Right now I primarily use twitter and reddit to stay up to date about topics of interest (tech, security, politics, and finance). As I push myself to limit my reliance on social media, finding a digital newspaper to subscribe to would go a long way in helping me stay up to date to current events
Edit: Based in US Mid west
FT is decent. Personally I don't care for The Economist, their stuff usually feels informative until you read an article about an issue or a domain you know about.
The Congressional research service has detailed reports on most current events.
The Economist
The NYT is the worst
Except for all the others
I'm going to assume you are in the US and are primarily interested in English-language outlets. If not, you likely have some great local options that aren't US-centric.
So then, I think the Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com] is a decent "all around" choice that has enough interesting edges to not feel redundant. It's especially good if you want to check out their UK or International editions to get something not so US-biased on occasion.
The NY Times [https://www.nytimes.com] is an obvious choice and it has its merits. Increasingly, the editorial choices seem to make less and less sense. I get it for $3 a month and for that price, it's worthwhile.
The LA Times [https://www.latimes.com] is slightly less globally focused but if you live on the US West Coast, it might be more applicable than other options.
The Miami Herald [https://www.miamiherald.com] used to be an interesting change of pace and perspective with some wonderful columnists. However, its parent company was recently purchased by a private equity firm so it remains to be seen what the commitment level is.