![]() |
President Biden is hosting the three-day NATO summit in Washington. Doug Mills/The New York Times |
At the NATO summit, the attention is on Biden
A NATO summit celebrating the alliance’s 75th anniversary hoped to send a message to potential adversaries that a larger, more powerful group of Western allies had emerged after more than two years of war in Ukraine.
That confidence now seems overshadowed by uncertainty: Will President Biden continue to vie for a second term, and what could happen if Donald Trump returns to the presidency?
Biden is hosting the three-day event, which began yesterday in Washington, while under intense scrutiny for signs that he cannot manage another four years. The president said he welcomed the attention. “I guess a good way to judge me,” he said, is to watch him at the summit — and to see how the allies react. “Come listen. See what they say.”
Trump: When he was in office, Trump threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO, and once declared the alliance “obsolete.” This year, he said he would let the Russians do “whatever the hell they want” to any member country he saw as an insufficient contributor.
Prospects: Top congressional Democrats indicated that they were unwilling, at least for now, to try to push Biden aside, despite grave concerns.
Kamala Harris: With Biden’s future in question, perhaps no one is in a more delicate position than his vice president — and heir apparent.
![]() |
A trench line in eastern Ukraine. Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times |
U.S. says Russia is struggling against Ukraine’s defenses
Russia is unlikely to gain much more territory in Ukraine in the coming months, signifying a major change in the dynamic of the war, U.S. officials said.
Through the spring and early summer, Russia has suffered thousands of casualties as its troops struggled to break Ukrainian lines, which have been reinforced with Western munitions. Though Ukraine seems unlikely to reclaim all of the seized territory, Western efforts to strengthen Ukraine appear to be working.
NATO: Speaking in Washington, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine pleaded for more weapons and fewer restrictions on using them in the war against Russia. Leaders at the summit are expected to strengthen a pledge that Ukraine could eventually join the alliance.
In Russia: A court ordered the arrest of Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Aleksei Navalny.
In Ukraine: After a Russian bombing on a children’s hospital in Kyiv, scores of critically ill children must find care elsewhere, including many who are undergoing cancer treatments.
![]() |
More than 50 people were reported injured in the airstrike, many in critical condition. Bashar Taleb/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
Dozens reported killed in airstrike on Gaza
An Israeli airstrike near a school building in southern Gaza that was being used as a shelter by displaced Palestinians killed at least 25 people and injured more than 50 yesterday, the Gaza Ministry of Health said. Many of the injured were in critical condition, and the death toll was expected to rise, it added.
The Israeli military said that the strike had targeted a Hamas member who took part in the Oct. 7 attacks and that it was “looking into reports that civilians were harmed.” According to the U.N., more than 80 percent of Gaza’s schools have been severely damaged or destroyed by fighting, including every one of its 12 universities.
Related:
An apparent Israeli drone strike in Syria prompted Hezbollah to respond with rocket fire into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, killing two people.U.N. and Israeli officials say aid convoys are being attacked in Gaza by groups seeking to sell cigarettes smuggled inside the shipments.An Israeli general criticized the government’s policies in the occupied West Bank and condemned rising “nationalist crime” by Jewish settlers. |
MORE TOP NEWS |
![]() |
Stefan Rousseau/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
Britain: With Keir Starmer as the new prime minister, Britain and the U.S. are back in sync. But for how long?India: During a visit to Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India told Moscow’s Indian community that “Russia is India’s true friend,” according to the Russian state media.France: Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the far-left leader, and his party won the most seats in Parliament, but his lack of popularity could keep him from leading a coalition. |
Indonesia: A former official accused of enslaving 656 people on his estate under the guise of drug treatment has been acquitted on charges of human trafficking.Haiti: As the new prime minister of the gang-ravaged country, Garry Conille has arguably one of the toughest jobs of any leader in the Caribbean.Taylor Swift: Her newest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” has notched its 11th straight week at No. 1. |
Business & Technology
Space: The Ariane 6, Europe’s long-awaited rocket, launched successfully.Tesla: The once-dominant company’s share of electric vehicle sales in the U.S. fell below 50 percent, new estimates show.Xenotransplantation: A woman who lived for 47 days with a kidney transplanted from a genetically modified pig has died. |
SPORTS NEWS |
Soccer: Spain beat France, 2-1, in the Euro 2024 semifinals. |
Swimming: The World Anti-Doping Agency cleared itself of wrongdoing over its decision not to discipline Chinese athletes who tested positive for a banned drug.At Wimbledon: Carlos Alcaraz won his match, and Jannik Sinner was knocked out by Daniil Medvedev. Read more from Day 9. |
MORNING READ |
![]() |
Saudi Camel Racing Federation |
Kasseem Dean, the Grammy Award-winning American hip-hop producer known as Swizz Beatz, is one of the newest competitors in Saudi Arabia’s camel-racing scene. He’s spent millions on creating his team of camels, Saudi Bronx, and has won many trophies. “I’m just bringing the cool factor to it,” he said.
ARTS AND IDEAS |
![]() |
Amit Elkayam for The New York Times |
Preserving memories of the Holocaust
Artwork made with eggshells or tire prints. Fragments of documents. A hairbrush, or a glove.
All of these artifacts, belonging to survivors or victims of the Holocaust, are in the collection of Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust memorial — as well as millions of pages of documents, tens of thousands of pages of testimony, artworks and personal belongings and more than half a million photographs.
Preserving this history has gained urgency as the Holocaust becomes ever more distant and antisemitism and extremism rise around the world, Yad Vashem officials said. A new center, inaugurated on Monday in Jerusalem, is intended to safeguard these artifacts and their stories for future generations.
RECOMMENDATIONS |
![]() |
Linda Xiao for The New York Times |
Cook: This chicken fried rice is easy and delicious.