Good morning. The Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision expanding the requirements employers must meet in accommodating the religious practices of their workers.

In a 9-0 decision on Thursday, the court revived a lawsuit brought by an evangelical Christian postal worker, Gerald Groff, who alleges he was discriminated against for refusing to deliver mail on Sundays.

• Say "yes": The ruling “will make it more difficult for employers to say ‘no’ to a request for an accommodation for religious reasons,” said Tracey Diamond, a lawyer at Troutman Pepper who has followed the case.
   
• The new standard: To deny a request for religious accommodation, Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court, “an employer must show that the burden of granting an accommodation would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business.”
   
• More deliberations: Groff's case will go back to a lower court for more consideration under the newly articulated legal framework. "We believe the lower court will conclude that providing the requested accommodation here would impose a substantial burden on the Postal Service," a Postal Service spokeswoman said.

Sanctioned Russian cargo ships made more than 100 stops at Turkish ports.

Russian cargo ships sanctioned by the U.S. for carrying weapons and other supplies have been regularly calling at Turkish ports since the invasion of Ukraine began, potentially making the NATO member an important plank in Moscow’s broader war effort.

The port calls threaten to further inflame relations between the U.S. and Turkey, which is the only North Atlantic Treaty Organization member that hasn’t sanctioned the Kremlin, and has instead become a critical economic conduit for Russia.

Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action in college admissions.

The Supreme Court found it unconstitutional to consider race in university admissions, eliminating the principal tool the nation’s most selective schools have used to diversify their campuses.

The watershed decision by Chief Justice John Roberts sets new parameters for the continuing national debate over what criteria should determine who is admitted to the country’s elite institutions and hired into top jobs.

• A compliance executive at a payments company has been charged with insider trading for allegedly snooping for deal details on the laptop of his girlfriend, who was employed by an investment bank.
   
• Companies selling everyday products such as leather shoes, coffee and chocolate in the European Union will soon need to prove their wares aren’t causing forest loss under a new law, after voluntary efforts largely failed.
   
• Google said Thursday it would remove links to news articles on its search function for Canadian users once a new national law takes effect that compels digital platforms to compensate domestic media outlets.
   
• Twitter Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino advocated for the company to rejoin an industry group focused on fighting child sexual abuse online after Twitter let its membership lapse, people familiar with the matter said.
   
• The Supreme Court on Thursday limited the reach of federal trademark law, making it harder for U.S. companies to sue foreign rivals who sell copycat products abroad.

Jerome Powell says next phase of rate rises will be harder to predict.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said it made sense to continue slowing the pace of interest rate increases as officials try to find the level that will restrain economic activity and inflation without causing unnecessary weakness.

The Fed raised interest rates most recently in May to a range between 5% and 5.25%, a 16-year high. Powell has signaled that officials are prepared to raise rates at the Fed’s July 25-26 meeting after holding them steady at their meeting earlier this month.

• At least half of the U.S. is poised for difficult weather conditions on Thursday, with the Northeast and the Midwest smothered by Canadian wildfire smoke and the South sweltering in a relentless heat wave.
   
• The Federal Reserve said the biggest U.S. lenders remain healthy, a vote of confidence for the financial system after a series of midsize bank failures earlier this year.
   
• How scared should you be about commercial real estate? If troubles hit banks and the wider economy, they will probably start in offices you wouldn’t want to work in, let alone own.
   
• PG&E has applied for a roughly $7 billion federal loan to fund its ambitious plans to reduce California wildfire risk by burying power lines and upgrading the electric grid, company executives said.
   
• China’s long-running battle to stabilize its shaky real-estate market appears to be entering a troubling new phase.

• FTX is in discussions with investors about relaunching its flagship exchange, even as regulators ratchet up their oversight of the industry and the company works through bankruptcy.
   
• Front-line workers don’t always vibe with new AI tools that promise efficiency but can really mean disruption.
   
• Dockworkers, bus drivers and meatpackers are seeking, and winning, bonuses for risking their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic.
  
  🎧 Listen to Dave Clark, CEO of digital-focused freight services provider Flexport, speak with WSJ Pro about the company’s acquisition of Shopify’s logistics operations and the role he thinks AI will play in the supply chain.

• The Chinese spy balloon that floated over the U.S. early this year was loaded with American-made equipment that helped it collect photos, videos and other information, U.S. officials said, citing preliminary findings from a closely held investigation.
   
• From Guam to Cape Verde, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is using the financial cushion of its $100 billion investment portfolio to go on a temple-building spree.
   
• The most popular American beer right now is the Mexican import Modelo Especial. The coronation of Modelo happens to be a deeply American story.
   
• OpenAI's CEO has gone on a global charm offensive as efforts to regulate AI accelerate.

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