Philippa Kaur

Donald Trump wants minerals, and lots of them. America’s president is interested in Greenland for, among other things, its vast store of minerals and the largest deposits of rare earths outside China. In Ukraine he is eyeing the country’s apparently significant lithium resources. Noting Mr Trump’s interest, in February the Democratic Republic of Congo’s leaders offered America their mineral reserves. More

Donald Trump has promised to impose sweeping tariffs on imported goods on April 2nd, dubbing it “Liberation Day”. The car industry got a preview of what is in store a week earlier, when on March 26th America’s president said he would charge hefty levies on imported cars and parts. The aim is to restore carmaking to America. But it will come at a high cost. Raised prices will hit sales and reduce choice for American consumers. Carmakers, meanwhile, will be “liberated” from large chunks of their profits. More

If you are fed up with the other people on your team, remember this: it could be so much worse. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, two American astronauts, returned to Earth on March 18th after a planned days-long mission to the International Space Station turned into a nine-month stay. At the SANAE IV research station in Antarctica, reports have emerged of assault, death threats and intimidation among a team of South African scientists who arrived there in February; they are due to leave the base only in December. Submariners on Britain’s nuclear-armed subs can be at sea for six months or more. More

CENTRAL PARK bisects upper Manhattan, creating two neighbourhoods and, apparently, two reading cultures. On the Upper West Side, the New York Times is “a standout for us” in terms of driving book purchases, says Victoria Harty, assistant manager of the local branch of Barnes & Noble, America’s biggest bookstore chain. On the east side, meanwhile, customers prefer recommendations from the Washington Post and the Atlantic. More

Spit in a tube and, for about $100, discover secrets held by your DNA. That was the promise of 23andMe, a direct-to-consumer genetic-testing company. It proved popular—more than 15m customers coughed up to receive tailored reports. Insights ranged from the banal (there is a 48% chance you have freckles) to the potentially helpful (you have an increased risk of type-2 diabetes). Ultimately, though, the venture was unprofitable. On March 23rd the firm filed for bankruptcy. More

If you are fed up with the other people on your team, remember this: it could be so much worse. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, two American astronauts, returned to Earth on March 18th after a planned days-long mission to the International Space Station turned into a nine-month stay. At the SANAE IV research station in Antarctica, reports have emerged of assault, death threats and intimidation among a team of South African scientists who arrived there in February; they are due to leave the base only in December. Submariners on Britain’s nuclear-armed subs can be at sea for six months or more. More

IT PASSES FOR a courtroom truism that whoever wins or loses, the lawyers come out on top—especially in litigious America. The same goes for political outcomes. Had Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party won the presidential and congressional elections in November, white-shoe firms would have expected less work on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) but more representing corporate clients before regulatory agencies. With Donald Trump and the notionally pro-business Republicans in charge, you might have guessed the opposite. Either way, billable hours beckoned. More

The capitol Hill club, in Washington, dc, is a venerable gathering spot for the city’s Republican elite. It is minutes from the offices of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Its Eisenhower Lounge boasts no fewer than 458 elephant statues; its ornate lobby features portraits of Ronald Reagan, both George Bushes and a younger Donald Trump. A grizzled shoe-shiner says that he has polished the shoes of all of those presidents bar the last. He also notes a recent change in the club’s clientele: Washington’s power-brokers, with “fancy loafers”, are back in force. More