Happy Tuesday! In a new study published in Current Biology, researchers observed wild chimpanzees getting together to share African breadfruit, which, once fermented, contains a measurable alcohol content. It seems even our ape brethren like to loosen up sometimes.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- Russia carried out a series of air attacks targeting Ukraine’s Kherson region on Monday, killing three people and injuring several others. The strikes—which followed the expiration of a 30-hour Easter truce that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of repeatedly violating—came amid the U.S. push for a permanent ceasefire deal. Also on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russian state television that Moscow is open to bilateral peace talks with Ukraine. If true, the position would mark a reversal from Putin’s insistence that Kyiv hold elections before any direct negotiations take place.
- Vice President J.D. Vance met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday, hailing “significant progress” in trade talks between the two countries. According to a White House statement, the sides agreed to terms as they seek to negotiate a “new and modern trade agreement.” In February, the Trump administration and India previously agreed to double their bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. India faces a 27 percent tariff rate that would take effect in early July should talks fail. The two also discussed energy, defense, and technological cooperation, according to a readout from Modi’s office.
- Harvard University filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday, a week after the government announced plans to freeze $2.2 billion in grants to the Ivy League school. The decision to withhold federal funding followed Harvard’s refusal to comply with a list of demands from the administration task force formed to investigate allegations of antisemitism across dozens of American universities. In the 51-page complaint, the university accused the government of violating the First Amendment and other federal laws. “The consequences of the government’s overreach will be severe and long-lasting,” Harvard President Alan Garber said in a statement, accusing the administration of seeking to impose “unprecedented and improper control” over the private university.
- All three major stock indices tumbled on Monday, as President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. In a social media post demanding that the Fed cut interest rates, the president called Powell, who heads the traditionally independent central bank, a “major loser.” Last week, Trump accused Powell of “playing politics” and threatened to dismiss him, though the Fed chair has previously said the president lacks the power to remove him without cause before his term ends in May 2026. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.48 percent, S&P 500 dropped 2.36 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 2.55 percent.
Trump v. Journalists
President Donald Trump isn’t getting along with the news media.
That isn’t exactly breaking news. He directed no shortage of jabs at mainstream outlets throughout his first term, but—with notable exceptions—his ire toward the media was limited mostly to rhetoric. Trump 2.0 may be different. The president’s attacks on the media have shifted from talk to action, with news organizations facing substantive retaliation for getting sideways with the new administration. And, if the escalation continues, the Trump administration could find itself running afoul of Constitutional protections—if it hasn’t already.
Presidents have long traded barbs with journalists. Former President Barack Obama notoriously tried to exclude Fox News from certain events before eventually backing down. But the Trump administration has ratcheted up the intensity, openly attacking media outlets in ways that have prompted courts to ...
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Today’s Must-Read
Among Pope Francis’ many moments of striking symbolism, one of the most unexpected occurred in 2019 when he met with South Sudan’s rival leaders at the Vatican. In a scene that stunned observers, the then 82-year-old pontiff dropped to his knees and kissed their feet, imploring them to keep the peace. The moment was emblematic of his belief in personal diplomacy, where grand, physical gestures often replaced formal pronouncements. In a video of the incident, you can hear the labored breathing of the pope, who had had part of a lung removed as a young man. That scene with the Sudanese leaders exemplified not only the humility for which Francis was famous but also the emphasis he laid on reconciliation and unity.
Toeing the Company Line
Sobriety Test
Is Pete Hegseth too incompetent for Trump’s government?
A Terrible Solution to a Nonexistent Problem
On the inanity of Trump’s trade war.
The College of Cardinals, Explained
How will the next pope be chosen?
Parents, Put Down the Phones
Parental device use significantly impacts kids—even if those kids don’t have their own screens.
Will Pete Hegseth Be Trump’s First Cabinet Casualty?
A Pentagon in disarray may eventually spell the end for ‘the influencer secretary.’
The Legacy of Pope Francis
A 'Maverick' Pope?
How Democracies Fall and Rise
‘Freedom is at existential risk right now.’
Worth Your Time
- Writing for Aeon magazine, Daniel R. Brunstetter shared his takeaways from the final letters of French resistance fighters and political prisoners executed by Nazi firing squads during World War II. “The last letters offer a raw portrait of grieving one’s own demise. Few of the condemned deny their fate. Some remain entrenched at the phase of depression. Others skip a phase, or oscillate between anger and acceptance, acceptance and depression. A surprising number traversed all the phases,” he wrote. “In his last letter, tempted to imagine what might have been had he had more time, [Daniel] Decourdemanche writes to his parents: ‘I dreamt a great deal, this last while, about the wonderful meals we would have when I was freed.’ But he accepts these experiences will not include him: ‘You will have them without me, with family, but not in sadness.’ Instead of regret, his mind drifts to the meaningful experiences he did live: ‘I relived … all my travels, all my experiences, all my meals.’ And at the end: ‘It is 8 am, it will be time to leave. I ate, smoked, drank some coffee. I do not see any more business to settle.’”
- What’s driving young people to Christianity? In UnHerd, Niall Gooch argued the answer may lie in the strict moral demands of modern secularism. “At its best, Christianity is not a moralistic religion — in other words, it does not place the expectation of perfect behaviour at its core. It is repentance and reconciliation, not respectability, that are central to the internal logic of the faith. The Christian moral system is also coherent and predictable,” he wrote. “Modern secular morality, by contrast, is extremely censorious and has a strongly arbitrary element, as we have seen in the last decade or so of ‘cancel culture.’ People have been subjected to storms of anonymous criticism, resulting in lost jobs and lost livelihoods, with no clear limiting principle and no real interest in proportionality. To make matters worse, this is all highly impersonal and offers no clear pathway for restoration and forgiveness.”
Presented Without Comment
Politico: ‘An Amateur Person’: GOP Rep. [Don] Bacon Says Hegseth Should Go
Rep. Don Bacon, a prominent Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, became the first sitting GOP lawmaker Monday to suggest President Donald Trump should fire Pete Hegseth — calling the chaos at the Pentagon one reason why many Hill Republicans were privately uneasy with the Defense secretary’s nomination in the first place.
“I had concerns from the get-go because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience,” Bacon, a former Air Force general who now chairs the subcommittee on cyber issues, said in an interview. “I like him on Fox. But does he have the experience to lead one of the largest organizations in the world? That’s a concern.”
Also Presented Without Comment
New York Times: G.O.P. Leader [Rep. James Comer] Asks Attorney General Pam Bondi to Prosecute Andrew Cuomo
In the Zeitgeist
Filming has begun for Ready or Not: Here I Come!, a horror sequel set to star Sarah Michelle Gellar of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Elijah Wood of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The first film—about a bride who must escape her murderous new in-laws—became Searchlight’s biggest release of 2019 after grossing more than $57 million worldwide.
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