Poland and France tighten ties. The two countries signed a treaty May 9 to increase cooperation on defense and energy. Security alliances are growing in Europe amid concerns about U.S. commitment to the continent’s defense. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the treaty includes measures in case of an attack on either country. The treaty also underscores Poland’s increasingly pivotal role in Europe because of its strategic position. Poland spends 4.12% of its economic output on defense, the highest percentage in NATO. Mr. Tusk emphasized the pact is not an “alternative” to Poland’s relations with the United States. – Reuters

The removal of U.S. military transgender service members begins. The Defense Department is moving as many as 1,000 openly identifying transgender people out of the military and giving others 30 days to self-identify. On May 6, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender individuals in the military. The Pentagon will also begin going through medical records to identify others diagnosed with gender dysphoria who haven’t come forward. Officials have said that as of Dec. 9, 2024, there were 4,240 troops with this diagnosis. There are about 2.1 million total troops serving. – The Associated Press
Related Monitor coverage: Actions by the Trump administration have been pushing back on transgender inclusion, amid sharp public divides and emotional debates over things like women’s sports and care for children.

U.S. plans major upgrade to air traffic control. The Trump administration has proposed a multibillion-dollar overhaul of the U.S. air traffic control system in the wake of deadly plane crashes that have put a spotlight on the outdated network. The plan calls for six new air traffic control centers, along with upgrades at all of the United States’ air traffic facilities over the next three or four years, said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Demands to fix the aging system have increased since the collision in January between an Army helicopter and a commercial airliner that killed 67 people over Washington, D.C. – AP 
Related Monitor coverage: Rising safety is the historical trend in aviation. In January, we reported how the midair collision over Washington, D.C., came amid what some see as growing stresses on air-safety systems.

A Vermont federal judge ordered the release of the detained Tufts student. U.S. District Judge William Sessions in Burlington released Rümeysa Öztürk on bail from a Louisiana immigration center, pending a final decision on her claim that she was illegally arrested. She had been detained for six weeks following an op-ed she co-wrote last year that criticized the university’s response to Israel’s war in Gaza. Lawyers for Ms. Öztürk said her detention violates her constitutional rights. – AP

Ford Motor is raising prices on some models. It will be one of the first major automakers to adjust sticker prices following President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Prices on the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, Maverick pickup, and Bronco Sport will increase by as much as $2,000 on some models. A Ford spokesperson said the price hikes will affect vehicles built in Mexico after May 2, which would arrive at dealer lots in late June. – Reuters

A central argument in the U.S. trade war with China is that cheap labor in the Asian giant has hollowed out American manufacturing. The same trend is now evident in China. In April, key factory activity dropped to a 16-month low, while export orders fell to their lowest level since December 2022. The Trump administration’s sharp escalation of tariffs is only part of the explanation. China is losing textile production to Vietnam, Bangladesh, and other Asian and Latin American countries where labor is cheaper.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, says that by partnering with interested governments, it can spread what it calls “democratic AI” around the world. It views this as an antidote to the development of artificial intelligence in authoritarian countries that might use it for surveillance or cyberattacks. Yet the meaning of “democratic AI” is elusive. How AI affects politics worldwide will depend on who has a say in controlling the data and rules behind these tools, and how they are used.

President Donald Trump returned to the White House promising to make government smaller and more efficient. He launched the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency to lead this endeavor. DOGE staffers swept through Washington, accessing computer systems, firing thousands of employees, and dismantling entire agencies. Now, the aftershocks of these actions are becoming clearer. The Inter-American Foundation, which at one point was reduced on paper to a single employee, illustrates how remaking government can be easier said than done.

Several cities in Europe are finding increasingly large numbers of foreign tourists hard to manage – none more so than Florence, Italy. In recent years, the number of university abroad programs bringing American college kids to the cradle of the Renaissance has exploded. Many residents are running out of patience. Housing is harder to come by, and rents have soared in recent years. But Mayor Sara Funaro sees an opportunity to share Italian values: “I think that we are the ones who have to build a relationship in order to explain what the rules are.”

Members of the Soviet elite and everyday citizens alike once flocked to Tskaltubo, a town in the Republic of Georgia with hot springs and a direct railway line to Moscow. But in the decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the town’s once majestic architecture has crumpled with neglect. Now, Georgia’s government wants to restore those buildings to their former splendor. As private investors come in, the town’s dwindling modest families face displacement.

He was both Samuel Clemens, husband and father, and Mark Twain, the persona behind the pen name he’d borrowed from a riverboat term for “two fathoms deep.” America’s most famous writer wove elaborate tall tales of an exuberant young nation barreling its way across a continent of inexhaustible potential. In a new biography, Ron Chernow offers a textured view of an austere family man with a need for attention as keen as his sense of the performative possibilities of language.

A recent survey of young Americans showed 85% say their generation spends too much time online. Another poll last year found 60% of all U.S. adults say the nation’s top problem is the inability of Democrats and Republicans to work together. So just where can people go to meet face-to-face, perhaps to work out differences, even enjoy each other’s company?

One answer may lie in a special exhibit running May 10 to Nov. 23 in Venice, Italy.

The exhibit, called “Porch: An Architecture of Generosity,” is the United States’ entry at the 19th International Architecture Biennale. The entries, 54 works in all, showcase interpretations of the front porch in American life. The idea is to “really help people understand what the value of being together is,” Susan Chin, an organizer of the U.S. Pavilion at what is known as one of the world’s largest exhibitions, told The New York Times.

And nothing speaks to neighborliness more than the welcoming covered space at the front of a house that is both public and private, indoors and out. With a few rockers or a swinging chair, the porch is an invitation for dialogue. Such spaces (which can include the urban stoop) are “a way for people to slow down and reflect, together,” Ms. Chin told the website Designboom.

In recent decades, the number of new houses designed with a front porch has increased after a long decline. That signals a yearning for local connection. In addition, dozens of communities now hold annual festivals during which musicians play from people’s porches. The first such Porchfest began in 2007 in Ithaca, New York, and has since spread across the country as well as to Canada and Australia.

In mid-19th-century America, the French observer Alexis de Tocqueville marveled at the ability of people to solve problems by forming new associations: “If it is a question of bringing to light a truth or developing a sentiment with the support of a great example, they associate,” he wrote.

The front porch, an architectural feature brought to America by enslaved people from Africa, is today on the front line of restoring the art of listening. Or as Peter MacKeith, another organizer of the U.S. exhibit put it, the porch is a space “generous in spirit, grounded in place, and open to the world.”