Read Online  |  June 28, 2026  |  E-Paper  | 🎧 Listen

“I’m so lucky to be in the position to give. It’s really a gift to give.” 

—Elvis Presley

Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor

Good morning. It’s Sunday. Here are today’s top stories.

• The Federal Trade Commission has sued an influential medical organization, seeking to prevent it from allegedly misleading patients about the benefits of “gender-affirming care” for children. Here’s what we know about the consequential case.
• U.S. forces launched a new set of strikeson Iranian targets on June 27, as back-and-forth exchanges test the resilience of a peace framework adopted by both countries last week. Iran launched drone attacks against Bahrain, and a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a projectile.
• More than 1,400 people have been confirmed dead as rescuers in Venezuela race against time to search for survivors after two powerful earthquakes struck the country this week.
• The U.S. Justice Department’s commission on religious liberty challenged the separation of church and state in its draft report.
• 🍵 Health: Steak for breakfast, a spoonful of sauerkraut at lunch, and no sugar in sight: that’s the current eating plan of a handful of Trump administration officials. 

Detransition advocates meet outside of the annual Pediatric Endocrine Society conference held in San Diego on May 6, 2023. The Pediatric Endocrine Society is a professional organization that co-sponsors and endorses clinical guidelines for gender-related treatments. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

FTC Sues Group Behind Child Transgender Surgery ‘Playbook’: What to Know

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued an influential medical organization, seeking to prevent it from allegedly misleading patients about the benefits of “gender-affirming care” for children.

In a complaint filed on June 17, the Trump administration and four states have asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to issue an injunction against World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) affiliates.

They allege WPATH violated the FTC Act and similar state laws that protect consumers from unfair or deceptive business practices.

“Children, but especially their parents, must have complete and truthful information when making decisions to purchase medical services,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement.

The lawsuit added to mounting international scrutiny for WPATH, which has denied wrongdoing.

‘Standards of Care’

Transition doctors founded WPATH to promote the financial interests of the medical transitioning industry after losing support in 1979, according to the lawsuit.

WPATH developed “standards of care” (SOCs) to address insurance coverage losses. That led major health insurance companies to rely on the SOCs’ determination of medical necessity.

The standards limited procedures to adults, but that changed over the years.

The government’s complaint focuses on WPATH’s most recent SOCs, updated in 2022.

The latest WPATH standards removed age restrictions on life-altering gender surgeries for children, including penis and breast removal, with almost no exceptions.

Political pressure, instead of science, pushed WPATH to eliminate age restrictions, the government alleges.

WPATH misled the public by asserting that pediatric medical transition was the “standard of care” and medically necessary for gender dysphoria; that the effects of puberty blockers are reversible; that cross-sex hormones improve mental health; and that breast removal for children is safe, effective, and “consistently results in better health and quality of life,” the FTC alleges.

WPATH also allegedly omitted or minimized important information in its standards. The FTC argues that the group failed to meaningfully disclose the side effects of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, such as sexual dysfunction or the inability to breastfeed after a mastectomy.

The group’s standards say children with gender dysphoria are at a higher risk of suicide unless they undergo medical transition, characterizing these interventions as “lifesaving,” despite the absence of evidence that they reduce the risk of suicide, according to the government’s complaint. (More)Sponsored by Immersed

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LATEST NEWS

• The Chinese Communist Party has removed six senior military representatives from the country’s rubber-stamp legislature, the latest sign that regime leader Xi Jinping’s years-long campaign to reshape the People’s Liberation Army continues to reach the military’s highest ranks.
•  The U.S. Federal Communications Commission expanded its ban on imports of Chinese-made telecom and video surveillance equipment over national security concerns. The ban now extends to older models of equipment made by Chinese telecommunication companies Huawei and ZTE Corporation, two-way radio manufacturer Hytera, and video surveillance and security equipment manufacturers Hikvision and Dahua.

⚽WORLD CUP: Jude Bellingham notched a goal and an assist to lead England past Panama in its final match of Group L play and help boost team captain Harry Kane to the top of their nation’s World Cup scoring list.

 

OPINION: Fractious and Fractured Federalism—by Mark Hendrickson (Read)

Tourists go out in boats as others cool off in the Vltava River, as a heatwave hits the Czech Republic with temperatures rising over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, on June 27, 2026. (Michal Cizek / AFP via Getty Images)

📸 Day in Photos: Venezuela Rescue Effort, Veterans Day Tribute, and Camel Cup in Australia (Look)

🎤 Interview: Here’s What They Hid in Wuhan—Matt Ridley (Watch)

🍿Movie: ‘Supergirl’: This New Superstar Is Going to Be Around for a While (Read)

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ARTS & CULTURE 

Everyday shared activities can become foundational memory markers for children. (svetikd/Getty Images)

Creating Nostalgia Today: What Will Your Children Remember?

The word “nostalgia” derives from two Greek words: “algos,” meaning “pain or grief,” and “nostos,” meaning “homecoming.” Traditionally, the term referred to an acute pain associated with homesickness. It was even included in some medical manuals and treated as an ailment that afflicted those far from home, such as sailors or soldiers. Over time, its meaning has shifted to refer primarily to a yearning for a prior time or a desire to “come home” to the halcyon days of the past.

The bittersweet caress of nostalgiacan come over a person suddenly, initiated by the simplest things: a half-forgotten melody, the smell of freshly cut grass, sunlight and long shadows on a familiar street, or an old book covered in dust. These triggers link us to formative memories. We wish we could return to them, but we witness those memories from behind an impenetrable glass wall.

For adults, some childhood experiences become heavily perfumed with nostalgia over time. Whether it was hunting with Dad, having picnics in the backyard with siblings, watching a favorite movie with cousins, or reading a book with Mom, over time, these experiences take on more meaning than they had in the moment. 

The accessories of these memories—the old shotgun, the battered picnic basket, the faded book cover—remind us of the joys (and sorrows), the activities, the emotions, the places, and especially the people that formed us at our most impressionable ages, when all the world was new.

Nostalgia is more than just an interesting quirk of adulthood.Nostalgia has a formative effect as we age. The things we feel nostalgia over continue to shape who we are and write our story; they are an expression of that which is most precious to us. 

In this way, nostalgia can still refine and reinforce our priorities and even our worldview in adulthood. Its irrational, visceral quality causes us to react instinctively to certain triggers, placing particular weight on them and what they signify, sometimes without conscious thought. (More)

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Thanks for reading 🙏

Have a wonderful day!

—Ivan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li.

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