Is the Era of Student Loan Forgiveness Officially Over?

The author and podcaster wants to apply her old ideas about vulnerability and empathy to the workplace.

In an extraordinarily tense showdown on Thursday, senators of both parties confronted Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his vaccine policies, his firing of the director of the C.D.C., and the growing list of federal health officials who have resigned in protest of his leadership. Sheryl Gay Stolberg, who covers health policy for The Times, explains what it was like in the room and describes what seems like a turning point in the relationship between Congress and Mr. Kennedy.

For decades, the government has struggled with how to police monopolies in the tech industry. This week, a landmark ruling in a case against Google became the most aggressive attempt in the modern era to level the playing field. David McCabe, who covers tech policy for The Times, explains who won, who lost and what it all means for the race to dominate artificial intelligence.

In the last few weeks, the Trump administration has turned its sights on the Smithsonian, the latest target in a campaign to remake cultural institutions in its image. Officials are trying to change exhibits at the center of the country’s culture wars and reshape American history at one of the largest museum complexes in the world. Robin Pogrebin, who covers cultural institutions for The Times, discusses the clash over who gets to tell the American story.

In a series of extraordinary deals, President Trump has muscled himself directly into the business of corporate America. The U.S. government has been made the largest shareholder of Intel, one of the most iconic companies in the country. Senator Bernie Sanders has praised the move, while conservatives have criticized it as socialism. Andrew Ross Sorkin, a columnist at The Times, explains how Mr. Trump’s deal could reshape America’s approach to capitalism.