The Week Magazine November 25, 2022

In Greek tragedy, heroes meet their downfall when they succumb to hubris—an arrogant belief in their own infallibility. Jealous gods respond with a punishing lesson in humility. Much has changed over 2,500 years, but not human nature. Today, the world stage is filled with mighty tech titans and autocrats who are in the process of being humbled for the moral edification of we mortals. Behold the edgelord Elon Musk, who bought Twitter on impulse for $44 billion: In a few short weeks, he has managed to frighten away advertisers, gut the staff, and inspire hoaxers to mock him on his own site. As he tumbles, Icarus-like, from the sky, Elon can wave to Sam Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old founder of cryptocurrency firm FTX, whose blockchain-enabled Ponzi scheme collapsed into a black…

What happened Republicans were poised to win narrow control of the House this week, setting the stage for two years of divided government after a historically and unexpectedly weak GOP midterm performance kept the Senate in Democrats’ hands. As The Week went to press, Republicans were one win shy of the 218 members needed for a majority. With 11 seats yet to be called, they were expected to take the chamber, but with a margin of only a few seats—a far cry from the dozens many expected might flip in a midterm election Republicans hoped to make a referendum on an unpopular president, inflation, and crime. Democrats locked in Senate control as Nevada incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto won a 50th seat by defeating former state attorney general Adam Laxalt, a…

What happened Donald Trump declared this week he was running for president in 2024, saying the country was being “destroyed” and the southern border “invaded.” In a meandering, hourlong speech to about 600 supporters at Mar-a-Lago, the twice-impeached former president painted American cities as “cesspools of violent crime” and himself as a victim of federal investigators. Trump, 76, is facing several criminal investigations—into his actions during the Jan. 6 insurrection, his instruction to Georgian officials to “find” enough votes to swing the state to him, and his possession of classified documents—and friends and aides anonymously told The New York Times that he is hoping that formally declaring his candidacy might stall or prevent the filing of charges. In his speech, Trump cast himself as an outsider. “The Washington establishment wants…

As the parent of a 4-year-old with autism, Crisann Black noticed that some people judged her son, rather than embracing his differences. The Arizonan wanted to create a space where people with disabilities or special needs, along with their friends and family, could feel welcomed and accepted. She began hosting monthly parties at Club Zeus—named after her son—where adults with disabilities can dance and socialize. “They come in full glam, and they look gorgeous,” Black said. “It’s incredible to see their confidence, and it just all shines.” In the 1960s, Angela Alvarez sent her children to an orphanage in the U.S. to escape the dictatorship in her native Cuba. She joined them two years later in Pueblo, Colo., where she invited other Cuban immigrants to sing traditional music with her…

“The midterms were very good to President Biden,” said Frank Bruni in The New York Times, but even the Democrats’ surprisingly strong performance can’t turn back the hands of time. Already the oldest president in U.S. history, Biden turns 80 on Nov. 20, and his age is weighing heavily on Democratic minds. Biden “doesn’t project anything like the ebullience he once did,” and while always gaffe-prone, he’s been suffering more verbal slipups that “transcend malapropisms.” Discussing his program of student loan relief, for example, he recently told reporters it passed Congress “by a vote or two,” when of course he’d decreed it by executive order. Biden will be nearly 82 on Election Day, said Norman Solomon in Salon, his net approval rating is minus 12, and 68 percent of…

Good week for: Lessons learned, after Ivanka Trump declined to attend her father’s presidential campaign announcement and told him she’s done with politics. “This time around,” said Ivanka, “I am choosing to prioritize my young children.” Commitment, after actor Rainn Wilson announced that he is changing his name to “Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson” to highlight the dangers of climate change. “This is not a joke,” said Wilson, 56. “I’m as serious as the melting Arctic.” Having company, as the human population passed 8 billion, just 12 years after it passed 7 billion. The United Nations projects it will take until 2037 to reach 9 billion. Bad week for: KFC, which invited customers in Germany to commemorate the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the 1938 night of anti-Jewish attacks, by choosing…