Trump Trade Policies and Federal Cuts Shake Consumer Confidence

Americans are increasingly anxious about their jobs and finances as the Trump administration’s trade policies and government cutbacks stoke concern about the economy. Consumer confidence tumbled this month to its lowest level since January 2021, the Conference Board reported on Tuesday, extending a decline that has been underway since shortly after President Trump was elected … Read more

Frank Bisignano, Trump’s Pick to Lead Social Security Administration, Faces Senators

Frank Bisignano, the Wall Street veteran being considered to lead the Social Security Administration, will go before the Senate on Tuesday morning, where lawmakers will demand answers about his plans for an agency recently thrown into tumult. The plans being laid by the Trump administration for the typically staid agency — long viewed as a … Read more

Who Is Jeffrey Goldberg? – The New York Times

Jeffrey Goldberg may be one of the last journalists the Trump administration would want to inadvertently include on a private text thread discussing war plans. But according to Mr. Goldberg’s stunning revelation on Monday, that is exactly what happened. Mr. Goldberg, 59, was a well-known national security reporter before he took over as editor in … Read more

Trump’s Crypto Venture Introduces a Stablecoin

World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency company started by Donald J. Trump and his sons, announced on Tuesday that it was planning to sell a digital currency called a stablecoin, deepening the president’s financial ties to crypto as his administration relaxes enforcement of the industry. The stablecoin would be known as USD1, the company wrote in … Read more

A Journey on South Africa’s Blue Train

Chaos surrounded us. Informal porters rolling luggage carts zigzagged between cars. Commuters spilled from the bus terminal onto the sidewalk, where they sat on suitcases and duffel bags. Minibus taxis zoomed through the congestion, pedestrians be damned. Our car crawled past a barbed-wire fence and reached a sliding gate, where all that separated my wife … Read more

Why Is Dining Alone So Difficult?

There are few customers Conor Proft appreciates more than people who eat alone. A bartender at the Italian restaurant Fausto, in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, he said the solo diners he serves tend to be more engaged and willing to chat. They are self-aware and more attuned to the restaurant’s rhythms. But does Mr. Proft dine … Read more

PBS and NPR prepare for a showdown with Congress.

PBS is practicing answers with lawyers. NPR executives are preparing to monitor the fallout. Members of Congress are promoting the star witnesses — the leaders of the two public media networks — as if they were combatants in a prizefight. They’re all getting ready for a hearing on Wednesday — ominously titled “Anti-American Airwaves” — … Read more