Huge Crowds Gather for Ayatollah’s Funeral, and China Tests Long-Range Ballistic Missile

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
This podcast is supported by Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Here's a story that's not getting nearly enough attention. Defunding Planned Parenthood has already caused chaos and harm, and access to essential reproductive care is plummeting. Right now, the Trump administration's backers in Congress want to permanently defund Planned Parenthood, forcing even more health centers to close, and millions at risk of losing access to care. It takes less than a minute to help. Go to plannedparenthood.org/defend and make a gift of any size.

**Tracy Mumford** (0:34)
From The New York Times, it's The Headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today is Monday, July 6th. Here's what we're covering.

**Abdi Latif Tahir** (0:45)
People are carrying Iranian flags, they are carrying flags for Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group that is backed by Iran.
It's honestly a sea of black everywhere you look. People in mourning, people carry the photos of the supreme leader.

**Tracy Mumford** (1:02)
My colleague Abdi Latif Tahir has been in Tehran all weekend for the funeral of Iran's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei ruled the country for decades, brutally crushing dissenters before he was killed at the start of the war with the US and Israel.
The Times was granted access to the funeral by Iran's government, which determined what events the reporters could attend, accompanied by a government translator and guide.

**Abdi Latif Tahir** (1:28)
We've seen many people talk about losing a father, losing a leader, a figure who was central to their lives, and whom they are here to mourn, not today.

**Tracy Mumford** (1:38)
Abdi says that in some moments the crowds broke into chants against the US and Israel, and some mourners carried banners calling for revenge. In all, the views expressed by those at the events may not be representative of many Iranians. Some may have felt unable to speak freely. Over the course of the multi-day funeral, huge crowds have been filling the streets of Tehran, and the Ayatollah's body is expected to be carried through the city in a public procession today. The event is intended as a show of strength by Iran's Islamic Republic, which survived despite the US and Israel's earlier talk of regime change. The funeral will continue into this week with the Ayatollah's body traveling to several more cities in Iran and Iraq.
Overnight, China tested a long-range ballistic missile in the Pacific, the first time the country's done that in almost two years. The missile was launched from a nuclear-powered submarine and sent a, quote, mock warhead into the ocean, according to China's official news agency. Countries in the region were warned shortly beforehand and reacted with alarm. Australia called it destabilizing to the region, and Japan said it had, quote, serious concern regarding the intensification of China's military activities.
One expert who studies how China is modernizing its nuclear weapons told the Times the region should expect more tests, saying that China had historically tested their missiles less than other countries, but it's now ramping things up, quote, they're willing to pay the political costs of that in a way that they weren't in the past.

**SPEAKER_4** (3:28)
The birth and survival of the American nation under God is quite simply the best and most incredible thing ever to happen on this planet by human hands ever. That is ever, ever, ever.

**Tracy Mumford** (3:40)
This weekend, as President Trump gave back-to-back speeches celebrating the 250th anniversary of the country's founding.

**SPEAKER_4** (3:48)
We have thrived and flourished because our founders were great. Our cause was just, our people are brave.

**Tracy Mumford** (3:56)
The White House released a scathing report condemning how the Smithsonian has portrayed American history. The 162-page document put out by the White House's Domestic Policy Council accuses the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History of failing to celebrate the country and arguing that the museum has become a political tool. It said the institution has focused too much on the founding father's connections to slavery and not enough on the country's founding era in general. It also argues that the museum endorses illegal immigration and presents an overly critical view of Christianity. It's the latest step in the Trump administration's campaign to pressure the Smithsonian into conforming to what President Trump has described as patriotic history. The document drew immediate backlash from some historians, including the head of the country's largest group of history scholars, who said visitors to the museum encounter a lot of artifacts related to the country's founding and the American Revolution.
Today, prosecutors in Utah will begin laying out their case against the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk. It's been nearly 10 months since Kirk, a prominent conservative activist, was shot and killed while on a speaking tour at Utah Valley University. The killer escaped the scene, but within days, authorities charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with the murder. His parents had recognized him from images released by the police and convinced him to surrender to authorities. He's now facing the death penalty. But first, prosecutors will have to prove to a judge that there is enough evidence against Robinson to go to trial in the first place. Today's preliminary hearing will basically be similar to how grand juries work in other states, with prosecutors expected to present surveillance videos, autopsy findings, witness statements, and a video interview with Robinson's former roommate and romantic partner, who could shed light on his motive. Investigators say the killing was politically motivated, and they released text messages of Robinson confessing and telling his roommate that, quote, I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be negotiated out.