海角大神

The Trump administration released FBI files on Martin Luther King, Jr. More than 240,000 pages of records had been under a court-imposed seal since 1977. Dr. King鈥檚 children opposed the release, noting that their father was the victim of sometimes illegal surveillance and urging the public to view the documents 鈥渨ithin their full historical context.鈥� Some observers say President Trump is using the files to distract from his own troubles related to Jeffrey Epstein. 鈥� The Associated Press

An ex-police officer got 33 months for the Breonna Taylor raid. Brett Hankison was sentenced to prison for using excessive force during the 2020 raid that led to the death of Ms. Taylor, a Black medical worker. He is the only officer to be given time in the case that rocked the city of Louisville and spawned weeks of street protests against racial injustice and policing. 鈥� AP
Our coverage: We look today at what the sentencing means for police reform.

Russia launched a major aerial attack on Ukraine. The escalation came hours before Britain and Germany led a NATO meeting on military support for Ukraine, including advanced air defense systems like Patriots. Norway and the Netherlands also pledged more support. Moscow has intensified its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate as Russian drone production expands. 鈥� AP and Reuters

Israeli troops pushed deeper into Gaza. For the first time they entered areas of Deir al-Balah, a central Gaza city where several aid groups are based. There is speculation that Hamas holds hostages there. The main group representing hostages鈥� families said it was 鈥渟hocked and alarmed鈥� by the incursion. Twenty-eight countries including Britain, Japan, and other European nations issued a joint statement Monday saying the war in Gaza 鈥渕ust end now鈥� 鈥� the latest sign of allies鈥� sharpening language. 鈥� AP

The Pentagon is withdrawing the Marines from Los Angeles. Seven hundred Marines were deployed on June 9 during protests against the administration鈥檚 immigration policies. Their presence was limited to federal buildings, including an ICE office and detention facility. Some 2,000 National Guard troops remain in the city. 鈥� AP

Harvard is seeking billions in restored funding. The university appeared in federal court on Monday to challenge $2.6 billion in funding cuts by the Trump administration. The cuts followed Harvard鈥檚 rejection of demands from a federal antisemitism task force, which wants sweeping changes to Harvard鈥檚 policies on campus protests, admissions, hiring and more. 鈥� AP
Our coverage: We show what鈥檚 at stake in the battle over public funding.

A California high school embraces its cell phone ban. Since 2019, when the day begins at San Mateo High School, students have locked their phones into magnetically sealed pouches that open only when the day is over. Siddharth Gogi, who graduated this past spring, recently told Capital News Service that 鈥渃onversations move past surface level when you have that time to talk to one another.鈥� We have looked at where cellphone bans are gaining ground and why communities are fighting for them. 鈥� Staff

In 2020, a tactical police unit killed Breonna Taylor while executing a night-time no-knock warrant on her boyfriend鈥檚 apartment. The officer who shot her is white. Ms. Taylor was Black. A federal judge on Monday sentenced Brett Hankison to almost three years in prison for excessive use of force. Mr. Hankison was convicted by the Justice Department under the Biden administration. The Trump administration argued he should be sentenced to just one day in prison. That recommendation came amid efforts to reverse policies meant to address police practices that too often result in violence against Black and Hispanic people.

President Bernardo Ar茅valo rode to power last year on a wave of demands for democracy from Guatemala鈥檚 Indigenous peoples. After 18 months in office, however, Mr. Ar茅valo has made only slow progress in changing a political culture beset by corruption and organized crime. His supporters are frustrated, and his young political movement has split.

A court hearing in Boston on Monday highlighted the ideological clash stirred by the Trump administration鈥檚 cuts in federal funding for private universities. Harvard is suing the government for what its lawyers see as 鈥渁 blatant, unrepentant violation of the First Amendment.鈥� The administration says it has the right to choose where it spends public dollars. That debate is part of a broader shift now underway as changes in federal funding alter the landscape of American education.

When Europeans carved up Africa more than a century ago, they drew a border through what was once the Borgu kingdom, a civilization tracing its roots to the late 15th century. Some of the Borgu people ended up in English-speaking Nigeria, the rest in French-speaking Benin. Families were divided, their language evolving in different directions. Now, the two sides are restoring kinship and community through cross-border soccer matches and cultural festivals.

From the forward northern piers of San Francisco, three things are visible above all others: the campanile set up in the Berkeley Hills like a sharpened pencil waiting for words; fog so thick, Mark Twain observed, a rider couldn鈥檛 see his horse; and Alcatraz. Sometimes the fog wraps 鈥淭he Rock鈥� so that the beam from its lighthouse can鈥檛 escape. But when it lifts, our photo-essay reveals, the flower gardens of former wardens cheer a shuttered prison yielding to rust.

A decline in violent crime in many American cities is not just continuing, but accelerating.聽

Data for the first half of this year showed a 22% drop in homicide deaths for Baltimore, compared with the same period in 2024. In Boston last year, homicides were down to their lowest number since 1957. Cities such as Detroit; Oakland, California; and San Antonio are on similar trajectories.

Behind the turnaround is a mix of strategies that deliver a message of caring 鈥� and consequences.聽

Evidence of a city鈥檚 care for residents can involve simple fixes, such as better street lighting or cleaned-up lots. Such measures encourage residents to venture outdoors, thus providing 鈥渆yes on the street,鈥� as the late urban theorist Jane Jacobs put it. Also key are community groups that offer summer youth programs, treatment for substance misuse, and mental health and job counseling.

For those prone to commit crime, however, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott delivered a stern message earlier this year: 鈥淭ake us up on our opportunities to change your life,鈥� CNN reported him as saying, 鈥渙r end up ... indicted, headed to prisons.鈥澛�

Meanwhile, police forces across the country are focusing their visibility on known 鈥渉ot spots鈥� of crime. They also rely more on community workers to avoid being drawn into noncriminal emergencies, such as mental or drug-induced distress or family arguments.聽

Most gun violence in the United States stems not from preplanned attacks but from disagreements that flare up in the heat of the moment, according to Jens Ludwig, director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab. Staff and volunteers in community and faith groups are sometimes more alert than police to signs of escalation and are able to intervene or call on trained support.聽

This shared police-community approach is a 鈥渞evolution in public safety,鈥� according to New York University鈥檚 Policing Project. It reflects a consensus 鈥渢hat the police should not be the only professionals responsible for public safety,鈥� project staff wrote in The New York Times in May.聽

Crime prevention often requires 鈥渘onpunitive, transformative solutions,鈥� as a community program called FORCE Detroit describes it. That city initiative relies on teams of 鈥渃redible messengers鈥� 鈥� including former offenders 鈥� to stay in regular contact with individuals at risk of perpetrating violence. According to founder Alia Harvey-Quinn, a team鈥檚 鈥渁uthenticity鈥� and depth of caring, in turn, 鈥渦nlocks a set of honor codes that are within our community,鈥� she told CNN last fall. When individuals 鈥渇eel like people care, they show up and protect the work and the organization.鈥澛犅�