The Morning: A wealthy and unhappy nation

Plus, Trump's tariffs, Gaza and "The Simpsons."

View in browser|nytimes.com February 4, 2025 By David Leonhardt Good morning. We're covering a new report on the state of America — as well as Trump's tariffs, Gaza and "The Simpsons." John Taggart for The New York Times Wealthy and unhappy Like many other Americans, Douglas Harris — an economist at Tulane University — has found himself worrying about the quality of public discourse. It is full of misinformation, cynicism and polarization. Americans seem irrationally angry about the country's condition and can't even seem to agree on basic facts. Harris decided to do something about the situation in 2021. He recruited a politically diverse committee of experts to study the true state of the nation. He persuaded 13 other scholars — who together have advised each of the past five presidents, stretching back to Bill Clinton — to do so. They released their national report card yesterday. It finds that the U.S. economy is performing better than any of its peers and pulling away from the economies of Europe and Japan. The U.S. remains far richer, per person, than China or India. Sources: State of the Nation report, World Bank The report also finds that the U.S. fares less well in almost every other realm, including health, happiness and social trust. Source: State of the Nation report, UNICEF, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, World Bank, Gallup World Poll "We're so wealthy but so unhappy," said Bradley Birzer, a member of the committee and a historian at Hillsdale College in Michigan. In the end, the experts decided that 37 measures were important enough to list, including those covering economic output, employment, income inequality, life expectancy, environmental conditions, depression, community involvement, press freedom and voter turnout. For a measure to make the list, roughly 75 percent of the experts had to agree on its inclusion. The group also commissioned a poll and found that a large majority of Americans agreed about the importance of most topics. The main exceptions were community involvement and environmental conditions, which only a slight majority of people thought were crucial gauges of our national well-being. In this article by my colleague Ashley Wu and me, you'll find more charts, as well as thoughts from the committee members about why economic performance seems to have become unmoored from health and happiness. As Birzer says, "It seems like the central question of modernity." THE LATEST NEWS North American Tariffs President Claudia Sheinbaum, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Luis Antonio Rojas for The New York Times; Eric Lee/The New York Times; Justin Tang/The Canadian Press, via AP The leaders of Canada and Mexico made last-minute deals with President Trump to avoid a trade war. Trump postponed tariffs of up to 25 percent after the leaders said they would do more to block drugs and migrants. Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, plans to send 10,000 more troops to the border. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would commit more resources to battling the spread of fentanyl. Trump said he would reconsider the tariffs in a month. What does Trump really want? He's being intentionally vague. That allows him to declare victory when he sees fit, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Matina Stevis-Gridneff write. Chinese Tariffs The Yangshan Port near Shanghai.  The New York Times Trump's 10 percent tariffs on China took effect. The Chinese government retaliated with tariffs on natural gas, coal and other products from the United States. In addition, Chinese market regulators said they were investigating Google. USAID At USAID. Tierney L. Cross for The New York Times Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had taken over as acting head of USAID, the government's international aid agency, hours after Elon Musk said the White House was closing it. Musk railed against the agency on social media, calling it a "criminal organization" without offering evidence. "Time for it to die," he wrote. Rubio said many of the agency's programs — which include health services and disaster relief — were worthwhile. But he said its work needed to align more closely with U.S. foreign policy goals. Democratic lawmakers said the White House could not dismantle the agency, which Congress helped create. "We don't have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk," Representative Jamie Raskin told protesters outside USAID headquarters. "Beyond scrutiny": Musk is sweeping through the federal government with a level of autonomy that has surprised even some Trump officials. Environmental Protection Agency The E.P.A. has begun clearing toxic debris from homes destroyed by the Los Angeles wildfires. The full cleanup will take many months. The Trump administration has warned more than 1,100 E.P.A. employees who work on climate change and other programs that it may fire them. International In Tehran. Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times Scientists in Iran are researching a cruder but faster approach to developing an atomic weapon, intelligence found. Trump said he was seeking a deal to offer military aid to Ukraine in exchange for critical minerals. The country is rich in lithium and uranium. Who will govern Gaza after the war? Here are the four leading possibilities. Australia's conservative opposition leader is following Trump's playbook. But there are lines he won't cross. El Salvador's president offered to jail criminals deported by the U.S. for a fee. D.C. Plane Crash On the Potomac River. Al Drago for The New York Times Crews lifted part of the wreckage of the American Airlines flight that crashed in Washington out of the Potomac River. Investigators are trying to determine if the pilots of the helicopter in the crash were wearing night vision goggles. A man who was engaged, a woman who died on her birthday: Read about the crash victims. Other Big Stories The Proud Boys no longer control their name. As part of a nearly $3 million ruling against the group, a judge gave the trademark to a Black church they vandalized. Leaders of the New Orleans Saints helped a local Catholic archdiocese manage a sex abuse scandal. They used their influence to shape public opinion and offered communications expertise. Trump directed the Treasury and Commerce Departments to create a sovereign wealth fund — an investment vehicle used by oil-rich countries like Norway and Saudi Arabia. A rescue team found the body of a 37-year-old hiker near a popular trail at Zion National Park. He appears to have fallen to his death. More microplastics are entering our brains, The Washington Post reports. Opinions Hank Azaria The New York Times Hank Azaria provides voices for many characters on "The Simpsons." While A.I. might be able to recreate his sounds, it can't recreate the soul of the work, he writes. DeepSeek, China's A.I. success, is a warning that when the U.S. tech industry isn't competitive, it will be vulnerable to foreign rivals, the former F.T.C. chair Lina Khan argues. Here's a column by Michelle Goldberg on echoes of Iraq in Washington. Subscribe Today The Morning highlights a small portion of the journalism that The New York Times offers. To access all of it, become a subscriber with this introductory offer. MORNING READS The University of California, Los Angeles. Alisha Jucevic for The New York Times On campus: The University of California increased diversity. Now it's being sued. Risk: Could the bird flu become airborne? The Great Read: He went to jail for stealing someone's identity. But it was his all along. Ask Well: Can alcohol cause a panic attack? Most clicked yesterday: A story about how weight-loss drugs are transforming marriages. Lives Lived: Marion Wiesel translated many books written by her husband, Elie Wiesel, and encouraged him to become the most renowned interpreter of the Holocaust. She was 94. SPORTS Super Bowl: Homeland Security officials expressed confidence in the security arrangements for New Orleans. Tennis: A bizarre collision between Belgian Zizou Bergs and Chilean Cristian Garin at the Davis Cup led to an injured eye and a controversial ruling. ARTS AND IDEAS In Altadena, Calif.  Loren Elliott for The New York Times After the fires, Los Angeles has a choice: Will it remake itself into something largely familiar or take a bolder path? In London and Chicago, historic fires fast-tracked urban change. The Times's architecture critic explores how Los Angeles could rebuild better. More on culture Chappell Roan Allison Dinner/EPA, via Shutterstock See the best outfits at the Grammy Awards. A French court convicted an influential film director, Christophe Ruggia, of sexually assaulting the actress Adèle Haenel when she was a minor. Late night hosts joked about Trump's tariffs. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Christopher Testani for The New York Times Dip homemade garlic Parmesan wings into ranch dressing or try our other Super Bowl recipes. Reduce single-use plastic in your bathroom. Declutter your fridge. GAMES Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was divinely. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. 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