Supreme Court Rejects Affirmative Action Programs at Harvard and U.N.C.

In earlier decisions, the court had endorsed taking account of race as one factor among many to promote educational diversity.

With Supreme Court Decision, College Admissions Could Become More Subjective

Colleges have a game plan, like emphasizing the personal essay, but so do conservative groups that promise to monitor and, if necessary, go back to court.

Police Shooting in France Presents New Challenge for Macron

Protests over the fatal police shooting of a teenager come as President Emmanuel Macron seeks to restore a sense of calm after his pension overhaul ignited turbulence in the streets.

Dangerous Heat and Heavy Wildfire Smoke March Across North America

The twin threats have sickened people across the continent with little relief in sight.

Smoky Skies Menace U.S. Cities, Driving Residents Indoors

Across the nation’s middle, unhealthy air from Canadian wildfires sent summer campers home and left residents coughing, and asking when this would end.

Putin Moves to Punish Prigozhin Allies

Russia’s president indicates that associates of the Wagner group’s leader in government and the military will face punishment.

Something Was Messing With Earth’s Axis. The Answer Has to Do With Us.

Scientists knew the planet’s centerline could move. But it took a sharp turn sometime around the start of the 2000s.

A Night Out for Dinner Ends in Destruction and Death

A Russian missile strike on a popular restaurant in Kramatorsk, Ukraine killed at least 11 people, wounded dozens more, and showed the peril of trying to claim pieces of ordinary life during war.

Putin Casts Mutiny as Proof of Solidity, as Belarus Opens Doors to Rebels

Belarus said it had taken in the mercenary boss Yevgeny V. Prigozhin and might welcome his Wagner troops, while Russia dropped a criminal investigation of him for the weekend uprising.

Supreme Court Rejects Theory That Would Have Transformed American Elections

The 6-to-3 majority dismissed the “independent state legislature” theory, which would have given state lawmakers nearly unchecked power over federal elections.

Russian General Knew About Mercenary Chief’s Rebellion Plans, U.S. Officials Say

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, may have believed he had support in Russia’s military.

The Unexpected Rescuers Who Found Colombia’s Missing Children

Colombia’s Indigenous Guard has long had to fight for a space in the national narrative. Today, it is at the center of the country’s biggest story.

Putin Says Russia Is United Behind Him, After Quelling Rebellion

President Vladimir V. Putin spoke angrily of those who want “Russians to fight each other,” but his former ally, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, said the mutiny he led was not a coup attempt.

Minefields and Menace: Why Ukraine’s Pushback Is Off to a Halting Start

The Ukrainian Army is encountering an array of challenges that has complicated the early stages of its counteroffensive, especially the large swaths of minefields. But its leaders are urging patience, insisting the main push is yet to come.

Intensifying Rains Pose Hidden Flood Risks Across the U.S.

In some of the nation’s most populous areas, hazardous storms can dump significantly more water than previously believed, new calculations show.

A.I. May Someday Work Medical Miracles. For Now, It Helps Do Paperwork.

The best use for generative A.I. in health care, doctors say, is to ease the heavy burden of documentation that takes them hours a day and contributes to burnout.

Revolt Raises Searing Question: Could Putin Lose Power?

Russians with ties to the Kremlin expressed relief that the mercenary leader’s mutiny did not spark a civil war. But they agreed that Vladimir Putin had come off looking weak in a way that could be lasting.

One Big Winner of Kremlin-Wagner Clash? The Dictator Next Door.

The strongman leader of Belarus, a dependable ally of Vladimir Putin’s, may see a chance to rebrand himself as a statesman.

As Legal Fees Mount, Trump Steers Donations Into PAC That Has Covered Them

A previously unnoticed change in Donald Trump’s online fund-raising appeals allows him to divert a sizable chunk of his 2024 contributions to a group that has spent millions to cover his legal fees.

He Was Handcuffed and Hospitalized. Now He’s on Track for Housing.

A contentious New York City policy to send more mentally ill homeless people to hospitals has helped some move into permanent homes.