Monday Mix

HEADLINES:

• Judge dismisses Trump $10B defamation lawsuit against Murdoch, WSJ about Epstein letter (CNBC)

• Pope Leo says he has ‘no fear’ after Trump labels him ‘weak’ and ‘terrible’ in feud over Iran war (NBC)

• Why Trump is threatening to blockade a strait that Iran is already blockading (CNN)

• Starmer says UK will not support US blockade of Strait of Hormuz (Al Jazeera)

• Hungary election: Trump ally Viktor Orbán concedes defeat after 16 years as prime minister (CNN)

• Hungary’s Orban, Beacon to the Right, Concedes Election Defeat (NYT)

• ‘Everything is gone’: Israel destroys entire villages in Lebanon (Guardian)

• Iranians left disappointed but defiant after failure of peace talks with US (AP)

• Iran Has Thousands of Missiles and Could Retrieve Launchers, U.S. Intelligence Finds (WSJ)

• Fees for seas: a history of taxing waterways (FT)

• 21 Hours in Pakistan: How Vance Tried and Failed to End a War He Opposed (NYT)

• China, Iran weaponized global economy to beat U.S. at its own game (WP)

• Ex-CIA director calls for ousting Trump: ‘25th amendment was written with him in mind’ (Guardian)

• Swalwell Suspends Campaign for California Governor Amid Sexual Assault Accusations (NYT)

• Some House members say they’ll vote to expel Reps. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales (NBC)

• What spending probes at DHS reveal about Kristi Noem’s time in office (WP)

• Years of drought has major energy port of Corpus Christi, Texas, wrestling with water crisis (AP)

• China says it will resume some ties with Taiwan after visit by opposition leader (Politico)

• Where Does Our Free Time Go in Retirement? Too Often, It’s Social Media (WSJ)

• America’s new retirement age (BI)

• ‘There’s a lot of desperation’: skilled older workers turn to AI training to stay afloat (Guardian)

• How AI is getting better at finding security holes (NPR)

• CBS Announces Retirement Of Longtime Masters Commentators Captain Cooter And The Gooch (Onion)

Big Questions for Tiny Minds

So let’s just say it’s the case that there are no new ideas. Mark Twain famously thought so. 

So does Google’s AI:

“True originality is unlikely after centuries of human thought, meaning innovation is actually the recombination, recontextualization, or new application of existing ideas. Creativity is viewed as a ‘mental kaleidoscope’ rearranging old ideas into new patterns, perspectives, or personal expressions.”

Don’t ask me why, but recently, I started watching “The Miniature Wife” on Peacock. Although the concept is reminiscent of a 1989 comedy, “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” this story is about the complex dynamics in a troubled marriage, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance as a subplot. Comedic relief is largely missing.

Elizabeth Banks plays the six-inch-tall wife, shrunk to that size by her mad scientist husband, played by Matthew Macfadyen. Unfortunately, the provocative bits of content about big questions in this series are interrupted constantly by giant ads, which sends a sad message of its own. What good is a subscription to Peacock if it only yields such an irritating format?

Meanwhile, the idea of confronting just how small our lives and concerns are in the overall scheme of things was enhanced this week by the spectacular Artemis II moon venture.

Only from outer space can we glimpse just how tiny each of us is in a vast universe of other stars and universes. Collectively, as a species, we amount to a speck in the sky.

One hopes that we as a species can learn from this insight, and that we can perhaps figure out how to do more than joke about it.

Our best scientists, artists, poets and (rare) leaders have been urging us to try and transcend our tribalism, embrace our enemies, and live in peace — but are we truly capable of that?

Check out this morning’s headlines.

Maybe it’s just too big a challenge for us, small as we are.

HEADLINES:

• Trump Says U.S. Will ‘Blockade’ Strait of Hormuz After No Peace Deal Reached (NYT)

• After collapse of U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan, the path to peace is less clear (NBC)

• World Leaders Push to Save Iran Talks Amid Israel’s Attacks in Lebanon (NYT)

• 4 ways the war in Iran has weakened the United States in the great power game (The Conversation)

• Nancy Pelosi, top Dems urge Eric Swalwell to exit governor’s race after Chronicle report (SFC)

• Investigation Opened Into Sexual Assault Allegation Against Swalwell (NYT)

• Van Hollen: Trump ‘genocide’ post shows Republican Party is ‘bankrupt’ (The Hill)

• Growing List of Orban Loyalists Defecting Before Critical Election (NYT)

• An Orban loss in Hungary’s election could be the turning point Putin fears (France24)

• Inside America’s race to hide the world’s money (Reveal)

• Longevity isn’t just about the latest gadget. The actual keys to a longer life are in plain sight (CNN)

• The Coming AI Superstorm (Dispatch)

• The 70-Person AI Image Startup Taking on Silicon Valley’s Giants (Wired)

• “AI polls” are fake polls (Silver Bulletin)

• What Anthropic’s new nightmare means, in plain English (WP)

• Scottie Scheffler’s Masters Hopes Fade After He Is Swallowed By Sandworm (Onion)

 

Kickers

Lots of writers have asked me over the years about the best way to write endings, or kickers, to their stories. This is an especially difficult question to answer when you’re telling a depressing story. How can you leave your readers with something other than an utter sense of hopelessness?

And, given the seriousness of, say, global environmental threats, should you even try to do that?

My answer is yes.

As to the how, whenever possible try to find a life-affirming aspect to whatever story you are telling, and close with that. It takes some additional reporting and some hard thinking to locate the set of facts or perspectives that may allow readers to absorb all of the bad news and still feel empowered to go on, better informed about dangers, but not necessarily bereft of hope.

Endings are as natural as beginnings. At the very end of my own stories, I like to find something to leave readers with that can encourage them to find even a small piece of inspiration going forward.

If only a joke from The Onion.

(I published the first version of this short essay 19 years ago.)

HEADLINES:

• US and Iran begin peace talks in Pakistan, according to Iranian state media (CNN)

• Vance departs for talks in Pakistan, as Israel bombs Lebanon (Al Jazeera)

• The high-stakes diplomacy that led to Pakistan hosting US-Iran peace talks (BBC)

• The US-Iran ceasefire is under strain ahead of talks, and shippers weigh unusual routes as high air cargo rates and ocean gridlock persist. (Reuters)

• Gulf states rethink security in light of US-Israel war on Iran (Guardian)

• Trump started the Iran war with 5 goals. How far has he really gotten? (WP)

• Fact-checking Trump and Hegseth’s claims of U.S. ‘victory’ in the Iran war (PBS)

• It’s Not a TACO. It’s a Surrender. (Bulwark)

• The War Is Bad. The Cease-Fire Doesn’t Exist. The Future Is Awful. (American Prospect)

• China helped broker Iran truce, but it’s wary of deeper involvement (WP)

• Iran war kicks US inflation into high gear after gas prices soar (AP)

• European stocks end higher, defense shares tumble on Ukraine-Russia deal progress reports (CNBC)

• Israel is winning wars but losing American public opinion (The Hill)

• NATO Labors to Avoid Becoming Another Casualty of the Iran War (NYT)

• A president and a pope: The world’s most influential Americans are at odds over Iran (AP)

• Swalwell Faces Sex Assault Accusations and Calls to Quit Governor’s Race (NYT)

• Every company is now a media company—and every boss a star (Economist)

• U.S. Government Moves Toward Automatic Registration for Military Draft (NYT)

• RFK Jr.’s CDC Delays Report Proving the Covid Vaccine Worked (TNR)

• Too young for the MMR shot, babies are at high risk in measles outbreaks (AP)

• Fewer and fewer older Americans are working (Axios)

• What Will Humanity Do With the Moon? (Atlantic)

• Artemis II Astronauts Exit Spacecraft After Successful Splashdown (NYT)

• Melania Trump blasts claims about Jeffrey Epstein and her (CNBC)

• Melania Trump tried to sweep the Epstein saga away, but she ended up reviving it (CNN)

• At 100 days, Mamdani is already a different kind of mayor (Politico)

• Meet Abi, the AI-powered robot companion for senior care (WP)

• Why a ‘terrifying’ Elon Musk robot dog is roaming San Francisco (SFC)

• Powell, Bessent discussed Anthropic’s Mythos AI cyber threat with major U.S. banks (CNBC)

• ‘How are you using AI?’ Your therapist should ask you that question, experts argue (NPR)

• Is Schoolwork Optional Now? (Atlantic)

• AI could vastly streamline policing. Skeptics urge caution. (WP)

• MLB Rookie Still Can’t Believe The Sunflower Seeds Are Free (Onion)

Zealotry

(Note: I just rediscovered this essay written back in 2007, and it feels relevant today, so here goes.)

By reading books about Islam, I’m trying to piece together histories never taught in school. Somewhere around 25-30 books are under my belt now, but I'm not sure I'm making much progress. The latest was The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, by Amin Maalouf, which left me marveling at the wanton bloodshed caused by both sides during those inglorious eras.

Did you know that some of the Crusaders acted as cannibals, and hunted Arab villagers down for food? Do you know how the Cult of the Assassins came about? This book documents those and other atrocities. 

I find myself speculating how the pools of Jews, Christians, and Moslems persisted side by side in the Middle East for millenia, albeit with major pogroms launched against Jews, and wars between the other two now and again. But, still, in the in-between times, the regular times when there was no great war, how did they get along?

The Jew, the Christian, the Moslem, each with his holy book, all originating in the same cradle of civilization. And now very much at war, in our time, with an idiot king, I mean President, who summoned the awful cry of the Crusaders in his call to action following 9/11, not even knowing how his words would reverberate throughout an Islamic world that has not forgotten the stains of that past.

That political leaders of both major parties in the U.S. cannot summon the courage to admit this country has made a major mistake by invading Iraq is frightening evidence that the war was never about anything more than securing our addictive supply of oil, rationalized as a mission to "democratize," (read: "Christianize") the heathens (the "Believers.") Bush the Decider is utterly clueless about the Middle East.

His coterie of advisors, however, knew exactly what they were doing. Now they are getting desperate, never a good thing in geopolitics. Expect something horrific to happen before next year's elections.

Know why I don’t practice any religion?

Because I love life and I love being alive and I love people. I had a button in the Sixties (as many others did) that said simply: God is Love.

HEADLINES:

• A deal or a mirage? Trump’s Iran ceasefire collides with chaos on the ground (CNN)

• Israel’s Netanyahu calls for talks with Lebanon ‘as soon as possible’ (Al Jazeera)

• Iran’s Battered Leaders Emerge From War Confident — and With New Cards (NYT)

• Ships remain cautious approaching Strait of Hormuz amid fragile ceasefire (BBC)

• After Trump pauses war, Iranians fly flags of victory, not surrender (WP)

• Iran war has exposed the weakness of the dollar (FT)

• Trump says U.S. ready for ‘next conquest,’ warns military will remain near Iran until ‘real agreement’ is honored (CNBC)

• 1979 Is the Year That Explains Donald Trump (Atlantic)

• GOP praise pours in for Army chief of staff ousted by Hegseth (The Hill)

• Supreme Court remade by Trump ushers in historic defeats for civil rights (WP)

• In a rare public criticism of a fellow justice of the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor knocked her conservative colleague for his justification of racial profiling in immigration-based stops of U.S. citizens. [HuffPost]

• Apocalyptic threat paused war but fueled debate about Trump’s credibility, morality (WP)

• A Last Chance for Hungary (Foreign Affairs)

• Inside Khaby Lame’s $975 million TikTok mystery (BI)

• The AI job loss story is all about bundles (FT)

• China deploys new battlefield AI in command tent. It outsmarts everyone (SCMP)

• Why one of America’s most revered newsrooms is striking against AI (WP)

• State Department Issues Travel Warning For Women Vacationing With Husbands (Onion)

 

The Leaf

One summer afternoon when I was a young boy in Michigan, I was lying on my back in a field staring up at a large tree. It was one of those windless days, hot and still. 

After a while, I realized that a single leaf was for no apparent reason turning on its stem. As far as I could see, this leaf was identical to all the other leaves on the tree, but it was the only one moving.

Why? 

One leaf turning might have a story. Many leaves holding in place most likely do not.

The problem with this for journalists is that by focusing on the exception to the rule, we may give the impression that the rule is no longer in order. An example of this is crime reporting. Covering one shocking crime too intensely can create the illusion that an entire city is “awash in crime” when the fact is the opposite is true. 

In fact, most dramatic crimes are actually just anomalies. 

Of course, there is an entirely different way to tell any story. That solitary leaf I saw may have been ahead of its time — portending a climate disaster to come when all the other leaves remained quiet, steady in place, doing what they were expected to do.

In other words, the swinging leaf was a whistleblower, a ‘canary in the coal mine,’ an indicator of bigger problems.

On to the investigative reporter, who picks up on the signal and spots a pattern that may provide an explanation for the turning leaf. After observing hundreds of trees, with many thousands of leaves, and interviewing numerous scientists, none of whom can say for sure, the reporter writes a more nuanced story based on the data.

In this new story, we learn that there are many such single leaves on many trees turning slowly on windless days where no one is there to see. But it is also possible that if no one saw them then that didn’t really happen. (Quantum physics.) Then again, perhaps there is a new disease affecting our trees that we need to address if we are to save the forest.

Anyone trying to follow these various stories may think back to that one single leaf turning on a windless day long ago. In that case, you might say that the storyteller wasn’t able to see the forest for the trees.

(This is the latest version of one of my oldest essays.)

HEADLINES:

• Iran warns of ‘strong responses’ as Israel’s attacks on Lebanon threaten ceasefire (NBC)

• How Pakistan managed to get the US and Iran to a ceasefire (Al Jazeera)

• How Iran’s supreme leader reached a truce with Trump (Axios)

• Why ceasefire deal with US has unsettled Iran’s hardliners (BBC)

• Trump’s Iran brinkmanship reaches truce, escalates backlash at home (WP)

• Hegseth declares victory in Iran but says US forces will remain in region (Politico)

• What is in Iran’s 10-point ceasefire plan and will the US agree to it? (Guardian)

• Iran Strait of Hormuz warning adds to shipping uncertainty (BBC)

• Israel kills dozens in Beirut, claims Lebanon is not part of Iran truce (WP)

• Wall Street, global markets surge after US-Iran ceasefire sends oil prices below $100 a barrel (AP)

• An Incredibly Weird Time to Be Alive (Atlantic)

• Nuclear brinksmanship usually works. It’s also incredibly dangerous. (Silver Bulletin)

• The Trump Administration Is Trying to Erase Its Own History (Atlantic)

• Warnings for the G.O.P.: 3 Takeaways From the Elections in Georgia and Wisconsin (NYT)

• “People are choosing this fate”: Measles will get worse before it gets better (Salon)

• China’s retaliation against Panama has backfires across Latin America (The Hill)

• Route 66, a quintessential American road trip heavy on kitsch and history, turns 100 (AP)

• How Accurate Are Google’s A.I. Overviews? (NYT)

• J.K. Rowling Escapes  Insane Asylum (Onion)

 

Slow Down, Christian Soldiers

I can still remember the words to that oddly militant hymn sung in my church as a youth:

“Onward, Christian soldiers, 
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!”

I didn’t like the song then and I don’t like it now. But the difference is that today, under the expansionist “Christian Nationalism” of Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth, for the first time I fear the meaning behind its lyrics.

By threatening the "whole civilization” of Iran with destruction Monday, Trump tried to frame his illegal war against Iran into a fight to the death between Islam and Christianity.

He also committed a war crime, according to modern standards.

In the process, he sank to the same hateful level as the mullahs who’ve run Iran for 47 years with their “Death to America” and “Death to the Jews” chants.

The great majority of the Iranian people do not share those sentiments at all. Like you and me, they love their families and friends, they work hard, and they hope for a safer, more secure world for their children and grandchildren.

Then, with the world holding its collective breath, just before his so-called deadline last night, Trump backed down. He did what he usually does — change his mind — and for that we can thank whatever God we believe in (or not). It’s obvious that for now he has seized the cover of a two-week ceasefire agreement offered via Pakistan to try and save face from the horror of his earlier statement.

But so much damage has been done. 

Meanwhile, Iran now claims it has achieved control over the Strait of Hormuz under the new ceasefire, which if true would constitute an epic failure on Trump’s part. Like most of the Crusades of yore, this one too appears to be ending in failure.

HEADLINES:

• Trump Announces Two-Week Cease-Fire, Backing Down From Threats of Imminent Devastation (NYT)

• GOP dissenters emerge on Trump’s threat against Iranian “civilization” (Axios)

• An eclectic, bipartisan group suddenly calls for removing Trump using the 25th Amendment (CNN)

• Republicans silent as Democrats call on US cabinet to oust Trump over Iran (Guardian)

• This Would Be Genocide (HP)

• Oil price fluctuates ahead of Trump’s Iran deal deadline (BBC)

• Markets cheer as Trump says he’s in ‘heated negotiations’ over a new Pakistani two-week ceasefire plan (Fortune)

• Death Wish: Trump Threatens to Destroy an Entire Nation (Atlantic)

• How Trump Took the U.S. to War With Iran (NYT)

• What People in Iran Are Thinking Right Now (New Yorker)

• Hegseth Likens Easter Rescue of U.S. Airman to Resurrection of Jesus Christ (NYT)

• Trump says God supports U.S. cause in Iran war as he threatens wider bombing (WP)

• Ex-General Warns of ‘Dangerous Situation’ After Hegseth Fires Officers (Newsweek)

• After clashes with Hegseth, Army secretary says he isn’t going anywhere (WP)

• US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 800 people following tips shared by federal airport security officials from the start of Trump’s presidency through February 2026, internal ICE data reviewed by ‌Reuters show, a figure far above what was previously publicly known. (Reuters)

• Taiwanese opposition leader to meet China’s Xi in a test of diplomatic skill (Al Jazeera)

• This public health week, the US is squandering health and wealth (The Hill)

• What spending probes at DHS reveal about Kristi Noem’s time in office (WP)

• How Trump’s Endorsement in California Could Backfire Against Republicans (NYT)

• The internet is deciding what to forget (FT)

• Sam Altman Says It’ll Take Another Year Before ChatGPT Can Start a Timer (Gizmodo)

• Why OpenAI’s Purchase of a Big Tech Podcast Is So Sleazy (Slate)

• Goodbye, middle managers (BI)

• Pete Hegseth Laid On Side For Cabinet Meeting (Onion)

 

Dire Straits

From the Times: “Trump warned that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran does not make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Eastern, as the U.S. attacked Iran’s main oil export hub.

“Trump issued the grave warning in a post on social media on Tuesday as a new round of attacks was launched across the Middle East.

“The U.S. attacked Kharg Island, the export hub, Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks and Israel’s military warned Iranians to avoid traveling by train. The increasingly incendiary threats and the intense fighting reinforced the fragile state of diplomacy, with no public signs of a diplomatic breakthrough to end the war.”

HEADLINES:

• Trump Issues Grave Threats as Hormuz Deadline Draws Closer (NYT)

• Three Ways Trump’s Iran Deadline Could Play Out Tonight (WSJ)

• Trump threatens to jail reporters if they don’t turn over Iran source (WP)

• Trump reiterates threats to bomb Iran’s power plants and bridges (NPR)

• Trump Says He’s Calling Iran’s Bluff in Eight-Minute Interview (WSJ)

• Oil prices choppy after expletive-laden Trump threat to Iran (BBC)

• Saudi Arabia charges record premium for its oil (FT)

• Iran notifies civilians of retaliatory targets if US attacks infrastructure (NewsNation)

• Iran is Trump’s biggest political mistake (Silver Bulletin)

• Stephen Miller Is Still Pursuing His Immigration Agenda, but More Quietly (NYT)

• Trump Is Putting America’s Weaknesses on Display (Atlantic)

• Impeach Him Again (Bulwark)

• Trump’s Iran war leaves Republicans adrift ahead of midterms (AP)

• War-driven energy crisis boosts China’s sales pitch for renewable tech (WP)

• Trump Administration Pulls Out of Civil Rights Settlements Backing Trans Students (NYT)

• He survived working for Elon Musk. Here’s how. (WP)

• Former CIA director: ‘Russia no longer has the upper hand’ in Ukraine war (The Hill)

• Trump administration’s secrecy on health deals alarms experts, governments (WP)

• AP says it will offer buyouts as part of pivot away from newspaper-focused history (AP)

• This Billionaire Wants To Save America’s Newspapers. He Thinks He’s Found A Way (Forbes)

• Michigan outlasts UConn to win 2026 NCAA men’s basketball national championship (NYT)

• Hallucinated citations are polluting the scientific literature. What can be done? (Nature)

• Frankenstein’s Regrets (Nation)

• Behind the Curtain: Sam’s superintelligence New Deal (Axios)

• Trump Warns Iran To Accept His Ultimatum Or Face Wrath Of Next Ultimatum (Onion)