What we're watching today
Here's a glimpse at our top five stories, including editor commentary on each story, and a sample of our audio edition. You can test drive one edition before you’re asked to subscribe.
There's nothing new about gerrymandering. But gerrymandering plus big data creates a brand-new – and potentially more dangerous – equation. Will the Supreme Court make it harder for districts to redraw their lines?
They committed no crime. They evaded no laws. They simply grew up in the place their parents chose. But now they may be forced to leave the only country they've ever known. No, we're not talking about "Dreamers." Meet Britain's "Windrush generation." Will these children of immigrants benefit from a new approach by their government?
He's been called a dictator and a strongman. He keeps a tight hold on the reins of power in his country. But Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is facing a population that is increasingly weary, struggling, and sometimes just plain hungry. How long can he hold on?
For many years, it was simply accepted as a fact about higher education in the United States: A majority of students held liberal political views, as did most of their professors. But for some of today's young conservatives and their parents, that's not a system they're ready to buy into. And they're now finding alternatives.
In South Africa, the biggest change in higher education in the past couple of decades has been the dramatic increase in access. And while that's good news, getting into college is only half the battle. For many, the biggest obstacles today are getting all the way through to a degree – and finding a way to afford it.
An excerpt from The Christian Science Monitor Daily Audio Edition
We think it is time to rethink the news.
News is essential. It is the fuel for a thriving democracy. It takes us to places and introduces us to people we never imagined. It defends our rights and values.
Over the Monitor’s 108-year history, we’ve built a legacy of high-quality, distinctive journalism because we recognize that news is more than facts. It’s the story of how we are each trying to make our homes, communities, and nations better. What matters are the values and ideals that drive us, not just the who, what, when, and where of the news.
When we understand that, we understand the world, and one another, better.
The Monitor gives readers that deeper insight by offering this approach to readers:
We challenge conventional thinking. As forces from politics to social media try to break us into competing tribes – political, racial, or economic – together we’ll rethink the question, “Who is my neighbor?”
We listen to you. We need you to hold us accountable – to keep us honest and grounded. To inspire us with what inspires you. Together, we can build a community of people who ask more from news.
We will change how you see news. News must be accurate and trustworthy, but facts alone can miss the whole story – the story of us. We are much better than much of today’s news portrays us to be. We will have the courage to look into both the best and the worst in us – and not to blame, but to demand better.
Journalism can be a force for good – for inspiration and progress. But only if we all make it so.
In the past decade, the Vermont maple syrup industry has boomed, bringing outside investors, private equity firms, and a host of new challenges and opportunities to the Green Mountain State.
Development experts around the world are increasingly focused on girls as a linchpin of economic and social progress. In Thennamadevi, though, teen girls have taken action on their own, improving their village with a speed that would make any official envious.
In the struggle to deal with the explosion of abusive and hateful content on social media sites, Germany is staking out one of the most aggressive and far-reaching positions of any country in the world – and is being closely watched as a result.
Many low-income students who are the first generation in their families to go to college feel pressure to succeed and grapple with one of the most difficult transitions in a modern, developed society – moving from one socioeconomic class to another.
Investors, the news media, and academia are all beginning to recognize that interactive gaming lies at a confluence of evolving technology and shifting demographics that is transforming entertainment.
Giselle Mörch realized how much the concept of forgiveness had always been an abstraction for her. But now, confronted with the call to forgive in a way she could never have imagined, it has become something more wrenching and tumultuous, she says.
Enjoy a thoughtful evening read.
Enjoy a longer, more in-depth read.