Southwest ditching its unassigned seat policy shows how budget airlines’ business models are getting upended

1. Behind-the-scenes worries about music stars’ COVID cashouts. Los Angeles accounting firm NKSFB helped stars like Nickelback and Chris Brown secure COVID relief cash from the federal government. The stars got millions in taxpayer money — even though NKSFB initially fretted that they could be breaking the law by applying, court documents say.
2. How moguls like Rupert Murdoch control their companies without owning them. The Murdoch family is headed for a fight over Fox and News Corp that would make “Succession” writers proud. Though both are publicly traded companies, they’re built on a stock structure that lets one family wield enormous power. They’re not the only ones.
3. The US job market teeters near the “danger zone,” according to a famed economist. Claudia Sahm is the creator of the highly accurate recession indicator Sahm Rule. She warned that the job market is in the “yellow zone” as unemployment ticks higher.

In other news

• Barack Obama finally endorses Kamala Harris.
• Real estate investors weigh in on how passive rental income really is: ‘It’s like having an expensive puppy.’
• Lululemon just released new leggings. Shoppers and shareholders are mad.
• How Trump could replace JD Vance if the Ohioan’s terrible polling continues.
• One of MrBeast’s oldest friends quit his operation in a scandal. It could hurt him too.
• I’m a quiet vacationer. Here’s how I used a mouse jiggler to take a monthlong trip to Italy without telling my boss.
• FBI director says there is ‘some question’ whether Trump was hit with a bullet or shrapnel.
• Sam Altman says the US has to do 4 things to prevent China from taking the AI throne.

What’s happening today

• Donald Trump meets with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago.
• Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Annie Smith, associate producer, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.