By NICHOLAS KRISTOF After Elon Musk “spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” as he put it last year, he and President Donald Trump scoffed that American humanitarian aid was, in effect, woke nonsense. Yet in reality American humanitarian aid not only saved one life every 10 seconds but was also safeguarding the world from epidemics. So now we face a rapidly increasing outbreak of Ebola, and the Trump administration is finding that some of the things that went

A rosary and iPhone, brought by an attendee for Pope Leo XIV’s first remarks from St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, May 8, 2025. (Camillo Pasquarelli/The New York Times) By ROSS DOUTHAT Of all the reactions to Pope Leo XIV’s manifesto on artificial intelligence, from its liberal humanist appreciators to its digital-consciousness-believing critics, one of the most notable is the disappointment of the AI skeptics who think the pope didn’t go nearly far enough. Writing in Co

By M. GESSEN “They walk among us.” The glowing green letters emerge ominously against a dark backdrop. Above them hover the words “aliens” and “declassified,” suggesting the release — long awaited in some corners of the internet — of secret government files concerning extraterrestrials. Slowly, tantalizingly, more text appears: “For 60 years, the U.S. government has kept a closely guarded secret.” Then the big reveal: It’s not the trailer for a horror film; it’s a White House

American flags are displayed on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 3, 2025. (Mark Peterson/The New York Times) By THE EDITORIAL BOARD In the 20th century, Americans learned how government abuse of secrets can threaten liberty. It happened during Woodrow Wilson’s presidency, the McCarthy era and J. Edgar Hoover’s long reign at the FBI. After the Watergate scandal, however, Democrats and Republicans joined forces to put in place new rules and procedures to prevent federal officia

Construction workers etched President Donald Trump’s name on the Kennedy Center in Washington, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. A federal judge in Washington ordered on Friday, May 29, 2026, that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts remove President Trump’s name from the building’s facade and all official branding, finding that the board’s decision to add it was unlawful. (Eric Lee/The New York Times) By BRET STEPHENS To: Our greatest president From: Your greatest fans

The Meta data center in Covington, Ga., Sept. 14, 2017. “AI is here. It will be used,” Times columnist Ezra Klein writes. “But how it is used, for what and by whom are meaningful questions.” (Dustin Chambers/The New York Times) By EZRA KLEIN So far, the policy conversation about artificial intelligence has focused on preventing harms to the public. What if AI leads to mass job loss? What if it’s used for surveillance? For bioweapons? What if it concentrates wealth and power i

Homes on Church Street in Stockbridge, Mass., on Nov. 2, 2025. “... Massachusetts has a fundamental problem that prevents many people from living the good life there: They cannot afford a home,” the Times Editorial Board writes. (Patrick Dodson/The New York Times) By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Massachusetts is an economic success story. The state’s leaders have leveraged its strong K-12 school system and excellent universities to build booming biotechnology and medical care industri

Farm pigs in Ionia, Iowa, Dec. 13, 2012. (Stephen Mally/The New York Times) By NICHOLAS KRISTOF We raised pigs for a time on our family farm in Oregon when I was a teenager, and they had stronger personalities than some of my human friends. While some of our pigs were friendly, docile or ingratiating, one sow named Brunhilda was grumpy, vocal and very strong-willed. But she was a devoted mom, constantly checking on her piglets and leading them around our farm — while showing

President Donald Trump gestures near an American flag after speaking at a rally in Suffern, N.Y., May 22, 2026. “The global economy needs an end to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz lest energy prices rise even higher,” writes The New York Times columnist Bret Stephens. (Damon Winter/The New York Times) By BRET STEPHENS It isn’t hard to see the case for striking a deal with Iran, one that will turn the current shaky ceasefire into a long-term truce. The global economy need

A Memorial Day ceremony in San Juan on Monday, May 25, 2026. May 23, 2026 To Hon Donald Trump President White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington DC 20500 RE: THE DENIAL OF VOTING RIGHTS IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS TO THE AMERICAN CITIZENS RESIDENTS OF PUERTO RICO BASED ON THE WAY THEY MAY VOTE (DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN) UNDER STATEHOOD Dear President Trump: I am a Republican, and have supported both of your administrations, but not your political denial of voting rights to the