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Why the United States Can’t Quit Its Wars

The country’s longest war came to an end exactly five years ago. Today it offers lessons for policymakers seeking to avoid an endless war in Iran.

© Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times

A U.S. military helicopter over Kabul, Afghanistan, in May 2021.
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Deportees Sent to Liberia Recount Harrowing Details of U.S. Expulsion and Treatment by ICE

Ten deportees said they experienced or witnessed what they called abusive or violent treatment by ICE. They spent months in detention, they said, before being sent to nations where they had no ties.

© Matthew Jacobs/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A plane carrying deportees from the United States at the international airport outside of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, on Aug. 20.
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Postal Service Rule Could Bar Millions From Voting by Mail

A judge temporarily blocked the agency from implementing a strict new rule governing mail voting. The policy could disproportionately affect Democrats and many battleground elections.

© William Liang/Associated Press

Stacked ballots in a processing center in City of Industry, Calif.
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How Trump’s Policy Agenda Runs Through One Federal Court, in Texas

For years, conservative litigants flocked to Judge Reed O’Connor’s district. Now, North Texas has become a favorite destination of the Justice Department.

© U.S. Courts, via Reuters

Judge Reed O’Connor in 2018. He has built a reputation as a conservative stalwart and became the chief judge of the Northern District of Texas last August.
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Trump’s Venezuelan Oil Deal Relies on a Powerful and Divisive Partner

The administration will work with a private Venezuelan oil company that has close ties to the country’s government.

© Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times

Venezuela is believed to have one of the world’s largest reserves of oil but it produces very little oil because of mismanagement, corruption and U.S. sanctions.
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Warsh, After Talking Tough on Inflation, Faces a ‘No-Win Situation’ on Rates

Kevin M. Warsh, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, must soon decide whether to raise interest rates if inflation does not ease, even if it draws President Trump’s ire.

© Natalie Behring/Getty Images

Kevin Warsh, chairman of the Federal Reserve, at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday.
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Milo Yiannopoulos, Right-Wing Agitator, Deported Home to U.K.

Mr. Yiannopoulos, an early supporter of President Trump and vocal supporter of mass deportations, was himself sent back to his home country, part of a long fall from right-wing grace.

© Win Mcnamee/Getty Images

Milo Yiannopoulos at the U.S. Capitol in 2022.
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Carney Has Canadians’ Support on Trump. Now Comes the Hard Part.

The U.S.-Canada trade war has galvanized Canadians behind their prime minister’s decision to walk away from negotiations. What happens when the time comes for talks to restart?

© Dave Chan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario, after trade talks with the US collapsed earlier this month.
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Judge Rules Trump Unlawfully Targeted Stanford Students Who Criticized Israel

The ruling was a win for Stanford’s student newspaper, The Stanford Daily, and it followed another court victory for students targeted by the Trump administration last year.

© Jim Wilson/The New York Times

A lawsuit argued that student journalists had been forced to self-censor out of fear of government retaliation.
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High Debt and Rising Prices Catch Up to Trump, as Midterms Near

To win in 2024, the president promised an economic course correction. Almost two years later, his agenda has made that fight even harder.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

A series of concerning economic snapshots for President Trump have been released over the past week.
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‘Lake America’? These Upstate New Yorkers Aren’t Letting Go of ‘Ontario.’

President Trump on Thursday signed an order rechristening Lake Ontario as Lake America, but businesses around Niagara Falls say they won’t be changing their tune.

© Cole Burston/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

For some of the over two million New Yorkers who live along the shores of Lake Ontario, its new name seemed like an unworthy distraction.
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Trump Says U.S. Struck Deal for Control of More Than 65 Billion Barrels of Venezuela’s Oil

The president said an agreement between the countries covered more than 65 billion barrels of reserves. A U.S. official said it would involve a partnership with a private company.

© Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times

An oil refinery in Punto Fijo, Venezuela, in 2021. Venezuela’s president, Delcy Rodríguez, said a U.S. oil deal would have a “significant impact on our nation’s revival.”
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Trump Administration Looks to Give a Swath of Yosemite Park to Developer

The proposed land swap would allow easy access to the crown jewel of the national park system. Democrats and former Park Service officials are incensed.

© Mike Kai Chen for The New York Times

Visitors walk through Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park.
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For Trump, the Iran War Is Stuck Between Combat and Genuine Peace

The war has deteriorated over the past six months into Mr. Trump’s own version of a “forever war,” with no clear goals and no end in sight.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

President Trump has been unable so far to broker an agreement to end the war on satisfactory terms.
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Chevron Is in Talks to Expand in Venezuela, a Potential Win for Trump

President Trump’s administration has been pushing U.S. companies like Chevron to invest more in Venezuela’s oil industry.

© Marco Bello/Reuters

A Chevron-chartered oil tanker was anchored near Maracaibo, Venezuela, in February. Chevron is the only U.S. oil company with a major footprint in the country.
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Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Uphold Ban on Transgender Troops

President Trump issued an executive order barring transgender service members from the military as part of a broader attack on transgender rights.

© Allison Robbert for The New York Times

If the justices accept the case, they could schedule oral arguments during the Supreme Court’s term that begins in October.
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Judge Again Denies Trump’s Request to Move Hush-Money Case to Federal Court

The ruling, from Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, blocks President Trump’s quickest path to overturning his 2024 conviction for covering up hush-money payments to a porn star.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

In July, the Supreme Court found that presidents were entitled to presumptive immunity for official acts, raising the bar for any prosecution.
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Smaller Revision Points to More Accurate Jobs Numbers

The 2026 revisions by the Bureau of Labor Statistics represent a downward adjustment of just 0.1 percent of the total work force.

© Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Networking at a job fair in Carson, Calif., in June.
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Why Many Iranians Are Losing Hope After Six Months of War

Iranians have become increasingly desperate, as they grapple with an economic crisis made worse by the conflict and grow increasingly skeptical about President Trump’s motives.

© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times

The most immediate preoccupation for most Iranians is dealing with soaring prices caused by an enduring economic crisis.
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