Search - about-us

 
 
Then Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and U.S. President Donald Trump meet during their final debate ahead of the 2020 election, in Nashville, Tennessee, in October of that year.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2023

Trump vs. Biden: Do American voters want either?

Confidence among the American public in their leaders and in their political system continues to erode.
The Feels, a new kind of dating event for New York singles, fast-tracks intimacy by fusing mindfulness practices like meditation, unnaturally long eye contact and even feeling each other’s heartbeats.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 7, 2023

Out with speed dating, in with speed intimacy

The event, known as the Feels, fast-tracks intimacy through meditation, unnaturally long eye contact and even feeling each other’s heartbeats.
Most projections show the world will hit peak humanity in the 21st century as people choose to have smaller families and women gain power over their own reproduction.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2023

Don’t worry about global population collapse

While environmentalists have long warned of a planet with too many people, now some economists are warning of a future with too few.
A portion of a Microsoft data center that supports the Pentagon, and is next door to a bitcoin mine operated by Chinese-owned Bit Origin, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Sept. 29. Aside from the intelligence-gathering concerns over Chinese bitcoin mines in the U.S., the energy sucking facilities can also put immense pressure on power grids.
WORLD
Oct 14, 2023

Across U.S., Chinese bitcoin mines draw national security scrutiny

Microsoft reported one site in because of its proximity to a nuclear missile base. Other cryptocurrency facilities have ties to the Chinese state.
Cooling towers and reactors at a nuclear power plant in Cattenom, France
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 17, 2023

Nukefluencers are on a quest to push clean power from reactors

Influencers are tapping into a generation that’s increasingly anxious about climate change by focusing on how nuclear energy is carbon-free.
A screen displays the amount of time Israeli hostages have been held by Hamas militants since they were abducted on Oct. 7, at an event marking the Jewish Sabbath held for families, friends and supporters, in Tel Aviv on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 11, 2023

Israel eyeing deal for Hamas to release all civilian hostages in Gaza

The two sides are negotiating two proposals, one involving a small number of people and one that could involve 100 or more civilians.
A man walks through the Central Business District on a rainy day, in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2023

West's de-risking starts to bite China's prospects

China is outwardly confident about growth despite a global economic slowdown
Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer near Borova-Svatove, in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region on Wedesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 8, 2023

Ukraine carries on fight while pondering an erosion of U.S. aid

Officials in Kyiv are racing to bolster their nation’s military capabilities and deepen ties with other allies who remain steadfast in their support.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after testifying in his civil fraud trial at the State Supreme Court building in Manhattan,  New York, on Nov. 6.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2023

Material from Russia probe went missing as Trump left office

A binder given to the Trump White House contained details that intelligence agencies believe could reveal secret sources and methods.
Claudine Gay, former president of Harvard University
WORLD / Politics
Jan 4, 2024

Harvard chief’s abrupt exit exposes decade-spanning rifts

The school’s first Black leader resigned after just six months due to plagiarism allegations and anger over her handling of antisemitism on campus.
A bottle of Bayer AG Roundup brand weedkiller concentrate
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024

Bayer faces billions in Roundup claims as legal strategy falls short

In the firm's biggest courtroom loss so far, a jury awarded $2.25 billion to a former user who blamed his cancer diagnosis on exposure to the herbicide.
At the heart of European Union thinking about economic security is fear that economic dependencies will be weaponized.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2024

EU’s dilemma: balancing national and economic security

At the heart of EU thinking about economic security is fear that economic dependencies will be weaponized.
The title monster in “Godzilla Minus One” is a threat, of course, but the real story is about finding community in the wake of destruction.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2024

‘Godzilla Minus One’ stomps into ‘Oppenheimer’ territory

Those movies, along with “The Boy and the Heron,” are essentially in conversation about the moral weight of American and Japanese actions in World War II.
A man walks through panels at a solar power plant under construction in Aksu, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, in 2012.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2024

Banned Chinese solar goods worth billions find route to U.S. via India

Amid a solar boom, India’s largest panel-maker has sent millions of panels to the U.S. made with parts from a Chinese firm denied entry to the U.S. market.
The war in Ukraine has pitted the United States and its allies against Russian President Vladimir Putin (center).
WORLD / Politics
Feb 15, 2024

Russia’s advances on space-based nuclear weapon alarm the U.S.

A satellite-killing weapon, if deployed, could destroy civilian communications, surveillance from space and military command-and-control operations.
Ukrainian police officers and rescue workers clear away the rubble of a destroyed house after a Russian rocket attack in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2024

Ukraine’s allies are gaming out a world where the U.S. retreats

NATO members are beginning to doubt the U.S. will maintain its traditional role of protecting Europe as part of the alliance.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 29, 2024

Politicians betting the earth on climate backlash in election year

Moves to roll back green policies and downplay climate change within the world's top climate polluters follow the hottest year on record.
BASEBALL / MLB / EXPLAINER
Mar 25, 2024

Ohtani’s former interpreter’s gambling scandal: What we know so far

Here is a breakdown of events leading to the interpreter’s firing ahead of the baseball superstar's plan to speak to the media about the scandal.
Tesla Model 3 assembly line at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, in 2018. Before the Shanghai plant opened, Fremont was Tesla’s principal factory.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024

A pivot to China saved Elon Musk. It also binds him to Beijing.

Musk is now treading a fine line, sounding the alarm about Chinese rivals, even as he remains reliant on the Chinese market.
A lone Tesla charges in the basement of a commercial property in Tokyo. One of Japan’s biggest obstacles to electric vehicles is subpar charging infrastructure.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2024

How three high-tech countries became laggards in electric vehicles

Japan's slow adoption traces back to a decade-old bet on hydrogen fuel-cell technology, while U.S. and South Korea have hit bottlenecks.
Tests for patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. According to the Alzheimer's Association, the disease is estimated to affect more than 6 million Americans.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 24, 2024

Alzheimer's drug adoption in U.S. slowed by doctors' skepticism

There is an entrenched belief among some doctors that treating the memory-robbing disease is futile.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his attorney, Todd Blanche, at Manhattan criminal court in New York on Tuesday. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters during his 2016 presidential campaign.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2024

Trump’s private life exposed in intimate Stormy Daniels testimony

The remarkable testimony is the latest example of how Trump’s dealings with women are coming back to haunt him in court.
Supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump, including Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (center), Republican Florida Rep. Cory Mills (center right) and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (second from right), listen as Trump speaks after court proceedings ended for the day in his trial at Manhattan criminal court, on Tuesday in New York.
WORLD / Politics
May 18, 2024

Rule No. 1 to be Trump’s running mate: Defend him, but don’t steal the show

Donald Trump’s search is still in its early stages, but he is said to be leaning toward more experienced options who can help the ticket without seizing his precious spotlight.
Missile systems form part of the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9. The FBI tries to maintain a tricky balance in spy operations: the more access informants have to valuable intelligence, the higher the risk that they could be compromised.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

FBI shed informants linked to Russian influence operations

After a secret review several years ago, the bureau cut off confidential sources thought to be connected to Russian disinformation.
Supporters listen as President Joe Biden speaks at a reelection campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, one day after his debate with former President Donald Trump.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2024

The road to a crisis: How Democrats let Biden glide to renomination

Many fear U.S. President Joe Biden will lose to former President Donald Trump and drag Democrats to devastating defeats in congressional and state elections.
Several examples of rare and expensive fruits at Melissa’s Produce in Los Angeles on May 22.
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2024

The world of luxury fruit: Does a $156 melon taste sweeter?

The United States is developing an appetite for luxury fruits long known in countries like Japan and South Korea.
Baseballs fans wear jerseys of the South Korean-born San Diego Padres player Kim Ha-Seong and the Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani in Seoul. Many South Koreans have embraced Ohtani, who is Japanese, despite the countries' historic rivalry.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 5, 2024

How long do the memories of a generation last?

The dominant culture of an era can be passed on to the next generation, but struggles to reach the one after that. This has implications for Japan-South Korea relations.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks to the women and men's National Collegiate Athletic Association champion teams in her first public appearance since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 27, 2024

Silent no more, Harris seeks her own voice without breaking with Biden

The U.S. vice president's expressions of concern for Palestinian suffering marked a shift in emphasis from the president’s statements.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden hold a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on July 25.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 4, 2024

Killing of Hamas leader fuels more tension between Biden and Netanyahu

The U.S. president has expressed concern that the assassination has thrown cease-fire talks into doubt, something the Israeli leader rejects.
The scariest aspect of America’s recent debate is that Trump’s over-the-top comments revealed a serious risk that needs global attention, not just in the U.S.
COMMENTARY
Sep 15, 2024

Trump is right about WWIII, wrong on the analysis

The risks of nuclear war go beyond campaign hyperbole. What, though, should the U.S. do? Prepare for World War III? If it’s coming anyway, that would seem prudent.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?