By Christine Coleman
Edited by Elissa D. Hecker
Entertainment
Blake Lively Seeks $8 Million in Legal Bills in Dispute With Justin Baldoni
Lawyers for Blake Lively asked for more than $8 million in legal fees and related costs after fighting a defamation lawsuit that Justin Baldoni filed as part of the legal battle over the making of the movie “It Ends With Us.” The figure represents only part of what Lively has spent on the litigation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/movies/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-legal-fees.html
A Firm Run by Trump Allies Is Organizing the 250th. Their Fee? Unclear.
Event Strategies, Inc., a company with deep ties to President Trump, organized some of the biggest events in Washington last weekend, including the Great American State Fair and the record-breaking fireworks display. Those events were funded, in part, by $68 million in taxpayer money, but because the Trump administration routed those funds through an opaque nonprofit, it is unclear how much the company will receive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/us/politics/trump-allies-firm-organizing-250th.html
Ricardo Montaner Sues UMG In Both the US and Venezuela In Latest Copyright Termination Battle
Argentine singer Ricardo Montaner is suing Universal Music Group (UMG) in both the United States and Venezuela over the master rights to his first five albums, spanning work from 1986 to 1992, including his early hits like “La Cima Del Cielo,” “Castillo Azul,” and “Piel Adentro.” Montaner is seeking a court-ordered declaration of ownership, an injunction against UMG preventing further interference, and over $1 million in damages to cover his unpaid royalties.
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2026/06/30/ricardo-montaner-sues-umg-in-the-us-and-venezuela/
N.Y.P.D. Memo Outlines Taylor Swift Wedding Events at the Garden
Hundreds of police officers were on patrol and roads were closed in Midtown Manhattan for a private, two-day event at Madison Square Garden around the wedding of Taylor Swift, according to interviews and an internal police planning memo.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/nyregion/taylor-swift-wedding-police-roads.html
Gary Glitter Is Charged With Assaulting a Young Girl in the 1970s
British prosecutors have charged the glam rock singer Gary Glitter with three counts of indecent assault of a girl younger than 14, and another count of unlawful sex with a girl younger than 13. According to British prosecutors, the charges follow allegations made by a woman relating to a period of alleged abuse that took place between 1978 and 1981.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/arts/music/gary-glitter-charged.html
Arts
With New Seizures, Value of the Met’s Looted Artifacts Tops $95 Million
Investigators this month seized dozens of ancient artifacts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in their latest effort to return antiquities to Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and other countries where they are believed to have been looted. With the items removed in June, investigators since 2017 have seized more than 120 artifacts from the Met ranging in value from $20,000 to $26 million, plus hundreds of smaller items.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/arts/design/met-returns-looted-artifacts-95-million.html
On America’s 250th, Smithsonian Museums Offer Respite and Reflection
On July 4, the Smithsonian Museums, an institution under attack from the Trump administration, provided relief from the weather and a chance to ponder what it means to be American.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/05/arts/design/america-250-anniversary-smithsonian.html
Climbers Get Engaged Atop Empire State Building. Then They Get Arrested.
Two extreme urban climbers illegally ascended the needle of the Empire State Building, where one proposed to the other, 1,450 feet above the city. The couple, Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, unfurled a large black banner that read “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.” Afterwards, the couple were apprehended by the police.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/nyregion/empire-state-building-climbers.html
Taylor Swift’s Wedding Became a Marketing Moment for Brands Big and Small
After the wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden, some businesses flocked to social media using A.I.-generated content, while others deployed timely digital ads designed to capitalize on the frenzy surrounding this major celebrity event.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/05/style/taylor-swift-wedding-marketing-brands-ai.html
Sports
Supreme Court Allows States to Bar Transgender Athletes From Girls’ Sports
A divided Supreme Court upheld two state laws barring the participation of transgender female athletes from girls’ and women’s sports teams. The court’s 6-to-3 ruling dealt with laws from West Virginia and Idaho and has implications for the 25 other states with similar restrictions, and for athletes who compete in school and collegiate sports nationwide.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/06/30/us/supreme-court-trans-athletes
Judge Demands Answers About Plans for Trump’s East Potomac Golf Course
A federal judge confronted a Justice Department lawyer about Trump’s plans to build a championship-level golf course on a peninsula in Washington, after she ordered the department to come before her with more specific details about possible construction. It was the latest in a long series of standoffs and mistrustful interactions between federal judges and the Trump administration over the president’s second-term efforts to remake parts of the capital.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/us/politics/trump-golf-course-plans-doj.html
L.A. finally reaches a deal for recovering its Olympic costs
Los Angeles officials have reached a tentative agreement with organizers of the 2028 Olympic Games, laying out the process for reimbursing the city for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in public services. The agreement, which still needs approval from Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council, would require the privately run Olympic organizing committee LA28 to provide the city with funding in advance to cover services that are ineligible for reimbursement from the federal government, such as traffic control and trash pickup.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-06-27/la-finally-reaches-deal-for-recovering-its-olympic-costs
Lions release DB Terrion Arnold after arrest for kidnapping, robbery
The Detroit Lions released defensive back Terrion Arnold hours after a Hillsborough County, Florida, judge set the 2024 first-round pick’s bond at $1 million following his arrest on eight charges related to kidnapping and robbery. The judge ruled that the evidence presented wasn’t strong enough to justify keeping Arnold in jail until trial. However, he warned Arnold that any violations of his terms would, based on his fame, be scrutinized and make their way back to the court.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7405578/2026/06/29/terrion-arnold-arrest-bond-kindapping-robbery-waived-lions/
This is the most disruptive change in mental performance in my 40 years
Mental performance coach Jeff Troesch has observed that in the past 10 years, the effect of social media and smartphones on the mental performance of athletes has emerged as the most disruptive change he’s witnessed over his four-decade career in sports.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7403779/2026/07/01/mental-performance-change-athletes-skills/
Olympian Is Indicted After Arrest at Washington’s Reflecting Pool
David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist who had been arrested in June on charges that he had vandalized the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has been indicted. He is charged with “destruction of property $1,000 or more,” a felony. Trump blamed vandals for the problems following a quick and costly makeover of the pool, and Hearn was among the first to be charged, although he claimed not to have done anything.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/us/reflecting-pool-indictment-david-hearn.html
Caitlin Clark condemns online hate after Alyssa Thomas reveals threats: ‘None of that is OK’
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark denounced all forms of hatred in the wake of Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas revealing that she’s received hateful online attacks, including death threats, following an on-court incident with Clark.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7419393/2026/07/03/caitlin-clark-fever-alyssa-thomas-incident-hate/
Technology/Media
Supreme Court Puts Limits on Cellphone Location Data Searches
The Supreme Court ruled that when police officers sweep up location data from cellphone users near crimes scenes, they must comply with the Fourth Amendment. These searches, called geofence searches, have become a popular tool for law enforcement, but critics say they put at risk the personal data of everyday Americans and violate the Fourth Amendment.
http://nytimes.com/2026/06/29/us/politics/supreme-court-geofence-warrant-cell-phones.html
Supreme Court Allows Reporter to Be Fined for Failing to Disclose Source
The Supreme Court cleared the way for a former Fox News reporter to be required to reveal a confidential source or pay $800 a day in court fines, in a case with broader implications for the work of journalists. The reporter, Catherine Herridge, had refused to reveal her sources for articles she wrote about a scientist who was investigated by the F.B.I. and was ordered by a federal judge to pay daily sanctions until she disclosed the information.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/us/politics/supreme-court-herridge-first-amendment.html
Supreme Court Rules Against Roy Moore in Fight Over $8.2 Million Jury Award
The Supreme Court rejected an emergency request by Roy Moore, the former Alabama Supreme Court justice who lost a Senate race in 2017 after he was accused of sexual misconduct, blocking Moore from collecting an $8.2 million defamation verdict over a campaign ad run against him in that race. The decision kept in place a unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which in April erased a jury’s verdict that Moore had been defamed by a Democratic group’s television ad.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/us/politics/supreme-court-roy-moore.html
Court Halts Pentagon Rule Requiring Escorts for Journalists
A federal judge ordered the Pentagon on to temporarily lift a requirement that all journalists visiting the building be accompanied by an official escort while The New York Times sues to overturn the rule. The decision was another rebuke to the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict reporters who cover the military complex.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/business/media/pentagon-journalists-escort-rule.html
We’re Only Starting to Grasp the Pitfalls of Using A.I. at Work
In the years since A.I. burst onto the scene, many companies have become aware of flaws produced by the technology and, at times, taken steps to offset them. But as companies race to bring A.I. into their day-to-day operations, researchers are discovering more subtle defects. Most corporate users appear to be blissfully unaware of these issues, raising the possibility that A.I.’s promise of increased productivity and vast cost savings could be undermined.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/business/artificial-intelligence-workplace-consequences.html
U.S. Lifts Restrictions on Anthropic’s Most Powerful A.I. Models
The Commerce Department lifted restrictions on all of Anthropic’s artificial intelligence models, allowing the company to bring its most powerful A.I. technologies back online, according to a letter from the government to the company. The move was the latest chapter in Anthropic’s often prickly relationship with the federal government and is set to de-escalate their feud, paving the way for the company to largely return to business as usual.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/technology/us-lifts-restrictions-anthropic.html
The Company Reviving AOL, Vimeo and Other Internet Oldies Amid the A.I. Boom
The Italian company Bending Spoons, which has been buying older tech companies like AOL, Evernote, Vimeo, WeTransfer, Brightcove, and Eventbrite, plans to raise as much as $1.62 billion in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange this week that could value it as high as $19 billion.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/technology/bending-spoons-ipo-aol-vimeo-eventbrite.html
This Cell Feeds, Grows and Reproduces. And It’s Manmade.
Scientists have long dreamed of discovering the alchemy by which chemicals can be turned into life. A team at the University of Minnesota announced that it had taken a major step toward that vision. Blending together dozens of ingredients, the researchers have synthesized simple cells that feed, grow, reproduce and compete with one another for food. If these cells are not yet fully alive, they have most of the hallmarks of life. The news of SpudCell has caused many scientists to reflect on where the field of synthetic biology is headed and what it means to be alive.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/07/01/science/spudcells-synthetic-cell.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/science/spudcell-scientists-reaction.html
‘Who Should I Vote for?’ Voters Turn to A.I. Before Casting Their Ballots
The 2026 midterms may be the first American elections in which voters are using A.I. in meaningful numbers. Voters are turning to new A.I. tools to serve as nonpartisan researchers, viewing them as a viable alternative to traditional news coverage, voter guides or social media. Some experts warn that the tools are far from foolproof, however, as the results they produce can be marred by factual errors or shaped by flawed assumptions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/04/us/politics/voters-ai-chatbots-elections.html
General News
How Do You Celebrate America’s 250-Year Experiment? However You Want.
A quarter of a millennium into its experiment in self-governance, the United States finds itself living out twin realities. The nation’s capital, mired in septic politics, has struggled to pull off a big Fourth of July party. Beyond Washington, thousands of Fourth of July celebrations ran on an old, familiar muscle memory, unblemished by scandal, factionalism or questions about the attendance of boldface names.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/04/us/america-250-us-independence-day-celebrations.html
America Marks Its 250th Birthday With Storms, Sweat and Fire
Independence Day celebrations were canceled nationwide and the Brooklyn Bridge briefly caught fire. Yet Americans still found countless ways to celebrate.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/05/us/america-250-celebrations.html
Supreme Court Mail Ballot Ruling Deals New Blow to Trump’s Election Plans
Trump’s wide-reaching campaign to change election laws suffered another setback, when the Supreme Court blocked a crucial pathway to restricting mail-in voting practices that he has long blamed, without evidence, as central to his defeat in 2020. The Supreme Court ruling upheld a Mississippi state law allowing mail ballots to be received up to five days after Election Day.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/us/politics/supreme-court-mail-ballots-grace-period.html
Justices Expand Presidential Power Over Regulators, but Not the Fed
The Supreme Court expanded presidential power by affirming Trump’s ability to fire most independent regulators, though the justices explicitly affirmed the Federal Reserve’s independence and said its leaders could not be dismissed at will. The Court’s 6-to-3 ruling to broadly allow the firing of federal regulators is a significant shift in power from Congress to the president that could usher in a drastic change to the government’s structure by giving the president more direct control over independent agencies.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/06/29/us/trump-supreme-court-presidential-power
Supreme Court Lets $5 Million Sex Abuse Verdict Against Trump Stand
The Supreme Court declined a request by Trump to review a $5 million civil judgment against him after a jury found in 2023 that he sexually abused and defamed the writer E. Jean Carroll. This decision is a major blow to Trump and is most likely the end of his legal efforts to contest the jury verdict finding that he assaulted Carroll in the mid-1990s in a department store dressing room.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/us/politics/supreme-court-trump-sexual-assault.html
Justices Reject Trump’s Effort to End Birthright Citizenship
The Supreme Court rejected Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, and the justices reaffirmed the long-held principle that nearly all children who are born on U.S. soil are American citizens.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/06/30/us/birthright-citizenship-supreme-court
Supreme Court Lifts Spending Limits on Political Parties and Candidates
The Supreme Court lifted limits on how much political parties can spend on advertising and other expenses in coordination with candidates. The 6-to-3 decision, divided along ideological lines, is a major victory for Republicans and could undercut one of the Democrats’ financial advantages going into the midterm elections.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/us/supreme-court-campaign-finance.html
Takeaways From a Transformative Supreme Court Term
The Supreme Court concluded a momentous term that began in October and involved decisions in nearly 60 cases. The justices rejected some of Trump’s signature initiatives, but delivered lasting, long-sought conservative wins.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/us/politics/supreme-court-takeaways-term.html
Supreme Court to Weigh if Arizona Can Demand Proof of Citizenship to Vote
The Supreme Court will consider the legality of two Arizona laws requiring prospective voters to produce proof of citizenship to register. The Court’s acceptance of the case for its term that begins in October opens a new front in the justices’ review of rules around voting and federal elections, including the consideration of race when drawing congressional districts and a Mississippi state law governing mail-in ballots.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/us/politics/supreme-court-citizenship-voting-arizona.html
Judges Strike Down Trump Rule on Loan Forgiveness for Public Servants
Two federal courts struck down a Trump administration rule that would have allowed the Education Department to disqualify employers from participating in a student loan forgiveness program for public servants. Many public servants have staked their financial futures on the program, and being disqualified could have potentially upended their finances. More than one million people have received tens of billions of dollars in loan forgiveness under the program.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/business/trump-student-loan-forgiveness.html
Judge Orders Trump to End Efforts to Kill Hudson Tunnel Funding
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to permanently abandon its efforts to suspend funding for a $16 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River, describing those attempts as “flagrantly” illegal. Judge Jeannette A. Vargas of the Southern District of New York said that the administration violated federal guidelines when it stopped reimbursing the tunnel’s builders for their expenses in September. The suspension forced a shutdown of the construction project and led to a brief layoff of about 1,000 workers in New York City and New Jersey in February.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/nyregion/hudson-tunnel-trump-funding-judge-ruling.html
Trump Pulled In at Least $2 Billion After Returning to the White House
The release of a mandatory financial disclosure for 2025 shows that the Trump family’s holdings, particularly the president’s crypto businesses, were stunningly lucrative. The president pulled in at least $2.2 billion, which is significantly more compared to the $622 million his enterprises earned for all of 2024, before he returned to the presidency.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/us/politics/trump-financial-disclosure-crypto-windfall.html
Nearly a Million Investors Lost a Total of $3.8 Billion on Trump Crypto Coin
Nearly one million people who bought Trump’s memecoins have lost money through the end of June, according to a report by the cryptocurrency analytics firm Nansen. Their losses total $3.81 billion.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/04/us/politics/trump-coin-crypto-investors-loss.html
Trump’s Moneymaking Run: Unrivaled in Presidential History
Generally, throughout history American presidents have taken actions to try to separate themselves from corporate entanglements that might create conflicts. Trump and his family have done the opposite, creating new business ventures that are profiting from actions Trump has taken since he returned to the White House.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/us/politics/trump-moneymaking-presidential-history.html
Control of the Senate Is Up for Grabs, Times/Siena Polls Find
According to New York Times/Siena polls in six Senate battleground states, Democrats face an uphill battle to win control of the Senate, but have pulled within striking distance of enough Republican-held seats to put the majority in play this fall. The polls show that Republicans are hampered by the unpopularity of Trump and his diminished standing on the economy, while most of the Democratic candidates are so far running ahead of their party’s own struggling brand.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/us/politics/polls-senate-control.html
At Trump’s Direction, Federal Agencies Are Abandoning Discrimination Cases
Trump has tried to scale back anti-discrimination regulations that date back decades. Federal agencies have heeded his call.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/05/us/politics/trump-dei-order-eeoc-discrimination.html
Trump Administration Rolls Back Dozens of Gun Regulations
The Trump administration is scrapping more than three dozen firearms regulations, abandoning a crackdown on illegal sales, restoring gun rights to some people with mental illness and loosening oversight of private weapons transactions. Critics say the administration is weakening public safety. Proponents say regulations would be where they were before President Joseph R. Biden took office.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/05/us/politics/trump-gun-rights-laws.html
Inside Intelligence Agencies, a Fight Over Building a Master List of Spies
The Trump administration is demanding that American intelligence officials turn over the names of all foreign espionage targets to create a master list that some officials fear will be misused or compromise operations. The effort by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has intensified in recent months, frustrating counterparts at the F.B.I. and C.I.A., who are skeptical of the claims that a master list is necessary to avoid inadvertent conflicts between agencies and to better track foreign intelligence threats in real time.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/us/trump-intelligence-agencies-spies-master-list.html
Ex-C.I.A. Chief Asks for Order Forcing Trump Administration to Preserve Records
Since late last year, Justice Department has been investigating John O. Brennan, the former C.I.A. director, who has long been one of Trump’s most reviled political enemies. Brennan’s lawyers publicly fired back by filing a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Washington asking a judge to force Trump and top officials at the Justice Department to preserve any records or communications they might have related to the inquiries into Brennan.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/us/politics/john-brennan-investigations-records.html
N.I.H. Announces World’s Largest Integrated Health Database
A research program at the National Institutes of Health released the world’s largest database of human genomes and paired them with clinical data, paving the way for a new era of study in personalized medicine. The All of Us program, which started in 2018, recruited participants from diverse backgrounds and combined their genetic information with real-world data from health records, wearable technology like Fitbits and other sources to help scientists investigate potential causes of and treatments for disease.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/science/nih-announces-worlds-largest-integrated-health-database.html
U.S. Declines to Renew U.S.M.C.A., Starting 10-Year Clock to Expiration
The Trump administration declined to renew the trade deal Trump negotiated with Canada and Mexico in his first term, a pact that he later came to criticize. The decision, though expected, was an important symbolic move for a trade deal the United States is currently trying to renegotiate. The move started a decade-long clock to the deal’s expiration, unless the three countries unanimously decide to renew it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/business/economy/usmca-north-america-trade.html
Court Lets National Parks Keep Removing Signs on Slavery, Climate
A federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration could continue removing signs and exhibits about slavery, climate change, and other fraught topics at national parks across the country, at least for now. The decision reversed a lower court’s ruling that blocked the National Park Service from carrying out Trump’s directive to remove all “negative” displays. It was a temporary victory for Trump, who has sought to purge national parks, Smithsonian museums, and other federal sites of what he has called “woke” ideology.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/climate/court-national-parks-signs-trump.html
Judge Blocks Postal Service From Imposing Restrictions on Mail-In Ballots
A federal judge in Washington blocked the United States Postal Service from carrying out changes to its delivery of mail-in ballots, writing that recent policies directed by Trump ran afoul of legal terms the agency accepted more than four years ago to ensure timely delivery of mail ballots.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/us/politics/judge-trump-postal-service.html
The Many Ways Trump Is Trying to Tip the Scales for the Midterms
Trump is trying to use the levers of the federal government, along with personal influence over state and local lawmakers, to reshape the rules governing the 2026 midterms and future elections in extraordinary ways. Many of these efforts have been blocked by courts, stymied by the Constitution or stopped in Congress. Yet the relentless assault by the president on the electoral process is likely to sow doubt and lay groundwork for extensive challenges to election results.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/07/02/us/politics/trump-midterm-election-strategies.html
Immigrant Arrests Surge to 10,000 in 5 Days as ICE Clamps Down
Federal immigration officials have detained more than 10,000 people in the last week, a major surge that has stemmed from a push within Immigration and Customs Enforcement to increase arrest rates.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/us/politics/ice-immigrant-arrests-surge.html
Sex Abuse Survivors Reach $395 Million Deal With San Francisco Diocese
The Archdiocese of San Francisco has agreed to a $395 million settlement with survivors of clergy sexual abuse. The settlement addresses about 530 claims brought by survivors who were abused as children, includes several provisions to prevent further abuse in the church, and was negotiated as part of the archdiocese’s bankruptcy proceedings.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/us/san-francisco-archdiocese-clergy-sex-abuse-settlement.html
Ethics Panel Tosses Misconduct Claims Against Gallego
The Senate Ethics Committee has dismissed allegations that Senator Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona, engaged in sexual misconduct and violated campaign finance laws, after an investigation prompted by a complaint from a Republican congresswoman.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/us/politics/ruben-gallego-ethics-committee-misconduct-allegations.html
Tom Kean Says Depression Led to Long Absence From Congress
Representative Thomas H. Kean Jr., the New Jersey Republican who vanished from Congress and the campaign trail in March with almost no explanation, said that his long absence had been for a hospitalization to treat depression. Kean, a 57-year-old seeking a third term in a competitive district, had missed more than 100 votes since he was last seen in public in March. He broke his silence with formal remarks during a morning period of speeches that are delivered by lawmakers to a mostly empty House chamber.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/us/politics/tom-kean-return-depression.html
Trump Pardons Violators of the Clean Air Act and a Major Donor
The White House announced that Trump had issued pardons to 11 men, most of whom had been convicted of crimes related to the Clean Air Act, a bedrock environmental law. The president also pardoned Adam Kidan, a major donor to Republicans, including Trump.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/03/us/politics/trump-pardon-clean-air-act.html
Mamdani and City Council Agree on $126 Billion Budget
After days of backbiting rancor, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the speaker of the City Council Julie Menin settled the first budget of their respective tenures, a $126 billion spending plan that resolves yearslong litigation over a rental assistance program whose parabolic cost growth caused widespread alarm.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/nyregion/mamdani-budget-nyc.html
F.B.I. Assigns Scores of Analysts to Examine Election Records in Georgia
The F.B.I. is assigning an army of 260 investigative analysts to a “priority” investigation related to the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, a reflection of Trump’s ongoing push to prove his baseless claims that the 2020 election there was rigged.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/us/politics/fbi-georgia-fulton-county-2020-election.html
As Iran’s Patriarch Is Mourned, Glimpses of a Changing Tehran
Throughout Tehran, the Iranian government is using Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral to project strength at a time of great uncertainty for Iran.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/05/world/middleeast/iran-funeral-khamenei-tehran.html
Killed by the Venezuelan Quakes Just Hours After Being Deported From U.S.
As rescuers continue to recover bodies across Venezuela, pushing the death toll to nearly 2,300, the fate of the 146 Venezuelans deported by the Trump administration on the same day when the earthquake struck has thrust their relatives into an agonizing search for answers. Accounts from the families suggested that many of the deportees may have perished, their bodies recovered or still trapped in the rubble. Only a handful of survivor accounts have trickled out.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/world/americas/venezuela-earthquakes-deportees-us-deaths.html
A Mayor Is Taking Maternity Leave in Japan. Some Men Are Furious.
Shoko Kawata is the first mayor to take maternity leave in Japan’s history. Her decision has prompted debate about gender discrimination in the work force.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/28/world/asia/japan-mayor-maternity-leave.html