Here are the week’s top stories, and a look ahead.
1. Muhammad Ali, a pioneering sports figure and three-time world heavyweight boxing champion, died on Friday at age 74. Hisaccomplishments and fame outside the ring rivaled his achievements within it: his charisma, his religious and political stances, his famous aphorismsand the way he openly reveled in having the world’s eyes trained on him. As one admirer put it: “He lived a lot of lives for a lot of people.”
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2. Voters in California, New Jersey, South Dakota, Montana and New Mexico will cast their primary ballots on Tuesday. Hillary Clinton could secure enough delegates that day to become the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee, but the vote in California between her and Bernie Sanders is expected to be close. Republican leaders are still grappling withthe divide between their candidate, Donald J. Trump, and the party’s Washington establishment as both begin shaping their fall campaign agendas.
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3. Tuesday is also the deadline for British residents to register to vote in the June 23 referendum on remaining a part of the European Union. The looming “Brexit” decision is exposing the country’s economic and cultural fault lines as Britons grapple with their isolation from Europe, and the potential fallout of a schism. Prime Minister David Cameron, who supports staying, made a televised appeal last week that included a combative town-hall-style question session.
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4. America’s private employers added just 38,000 workers in May, a sign that the nation’s economic recovery may have stalled, at least temporarily. There’s a silver lining: The unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent, the lowest in nearly a decade. Still, economy watchers expect the hiring slowdown to delay any moves by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
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5. Garbiñe Muguruza, a 22-year-old Spaniard who was born in Venezuela, claimed her first Grand Slam title on Saturday by upsetting Serena Williams in the women’s French Open final. On Sunday, Novak Djokovic will take on Andy Murray in the men’s final. If Djokovic wins, he will become the eighth man to capture all four Grand Slam singles titles.
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6. Just a few miles away from the Roland Garros tennis courts, curators at the Louvre worked around the clock to protect their artworks from the threat of floods. The Seine River rose to its highest level since 1982, setting a variety of emergency plans in motion. Officials say the flooding has peaked, but the waters remain high and left significant damage in their wake.
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7. During the Memorial Day weekend, 64 people were shot in Chicago, six of them fatally. The city’s escalating violence, fueled by gang wars and abundant guns, has become a crisis that leads to tragedy with numbing regularity. One mother, watching a neighbor grieve for her slain child, expressed relief that her own son was in jail: “He was bound to be shot this summer.”
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8. On Sunday, the Golden State Warriors will attempt to extend their 1-0 lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second game of the N.B.A. finals. The San Jose Sharks, above, edged back into the Stanley Cup finals with a win on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who lead the seven-game series, 2-1.
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9. A top American cyclist withdrew from consideration for the Olympic team because of concerns about the Zika virus. “I don’t want to take any chances,” said Tejay van Garderen, whose wife is pregnant. Texas towns are bracing for a Zika outbreak in Mexico to eventually cross the border, while scientists warned on Friday that the disease can be transmitted by oral sex, and possibly even by kissing.
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10. Load up your snacks and podcasts: It’s road trip time. With gas prices at their lowest point in a decade, Americans are hitting the highways to visit oceans, national parks, tourist attractions and other Instagrammable sights. Our reporter Clifford Krauss journeyed along the famed Route 66, collecting stories from the fellow travelers he met on the way.
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11. Trey Pearson, the lead singer of a popular Christian rock band, told fans that he is gay, joining a number of other Christian musicians who have come out in recent years. Mr. Pearson, 35, said he spent two decades trying to make himself straight. “I feel like I’ve been set free,” he wrote in an open letter about his struggle to reconcile his faith and his sexuality.
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12. You will marry the wrong person, one of our best-read stories of the week warns. Make your peace with it, the author advises, and you may be surprised at how freeing accepting imperfection can be. His words resonated with many; as one commenter wrote, “Each new day of a committed relationship needs to begin with the recognition that both of us are new and different than we were the day before.”
Have a great week.
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Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6 a.m. Eastern.
And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern, and Your Evening Briefing, weeknights at 6 p.m. Eastern.
Want to look back? Here’s Friday’s Evening Briefing.
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