The Daily

What kind of foreign policy is possible for the United States after four years of isolationism under President Trump? Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of state, has an interventionist streak, but some vestiges of Trump-era foreign policy will be hard to upend. If confirmed, Mr. Blinken faces the challenge of making the case at home that taking a fuller role abroad is important, while persuading international allies that the United States can be counted on...

Janet Yellen, who is poised to become secretary of the Treasury, will immediately have her work cut out for her. The U.S. economy is in a precarious state and Congress is consumed by partisan politics. Ms. Yellen, however, is no stranger to crisis. She has already held the government’s other top economic jobs — including chairwoman of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, helping the country through the last major financial emergency...

For Americans, months of collective isolation and fear could soon be winding down. A coronavirus vaccine may be just weeks away. According to Dr. Moncef Slaoui, head of Operation Warp Speed, the federal effort to accelerate vaccine development, the first Americans could receive the vaccine in mid-December...

On a day early this fall, Nikita Stewart, who covers social services for The New York Times, and the Daily producers Annie Brown and Stella Tan spent a day at Council of Peoples Organization, a food pantry in Brooklyn, speaking to its workers and clients. As with many other pantries in the city, it has seen its demand rocket during the pandemic as many New Yorkers face food shortages...

Pressure and litigation appear to have been the pillars of President Trump’s response to his general election loss. His team filed a litany of court cases in battleground states. In some, such as Georgia and Michigan, the president and his allies took an even more bullish approach, attempting to use their influence to bear down on election officials...

This week New York City’s public schools will close their doors and students will once again undertake online instruction. The shutdown was triggered when 3 percent of coronavirus tests in the city came back positive over seven days. There are questions, however, around this number being used as a trigger — some health officials maintain that schools are safe...

For years, Wil S. Hylton had been drawn to his cousin’s strength and violence. He was pulled in by the archetype that he embodied and was envious of the power he seemed to command. Wil describes his relative’s violence as “ambient” and “endemic,” but he was sure it wouldn’t turn on him. Until a few years ago, when his cousin tried to kill him. “My attraction to my cousin and my detachment as a husband both reside in the pantheon of male tropes,” he wrote. “Masculinity is a religion...

When the pandemic struck, Patty Schachtner, in her capacity as both a member of the Wisconsin State Senate and chief medical officer for St. Croix County, tried to remain one step ahead. It was an approach criticized by many in her conservative community.  She was preparing for the worst-case scenario. And now it has arrived — cases and deaths are on the rise in Wisconsin.  We chart her journey through the months of the pandemic...

There are several figures that tell the story of the American economy right now. Some are surprisingly positive — the housing market is booming — while others paint a more dire picture. Using seven key numbers, we look at the sectors that have been affected most profoundly and consider what the path to recovery might look like. Guest: Ben Casselman, who covers economics and business for The New York Times, walks us through the pandemic’s impact. We want to hear from you...

President Trump is pushing the military to accelerate the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, all but guaranteeing a major place for the Taliban in the country’s future. As a child, Mujib Mashal lived through the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Now a senior correspondent there for The New York Times, he has for years reported on the extremist group and, more recently, has covered the progress of peace talks...