THE NEW YORK TIMES – FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2026

U.S. Employers Unexpectedly Cut 23,000 Jobs in July

But the unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 4.1 percent. The jobs gains for May and June were also revised down sharply, by a combined 103,000 jobs.

How the Reflecting Pool Came to Mirror Trump’s Washington

A hospitality manager for the Trump Organization traveled to Las Vegas to find a solution to problems at a national landmark. This is the untold back story of the fallout.

Trump Vowed to Thwart Iran’s Nuclear Program. Here’s Where That Stands.

The conflict may have slowed, but not stopped, Iran’s nuclear program, officials and experts said.

Iran and Ukraine Aren’t Just Wars About Energy. They’re Wars Targeting Energy.

Until recently, attacking civilian energy infrastructure was unacceptable. The dynamics of modern war have changed that.

SCIENCE MAGAZINE – AUGUST 6, 2026

SCIENCE MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Let Them Roam’ – Understanding Bison population structure can aid restoration.

Genes of an icon

In the DNA of bison, scientists find clues to the animals’ past—and keys to safeguarding their future

Listening to storms as they shake Earth

A network of seismometers measured atmospheric turbulence during Hurricane Isaac’s landfall

What triggered the atmosphere’s great oxygen surge?

Global ice or ocean changes may explain a mysterious lag in the gas’ rise

NASA’s PUNCH punches up space weather forecasts

Satellite quartet demonstrates record-breaking ability to predict solar explosions’ arrivals at Earth

THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE – AUGUST 8, 2026 PREVIEW

THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Lessons from Chinese AI’

Why AI is a risk to Communist China

It is not as well placed to take advantage of the technology as many people think

How AI is breaking the British state

Equipped with models and agents, citizens could bring government to a halt

Gulf states should make a deal with Iran on Hormuz

How to make Iranian blackmail less painful

Governments are making a dangerous bet on the AI boom

To see why, look to the bond markets

Republicans and Democrats uniting against animal testing are wrong

Experimenting on animals remains essential for human well-being

How to end Sudan’s brutal, forgotten conflict

There is a sliver of a chance of a ceasefire. It must be grabbed

TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT – AUGUST 7, 2026 PREVIEW

TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT: The latest issue features

The ruin of Britain?

What happened when the Romans left By Michael Wood

Do the right thing

The case for and against realism in US foreign policy By Sam Freedman

Showdowns and shootouts

The song remains: Christopher Nolan’s version of Homer By A. E. Stallings

Writing from fiction

A flâneur’s journey through Paris and the self By Michael Caines

Englished Homer

The enduring influence of the classical epics By Peter McDonald

THE NEW YORK TIMES – THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2026

Iran Says It Is Nearing Final Agreement With Oman on Strait of Hormuz

The agreement on an acceptable route for ships to pass through the strait would effectively ratify Tehran’s control over the crucial waterway.

Wars, Wildfires and Migrants Leave Europe Straining for Control

A brutal summer has exposed how Britain, France, Spain and other countries are under pressure from fighting in Ukraine and Iran, record heat and more.

If Phones Are Buzzing, It’s Time to Take Shelter in Ukraine

Using dozens of Telegram social media channels, Ukrainians have learned to game Russian air attacks over nearly four and a half years of war.

Amid Intensifying Russian Strikes, Ukraine’s Pleas for Air Defenses Are Falling Flat

Moderate Democrats Prepare for ‘War’ Against an Ascendant Left

One moderate group says the progressive wins are “deeply troubling” and is planning a $15 million effort against democratic socialism.

THE NEW STATESMAN MAGAZINE – AUGUST 7, 2026

Europe's shame

THE NEW STATESMAN: The latest issue features ‘Europe’s Shame’ – Attacked from all sides, the continent has turned against itself.

The Ceuta crisis has exposed Europe’s hollow centre

How the incursion revealed a continent divided against itself. By Bruno Maçães

Abandon all hope ye who examine government spending

Watch the full horror of our finances unroll before you By Will Dunn

Welcome to the pyrocene

This summer has proved that some people would rather watch things burn than inconvenience capitalism By Richard Seymour

The prophet of the new right

In the life and work of Correlli Barnett, we can find all the most dangerous currents of contemporary conservatism. By John Merrick

ARCHAEOLOGY MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

Archaeology Magazine: The latest issue features ‘Making Ancient Music’…

The Music of Time

Tuning in to the sounds of the ancient world

A Change in Fashion

Hoards of lavish gold and silver neck rings buried on an English hill reflect dramatic social change

Cultivating Fields of Stone

Peru’s ancient farmers used intricate rock maps to plan for the future

Where Was Ancient Egypt Born?

Archaeologists are reimagining a time before the first pharaohs

2,000 Years Under the Sea

The story of Greece’s famed Antikythera wreck is finally being revealed

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY —- AUGUST 7, 2026 PREVIEW

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘Drones – How Ukraine Took The War In The Skies To Putin’…

When Vladimir Putin sent his tanks over the Ukrainian border to seize Kyiv in February 2022, it’s unlikely he evisaged the mess he finds himself in today. Four-and-a-half years later, Russia remains bogged down in what is no longer simply a ground war but one increasingly being fought in the air by drones.

After years of nightly attacks from Russian ballistic missiles and Iranian-designed Shahed drones, Ukraine has responded by scaling up to become the world’s leading manufacturer of unmanned systems. Its retaliatory campaign targeting Russian energy and retail infrastructure is bringing the war to the doorsteps of Russians in Moscow, Crimea and beyond, making life distinctly uncomfortable for Putin and his regime’s messaging over a “special military operation” that was expected to last days rather than years.

For our big story this week, Luke Harding gained exclusive access to Ukraine’s elite drone strike force, going behind the scenes with senior commanders.

Spotlight | Chaos on the streets of Ceuta
People among the more than 70,000 who entered the Spanish enclave in north Africa last week describe the journey and their prospects to Okba Mohammad and Javier Jennings Mozo

Technology | What if the streetlights have eyes?
The new breed of camera-equipped streetlights has the potential to fight crime and track down missing persons. Or will it just take us one step closer to surveillance states, asks Zoe Williams

Feature | The Clacton klaxon: what Farage’s voters think of Britain
The Reform UK leader’s constituency takes in genteel resorts and one of England’s poorest villages. With a snap byelection approaching, Tim Burrows finds out what residents want from him and their views on the country at large

Opinion | The battle of Elon Musk and the media
The trillionaire Tesla owner has called the editor of the Economist a “traitor to the west” after a clash-filled interview. The truth must not be the loser, argues Jane Martinson

Culture | Why is the National Theatre shaking up Sophocles?
Australian theatre director Benedict Andrews’ bold new London production Electra/Persona, starring Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss, fuses Sophocles and Ingmar Bergman. Mark Lawson asks what it tells us about how we live today

LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS – AUGUST 13, 2026 PREVIEW

LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS: The latest issue features

An Uncomplicated Man – Emily Wilson

The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan.

Christopher Nolan’s $250 million action movie version of Homer’s ancient Greek poem is an entertaining way to hide from the high temperatures for a few hours. Nolan’s trademark jumps and twists in the narrative structure are relatively easy to follow, and appropriate for The Odyssey, a narrative of tales nested in tales. My teenagers had a good time. Unlike some of Nolan’s other films, The Odyssey is not boring, thanks to the source material, which is impossible to mess up entirely. It’s a family-friendly audiovisual spectacle, like an elaborate Fourth of July fireworks display – and with about the same level of narrative and emotional depth.

Beloved Son Felix: Coming of Age in the Renaissance by Felix Platter, translated by Seán Jennett


The Northern Routes to Kingship: 
A History of Scandinavia AD 180-550 by Dagfinn Skre


The Boundless Deep: 
Young Tennyson, Science and the Crisis of Belief by Richard Holmes

The Future in Our Past: The General Strike, 1926-2026 by Callum Cant and Matthew Lee

The Edge of Revolution: The General Strike that Shook Britain by David Torrance

Nine Days in May: The General Strike of 1926 by Jonathan Schneer

Britain’s Revolutionary Summer: The General Strike of 1926 by Edd Mustill

THE NEW YORK TIMES – WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2026

How the Ukraine War Became a Fight for the Skies

Russia and Ukraine are producing ever larger numbers of innovative aerial weapons, hoping for a breakthrough as ground combat is largely frozen.

Deadly Missile Attack on Kyiv Exploits Ukraine’s Depleted Air Defenses

At least 17 people were killed, officials said, as the country runs desperately low on interceptor missiles that could fend off Russian bombardments.

After Trump’s Board of Peace Made a Plan for Gaza, the Bombings Grew Worse

President Trump announced a proposal aimed at achieving the disarmament of Hamas and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel ramped up strikes on the Palestinian enclave.

Houthis Threaten to Expand Red Sea Attacks, and Claim Strike on Saudi Tanker

Inside the Oval Office Showdown Between Trump and Jeanine Pirro

Ms. Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told President Trump that his interior secretary, Doug Burgum, had misled him.

Todd Blanche’s Confirmation as Attorney General Faces New Opposition