海角大神

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2026
May
02
Saturday

Monitor Daily Podcast

May 02, 2026
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Kurt Shillinger
Managing Editor

It鈥檚 Saturday. Let鈥檚 talk baseball - specifically, highlights from a season still green with hope. Bronx outfielder Aaron Judge became the first reigning MVP to earn a 鈥済olden sombrero鈥� when he struck out four times on opening day. In Detroit, Spencer Torkelson homered in five consecutive games, tying a team record. And just down the road from us in Providence, Rhode Island, last Saturday, Brown University鈥檚 Olivia Pichardo became the first woman to pitch in an NCAA Division I game.聽

No other sport is quite so well-suited to tales of trial and redemption. Harry Bruinius has one today. The Old Joliet Prison on the industrial outskirts of Chicago once housed gangsters like Baby Face Nelson. On a cool spring Illinois afternoon, Harry followed the Joliet Slammers through the front gates Thursday for what they call The Big House Ballgame 鈥� a nine-inning tip of the cap to Route 66 and the forgotten towns that dot America鈥檚 past.聽

鈥淲e were known for being a hardscrabble place,鈥� one resident told him. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 not a bad thing. ... A lot of great athletes have come from here, a lot of people who鈥檝e gone on to do remarkable things.鈥�

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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Henry Romero/Reuters
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo attends a daily press conference at the National Palace, after the U.S. Justice Department said it had charged the governor of Mexico's Sinaloa state, Rub茅n Rocha Moya, and other officials for their alleged involvement with the Sinaloa Cartel, in Mexico City, April 30, 2026.

A new US indictment puts Mexico鈥檚 president in a political predicament

( 6 min. read )

The Trump administration has taken the rare step of charging a group of ruling-party Mexican officials in U.S. federal court. The move puts Mexico鈥檚 President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo in a tough spot with her own political constituents.

By Whitney Eulich
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Courtesy of Student Debt Crisis Center
Student Debt Crisis Center founder Natalia Abrams speaking聽in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in February 2023 to defend student debt cancellation.

Millions to see higher student loan payments atop rise in gas, food, healthcare costs

( 5 min. read )

A federal appeals court officially ended the Biden-era student loan repayment plan that made payments more affordable. Now, some 7 million borrowers are facing the likelihood of higher payments.

By Ira Porter
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Ann Scott Tyson/海角大神
A cargo ship floats through the Taiwan Strait, visible from a dock in northern Taiwan, April 14, 2026.

In Iran鈥檚 blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Beijing sees lessons for Taiwan

( 4 min. read )

In its quest to unite the self-governing island of Taiwan with mainland China,聽Beijing has considered 鈥� and practiced 鈥� a blockade of the Taiwan Strait, a critical waterway on which global trade relies.聽Is聽the world prepared?

By Ann Scott Tyson , reporting from Chuwei, Taiwan
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Harry Bruinius/海角大神
Johnny Williams, who manages a local body shop, stands in front of a tire repair store a few blocks away from the Old Joliet Prison in Illinois, April 30, 2026. He grew up in Joliet, and remembers when the prison was an economic driver for the city.

Where Route 66 begins: A tale of boom, bust, baseball, and a 鈥榖ig house鈥�

( 7 min. read )

Route 66 courses through American cities that once flourished before their economies faded or were forced to change. The story of Joliet, Illinois, reflects the high times, the hardships and the reinvention found along the century-old road.

By Harry Bruinius , reporting from Joliet, Illinois
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Essay
Illustrations by Karen Norris/Staff

The wind chime

( 4 min. read )

An unexpected encounter compels this writer to see his reclusive neighbor聽in a new light.

By Dave Bachmann
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Viewfinder

Dmitri Lovetsky/AP
Young women, dressed in Soviet style, dance as they celebrate May Day in St. Petersburg, Russia, May 1, 2026. May Day was a significant holiday in the Soviet Union to celebrate workers and showcase military strength.
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2026
May
02
Saturday

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