A Climate Warning From the Fertile Crescent

In Iraq, the landscape that cradled civilization is enduring a water crisis with profound implications.

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Trump’s Return to Power Elevates Ever Fringier Conspiracy Theories

At every level of government, authority figures are embracing once-extreme ideas, including that the Earth is flat or that the state controls the weather.

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The Stakes for OpenAI’s Plan B

The giant artificial intelligence start-up dialed back its corporate reorganization plan, but big questions remain about its future.

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Toy Shop Owner Fears Tariffs Will Mean a Bleak Christmas

Jennifer Bergman, who owns West Side Kids, said she would have to shut down if she doesn’t have toys to sell. Her mother opened the store more than 40 years ago.

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G.O.P. Targets a Medicaid Loophole Used by 49 States to Grab Federal Money

States have long used taxes on hospitals and nursing homes to increase federal matching funds. If Republicans end the tactic, red states could feel the most pain.

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How Democrats Hope to Overcome a Daunting 2026 Senate Map

Facing long odds to retake a majority, Senator Chuck Schumer and his allies are trying to think outside the box and recruit candidates who might be able to pull off upsets in red states.

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‘The Only Person in the World Claiming to Be the Pope Right Now’

It’s Danny Kind, and he’s not even Catholic. But he’s in a college class that simulated the conclave of 1492. (There were costumes, bribes and Oreos.)

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King Charles III and Queen Camilla Unveil Coronation Portraits

A painting of the monarch in the regalia of the crowning ceremony is a royal tradition.

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Carney to Meet With Trump on a High-Stakes Visit to the White House

The Canadian prime minister will meet with President Trump, days after being elected on an anti-Trump platform as relations between the two allies are at a historic nadir.

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Merz Fails in First Parliament Vote to Become Germany’s Next Chancellor

The setback was likely temporary, but it was historic. No modern German chancellor has ever failed to secure the job on a first ballot in Parliament.

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