June 19, 2026

Brittney Melton

up first newsletter writer

Good morning. Today is Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people. Even though President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, many people didn't learn about Lincoln’s order until over two years later. This is how word of the proclamation spread through the South. Here's the news we're following:

Today’s top stories

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, vessels are seen anchored in Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz.

Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images

Vice President Vance is postponing his trip to Switzerland, where he was set to negotiate terms of a peace agreement with Iran. This week, President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum, which offers benefits to Iran but is only a first step toward a comprehensive deal. Yesterday, the U.S. Central Command announced that U.S. forces lifted their blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas. This action is one of the conditions of a ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran, as both countries enter the next phase of negotiations over the next 60 days. Read the full text of Trump's preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement to end the war here.

🎧 Officials have not explained why the meeting has been delayed, but Israel’s ongoing bombardment of southern Lebanon isn't helping matters, NPR’s Rob Schmitz tells Up First. The first article of the agreement signed by Trump and Iran’s president promises to ensure Lebanon's territorial integrity. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that Israeli forces plan to remain in southern Lebanon. Members of Netanyahu’s cabinet have described this deal as "bad for Israel." For now, Iran’s foreign ministry said that the signing ceremony is off and the White House said that plans for the upcoming technical talks have not yet been finalized. With both the U.S. and Iran threatening to strike each other, this agreement appears to be on very shaky ground, Schmitz says.

🎧 Vance is the face of these negotiations, which means that if the U.S. does not achieve its objectives, he might bear a lot of the blame, NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben says. There were early signs of that this week when members of the right pinned their dissatisfaction with the deal on Vance. Kurtzleben adds that the vice president is not a seasoned diplomat, and it is hard to overstate how big a job negotiating this deal will be. Vance's past anti-interventionist positions may lend him some credibility in this role, and he's an aggressive messenger for the administration, Kurtzleben says. Sending the vice president to the negotiations also signals to Iran how significant this deal is to the U.S. Kurtzleben notes it is important to remember that this agreement is not the end of the war, but the start of what might be a challenging process toward that goal.

The grand opening ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center took place yesterday, featuring a star-studded guest list, musical performances and four former presidents, including President Obama himself. The event featured musical performances and appearances by Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, John Legend, Stevie Wonder and several other stars. The ceremony evoked the hope and change vibes of the Obama era. Every living former president attended the ceremony except one: Trump. During a press preview earlier this month, longtime Obama White House aide and current CEO of the Obama Foundation, Valerie Jarrett, said that Trump is welcome to visit the museum but was not invited to the dedication. Despite his absence, Trump remained a feature of the event, with subtle comments about the future of democracy and American ideals.

A student-led group at Emory Law School has asked the Supreme Court to evaluate the judiciary's system for addressing misconduct among its own ranks. Unlike most other American workers, tens of thousands of federal court employees are not covered under landmark civil rights protections and cannot seek assistance from an independent agency if they face harassment or discrimination at work. This case centers on the court's unique system for policing itself and whether it ensures that workers receive due process and equal protection under the law.

A newly revealed document from the Department of Homeland Security outlines plans to equip local police working on its behalf with facial recognition technology to identify immigrants in the field. The tool involved is a mobile app called the ICE Task Force Module, which enables local police to scan the faces of individuals they stop in their communities. The app then compares the facial scans against more than 250 million government records, including those from the State Department's Visa records and the Traveler Verification Service. After scanning a person's face, the app directs the officer to either "not detain or arrest" the individual or to use a reference code to retrieve additional information from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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Picture show

Rick Brunson and Jalen Brunson of The New York Knicks celebrate winning the 2026 NBA Championship at a parade.

Elias Wlliams for NPR

New York City buzzed with excitement yesterday as fans flooded the streets to celebrate the Knicks' first NBA championship win since 1973. The ticker tape parade kicked off in Battery Park, traveled down Manhattan's famed "Canyon of Heroes" and ended at City Hall. There, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered a speech, showering praise on the Knicks team. Take a look at the photos from the event.

Weekend picks

Hugh Jackman holding a bow and arrow as Robin Hood.

A24

Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:

🍿 Movies: Hugh Jackman stars in The Death of Robin Hood as the legendary hero who robs from the rich and gives to the poor. During the film, he grapples with what his youthful righting of wrongs has cost him and bystanders alike.

📺 TV: Widow's Bay blends horror and comedy as it follows a mayor who desperately tries to bring tourism to a small island town that might be cursed.

📚 Books: Summer offers the perfect opportunity to dive into great books released in spring. NPR's Fresh Air book critic Maureen Corrigan did just that with The Family Man by James Lasdun, The Hill by Harriet Clark and A Beautiful Loan by Mary Costello. Check out her reviews of these titles.

🎵 Music: New music from Tierra Whack, The War and Treaty and more has hit streaming platforms today. NPR Music has prepared a playlist featuring singles from several new albums.

❓Quiz: The World Cup, the Kennedy Center and Kevin Warsh were some of the topics that made headlines this week and now they have made an appearance in this week's test.

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It's free to enter, but you can get extra entries by supporting the NPR Network and picking up some limited edition merch. Every dollar makes a huge difference, not just for your chances to win, but in protecting essential journalism across the country. So enter today and maybe we'll see you at the desk!

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3 things to know before you go

Luigi Mangione wears a dark blue suit and a white button up shirt in an appearance for a pretrial hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York.

Angelina Katsanis/AP

1

Luigi Mangione's legal team yesterday decided against using a psychiatric defense for his trial, which is set to take place in state court in September. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murdering health insurance CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street in 2024.

2

The Food and Drug Administration's top vaccine advisory committee voted unanimously yesterday to recommend Moderna's new mRNA influenza vaccine for adults 50 and over. This was the first time it reviewed a new vaccine application since 2023.

3

In this week’s edition of Far-Flung Postcards, NPR’s Matt Ozug gives readers a peek at an impromptu tour of Maputo, Mozambique's capital city, which was shaped by architect Amâncio "Pancho" Guedes.

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This newsletter was edited by Treye Green.