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News Wrap: Vindman retires, accusing Trump of blocking promotion

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  • Judy Woodruff:

    In the day's other news: The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Trump administration rules that limit birth control coverage under Obamacare health insurance. By 7-2, the court affirmed letting some employers opt out of providing free contraception on moral grounds, as well as religious ones.

    The government estimates that, as a result, up to 126,000 women could lose insurance coverage in any one year.

    We will get into the details later in the program.

    The city of Houston today canceled plans for Texas Republicans to hold an in-person convention next week. Officials cited the ongoing coronavirus surge.

    But the White House said that the GOP's national convention is still set for Jacksonville, Florida, in late August.

  • Kayleigh McEnany:

    We're still moving forward with Jacksonville. It will be a safe event. It will be a good event. And it will be up to the RNC as to how those details are hashed out.

  • Judy Woodruff:

    Several Republican U.S. senators have said in recent days that they will skip the national convention.

    A key impeachment witness against President Trump is leaving the U.S. army. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman announced his retirement today. His lawyer accused the president of blocking his promotion. Vindman had already lost his job with the National Security Council.

    More than 150 academics, artists and writers are warning about growing threats to free speech. In an open letter in "Harper's," they support anti-racism protests, but they also denounce — quote — "intolerance of opposing views" and — quote — "public shaming and ostracism."

    The group includes Gloria Steinem and J.K. Rowling, among others.

    A 2-year-old — a two-year audit commissioned by Facebook has cited what it calls serious setbacks in the company's efforts on civil rights. It cites a hands-off approach to hate speech and to misinformation from President Trump and others. More than 900 advertisers are now boycotting Facebook over the issue.

    Two more big companies are moving to cut their pandemic losses. United Airlines says that it may lay off 36,000 employees, nearly half its U.S. work force, unless enough take early retirement.

    And Brooks Brothers, which is — is filing for federal bankruptcy protection, after 200 years in business.

    On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 177 points to close at 26067. The Nasdaq rose 148 points, to another record close, and the S&P 500 added 24 points.

    And the Ivy League college athletic conference is shutting down all fall sports, including football, for its eight members, due to the pandemic. The move was widely reported this evening. The Ivy League is the first Division I conference to take that step.

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