From Attila the Hun to Donald J. Trump: A brief history of popes battling world leaders With his veiled rebukes of the U.S. president, Leo XIV joins a rich tradition of pontiffs sparring with history’s most iconic political figures.

From Attila the Hun to Donald J. Trump: A brief history of popes battling world leaders.

Could ‘A River Runs Through It’ Have Been a Hit Today?

“When I first read it as a young man, I did so as a fishing book. On my second reading, it was Norman’s book. And then, finally, it became a book about Paul, a story about tragedy.”

Opinion | There Is a Contest Trump Is Winning

“Trump’s most consequential legacy may be less any single policy than the lesson he taught politicians: Norms can be broken, repeatedly and openly, without necessarily paying much of a price.”

Big-city politicians are starting to worry about the World Cup A long-planned spectacle collides with the messy domestic politics and global instability of the present.

“It’s one thing if the seats are empty because there’s literally zero interest. But if it’s because the prices are so ridiculously high, that would be incredibly dissatisfying.”

Democrats Eye a Broader Battlefield to Capture Congress in November

“Democrats are on offense, Republicans are running scared, and our expansive map reflects it,” says @repdelbene.bsky.social.

The Inside Story of Five Days That Remade the Supreme Court

In case you missed it. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...

Virginia Voters Have Strong Feelings on Map Fight—Once They Understand It In a multimillion-dollar showdown, Democrats are trying to create more blue House seats to counter GOP efforts elsewhere.

“Although gerrymandering as a whole is not a good thing, this is to counterattack the Republican side.”

Behind Trump’s Public Bravado on the War, He Grapples With His Own Fears The president’s impulsive style has never been tested in a sustained military conflict, and he’s been ruminating on Jimmy Carter’s failure in Iran.

“We are witnessing astonishing military successes that do not add up to victory and that is squarely on the president and how he’s chosen to do his job—lack of attention to detail and lack of planning,” says @kschake.bsky.social.

Arsenio Hall’s Stories from the ’80s and ’90s Are Truly Wild The comedian and former late-night host sets the record straight, names names, and brings the receipts.

"After Bill Clinton won the presidency, he called me and said, 'I wouldn't be president if it weren't for you.'"

Route 66, a ‘Linear Museum Stretched Across Eight States,’ Turns 100

“It wasn’t until literally they were pulling down the signs that some of that nostalgia began.”

The Only Thing N.B.A. Players Love More Than Basketball Is Starting Podcasts

“You want to be Bill Simmons. You want be Joe Rogan.”

Remembering Cars Without Seatbelts and Athletes Who Smoked

... and his classroom time consisted of folding the sports pages of The Louisville Courier Journal and USA Today into quadrants for surreptitious reading.

Opinion | I Almost Never Predict Supreme Court Outcomes. Trump Will Lose This Case.

“The history of liberty has largely been the history of observance of procedural safeguards.”

Opinion | You Can’t Game Your Way to a Real Education

“The more varied the contexts in which you apply a skill, the broader that skill becomes. But computers are wickedly narrow.”

They’re Young. They’re Conservative. And They’re Split Over the War.

“This isn’t something that we voted for.”

The Texas Democrat Who Wants to “Make Quinceañeras Great Again” Bobby Pulido, a Tejano musician who’s running for Congress in South Texas, hopes that his status as a regional celebrity will open the door to a lasting connection with voters.

“They pay for the food, they pay for the place, they pay for the liquor, and you show up, and they’re happy.”

What’s Behind Trump’s New World Disorder? A foreign policy freed of liberal pretenses and imperial ambitions could lead to restraint—or, as the Iran attack shows, simply license hit-and-run belligerence.

Worth the read.

Republican Nerves Are Fraying Ahead of Midterm Elections High gasoline prices, the war in Iran and recent Democratic victories are fueling the angst.

“I think everybody would be in agreement that the Republican Party is the underdog this November.”

How Joe Rogan Convinced Trump to Fast-Track Review of Psychedelic Drugs The president issued an executive order increasing research into drugs used to treat PTSD and other disorders.

Rogan: “The text message came back: ‘Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it.’ It was literally that quick.”

The Homewrecker Lawsuits Rocking North Carolina A few states still allow a spouse to sue a “homewrecker” for breaking the marriage; the case of a former Arizona senator and her bodyguard.

Sinema: “I had no knowledge at the time I initiated any communications with Mr. Ammel that he was located in North Carolina at the time.”

Trump keeps claiming victory in Iran. Our new poll shows voters aren’t buying it. A majority say the war is not in the national interest, and many lack confidence in the president’s goals — including some 2024 supporters.

“I think the number one messaging problem has been that every day we’re told it’s going to end tomorrow, and we’re now nearly two months into that promise.”

Eric Swalwell Thought He Was Untouchable — Until He Wasn’t The allegations that ended Swalwell’s gubernatorial bid fit a longstanding pattern of behavior.

“Everyone was coming up to me saying, ‘Oh, you’re from the Bay Area, do you know Eric Swalwell? He hit on my friend.’”

‘A trend that can’t be ignored’: Dems have made up ground in nearly every election since Trump took office POLITICO’s analysis shows a clear trend in red and blue districts alike.

A POLITICO analysis of 229 state and federal elections since Trump’s inauguration shows Democratic candidates outperformed Harris in 193 of them.

‘Turning Point Was Charlie Kirk’: Why This Student Group Moved On

“I used to be a big Trump fan, like in 2016, because he spoke his mind. I think there’s a lot of things with this administration now that I don’t agree with.”

Primary Becomes Purity Test for a State G.O.P.: ‘You Can’t Serve Two Masters’

Montana GOP chair Art Wittich: “If you self-declare as a Republican and you’re in effect coordinating and passing Democrat ideas, you’re a Democrat.”

In Trump’s Orbit, Women Aren’t the Only Ones Concerned About Their Looks

“It’s constant attempts at trying to cultivate a persona that in their eyes seems strong and powerful and dominant and stoic. But once you scratch the surface of that, all you see is fragility.”

Tennis vs. Pickleball: What’s a Better Workout?

I mean ...

How the Internet Fringe Infiltrated Republican Politics Inside the battle for the post-MAGA G.O.P.

“There’s been a huge break now, where basically all the young conservatives are, like, ‘Trump is not our guy.’”

Pearl Fryar, a Picasso of Plants, Dies at 86

“... he once told me there’s no way people are going to forget a Black man that cut up bushes whose name was Pearl.”

Edna Foa, Who Pioneered Exposure Therapy to Treat PTSD, Dies at 88

“... because it’s uncomfortable to go through the gory details of a traumatic event, for the client and the therapist.”