NEW: Netanyahu embraced a Mossad plan to ignite a regime change uprising in Iran for a quick victory. He used it to help convince Trump to start the war — despite doubts among some senior US and Israeli officials. It was a critical flaw in war plans. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/22/u...

NEW: Trump aides declare an emergency over the Iran War to bypass Congress to sell $23 billion of arms to Arab nations. NYT obtained a list with weapons the State Dept. hasn't announced, including Chinook helicopters to the UAE. The US did this with Israel. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/u...

NEW: The Trump administration is seeking to oust the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, in its talks with Cuban political leaders. It plans to allow the Castro family to keep power if they agree to economic changes, creating a client state for the US. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/w...

A group seeking donations for Trump sent out an email showing the president watching the somber transfer of US troops killed in the Iran War. The email says donors can get "private national security briefings and "the inside scoop DIRECT" from Trump. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/u...

A group seeking donations for Trump sent out an email showing the president watching the somber transfer of US troops killed in the Iran War. The email says donors can get "private national security briefings and "the inside scoop DIRECT" from Trump. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/u...

NEW: Trump and Rubio's doctrine of destroy and deal — On wars and foreign policy, they combine neoconservatism with transactionalism. They prefer regime compliance, not change. They attack weaker powers while courting China and Russia. But Iran retaliates. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/u...

NEW: Before the Iran War, Trump ignored warnings that Iran could retaliate across the region and stop oil shipments. Now, with energy markets in chaos, some aides are pessimistic about the lack of a strategy to end the war. But they haven't told Trump. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/u...

NEW: Before the Iran War, Trump ignored warnings that Iran could retaliate across the region and stop oil shipments. Now, with energy markets in chaos, some aides are pessimistic about the lack of a strategy to end the war. But they haven't told Trump. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/u...

NEW: The State Dept. has ordered diplomats in Saudi Arabia to leave. It's the first mandatory ordered departure issued by the agency during the US-Israel war on Iran, and indicates US officials fear more violence. Iranian drones hit the embassy in Riyadh. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/08/w...

NEW: Trump aides declared an emergency over Iran to bypass Congress to sell more than 20,000 bombs to Israel valued at $660 million. The State Dept. hasn't publicly disclosed info on half of the bombs. US gives $3.8 billion of arms aid to Israel annually. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/u...

NEW: Trump appointees in the State Dept. failed to urge Americans to leave the Middle East even though the US & Israel had been planning their war for weeks. Thousands are now frantic amid missile barrages. Rubio pushed out many veteran diplomats last year. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/u...

Breaking: The State Department says the US and Venezuela have reestablished diplomatic relations. A State Department official tells me the embassies in DC and Caracas have not reopened yet. Here is the official announcement:

NEW from @nytimes: Senior Iranian clerics are close to anointing Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in a US-supported Israeli attack, as the next leader of Iran. He’s the favorite candidate of the IRGC, a powerful military group. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/w...

Biden’s unequivocal support for Israel in its war in Gaza split the left and weakened the Democratic Party in elections, including against Trump. We’re about to see what happens to the right as Trump wages a war on Iran because of Israel — a rationale Rubio has now openly stated.

NEW: The definitive story of how Trump took an almost inevitable path to a new Middle East war: Netanyahu repeatedly urged him to attack Iran with Israel, and no aides voiced opposition. Netanyahu also undermined diplomacy. Regime change became the goal. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/u...

NEW: US diplomacy with Iran was doomed to fail. Trump & his aides made broad demands, and their priority wasn't the crippled nuclear program. Trump and Rubio signaled the need for regime change, and Israel pushed them to decimate Iran's ballistic missiles. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/01/u...

NEW: The Trump administration has delayed arms sales to Taiwan valued at $13 billion that had been approved by lawmakers. US officials say Trump wants to ensure a smooth summit in April with Xi. And the Iran war will cut into US military resources for Asia. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/u...

There are strange elements around Rubio’s announced trip to Israel. If he actually makes a trip, not taking reporters undermines transparency and breaks norms. And the US embassy in Jerusalem says some employees and family members should leave Israel, a sign of a potential war.

NEW: Trump's foreign policy is about resurrecting empire. He seeks to seize the territory and resources of sovereign peoples through force and threats. Rubio lamented the fall of the "great Western empires" in Munich. A new war with Iran looms. Gift link to my story: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/u...

NEW: The Trump administration's 3 key claims about Iran's nuclear & missile programs are false or unproven — including Iran "soon" making a missile that can hit the US. Intel analysts are concerned about aides exaggerating threats and misusing intelligence. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/u...

Judge says government may not search devices seized from Washington Post reporter, via Perry Stein www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

We need more people to tell these accounts on-the-record. Karen Newton, a British grandmother who worked at a primary school and had a valid visa for the US, was detained for 6 weeks by ICE. At one point, she was shackled and left on the floor of a cell. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

A packed house at Politics and Prose last night for a moving tribute to the Washington Post Book World, closed by the paper’s executives. I grew up reading it. Bob Woodward and Rita Dove were among the speakers. “Awful and tragic” — Woodward on the changes to the Post.

Reporting from Budapest: Rubio visited Orban to try to boost the authoritarian Hungarian leader ahead of elections. Orban faces a tough challenge from Peter Magyar, another conservative politician. Rubio said Trump is "deeply committed" to Orban's success. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/w...

Rubio's speech in Munich warned of the "civilizational erasure" of Europe and the ills of "mass migration." He said the US aims to save European culture. And he pushed for more defense spending. Rubio hit these themes in a friendlier tone than Vance. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/w...

NEW: US intelligence analysts assess that Xi Jinping has a remarkable level of paranoia. This could help explain his persecution of China's top general, Zhang Youxia, and other purges. Some experts say Xi could be moving to extend his rule for a 4th term. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...

The Washington Post is my hometown newspaper. I grew up reading it. The work of its foreign correspondents was a big inspiration for my own career as one for The New York Times. The Washington Post and its reporters are an American treasure.

NEW: US intelligence analysts assess that Xi Jinping has a remarkable level of paranoia. This could help explain his persecution of China's top general, Zhang Youxia, and other purges. Some experts say Xi could be moving to extend his rule for a 4th term. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...

UCLA law professor Alex Wang has been studying one of the critical ways China has been making inroads around the world. The US has been ceding this ground.

Judge Biery signed the order with a photo of Liam and two bible verses: The first is "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." The second is simply "Jesus wept." Astonishing thing for a judge to do.

The Trump administration is bypassing a Congressional review process to send $6.5 billion of weapons aid to Israel. The package includes Apache attack helicopters and combat vehicles. It's the third time the Trump administration has done this. Gift link to story: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...

The Trump administration is bypassing a Congressional review process to send $6.5 billion of weapons aid to Israel. The package includes Apache attack helicopters and combat vehicles. It's the third time the Trump administration has done this. Gift link to story: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...

Pen America @penamerica.bsky.social has issued this statement on the arrest by federal agents of journalist Don Lemon. "Journalism is not a crime." pen.org/press-releas...

Trump is now mobilizing the power of the federal government to relitigate the 2020 election that he lost by again advancing lies and distortions already debunked by Republicans and judges. Here is what really happened @reidepstein.bsky.social @nytnickc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/u...

Here’s a new frame-by-frame video analysis of the killing in Minneapolis by ICE of Alex Pettri, a nurse for the Veterans Administration. @nytimes.com assesses that two ICE agents shot 10 rounds into him even though he didn’t post a threat. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

Xi Jinping just purged Gen. Zhang Youxia, once his closest ally in the Chinese military. The move is significant. What does it mean? @nytimes.com story: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/w...

The Washington Post is my hometown newspaper. I grew up reading it. The work of its foreign correspondents was a big inspiration for my own career as one for The New York Times. The Washington Post and its reporters are an American treasure.

NEW: Trump reality check — China and Russia aren't threatening Greenland. US and European officials say there's no intelligence on any such dangers. Sen. Mark Warner says the only immediate threat to Greenland is Trump asserting claims to it. Gift link to my story: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...

NEW: Trump reality check — China and Russia aren't threatening Greenland. US and European officials say there's no intelligence on any such dangers. Sen. Mark Warner says the only immediate threat to Greenland is Trump asserting claims to it. Gift link to my story: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...

Newly unsealed evidence makes it even clearer that Rubio and Noem knew they were targeting students based solely on their political speech and that they knew this policy was unconstitutional. They just didn’t care. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...

Fallout from Trump’s recent statements on Greenland

UPDATE from @nytimes.com: Trump is building up forces near Iran. The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and escort ships are heading there from the South China Sea — a two-week trip. And the Pentagon is sending more warplanes, many from Europe. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...

NEW: Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, told The New York Times that a US takeover of Greenland was a red line. He said Vance and Rubio agree to a working group. But the White House said the group will discuss a US acquisition of Greenland. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...

NEW: Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, told The New York Times that a US takeover of Greenland was a red line. He said Vance and Rubio agree to a working group. But the White House said the group will discuss a US acquisition of Greenland. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...

UPDATE from @nytimes.com: Trump is building up forces near Iran. The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and escort ships are heading there from the South China Sea — a two-week trip. And the Pentagon is sending more warplanes, many from Europe. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...

NEW: Netanyahu called Trump yesterday and asked him to hold off on attacking Iran. During the June war, Iran hit Israel with many missiles, killing some civilians. Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have also asked the US not to attack Iran. Gift link to our story: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...

Trump said Iran had stopped killing protesters, citing "sources on the other side." But he didn't rule out military action, and a US official told The New York Times late Wednesday that what Trump did next depended on the Iranian security agencies. Story: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/u...

Venezuela’s ambassador to the UK, Félix Plasencia, is flying to DC on Thursday to try to meet with US officials. It’ll be the first visit by a Venezuelan envoy in years. Also on Thursday, Trump plans to meet Machado, the opposition leader. Story from @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/w...

NEW: Venezuela has released several American citizens, the first such detainees to be freed since US troops attacked Venezuela on Jan. 3 on Trump's orders and seized Maduro. At least 3 Americans have been freed as of Tuesday night, one person said. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/w...