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Good evening. Here’s the latest.

1. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta defended himself amid calls to resign because of his previous role in a lenient plea deal with Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged on Monday with sex trafficking.

Mr. Acosta, pictured above in April, said the plea agreement from more than a decade ago was the “toughest deal” available in a complex and difficult case. Mr. Epstein served 13 months after being accused of sexually abusing dozens of young women and underage girls.

Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, explains in an Op-Ed how that deal may end up sending Mr. Epstein to jail again.

Mr. Epstein lived an opulent life largely out of the spotlight. Here’s what we know about him. We also looked at how Mr. Epstein is connected to former President Bill Clinton.

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2. Tensions between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and progressive Democrats known as “the squad” are heating up.

Tit-for-tat barbs traded between Ms. Pelosi and four House representatives — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib (pictured above left to right) and Ilhan Omar — spilled into public over the weekend after Ms. Pelosi said they didn’t have a following in Congress. But the back and forth has less to do with ideological differences than their divergent styles and agendas, our congressional correspondent writes.

More from Congress: A House Committee will vote on Thursday whether to issue a blitz of subpoenas related to the Mueller inquiry and on the separation of migrant families at the southwestern border.

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3. In Twitter news:

President Trump has been violating the Constitution by blocking Twitter users who criticize or mock him, a federal appeals court ruled. The decision could have wider implications for how freedom of speech enshrined in the First Amendment applies to the social media era.

Separately, the social media platform unveiled its first official guidelines on what constitutes “dehumanizing” speech, but the scope of the rules is narrower than the company had initially considered. For now, the guidelines focus only on those directed at religious groups.

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4. The 2020 election is heating up — in Kentucky’s Senate race.

Amy McGrath, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and combat pilot, will challenge Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, for his seat. Ms. McGrath’s star power rose in the Democratic Party in 2018, above, though she failed to capture the House seat she ran for.

Also, Joe Biden and his wife have earned more than $15 million since he left office, filings show, raising questions about his everyman bona fides. And add one more to the Democrats’ list of official presidential candidates: Tom Steyer, the hedge fund investor turned impeachment activist.

Separately, Ross Perot, a wiry Texas gadfly who made billions in the computer business and ran for president twice as a third-party populist, has died at the age of 89.

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5. It was a big day for Obamacare.

A federal appeals court panel heard arguments on whether a Texas judge was correct in striking down the law, a ruling that threatens the health coverage of millions and possibly the political future of President Trump. Above, members of Congress talking about health care coverage on the Capitol steps today.

After 90 minutes of oral arguments, the panel sounded likely to uphold the lower-court ruling that a central provision of the Affordable Care Act — the requirement that most people have health insurance — is unconstitutional.

Separately, a federal judge blocked the Justice Department from withdrawing lawyers in a case challenging the addition of a citizenship question to the census.

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6. Two dozen governors urged President Trump to halt one of his biggest climate policy rollbacks: the weakening of federal clean car rules.

“Strong vehicle standards protect our communities from unnecessary air pollution and fuel costs, and they address the largest source of carbon pollution in the United States,” the governors wrote, including three Republicans and governors of four states that voted for Mr. Trump in 2016.

In other climate news, an oil services company said it had no plans to conduct an aerial survey of part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska this summer. That means there will most likely be no new information about potential oil and gas riches in the refuge, possibly affecting prices when drilling leases are sold this year.

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7. Serena Williams is one step closer to another Grand Slam title.

She’ll play Barbora Strycova, a Czech player who is unseeded at Wimbledon, in the semifinals on Thursday. Simona Halep and Elina Svitolina also advanced. The men’s singles quarterfinals are Wednesday.

And tonight is the M.L.B. All-Star Game, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern (Fox). Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros is pitching for the American League, but it may be past his bedtime. He sleeps at least 10 hours a night.

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8. Aziz Ansari is back.

His new Netflix comedy special, “Right Now,” is framed around his personal story, addressing accusations of sexual misconduct in “his finest, boldest and probably most polarizing work,” our reviewer writes.

Also on TV: “Love Island,” the raunchy, bizarre British reality TV dating show with millions of viewers, is coming to America. It airs tonight on CBS. Here’s what you need to know.

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9. Come with us to the center of the (ancient Greek) world.

While most travelers tend to use Athens as their base for seeing Greece’s classical highlights, choosing Delphi as an exploratory hub can bring unexpected rewards, our writer found. She found visiting the Oracle at Delphi nothing short of soul-stirring. Above, the port of Galaxidi.

Traveling with a group this summer? Here are some tips and tools to help plan your next group getaway (and avoid the logistical nightmares).

Separately, our Travel desk will buy carbon offsets for its staff writers on assignment. “It’s a start,” the travel editor writes.

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10. And now the final course.

To the chagrin of sweet tooths everywhere, dessert menus have been shrinking. Los Angeles is going in the other direction.

From jiggly cathedral window cakes, above, to chocolate soufflés, our California restaurant critic identifies the new restaurants making the case for a little sugar.

“Each put forward the sort of proper, go-getting, surprising plated desserts that I rarely see,” Tejal Rao writes, “the kind that do what dessert is meant to do and reward you, in meaningful ways, for saving a little room.”

Have a delectable night.

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Correction: An earlier version of the Briefing incorrectly referred to an Astro’s pitcher. He is Justin Verlander, not Jason Verlander.

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