China鈥檚 booming renewable energy industry may be stirring trade tensions, but it could also accelerate a green transition 鈥 in China and elsewhere.
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 usReaders of Ken Makin鈥檚 columns are familiar with his deep appreciation of history. Today, he reminds us of key players in making that history: everyday actors.
Take Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case that overturned segregation in U.S. schools and is marking its 70th anniversary. As Ken writes, the work of Thurgood Marshall, who argued the case before the U.S. Supreme Court and would later become its first Black justice, still 鈥渞ings in history books.鈥 But lesser-known champions helped lay the foundation for that moment 鈥撀爋ffering models for all of us in the power of stepping up,聽both to drive progress and to protect it.
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China鈥檚 booming renewable energy industry may be stirring trade tensions, but it could also accelerate a green transition 鈥 in China and elsewhere.
鈥 Israeli hostages: The Israeli military says its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three hostages. All three were killed by Hamas while fleeing the Nova music festival, according to a spokesperson.
鈥⒙Dow record: The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 40,000 on May 16, an all-time high. The S&P 500 crossed above its milestone on May 15, topping 5,300 points for the first time.聽
鈥⒙Severe storms: Houston鈥檚 mayor reports at least four people died in storms May 16. The fast-moving weather system also hit neighboring Louisiana and left more than 215,000 customers there without power.
鈥⒙Weapons testing: Suspected short-range ballistic missiles are fired off North Korea鈥檚 east coast May 17, a day after South Korea and the United States flew fighter jets in a drill North Korea views as a security threat.聽
鈥⒙Texas pardon:聽Gov. Greg Abbott, citing a 鈥渟tand-your-ground鈥 self-defense law, granted a full pardon May 16 to a former U.S. Army sergeant and Uber driver sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting a Black Lives Matter protester.聽
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Overall, experts say election-related fraud in the United States is extremely rare.聽And safeguards are in place for mailed ballots. Yet distrust in the system remains high among Republican voters.
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At a Monitor Breakfast, Democratic Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington state talks about the value of different perspectives and her party鈥檚 chances to retake the U.S. House this fall.聽
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On the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, our commentator weighs the promise that decision still offers for students against the realities of what their schools look like today.聽聽
History and experience have left some Black women in the United States feeling underserved by the medical system when it comes to maternal health. Can birth doulas help restore a sense of agency and control? Our writer explored that question, then joined our podcast to discuss what he learned.
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Spring is a time of rejuvenation.聽The Earth may be slow to warm in the Arctic, but the Sami people find renewal in their faith.
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Remember Lynette Woodard? How about Katherine Johnson or Nona Gaprindashvili?
Limit-shattering women too often require male reference points to lodge in public thought. Ms. Johnson is to Albert Einstein in physics as Ms. Gaprindashvili is to Garry Kasparov in chess. Yet that may now be about to change. The reason: the star-bursting arrival of what already looks like a paradigm-shifting cultural phenomenon.
Google it. The Caitlin Clark effect.
The most talked-about athlete in America right now is female. Caitlin Clark strode into the Women鈥檚 National Basketball Association this week clothed in superlatives. The highest scorer 鈥 male or female 鈥 in the history of the NCAA. The No. 1 draft pick.
Her impact on the court draws comparisons to male players. She shoots 3-pointers like Steph Curry. Yet her 鈥渆ffect鈥 resides more off the court, in the power of sport to promote equality through new views of human achievement and the universal qualities that enable it.
鈥淭here is something that happens in the way that men view women when women are seen to perform under pressure at a really high level physically,鈥 said sports columnist Sally Jenkins in a Washington Post podcast following Ms. Clark鈥檚 home opener in Indiana on Thursday night. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a credibility. ... That physical competency and emotional competency under pressure, it makes it easier for men to envision women driving aircraft carriers on a midnight shift.鈥
Ms. Clark follows a handful of pioneering women who used their athletic prowess to compel social change. Tennis great Billie Jean King and soccer star Megan Rapinoe championed human dignity in their advocacy for equal pay and LGBTQ+ rights. Serena Williams and gymnast Simone Biles broke racial barriers and voiced compassion for those struggling with mental health.
Now comes Ms. Clark. She is already changing the economics of the game by forcing scrutiny on the unequal salary structures of men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 professional basketball. Branding and ticketing companies are changing their business models to accommodate skyrocketing demand. Leadership experts are studying her game for new insights into what brings success.
More importantly, as Ms. Jenkins noted, she is erasing the notion that athletic excellence has different levels based on gender. She is 鈥渙ne of the best college basketball players to ever play,鈥 Patrick Mahomes, quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, posted on X back in February. In a poll by The Athletic last month, players in the NBA, the men鈥檚 top league, ranked Ms. Clark their second-favorite athlete in any other professional sports league, male or female. They didn鈥檛 stop there. Five other female basketball players earned votes 鈥 and respect 鈥 from their male counterparts.
Back to Lynette Woodard. For more than 40 years before Ms. Clark came along, she was the top-scoring female college basketball player of all time. She was often remembered in the same sentence with the men鈥檚 top scorer, Pete Maravich. Now she is compared to the woman who broke her record. Perhaps one day, the next Steph Curry will be called the Caitlin Clark of his generation.
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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A spiritual view of life shows us it鈥檚 always possible to express healing compassion toward others.
We hope you鈥檝e enjoyed the Monitor Daily this week. On Monday, keep an eye out for Anna Mulrine Grobe鈥檚 piece about how, as Russia鈥檚 Kharkiv offensive has stepped up, calls are increasing for the United States and other countries to lift their restrictions on Ukraine using its long-range聽missiles聽to hit Russian territory.聽