President Trump’s new travel ban takes effect today. The ban on travel to the United States mainly by citizens of African and Middle Eastern countries comes amid rising tension over the president’s campaign of immigration enforcement. The ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued to U.S. diplomatic missions. – The Associated Press
Related Monitor stories: Last week we explored how this travel ban differs from previous ones. Today we look at what this weekend’s protests in Los Angeles mean for wider tensions.

Israel intercepted a Gaza-bound aid boat. Israeli forces detained Greta Thunberg and other activists on board, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition had organized the voyage to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and protest Israel’s blockade and wartime conduct. At least 12 more Palestinians were killed in Gaza Sunday as they headed toward aid distribution points. Israel said it fired warning shots. – AP
Related Monitor story: We reported from Gaza in late May on the persistent shortcomings of the current aid effort.

The Supreme Court allowed DOGE to access Social Security data. The court’s majority sided Friday with the Trump administration in its first high court appeal involving the Department of Government Efficiency. The three liberal justices dissented. The decision halted an order from a judge in Maryland restricting the team’s access to the Social Security Administration under federal privacy laws. The agency holds sensitive data – including school records, salary details, and medical information – on millions of Americans. – AP

Europe said it could sustain Ukraine’s war effort. German Maj. Gen. Christian Freuding said that NATO’s European members plus Canada had already exceeded how much U.S. military aid was provided last year to Kyiv, estimated at $20 billion. Ukraine continues to receive weapons deliveries approved during the Biden administration. – Reuters

The U.S. returned Kilmar Abrego Garcia to face charges. Mr. Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, was brought back to the U.S. on Friday. Federal charges allege that he conspired to bring undocumented immigrants to the U.S. from Guatemala, El Salvador, and other countries. – AP

A new planetarium show helped scientists make a solar system discovery. “Encounters in the Milky Way,” which opens today at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, made waves months before its premiere. As scientists were fine-tuning the show, they noticed a spiral in the Oort Cloud, a giant shell of icy material surrounding the sun. Made of billions of comets, the formation was previously unknown to astronomers. Planetary scientist André Izidoro told AP it amounted to a “striking shift in our understanding of the outer solar system.” – Staff

Republican moves against California have been mounting since the party took the federal government’s reins in January. The Trump administration has gone after the state’s electric vehicle mandate, transgender laws, water policy, and immigration “sanctuary” status. Weekend protests following a sweep by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Friday turned violent. And in what became a dangerous power play, a few hundred National Guard troops were deployed in Los Angeles Sunday against the governor’s wishes. A question now: What might this clash mean for larger national divisions?

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man with a track record of seemingly impossible feats, came to Washington vowing to bring an ethos of innovation. But even before last week’s blowup with President Donald Trump, Mr. Musk had become bogged down in political, legal, and bureaucratic battles. While Mr. Trump has said the Department of Government Efficiency will continue, that project now faces growing skepticism, including from Republicans. “It’s maybe easier to go to Mars than solve problems in Washington, D.C.,” says Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist.

The election of left-leaning President Lee Jae-myung heralds a foreign policy shift for South Korea. He plans to foster friendly relations with China and reduce tensions with North Korea, in contrast with the staunchly pro-U.S. stance of his conservative predecessor. That will require a delicate recalibration, in order to maintain Seoul’s vital security relationship with the United States.

In 2022, faced with dismal outcomes for students with disabilities and pandemic-related gaps, Nebraska launched a program called “Journey to Inclusion.” The state has poured nearly $1 million of its federal COVID-19 aid into efforts to make sure students with disabilities are making academic progress and feeling included. It’s working. Between 2021 and 2024, the percentage of third grade students with disabilities who were proficient in math increased from 18% to 29%. And their graduation rate increased from 65% to 70%.

The Hejaz Railway, an engineering marvel, was built by the Ottoman Empire in 1908. Arab revolutionaries and the British intelligence officer known as Lawrence of Arabia blew up the Hejaz in a revolt against the Ottomans. Now, as Syria emerges from civil war, plans are underway to put the railway back on track. Former conductor Mazen al-Malla can’t wait. “God willing, when the track is repaired, I will be at the wheels of the first train,” he says, standing amid twisted steel.

This basketball season, all was fun and games until my expectations took over. I wanted my son to be an all-star player. It got so bad on one play that he looked at me after making a mistake, shot his hands in the air confused about what I wanted him to do, and looked like he wanted to cry. I was embarrassed and disappointed. I apologized to him for my behavior, and took a timeout for the next couple of games. In the game of parenting, our kids can sometimes call foul. Thankfully, I was able to rebound.

Last week, the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture short-listed 19 projects across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa for its 2025 honors. They range from a refurbished boutique hotel to microlibraries as small as 107 square feet.

The selected structures weave together long-standing cultural and design traditions with current-day adaptations for climate change.

Architects in the world’s more populous and poorer regions are recognizing and revaluing local skills and resources. They’re reducing construction’s carbon footprint by eschewing glass, steel, and cement. They’re making inventive use of bamboo, mud bricks, and even recycled plastic ice-cream buckets. They’re keeping things cool with traditional ventilation and heat-reduction techniques that are electricity-free.

Such innovations can protect lives and livelihoods against higher temperatures, droughts, and flooding. Case in point: the khudi bari (small house) designed by Marina Tabassum of Bangladesh. The simple structure on bamboo stilts can be easily taken down and put back together in a safer location. Naming Ms. Tabassum as one of its 100 most influential people of 2024, Time magazine noted that she “prioritizes local cultures and values, as well as the perils faced by our shared planet.”

Indonesia’s ambitious microlibraries project does this, too. It aims to get more children reading and provides a refuge from urban noise and heat. Passive climate design offers shade, rain protection, and cross breezes. Giant swings and rooftop gardens add touches of whimsy. And by involving local stakeholders in decisions about site and design, the microlibraries give communities an interest in continued use and care of these spaces.

The Pritzker Architecture Prize – the Nobel of architecture – recognized Francis Kéré in 2022 for applying a similar approach in “lands where resources are fragile and fellowship is vital.” More than 20 years ago, Mr. Kéré designed a primary school in his home village in Burkina Faso to function in extreme heat and without lighting. Enrollment increased fivefold; teacher housing and a library followed. Since then, he has done designs worldwide.

This emerging architectural ethos isn’t only about building with less or making do with what’s available. It’s also about reclaiming Indigenous knowledge, once considered retrograde. Even when modest materials are used, Mr. Kéré believes, “Everyone deserves quality ... [and] comfort.” The results, his Pritzker citation noted, embody community and compassion and are “a source of ... lasting happiness and joy.”