'His disdain for international rules could eviscerate the laws of war'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day


'Hegseth is dangerous but not for the reasons you think'
Ben Rhodes at The New York Times
Pete Hegseth is "unqualified to run a nuclear-armed organization with a budget approaching a trillion dollars," but "that's the point," says Ben Rhodes. Donald Trump "doesn't want someone to effectively manage the Pentagon; he wants to disrupt it." Hegseth's "hostility to constraints on American behavior overlaps with Mr. Trump's recent foreign policy pronouncements." It "would be wrong to discount the possibility of a transformation of our military, just as it's wrong to understate the depth of resentment."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'Cutting airplane contrails is an easy climate win'
Mike Berners-Lee at the Financial Times
Reducing contrails is the "closest thing we have to a silver bullet to dramatically reduce the climate impact of aviation," says Mike Berners-Lee, and there's a "cost-effective way to tackle them." We "would need to reroute less than 2% of flights to halve their impact — that's a huge reduction for very little effort." With "flights over North America, Europe and the north Atlantic accounting for more than half of global contrail impact, the U.S. seriously needs to catch up."
'The short shelf life of corporate DEI'
Ilan Kapoor at Al Jazeera
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The "ostensible reason for this business change of heart on DEI is that" it's "now 'outdated,'" but "there is a notable business logic behind it," says Ilan Kapoor. The "timing of the announcement by a series of major corporations is revealing of their calculation that DEI is no longer beneficial to their brands." The "often tokenistic inclusion of minorities under the guise of 'equity' provides the illusion of creating greater equality. But it doesn't and hasn't."
'Justice Juan Merchan got it just right with Donald Trump's sentencing'
Chicago Tribune editorial board
"Donald Trump, felon, will remain exactly that," says the Chicago Tribune editorial board. Justice Juan Merchan "reminded both citizen Trump and President-elect Trump that the laws of the land apply to him as they do every other American." They "don't always apply equally, as the pragmatic Merchan clearly recognized when he declined to punish Trump for his crimes. But they do apply," and "all the more welcome, then, was the bracing reminder for him."
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
Democrats’ strategy to woo voters for 2026: religion
The Explainer Politicians like Rob Sand and James Talarico have made a name for themselves pushing their faith
-
Pregnancy in America
Feature Why is it getting riskier to give birth in the U.S.?
-
The potential warning sign of an auto lender’s bankruptcy
In the Spotlight Tricolor collapse an ‘extreme example’ of economy’s challenges
-
Venezuela: Was Trump’s air strike legal?
Feature A Trump-ordered airstrike targeted a speedboat off the coast of Venezuela, killing all 11 passengers on board
-
‘Tariffs at their essence are an income transfer’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
3 killed in Trump’s second Venezuelan boat strike
Speed Read Legal experts said Trump had no authority to order extrajudicial executions of noncombatants
-
Is Kash Patel’s fate sealed after Kirk shooting missteps?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The FBI’s bungled response in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting has director Kash Patel in the hot seat
-
‘We must empower young athletes with the knowledge to stay safe’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Russian drone tests Romania as Trump spins
Speed Read Trump is ‘resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector’
-
Trump renews push to fire Cook before Fed meeting
Speed Read The push to remove Cook has ‘quickly become the defining battle in Trump’s effort to take control of the Fed’
-
Will Donald Trump’s second state visit be a diplomatic disaster?
Today's Big Question Charlie Kirk shooting, Saturday’s far-right rally and continued Jeffrey Epstein fallout ramps-up risks of already fraught trip