The Daily

Church bells rang out across the world on Monday to mark the death of Pope Francis at the age of 88.

Jason Horowitz, the Rome bureau chief at The New York Times, discusses the pope’s push to change the church, his bitter clashes with traditionalists, and what his papacy meant to the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

Guest: Jason Horowitz, the Rome bureau chief of The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• For Jason Horowitz, Pope Franci...

Across the country, millions of Americans with unpaid student loans are discovering that years of patience and forgiveness from the U.S. government have officially come to an end.

Stacy Cowley, a business reporter for The Times, explains what is behind the change of heart, sets out its financial consequences for borrowers — and discusses the larger reckoning that it may cause about how Americans pay for higher education.

Guest: Stacy...

One day at Wrigley Field in Chicago last May, Paul Skenes was pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates, carving out a small piece of baseball history in his second big-league game. He struck out the first seven batters he faced. By the end of the fifth inning, he had increased his strikeout total to 10. More impressive, he hadn’t allowed a hit.

Over the past two decades, analysts have identified a treasure trove of competitive advantages...

President Trump’s tariffs have terrified stock markets, business owners and anyone with a 401(k). Does that mean that his approach to trade is becoming a major political liability?

Astead W. Herndon, a national politics reporter, asked voters in Michigan what they thought. He found that the answer to that question was not so simple.

Guest: Astead W. Herndon, a national politics reporter and host of the politics podcast “The Run-Up.”

B...

Testimonies began this week in one of the most aggressive cases the government has ever brought against a big tech company. Over the next eight weeks, the Federal Trade Commission will argue that Meta, the company founded by Mark Zuckerberg, should be broken up.

Cecilia Kang, who covers technology and regulatory policy, discusses the strange and contentious relationship between Mr. Zuckerberg and President Trump that has led to this...

For years, President Trump has mocked the Obama administration for the nuclear agreement that it reached with Iran — a plan he disliked so much that he revoked it.

Now, as he embarks on talks with Iran to reach a nuclear agreement of his own, the question is whether his administration can achieve a better deal.

David E. Sanger, who covers the White House and national security, takes us inside the negotiations.

Guest: David E. Sanger, ...

When President Trump met with El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, at the White House, the fate of one man was hanging in the balance.

Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court, discusses the Maryland man who was mistakenly sent to a notoriously brutal prison in El Salvador, and what his case means for the limits of presidential power and the rule of law.

Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court and writes Sidebar, a column...

When President Trump raised tariffs against China to an astonishing 145 percent last week, he radically changed the cost of doing business for thousands of American companies.

Michael Barbaro speaks to Beth Benike, a small-business owner who fears her business will not survive the tariffs.

Guest: Beth Benike, the founder and C.E.O. of Busy Baby

Background reading: 

• Small-business owners say tariffs will squeeze them, and their cust...

When Daniel and Victoria Van Beuningen first toured their future home, a quiet villa in the Polish city of Wroclaw, it had been abandoned for years, its windows sealed up with bricks. But something about its overgrown garden spoke to them. They could imagine raising chickens there, planting tomatoes and cucumbers. They could make something beautiful out of it, they thought — a place where their children could run and play.

They move...

This week, we interviewed two people with leading roles in the rapidly escalating conflict between the Trump administration and American higher education.

Today, we speak with Christopher Rufo, who led the conservative critique of, and assault on, critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Mr. Rufo’s vision and campaigning have helped inspire Trump’s wide-ranging crackdown on higher education.

Earlier, we talke...

After promising that tariffs against dozens of countries were here to stay, no matter how much they hurt businesses or the stock market, President Trump has abruptly reversed course.

But there’s an exception: his levies on China, which he said he would raise to 125 percent.

Jonathan Swan, who covers the White House, explains why the president changed his mind, and David Pierson, who covers China, discusses why Beijing won’t back down...

This week, we interviewed two people with leading roles in the rapidly escalating conflict between the Trump administration and American higher education. 

Today, we speak with the president of Princeton University, Christopher L. Eisgruber, about the institution’s path forward in the face of drastic funding cuts, and his vow to protect academic freedom at all costs. 

You can find our conversation with Christopher Rufo, a conservativ...

On Monday, global stocks whipsawed over President Trump’s tariffs, a bear market briefly became official in the United States and tit-for-tat retaliation with China intensified.

As trillions of dollars in corporate value evaporates and Mr. Trump’s support in the business world is cracking, even Republican members of Congress are debating whether to take away the president’s power to wage a trade war.

Andrew Ross Sorkin, who covers bu...

Over the past few weeks, President Trump has used executive orders to wage war on law firms, specifically targeting those whose lawyers have investigated or sued him, or represented his enemies in court.

Michael Barbaro speaks to Thomas Sipp, a lawyer who chose to quit after his firm, Skadden, negotiated a deal to placate the president.

Guest: Thomas Sipp, a lawyer who left his firm after they negotiated a deal with Mr. Trump.

Backgro...

“The force of his will is the thing I remember about him,” says Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who wrote a profile of Val Kilmer for The New York Times Magazine in May 2020. “He was sure he was going to come back to his exact former self. ”

The two met for an interview just as a lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic seemed all but certain to happen.

Mr. Kilmer, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and had undergone a tracheotomy, ...

The reverberations from President Trump’s new global tariffs have rocked financial markets and world capitals. American stocks have plunged, and foreign leaders have issued forceful condemnations.

The Times journalists Michael Barbaro, Peter Goodman, Natalie Kitroeff and Jeanna Smialek sit down to try to make sense of Mr. Trump’s strategy and its consequences.

Guest:

• Peter S. Goodman, who covers the global economy for The New York...