This story appeared in Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. Subscribe here. Canada’s prime minister delivered a blistering and remarkable speech at the World Economic Forum this week, essentially declaring the end of the world as you and I have known it.  Since World […]

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: Donald Trump is once again moving markets — and being moved by them in turn.  What happened? On Wednesday afternoon, the president said in a […]

The Supreme Court’s Republican majority ordinarily believe that President Donald Trump is allowed to fire virtually anyone who works for a federal agency. Last July, for example, they permitted the Trump administration to fire nearly half of the Department of Education’s employees. In May, however, the Court also signaled that the Federal Reserve is special. […]

Here’s something strange about how we test new drugs: Every clinical trial has to pretend that nothing like it has ever come before. Even if clinicians have tested similar drugs for years, or if decades of research point in a certain direction, each trial must prove — independently — that the drug works based solely […]

CAIRNS, Australia — “I just got a whiff,” said Peter Harrison, a marine scientist, as he leaned over the edge of the boat and pointed his flashlight into the dark water. “It’s really coming through now.”  It was shortly after 10 pm on a cloudy December night, and Harrison, a coral researcher at Australia’s Southern Cross […]