Good morning. We’re covering the NATO summit in Washington and Russia’s challenges in Ukraine. Plus: Safeguarding memories of the Holocaust.
At the NATO summit, the attention is on BidenA 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.
U.S. says Russia is struggling against Ukraine’s defensesRussia 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.
Dozens reported killed in airstrike on GazaAn 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:
Business & Technology
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.
Preserving memories of the HolocaustArtwork 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.
Cook: This chicken fried rice is easy and delicious. Wash: Here’s how to clean your produce to reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses. Watch: A new series about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders illuminates the contradictions at the heart of the franchise. Read: Aysegul Savas’s novel celebrates a couple’s ordinary days. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today’s Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.
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