The world does not vote in American presidential elections. Nor do its jurors play a part in the American judicial system. Nevertheless, the conviction of Donald J. Trump on all 34 felony counts in a hush-money trial in a New York court on Thursday has again made clear how consequential what happens in the United…
Month: May 2024
Taking the Fight to Russia: The West Weighs Ukraine’s Use of Its Weapons
With Ukraine’s second-largest city bracing for a new Russian offensive, a growing number of NATO allies are backing Kyiv’s pleas to allow its forces to conduct strikes in Russian territory with Western weapons. President Biden has decided to let Ukraine use American weapons against military targets in Russia to blunt the Kharkiv offensive, days after…
Under Pressure, Biden Allows Ukraine to Use U.S. Weapons to Strike Inside Russia
The decision follows weeks of intense behind-the-scenes conversation with the Ukrainians, made more urgent after Russia began a major assault on Kharkiv around May 10. Three days later, on May 13, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., held one of their regularly scheduled…
After Trump Verdict, White House Says ‘We Respect the Rule of Law’
White House officials said little on Thursday after former President Donald J. Trump was convicted of falsifying records to cover up a scandal with a porn actress, becoming America’s first ex-president to be declared a felon. “We respect the rule of law,” said Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House Counsel’s Office, “and have…
Will Billions More in New Aid Save Family Farms?
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has a line about the state of small-scale agriculture in America these days. It’s drawn from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, which shows that as the average size of farms has risen, the nation had lost 544,000 of them since 1981. “That’s every farm today that exists in North Dakota and…
Experts Question Alito’s Failure to Recuse Himself in Flag Controversy
Supreme Court justices seldom give reasons for their decisions to recuse themselves. Even rarer are explanations for deciding to participate in a case when they have been accused of conflicts of interest. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. is an exception. He seems positively eager to explain himself. But whether his explanation has helped or hurt…
Perhaps Lost in the Polling: The Race for President Is Still Close
There’s no way around it: The news for President Biden hasn’t been great. He has trailed in national and battleground state polls for months. His approval ratings are among the lowest on record for a first-term president. He’s struggling among young, Black and Hispanic voters. And all of this against an opponent who faces several…
Biden Weighs Letting Ukraine Strike With U.S. Weapons in Russia
The Kremlin, eager to make the choice harder, has leaned heavily into the narrative that the president is risking escalation. Last week, it ran a series of exercises over how to move and use its large arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons. After Mr. Stoltenberg’s statement to The Economist, the Kremlin’s top spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said…
Nikki Haley Writes ‘Finish Them’ on Artillery Shell in Israel
Nikki Haley, the former Republican presidential candidate and U.N. ambassador during the Trump administration, wrote “Finish them” on an artillery shell in Israel this week. Danny Danon, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations and a member of the Israeli Parliament, shared a photo on social media on Tuesday showing Ms. Haley signing the shell….
Blinken Travels to Eastern Europe as Russia Presses War in Ukraine
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken plans to spend this week showing U.S. support for nations facing a hostile Russia in visits to Moldova and the Czech Republic, where he is scheduled to attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers that will discuss how to bolster Ukraine. Mr. Blinken, who made an overnight stop in…