Plus: Trump faces Republican anger at Iran War ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Richard Hall | June 25, 2026

Hello there! Today in The Brief we’re taking a look at the formidable political operation behind Zohran Mamdani in New York, Erling Haaland’s joyful World Cup, and President Donald Trump’s battle with his own party over the Iran War.

We also have overnight news of back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela.

Today’s Linked starting words are “ears” and “top.”

Five Must-Reads

President Donald Trump decried the Senate on Wednesday for voting to end the war with Iran, calling it “meaningless” and claiming it could give Iran more leverage in negotiations. Trump’s comments followed a bitter meeting with Senate Republicans that erupted into a shouting match behind closed doors over the vote to rebuke the President’s handling of the war. —TIME

A state of emergency has been declared across Venezuela after successive quakes with magnitudes above 7 struck the country on Wednesday evening, causing widespread damage and triggering tsunami warnings. At least 32 people are dead, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said, but that toll did not yet count the state of La Guaira near the coast, which is among the worst-hit regions. —TIME

A new $500 million investment fund backed by tech companies is hoping to finance the development of treatments that would make the common cold and flu a thing of the past. The fund, which launched June 24, will support research into the adoption of technologies such as air filtration in offices and airports to directly remove pathogens from the air. —TIME

“This is Erling Haaland’s World Cup, and we’re all just along for the ride,” writes TIME’s sports correspondent Sean Gregory of the prolific Norwegian striker. Haaland has scored four goals in his first two World Cup games and appears to be having the time of his life. —TIME

More than 4.7 million people have lost access to food stamps since Congress passed President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill in July last year, a drop of about 11%. In Arizona, the state that has seen the steepest drop in recipients nationwide, a record number of people are now relying on food banks. —Reuters

IN FOCUS

Inside the Mamdani machine

New York City mayors have stumped in congressional primaries before, but Zohran Mamdani demonstrated this week that he has built a political machine capable of reshaping the Democratic Party.

He hit the campaign trail with a vengeance, appearing in ads and holding fundraisers to back his endorsements—two democratic socialists, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Brad Lander, the former city comptroller. All three won their primaries on Tuesday against establishment-backed Democrats, two of them incumbents.

Mamdani’s sweep is likely to further raise his profile as a national figure in Democratic Party politics. It has also led to a deluge of headlines about the formidable “Mamdani machine.” But what does that machine look like?

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrates with Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, center, and community member Carmen Rojas during an election night watch party Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. SETH WENIG/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Progressives insist these victories are about much more than one man, but are fueled by a new movement: a coalition of disaffected Democrats, online leftist influencers and masses of young organizers with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), of which Mamdani is the highest-profile elected official.

Read more: What is Democratic socialism?

At a victory party in Brooklyn on Tuesday night (Mamdani attended all three parties for the candidates he endorsed), the mayor paid tribute to the DSA’s role in these wins: “A year ago, it was not the end of a political movement, it was the beginning.” The room responded with shouts of “DSA.”

Michael Lange, a political analyst and organizer born and raised in NYC, tells TIME: “It’s hard to decouple the Mamdani machine from the New York City DSA.”

“That organization is a real engine. He is kind of the movement leader, per se, but I think it’s also bigger than just one person,” he adds.

A source close to the mayor tells TIME that Mamdani’s popularity and his affordability message played a huge role in cementing his influence in New York, but the DSA’s ground game has proved essential.

“They have built quite a grassroots operation of door knocking and canvassing and phone banking that’s unrivaled by anything that the political establishment has,” they say.

The DSA’s rise coincides with a notable shift in Democratic primary voters’ priorities, especially in New York. The issue of Gaza came up frequently during the campaigns, and all three winning candidates have called for ending U.S. support for Israel. They were all on board with Mamdani’s economic message, too, focused on affordability.

The DSA’s success hasn’t been limited to New York. Janeese Lewis George recently won the Democratic primary for Washington, D.C., mayor, and earlier this month Nithya Raman, a city council member and DSA member, advanced to L.A.’s mayoral runoff against incumbent Karen Bass.

“I think Trump coming back into power and the Democratic party being so rudderless really opened the door for them to make pronounced electoral gains,” Lange says. “There’s a lot of anti-establishment current in the air.”

ONE NUMBER

86°F

France recorded its hottest-ever day for the second day running on Wednesday. The Météo-France weather agency said average temperatures measured at 30 weather stations hit a new record of 86°F (30°C).

The mercury rose above 104°F (40°C) in some locations, including Paris.

SOURCE: METEO FRANCE

A VIRAL MOMENT

The loudest man in the world

Guinness World Records has recognized the world’s loudest person. Joseph McGrail-Bateup, a 58-year-old honorary town crier in Canberra, Australia, yelled the word “now” at 122.4 decibels.

“There’s no way you can actually practice for it, you have to just keep it for the day,” he said, when discussing his new record. “It took me seven attempts just for one word.”

Hear him yell below.