Blogs

By Christine Coleman

Edited by Elissa D. Hecker

Entertainment

Kneecap Cancels U.S. Tour, Calling U.K. Terrorism Charge a ‘Witch Hunt’

The Northern Irish rap group Kneecap, which frequently makes anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian comments onstage, canceled its 15-concert tour of the United States amid a legal dispute in Britain. Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, a member of the group who goes by the stage name Mo Chara, was charged with a terrorism offense in May. He is accused of displaying a flag in support of the Hezbollah militant group at a concert in November.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/arts/music/kneecap-cancels-us-tour.html

Arts

Kennedy Center’s New Dance Director Criticized ‘Woke’ Ballet Culture

Stephen Nakagawa, a former dancer with the Washington Ballet, wrote a letter to Richard Grenell, the president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Center, complaining about “radical leftist ideologies in ballet.” Nakagawa also wrote that he had grown “increasingly concerned about the direction the ballet world is taking in America” and had become distressed by the “rise of ‘woke’ culture” at the Washington Ballet and other companies. He did not specify how the ballet company was affected by the culture he described.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/arts/dance/kennedy-center-stephen-nakagawa.html

Nothing Could Topple the ‘Queen of Heels.’ Then Trump Came Along.

President Trump’s steep tariffs and erratic moves have turned manufacturing abroad into a minefield, even for entrepreneurs who set up in countries viewed as safe alternatives to China, like shoe designer Ruthie Davis in Brazil.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/us/politics/tariffs-luxury-shoes-brazil-trump.html

Homeland Security’s Embrace of Art Reopens an Old Debate

Earlier this summer, the Department of Homeland Security posted an image of the John Gast painting “American Progress” on social media under the heading, “A Heritage to be proud of, a Homeland worth Defending.” To the Trump administration, the painting epitomizes patriotism and the progress spread by American pioneers advancing technology, democracy and the blessings of Western civilization. Some historians, however, say, that this battle cry, in the context of the painting, glorifies racism and glosses over the taking of Native American homelands via manifest destiny.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/arts/design/gast-dhs-american-progress.html

Van Gogh Museum in Fight With Dutch State That Threatens Its Future

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is embroiled in a bitter feud over financing with the Dutch Ministry of Culture that could lead to its closure if left unresolved much longer. The museum needs a refurbishment to preserve its more than 200 paintings and nearly 500 drawings by Vincent van Gogh, but two years of negotiations with the ministry over funding have reached an impasse.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/arts/design/van-gogh-museum-renovation.html

Technology/Media

Anthropic Settles Legal Dispute With Authors

Anthropic has agreed to a preliminary settlement with the group of authors who sued the AI company for copyright infringement. Although the terms of the settlement are not yet known, the deal could prove to be influential in the context of the many other legal battles involving copyright owners and AI companies.

https://completemusicupdate.com/anthropic-settles-legal-dispute-with-authors-in-a-deal-that-could-be-influential-in-other-ai-copyright-disputes/

Elon Musk’s xAI Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Claims It Is Being Shut Out

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence firm, xAI, sued Apple and OpenAI, accusing Apple of manipulating its App Store rankings to give preferential treatment to OpenAI. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, said that Apple and OpenAI “locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing.” A spokeswoman for OpenAI said the lawsuit was “consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/technology/elon-musk-xai-sues-apple.html

As PBS Stations Confront Cuts, American History Takes a Hit

The effect of the federal assault on public broadcasting in the United States has mostly been expressed in big numbers and dire forecasts: $1.1 billion taken back; the existence of more than 100 television and radio stations at risk. The cutbacks have already had one smaller, more immediate effect. WGBH, the bellwether public TV station in Boston, has laid off the 13 people who worked on the history series “American Experience” and announced that no new documentaries will be produced for the show until further notice.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/arts/television/american-experience.html

He Plagiarized and Promoted Falsehoods. The White House Embraces Him.

Benny Johnson, a right-wing podcaster, has enjoyed rare access and promotion from the Trump administration. Since taking office, Trump and his aides have routinely criticized traditional news outlets for what they call misleading and dishonest reporting about the administration. But the White House has had no such reservations about right-leaning influencers, figures such as Johnson, who have a documented history of playing fast and loose with the facts.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/business/media/trump-benny-johnson.html

What to Know About the Journalists Killed in Gaza

Five Palestinian journalists who worked for international news organizations were killed in Gaza, in what local officials said was an Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. Israel said it had carried out a strike in the area of the hospital, but did not identify the target. The Israeli military said in its statement that it “does not target journalists as such.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/world/middleeast/gaza-journalists-killed-nasser-hospital.html

General News

The Trump Administration Asks the Supreme Court to Allow it to Freeze Billions in Foreign Aid

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court for the second time to allow the government to freeze, for now, billions of dollars in foreign aid. In an emergency request, the administration asked the justices to lift an order from a federal judge that requires the administration to spend funds Congress already budgeted for foreign aid.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08/27/us/trump-news#supreme-court-trump-foreign-aid

Trump’s Sweeping Tariffs Invalidated by Appeals Court

A federal appeals court ruled that many of Trump’s most punishing tariffs were illegal, delivering a major setback to Trump’s agenda that may severely undercut his primary source of leverage in an expanding global trade war. The ruling, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, affirmed a lower court’s initial finding in May that Trump did not possess unlimited authority to impose taxes on nearly all imports to the United States. However, the appellate judges delayed the enforcement of their order until mid-October, allowing the tariffs to remain in place so that the administration can appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/business/economy/trump-tariffs-appeals-court.html

Judge Blocks Pillar of Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign

Judge Jia M. Cobb of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia blocked the Trump administration from carrying out fast-track deportations of people detained far from the southern border, removing, for now, one of the cornerstones of Trump’s campaign to carry out mass deportations. In her 48 page opinion, Judge Cobb wrote that the Trump administration had acted recklessly in a frenzied effort to quickly remove as many people as possible, likely violating due process rights and risking wrongful detentions.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/us/politics/judge-fast-track-deportations.html

Trump Signs Orders Aiming to End Cashless Bail

Trump signed an executive order aimed at eliminating cashless bail in the United States by threatening to cut federal funding to jurisdictions that allow the practice. The president has long railed against cashless bail, in which criminal defendants are not required to post bail when they face lesser charges. However, studies have shown that such policies have not led to an increase in crime. However, Trump and conservative lawmakers argue that the practice is a safety threat that results in more accused criminals being released out on the streets.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/us/politics/trump-cashless-bail.html

Trump Orders Major Expansion of National Guard’s Role in Law Enforcement

Trump directed the Defense Department to take a larger role in domestic law enforcement, including by “quelling civil disturbances,” as he threatens to broaden deployments of the National Guard in cities run by his political enemies. The executive order also formalizes the creation of specially trained National Guard units in the District of Columbia and all 50 states that can be mobilized quickly for “ensuring the public safety and order.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/us/politics/trump-national-guard.html

Pritzker sends warning to Trump on National Guard threat: ‘Do not come to Chicago'

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivered a strongly worded message and warning to Trump, following the president's threat of sending the National Guard to Chicago to combat crime. In his remarks, Pritzker warned the president not to come to Chicago and said, "if you hurt my people, nothing will stop me - not time or political circumstance - from making sure that you face justice under our constitutional rule of law." Trump said he plans to send the National Guard to Chicago next as part of his attempts to curb violence in multiple U.S. cities.

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/pritzker-sends-warning-to-trump-on-national-guard-threat-do-not-come-to-chicago/3814727/

Kennedy Sought to Fire C.D.C. Director Over Vaccine Policy

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. summoned Susan Monarez, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to his office in Washington to deliver an ultimatum. She needed to fire career agency officials and commit to backing his advisers if they recommended restricting access to proven vaccines or risk being fired herself. Dr. Monarez’s refusal to do so led to an extraordinary standoff that paralyzed the nation’s health agency, which is still reeling from mass layoffs and a shooting this month that killed a police officer and terrified employees.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/health/rfk-jr-susan-monarez-cdc-vaccines.html

Fed Governor Lisa Cook Sues Trump Over Attempted Dismissal

Lisa Cook, a governor on the Federal Reserve Board, sued Trump over his decision to fire her from the nation’s central bank, arguing that she should be able to retain her position because the White House had no authority to order the dismissal. Cook’s lawsuit described her ouster as “unprecedented and illegal,” as she framed Trump’s actions as part of an overtly political campaign to pressure the independent Fed into lowering interest rates. The lawsuit sets the stage for a landmark legal battle over the future of the Fed, an independent institution that Trump has savaged for months in a bid to install new political loyalists who share his views on monetary policy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/us/politics/lisa-cook-trump-fed-lawsuit.html

Trump, With Tariffs and Threats, Tries to Strong-Arm Nations to Retreat on Climate Goals

Trump is not only working to stop a transition away from fossil fuels in the United States, he is also pressuring other countries to relax their pledges to fight climate change and instead burn more oil, gas and coal. The president, who has joined with Republicans in Congress to shred federal support for electric vehicles and for solar and wind energy, is applying tariffs, levies, and other mechanisms of the world’s biggest economy to induce other countries to burn more fossil fuels. His animus is particularly focused on the wind industry, which is a well-established and growing source of electricity in several European countries as well as in China and Brazil.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/climate/trump-international-pressure-climate-oil.html

FEMA Suspends Staff Who Signed a Letter Criticizing Trump

The Federal Emergency Management Agency suspended around 30 employees after those workers wrote to Congress warning that the Trump administration had gutted the nation’s ability to handle hurricanes, floods, and other extreme weather disasters. Of the 182 FEMA employees who signed the letter to Congress, 36 attached their names, while the rest withheld their identities for fear of retaliation. Those who used their names received emails saying they had been placed on paid administrative leave “effective immediately, and continuing until further notice.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/climate/fema-suspends-staff-who-criticized-trump-cuts.html

F.D.A. Approves Covid Shots With New Restrictions

The Food and Drug Administration approved updated Covid vaccines for the fall season and limited who can get the shots, the federal government’s most restrictive policy since the vaccines became available. The agency authorized the vaccines for people aged 65 and older, who are known to be more vulnerable to severe illness from Covid. Younger people would only be eligible if they had at least one underlying medical condition that would put them at risk for severe disease. Healthy children under 18 could still receive the shots if a medical provider is consulted.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/health/fda-covid-vaccines-rfk-jr.html

Denmark Summons U.S. Envoy Over a Reported ‘Influence Operation’ in Greenland

Denmark summoned the head of the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen after allegations emerged that three Americans with ties to Trump were running “covert influence operations” in Greenland.  Trump has repeatedly said that he wants the United States to “get” Greenland, a huge, strategically important island, mostly in the Arctic, that is a territory of Denmark. The allegations were published by Denmark’s main public broadcaster.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/world/europe/trump-denmark-greenland-us-embassy.html

Abrego Garcia Requests Asylum in the United States

Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran immigrant who was arrested again as officials sought to deport him for a second time, has asked a judge to grant him asylum. The move opens a new legal avenue for him to remain in the United States.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/us/politics/abrego-garcia-asylum.html

Union Station in Washington to Go Under Federal Control

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that his department would take control of Washington’s central train and bus hub, Union Station, as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on the nation’s capital. It was not immediately clear how and when Duffy would roll out his planned revitalization project, or whether it would use some of the contentious tactics the Trump administration has employed on federally owned land in other parts of the city.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/us/politics/trump-duffy-union-station-dc.html

U.S. Government Cracks Down on Organ Transplant System

The federal government is cracking down on the U.S. organ transplant system, investigating donation groups accused of safety lapses and overhauling policies meant to protect donors and recipients.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/us/federal-crackdown-organ-donations.html

Medicare Will Require Prior Approval for Certain Procedures

Private insurers often require a cumbersome review process that frequently results in the denial or delay of essential treatments that are readily covered by traditional Medicare. This practice, known as prior authorization, has drawn public scrutiny. Now, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to begin a pilot program that would involve a similar review process for traditional Medicare.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/health/medicare-prior-approval-health-care.html

Trump Calls for Death Penalty in All D.C. Murder Cases

Trump said that his administration would seek the death penalty for all murder cases in Washington, D.C., the latest escalation of his show of force in the nation’s capital that he has described as an effort to combat crime. Declaring in a cabinet meeting that the threat of execution is “a very strong preventative,” Trump echoed his long-held belief that criminals commit crimes because they do not fear the consequences. It is unclear how he would carry out this directive.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/us/politics/trump-death-penalty-murder-dc.html

Founder of Sinaloa Cartel Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking

Ismael Zambada García, a Sinaloa cartel founder who for decades evaded Mexican and U.S. authorities before his arrest in July 2024, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. He will be sentenced to life in prison on January 13, 2026.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/nyregion/el-mayo-sinaloa-drug-trafficking-plea.html

What We Know About the Minnesota Catholic School Shooting

An assailant fired through the windows of Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, killing an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old and injuring 18 other people, including 15 children. The attacker, a former student, then died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Law enforcement officers said they recovered hundreds of pieces of evidence connected with the shooter. Writings and videos by the assailant revealed a litany of grievances and violent obsessions.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/us/minneapolis-school-shooting-minnesota.html

Scientists Perform First Pig-to-Human Lung Transplant

Chinese scientists reported transplanting a lung from a pig into a brain-dead man. The organ sustained damage after it was transplanted but functioned to some degree. The organ was removed after nine days. American scientists called the procedure exciting but urged caution.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/health/lung-transplant-pig-human.html

Full Weight of American Tariffs Slams Into Effect Against India

Trump followed through on his threat to impose a 50% tariff on nearly all goods arriving from India, leveling one of his most punitive tariffs at a country with deep ties to the United States. The rate, half of which is punishment for India’s buying Russian oil, is expected to damage many Indian exporters that collectively employ millions of people. The move could rupture America’s expanding economic relationship with India, where two-thirds of the largest U.S. corporations have offshore operations.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/business/india-tariffs-trump-russia-oil.html

After Blocking U.N. Nuclear Watchdog, Iran Allows Inspectors to Return

The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has sent a team of inspectors back to Iran for the first time since the country suspended cooperation with the agency last month, in what could be a step toward restoring independent oversight of Tehran’s nuclear program.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/world/europe/iran-un-nuclear-watchdog-inspectors.html