The New York Times

Weird voice-overs. Fake images of politicians. Scenes that seem real until you look closely. The AI era of campaign advertising seems to be upon us — and it’s a pretty fast-moving and complex situation.

Pete Hegseth has made contempt for what he calls ‘stupid rules of engagement’, and has boasted that he unleashed the military to use ‘maximum authorities on the battlefield’ in the Iran war.

High-energy lasers are increasingly viewed as the most cost-effective way to defend against drones and missiles launched by Iran at oil refineries and US bases across the Middle East.

Scientists aren’t sure why some people lose so little weight and why others lose a tremendous amount. But it’s a question they are now trying to answer.

Long term, officials and analysts suggest the war will weaken American influence, aid Chinese arguments about American decline and accelerate a middle-power arms race.

The president goes out of his way to make allowances for strongman leaders whom he has praised as smart and savvy. But he takes a far more aggressive approach with leaders he sees as weak.

AI is used by the world’s military to operate sophisticated drones. It has replaced thousands of coders at the most advanced technology companies. Just don’t, whatever you do, use it to file your taxes.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: An ongoing military investigation has determined the US is responsible for a deadly Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian elementary school, and the likely reason for the deadly bungle.

When it comes to the war in Iran, there are, broadly speaking, four possible scenarios.

The best that the Trump-Netanyahu bombs-away strategy can do is start that process, and the worst it can do is devastate Iran with endless aerial bombardments that it becomes ungovernable for anyone.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The verified footage captures one of two known explosions near a school in service on February 28, the first day of US-Israeli attacks.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: From the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to the war in the Middle East, 2026 has served as a powerful reminder of oil’s enduring influence in geopolitics and the global economy.

The famous quote from a Bush official about how ‘when we act, we create our own reality’ directly anticipated the Trump-era belief that ‘you can just do things.’

New technologies make new political forms possible — for good and for ill.

Mojtaba Khamenei has been named Iran’s new Supreme Leader after the death of his father, but little is known about the powerful cleric. Here’s what we know.