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A Tren de Aragua Leader Is Killed in a Joint Strike, U.S. and Venezuela Say

A strike this week in Venezuela killed a gang leader known as Niño Guerrero who was wanted in the United States, officials in both countries said.

© Eric Lee for The New York Times

President Trump said the operation had been conducted in close consultation with the new Venezuelan government.
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With a Deal Seemingly Close, the U.S. Faces an Iran More Willing to Withstand Pressure

The war has produced regime change, but Iran’s new leaders are more willing to take risks and believe they have already absorbed the worst that America and Israel can deliver.

© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times

Members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in April at a government-organized march in Tehran.
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Despite US Help, Little Oil Has Gone Through Strait of Hormuz

President Trump said more than 200 commercial vessels had safely traveled through the strait. That’s still far fewer than before the start of the war.

© Reuters

Global stockpiles of oil continue to decline as vessels remain stuck, unable to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
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Kennedy Center Begins Removing Trump’s Name From Facade

The arts institution followed a judge’s order to take down President Trump’s name after seeking a 12-hour extension, attributing the delay to thunderstorms.

© Pete Kiehart for The New York Times

On Friday night, workers constructed scaffolding near President Trump’s name on the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
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Judge Declines to Halt UFC Fight at the White House on Trump’s Birthday

In a ruling on Friday, Judge Amit P. Mehta wrote that the lawsuit arrived last minute and failed to show how the event irreversibly harmed the individuals who sued.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

Construction of a stage for the planned fight at the White House.
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Despite Talk of an Iran Peace Deal, Lebanon’s War Grinds On

Israeli strikes on Friday left Lebanon out of sync with a cautious optimism taking hold elsewhere in the Middle East.

© Mohammed Zaatari/Associated Press

Residents survey damage following an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Tyre on Friday.
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Opera Company Sues to Collect $17 Million From the Kennedy Center

The Washington National Opera, which left the center amid the Trump administration’s takeover, says its efforts to retrieve its endowment and other assets have been blocked.

© Kenny Holston for The New York Times

The Kennedy Center and the Washington National Opera are no longer affiliated, but they remained entangled in a dispute over what assets the opera might still be owed.
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Fact-Check: Trump’s Claims About His Arch, Reflecting Pool Repairs and Other Renovation Projects

President Trump has made false or exaggerated claims of a Civil War-era push for a triumphal arch, hundreds of millions spent on repairs on the Reflecting Pool, and an absence of working fountains.
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Trump’s D.C. Renovations, HGTV Style

President Trump brings a particular brand of reality TV-style renovations to the nation’s capital.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

After generations of slow and often staid improvements, the Trump era has already added a splashy flair to today’s Washington, including an Ultimate Fighting Championship octagon cage rising on the South Lawn, ready to host a fight to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday.
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U.S. Plan Is Said to Pull a Third of Fighter Jets It Provides NATO for Europe

The plan, outlined by officials and in a written document, provides rare clarity about the extent to which the Trump administration intends to reduce its commitment to NATO.

© Louiza Vradi/Reuters

An American F-16 jet at Andravida air base, Greece, last year.
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Some States Opt Out of Trump’s ‘Great American State Fair’

At least five have declined to participate, the latest sign that the national 250th birthday celebration has become a fragmented and partisan affair as the president seeks his imprint.

© Al Drago for The New York Times

Construction on the National Mall in preparation for the Great American State Fair.
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Trump Suspends Funding for Los Angeles Homeless Agency

The Trump administration cited misspending among the reasons for blocking funds to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Mayor Karen Bass warned that “people will lose their lives.”

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Scott Turner, the housing secretary, said his agency would not fund what he called the “corrupt failure” of Los Angeles’s homelessness efforts.
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What to Know About Jay Clayton, Trump’s Pick for Intelligence Director

Mr. Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan and a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has been overseeing an office known for prominent cases.

© Jefferson Siegel for The New York Times

Jay Clayton, then serving as the U.S. attorney, at Gracie Mansion in New York last March. President Trump said he plans to choose him as the next director of national intelligence.
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Kennedy Center Appeals Order to Remove Trump’s Name

One day before a deadline to take the president’s name off its facade, the arts institution appealed a federal judge’s ruling that also temporarily blocked it from closing.

© Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled that only Congress had the power to alter the name of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which was dedicated to the president in a 1964 law.
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Gabbard Revokes Biden-Era Assessments on Mysterious Ailments

Earlier reviews had cast doubt on the idea that a foreign adversary was behind Havana syndrome, a range of symptoms that American spies and diplomats reported.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Actions taken by Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, opened up the possibility that the Trump administration would take a new look at whether Russia or another power could be behind Havana syndrome
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Postal Service Issues Proposal to Block Mail Ballots in States That Don’t Turn Over Data

Democrats and voting-rights groups have challenged the proposed rule as a harmful federal intrusion that could affect millions of voters who cast their ballots by mail.

© Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Department of Elections workers sort mail-in ballots for the California primary election at City Hall in San Francisco, Calif., earlier this month.
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