The Christian Science Monitor Daily Podcast

The scope of abuse at France’s Notre-Dame de Bétharram school has shocked the public. But the survivors of the violence are taking the opportunity to reclaim their agency and force change in the private school system. Today’s stories also cover Florida’s ‘army’ of immigration enforcers, South Africa’s ‘soccer grannies,’ and an environmental crisis in an Alabama county that fought for civil rights. Join the Monitor's Amelia Newcomb for today's news.

A full-on crisis around U.S.-China trade has eased for now, as both sides can proceed to the less spectacular work of negotiating an agreement.

Also: how some Congress members are considering new rules barring politicians from using or sponsoring cryptocurrencies; how the German government has opened the door to outlawing the nation’s second-most-popular party, the far-right Alternative for Germany; and how some young voters in Senegal feel disillusioned with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s administration.

Join the Monitor's Christa Case Bryant for today's news.

It isn’t always intentional that the stories we bring together in our daily newsletter draw connections. But here’s an interesting commonality between a story by Erika Page about artificial intelligence and the Viewfinder image of pigeons: According to studies from the University of Iowa, the birds that flock our public squares can learn to identify patterns the same way large language models do. Today’s stories also include U.S. agencies pushing back on DOGE and whether US students can help solve Florence’s tourist problem. Join the Monitor's Kurt Shillinger for today's news.

The Monitor spoke with a dozen experts who have spent their careers studying, and working to defend, democratic institutions, from Hungary to Colombia to El Salvador. They were nearly unanimous that President Donald Trump is making moves characteristic of burgeoning autocracies.

Also: today’s stories, including a look at what may be a step towards lowering economic tensions between U.S. and China; how Houthi rebels in Yemen remain undeterred despite a ceasefire with the U.S.; and how legal threats to same-sex marriage have spurred some same-sex couples to tie the knot.

Join the Monitor's Amelia Newcomb for today's news.

India and Pakistan are inching toward war. Fahad Shah reports on how this is the worst escalation between the neighboring nuclear powers since 2019. Also: today’s stories, including Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza indefinitely and the weariness more conflict is causing amongst Israelis, why senior government officials, since Obama’s administration, keep using commercial services to transmit highly classified information, and the consequences of the proposed funding cut to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Join the Monitor's Kurt Shillinger for today's news.

Connecting with a human face behind the headlines can bring news home. In today’s Daily, you’ll meet the family trying to rebuild after being driven from its village last year by M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Our stories also cover Canada’s leverage in US trade talks, a woman who never made it past fifth grade running a roadside library, and a Chicago crossing guard marking 50 years. Join the Monitor's Amelia Newcomb for today's news.

The 5,525-mile-long U.S. border with Canada has been overshadowed by an immigration debate that’s often focused on the border with Mexico. The Monitor’s immigration reporter joined a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Vermont to take a look at how things have changed there under President Donald Trump’s policies — and the ripple effects on the communities that call this region home.

Also: today’s stories, including fears of war along India’s Kashmir border with Pakistan; how some U.S. golf courses are becoming nature preserves; and a Q&A with Rachel Cockerell, the author of "Melting Point: Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land.”

Join the Monitor's Kurt Shillinger for today's news.

Amid commemorations this week of the 80-year anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, polls show a growing desire among Germans to feel less burdened by the past. The path Germany takes will have profound consequences, from how it leads in a militarizing Europe to whether right-wing extremism might rekindle the kind of nationalism the country has scrupulously avoided.

Also: today’s stories, including a look at how the effects of President Trump’s tariffs may impact U.S. consumers and an already disrupted supply chain; a growing effort to fix the U.S. critical mineral deficit through “biomining”; and how Indonesia’s national “Green Islam” movement calls on citizens to become environmental stewards.

Join the Monitor's Clay Collins for today's news.

After weeks of speculation about his future within the Trump administration, national security adviser Mike Waltz is on his way out of his current job. The Monitor's Anna Mulrine Grobe dives into how Donald Trump’s first major shake-up of top administration officials in his second term signaled his interest in honoring loyalty. Also: today’s stories, including the expedited recovery for the thousands displaced by the California wildfires in January, how the growing number of children killed in Gaza is prompting a moral reckoning on the part of some Israelis, and the legacy of University of South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley. Join the Monitor's Linda Feldmann for today's news.

This is how former Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha, who was awarded the Medal of Honor, describes courage under fire: “You know, we survived that day not because we hated the enemy, but because we loved each other more.” Also: today's stories, including U.S. soybean farmers bracing for tariff impact, rebels trying govern eastern Congo's largest city, and what happens if the Trump administration is charged with ‘contempt.’ Join the Monitor's Kurt Shillinger for today's news.