Why So Few Babies? We Might Have Overlooked the Biggest Reason of All.

This is not simply a matter of affordability, the buzzword so often invoked to explain why people are choosing to have smaller families. Government support for parents can help, but overall, people are having fewer children both in countries that offer very little and in those renowned for their generous family benefits; moreover, the trend holds among those who are struggling to make ends meet and among those who, like the Riveras, have advanced degrees and salaried jobs. What unites these disparate cultures, policy environments and demographics, researchers are now realizing, is young people’s inescapable and crushing sense that the future is too uncertain for the lifelong commitment of parenthood. Call it the vibes theory of demographic decline.

The New York Times

Top Padres prospect self-deported to Mexico after plea related to human smuggling

Humberto Cruz, one of the San Diego Padres’ top pitching prospects, pleaded guilty in November to a federal misdemeanor related to a human smuggling operation in southern Arizona, according to court documents reviewed by The Athletic. The plea, entered four months before Cruz was placed on the minor-league restricted list, resolved the criminal case against him and, under the terms of the agreement, made his removal from the United States all but certain.

The Athletic

Introducing the ‘NACHO’ trade: How Wall Street is betting on higher oil prices and persistent inflation

The spread between short- and long-term bond yields has compressed, while oil prices have remained near $100 a barrel

Market Watch

Checkmate in Iran

Washington can’t reverse or control the consequences of losing this war.

The Atlantic

Republicans who denied 2020 election results could be governors next year

Winners will have oversight of 2028 elections in swing states like Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

The Washington Post

Big changes arrive July 1 for student borrowers, including in loan repayments

The federal student loan system is set to see a dramatic overhaul beginning this summer, and critics warn it likely will make loans more expensive and difficult to obtain for borrowers — driving them to private lenders or altering their plans for higher education.

Kansas Reflector

Tennessee GOP Moves to Decimate Black Voting Power After Supreme Court’s Blessing of Jim Crow

With the Supreme Court blessing racial gerrymandering, Tennessee Republicans rushed to eliminate the state’s only majority-Black congressional district.

The Intercept

A Private Call Reveals Democrats’ Desperation Over Tossing of Map

A conversation involving House members from Virginia and the top House Democrat reflected the fury and desperation that has gripped the party after Friday’s ruling in the state.

The New York Times

Historic LaGuardia Airport terminal deserted after Spirit Airlines shutdown

When the Marine Air Terminal opened in 1940, it was designed for passengers on Pan American Airways “clipper” planes, which landed and took off on the Bowery Bay.

Gothamist

Data centers, air pollution, climate math: Lessons from a climate and education conference

“We can talk about it in terms of dollars and cents, and operational expenditures, and potential savings,” he added. “We can talk about it in terms of operational performance, keeping school buildings open and functioning.”

The Hechinger Report

Emails show Interior delivered new drilling permits for Burgum’s billionaire ally

Hamm has not been shy about trumpeting his relationship with members of the Trump administration — particularly Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who he has called “a dream team of unimaginable proportions.”

High Country News

Stop the Steal Never Stopped

Election lies fuel an FBI raid and a push to rewrite voting laws as the 2026 midterms approach.

Reveal

Conspiracy theorists are building AI interfaces to the Epstein files – and presenting their views as data analysis

Because the Epstein files are a massive, unstructured dataset made up of PDF files, videos, photographs and other materials, these platforms make it easier for people to see connections where none exist.

The Conversation

The Youth Swing for Trump Was Always Overblown

Here’s what actually happened. According to data from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University (CIRCLE), young voters preferred Kamala Harris over Trump 52% to 46%. Young women supported Harris 58% to 40%; 75% of Black voters under 30 supported Harris; 58% of young Latino or Hispanic voters backed Harris; and 72% of young Asian voters backed Harris. The supposed youth swing towards Trump was predominantly among young white men, who backed him by 14 points (56% to 42%). Overall, CIRCLE’s staff found, while Trump saw a “10-point jump (36% to 46%) in youth support for Trump compared to 2020, young people were still the age group with the highest support for the Democratic candidate this year.” (Emphasis mine!)

Talking Points Memo

Allyson Felix and me: A Mother’s Day reflection on the health crisis of preeclampsia

“It was just heartbreaking,” Felix said in an interview as she reflected on her teammates and the outcomes of their pregnancies: “To see all three of us who went on to be mothers all had these complications, and even one leading to death, I think it just shows that this problem doesn’t discriminate.”

The Athletic

On Guerrilla Archives in the Disinformation Age

How the archival work of librarians and other activists helps preserve more than just history.

The Conversationalist

Protests and boycotts rock prestigious Venice Biennale

The 61st Venice Biennale opened Saturday in a chaotic atmosphere marked by geopolitical strife, casting a shadow over what draws people to the world-renowned festival: the contemporary art on display.

NPR

How a 3,400-year-old ballgame survives in Mexico against all odds

As Mexico prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the nation is looking back 3,400 years to one of the oldest team sports: the ancient ballgame known as ulama, a ritual practice nearly erased during the Spanish conquest that survived only in the remote pockets of northwestern Mexico before its late 20th-century rebirth. Today, authorities and its modern players are leveraging the momentum of international soccer to shine a spotlight on the ancient sport once again.

AP News

The Teotihuacan Pyramid Shooting; Mexico’s Post-Racial Nazis

“You who have come from Europe will not return,” the gunman, later identified as 27-year-old Julio César Jasso Ramírez of Mexico City, shouted at his hostages in a dialect of Spanish not typically spoken in Latin America. “If you move, I will sacrifice you.”

Unicorn Riot

The Future of the Gulf’s Security Order

The Iran War is reshaping how the Gulf states approach defense.

Lawfare Media

Foreign aid’s hidden benefit: Recipients are more likely to pay the generosity forward

Foreign aid may not improve how recipients view donor countries – but it can set off a chain of goodwill that spreads far beyond the original act of giving.

The Conversation

Cape Verde: Tiny nation, massive World Cup dream

The island nation off the coast of West Africa isn’t just showing up at this summer’s World Cup—it’s competing with ambition far bigger than its geography suggests.

NPR

Motherhood in Gaza Looks Like Caregiving Even When There’s Nothing Left to Give

Mothers in Gaza cannot have simple, unguarded moments with their children.

Truthout

Long Overlooked, Caspian Sea Provides Strategic Trade Route for Iran

The landlocked body of water has taken on new significance, with Russia shipping military and commercial goods to bolster Tehran’s ability to withstand the U.S. assault.

The New York Times

Iran ceasefire tested as cargo ship catches fire after being hit off Qatar’s coast

A cargo ship caught fire Sunday after being hit by an unknown projectile off Qatar’s coast, the British military said, in the latest attack on vessels in the Persian Gulf since a shaky ceasefire stopped fighting between the U.S. and Iran.

NPR

Venezuela warns of ‘serious’ environmental impact from alleged oil spill in Trinidad and Tobago

Venezuela says an oil spill that originated in Trinidad and Tobago, two islands just off its coast, had caused serious environmental damage along the coastlines of at least two of its states and in a gulf area near the Caribbean nation.

AP News