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Trump Order on International Criminal Court Likely Violates First Amendment, Judge Rules

The ruling’s scope is limited to two American activists, but it represents a striking, if tentative, blow to the president’s efforts to penalize and isolate the world’s highest criminal court.

© Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times

President Trump has accused the International Criminal Court, in The Hague, of targeting the United States and Israel.

Tear It Down, They Said. He Just Kept Building.

Defying demolition orders, a Chinese man turned his home into a rickety 11-story tower. Now tourists are coming.

Chen Tianming’s house, which evokes a Dr. Seuss drawing, has drawn gawkers to his rural corner of Guizhou Province, in southwestern China.

Sohei Kamiya Brings Trump-Style Populism to Japan’s Election

With his calls to limit foreign workers, fight globalism and put “Japanese First,” Sohei Kamiya has brought a fiery right-wing populism to Japan’s election on Sunday.

© Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

Sohei Kamiya, the leader of an upstart right-wing political party called Sanseito, delivering a campaign speech this month at Takasaki Station in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

Japan Election 2025: What to Know

Shigeru Ishiba of the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party could face calls to resign if his party fares poorly in Sunday’s Upper House elections.

© Issei Kato/Reuters

Supporters putting up election campaign posters this month on a bulletin board in Tokyo.

Under Trump, a New Focus for a Birth Control Program: Helping Women Get Pregnant

A little-noticed plan for an “infertility training center” signals that the administration intends to take a new approach with Title X, which has long helped low-income women access contraception.

© Kent Nishimura for The New York Times

The Trump administration is aiming to refashion Title X, a 55-year-old program focused on providing birth control to millions of low-income women, to combat infertility instead.

Judge Orders Trump Officials to Restore Funding for Radio Free Europe

In a stern ruling, the judge rebuked the Trump administration for refusing to disburse funding that Congress had already approved.

© David W Cerny/Reuters

The headquarters of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague.

Plane Is Diverted After Man Threatens to Kill Flight Attendant, Authorities Say

The jet, bound for Detroit from Omaha, made an emergency landing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after a man shoved a flight attendant and displayed unruly behavior, SkyWest Airlines said.

© Desiree Rios/The New York Times

Gabbard Claims Obama Administration Tried to Undermine Trump in 2016

Democrats denounced a report issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as politically motivated and error-ridden.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, during a cabinet meeting this month.

Trump Administration Requests Release of Epstein Grand Jury Records. What’s Next?

The records are at the center of President Trump’s effort to manage fallout from the Epstein case. But unsealing them is complex and requires a judge to sign off.

© Jason Andrew for The New York Times

The Justice Department has formally filed two petitions in the Southern District of New York seeking to unseal grand jury records in the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Rubio Restricts U.S. Criticism of Tainted Foreign Elections

A State Department cable telling officials to avoid comments on the “fairness or integrity” of most elections continues a U.S. turn away from promoting democratic values abroad.

© Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a department cable that public comments on foreign elections “should be brief, focused on congratulating the winning candidate and, when appropriate, noting shared foreign policy interests.”

When Getting Fired Is Only the Beginning for Federal Workers

One thing is clear from a reporter’s conversations with laid-off federal workers this year: The cuts have been anything but straightforward and efficient.

© Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

Martin Basch was initially laid off from his federal job in February, but the move wasn’t official until May.

Rubio Restricts U.S. Criticism of Tainted Foreign Elections

A State Department cable telling officials to avoid comments on the “fairness or integrity” of most elections continues a U.S. turn away from promoting democratic values abroad.

© Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a department cable that public comments on foreign elections “should be brief, focused on congratulating the winning candidate and, when appropriate, noting shared foreign policy interests.”

Minnesota State Senator Found Guilty in Burglary Trial

Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat, was charged with felonies and accused of breaking into her stepmother’s home. Her party holds a slim majority in the Minnesota Senate.

© Jerry Holt/Star Tribune, via ZUMA Press Wire

State Senator Nicole Mitchell, left, during opening statements at her trial in Detroit Lakes, Minn.

To Staff Trump’s Immigration Crackdown, ICE Entices Its Retirees

The administration is offering financial incentives to lure back recently departed immigration officers as it works to fill 10,000 job openings.

© Victor J. Blue for The New York Times

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer at the agency’s Delaney Hall facility in Newark, N.J., in June.

Cuban Minister Resigns After Accusing Beggars of Faking Poverty

The labor and social security minister drew public outrage when she said “there are no beggars” in Cuba, where many people struggle to afford food.

© Yamil Lage/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Cuban Minister of Labour and Social Security, Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, in 2023.
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