Opinion

Cuba belongs to its people, not to Trump

While the world watched the pomp of Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing, the U.S. was turning up the pressure thousands of miles away. Its oil blockade has plunged Cuba into a humanitarian crisis, sparking nationwide blackouts that have prompted rare protests, closing schools and universities and leaving hospitals battling to treat patients. Surveillance flights are circling. U.S. media reported last weekend that federal prosecutors are preparing an indictment for Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former president and brother of Fidel. (Editor's note: Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced ...

Almanac for May 22, 2026

Today is Friday, May 22, the 142nd day of 2026. There are 223 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1960, the strongest earthquake recorded struck southern Chile. The magnitude 9.5 quake claimed 1,655 lives, left 2 million homeless and triggered a tsunami responsible for over 230 additional deaths in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines. Also on this date: In 1939, the foreign ministers of Germany and Italy, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Galeazzo Ciano, signed a "Pact of Steel" committing their two countries to a military and political alliance. In 1962, Continental Airlines Flight ...

Editorial cartoon for May 22, 2026

The Tom Steyer smear

Billionaire Tom Steyer used his money to attack a lone climate researcher. Roger Pielke Jr.'s research on climate and disaster policy wins awards and is cited by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. "My views are entirely mainstream," says Pielke. "My work is cited ...

Rubio, Trump raise possibility of military action in Cuba

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and America's top diplomat on Thursday again raised the specter of U.S. military intervention in Cuba, a renewed threat that takes on greater weight a day after the administration announced criminal charges against the island's former leader, Raúl ...

Our screen culture increasingly can't read

We've been having a debate about "book bans" in recent years, but given the steep decline in student literacy, the deeper question is how anyone would notice whether a book is available in a school library or not. The New York Times published an eye-opening report on a study by the ...