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The Trump administration held its ground on Iran damage assessment. President Donald Trump on Wednesday rejected an early intelligence assessment that U.S. strikes inflicted only a marginal setback on Iran鈥檚 nuclear program, defending his conclusion that the attack delivered a crushing blow. Mr. Trump said U.S. and Iranian officials will meet next week, although Iranian officials have not confirmed the meeting. 鈥� The Associated Press
Our coverage: We look today at the president鈥檚 norm-busting diplomatic style.

Iran鈥檚 parliament agreed to suspend cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. The move, reported by state-affiliated Nournews, needs the final approval of Iran鈥檚 Supreme National Security Council. Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says a resolution adopted this month by the International Atomic Energy Agency declaring Iran in breach of its nonproliferation obligations paved the way for Israel鈥檚 attacks. 鈥� Reuters

Ukraine will establish a new court to prosecute Russians. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has approved plans to create a new international court to prosecute senior Russian officials for the invasion of Ukraine. The special tribunal will be created through an agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe, the continent鈥檚 top human rights body. Meanwhile, Mr. Zelenskyy met with President Trump for the first time since April on the sidelines of Wednesday鈥檚 NATO summit. 鈥� AP

California was found in violation of Title IX. The federal Education Department announced Wednesday that California violated civil rights law by allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams. The agency proposed a resolution that would require the state to bar transgender women from women鈥檚 sports and strip transgender athletes of records, titles, and awards. 鈥� AP
Our coverage: In March, we traced the transgender debate under this Trump administration.

Israel reported one of its deadliest days in Gaza in months. Its military said Wednesday that seven soldiers were killed when a Palestinian attacker attached a bomb to their armored vehicle. Health officials in the battered enclave said Israeli attacks killed 79 people over the past day. The attack on the Israeli troops, which occurred on Tuesday, drew attention back to Israel鈥檚 conflict with the Hamas militant group after nearly two weeks of war between Israel and Iran. 鈥� AP
Our coverage: We heard from the Palestinians who worry they are being forgotten.

Youth-led protests grew across Kenya. Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Nairobi and other cities, and at least eight people were killed, in Wednesday鈥檚 demonstrations against police brutality and poor governance. The protests coincided with the anniversary of last year鈥檚 protests opposing tax hikes. Kenya鈥檚 youth, facing high unemployment and rising costs, demand reforms. The government has warned against violence and restricted live media coverage of the protests. 鈥� AP

Charitable giving rebounded in 2024. Total donations outpaced inflation for the first time in three years, according to this week鈥檚 report by Giving USA. Individuals gave the most, contributing $392 billion of the $593 billion total. Religious causes received the largest share of donations. Buoyed by stock market gains and a strong economy, the rise in philanthropy is evidence of 鈥淎mericans鈥� enduring generosity,鈥� said Wendy McGrady, Chair of Giving USA Foundation. 鈥� Staff

In his second term, and in particular over the past two weeks, President Donald Trump has unleashed on friend and foe alike a diplomatic style that jettisons all the norms of traditional diplomacy 鈥� dialogue, bargaining, trust-building, and patience 鈥� in favor of commands, threats, and shows of force. 鈥淚t鈥檚 diplomacy by tweet and by fiat,鈥� says Charles Kupchan at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

Ten years ago on Thursday, the landmark Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. Jim Obergefell says the fight was about protecting the dignity and equality of people like him and his late husband. 鈥淲e had to do all of these things that millions of other people never had to think about or consider,鈥� says Mr. Obergefell, sharing the difficulty of getting care for his husband, diagnosed with a terminal illness 鈥� and learning he would not be listed as a surviving spouse. 鈥淚 wanted that right to call myself his widower and have it mean exactly what it means to anyone else.鈥�

A constellation of conservative groups is laying the groundwork to overturn the 2015 landmark Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage. They argue that the social and legal pressure to accept such marriages undermines religious liberty and the traditional family, and that states should regulate such unions, just as they now do for abortion. Though it鈥檚 a long shot, they see a new opening 鈥� and an urgent imperative. 鈥淚f we are serious about preserving the legacy of Western civilization, then restoring foundational institutions like marriage is essential,鈥� says Michigan lawmaker Josh Schriver, who this year introduced one of a number of Republican resolutions against the ruling.

Our Tel Aviv correspondent, visiting relatives who sought refuge from the Holocaust in New Zealand, finds herself separated from her children in Israel, as the country traded missiles with Iran.聽She was wandering through a museum exhibit on the history of immigration to New Zealand when she heard a mother explaining to her daughter what a refugee was: someone who is not safe where they live so they have to leave their home. 鈥淚 wanted to compliment the mother on her answer,鈥� writes Dina. 鈥淏ut instead I quickly walked away, and found a quiet spot to cry.鈥�

鈥淔1鈥� is different from other car racing films: Its big-screen technology supercharges the experience. Co-produced by the team that brought you 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick,鈥� it is just as edge-of-the-seat immersive. (鈥淔1鈥� also shares some of the storyline 鈥� over-the-hill bad boy warrior seeks redemption while battling a cocky younger rival.) Thrill-by-thrill, this film is tooled to capture our attention in the way that a video game does. After a while there鈥檚 really not much lyricism in all that whizzing around. What holds it together, our reviewer writes, is Brad Pitt. He鈥檚 that relative rarity 鈥� a great big movie star who can also really act.

Russia鈥檚 government-run news agencies have lately taken an interest in Moldova, a tiny democratic country next to Ukraine. On Tuesday, for example, an outlet of Sputnik news criticized the appointment of a new head prosecutor to fight corruption in Moldova, a former Soviet state well on its way to joining the European Union.

Perhaps one reason for this scrutiny: A new EU-funded report on progress toward honest governance in Europe finds Moldova to be a 鈥渟urprise鈥� performer on measures like transparency and judicial independence. The country of some 3 million people now even outshines a few EU member states such as Greece and Romania in fighting corruption.

For Moscow, a cleaner Moldova would mean less opportunity to influence its politics with illicit money and knock back Moldova鈥檚 prospects of EU membership. In an election last October, the equivalent of at least $15 million was transferred from Russia into the accounts of some 130,000 Moldovan citizens to influence their vote, according to Moldovan police. Hundreds of people have so far been fined for taking such payments.

With parliamentary elections set for Sept. 28, Moldova is not only hastening its anti-corruption reforms, but also receiving massive assistance from the EU as well as from NATO. On July 4, President Maia Sandu will hold an unusual summit with top EU leaders to deepen ties with the bloc of 27 nations.

Moldova has 鈥渄emonstrated remarkable determination to pursue reforms and align with EU values despite facing major challenges and external pressure by the Kremlin and its proxies,鈥� reported Sven Mikser, the EU rapporteur on Moldova.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned European leaders of Moldova鈥檚 importance on June 11: 鈥淔or three decades now, Russia has tried to keep Moldova in poverty and instability, to bring it fully under its control. If Europe loses in Moldova this year, Russia will feel emboldened to interfere even more, taking from you your resources, sovereignty, even history.鈥�

Ms. Sandu, who was elected in 2020 on an anti-corruption platform, acknowledges the difficulty of fighting off Russian meddling. 鈥淲e do learn every day by new attempts and new ways through which Russia tries to interfere with our internal ... political processes, democratic processes,鈥� Ms. Sandu said. 鈥淚t is going to be tough, but we do want Moldovans to decide for Moldova at the parliamentary elections, not [the] Kremlin.鈥�