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| June Kim |
Americans express deep concern for their democracy
Nearly half of all U.S. voters believe that American democracy does not do a good job of representing ordinary people, according to a new New York Times/Siena College poll.
Three-quarters of voters in the U.S. say that democracy is under threat — though their perception of those threats varies widely based on partisan leanings — and a majority of voters believe that the country is plagued by corruption.
The eroding faith in the nearly 250-year-old American system of government follows four years of unparalleled challenges: a violent riot in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election; the criminal conviction of Donald Trump; and his continued insistence that the democratic process is rigged.
Those events, colliding with stubborn inflation, divisive culture wars and geopolitical crises, have voters exasperated with American politics and a government that they believe has failed to serve them at the most basic level. Such frustrations have left 58 percent of voters believing that the nation’s financial and political systems need major changes or a complete overhaul.
The latest: Trump closed his hourslong Madison Square Garden rally last night after a series of warm-up speakers who delivered a litany of racist remarks, vulgar insults and profanity-laden comments. Kamala Harris appeared in Philadelphia, where she courted the city’s Puerto Rican population.
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| A mural in Tehran stating “Another storm is coming” in Hebrew and Persian. Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times |
Iran’s leaders respond to Israeli strikes
Israeli strikes on Saturday destroyed air-defense systems protecting important energy sites in Iran but did not hit the facilities themselves. Leaders of both nations adopted a measured tone after the assault: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said it had achieved its objectives, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran did not appear to explicitly call for retaliation.
The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, signaled that Israel was prepared to strike back even harder if attacked. “We used only a portion of the capabilities,” he said. “We can do much more.”
Their comments came as Israeli and American negotiators headed to Qatar in an effort to revive long-stalled talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Earlier, Israel carried out deadly attacks in southern Lebanon and struck the town of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, killing and wounding dozens of people, according to local officials.
Analysis: Experts inside and outside the Biden administration fear that Iran may conclude it has only one defense left after the damage to the air-defense systems: the pursuit for an atomic weapon.
In Tehran: As tensions have escalated in recent months, huge murals in Persian and Hebrew on a wall in the Iranian capital have telegraphed threats against Israel.
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| People who evacuated from the border region around Kursk, Russia, waiting for aid to be distributed in August. Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times |
What Ukraine’s invasion was like for Russians
More than two months ago, Ukraine invaded Russia, in the first incursion into Russian territory since World War II.
The experience of ordinary Russians has been difficult to gauge. Cellphone towers have been destroyed, making it hard to reach residents. The region is largely closed to independent reporters, and propaganda has dominated news coverage, as both Russia and Ukraine have reasons to play down the human toll. Read our investigation of how it has unfolded.
Related: Videos appeared to show North Korean troops in the country. Some have assembled in the Kursk region, where they are expected to join a counteroffensive against Ukraine.
| MORE TOP NEWS |
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| Pool photo by Takashi Aoyama |
| Japan: The country’s governing party lost its majority in parliamentary elections yesterday, throwing Japanese politics into its most uncertain period in years. Britain: The new Labour Party government will deliver its first budget this week. Britons may not like what they hear. Georgia: The governing party won parliamentary elections, as the opposition called for protests and feared that the results could derail the country’s pro-Western course. Nigeria: Experts warned that a dam was vulnerable before its failure, which killed up to 1,000 people and displaced nearly half a million. Catholic Church: At a Vatican synod, church leadership said that the ordination of women required further study. U.S.: A Navy commander apologized for the 1882 bombardment of a native Alaskan community, an attack that killed six children and led to widespread suffering. China: Already the dominant producer of rare minerals used in computer chips, the country has further tightened its hold on the materials. Space: A new orbiting telescope will help improve space weather forecasting. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Premier League: Liverpool fought back to draw with Arsenal, 2-2. La Liga: Real Madrid and La Liga announced that they would take action after Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal was subjected to racist abuse in a recent game. N.F.L.: An investigation into just how many Uncrustables — frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches — the league eats each year. |
| MORNING READ |
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| Georgia Department of Natural Resources, photographed under NOAA permit #20556-01 |
Follow Squilla, a rare North Atlantic right whale and her firstborn calf, as they navigate a dangerous ocean.
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
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| The Morgan Library & Museum, Robert Owen Lehman Collection on deposit |
A Chopin waltz, unearthed after 200 years
Deep in the vault of the Morgan Library & Museum in New York on a late-spring day, a curator came across a musical scrap the size of an index card with a tiny notation and a conspicuous name: Chopin.
After extensive testing, analysis and consultation, the Morgan has come to a momentous conclusion: The work is likely an unknown waltz by Frédéric Chopin, the great fantasist of the Romantic era — the first such discovery in more than half a century.
Listen to the pianist Lang Lang play the waltz here.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
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| Chris Simpson for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Sophia Pappas. |
Cook: Oyakodon — a Japanese poached chicken and egg rice bowl — is pure bliss.
