The Daily

When pro-democracy protesters marched in the streets in Hong Kong in 2019, China responded by arresting thousands, including the leaders of the movement. One of the arrested was Jimmy Lai, who had used his newspaper to campaign for democracy. This month, he received a 20-year jail sentence. In an interview, Michael Barbaro speaks to Mr. Lai’s son, Sebastien Lai, about the sentence, what it means for the pro-democracy movement and where Hong Kong may go from here.

When Mexican forces captured and killed the country’s most-wanted cartel boss, it revealed how much President Trump’s growing pressure is forcing Mexico to take on cartels. Maria Abi-Habib and Jack Nicas, who covered the developments, discuss the operation to take down the leader known as El Mencho, and Mexico’s efforts against some of the world’s most powerful criminals.

In his first State of the Union address of his second term, President Trump offered a rosy portrait of a United States that has lost confidence in his leadership. He also relentlessly baited Democrats, who want to win back control of Congress in the midterms this fall. David E. Sanger, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, takes us inside the room.

The United States has been building up a military presence around Iran for weeks, even as negotiators from both countries plan to meet later this week in hopes of finding a diplomatic solution to the escalating tensions. David E. Sanger, a national security correspondent for The New York Times, explains what President Trump hopes to achieve through potential military action, and why he has chosen this moment.

The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that President Trump exceeded his authority when he imposed sweeping tariffs on imports from nearly every U.S. trading partner. Tyler Pager, Ana Swanson and Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times explain what comes next.