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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine depart following a national ceremony for POW/MIA Recognition Day in Arlington, Virginia, on Sept. 18.

Everyone Got Pete Hegseth Wrong The secretary of defense is now the most influential senior official in the Trump administration.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are shown in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Sept. 24.

What Xi Actually Thinks of Trump China’s president has likely concluded that the U.S. under Trump has lost its way.

An explosion erupts following strikes near Azadi Tower, close to Mehrabad International Airport, in Tehran on March 7.

Trump Unleashed How the U.S. president might escalate against Iran after the midterm elections.

Big Tech Is Destroying Democracy. Here’s How to Fight Back. A conversation with Nobel laureate Maria Ressa.

A pedestrian walks past an advertisement at Bao'an International Airport in Shenzhen, China, on May 16.

China’s AI Rollout Has No Off Switch Beijing may talk about safety, but its model of AI diffusion is made to go rogue.

U.S. President Donald Trump (right) meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a bilateral meeting in the White House Oval Office in Washington on Nov. 18, 2025.

Saudi Arabia Bribed the Wrong People Riyadh’s bet on Trumpism has failed.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi salutes as he awaits the arrival of the French president at the Presidential Palace in Cairo on April 7, 2025.

Is Egypt’s Diplomacy Clever or Clumsy? Regional wars have required Cairo to maneuver between competing demands.