World

• First LookRescue efforts ongoing after quake rocks much of Myanmar

  Rescue efforts are underway across Myanmar after a devastating earthquake Friday. Teams and equipment have been flown in from other nations, though the quake damaged airports in Myanmar's major cities.
• In Syria’s terrorized Alawite region, competing narratives, mutual suspicions

  Syria’s Alawite minority consider March 7 the start of a genocidal campaign. In the eyes of the Sunni majority, it marked operations to quash a coup. Ensuring justice and preventing further killings will be a key test for the new Syria.
• The world’s bananas are at risk. A volcanic island might protect them.

  Cavendish bananas are under threat from a fungus that has wiped out other varieties. The island of Tenerife may have the conditions to protect them.
• In post-Assad Syria, a Ramadan embrace of freedom and solidarity

  Across Syria, the reunification of families and communities that had been displaced by conflict has enhanced the spirituality and generosity of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
• Can Europe confront Russia without US help? Not yet, but it may have to.

  Facing American indifference to European security, Germany has launched a major rearmament drive. But without U.S. help, can Europe defend itself?

USA

• First LookWisconsin attorney general asks state Supreme Court to halt Musk payments

  Wisconsin's attorney general asked the state Supreme Court to block Elon Musk from handing out checks to voters amid a tightly contested election.
• The ExplainerSo, how do you know if a country is in a constitutional crisis?

  The U.S. Constitution divides power among three branches – executive, congressional, and judicial. Presidents have sometimes tried to claim more power, as President Trump is doing now. But when does it become a crisis?
• ‘There will be consequences.’ Signal group chat leak threatens US military morale.

  The disclosure that senior Trump administration officials used a commercial messaging app to discuss secret military attacks has drawn bipartisan criticism – and risks hurting U.S. military morale.
• Will Trump’s push to cut waste hit Social Security? The view from Georgia.

  What happens when the Trump administration’s effort to streamline government affects the Social Security system? The question is coming to the fore in places like Georgia.
• The biggest election since Donald Trump’s win is here – and Elon Musk is at its center

  Tuesday’s state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin has drawn record sums of money and will be an early test of which party is more energized.

Commentary

• The Monitor's ViewMexico leans into an essential truth

  For the mothers wanting details of missing loved ones, a president’s nod to their cause helps a nation seeking answers to ending cartel violence.
• The Monitor's ViewA humble heart in the Dodgers dynasty

  Mookie Betts shows courage and unselfishness in switching to one of baseball’s most difficult field positions.
• The Monitor's ViewRallies for innocence in Gaza

  The largest protests against Hamas since the start of the war put a spotlight on the use of civilians as human shields to maximize killings by Israel.
• The Monitor's ViewPolitics of love in Turkey’s protests

  Despite his arrest, the leading opposition figure urges peaceful action and the embrace of opponents in the face of rising autocracy.
• The Monitor's ViewSyria reweaves its identity

  Civic groups like the White Helmets are using acts of equality and kindness to overcome ethnic and religious tensions built up during a half-century of dictatorship

Economy

• A new US manufacturing boom may bring more AI than jobs

  If Donald Trump can convince manufacturers to come back to the U.S., it may set off not a jobs boom, but an automation boom, as new factories may be the world’s most automated.
• The ExplainerAs trade wars roil markets, what do retaliatory tariffs accomplish?

  As President Donald Trump raises tariffs, other nations are fighting back. They want to force negotiations, but it’s a high-stakes game of chicken for the global economy.
• Trump pushes crypto with White House summit and bitcoin reserve plan

  President Trump is pushing for a cryptocurrency reserve, and digital currency enthusiasts are hopeful. But critics are still wary of the speculative tender.
• Trump’s tariffs and job cuts fuel Main Street uncertainty

  Donald Trump sailed into office on voter anger around inflation. Now his policies are creating uncertainty about prices, investment, and jobs.
• Uncle Sam as investor: Why America is considering a sovereign wealth fund

  President Trump continues to talk about creating a sovereign wealth fund. Economists say SWFs invite grift. But others say they cover for tax breaks. 

Environment

• Points of ProgressThe rights of animals and the environment, from Mexico to Nepal

  Progress roundup: Nepal’s Supreme Court disallowed development in protected areas. And in Mexico, Congress put animal welfare in the constitution.
• Waste not, want not? How Massachusetts became the only state to reduce food waste.

  Every year, Americans discard 92 billion pounds of food. Massachusetts is on the leading edge of states trying to capture and divert food waste.
• Cover StoryVirginia data centers are running out of power. Maryland farms lie in the way.

  Our reporter goes home to cover proposed high-voltage power lines in Maryland, a crucial need for expanding data centers and Americans’ digital lives.
• Points of ProgressLow-tech and upside-down: The solutions under our feet

  Progress roundup: Fish advance science on China’s space station, solar farms host sheep on the ground, and across Africa, new publishers boost writers.
• From the ashes: After wildfire, can this Olive Avenue family move forward?

  Wildfire turned vibrant Altadena to rubble. The Monitor is following what comes next on one block. How neighbors rebuild, how communities change, and how resilience appears in the aftermath of disaster. This is the first installment.

Technology

• First LookGeorgia leads toward a nuclear future with its first operating reactor

  Georgia Power Co. announced one of its two new reactors reached self-sustaining nuclear fission on Monday. The announcement is a key step toward reaching commercial operation of nuclear energy in the United States. 
• First LookCellphone at 50: Its inventor reflects on mobile advances and risks

  Cellphone inventor Martin Cooper, who placed the first mobile call on April 3, 1973, remains hopeful the technology can transform lives, but he’s also concerned about its impact. “We don’t have any privacy anymore,” Mr. Cooper said at a trade show in Spain.
• First LookWhat links toothbrushes and weapons systems? A $52 billion investment.

  The U.S. government has reached a rare bipartisan agreement to invest $52 billion to develop advanced computer chips. Factories, autos, appliances, electronics, toys, toothbrushes, and weapons systems all depend on semiconductors.
• First LookInternet speech: Supreme Court to weigh who is protected online

  Two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court this week challenge Section 230, a 1996 law that protects tech companies from liability for material posted on their networks. The cases are part of a global trend toward holding social media platforms accountable.
• First Look‘Tremendous potential’: Why some disability advocates laud ChatGPT

  ChatGPT has spurred lively conversations about the role of educational technology. While some colleges and universities are cracking down on ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot, other educators believe ChatGPT could help with assisted learning. 

Science

• The world’s bananas are at risk. A volcanic island might protect them.

  Cavendish bananas are under threat from a fungus that has wiped out other varieties. The island of Tenerife may have the conditions to protect them.
• NASA astronauts’ return is near. Their long, unlikely trip puts focus on resilience.

  An eight-day mission for two astronauts to the International Space Station turned into nine months. NASA crews work to prepare for unforeseen events like this.
• US science funding was a bipartisan priority. Now it’s a target of federal cuts.

  The Trump administration aims to overhaul publicly funded science. Critics say cuts could undermine U.S. leadership that has fueled significant advancements.
• Earth’s green evolution gave rise to everything from dinosaurs to dandelions

  Paleontologist Riley Black traces the cooperation among plants, animals, and ecosystems in “When the Earth Was Green.”
• How four women physicists escaped the Nazis, but lost their life’s work

  “Sisters in Science” tells of the rise of female scientists in 1930s Germany – some of whom were Jewish – whose careers were ended by Adolf Hitler.

Culture

• Can US figure skating end its Olympic medal drought? Ask the Quadgod.

  Olympic hope has reverberated through Boston’s TD Garden as the U.S. shows it – finally – could have what it takes to medal in figure skating after a decades-long dry spell. Friday night, America’s Alysa Liu was named the female world champion.
• How Jackie Robinson’s legacy survived attempts to erase it

  On opening day for Major League Baseball, our columnist looks at another side of Jackie Robinson’s legacy: statesman and writer.
• Domestic workers in Lebanon try to escape an exploitative system

  Under the kafala system, in place since the 1970s Persian Gulf oil boom, workers arrive on visas that offer fewer protections than other visa categories do.
• Missing Grandma’s cooking? Nonnas of the World can help.

  Comfort food prepared by grandmothers from around the world? Our food writer is in. She visited Staten Island to experience the ambience and cuisine at Enoteca Maria for herself.
• Wit and wonder fuel 5-star ‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’

  The Monitor’s film critic offers his highest rating to “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” which pulses with humor as it explores the landscape of nostalgia – and love.

Books

• The stories ‘move into hope’: Elaine Pagels reflects on Jesus’ teachings

  The Gospels spread the teachings of Jesus and stories about his life. A Bible historian unpacks the message behind them in “Miracles and Wonder.”
• A fuller portrait of artist-provocateur Yoko Ono

  David Sheff reappraises Yoko Ono’s role, as an artist in her own right and as a support to John Lennon, with whom she collaborated on “Imagine.”
• The 10 best books of March come in like a lion

  March’s 10 best books deliver drama, danger, and determination, from a novel set on a subantarctic island to a biography that reappraises Yoko Ono.
• One night to resolve all matters of the heart

  Ben Okri emphasizes abstract ideas over nuanced characters in the farce “Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Brokenhearted.”
• Laila Lalami taps into privacy concerns in ‘The Dream Hotel’

  Novelist Laila Lalami’s trepidation about big tech and data collection led her to imagine a world in which even dreams are subject to monitoring.