Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Abortion pivot

The US Supreme Court appears poised to allow abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho, according to a copy of an opinion briefly posted on its website and exclusively obtained by Bloomberg Law. A 6-3 majority would reinstate a lower court order that ensured hospitals in the state could perform emergency abortions to protect the health of a mother while a legal challenge proceeds. If the final ruling in the case—the court’s first review of a state ban since eliminating a federal right to abortion—mirrors the document, it would be the second time in as many weeks the Republican-appointee dominated court pivoted away from further limiting reproductive rights. In a June 13 decision, the court preserved full access to the widely used abortion pill mifepristone. However, in both instances, the high court’s reasoning was based in part on whether the parties who brought the case had the right to do so, rather than a final adjudication on the merits. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in the posted filing that “today’s decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho. It is delay.” You can read the full text of the Supreme Court document here. —David E. Rovella 

Bolivian soldiers led by a top general stormed the presidential palace in an apparent coup attempt shortly after an armored vehicle crashed into the building. Military personnel had already taken over the capital’s main square, according to images broadcast on local TV. Bolivian President Luis Arce said on social media earlier that some military units were conducting “irregular” operations and called for democracy to be respected. Arce’s socialist government has recently struggled with an economic crisis amid dwindling natural gas exports, a shortage of dollars and a currency peg that has effectively collapsed.

Military police outside the presidential palace in La Paz, Bolivia, on Wednesday Photographer: Juan Karita/AP Photo

Kenyan President William Ruto said he’s withdrawn his support for a contentious tax bill, bowing to public pressure after protests against the plan to raise $2.3 billion in new levies led to the deaths of at least 23 people. Residents long struggling with rising food prices and youth unemployment as high as 67% rejected the law, breaking through police barricades and storming the National Assembly after lawmakers initially approved it. The proposal included new taxes to improve state finances and access more International Monetary Fund financing. 

Making ends meet is a rising concern for US consumers, including among those who make $100,000 or more a year, according to a survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. More than a third of consumers in the survey said they were concerned about having enough money in the next six months, compared to 28.7% from a year ago. 

Tesla is on the verge of losing a key bragging right: outselling all EV competitors in the US combined. In the 12 months through May, Tesla sold approximately 618,000 electric cars in the US compared with about 597,000 fully electric vehicles sold by other manufacturers. Next week, carmakers are slated to report second-quarter sales, which will include  popular new models from General Motors, Hyundai and its affiliate Kia.

Several NATO allies are balking at committing to a specific multi-year spending pledge on military aid for Ukraine aimed at giving Kyiv more predictability over the long term. Despite early enthusiasm for NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg’s proposal—where allies would spend at least €40 billion ($42.7 billion) per year on lethal and non-lethal aid for Ukraine—nations are now at loggerheads over how to make the spending commitment work for future years.

The yen fell to the weakest level since 1986, fanning speculation Japanese authorities may be forced to support the currency again. The yen slumped as much as 0.6% to 160.62 per dollar, blowing past where officials intervened in April. The drop brings losses this year to more than 12%. The vast gap between interest rates in Japan—where borrowing costs remain near zero—and the US has kept pressure on the yen despite attempts to contain the slide. The depreciation is raising the price of imports, hurting Japanese consumers and causing growing unease among businesses. The next big pain point may emerge from a readout on the Federal Reserve’s favored US inflation gauge on Friday.

An imaginative take on the Indian subcontinent’s once-vibrant courtesan culture has become a hit for Netflix, drawing attention to a stigmatized neighborhood in Pakistan’s second-biggest city—and not everyone is happy about it. Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, directed by well-known Indian filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, portrays the decadent lives of tawaifs, or courtesans, who in the show entertain and seduce power brokers to aid in rebellion against British rule in pre-Partition India. 

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar  Source: Netflix

• Yen’s relentless slide showcases Fed’s grip on global markets.
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• Bloomberg Opinion: Supreme Court says a $13,000 gift isn’t a bribe.
• Zimbabwe’s new currency gets its own code.
• Attorney who beat Trump twice in court starts boutique law firm.
• Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rematch gives ESPN historic ratings.

Delta Air Lines wants to make a global splash when it comes to customer satisfaction, so it’s taken a bold step at one of the hubs of the flying world. On Wednesday it opened its first Delta One Lounge in John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 4—a move it hopes will rival efforts by competitors such as Emirates and Cathay Pacific. The lounge is named after Delta’s just-refreshed business-class cabins of the same name. At 39,707 square feet—nearly three times the size of its JFK SkyClub lounge that opened in July 2023 and some 10,000 square feet larger than Cathay’s year-old flagship Pier Lounge in Hong Kong—the Delta One lounge is a sprawling space with an ambitious sit-down restaurant, a wellness and spa area, soundproof work pods and personalized valet services.

The brasserie at the new Delta One lounge in John F. Kennedy International Airport Photographer: Jason Dewey 

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