Here\u2019s what you need to know at the end of the day.<\/b>
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Good evening. Here\u2019s the latest.
1. President Trump has delivered a blunt message to NATO allies: Spend more, or else.
We gathered details of Mr. Trump\u2019s letters to the leaders of countries including Germany, Canada, Norway and Belgium, chastising them for not increasing defense financing .
It was the latest sign of acrimony between the U. S. and its traditional allies ahead of a NATO summit meeting next week. That meeting may well be overshadowed by another immediately following: Mr. Trump\u2019s formal solo with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president.
We also have details of Mr. Trump\u2019s phone call with the Mexican president-elect, Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador. The conversation, about immigration and trade, seems to have gone well.
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2. Chancellor Angela Merkel\u2019s retreat on migration on Monday was a spectacular sacrifice.
The German leader, who had staked her legacy on welcoming hundreds of thousands of migrants into the country, has now agreed to tighten the border with Austria and build camps to screen asylum seekers. Above, she attended a budget meeting on Tuesday.
It\u2019s hard to overstate the stakes at play, our Interpreter columnists write, including the possible end of open European borders \u2014 or even European unity itself.
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3. \u201cIt drives me crazy when we don\u2019t practice what Jesus preaches because of the mix of religion and national politics.\u201d
That was a Presbyterian pastor in tiny Mount Pleasant, Iowa, above, upset at the silence from one religious quarter after an ICE raid in May that left the town divided .
Many Protestants, Lutherans and Catholics rushed to help the 32 Latino men detained and their families. Evangelicals? Largely silent. \u201cMy heart breaks for that,\u201d the pastor, the Rev. Trey Hegar, said.
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4. The future of affirmative action is at a crossroads.
The Trump administration is urging universities to ignore race in admissions decisions. The move reverses an Obama-era push to increase diversity in higher education.
The move does not have force of law, but Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said prosecutors will investigate or sue schools over what they see as discriminatory policies \u2014 essentially, any use of race as a measurement of diversity in education.
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5. President Trump has interviewed four candidates to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court.
We were told they were all federal appeals court judges: Brett M. Kavanaugh of the District of Columbia Circuit; Amy Coney Barrett of the Seventh Circuit, in Chicago; and Raymond M. Kethledge and Amul R. Thapar of the Sixth Circuit, in Cincinnati.
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6. A former E. P. A. policy chief told a congressional committee that Scott Pruitt, the agency\u2019s administrator, asked her to help his wife find a job .
The claim is the latest in a string accusing Mr. Pruitt, above, of relying on government staff members to carry out personal duties.
Other reports say that he asked aides to find a business opportunity for his wife from the fast-food franchise Chick-fil-A, and that she received $2,000 from Concordia, a Manhattan-based nonprofit that had asked Mr. Pruitt to speak at an event last year.
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7. Malaysia\u2019s former prime minister was arrested early Tuesday amid a corruption inquiry and is expected to be charged in the coming hours.
Najib Razak, has been accused of diverting $731 million from a state investment fund, 1MDB, that he supervised to his personal bank accounts. He was ousted two months ago, as voters\u2019 anger helped propel an opposition government to victory. Above, he projected confidence in May, after he was forced out.
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8. At the World Cup:
England beat Colombia in a tense penalty shootout. And after a 1-0 win over Switzerland, Sweden will advance to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in over 20 years. Colombia fans, above, before their team\u2019s defeat.
This year\u2019s most prized World Cup souvenir is raising a few questions .
New digital Fan IDs are required to get into stadiums, and they also give fans perks like visa-free entry to Russia. But there may be a dark side: Attendees turned over sensitive personal information like dates of birth, passport information and phone numbers to get the badges, and the Russian government tracks fans\u2019 comings and goings.
The badges and the information the government collected have raised privacy concerns, particularly in a country known for surveilling its citizens.
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9. In our Travel section, the actor and comedian Michael Ian Black defends a time-honored, if currently uncool, vacation.
\u201cEverything about the weeklong Caribbean cruise is meant to buff life\u2019s unpleasant edges into sea glass,\u201d he writes. \u201cIf it sounds like I am making fun, I am not. I love it.\u201d
The thrill of togetherness, the joys of onboard civility: \u201cOut there in the balmy breezes,\u201d he writes, \u201c…coolness falls away, as unnecessary and cumbersome as a poolside leather jacket.\u201d
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10. Finally, for New York\u2019s Fourth of July, Macy\u2019s is planning the biggest, most spectacular firework display in its 42-year run: 75,000 shells.
The man who orchestrates it all ran through the pyrotechnic delights he\u2019s pulled from across the world for your benefit.
We\u2019ll be off celebrating tomorrow. Have a wonderful holiday, and see you Thursday.
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