Politico (06/26/14) Josh Gerstein and John Bresnahan

The Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional three of President Barack Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in a 9–0 decision today. The court ruled that the appointments were unconstitutional because the Senate was not truly in recess when the president made them.

The case was brought before the court by Noel Canning, a Pepsi bottler in Washington state. Though the appointments came during a period when the Senate was on a 20-day break, the chamber was gaveled in every three days, apparently in an attempt to stymie recess appointments.

The decision does not upset any current appointments.

Bloomberg (06/26/14) Lorraine Woellert

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the week ended June 21 fell by 2,000 to 312,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast claims of 310,000. The four-week moving average of new claims rose by 2,000 to 314,250.