Wednesday's Headlines: North Korea missile launch marks a direct challenge to Trump administration

U.S. and South Korea confirm ICBM test, launch joint military exercises  ; Experts: North Korea's missile was a 'real ICBM' — and a grave milestone; At holiday parades and protests, GOP lawmakers get earful about health care; Months of Russia controversy leaves Trump 'boxed in' before Putin meeting; What Russia hopes to gain from this week's Putin-Trump meeting;   Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories North Korea missile launch marks a direct challenge to Trump administration President Trump's tough talk has yet to yield any change in Pyongyang's behavior as the regime continues efforts to build a nuclear weapon capable of striking the mainland United States — the latest missile flew high and long enough to reach all of Alaska, experts say. Experts also say the administration does not have many choices for what to do next. By Anne Gearan and Emily Rauhala  •  Read more » U.S. and South Korea confirm ICBM test, launch joint military exercises   The move came shortly after the U.S. confirmed that North Korea's July 4 launch was indeed an intercontinental ballistic missile test and could deepen a diplomatic rift with China, testing Trump's Asia strategy. By Emily Rauhala  •  Read more »   Experts: North Korea's missile was a 'real ICBM' — and a grave milestone Pyongyang's defiant test shows that U.S. cities could soon be within reach, analysts said. By Joby Warrick  •  Read more »   At holiday parades and protests, GOP lawmakers get earful about health care In Maine and Alaska, where Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski came out loud and early against the bill, residents applauded their lawmakers. Other senators — the few who let voters know where to find them — spent the Fourth of July recess fending off protesters. By David Weigel, Murray Carpenter and Julia O'Malley  •  Read more »   Months of Russia controversy leaves Trump 'boxed in' before Putin meeting The president is set to finally meet his Russian counterpart at a summit in Germany this week, and whatever course Trump takes will likely be called into question. By Abby Phillip and Carol Morello  •  Read more »   What Russia hopes to gain from this week's Putin-Trump meeting Moscow is counting on Putin to forge a personal relationship with the U.S. president. By David Filipov  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Opinions   Bizarre. Absurd. Ridiculous. Embarrassing. Trump. By Kathleen Parker  •  Read more »   The Russia probe can't be fired By David E. Kendall  •  Read more »   Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President By Hugh Hewitt  •  Read more »   America badly needs relationship counseling By Christine Emba  •  Read more »   Working with Russia might be the best path to peace in Syria By David Ignatius  •  Read more »   Trump's new trade strategy could backfire By Editorial Board  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   More News   Fact Checker | Analysis Decoding the White House spin on Obamacare ‘failures’ We dig into the White House's latest take on the current health law. By Michelle Ye Hee Lee  •  Read more » Two D.C. neighborhoods' old, often deadly rivalry clouds school renovation plan Many Kimball Elementary parents say they won't send their kids to the temporary campus, requiring students to travel through an area with which their neighborhood has had a bitter and occasionally deadly rivalry. By Joe Heim and Clarence Williams  •  Read more » WorldViews | Analysis ISIS will lose Mosul and Raqqa. What happens next? The jihadists are being forced out of their two biggest strongholds. Now comes the hard part. By Ishaan Tharoor  •  Read more » 'Too many guns': Little Rock nightclub shooting fuels concerns about jump in big-city violence The Arkansas shooting is the third mass shooting in the state this year — as many as it had in all of 2016. Officials say the rise in violence is similar to what other big-city leaders have highlighted in recent years. By Sarah Larimer  •  Read more » Illinois Senate overrides governor's vetoes of budget plan with tax increase The Democratic-controlled chamber completed its work within 30 minutes of the vetoes by Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), sending the package back to the House for an override vote that would give the state its first annual budget since 2015. By John O'Connor  •  Read more » Company wrote 'fake news' stories to boost stocks' prices, SEC alleges The complaint alleges that an actress's firm paid writers to produce hundreds of positive articles, tweets and Facebook posts about its clients — and succeeded in moving the market. By Renae Merle  •  Read more » You can now snort chocolate — but should you? "There are a few obvious concerns," one doctor says about the brown powder, which hit U.S. shelves last month and is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. By Abha Bhattarai  •  Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you are signed up for Headlines. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. 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