The Fight Over Phonics

For years, American consumers have been able to spend next to nothing on the latest fashion trends, thanks in large part to Chinese clothing companies like Shein and Temu. These businesses have long used a loophole to send millions of packages a day into the U.S. from China tax-free. Now, President Trump is closing that loophole, even as he de-escalates his larger trade war with China, and prices are going up. Meaghan Tobin, who covers business and technology in Asia, discusses whether this might be the end for fast fashion.

President Trump is in the Middle East on the first major international trip of his second term. At the same time, a firestorm has erupted over his plan to accept a $400 million luxury airplane from the Qatari government. Today, Maggie Haberman, a White House correspondent, explains how the free plane may set a problematic precedent — and what Qatar might expect in return.

Parents try everything to influence their children. But new research suggests that brothers and sisters have their own profound impact. Susan Dominus, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, discusses the surprising ways that our brothers and sisters shape our lives.

Over the weekend, top negotiators from the U.S. and China met for the first time since President Trump rapidly escalated a trade war between the world’s two economic superpowers. Keith Bradsher, the Beijing bureau chief for The New York Times, discusses the pressures facing China, as it came to the negotiating table and why it so badly needs a deal.

For eight years running, Finland has been rated the happiest country in the world by a peculiar United Nations-backed project called the World Happiness Report, started in 2012. Soon after Finland shot to the top of the list, its government set up a “happiness tourism” initiative, which now offers itineraries highlighting the cultural elements that ostensibly contribute to its status: foraging, fresh air, trees, lakes, sustainably produced meals and, perhaps above all else, saunas. Instead of adhering to one of these optimal itineraries or visiting Finland at the rosiest time of year (any time except the dead of winter), Molly Young arrived with few plans at all during one of the bleakest months. Would the happiest country on earth still be so mirthful at its gloomiest?