Today in History: June 19, Union troops arrive in Galveston on ‘Juneteenth'
Today is Thursday, June 19, the 170th day of 2025. There are 195 days left in the year. This is Juneteenth.
Today in history:
On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over and that all remaining enslaved people in Texas were free — an event now celebrated nationwide as Juneteenth.
Also on this date:
In 1910, the first-ever Father's Day in the United States was celebrated in Spokane, Washington. (President Richard Nixon would make Father's Day a federally recognized annual observation through a proclamation in 1972.)
In 1953, Julius Rosenberg, 35, and his wife, Ethel, 37, convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York; they were the first American civilians to be executed for espionage.
In 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova completed her historic flight as the first woman in space, landing safely by parachute to conclude the Vostok 6 mission.
In 1964, the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved by the U.S. Senate, 73-27, after surviving a lengthy filibuster.
In 1975, former Chicago organized crime boss Sam Giancana was shot to death in the basement of his home in Oak Park, Illinois; the killing has never been solved.
In 1986, University of Maryland basketball star Len Bias, the first draft pick of the Boston Celtics two days earlier, suffered a fatal cocaine-induced seizure.
In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case Edwards v. Aguillard, struck down a Louisiana law requiring any public school teaching the theory of evolution to teach creation science as well.
Today's Birthdays: Hall of Fame auto racer Shirley Muldowney is 85. Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is 80. Author Tobias Wolff is 80. Author Salman Rushdie is 78. Actor Phylicia Rashad is 77. Rock singer Ann Wilson (Heart) is 75. Actor Kathleen Turner is 71. Singer-choreographer-TV personality Paula Abdul is 63. TV host Lara Spencer is 56. Actor Jean Dujardin is 53. Actor Robin Tunney is 53. Basketball Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki is 47. Actor Zoe Saldaña is 47. Rapper Macklemore is 42. Actor Paul Dano is 41.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Kroger's Juneteenth Cakes Spark Backlash: ‘This Is a Mockery!'
A Kroger in Atlanta, Georgia is going viral for its Juneteenth cake offerings. A TikTok video posted on June 17 shows haphazardly decorated desserts sitting in the bakery section of the supermarket. 'This is some bulls---,' TikToker @ says at the start of the video. 'Who the hell made this ugly-ass s---?' The video, which now has over 10 million views, shows shelves stocked with birthday cakes and other treats, then lands on a table selling Juneteenth cookie cakes. 'Y'all decorate everything else around here cute, everything else around here cute,' the TikToker says. 'But for Juneteenth, you wanna just throw something on a freaking cookie cake and expect someone to buy it.' Several desserts are shown, some with printed designs, others featuring phrases like 'FREE,' 'June 19 Free,' 'Congratulations' and 'Free @ Last' written off-center in icing. The phrase 'free at last' is known for being a prominent part of Martin Luther King's 'I Have A Dream' speech, borrowed from the title of a Negro-Spiritual song. And now the phrase, which represents a hard-fought struggle, is being featured on a supermarket cake, casually scribbled in internet shorthand. 'I'm a be in here bright, early in the morning to talk to somebody about this, because this is unacceptable,' concludes the TikToker, who did not respond to request for comment. 'Kroger count your days,' they added in the post's caption. 'Why even bother if you're going to lack creativity … This is a mockery!' In the comments section of the video, many agreed. 'Free @ last is just insane 😭😭😭😭,' commented one TikTok user. 'It's giving 'here damn' 💀,' wrote another. 'Gurl! Not the last one saying Congratulations,' added someone else. 'Like Congratulations You're free! 🤦🏽♀️🤭.' 'I would absolutely take that cake that says FREE,' wrote one Reddit user, and another replied, 'Yea I mean it's says FREE I thought it was free.' For its part, Kroger says the desserts featured in the video were 'inconsistent' with its 'provided guidance.' 'The products have been removed, and we've addressed this directly with the store teams and the customer who took the initial video,' it added. The removal of the controversial cookie cakes was confirmed by @ in a follow-up TikTok video. 'I still feel some type of way that they didn't replace them with better Juneteenth cakes,' she says. However, there were some folks on the internet who felt 'mixed' on the issue. An alleged Kroger employee on Reddit wrote, 'I understand that people here are overworked and underpaid like crazy. However, admittedly these cake are not the best looking and def could've been made better.' In response, other Reddit users said, 'It looks like they don't have an experienced cake decorator,' and pointed out that 'it was probably someone with minimal training and not much time, doing their best.' Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced enslaved people were free. This was two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863. In June 1883, the Galveston Daily News reported on the 18th annual Emancipation Day — what would today be considered Juneteenth — celebrations across Texas. In 2022, Walmart drew backlash for releasing its own Juneteenth-themed ice cream, which critics said attempted to capitalize on a Black holiday rather than highlight already existing Black-owned ice cream brands. The chain later apologized to customers, writing, 'Juneteenth holiday marks a commemoration and celebration of freedom and independence. However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize.' Then, in 2023, a Reddit post showed another controversial Juneteenth dessert sold at Walmart — watermelon-themed cakes. While watermelon and red-colored foods are associated with Juneteenth, many commenters still thought the choice was 'tacky.' This article was originally published on
Buzz Feed
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Jon Stewart Shocked His Staffer Won A Pedro Pascal Lookalike Contest
The fake Pedro Pascal may be as charming as the real Pedro Pascal. On Tuesday, The Daily Show shared a behind-the-scenes clip to its X account in which Jon Stewart revealed to fans that the winner of a New York-based Pedro Pascal lookalike contest was George Gountas — who happens to be the lighting designer for The Daily Show. After inviting Gountas on stage, who looks like he could be a long-lost member of Pascal's family, Stewart made a confession. 'I've never noticed he looks like Pedro Pascal,' Stewart admitted, before showing a photo of what Gountas typically looks like in the office, which looks less like Pascal, but still very Pascal-esque. 'How did you do this?' Stewart asked Gountas. Gountas then launched into a very funny explanation as to how he went from 'Pedro No. 5' during a silly contest on Sunday to its ultimate winner. Gountas explained that a fellow Daily Show staffer noticed fliers for the contest last week. The contest was held at Son Del North, a Mexican restaurant in the lower east side, and the prize for the winner was $50 and a year's supply of free burritos, according to local news station FOX 5 New York. The co-owner of the eatery, chef Annisha Garcia, told People she was inspired to create the contest after coming across an interview with Pascal in which he said that there isn't any 'good Mexican food in New York City.' Gountas went on to tell Stewart about the contest, who was only mildly interested, and completely forgot about it. That was until he mentioned it to his wife, Jenny, just two days before the contest — and Jenny told Gountas he was absolutely doing it. Contesting whether Gountas liked it or not, Jenny enlisted the help of a neighbor, who was a stylist, in order to pin down Pascal's look. 'And I showed up on Father's Day — you were supposed to pre-sign up, I did not sign up,' Gountas said. 'I rolled up, and I was like, 'Yo, I'm here.' And they're like, 'You're going to win.'' And he did. The winner of Pedro Pascal lookalike contest in New York City 📹 jameskleinmann | instagram — Pedro Pascal Daily (@pascalarchive) June 15, 2025 @pascalarchive/X/jameskleinmann / Via Later on in his discussion with Stewart, Gountas eventually revealed that his wife had an ulterior motive in her insistence that he enter the Pedro pageant — and it's that she wanted to use Gountas' 15 minutes of fame to meet the real Pascal. So, Gountas decided to be a good hubby and shared his wife's request on camera in hopes that Pascal would receive the message. 'Hey Pedro, this is Pedro No. 5 from New York,' Gountas began. 'It would be a great, great, great gift if you could meet my wife, Jenny. It would mean the world to her. We need to make this happen.' The winner of the Pedro Pascal lookalike contest is also The Daily Show's lighting designer, George Gountas! #AfterTheCut — The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) June 17, 2025 Although it's currently unclear if Pascal is even aware of this whole fiasco, fans of the Daily Show were blown away by how much Gountas does look like the Last of Us star. See their comments below. I almost feel like that is Pedro Pascal and they're punking us. Anyway Pedro has to meet Jenny he just has to! — Nice4What (@mizztotal) June 18, 2025 @mizztotal/X / Via @dailyshow should change their intro to say "now featuring pedro pascal on camera 2" — Lucas Lyons (@lucaslyonsart) June 18, 2025 @lucaslyonsart/X / Via Pretty amazing!!! He's got the body language dialed in. — Wear your masks (@tonyver45) June 18, 2025 @tonyver45/X / Via He's got the mannerisms down! If that's not him trying to do that, it's even more eerie — j🍥 (@Noteless) June 17, 2025 @Noteless/X / Via
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
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Dublab kicks off Juneteenth weekend with free food and drinks and no cover
Juneteenth was off to a great start thanks to a passionate team at Dublab dedicated to community, culture and accessibility. With free food, good vibes and a shared purpose, the celebration brought people together in a powerful way.
