April 21st 2026

The Economist Today Our best journalism, handpicked each day

Annie Crabill Senior digital editor

Our 2026 midterms model is here, and our forecast is bullish on the Democrats’ odds of taking back the House of Representatives in November. But if the House is looking like a shoo-in for Democrats, a dogfight is unfolding in the Senate. Read the analysis and explore the model in detail. Brands that disrupted eyeglasses, mattresses and shaving soared in the 2010s on the back of enthusiasm from young shoppers. But like their customers, the millennial brands are getting older—and many have not aged well. And finally, today’s episode of Inside Tech explores the new age of the AI hacker. How worried should you be? You can watch it here.

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Editor’s picks A selection of must-read articles

Department of prognostication Our midterms forecast predicts pain for Donald Trump Just how bad could things get for the Republicans?

→ Explore the model in detail

Mid-life crisis From Allbirds to Glossier, millennial brands have lost their mojo They have been squeezed by competitors old and new

A new way of war Israel’s open-ended wars have eroded its security Binyamin Netanyahu has brought about a big shift in its defence doctrine

Not far from the tree Tim Cook hands Apple over to its hardware guru John Ternus’s task is to transform the iPhone-maker for the AI era

Cancer’s cheat code Tumour cells use a genetic trick to become drug-resistant The same trick could also be used against them

More of our coverage ▸ American corporate profits keep shrugging off global tumult. Earnings expectations are through the roof—despite the shock of Donald Trump’s trade war and now a real one in the Gulf. But things could still go awry. ▸ Venezuela is not the triumph Donald Trump claims, but it’s improving. Repression has eased and hopes for the economy abound, but the way forward for Venezuela is far murkier than the country’s opposition and America suggest. ▸ There are downsides to posting about your children online. The kidfluencing industry has drawn comparisons to child acting or modelling. Yet it does not have the same legal safeguards, a new book points out.

Podcast The Intelligence Mac daddy: Apple’s new boss Listen

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