On this day in 1865, enslaved people in Texas were notified by Union Civil War soldiers about the abolition of slavery. This was 2.5 years after the final Emancipation Proclamation which freed all enslaved Black Americans. In 1866, a year after the amendment was ratified, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina began to lease out convicts for labor. This made the business of arresting black people very lucrative, thus hundreds of white men were hired by these states as police officers. Their primary responsibility being to search out and arrest black peoples who were in...

Barrack Obama: “On Juneteenth, we celebrate freedom and recommit ourselves to the work that remains undone. We remember that even in the darkest hours, there is cause to hope for tomorrow’s light. “This Juneteenth, I’m inspired by the work of our @ObamaFoundation leaders and alumni. Read their reflections on this day, and the ways they are transforming their communities for the better.”

 Authorities in southern Mexico were still assessing damage and watching rising rivers as rain from the remnants of Hurricane Erick doused the region. Torrential rains over steep coastal mountains and the landslides and flooding they could generate became ongoing concern for officials after Erick dissipated following a landfall early Thursday on a sparsely populated stretch of coast. At least one death was confirmed late Thursday, a 1-year-old boy who drowned in a swollen river. Erick came ashore down southern Mexico’s Pacific coast in the morning as a Category 3 major hurricane, but it landed between the resort cities of Acapulco...

 British lawmakers are set to vote Friday on whether to back a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales, in what could be one of the most consequential social policy decisions they will ever make. Members of Parliament supported legalizing assisted dying when they first debated the issue in November by 330 votes to 275. Since then, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has undergone months of scrutiny leading to some changes in the proposed legislation, which is being shepherded through Parliament by Labour lawmaker Kim Leadbeater rather than the government. Leadbeater is confident lawmakers...

A 27-year-old Brazilian woman, who said she became pregnant after being raped in March during Carnival in Brasilia, should have been granted access to a legal abortion. But when she sought to terminate the pregnancy at a hospital around a month later, she was told she needed a police report to access the service, despite it not being a legal requirement. She decided to abort at home with medication she bought on the black market, with only a few friends on site to help. “I fainted several times because of the pain. I was terrified I was going to die,” she said....

 Iran’s foreign minister plans to meet in Geneva on Friday with leading European counterparts, who hope to open a window for a diplomatic solution to the weekold war that has seen Israeli airstrikes target Iranian nuclear and military sites and Tehran firing back. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, said his country is not seeking negotiations with anyone as long as Israel continues its strikes on Iran. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who will meet Araghchi together with his French and German counterparts and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said that “a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve...

CAF representatives had a challenging start to the FIFA Club World Cup, with only one African team managing to secure a win after the first round of matches. Inter Miami 0-0 Al Ahly Twelve-time CAF Champions League winners Al Ahly were the better side on paper against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami but couldn’t make their chances count. Despite dominating spells, they failed to convert opportunities into goals, settling for a goalless draw. Flamengo 2-0 ES Tunis Brazilian giants Flamengo outplayed Tunisian side ES Tunis from start to finish, forcing them to sit deep for most of the game. ES Tunis...