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      A Daunting Task for Democrats

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      More from our inbox:A Loyalty Oath for Federal Workers?Principled Republicans Mark Peterson/ReduxTo the Editor:In “The Democrats’ Problems Are Bigger Than You Think” (column, June 6), David Brooks challenges the Democrats to do two things: define the central problem of our time and come up with a new grand national narrative.The first is easy: The central problem of our time is the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which removed longstanding campaign finance regulations. There is no way our government can become a government of the people when wealthy elites can buy representation.And the Democrats can ignore the second suggestion. No political party needs to create a new grand narrative. What it needs to do is to listen to the people and encourage and help those people voice their concerns and needs. Then the party needs to figure out how to best meet and pay for those concerns and needs.If money’s role in our elections can be addressed quickly, then a centrist and realistic narrative can be forged — and it should include an equitable tax policy. We are more in need of a reform of brackets and deductions in our tax system than we are of a new grand narrative.Elizabeth BjorkmanLexington, Mass.To the Editor:I agree with the view articulated by David Brooks that nothing short of a revolution in consciousness will allow us to wrest control of our future from the MAGA movement. What we need right now is a vision of the future that doesn’t involve just dismantling structures and undoing what’s been done (much of which is good), but also creating new belief systems.This will involve coming to terms with the fact that capitalism has failed the world in very serious and fundamental ways, producing a planet that is being torn apart by migration caused by civil war, climate disaster, inequality and starvation. These problems cannot be rejiggered from what already exists, because the system itself no longer recognizes the needs of the vast majority of its inhabitants.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      An American Fight With Mexico Won’t Go Well

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      Amid days of unrest in Los Angeles, with police officers firing beanbag rounds, protesters waving Mexican flags and the Trump administration sending in thousands of soldiers in what it called a mission to secure the streets, influencers on the Trumpist right started to lay the blame south of the Rio Grande.The loudest voice was that of the activist and author Charlie Kirk, who posted a misleading video for his millions of followers on social media under the headline “Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is a bigger threat to America than Vladimir Putin.” As he put it, “This woman, the president of Mexico, is talking about leading an uprising in the interior of America.”People say a lot of crazy things online, but the argument appeared to get the attention of Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, who echoed it on Tuesday at the White House. “Claudia Sheinbaum came out and encouraged more protests in L.A., and I condemn her for that,” Ms. Noem told reporters. “She should not be encouraging violent protests that are going on.”In fact, the opposite is true. Ms. Sheinbaum, the 62-year-old Mexican president, was quick to speak out against any violence in Los Angeles. “The burning of patrol cars seems more an act of provocation than of resistance,” she said on Monday. “We should be clear: We condemn violence wherever it comes from.”Ms. Sheinbaum has been a reliable partner to Washington since she took power last Oct. 1, putting pressure on drug cartels and their human smuggling networks and giving President Trump one of his few clear wins by helping reduce the flow of undocumented migrants and fentanyl heading north. She has helped ease bilateral tensions over trade and tariffs while, unlike other world leaders, managing to avoid personal confrontations with Mr. Trump.The argument that Ms. Noem and Mr. Kirk are making is not only wrong, it’s also dangerous. It encourages the hawks in Washington who want to unleash unilateral military strikes against cartels in Mexican territory. Deploying drone strikes and Special Forces operations south of the border might appeal to Mr. Trump’s supporters but it would not defeat the cartels, which are sprawling criminal networks with many thousands of affiliates, including some in the United States. It could torpedo the relationship with Mexico, which is proud of its sovereignty, rendering it politically impossible for Ms. Sheinbaum to continue to cooperate with Washington. A fully combative relationship with Mexico, as commentators like Mr. Kirk are gunning for, would almost certainly worsen problems over trade and cartels and inflame additional protests in the United States, as well as in Mexico.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Sharing the Secrets of Travel

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      Plus, the latest on the manhunt for the Minnesota gunman.Good morning. Here’s the news you need to start your day:Manhunt: The authorities are searching for a suspect they say assassinated a Minnesota state representative and wounded a state senator.Middle East: Israeli jets attacked Tehran’s main fuel depot, while dozens of Iranian missiles rained down on Israel.Shows of force: Tanks paraded through Washington as anti-Trump protesters marched in cities across the U.S.We have more on these stories below. But first, a renowned travel writer reflects on his role sending tourists to quiet corners of the world.A torii gate outside a shrine in Kyoto.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesHidden gemsI spent September traveling by myself along the length of Japan, from Nagasaki to Tokyo. I spent some of the hottest days of the late summer lying in the forested onsens of Mount Aso and eating sushi with strangers in Tokyo. I walked dozens of kilometers every day, sweating under cloudless skies.Along the way I visited Kyoto, a city steeped in both history and novelty. I had a plan to see the sights: the hundreds of torii of Fushimi Inari, the bamboo forest of Arashiyama. I did not expect that I would spend much of my time in one little bar filled with an eclectic mix of regulars, who pointed me to the city’s hidden gems. This bar made my whole trip.It’s every right of a travel writer to share with you the name of this bar. But should I?For 30 years, the writer Pico Iyer lived near a different, noiseless Kyoto. In an essay for today’s Travel section, he wrote about the difficult choice between sharing the secrets of his chosen home or protecting the quiet city from being trampled by tourists:“What’s a travel writer to do? The very premise of the job is to tell you about attractive possibilities that you might not otherwise know about. But as those little-known jewels become better known, readers grow understandably indignant (that quiet and reasonably priced cafe is suddenly unquiet and unreasonably priced), while locals wonder how much to curse the onslaught of visitors and how much to try to make the most of them.”The various signs warning foreigners away from private residences made clear that my presence in Kyoto was an inconvenience. Posters on crowded buses encouraged tourists to please take the train instead. When I walked among the crowds of Kiyomizu, I felt less like a traveler and more like a body in a mob.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Police Clash With Protesters After Anti-Trump Rally in Downtown Los Angeles

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      With the downtown facing an 8 p.m. curfew, the Los Angeles police began using tear gas and crowd-control munitions to break up protests after issuing a dispersal order.Blacki Migliozzi/The New York TimesTensions flared between protesters and police in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday as a major demonstration against the Trump administration gave way to yet another night of smaller but raucous protests against recent immigration raids.With the city’s downtown area facing an 8 p.m. curfew, the Los Angeles police began using tear gas and crowd-control munitions to break up protests after issuing a 4 p.m. dispersal order. Officers on horseback forced hundreds of people away from a federal building downtown, where a crowd had gathered, chanting at a line of National Guard troops guarding the structure as helicopters circled overhead.“Shame on you! Shame on you!” the demonstrators shouted, as the troops stood at attention. In several posts on X, the Los Angeles Police Department accused protesters of throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks at officers. Law enforcement also said that “outside agitators” had blocked a portion of a street with fencing and other materials.After a series of militarized immigration raids ignited protests in downtown Los Angeles and several other nearby suburbs, President Trump commandeered 2,000 members of the National Guard over the governor’s objections and sent them to Los Angeles. After California officials pushed back, the president deployed another 2,000 National Guard troops along with 700 U.S. Marines.Richard Fausset/The New York TimesLocal authorities said they had the situation handled and needed no backup, but the president said that the city was out of control and that the military was needed to safeguard federal property and agents. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles have accused Mr. Trump of staging the immigration raids in an intentional attempt to inflame Californians and manufacture a crisis in a state that he regards as a hotbed of opposition and a place that allows illegal immigration.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Like School Shootings, Political Violence Is Becoming Almost Routine

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      Threats and violent acts have become part of the political landscape, still shocking but somehow not so surprising.The statements of shock and condolences streamed in eerily one after another on Saturday after the assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, and the attempted murder of another lawmaker and his wife.“Horrible news,” said Representative Steve Scalise, who was shot at a baseball game in 2017. “Paul and I are heartbroken,” said former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose husband was bludgeoned with a hammer in 2022. “My family and I know the horror of a targeted shooting all too well,” said former Representative Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head in 2011.Still more came from Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania (arson, 2025), Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan (kidnapping plot, 2020) and President Trump (two assassination attempts, 2024).“Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America,” the president said.And yet the expanding club of survivors of political violence seemed to stand as evidence to the contrary.Bullet holes in the door of State Senator John Hoffman’s home in Chaplin, Minn., on Saturday.Tim Gruber for The New York TimesIn the past three months alone, a man set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s residence while Mr. Shapiro and his family were asleep inside; another man gunned down a pair of workers from the Israeli Embassy outside an event in Washington; protesters calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colo., were set on fire; and the Republican Party headquarters in New Mexico and a Tesla dealership near Albuquerque were firebombed.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      What We Know About the Suspect in the Minnesota Lawmakers Shootings

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      The suspect, Vance Boelter, was appointed more than once to the Workforce Development Board, where he served with State Senator John A. Hoffman, who was shot on Saturday.The man suspected of shooting two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota early on Saturday had served on a state board with one of the victims, records show.The suspect identified by the authorities, Vance Boelter, 57, was appointed several times by Minnesota governors to the Workforce Development Board, where he served with State Senator John A. Hoffman, who was shot and survived.Mr. Boelter and Senator Hoffman attended a virtual meeting together in 2022 for a discussion about the job market in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, minutes from the meeting show.Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said investigators did not yet know how well the two knew each other, if at all.Mr. Boelter was appointed to the board in 2016 by Mark Dayton, a Democrat who was then the governor. More recently, he was appointed by Gov. Tim Walz, also a Democrat. The board has 41 members who are appointed by the governor, and its goal is to improve business development in the state.A state report in 2016 listed Mr. Boelter’s political affiliation as “none or other,” and another report in 2020 listed him as having “no party preference.” Voters do not declare political affiliation when they register in Minnesota.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Takeaways from Trump’s Military Parade in Washington

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      The events in the capital were overshadowed by an assassination in Minnesota and turmoil in the Middle East.On his 79th birthday, President Trump spent more than three hours on Saturday taking in the scene at a military parade commemorating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.The event, which was officially billed as a tribute to service and a showcase of American military history, was hailed by the president’s supporters as a show of strength and a savvy recruitment tactic.But his critics argued that the event was a further politicization of the military, especially after of a tense week in which Mr. Trump deployed the Marines in Los Angeles to quell protests.Here are key takeaways from the day and the parade:The day’s events were overshadowed by political violence and war.News on Saturday was dominated by a manhunt after the assassination of a Democratic state legislator in Minnesota and the attempted assassination of another.For most of the day, speculation raged about the killing of State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the shooting of State Senator John A. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who were both injured.At the same time, warfare escalated between Israel and Iran, with growing concerns about the possibility of a wider, regional war that could draw in the United States and other major powers.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Fox News Hosts Gushed Over the Parade, With No Protests in Sight

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      Cable networks covered President Trump’s Army parade on a busy day of protests, a political assassination and Middle East strikes. ABC, CBS and NBC aired other programming on their affiliates.On Fox News, it felt like Thanksgiving Day and Christmas rolled into one.“You feel the energy here, everyone is so excited,” exulted Lawrence Jones, the “Fox & Friends” host who served as an emcee of the network’s celebratory coverage of President Trump’s military parade in Washington on Saturday. “When the president took the stage, you heard the people say ‘U.S.A., U.S.A.!’”Mr. Jones was seated with his co-host, Emily Compagno, on a riser just above Constitution Avenue, as Abrams tanks rolled by and paratroopers swooped down from the sky. An on-screen fireworks graphic twinkled in the background. Their banter resembled the excitable “Today” show crew on NBC during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.Over the course of the three-hour event, which was held to celebrate the Army’s 250th birthday — it happened to be Mr. Trump’s 79th birthday, too — Fox News did not air footage of the “No Kings” rallies that were taking place simultaneously in many cities in protest of the administration’s policies.For updates, viewers could turn to CNN and MSNBC, which toggled between the parade and Saturday’s other significant news events, including rocket attacks in the Middle East and the assassination of a Democratic politician in Minnesota.Clarissa Ward appeared live on CNN for several early-morning dispatches from Tel Aviv, and CNN and MSNBC correspondents reported from the ground in Los Angeles, where some protesters had clashed with law enforcement.Fox News’s reporters have extensively covered those story lines over the past few days. But on Saturday evening, the channel devoted its broadcast to pomp and circumstance. One guest, the New York Post columnist Miranda Devine, popped by to praise what she called the parade’s “positive contrast to all the doom and gloom and the protests and the ‘Dictator Trump’ stuff that we’ve been seeing in New York and L.A.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More