it s a weekend holiday here in the united states and around the country. people are marking the first national observance of juneteenth as a federal holiday. juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the u.s. and the day in 1865 when former slaves in galveston, texas, were finally told slaves in the u.s. were freed. president biden signed the bill into law on thursday. he gave the first pen to 94-year-old opal lee. the woman known as the grandmother of juneteenth. she helped lead the fight to make the day a federal holiday. juneteenth celebrations have a special meaning in washington, d.c. people turned ought for neighborhood cookouts, go-go music and double dutch jump rope competitions. suzanne malveaux is there. reporter: it s a juneteenth celebration in the nation s capitol, an official national holiday. this is the holiday and the
honing in on indiana. the governor signed this bill into law on thursday. it s based on a federal law that was signed by president bill clinton back in 1993. indiana s new law comes after the supreme court decision in the hobby lobby case last year and after some christians have either been sued or fined after refusing to service gay couples getting married. with the passage of this legislation we ensure that indiana will continue to be a place where we respect the freedom of religion of every hoosier of every faith. and we make certain that government action will always be subject to the highest level of scrutiny. when it impacts the religious liberty of any hoosier. reporter: governor pence says he would have vetoed this legislation if it was in any way discriminatory. we should point out that last year in arizona, governor jan