World
Top Stories:- Young Poles led a political revolution. Now they need to learn patience.
Six months ago, young Poles helped vote out eight years of backsliding conservative rule. But will their enthusiasm persist amid the realities of governance?
- For Moscow, the war in Ukraine is a rerun of World War II
The Kremlin presents its war in Ukraine as a continuation of Moscow’s fight against Nazism in World War II. An exhibition of captured arms illustrates how.
- En garde! Fencing draws Nairobi youngsters away from guns.
A fencing club in Nairobi, Kenya, is expanding the sport’s reach and trying to send athletes to the Olympics.
- Negotiate or attack: In Rafah, Israel’s options conflict in real time
From the start of the war in Gaza seven months ago, Israel's dual war aims – rescuing hostages and defeating Hamas – have been in tension. As pressures mount on Israel to choose between a cease-fire and an invasion of Rafah, that tension is soaring.
- Caregiving burdens fall on women. This Nigerian woman wants to change that.
Most of the world’s caregiving is done by women, often at great personal cost. One woman in Nigeria is helping change that in her community.
USA
Top Stories:- Israel arms shipment on hold as US weighs new accountability
America’s role as a major backer of Israel’s military is coming under rare, rising scrutiny due to the war in Gaza. Our charts put the debate in context.
- Colorado has a history of mass shootings. But Democrats nixed recent gun control bill.
Colorado has a checkered past when it comes to guns. Democrats recently joined Republicans in the state house to defeat a semi-automatic weapons ban to find a solution that satisfies both the state’s hunters and those affected by mass shootings.
- Columbia Law grads lost commencement. And clerkships, as judges boycott alums.
Federal clerkships are prestigious and hard to secure positions for many law school graduates. But those few spots may diminish even further for Columbia Law graduates after some conservative judges announced a boycott on hiring them.
- Trump vows to fire bureaucrats. Here’s why Biden is trying to stop him.
Americans have declining confidence in the civil service. The two presidential front-runners disagree on whether these workers are nonpartisan.
- Teacher apprentice programs are growing. Nevada offers a model.
One obstacle keeping people from careers in teaching is the cost of training. Enter apprenticeship programs.
Commentary
Top Stories:- The idea factory in artificial intelligence
Economists find that AI’s potential in boosting productivity may lie in the notion of an infinite supply of ideas.
- Want to help solve political polarization? Maybe start with civility.
Polarization and mistrust are high in American politics today. How do we get out of that spiral? A conversation with Alexandra Hudson offers clues.
- Recipe for honesty in Guatemala
A Central American society embraces the patient work of dissolving corruption through integrity and transparency.
- The alternative to campus protests
At many universities, finding solutions to Middle East issues relies on what higher education does best: provide instead safe places for thinkers to discover and share ideas among equals.
- Where do the Jetsons get their kale?
Farmers worldwide are caught between cheap and efficient large-scale operations that raze the earth, and expensive small-scale practices that regenerate instead of damage. Is there a realistic compromise?
Economy
Top Stories:- AI may take away jobs – but it’s creating some, too
The impact of AI on America’s economy is more limited than previously thought. Some now say it could help low-skill workers be more productive.
- ‘Divest from Israel’: Easy slogan, challenging for universities
Getting universities to divest from companies that support Israel is not as simple as many student protesters hope.
- Shell corporations? Hawaiian farmers push a plan to counter island macadamia posers.
Hundreds of small Hawaii farmers rely on the lucrative macadamia crop. But, like maple syrup producers in Vermont and distilleries in Champagne, France, they’re starting to face the imposition of nuts grown off the islands and sold with Hawaiian branding.
- Tennessee win for UAW could open road for labor in South
For the first time the UAW has successfully organized a foreign-owned auto plant in the South – a move that helps change the image of labor in decline.
- Charging – and charging for it: How EV owners could sell power back to the grid
Bidirectional EV charging would expand power grids by allowing cars to store energy at night, then sell it back to utilities during peak daylight hours. That would mostly benefit drivers – but automakers are also eyeing ways to get a cut of the surplus.
Environment
Top Stories:- Tesla news looks grim. But the bigger picture for EVs is a bright one.
Headlines suggest the shift to electric vehicles is hitting roadblocks. Evidence points to an industry that’s continuing to grow and innovate.
- ‘We’re living climate change now.’ Latin Americans bring climate worries to high court.
Victims of climate change in Latin America are bringing their complaints to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The findings of the court could help shape better policy and laws, saving countless lives and bolstering infrastructure.
- Stories of resilience: Bees make a comeback, and how immigrants lift economies
Progress roundup: Bee colonies are on the rise, Venezuelan migrants benefit their adopted countries, and an ancient irrigation system in Oman still works.
- Solar panels are spreading over Midwest farms – and edging out the crops
Solar energy companies are leasing thousands of acres of land from Midwestern farmers, which can hinder crop-growing or grazing livestock there. It’s a tradeoff between expanding renewables and giving up future yields.
- New EPA rule sets deadline for coal fired-plants: Clean up or shut down
The Biden administration has taken its most aggressive action yet on cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the private sector. That includes a strict ultimatum for coal-fired power plants.
Technology
Top Stories:- Georgia leads toward a nuclear future with its first operating reactor
Georgia Power Co. announced one of its two new reactors reached self-sustaining nuclear fission on Monday. The announcement is a key step toward reaching commercial operation of nuclear energy in the United States.
- Cellphone at 50: Its inventor reflects on mobile advances and risks
Cellphone inventor Martin Cooper, who placed the first mobile call on April 3, 1973, remains hopeful the technology can transform lives, but he’s also concerned about its impact. “We don’t have any privacy anymore,” Mr. Cooper said at a trade show in Spain.
- What links toothbrushes and weapons systems? A $52 billion investment.
The U.S. government has reached a rare bipartisan agreement to invest $52 billion to develop advanced computer chips. Factories, autos, appliances, electronics, toys, toothbrushes, and weapons systems all depend on semiconductors.
- Internet speech: Supreme Court to weigh who is protected online
Two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court this week challenge Section 230, a 1996 law that protects tech companies from liability for material posted on their networks. The cases are part of a global trend toward holding social media platforms accountable.
- ‘Tremendous potential’: Why some disability advocates laud ChatGPT
ChatGPT has spurred lively conversations about the role of educational technology. While some colleges and universities are cracking down on ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot, other educators believe ChatGPT could help with assisted learning.
Science
Top Stories:- Scientists recorded sperm whales. Their pod-casts offer hints on how they talk.
For years, researchers have tried to link sperm whales’ underwater clicks to the meanings they communicate. A new study of their codas could serve as the basis for future translations of their alphabet.
- Hey now, you’re a dead star. Meet Gaia, the Milky Way’s second-largest black hole.
A black hole named Gaia BH3, 33 times greater in size than the sun, was discovered 2,000 light years from Earth. The only other in our Milky Way galaxy, Sagittarius, is 26,000 light years away from Earth and traveling in the opposite direction.
- Some things are worth missing school for. An eclipse road trip, and a search for wonder.
Our reporter, like many parents, wanted his son to experience the wonder of a total solar eclipse. As so often happens with parenting, the one left most in awe by the celestial event was not the fifth grader.
- Howling at the moon on a Monday afternoon. Eclipse brings thousands to Vermont.
In a country seemingly fractured about most things, on Monday, Americans came together under one sky.
- Project ‘Frozen Dumbo’ helps boost dwindling African elephant populations
Factors such as poaching and habitat loss have decimated wild African elephant populations. Operation “Frozen Dumbo” aims to bolster the animals’ numbers in the wild and in zoos.
Culture
Top Stories:- In cleaning up my corner of the world, I reclaimed my trust in others
As we stooped down to pick up litter, my neighbors and I rose above our partisan differences.
- NBA playoffs without Curry? James? Durant? A new guard rises in basketball.
For the first time in 15 seasons, the second round of the NBA playoffs will be without the familiar trio of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant.
- Gardening lessons: Planting hope and harvesting peace of mind
Gardening was a central part of my grandma’s life. Her pleasures were simple: She found a storehouse of riches in her backyard garden.
- Why Ugandan farmers gladly grow crops for chimps
With encouragement from the Jane Goodall Institute, Ugandan farmers are playing an important role in lessening tensions between people and chimps.
- Singer Laura Veirs finds creativity everywhere – bikes, skates, power saws
For some artists, inspiration comes when ideas flow naturally, rather than being demanded. With the release of her latest album, songwriter Laura Veirs reflects on how creativity manifests itself.
Books
Top Stories:- Audubon’s exquisite bird paintings owe a debt to classical European art
“Audubon as Artist” plunges into John James Audubon’s fascination with classical European art, which influenced his celebrated bird paintings.
- Do diverse police departments use less force? She trained with cops to find out.
After a year training at police academies, sociologist Samantha J. Simon finds that it’s going to take more than diversity initiatives to change police culture.
- Millions of adults need help reading. Why the US needs to change course.
As the U.S. considers how to improve reading instruction for young students, it shouldn't forget grown-ups, our commentator says. How could their hopes be better addressed?
- ‘Real Americans’ explores the pressure to be exceptional
Rachel Khong’s second novel, a multi-generational tale of two intertwined families, flags problematic attempts to shape and control identity.
- In Kentucky, the oldest Black independent library is still making history
Western Library is the oldest Black library still independently run in the U.S. Its current librarian has made it her mission to share its history with her community.