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Mifepristone survives, Trump returns and Musk's stock rises

 
Today's NATIONAL story

Supreme Court rejects abortion pill challenge

What happened
The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a push by anti-abortion groups to restrict access to the abortion medication mifepristone, ruling unanimously that plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the case.

Who said what
The anti-abortion doctors named as plaintiffs have "sincere legal, moral, ideological and policy objections" to the widely available drug, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the opinion, but their "desire to make a drug less available for others does not establish standing to sue." Thursday's ruling was the "first major abortion issue to come before the court since its 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade," The Wall Street Journal said. Rejecting the mifepristone challenge on procedural grounds allowed the justices to find "common ground."

Thursday's ruling is "not a 'win' for abortion," said Nancy Northup at the Center for Reproductive Rights. It simply "maintains the status quo, which is a dire public health crisis in which 14 states have criminalized abortion." This was a "sad day for all who value women's health and unborn children's lives," said Katie Daniel at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. But "the fight to stop dangerous mail-order abortion drugs is not over."

What next?
Kavanaugh's ruling held "potentially useful hints for abortion opponents, laying out a path" for similar challenges in the future, Politico said. Anti-abortion leaders anticipate better luck advancing the merits of their case in "litigation Idaho, Kansas and Missouri are pursuing before the same Trump-appointed judge" whose 2023 ruling "would have banned abortion pills nationwide."

 
 
Today's POLITICS story

Trump visits GOP Capitol Hill, trashes Milwaukee

What happened
Donald Trump returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday for the first time since his supporters stormed Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump met separately with House and Senate Republicans, in what The Associated Press called a "triumphant return" to a Washington "successfully purged" of his GOP critics.

Who said what
The meetings were supposed to highlight GOP unity under Trump's leadership, but "much of the focus was instead on stray comments he made," The New York Times said. "Perhaps most striking," Trump disparaged Milwaukee, Wisconsin's largest city and host of next month's Republican National Convention. Milwaukee "is a horrible city," he said, according to Punchbowl News.

"Republican members of Wisconsin's congressional delegation offered varying accounts of the comment's context," saying he was talking about crime or voter fraud, "and one claimed it wasn't uttered at all," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said.

Trump also reportedly made odd comments about Taylor Swift, Nancy Pelosi and "nice guy" Hannibal Lecter, the fictional cannibal. One Republican attendee told NOTUS that Trump's "rambling" performance was "like talking to your drunk uncle at the family reunion."

What next?
Trump plans to host House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) at Mar-a-Lago next week to discuss policy, Axios said.

 
 
Today's BUSINESS Story

Tesla investors back Musk's $48B payday

What happened
Tesla shareholders approved a controversial payout for CEO Elon Musk, the company announced Thursday at its annual meeting in Austin. The 2018 compensation package, worth about $48 billion at Tesla's current share price, was blocked by a Delaware court in January. Shareholders also approved a proposal to reincorporate Tesla in Texas, from Delaware.

Who said what
"Hot damn, I love you guys," Musk told shareholders after the results were announced. Approval of the massive pay package was a relief for investors who view Musk as a "genius who has revolutionized the auto industry" and feared "rejection would prompt him to spend less time managing Tesla or even quit," The New York Times said.

The package would give Musk 303 million shares, raising his Tesla stake to 20.5% from 13%. It's "worth an estimated 300 times what the top-earning boss in the U.S. made last year," the BBC said. 

What next?
The shareholder vote is nonbinding and may not persuade the Delaware judge to revise her ruling. Lawyers for Tesla and shareholders who opposed the payout are "expected to meet in early July with the judge," The Wall Street Journal said.

 
 

It's not all bad

A diet designed to reduce environmental harm has been linked to a significantly lower risk of premature death. The "planetary health" diet, first published in The Lancet five years ago, recommends reducing meat consumption, boosting fruit and vegetable intake and getting most of the needed protein from nuts, beans and lentils. A recent Harvard University study found that closely following the diet reduces the risk of major causes of death including cancer, heart disease and lung disease.

 
 
Under the radar

The sport of artistic swimming has missed out on a "landmark moment" at this summer's Paris Olympics, World Aquatics said. Despite the global governing body's "bold move" to let men compete in artistic swimming — formerly called synchronized swimming — there will be no male swimmers among the 10 countries competing in the team event after the U.S. left a male "pioneer" out of its squad, said Reuters. 

The first artistic swimming competitions took place in Berlin in 1891, and contests were originally "solely for men," said Aquatics GB. But it was "soon recognized" that artistic swimming was "better fitted to women," who are "overall more buoyant, in particular in the legs." 

In 2022, World Aquatics announced that men would be allowed to compete in artistic swimming at the Olympics, with each country permitted two male swimmers in the eight-athlete team event.

Bill May had the chance to be the first man to compete in the sport this summer, but he did not make the U.S. team's final roster of eight swimmers. Age proved a factor: At 45, May is 28 years older than the youngest person on the team, 17-year-old Audrey Kwon. He would have needed the ability to perform as one-eighth of a team of women half his age. 

Despite May's omission, World Aquatics says it's "absolutely determined" that there will be male artistic swimmers in the team and and mixed duet competitions at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

 
 
On this day

June 14, 1777

The stars-and-stripes version of the American flag was adopted as the national flag of the United States by the Continental Congress. Designed by Francis Hopkinson, it featured 13 stars and 13 stripes to represent the 13 colonies. Now, June 14 is celebrated as Flag Day.

 
 
TODAY’S newspaperS

Shark Week isn't until August, but sharks haven't gotten the memo this year. Friday's Washington Post takes a front-page look at Australian shark monitoring and attack prevention technology that's "putting teeth into beach safety." South Florida is too inundated with unusually heavy rainfall to worry about beach trips; "It needs to stop," the Miami Herald says, quoting one waterlogged resident worried about "another night of rain." Elsewhere in the Southeast, "100-degree temps to make early arrival," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says, warning that the already "sweltering" heat is "soon going to get worse."

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tail

Apartment hacks

London's rental market is "breaking all records," the Evening Standard said. But a recent sublet advertisement takes it to a new level. Two Siamese cats have "apparently gained the keyboard skills" to post an ad on SpareRoom about space available in their one-bedroom home for $1,250 a month. They stipulate that candidates must be "cool to share with us cats" and a "lovely couple of humans" in exchange for a single bed in the living room.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass, Chas Newkey-Burden, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Michael Nigro / Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images; Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images; Apu Gomes / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images