Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq waver as Big Tech stocks provide support; Dow down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise; Trump meets with Xi (news.google.com)
The Trump administration has been quietly holding talks with China about its rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal amid doubts over Beijing’s compliance with a 30-year test ban, U.S. officials said (on.wsj.com)
A pro-Trump ad that said it was paid for by the U.S. government aired on Fox News in major TV markets. Ethics experts said it could violate federal law. (on.wsj.com)
TechNet is urging the Trump administration to withdraw a proposed DHS rule to charge companies 103,265 for most new H-1B visa applications (on.wsj.com)
Oil executives and their lobbyists launched a coordinated contingency plan to persuade the Trump administration not to enact a ban on U.S. diesel exports (on.wsj.com)
Trump wants to preserve relations with Xi, but Iranian customs data show Chinese entities have made thousands of shipments of components used in drones and missiles. (on.wsj.com)
Gut Renos of Ionesco and Chekhov - In “Delirium” and “The Cherry Orchard,” experimental directors smash up and rebuild classic plays. (www.newyorker.com)
What Survival Stories Tell Us (and Should We Listen?) - Tales of human resilience in nature bring the thrill of the wild to the comfort of the couch. In our hyper-developed day and age, why do we return to stripped-down tales of survival? (www.newyorker.com)
There Is No A.I. “Race” - We’re constantly told that Chinese advances would have catastrophic consequences. But the first to innovate is rarely the one who wins. (www.newyorker.com)
How MAHA Tore One Family Apart - As measles cases reach a thirty-five-year high, disagreements over vaccines are putting new strains on families—and bringing the politics of MAHA into the home. (www.newyorker.com)
“NAZA” Puts Israel Face to Face with the War in Gaza - In this documentary, Israeli military and intelligence sources reveal systems, policies, and practices that have resulted in high numbers of civilian deaths and widespread destruction. (www.newyorker.com)
What China’s Vibe-Coding Capital Can Tell Us About the A.I. Boom - Tech workers have flocked to Liangzhu, a small town outside Hangzhou, looking to escape China’s corporate culture and build their future with A.I. (www.newyorker.com)
An OpenAI Engineer and His Friends Debate the Future - In Brent Katz’s short documentary “Josh’s Wedding,” a group of groomsmen reckon with a technology that one of them is building. (www.newyorker.com)
Kate Atkinson’s Obsession with History - “Our Noble Selves,” the author’s latest novel, is an object-obbsessed murder mystery, of a sort. (www.newyorker.com)
The Worlds That Donald Trump and Xi Jinping Want - As the President stages a gala welcome for the Chinese leader, it appears that, in curious ways, the two men mirror each other. (www.newyorker.com)
Is Trump’s Latest Press Attack Just Another Distraction? - After CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were barred from the White House, the entire TV press pool announced a boycott of the President. (www.newyorker.com)
Annie Dillard’s Subject Was the Whole World - We met decades after “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” took her from the slush pile to literary celebrity, in a flash. (www.newyorker.com)
Even Ed Sheeran’s Apology Took Both Sides - After allowing Macklemore to be removed from his tour for pro-Palestinian remarks, the pop star took the stage in Philadelphia alone, said he was sorry, and then apologized for apologizing. (www.newyorker.com)
Some Ways A.I. Might Do It - A.I. tells fifty per cent of people that knee-high socks are in and the other fifty per cent that no-show socks are in, and everyone dies in the Sock Wars. (www.newyorker.com)
The Lost Descendants of Thomas Jefferson - Scientists have new proof that the President had children with his enslaved chambermaid Sally Hemings—and that their bloodline endures across the country. (www.newyorker.com)
The Fallout of a Charlie Kirk Campus Scandal - Students and faculty across the country were punished for their reactions to the conservative activist’s murder. A recent graduate of Texas Tech’s law school is still trying to clear her name. (www.newyorker.com)
Waiting for Jay-Z - In a sold-out run at Yankee Stadium and an eight-part documentary on HBO, the rapper makes the latest case for his own singularity. (www.newyorker.com)
What Barbara Kingsolver Believes the Novel Can Do - One of the country’s most popular novelists writes what she calls socially engaged fiction. In her new book, she considers the role of art—and who it’s for. (www.newyorker.com)
Hernan Diaz’s Grand Experiment - In the novel “Ply,” the Pulitzer Prize winner imagines a ruined New York, a fractured society, and the ultimate structure of existence. (www.newyorker.com)