Blown speaker: Kevin McCarthy is out

After Elon Musk’s first extended interview since SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO, The Economist editor-in-chief reflects on what he told her: that AIs will be in charge in ten years, his dark view of Europe and the inevitably of civil war in Britain. At what age is a child responsible f ...  Show more

Many people, including politicians, love to hate the super-rich, and assume they have gamed the system. Yet our correspondent reports that a growing share of today’s wealthiest earned their money providing goods and services we all want. A new crackdown on scam compounds in Cambo ...  Show more

Another shutdown standoff, funding worries for Ukraine, more leadership chaos: the booting of America’s speaker of the House of Representatives bodes ill for governance. “Jawan”, a new Indian film, is non-stop action with Bollywood flourishes—and reveals how divisions in the coun ...  Show more

The literal 11th-hour deal to avert a government shutdown is only a stopgap—and the battle may end up <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/10/01/by-averting-a-government-shutdown-kevin-mccarthy-risks-his-job?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_so ...

With the accession of Mike Johnson as the lower chamber’s majority leader, Congress can at last get back to lawmaking—unless the leadership circus starts again. China’s banks may be loaded up with hidden bad loans; the industry’s covid-era hangover could be about to intensify (09 ...  Show more

The House descends into chaos as Kevin McCarthy fails to win the race for speaker on the first three ballots, Republicans prepare to swear in a new member of Congress who made up his entire life story, and the last Congress ends by making Donald Trump's tax returns public and ask ...  Show more