Even though the two dams spanning the river in Bedford, Pa., were old, troublesome and functionally useless, locals just couldn’t quit them. The dams were built for swimming and fishing, but so much silt had built up that the river was mere inches deep. They trapped debris, worsened flooding and thwarted migratory fish. They were…
“Today is a triumph for freedom as huge as any victory that has ever been won on any battlefield,” President Lyndon Johnson declared as he signed the Voting Rights Act on Aug. 6, 1965. “This act flows from a clear and simple wrong,” he continued. “Millions of Americans are denied the right to vote because…
In January 1980, President Jimmy Carter made a bold promise: If any foreign power tried to dominate the Persian Gulf or the region’s vast oil reserves, it would be met with American military force. By guaranteeing the free flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz over the next 45 years, America signaled to the…
On Friday, the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit blocked a Food and Drug Administration rule that allows doctors to prescribe the abortion pill mifepristone via telemedicine. The decision sends a clear message: No woman in America, no matter where she lives, has total control over whether to continue or end a…
President Trump is right to demand that Europe spend more on its own defense. But the Trump administration’s announcement on Friday that it would pull 5,000 U.S. troops out of Germany risks weakening one of America’s best strategic investments: a military presence that deters Russia and keeps Europe’s old rivalries from becoming America’s problem again….
Olivia Rodrigo has set a massive tour in support of her upcoming album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love. The 65-date jaunt, spanning North America and Europe, kicks off on Sept. 25 in Hartford, Connecticut and runs through May 2, 2027 in Barcelona. The tour includes four nights at Brooklyn’s Barclays…
Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world The US Air Force moved into Lakenheath in Britain in 1948. Ramstein air base was established in Germany in the early 1950s. Today there are over forty US military bases in Europe, hosting…
A remarkable thing has happened on the world’s battlefields. Ukraine — a nation that was supposed to dissolve within days of a Russian invasion — has fought Russia to a stalemate, revolutionizing land warfare in the process. It has become an indispensable security partner in the western alliance, including in the war against Iran. Now,…
When Donald Trump returned to office in January last year, one of his first acts was to sign an executive order intended to cut federal funding for any school teaching what the administration defined as “critical race theory”. A raft of other orders mandated the termination of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) personnel, offices and training across the…
This article is an on-site version of our Swamp Notes newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every Monday and Friday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newsletters I thought about entitling this note, “The sanity of Charles III”. Then it occurred to me that…
