Elizabeth Shackelford –

President Donald Trump stands next to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as Dario Amodei speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington on Sept. 29, 2026, after meeting with top executives of AI firms. (Alex Brandon/AP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Return of ‘might makes right’ imperils the UN’s mission as AI threatens our existence

October 2, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

If ever a technology demanded international cooperation and governance, to manage the risks and maximize its potential, it is AI.

Residents pull a newly installed zipline to help people move across the Trishuli River in the aftermath of flash floods at Bidur in Nepal's Nuwakot district on Sept. 2, 2026. (Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Nepal’s disaster is today’s terrifying climate change reality

September 4, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Warmer temperatures are destabilizing glaciers, such as the one in Nepal, that have stood for tens of thousands of years.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman arrives at a data center event on June 1, 2026, in Saline, Michigan. (Daniel Mears/The Detroit News)

Elizabeth Shackelford: AI should be managed like nuclear weapons

August 21, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The AI threat could be even greater than nuclear weapons since agents can operate independent of and contrary to human action or direction.

President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang after Huang delivered remarks at the White House during an event on "Investing in America" on April 30, 2025. Nvidia is an example in which the price for regulatory approval of the advanced sale of chips to China was to give a cut of the revenue to the U.S. government. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Elizabeth Shackelford: The only communist threat is coming from inside the White House

August 7, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Why has the "Red Scare" returned now? Because when a party in power is deeply unpopular, it must find another boogeyman.

Analeidis Arias Marin gets her children ready for school in Santiago de Cuba on May 7, 2026. The U.S. oil blockade has deepened a humanitarian crisis, forcing Cubans to lean on the island’s long tradition of community solidarity to provide a cushion. (Lisette Poole González/The New York Times)

Elizabeth Shackelford: The Trump administration’s aggression abroad is both ruthless and ineffective

July 24, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The United States is imposing pointless suffering on the people of Cuba and Iran.

Children cool off at Crown Fountain in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago during a heat wave on June 29, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Climate change’s heat is baking us to death. We must act.

July 10, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

It isn’t just the U.S. Heat waves have rocked Europe, but these inconveniences to most are nothing compared to what lies ahead if we don’t change course.

A U.S. Air force flight carrying migrants deported by the U.S. government arrives at Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport on Jan. 31, 2025, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. (Jorge Salvador Cabrera/Getty)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Civil servants should refuse to implement cruel policies, even if it costs them

June 26, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

President Donald Trump is deporting immigrants to African countries with travel advisories. Civil servants must resist.

A Ukrainian serviceman of the 33rd Mechanized Brigade operates a land combat drone during a training at a polygon in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on June 10, 2026. (Andrii Marienko/AP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Ukraine’s cheap drones and combat robots offer hope for the good guys

June 12, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Ukrainian professionals who once worked in finance, IT and construction have turned their civilian capabilities to military means.

Workers offload medical and emergency supplies donated by the European Union to support front-line workers in fighting Ebola upon arrival at the national airport in Bunia, Congo, on May 28, 2026. (Moses Sawasawa/AP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: I witnessed our Ebola response in 2014. We are now seeing the costs of US aid withdrawal

May 29, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The Trump administration’s withdrawal from WHO and its cuts to foreign aid have put us and the world at far greater risk.

Undersecretary of Defense/Comptroller Jules Hurst, from left, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the fiscal year 2027 budget request at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 12, 2026. The Trump administration is asking for an unprecedented $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

Elizabeth Shackelford: An indefensible defense budget proposal and what it portends for our nation

May 15, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Giving the Trump administration a massive increase in funding only dials up the risk of further aggression and provocative posturing.

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