President Trump left the G7 summit early amid rising Middle East tensions. Israel appeared to be expanding its air campaign on Tehran five days after its surprise attack on Iran’s military and nuclear program, as Mr. Trump posted a message warning residents of the city to evacuate. Before leaving the summit in Canada, the president joined other leaders in a statement saying Iran “can never have a nuclear weapon” and calling for a “de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.” – The Associated Press
Our coverage: We hear from Iranians experiencing war for the first time in four decades.

Lawmakers targeted by suspected Minnesota shooter spoke out. Vance Boelter, charged with the murder of the top Democrat in the Minnesota house and her husband, reportedly had a list of some 70 names, including prominent state and federal lawmakers, community leaders, and activists. Many on the list have vowed not to bow down. Minnesota State Rep. Esther Agbaje said she feels “more committed than ever” to her work. “We cannot let terror terrorize us,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell. – AP
Our coverage: We look at how local lawmakers are now thinking about safety.

A federal judge ruled cuts to National Institutes of Health grants illegal. He said the NIH violated federal law by canceling over $1 billion in research grants because of their perceived connection to diversity, equity, and inclusion. A spokesman for the NIH’s parent agency said it stands by the decision to end funding for research “that prioritized ideological agendas over scientific rigor.” – Reuters
Our coverage: We give an overview of how courts are restraining and approving the president.

Charleston, South Carolina, marks a decade since mass shooting. Ten years ago today, a white supremacist shooter opened fire at a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, killing nine Black worshippers. Some family members of the victims publicly forgave the shooter within days of the attack, amazing those watching nationwide. Others say the spotlight on forgiveness may have overshadowed a deeper need for reckoning and justice. – Staff

A strike shut down the Louvre in Paris. Thousands of visitors to the world’s most-visited museum were left confused Monday when a spontaneous strike closed its doors. The staff expressed frustration over unmanageable crowds, understaffing, and what one union called “untenable” work conditions. – AP

The Danish military began using robotic sailboats for surveillance. The vessels will patrol Danish and NATO waters in the Baltic and North seas where maritime tensions and suspected sabotage have escalated sharply since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The boats, powered by wind and solar energy, can operate autonomously for months at sea. – AP

European satellites created artificial solar eclipses. Flying 492 feet apart, one satellite blocks the sun like the moon does during a natural total eclipse as the other aims its telescope at the corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere that forms a crown of light. The European Space Agency released the eclipse pictures at the Paris Air Show on Monday. While observations are yet to begin, scientists anticipate nearly 200 total solar eclipses over the next two years. – AP

Having endured 20 months of war in Gaza, during which missiles have come from the north, the south, and even Yemen, Israelis have become somewhat accustomed to attacks. Defense systems have been effective. Israel launched what it says was a preemptive attack Friday to curb Iran’s race to nuclear weapons. Retaliatory ballistic missiles from Iran have carried heavier explosives and flown much faster, making them harder to intercept. First responders are finding greater damage and more injuries than Israel has seen over the past 10 to 20 years. We look at how civilians are coping with this very different conflict. 

For decades, Iranian television – and the fiery rhetoric of Iran’s leaders – has focused on the catastrophic results of conflicts elsewhere. But Iranians have not tasted war on the home front since they fought Iraqi troops, between 1980 and 1988. Now Israel’s campaign – which seems designed to sow doubts in Iranians’ minds about their leaders, as well as do damage to the country’s nuclear program – has brought war into Iranian sitting rooms. Iran’s retaliation has brought more escalation. We look at how some civilians in Tehran are managing the shock.

The biggest political story in the United States this year has been the power struggle between President Donald Trump and the federal judiciary. His administration has sought to expand presidential power in numerous ways. Courts have responded by blocking many of these efforts. Mr. Trump has criticized these rulings and the judges who issued them. But the Trump administration has also been enjoying more success in the upper levels of federal court. The broad narrative has been that the Trump administration is losing heavily in the courts. We took a graphics-supported look at the more complicated reality.

Everyone seems to agree that the justice system in Mexico needs to be revamped. And in the first test of its kind in the world, the country has launched a bold experiment to reshape it, with a popular vote replacing judicial appointments. But where the ruling power sees its new reform as a leap forward, some global observers believe Mexico has just moved backward. The election of more than 2,600 judicial positions – from Supreme Court justices to local magistrates – calls for a big logistical lift with meticulous oversight. And the stakes are remarkably high.

What is it about financial success that dangles excess as an outcome? It’s not inevitable. Nor is it unique to any culture. But the notion of “more” for its own sake crops up a lot in generations of American society. Today’s book review looks at John Seabrook’s portrayal of his family’s frozen-food empire, built in the early 20th century. The enterprise projected modernity and benevolence, Seabrook writes. But the ingenuity and vision at its core caved to ego-feeding: a Savile Row suit collection so big it needed a motorized rack, Eva Gabor as celebrity girlfriend. Less charming were episodes of racism and strike-breaking. The book, our reviewer writes, is a reckoning.

Our global progress roundup this week shows the power of individuals and a collective effort to benefit communities – whether it’s taking part in a contest to replace concrete with flowers in the Netherlands, or learning to maintain solar power systems in remote parts of Latin America.

News about global efforts to end child labor – and ensure each child’s growth, protection, and innocence – is encouraging. A new report shows the number of children put to work has declined by 22 million in the past five years.

This latest drop is part of a 25-year trend that’s seen a 44% decline, aside from an upward blip during the pandemic. In 2000, there were an estimated 245.5 million child laborers.

The progress stems not only from better laws and enforcement but also from expanding economies and access to education. In 1990, an international treaty on the rights of children – defined as persons up to the age of 18 – came into force. After a decade of campaigns against the use of child workers by international companies, new trade rules began to curb the practice.

Yet, according to Kailash Satyarthi, an activist against child labor and corecipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, something else is going on. “I sense a moral shift. Officials, politicians, even judges now take children’s issues more seriously,” he told India’s NDTV earlier this year.

“But real change,” he cautioned, “will only come when society wakes up. Governments alone can’t do it.”

Citizens concerned about safeguarding the worth of each child still have their work cut out for them. An estimated 138 million children between 5 and 17 years old are engaged in what the International Labour Organization describes as work they “are too young to perform” and is harmful to their health, safety, and well-being. Even in the United States, with longstanding laws against child labor, hundreds of migrant children are involved in hazardous work.

The vast majority of child laborers – two-thirds – are in sub-Saharan Africa. Part of the reason is Africa’s fast-growing youth population. But unstable governments, pervasive poverty, and natural disasters also drive young children into the workforce – as do cultural practices.

In Ghana, where 21% of children work, child labor has been seen as a way to socialize children and skill them for the future. So the government and activists are directly engaging communities and families. James Kofi Annan, once enslaved in the fishing industry from ages 6 to 13, raises public awareness through radio broadcasts. The work of rescuing child laborers and returning them to school is bolstered by volunteer, village-level “Child Protection Committees” that monitor and report on infractions.

With initiative and new ideas, an end to child labor is achievable, Mr. Satyarthi believes. “The world is not poor – our thinking is,” he has said.