On Monday, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators delivered a letter to the National Science Foundation urging Acting Director Brian Stone to “reverse course” on a Trump administration plan to dismantle the “vital” Ocean Observatories Initiative. Composed of “over 900 unique deep-sea buoys and other instruments,” the OOI “provides insights into changing ecosystem conditions and extreme weather events,” said the group. The administration’s plan threatens the “safety of our coastal communities” and undermines the U.S.’s “ability to monitor coastal environments, marine currents and extreme weather events.”

What did the commentators say?
The National Science Foundation’s order to remove OOI equipment from coastal waters off Alaska, North Carolina and Washington came with “no warning and no scientific review” last month, said The Associated Press. The program had been “slated to run another 15 to 20 years.” 

Pulling back now “reflects the further lack of understanding that the current administration has of scientific value and scientific merit,” said Craig McLean, the acting chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during the first Trump term, to The New York Times. Dismantling the OOI pushes the U.S. “back yet again into a rear seat in global scientific leadership.” OOI data on “waves, currents, salinity, the soundscape for marine mammals, carbon dioxide levels, alkalinity and more” has been a “godsend to public researchers, hazard planners and private companies alike,” said The Bulwark. 

The plan to shutter the OOI was originally “laid out by conservative strategist the Heritage Foundation,” said Oceanographic Magazine. The group’s Project 2025 authors “explicitly targeted the network” for its contributions to climate change research. This “marks another step” in Trump’s “rollback of science and climate initiatives,” said The Guardian.

What next?
The National Science Foundation should respect “congressional intent and legal direction,” which is “clearly to maintain the operation of this cost-effective research system,” said the bipartisan Senate group in its letter. The foundation must “cease this expensive, destructive, and, crucially, illegal action at once,” said a separate group of Democrats in a letter signed by members of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Two years ago, it was brat summer. This summer, everyone is wrapping themselves in a new trend: whimsy. From dopamine-spiking decor to more bright kid-like clothes, adults are romanticizing the smallest aspects of their lives and fully running with a lighthearted outlook.

‘Childlike joy’
The word “whimsy” and the vibe associated with it are “having a moment,” thanks to Gen Z and millennials who have “recast the word to characterize a lifestyle that blends playfulness, spontaneity and being present,” said The New York Times. Searches on Etsy for “whimsical jewelry,” “whimsical decor” and “whimsy-related items” were each up by at least 50% from last year.

Shoppers use whimsy as a “form of everyday escapism, seeking out pieces that feel personal, playful and a little unexpected to make everyday life more extraordinary,” said Dayna Isom Johnson, Etsy’s trend expert, to the Times. The whimsy craze has an “emphasis on offline activities” that parallels a “movement by young people who are leaving behind smartphones and screens,”said the outlet.

Whimsy is “easier to recognize than to translate," said NSS magazine. For those who relish it, being whimsical means “reconnecting with what as children seemed natural: to be amazed, to invent, to celebrate even the smallest things.”

Chasing authenticity
Whimsy devotees see it as a “response to compounding anxieties over a series of stressors, including a challenging economy, multiple wars and a volatile presidency,” said the Times. No one can control “what our leaders are doing,” but you can control “what kind of mug you are going to choose, what cute outfit you are going to wear, and what beautiful thing you can do in your morning,” said podcaster Liz Plank to the Times.

With how swiftly the trend cycle swerves, the whimsical moment may not last. Still, when whimsy is “understood in its purest, most spontaneous and curious sense,” it can be read as an “attempt to withdraw from the pressure of constant consumption, choosing to live with more freedom,” said NSS magazine. A whimsical life can be a “small form of everyday resistance.”

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men protest against military recruitment and call for the release of detained draft resisters outside a military prison near Kfar Yona, Israel. Military service is compulsory in Israel, though ultra-Orthodox citizens are awarded exemptions that are now under threat as the military faces shortages.
Ariel Schalit / AP Photo

The warm weather is finally here. And with summer’s arrival comes a slew of tours to enjoy as the season’s live performances get underway.

Ariana Grande
The pop superstar has embarked on her “Eternal Sunshine” tour. It may be the last chance to see Grande on a concert stage for a while. “I do know that I’m very excited to do this small tour, but I think it might not happen again for a long, long, long, long time,” she said last year on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast. (through September)

BTS
There’s no arguing that BTS (pictured above) is one of the world’s biggest bands, and the K-pop group’s loyal fans can now catch the group on the road during its “Ariang” world tour. The massive events, in support of BTS’ 2026 album of the same name, span seven continents over nearly an entire year and feature a “360-degree, in-the-round stage design — a first for a K-pop stadium tour,” said concert promoter Live Nation. (through March 2027)

De La Soul
Hip-hop enthusiasts have a chance to see these legends live on an ongoing concert tour, with shows on several continents. De La Soul has undergone a metamorphosis in recent years as in “many ways one of the most influential groups in hip-hop is new. The duties have been reassessed,” and the “focus has shifted,” said NPR. (through October)