President Biden issued a dare to high-ranking lawmakers who were calling for him to step aside, and he told congressional Democrats in a letter that he was “firmly committed to staying in the race.”
Calling into “Morning Joe” on MSNBC today, Biden said he didn’t care about any of the “big names” urging him to drop out of the race. “If any of these guys don’t think I should run, run against me,” he said. “Go ahead, announce for president. Challenge me at the convention.”
This could be the most crucial week of Biden’s presidency, as he is facing calls to drop out from his own party. He is hosting the three-day 75th NATO summit in Washington beginning tomorrow, and he has promised a solo news conference at the end of the week. His performance will be scrutinized by Democrats to assess whether he can handle the off-the-cuff pressure that he struggled with during his debate with Donald Trump.
Biden also made his most formal entreaty to top donors since the debate, in a 19-minute call today. The president repeated that he was staying in the race and said they needed to shift the focus of the campaign away from him and onto Trump.
Related: A Parkinson’s disease expert visited the White House eight times in eight months from last summer through this spring, including at least once for a meeting with Biden’s physician. It was unclear whether he was there to consult specifically about the president or for unrelated meetings. The administration has said that Biden has no signs of the disease.
Russia struck a children’s hospital in Ukraine
A Russian strike destroyed Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, part of a large-scale aerial bombardment that killed at least 38 people across the country.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that at least 40 long-range missiles had been fired in the barrage. The director of the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv said that more than 600 children were being treated there when it was hit.
There were also reports of damage in central and eastern Ukraine, raising questions about the state of Ukraine’s air defenses a day before NATO leaders were scheduled to meet in Washington to discuss how to bolster them.
France faces a complicated few months
President Emmanuel Macron today asked his prime minister to remain in office “for the moment” to help stabilize France after no party secured a majority in legislative elections.
In a surprising turn, the New Popular Front, a coalition of left-wing parties, took first place, and the far-right National Rally finished third. These maps show how France voted.
What happens next, my colleague Roger Cohen writes, will be a painstaking negotiation on forming a government between parties with widely differing views. The muddle may last for months.
Storms and extreme heat lashed the U.S.
Tropical Storm Beryl lashed Houston and its suburbs with strong winds and torrential rains, flooding streets and knocking out power to more than two million customers. At least two people were killed by falling trees. Here’s the latest.
In the West, a heat wave brought record temperatures of 124 degrees in Palm Springs, Calif., on Friday, and 120 in Las Vegas on Sunday, and the heat was expected to spread. In the southern parts of Arizona, Nevada and California, temperatures that could run 15 to 30 degrees above average were expected to last through the workweek.
A 50-year-old skateboarder heads to the Olympics
The skateboarding gold medalists in Tokyo in 2021, when the sport made its Olympic debut, were 22, 19, 18 and 13. An 11-year-old, Zheng Haohao of China, will compete in Paris this summer. And then there’s Andy Macdonald. He’s 50.
Macdonald will be 51 by the time he competes for Britain in the park (as opposed to street) event, in which skaters do tricks in a bowl with ramps, bumps and pipes. He spoke with us about skating, aging and being a first-time Olympian. Read the full interview here.
Today, we are featuring numbers 100 to 81. More of this list will be revealed over the course of this week. My colleagues in the Book Review hope you’ll rediscover a book you’ve always been meaning to read, or encounter a beloved favorite you’d like to pick up again.
Dinner table topics
WHAT TO DO TONIGHT
Playing in style
The money that devoted board-game players spend on custom furniture and accessories can be staggering (a made-to-order table can cost over $10,000), but special furniture can add to the enjoyment. Such tables often have removable wooden tops that cover playing surfaces, so they resemble luxury furniture when not in use.
Those with a D.I.Y. sensibility can craft their own tables. The hobby even provides a chance of a second career. Will Patton started making gaming tables in 2018 after he was laid off from his job as a mechanical engineer, eventually leading him to form his own company.
Have an inventive evening.
