Secretary of War Pete Hegseth sometimes appears as if he’s more interested in the optics of playing the part of a military leader than he is in actually being a military leader.
The first medical evacuation in the history of the International Space Station (ISS) happened last month. In January, Crew-11 returned to Earth ahead of schedule because of an unspecified medical issue. NASA initially didn’t reveal which astronaut was dealing with the problem, citing privacy concerns, but indicated that the person’s condition is stable.
When President Donald Trump addressed Congress a year ago, the Democrats seemed to be, as the meme would have it, “in disarray.” They were lambasted for their disorganized responses to Trump — remember those little ping-pong paddles? But things were different this time.
As his latest threats to Iran suggest, President Donald Trump has become increasingly comfortable deploying military force around the world. But even with a military as large and technologically advanced as America’s, there are limits to how quickly he can simply pivot from one global crisis to another.
Donald Trump is not forever. There will be an after. It’s hard to see from the present, where everything feels frozen in place. But from history’s vantage, change is the only constant. American democracy has been remade several times — dramatically, unexpectedly, and often in ways that looked impossible until they arrived.
Much like their human cousins, baby macaques crave comfort. Punch, a forlorn-looking young Japanese macaque monkey, went viral last week after being pictured clinging to an orange IKEA orangutan plushie at Japan’s Ichikawa City Zoo.
This story was originally published in The Highlight, Vox’s member-exclusive magazine. To get access to member-exclusive stories every month, join the Vox Membership program today. There’s something sad about seeing a humanoid robot lying on the floor.
The world is hungrier than ever for energy. Demand for heating, cooling, lighting, computing power, and just getting around is rising. In particular, the buildout of data centers to power technologies like AI has set off a rush for new power plants in countries like the US and China.
This story appeared in Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. Subscribe here. Twenty-four-year-old Polish activist Dominika Lasota remembers waiting in anxious silence for the 2023 election results to come in.
This story was originally published in The Highlight, Vox’s member-exclusive magazine. To get access to member-exclusive stories every month, join the Vox Membership program today. Had William Foege been a military general or a CEO or a politician, his death on January 24 would have been bold-type, front-page news.
Late last week, the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s tariffs imposed under the federal International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as unlawful. The Court did not, however, say how or when — or whether — the Trump administration will be required to return the money that was collected from the tariffs.
When I picked up my kids’ birthday cake this week, I felt a tinge of guilt that I’m sure many people will find familiar. Isn’t this thing loaded with sugar? The health and wellness space is filled with people pushing zero/no sugar diets, sometimes as a short-term detox, sometimes as a long-term way of life.
Last week, the US Department of Agriculture proposed a strikingly cruel policy, even for this administration: speeding up the kill lines at America’s chicken, turkey, and pig slaughterhouses. The plan will make one of the country’s most dangerous jobs — working in a meat processing plant — even more unsafe, labor advocates argue.
This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump gave a very long State of the Union speech last night, clocking in at a record one hour and 48 minutes.
In the spring of 2015, few outlets predicted that the US would soon face a democratic crisis. Barack Obama was the president, and the conventional wisdom was that he’d be succeeded by Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush.
This story appeared in Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. Subscribe here. The January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol produced some extraordinary images. But for sheer narrative drama, look to the South Koreans.