World
Top Stories:- The world would starve without them. Now small farmers are fighting for their future.
Small farmers are protesting rising costs and environmental regulations. Can they survive in the modern world?
- The U.S. is building a $320 million floating aid pier. Hamas says they'll resist it.
At least 90 truckloads of aid a day will be able to enter the Gaza Strip after the construction of a $320 million floating pier. The U.S. military is working with the Israeli military engineering unit to get the floating platform operating by early May.
- After a violent coup, the Taliban turn their sights to boosting tourism
Since taking over Afghanistan, Taliban officials have invested in a hospitality school in the hopes of increasing tourism. To entice Western visitors, luxury hotels provide women from other countries more freedoms than local women.
- Gaza cease-fire talks: Egypt, US hopeful a formula has been found
With Gaza talks being conducted in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar, there is a sense of hope in the Middle East for what diplomats are calling a “last best chance” for a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement.
- Scotland’s leader resigns. His government couldn’t agree on climate change, health care.
Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister, resigned as his government coalition collapsed. Transgender care and tackling climate change were just some of the issues that weakened Mr. Yousaf’s government.
USA
Top Stories:- Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction was overturned. What does that mean for #MeToo?
While women's rights experts say the overturned conviction of Harvey Weinstein is dispiriting, they point to substantive #MeToo progress that is tough to undo.
- Americans don’t trust self-driving semis. We’re about to share the road with them.
Aurora Innovation plans to put driverless tractor-trailer trucks on Interstate 45 later this year. Autonomous trucks will be safer than human drivers, experts say, but the vehicles have drawn skepticism from safety advocates.
- Beyond TikTok ban: How one state is grappling with teens and scrolling
Teens and officials recognize social media can have both positive and harmful effects on mental health. New York state is seeking a middle ground on finding solutions.
- Competing pressures of activism, order test US colleges
As calls for campus order and safety rise alongside voices of anti-Israel protest, colleges and their leaders are facing an extraordinary test. The pressures are coming from both inside and outside.
- Trump hush money trial after Week 1: Fees, favors, and a tabloid publisher
The role of David Pecker in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has underscored how much Mr. Trump and tabloid publishing have had in common.
Commentary
Top Stories:- Neighborly nudge to rehabilitate Haiti
The selection of interim leaders for the gang-ruled country only happened after other Caribbean states saw a need to fill a power vacuum.
- A tender way to treat armed militias
Latin America has two models for eradicating violent crime. One is rooted in dignity and forgiveness.
- 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?
- The best way to fix a democracy
Surveys tell us that people around the world are not too enthusiastic about democracies, but few want to change to a different form of government. The change voters do want? Better politicians who listen to constituents and act ethically.
- Whose betrayal? Our latest Rebuilding Trust story sparks internal debate.
The murder of French teacher Samuel Paty after he displayed satirical pictures of the Prophet Muhammad to his class shook the country. Our story delves into the sense of betrayal felt by the teachers toward students at the school. Might some Muslim students have felt a sense of betrayal, too?
Economy
Top Stories:- 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.
- In the wake of high-profile near misses, senators ask: Is Boeing doing enough?
A Boeing engineer told lawmakers the company has been taking manufacturing shortcuts that led to “putting out defective airplanes,” part of a larger suite of allegations in the wake of a 737 Max flight that saw its door plug blow out in midair.
- Pay was starting to outpace US inflation. Can it keep up?
Stubborn inflation is not only upsetting investors who await interest rate cuts. It’s also threatening to undermine the rise in workers’ real wages.
Environment
Top Stories:- 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.
- Are world’s 200 million pastoral herders a climate threat?
A U.N. report suggests that pastoralism may be part of the global emissions problem. Some researchers see the climate math on herders differently.
- Think red-hot heat’s bad? Just wait until code magenta.
A new warning tool created by the National Weather Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aims to respond to the increasing dangers of severe heat. The system offers a seven-day forecast with risks from minimal to extreme.
- Charting the rise of plastic pollution – and solutions
Plastic pollution is a focus of Earth Day and of global treaty talks. Our story and charts show the scale of the problem and possible paths toward solutions.
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:- 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.
- A solar eclipse is coming April 8. Here’s what you need to know.
The total solar eclipse on April 8 will be visible to millions of Americans. Here’s a guide to how and where to watch it and what to expect.
Culture
Top Stories:- 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.
- 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.
- Breaking a 92-year barrier, Choctaw artist brings native brilliance to Venice Biennale
A Mississippi Choctaw with Cherokee descent, Jeffrey Gibson is the first Native American to represent the U.S. solo at the Venice Biennale, a celebration of the arts in Italy. He uses color and craft to respond to historical traumas and pursue healing.
- ‘We Grown Now’ review: Amid gritty Chicago reality, two friends embrace childhood
For the Monitor’s reviewer, the young boys in “We Grown Now” exude something that is often difficult to find believable amid tough surroundings: innocence. The new film, he says, honors “just being a kid.”
Books
Top Stories:- 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.
- Slavery isn’t just a Southern story. The North benefited from stolen labor.
“The Stolen Wealth of Slavery” traces the financial profits from enslaved labor, which fueled the rise of Northern banking institutions – some of which still exist.
- Slavery isn’t just a Southern story. The North benefited from stolen labor.
“The Stolen Wealth of Slavery” traces the financial profits from enslaved labor, which fueled the rise of Northern banking institutions – some of which still exist.