ALCATRAZ ISLAND, Calif. — The barred cell doors are so rusted they can’t close. Century-old lead paint is peeling off the walls. Concrete is crumbling, and the old rec yard is caked in seagull guano. This is no longer a fearsome prison. Not a working one, anyway. Alcatraz the penitentiary shut down in 1963, but Alcatraz the idea has lived on, a permanent part of the American mythology, a timeless symbol of ruthless and unforgiving incarceration. It’s a potent image, inspired by tales of both fact and fiction, and it has captured the world’s imagination — including, apparently, that of President Donald…
Author: Bob Mery
Bob Mery
Bob Mery is a seasoned political cartoon artist, writer, and columnist known for blending sharp journalism with compelling visual storytelling. Since launching his career in 1993, Bob has used the power of cartoons to simplify and spotlight complex political moments, offering readers a unique lens into the world of government, society, and current events. His body of work spans major historical milestones including the 9/11 attacks, Covid-19 pandemic, and numerous U.S. political eras. Through his satirical illustrations and insightful commentary, Bob has earned a reputation for turning headlines into thought-provoking art.
The U.S. labor market remained resilient in April, with employers adding 177,000 jobs, a solid showing despite ongoing economic uncertainty that has caused many employers to put hiring plans on hold. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 percent, near historic lows, according to a jobs report released Friday by the Labor Department. Economists had largely expected growth to cool, following the addition of 185,000 jobs in March, figures that were revised downward. Monthly Change in Non-Farm Jobs Monthly change in non-farm jobs All 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Download Data Seasonally adjusted; the figures for the most recent two…
The past several weeks might have been tumultuous or even existential for a lot of U.S. businesses caught up in trade wars, but they’ve been pretty darn good for Starlink, the satellite company owned by Elon Musk. After years of regulatory holdups, Starlink reached distribution deals in March with two giant internet providers in India, the world’s most populous country, and won approval in neighboring Pakistan as well. Another of America’s major trade partners, Vietnam, waived a rule that required Starlink to partner with a domestic company and said it would launch a five-year pilot program with Starlink. Bangladesh, the second-largest exporter of garments…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday temporarily blocked the deportations of any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th-century wartime law. In a brief order, the court directed the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order from this court.” Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. The high court acted overnight following an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union, contending that immigration authorities appeared to be moving to restart removals under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) of 1798. The Supreme Court had said earlier in April that deportations could proceed…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary “Easter truce” in the three-year conflict in Ukraine that will last until midnight Sunday. “On humanitarian grounds, today from 6 p.m. to midnight from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side announces an Easter truce,” Putin said in a televised statement released by the Kremlin. The statement has been translated. “For this period, I order to stop all fighting. We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops should be prepared to reflect possible violations of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions.”…
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner jet is a multinational concoction, made of parts from around the globe. Wings from Japan. Doors from France. Portions of the fuselage are built in Italy before they are shipped to the United States to be assembled by workers in South Carolina. It’s an arrangement made possible by a nearly 50-year-old trade agreement that allowed Boeing and other players in the U.S. aerospace industry to sell airplanes and buy parts from anywhere in the world, duty-free. Now President Donald Trump’s global tariffs threaten to disrupt this interlocking supply chain. For the first time in nearly half a…
Even when India was staring down the barrel of a 27 percent tariff on most of its exports to the United States, business executives and government officials saw an upside. India’s biggest economic rival, China, and its smaller competitors like Vietnam were facing even worse. India has been pushing hard in recent years to become a manufacturing alternative to China, and it looked as if it had suddenly gained an advantage. Then India and its smaller rivals got 90-day reprieves, and President Trump doubled down on China, boosting its tariff to 145 percent. The sky-high tax on Chinese imports to…
President Trump’s rapidly escalating trade war with China has resulted in eye-watering tariffs on products exchanged between the countries and scrambled prospects for many global businesses that depend on the trade. And there is no end in sight. The Trump administration has been waiting for the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, to call Mr. Trump personally, but Beijing appears wary of putting Mr. Xi in an unpredictable and potentially embarrassing situation with the U.S. president. With the two governments at an impasse, businesses that rely on sourcing products from China — varying from hardware stores to toymakers — have been thrown…
President Trump on Wednesday abruptly reversed course on steep global tariffs that have roiled markets, upset members of his own party and raised fears of a recession. Just hours after he put punishing levies into place on nearly 60 countries, the president said he would pause them for 90 days. But Mr. Trump did not extend that pause to China, opting instead to raise tariffs again on all Chinese imports, bringing those taxes to a whopping 125 percent. That decision came after Beijing raised its levies on American goods to 84 percent on Wednesday afternoon in an escalating tit-for-tat between…
Kari Lake, senior adviser to the parent agency of Voice of America, is set to be detailed to the State Department, a move that could thwart her ambition of transforming U.S.-backed news content worldwide, according to two people with knowledge of the move who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share internal decisions. President Donald Trump tapped Lake to lead VOA, which delivers news to audiences around the world, after she had eagerly sought a position in the new administration. Lake, a one-time Republican candidate for Arizona governor and U.S. Senate, had told her associates that she wanted…
