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Dictatorships seem stable and almost invulnerable, until the day they fall. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime crumbled in days in the face of an offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, a group that the United States considers a terrorist organization.
Hyundai has a lot riding on a patch of rural Georgia. In October, the South Korean auto giant opened a new electric-vehicle factory west of Savannah at the eye-watering cost of $7.6 billion. It’s the largest economic-development project in the state’s history (one that prompted the Georgia statehouse to pass a resolution recognizing “Hyundai Day”).
Jonathan Zittrain breaks ChatGPT: If you ask it a question for which my name is the answer, the chatbot goes from loquacious companion to something as cryptic as Microsoft Windows’ blue screen of death.
Anytime ChatGPT would normally utter my name in the course of conversation, it halts with a glaring “I’m unable to produce a response,” sometimes mid-sentence or even mid-word.
Editor’s Note: Is anything ailing, torturing, or nagging at you? Are you beset by existential worries? Every Tuesday, James Parker tackles readers’ questions. Tell him about your lifelong or in-the-moment problems at dearjames@theatlantic.com.
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Dear James,
I have a group of friends who used to work together, and our friendship has happily continued even though we’re no longer at the same company.
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I. Supply and Demand
Here, in the third decade of the 21st century, the most sought-after ammunition in the U.S.
As the official death toll in Gaza tops 45,000 and Israel’s wars throughout the Middle East continue, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in court for a long-awaited corruption trial, making him the country’s first sitting leader to face criminal charges. He is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases.
We speak with organizer Astra Taylor of the Debt Collective, which is urging President Joe Biden to cancel more student debt, including for older debtors, before the end of his term. According to the White House, the administration has approved $175 billion in student debt relief for nearly 5 million borrowers over the past four years, but advocates say Biden can still do more in his final weeks as president. “This is a Titanic moment for the Biden administration.
President Joe Biden’s decision to grant clemency to a corrupt former judge has sparked widespread outrage, including from members of his own party. Biden announced nearly 1,500 commutations and pardons last week in what the White House described as the largest single-day act of clemency from a president, but among those whose sentences were reduced is former Pennsylvania Judge Michael Conahan — one of two judges in the notorious “kids for cash” scandal. In 2011, Conahan was sentenced to 17.
Public health officials see promise in some of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plans to prevent chronic disease but despair at his vaccine conspiracy theories.
The streaming giant is scaling back on its generous parental leave policy…and employee swag.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “I wish I were rich enough to own a stegosaurus,” then there’s an online platform for you.
Most modern interpretations are a sad imitation of what was once a kitschy holiday tradition.
The NFL’s only problem is that it needs free-flowing dollars to keep pace with itself.
A witness recognized the alleged killer at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s.
The president-elect’s advisers haven’t yet begun meeting with federal agencies, despite signing an agreement late last month allowing them to do so.
Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside a Midtown hotel.
The agency denied Triton Distribution’s application to sell flavored e-liquids.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
What we say matters, especially depending on whom we say it to.
The Waves also discusses the case against Jeffrey Epstein and Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble.
Five weeks after the election, the president took his sharpest swing at Trump’s policy plans.
A pair of POLITICO|Morning Consult polls, one conducted in the final days of the election and the other conducted after Trump won, show how public opinion has changed.
The final paid messages: Economy, culture wars and character.
Harris has ratcheted up her warnings about the dangers of a second Trump term in recent weeks.
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
The days of tech CEOs tussling with Donald Trump are fading. After distancing themselves from Trump during his first administration—and publicly rebuking him after the events of January 6, 2021—many Silicon Valley leaders are now taking a softer approach.
Many friends of mine are pretty deep in the slough of despond. I occasionally plead with them to make their predictions of catastrophe less hopeless and categorical, but with less success than I wish. I respect their points of view but have decided to look elsewhere for advice, and so have turned to a different set of friends—those sitting on my bookshelves.
Some of these friends have been with me for more than half a century; and they get wiser and more insightful with age.
Should American states be allowed to ban puberty blockers for teenagers with gender dysphoria? That issue is currently being considered by the Supreme Court, which recently heard oral arguments about a Tennessee law restricting medical transition by minors. The Biden administration and the ACLU have sued to block the law. Before the justices, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar and the ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio found themselves trying to navigate two different sets of questions.
