens in theaters July 22. He started his acting career with appearances in a number of popular TV shows, including ER, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and also appeared in films such as Alpha Dog and Like Crazy.

Entertainment Weekly Variety

9. Dustin Johnson wins U.S. Open for first major title

Dustin Johnson won the U.S. Open on Sunday to claim his first major golf title after several near misses. Johnson lost last year's Open to Jordan Spieth by three-putting the 72nd hole from 12 feet, and he lost in 2010 with a disastrous final round. "It's a big monkey off my back, for sure," Johnson said. This year he was almost tripped up by a bizarre rules controversy. In the end, golf officials merely penalized him one stroke, and he still won by three strokes.

The New York Times Golf

10. Finding Dory posts best open ever for an animated film

Finding Dory made $136.2 million over its opening weekend, setting a record for an animated film. The previous record of $121.6 million was set in 2007 by Shrek the Third. Pixar's Finding Nemo sequel also set a new high mark for a PG-rated opening (also previously held by Shrek the Third), and for a Pixar opening weekend, beating the $110.3 million hauled in by 2010's Toy Story 3. Finding Dory came out 13 years after Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) helped a clownfish named Marlin find his son, Nemo.

USA Today

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.