JANUARY 16. 2026

The Biggest Challenges Trump Faces in His Second Year

From Russia-Ukraine to the U. S. midterms, Trump faces a bumpier year at home and abroad.

Baltic Cable-Cutting Is Back

Renewed attacks pose a continuing challenge for Europe at a difficult moment.

Trump’s Cuba Calculus

The U. S. president has his sights on the island. But it’s a very different case from Venezuela.

Trump’s War on America

“It’s not just clashes between protesters and ICE; it’s an attack on basic rights that we’ve taken for granted, ” says Minnesota Public Radio reporter Jon Collins.

Trump’s EPA is taking itself out of the regulation game

The agency has long tried to curb carbon emissions and protect human health. Critics say that under Trump it is giving up on both.

Trump is trying to kill clean energy. The market has other plans.

The administration has done real damage to climate action, experts say. But in many ways, renewables are unstoppable.

Daria Egereva fought for Indigenous voices at the U. N. Now she’s in a Russian jail.

Observers say Egereva’s case highlights the risks Indigenous advocates face when they challenge powerful governments on climate and human rights.

The green passion pay gap

A passion pay gap - where professionals accept lower pay because they care deeply about the work - is undermining net zero goals.

JANUARY 15. 2026

The EU’s Regulatory Retreat on ESG Risks Reigniting Financial Instability

The rush to "simplify" sustainability reporting ignores the lessons of 2008 and imperils Europe's financial system.

Romania’s Tiger Economy Is Running Out of Fuel

The EU's fastest-growing economy of the past two decades risks stalling unless it dramatically increases its rock-bottom spending on research and education.

Europe United, Europe Alone

As Trump doubles down on Greenland, Europe doubles down on Europe.

Is the Iran Crisis Over?

Trump said the killing has stopped, but a lot is up in the air.

Europe Confronts Trump’s Greenland Ambitions

Deploying troops to the island signals European unity in the face of the White House’s belligerence.

How Trump’s Pressure Tactics Sank the Venezuela War Powers Debate

Senate Republicans successfully used a controversial procedural tactic to strip a war powers resolution of its privileged status.

Despite Court Ruling, ICE Can’t Detain Mahmoud Khalil — For Now

Mahmoud Khalil has 45 days to appeal Thursday’s decision, his attorney told The Intercept.

Taiwan Announced Billions More for Defense. Here’s How It Can Deliver.

A new annual strategy document would streamline spending and signal seriousness to allies.

FBI Raid on WaPo Reporter’s Home Was Based on Sham Pretext

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision to rescind rules protecting journalists are being used as a cudgel to attack the First Amendment.

Tank and Chamber

Rarely considered together, the intertwined legacy of this odd couple, Skinner and Lilly, has given us the world we live in now: the world of surveillance capitalism and generative AI, of high-tech woo-woo and algorithmic self-optimization, a world that is a weird and improbable synthesis between the visions of these two era-defining midcentury mind scientists. Each of these documentaries is a deft archival dive, and, taken together, they give us a new angle on this pair, the unacknowledged Romulus and Remus of contemporary technocapitalism.

New Bill Would Put Basic Limits on ICE Use of Force After Minneapolis Killing

Rep. Delia Ramirez called her bill “the bare minimum” to rein in ICE while Democratic leadership remains resistant to abolishing the agency.

You Are Who Eats You

Dunn was quite possibly the last writer anyone would have expected to resurface, after nearly two decades of silence, with the 1989 bestseller and finalist for the National Book Award.