Here's a glimpse at our top five stories, including editor commentary on each story, and our audio edition.
You might have expected a one-party-controlled Congress to have accomplished a lot. But what this one got done – including some bipartisan work – came despite deep political disruption.
While reporting in Greece on another story, Monitor correspondent Dominique Soguel heard tales of migrants being beaten and illegally expelled from the EU by border officials. So she investigated.
For Christians in the Arab world, as for many others, the vision of life in America has long been a beacon of hope. But US refugee policy has left families in transit to the US torn in two – half in, half out.
How best to teach empathy? It’s a question with which educators have wrestled. This piece looks at a novel way of helping young students appreciate attributes such as vulnerability and strength.
Finally, here’s another story about appreciation. Illumination often signifies progress. As the Northern Hemisphere’s shortest day yields to its longest night, a reporter with a deep interest in science and space reflects on connecting with the still beauty of darkness.
We think it is time to rethink the news.
News is essential. It is the fuel for a thriving democracy. It takes us to places and introduces us to people we never imagined. It defends our rights and values.
Over the Monitor’s 108-year history, we’ve built a legacy of high-quality, distinctive journalism because we recognize that news is more than facts. It’s the story of how we are each trying to make our homes, communities, and nations better. What matters are the values and ideals that drive us, not just the who, what, when, and where of the news.
When we understand that, we understand the world, and one another, better.
The Monitor gives readers that deeper insight by offering this approach to readers:
We challenge conventional thinking. As forces from politics to social media try to break us into competing tribes – political, racial, or economic – together we’ll rethink the question, “Who is my neighbor?”
We listen to you. We need you to hold us accountable – to keep us honest and grounded. To inspire us with what inspires you. Together, we can build a community of people who ask more from news.
We will change how you see news. News must be accurate and trustworthy, but facts alone can miss the whole story – the story of us. We are much better than much of today’s news portrays us to be. We will have the courage to look into both the best and the worst in us – and not to blame, but to demand better.
Journalism can be a force for good – for inspiration and progress. But only if we all make it so.
While reporting in Greece on another story, Monitor correspondent Dominique Soguel heard tales of migrants being beaten and illegally expelled from the EU by border officials. So she investigated.
Thirty years after the peak of school integration nationwide, that progress has unraveled. Could the outcome in Buffalo, N.Y., offer lessons on America’s pressing need to address racial separation? Part of an occasional series, Learning Together.
Wilmot Collins’s rise and visibility puts him at the nexus of a deepening debate over the role of refugees in America and a heated conversation over immigration – intensified by the caravan of Latin American asylum-seekers.
Ann Scott Tyson found reporting especially challenging in the western region of Xinjiang, where she went to witness the impact of China’s forced ‘reeducation’ of its Uyghur minority. But that work produced a rare and nuanced look at the project’s effect.
With advances in artificial intelligence, machines are poised to invade workplaces that once seemed immune to automation. Transportation is one of the key areas where machines are on the march.
Many Millennials are rebelling at an economic system that they believe puts profits over fairness and equality. Is capitalism too harsh?
Enjoy a thoughtful evening read.
Enjoy a longer, more in-depth read.