Vice President JD Vance told European leaders on Friday that their biggest security threat was not military aggression from Russia or China, but their own suppression of free speech — including efforts to block hard-right parties from joining governments. An audience that was largely expecting Mr. Vance to lay out the Trump administration’s priorities for … Read more
As the Trump administration continues to withhold billions of dollars for climate and clean energy spending — despite two federal judges ordering the money released — concerns are growing that the United States government could skip out on its legal commitments. Typically, when the federal government spends money through a grant or a loan program … Read more
Olena Matvienko knows she doesn’t have much to go home to. The Russians captured her city, Mariupol, shortly after invading Ukraine. A Russian missile destroyed her old apartment building. Her daughter and her granddaughter were killed in the city. Still, Ms. Matvienko, 66, would like to return. But after comments by President Trump and his … Read more
The structure at Chernobyl that was hit on Friday is a huge arching shelter covering what remains of the crippled reactor. The meltdown spewed radiation into the atmosphere and contaminated an 18-mile zone around the plant that residents were forced to leave. The protective structure, which resembles an aircraft hangar, was completed in 2016. It … Read more
China said Friday that the United States should take the lead in the reduction of nuclear weapons and military spending, after President Trump proposed working with China and Russia on these issues. Mr. Trump had told reporters on Thursday in the Oval Office that he would like to hold talks with both China’s top leader, … Read more
Video Shows Explosion at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
Archaeologists have unearthed the foundations of London’s first public building. Excavating under the basement of a commercial building in the city’s financial district, they encountered what they believe are the roughly 2,000-year-old remains of a basilica from Roman London. The basilica was part of London’s Roman forum, or public square, and was “effectively the first … Read more
Hamas published on Friday the names of three more hostages for release, signaling that an impasse over the immediate future of the cease-fire with Israel had been overcome. The three men are set to be freed on Saturday as part of a series of exchanges between Israel and Hamas. A Hamas statement named them as … Read more
Pope Francis was hospitalized on Friday for diagnostic tests and to treat an ongoing case of bronchitis, the Vatican said, reviving concerns about the 88-year old pontiff’s health. In a brief statement, the Vatican said that Francis had held his audiences as usual on Friday morning and was then taken to the Policlinico Agostino Gemelli, … Read more
The words “optimal” and “optimize” derive from the Latin “optimus,” or “best,” as in “make the best of things.” Alessio Figalli, a mathematician at the university ETH Zurich, studies optimal transport: the most efficient allocation of starting points to end points. The scope of investigation is wide, including clouds, crystals, bubbles and chatbots. Dr. Figalli, … Read more