A Supreme Court ruling in Donald Trump鈥檚 immunity case will set important precedent, perhaps narrowing the lens on when former presidents can be tried. The court also may be removing one key obstacle to a Trump comeback.
Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we鈥檝e always been transparent about that.
The church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we鈥檝e aimed 鈥渢o injure no man, but to bless all mankind,鈥 as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.
Here, you鈥檒l find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences 鈥 a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.
Explore values journalism About usIn culture wars, labels get lobbed like grenades: You鈥檙e ludicrously and dangerously 鈥渨oke.鈥 Or you鈥檙e a hopeless guardian of outmoded social mores. There鈥檚 a zero-sum feel: Gains for some must carry costs for others.聽
A layer beneath, in affected communities, are people just trying to live with dignity.聽
Last May, a Monitor reporter wrote and spoke about the weaponized politics around health care for transgender people. What he stressed: a Monitor obligation 鈥渢o understand the nuance and bring it to readers.鈥
That鈥檚 a requirement that Jackie Valley fulfills today from Oklahoma. Her compassionate report on the perspectives of individuals within LGBTQ+ communities is a sober, agenda-free exploration 鈥 and a very Monitor story.
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A Supreme Court ruling in Donald Trump鈥檚 immunity case will set important precedent, perhaps narrowing the lens on when former presidents can be tried. The court also may be removing one key obstacle to a Trump comeback.
鈥 Congress scrambles: The House passes a short-term spending measure that would keep one set of federal agencies operating through March 8 and another set through March 22. The Senate was also expected to vote on the bill Thursday. The short-term extension is the fourth in recent months.聽
鈥 Judge halts Texas law: A federal judge blocks a state law that gave police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the United States, dealing a victory to the Biden administration in its feud with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott over immigration enforcement.聽
鈥 Israel targets aid recipients: Israeli troops fire on Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza City, according to witnesses. More than 100 people were killed. Israeli officials say the crowd had approached in a threatening way.
鈥 Maine gun control push: Democrats in the State Legislature unveil sweeping gun violence measures, including a 72-hour waiting period for most gun purchases and $17.5 million in spending for community mental health programs.
鈥 Good night, moon lander: Odysseus, the first private U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon, broke a leg on touchdown before falling over, according to officials at Intuitive Machines, its builder. They said the craft was on the verge of losing power.
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When a transgender teen in Oklahoma died after being bullied, the culture wars ground into motion, with accusations and allegations. But in talking with LGBTQ+ people in Oklahoma, a complicated picture emerges 鈥 of steep challenges but also of a sense of home worth fighting for.
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Same-day border visits by both presidential front-runners underscore how illegal immigration has become the top issue in the race. In a marked change, President Joe Biden is going on the offensive.
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Farmer protests in Europe pose a global question: How can governments make the shift to environmental sustainability politically 蝉耻蝉迟补颈苍补产濒别?听
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In a nation focused on divisions, voices are rising for peace. One of these, civil rights activist and nonviolence advocate Clarence B. Jones, who helped write the famous 鈥淚 Have a Dream鈥欌 speech, is finding new audiences.聽
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鈥淒une: Part Two鈥 arrives almost 2 1/2 years after the first installment. With the possible exception of 鈥淟awrence of Arabia,鈥 film critic Peter Rainer writes, he鈥檚 never seen so much sand in one movie.
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Last year, the world鈥檚 largest offshore wind developer, 脴rsted of Denmark, began work with the World Wildlife Fund to prove a point: that restoration of reefs in Denmark鈥檚 North Sea can bring back lost populations of oysters and horse mussels 鈥 and could be done in harmony with giant wind farms.
The five-year BioReef project, as it is called, aims to show that humanity can 鈥渟olve both the climate and the biodiversity crisis鈥 without conflict, says Bo 脴ksnebjerg, secretary-general of WWF Denmark.
Much of Europe can now expect many more attempts to rehabilitate eroded waterways and landscapes, with the added goal of proving that humans can still thrive when they work in harmony with nature. On Tuesday, the European Parliament came together to give final passage to a 鈥渘ature restoration鈥 law.
The law requires the bloc鈥檚 27 countries to restore at least 20% of the Continent鈥檚 land and sea areas by 2030 and 60% by 2040. These levels will help bring the scale and diversity needed for animals and plants to form a sustainable balance.
To be clear, the new law aims to restore former wilderness 鈥 from peat lands to oyster beds 鈥 not simply to protect the already wild areas. About 26% of land in the European Union is protected.
Political harmony in the European Parliament, located in the French city of Strasbourg, was essential to the law鈥檚 passage. Farmers, worried by claims they might lose agricultural land, were given a few concessions but not without some agreement on the benefits of restoration, such as making land more resilient to extreme weather, pest outbreaks, and loss of pollinators.
A report for the EU found that the economic benefits of restoring ecosystems far outweigh the costs. Restoring land and waterways, says Virginijus Sinkevi膷ius, European commissioner for the environment, oceans and fisheries, will help provide Europe with a healthy economy. If the price of oysters starts to drop in Denmark in a few years, he may be right.
Each weekday, the Monitor includes one clearly labeled religious article offering spiritual insight on contemporary issues, including the news. The publication 鈥 in its various forms 鈥 is produced for anyone who cares about the progress of the human endeavor around the world and seeks news reported with compassion, intelligence, and an essentially constructive lens. For many, that caring has religious roots. For many, it does not. The Monitor has always embraced both audiences. The Monitor is owned by a church 鈥 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston 鈥 whose founder was concerned with both the state of the world and the quality of available news.
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No matter what type of situation we find ourselves in, we can rely on God for strength and guidance 鈥 as a climber experienced firsthand while ascending Half Dome.
Thanks for reading today鈥檚 Daily. Stop back tomorrow for a report from Senegal. As young people there await their first presidential election later this year, they must consider not only how they鈥檒l vote 鈥 but also whether voting is a useful tool for change in their country. It鈥檚 a consequential question.聽