Texas Prof Banned from Teaching Plato • Chatbots Have Favourite Philosophers • Singer Fears AI Doesn’t ‘Get’ Animal Rights — News reports by Anja Steinbauer
Brian O’Hara, who took over a troubled police force and has spent years rebuilding community trust, fears the long-term damage wrought by federal agents.
President Trump’s extraordinary comments were the latest iteration of his unsubstantiated claims that U.S. elections are rigged as Republicans face potentially big losses this fall.
Have Donald Trump’s hard talk and the arrival of a strike-ready flotilla finally made Tehran blink? It certainly seemed so by Monday evening, when Iran said it was willing to talk. A week of trading threats turned to strong indications that Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy, and Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s minister for foreign affairs, were readying to meet in Istanbul on Friday. In this week’s big story, Ashifa Kassam and Andrew Roth chart how momentum to war slowed and fears of a wider regional conflict eased, albeit marginally.
The background to Trump’s war of words against Tehran was the huge protests that rocked Iran last month, until they were brutally repressed by the regime. Analysts suggest a fragile domestic security situation prompted the Iranian government’s softening towards US demands. Our diplomatic editor and longtime Iran watcher, Patrick Wintour, explains that while the streets are now quiet, a shift in the balance of power between the people and the government has emboldened domestic demands for a full investigation of the killing and imprisonment of protesters.
Spotlight | The Epstein files, part two Daniel Boffey details the biggest bombshell among the 3m newly released documents: disgraced former minister Peter Mandelson’s deep and compromising relationship with the convicted paedophile
Environment | Nature runs wild in Fukushima Free of human habitation after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown, Fukushima is now teeming with wildlife. But this haven could vanish if people come back, finds Justin McCurry
Features | From hope to despair The postwar new town of Newton Aycliffe with its boarded up shops is a symbol of the Britain’s economic gloom – and a warning for Labour as it battles the rise of Reform UK, reports Josh Halliday
Opinion | Art, groceries, Greenland – thieves are everywhere Jonathan Liew reflects on how we all seem to live in a world defined by petty theft and no one, whether it’s the pickpocket or the big AI company, seems to get punished
Culture | Small acts of magic Mackenzie Crook tells Zoe Williams how his approach to comedy has mellowed with age. Gone is the nervous, awkward energy of Gareth from The Office, to be replaced by the gentle curiosity that animates his new series Small Prophets
President Trump’s comments, made on a conservative podcast, follow a string of moves from his administration to try to exert more control over U.S. elections.
On Eve of Peace Talks, Russia Hits Power Plants in Frigid Ukraine
Missiles targeted electrical facilities in Kyiv and other parts of the country, according to local officials, despite President Trump’s request for a pause.
China’s Generals Are Disappearing
For three years, Xi Jinping has been cleaning out his military elite, bringing high-level dismissals and disappearances to nearly every arm of the military.
THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE: The latest issue features Nathan Heller on Gavin Newsom, Joshua Yaffa on Russia’s single-use agents, Michael Schulman on A.I. in film, and more.
California’s governor has been touted as the Democrats’ best shot in 2028. But first he’ll need to convince voters that he’s not just a slick establishment politician. By Nathan Heller
How Russian military intelligence is recruiting young people online to carry out espionage, arson, and other attacks across the Continent. By Joshua Yaffa
Amid calls to increase transparency and revelations about the court’s workings, the chief justice imposed nondisclosure agreements on clerks and employees.
The Minnesota-based retail chain has avoided criticizing anyone, even after federal agents detained two employees. Its new C.E.O. faces pressure to do more.
A policy intended to keep immigrants detained indefinitely has led to a deluge of lawsuits, overwhelming some federal courts and resulting in many releases.
Boomers Daily 