Indholdsfortegnelse for July 4/11, 2025 i The Week Magazine

War, history tells us, invariably has unforeseen consequences. No one can now predict the full repercussions of President Trump’s decision to drop 14 bunker busters on Iran, but one darker possibility is that Iran serves its revenge cold months from now, in the form of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. If a bomb goes off in an American city or on a passenger plane, or a lone wolf armed with an AR-15 shoots up a mall, what then? Trump might announce that the U.S. is under foreign attack and thus must be governed under martial law. The Army would be deployed in the streets, and constitutional rights would be suspended. The possibility of a terrorist response is quite real; so is its potential usefulness to Trump’s authoritarian project.…

■ The Trump administration has approved Florida’s proposal to build an “Alligator Alcatraz” for migrant detainees. State Attorney General James Uthmeier said the 5,000-bed facility, to be constructed on the site of an old airstrip in the Everglades, will be cost-effective because “you don’t need to invest that much in the perimeter. People get out, there’s not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide.” ■ Minnesota-based Hormel Foods is suing Johnsonville, the Wisconsin bratwurst company, for allegedly stealing its sausage secrets. Hormel’s federal lawsuit accuses Johnsonville of poaching its employees, at least one of whom allegedly defected to Johnsonville with a trove of “product formulas, processing procedures,” and other “confidential business information.” Adds Hormel, by way of context, “the sausage market…

Nashville Weak case: In a rebuke to the Trump administration, a Nashville judge this week ruled that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Venezuelan migrant mistakenly deported to El Salvador and returned to the U.S. this month, should not be held in jail. The 29-year-old Maryland man was imprisoned upon his return to the U.S. on federal smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop. Prosecutors allege Abrego Garcia transported undocumented immigrants between Texas and Maryland three to four times a week. Judge Barbara Holmes was skeptical of the charges, however, noting that so much driving approached “physical impossibility.” She ordered him released from jail, though he is likely to stay in immigration detention. The Trump administration also sued 15 Maryland judges, seeking to overturn a new rule granting temporary…

E. Jean Carroll will never forgive Donald Trump, said Jessica Bennett in New York magazine. In 1996, what began as a friendly encounter between the journalist and the real estate mogul at a Manhattan department store ended, she said, with Trump sexually assaulting her in a dressing room. The president denied the accusations but lost two lawsuits to Carroll and was ordered to pay $88.3 million. The experience utterly changed her life. “Do you know why I have never seen a therapist in my life?” says Carroll, 81. “Because I get over things. I do not dwell. I forget it.” But when it comes to Trump, “I have not ‘gotten over things.’” After Trump’s alleged assault, Carroll was never intimate with another man. “My desire for desire was over.…

Helen Lewis The Atlantic American politicians don’t “go gentle into that good night,” said Helen Lewis, and their stubborn refusal to retire weakens our democracy. Since the 2022 midterms, eight members of Congress have died in office, including three during this congressional session, and all were Democrats. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington D.C.’s nonvoting congressional delegate, continues to serve at 88, even though the evidence of mental decline has become painfully obvious. Why don’t lawmakers pass the torch, like normal people? House and Senate members are lavished with privilege, respect, and attention; retirement means they lose the best tables at fashionable restaurants and reporters writing down their thoughts. Aging politicians believe that you are either “still in power or nobody at all.” But their clinging to power can do…

Chaa Chaa Ogino The Japan Times Japan’s hikikomori problem has reached a crisis point, said Chaa Chaa Ogino. Hikikomori, meaning “pulling inward,” describes an acute form of social withdrawal and the individuals affected by it, who may not interact with anyone outside the home for months at a time. Contrary to common assumptions, these are not all teenage boys holed up in “dark bedrooms,” failing to launch. The “reality is broader.” In Japan today, there are 1.5 million people, about 2% of all those ages 15 to 62, who have retreated to isolation. Most are not particularly young: “A significant proportion of hikikomori are in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s.” Many of them have lost their jobs “and fear judgment.” Some are women. This condition was first identified…

Will the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran “strengthen Tehran’s authoritarians or hasten their demise?” asked Karim Sadjadpour in The New York Times. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump both raised the prospect of “regime change” in Tehran, and the crushing military defeat the two countries inflicted on Iran exposed “deep vulnerabilities” in the Islamic Republic, which is headed by 86-year-old Ayatollah Khamenei. But the regime does not seem “at risk of imminent collapse.” The ruling elites haven’t splintered into competing factions and still have a monopoly on violent repression. No charismatic opposition leader or organization has harnessed Iranians’ “mass discontent” to craft a unifying anti-government message. The regime appears “brittle,” but the struggle of younger, secular Iranians for a less oppressive government “is only beginning.”…

A cutting-edge four-wheel tilting microcar is up for preorder ahead of production next year, said Paul Ridden in New Atlas. AEMotion’s new two-person microcar doesn’t have a name yet but will sport tilting technology, letting it “lean into corners like a motorcycle.” The microcar can reach speeds of up to 71.5 mph and is steered by a handlebar. The driver sits up front, and a passenger sits behind “motorcycle style,” and both seats are equipped with four-point safety belts. An outer shell with doors and windows shields occupants from inclement weather. With a width of 31 inches, the microcar can zip through crowded streets “with relative ease” and is easy to park. AEMotion showed off the microcar at the Viva Technology expo in Paris in mid-June.…

Never Flinch by Stephen King (Scribner, $32) Holly Gibney “may be the smartest character Stephen King has ever created,” said Caetlin Benson-Allott in The Washington Post. Now appearing in a sixth novel, Gibney is a middle-aged PI whose rocky past “usually helps her better comprehend the monsters she encounters.” Here, King makes one of her adversaries a gender-variant villain. Though King brings empathy to the stereotype, some readers will be offended by Never Flinch. “I am one of them, and I still couldn’t put it down.” The Stolen Heart by Andrey Kurkov (HarperVia, $29) Andrey Kurkov’s Ukraine-set crime capers “lure you into seemingly safe generic territory only to subtly undermine your expectations,” said Uilleam Blacker in The Atlantic. In this novel set in the early 1920s, police investigator Samson…

Bruce Springsteen’s Tracks II delivers a “huge, almost entirely unknown” collection of songs that reveal the “pensive, occasionally rowdy” musical explorations that the Boss set aside, said Jon Pareles in The New York Times. Recorded between 1983 and 2018, six of these “lost” albums delve into distinct styles: low-fi, country, Mexican ranchera, retro pop. The seventh, Perfect World, is “a ringer,” compiling tunes Springsteen wrote to give “longtime fans the meaty rock” they expected of him. “Rain in the River,” a stomping murder ballad, offers “some of the most primal vocals of his entire catalog.” There’s never been an archival project to match the “crazed ambition” of Tracks II, said Rob Sheffield in Rolling Stone. Each of the seven albums “is a moment in time, a story on…

Two Federal Reserve officials appear to be at odds with Chairman Jerome Powell’s view on interest rates, said Neil Irwin in Axios. This week, Fed governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, both appointed by President Trump, appeared to side with the president’s position that the Fed should be “ready to deliver rate cuts next month.” It’s a rare break from “the consensus view of Fed officials—articulated by Powell in his news conference last week—that the central bank has to hold its fire amid fear of a price surge due to tariffs.” Learning curve: Anthropic scores win in copyright case A judge ruled in favor of AI developer Anthropic in a major copyright lawsuit brought by three authors, said Angela Yang in NBCNews.com. The decision this week in Northern California’s…

■ Brokers defend ‘private’ listings The battle over “pocket” real-estate listings heated up this week after mega-broker Compass sued the listings site Zillow, said Debra Kamin in The New York Times. Zillow had announced in April “that any home that was put on the market but not available for listing on Zillow within 24 hours would be forever banned from its site.” The decision was meant to mitigate a rise in “private” or “pocket” listings that are quietly advertised on social media channels but aren’t publicly available on multiple listing services. Compass “has been heavily promoting its Private Exclusives,” some 7,000 listings that are available only to buyers working with Compass agents. The lawsuit alleges Zillow’s ban is anticompetitive. ■ Shareholder rights, lost in transit Two conservative activist investors…

Javier Blas Bloomberg Even in a war zone, the oil keeps flowing, said Javier Blas. It sounds almost unbelievable, but in Iran, over two weeks of Israeli and American bombing, oil production has gone up, not down. Its devotion to keeping the pumps primed and the market supplied is in keeping with the rest of the OPEC oil cartel, whose Middle Eastern member states are “all pumping more than a month ago” after the group voted to hike production quotas this summer. Early shipping data suggests Saudi Arabia is on pace to produce more barrels of crude than at any point in the past two years. The Middle Eastern conflict briefly drove crude above $78 a barrel, which handed U.S. shale producers “an opportunity to lock-in forward prices.” With…

What happened At a summit in The Hague this week, NATO allies pledged to increase defense spending to 5% of national GDP over the next decade, handing a significant foreign policy victory to President Trump. Ahead of the meeting, Trump had cast doubt on U.S. commitment to NATO’s Article 5, which states that an armed attack on one member is an attack on all. But on the flight to the Netherlands, he publicly shared a flattering private message from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that said, “Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, and it will be your win.” At the summit, Rutte continued to lavish praise on Trump, crediting him for rallying member countries to boost their spending from the previous 2% target. Trump then reaffirmed…

Sharing, after Pavel Durov, founder of messaging app Telegram, revealed that his $13.9 billion fortune will be divided equally among his 106 biological children when he dies. Durov, 40, has six kids with three partners, and has sired 100 more through anonymous sperm donations. “They are all my children,” he said, “and all have the same rights.” Making it official, after U2 guitarist the Edge formally became a citizen of Ireland, his home for 62 years. “I’m a little tardy with the paperwork,” said the Edge, born David Howell Evans in England, 63 years ago. Made in America, after the U.S. government announced plans to build an $8.5 million factory in Texas dedicated to the production of flesh-eating “screwworm” flies. Specifically, the factory will genetically engineer sterile, male flies…

Barbra Streisand is no longer angry at her mother, said David Remnick in The New Yorker. The singer and actress was 15 months old when her father, an academic, died of complications from an epileptic seizure. Her grief-shattered mother, Diana, refused to talk about him with young Barbra. “I would ask my mother, ‘Why didn’t you tell me about my father?’” says Streisand, 83. “Reading about him—he’s so interesting. He was interested in sports and education. He was an intellectual, but also an adventurer.” Diana was withholding in other ways, never telling her daughter that she loved her or congratulating her on her success. “I always thought, growing up, that my mother was jealous of me because she wanted to be famous. She wanted to be known as a…

Michael Kimmage The New York Times When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, he was “betting against the West”—and it’s a wager he has lost, said Michael Kimmage. Russia’s czar gambled that Europe and the U.S. “would not have the mettle to save Ukraine,” and that he could quickly conquer and annex the democratic country, restore Soviet-style power and intimidation to the region, and limit NATO’s expansion for good. “None of that has come to pass.” Instead, Putin finds himself bogged down in “an unwon and unwinnable war,” with Europe ramping up its defense spending so as to become “a military counterweight to Russia.” NATO has expanded to include Sweden and Finland, and European nations are closely cooperating to arm Ukraine. Putin has even managed “to alienate a Russophile…

“As AI is getting smarter, young college grads may be getting dumber. They can regurgitate information and ideas but struggle to come up with novel insights or analyze issues from different directions. They don’t learn how to think through, express, or defend ideas. Nor how to construct arguments and anticipate the rebuttals. They offload these cognitive challenges to AI. The brain continues to develop and mature into one’s mid-20s, but like a muscle it needs to be exercised, stimulated, and challenged to grow stronger. Technology and especially AI can stunt this development.” Allysia Finley in The Wall Street Journal…

Josh Freed Montreal Gazette Summer tourists from the U.S. “will soon be flooding” into Montreal, said Josh Freed. As Canada fights a “soft war” against President Donald Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, let’s see this influx as a chance to recruit “spies on the enemy’s side.” But you’ll have to “study your prey carefully.” If they are decked out in “Vermont ‘Green Mountain Coffee Roaster’ T-shirts,” don’t bother. New Englanders are already pro-Canada. And you can skip the ones “sporting MAGA hats or ‘Make Canada the 51st State’ tattoos.” They’ll only drone on “about how the pandemic was a secret plot to get us all vaccinated and hack into our brains.” Your ideal targets are the swing voter types, who may be making their first visit to Canada “because…

Philippe Bernard Le Monde Irresponsible cyclists are turning the streets of Paris into a war zone, said Philippe Bernard. “Weaving between pedestrians, speeding through red lights,” they zoom toward oncoming traffic in the streets and then pop up onto sidewalks—“handlebars in one hand and cellphones in the other.” Bicycles “now rule the roads,” and even pedestrians “no longer know where to walk safely.” The evolution toward this tyranny of the two-wheeler happened for the greenest of reasons. Mayors responding to a demand for eco-friendly commuting built hundreds of miles of bike lanes, and Paris gradually became one of Europe’s most cycling-friendly cities. Now, though, we’re seeing an explosion of class resentment as different constituencies bicker over who has more right to public roads and paths. Sneered at as “bourgeois…

■ The Trump administration will shut down the national suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth next month, calling the service a source of “radical gender ideology.” The Press 3 option on the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which connects callers to counselors trained to work with LGBTQ people up to age 25, has provided services to 1.3 million people since its 2022 launch. NBCNews.com ■ The number of abortions performed in the U.S. rose nearly 8% in 2024 to 1.14 million, the third straight annual increase since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Twelve states now ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy and four have bans after six weeks—but abortions using pills obtained through telehealth appointments have climbed in nearly all states. Associated Press ■ U.S. companies have…

“A melancholy lesson of advancing years is the realization that you can’t make old friends.” Christopher Hitchens, quoted in The Knowledge “When I feel the heat, I see the light.” Sen. Everett Dirksen, quoted in the Tampa Bay Times “We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget.” Joan Didion, quoted in the Los Angeles Review of Books “Although power corrupts, the absence of power corrupts absolutely.” Zbigniew Brzezinski, quoted in The Economist “I’ve never been a millionaire, but I just know I’d be darling at it.” Dorothy Parker, quoted in Vulture “Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)” Walt Whitman, quoted in The Bulwark “Statistics are like a bikini; what they reveal is suggestive, but…

■ A growing Microsoft–OpenAI split Tensions are boiling between Microsoft and OpenAI over the future of their famed AI partnership, said Berber Jin in The Wall Street Journal. OpenAI wants to shrink its dependence on Microsoft, which has right of first refusal to provide computing infrastructure to OpenAI and currently has access to all of OpenAI’s intellectual property. A major sticking point is OpenAI’s desire to become a publicly traded for-profit company, which requires Microsoft’s blessing. OpenAI hopes to “renegotiate elements” of its deal, letting it sell its services to Microsoft’s competitors. Negotiations have become so fraught over the past few weeks that OpenAI’s executives reportedly discussed “accusing Microsoft of anticompetitive behavior during their partnership.” Such a move is widely seen as the nuclear option and could threaten the…

Climate change is helping submarines escape detection, reports The Economist. The main method for tracking the underwater vessels is sonar: sending out sound waves and then analyzing the returning echoes. But sound waves bend toward cooler water. As the water near the surface gets ever warmer, sound waves dip farther downward, making it harder for sonar to pick up target noise. In a new study, researchers modeled how sound waves moved through the depths between 1970 and 1999 and compared that with projections—based on current climate predictions—for 2070 to 2099. They found that sonar detection ranges could shrink by as much as 50% in the North Atlantic, where Russian and NATO subs prowl, and up to 20% in the Western Pacific, where U.S. and Chinese vessels operate. In some…

The Bombshell by Darrow Farr (Pamela Dorman, $30) “If a book could possess ‘French-girl style,’ The Bombshell would have it,” said Violet Kupersmith in The New York Times. In this “effortlessly cool” debut novel, Séverine Guimard, the brash 17-year-old daughter of a French politician, is kidnapped in Corsica by young nationalist militants as summer begins, and before long persuades her captors that she wishes to join their cause. Séverine’s motives remain murky even as she becomes the face of the increasingly daring group, and “the reader spends much of the novel’s gripping second half bracing for the moment when it all blows up.” In this “Hollywood-ready” tale of political and sexual awakening, said Taylor Antrim in Vogue, “plausibility is less important than pace and action.” But Séverine’s remorselessness “becomes…

For Melissa Febos, the year she intentionally abstained from sex was no hardship, said Thessaly La Force in The New York Times. It was instead, she writes, “the most erotic year of my life.” In her new memoir, The Dry Season, the 44-year-old former dominatrix, former heroin addict, and best-selling author of Whip Smart and Girlhood recounts how she hit a low point in her mid-30s and decided to engineer a reset by swearing off sex for 90 days. She had been in an all-consuming affair that ended badly, followed by a string of unsatisfying trysts. Those first 90 days of abstinence turned into 90 more, with added prohibitions against such habits as scoping every room for potential bedroom partners. Before long, it was a full year, and the…

With his sophomore album American Heart, Benson Boone is out to prove “he’s more than a singing mustache who does backflips,” said Chris Richards in The Washington Post. Not only must he live up to the mega-hit “Beautiful Things,” which notched more than 70 weeks near the top of the charts, he also has to live down his wacky style and mid-song gymnastics. While he possesses a “voice made of elastic and caramel,” he largely uses it to channel the “acrobatics of Bruno Mars, the roguishness of Olivia Rodrigo, and the sogginess of Hozier.” Mix in some Freddie Mercury and “a spritz of perspiration from an ’80s aerobics class” and that’s pretty much it. There’s clearly a “sharp mind behind that moisturized mustache,” but it doesn’t have much…

“Nothing says summer like ice-cold lemonade, and alcohol brands know it,” said Olivia White in VinePair. Everyone’s aware of Mike’s Hard Lemonade by now, and the past few years have seen an increase in options. Below are three of our favorites, all spiked by vodka and ranging in style “from crisp and sessionable to juicy and boozy.” Surfside Lemonade+Vodka ($11). Surfside’s popular offering “drinks like a lemonade from childhoods past.” It’s “equal parts sweet and puckering, with vibrant lemon acidity keeping things bright.” A bonus: There’s only 2 grams of sugar per can. Fishers Island Original ($15). This delicious lemonade contains both vodka and whiskey, and its “subtle baking spice and vanilla notes” balance its “puckering acidity.” Careful, though: It’s 9% alcohol. Lucky One Vodka Lemonade ($11). “Lightweight and…

The Midwestern charms of Dubuque For at least a century, snobs have dismissed my hometown of Dubuque, Iowa, as a small-minded small town, said David Farley in The Wall Street Journal. My family left in 1978, when manufacturing jobs collapsed and Iowans started wearing T-shirts reading “Will the last one leaving Dubuque please turn out the lights?” When my sister recently returned from a trip there, saying, “The lights were not just back on but shining bright,” I had to see for myself. Indeed, the “once derelict” downtown now “buzzes with energy,” and enterprising locals and newcomers have made this “an ideal long-weekend destination.” Among the new spots are Monk’s, a “ramshackle but homey” pub and performance space, and Pepper Sprout, a farm-to-table eatery. There’s also the craft emporium…

The Army’s newest recruits are coming right from Silicon Valley, said Patty Nieberg in Task and Purpose. Four senior executives of Meta, Palantir, and OpenAI “are being sworn into the Army Reserve as direct commission officers at the unusually high rank of lieutenant colonel” to lead a new Executive Innovation Corps aimed at modernizing the U.S. military. They “will get at least a taste of traditional Army training,” including in-person instruction at Fort Benning, Ga., for “physical fitness, marksmanship, and ‘basic soldier tasks’ such as Army customs and courtesies, rank structure, and uniform wear.” It’s not unusual for doctors, lawyers, and others to be commissioned in the Army Reserve, though usually as captains or majors. The new lieutenant colonels will lead not a battalion but a tech recruitment initiative…

Since 1987, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (bbrfoundation.org) has sponsored investigations into the causes of and cures for chronic and severe mental illness. The foundation supports work that ranges from key research into neurobiology to behavioral interventions to ease the lives of people living with mental illness. Current projects funded by the nonprofit include research into novel fast-acting antidepressants, genetic predictors of schizophrenia, and evaluating outcomes of opioid addiction treatment. A recently announced research project explores the use of readily available Fitbits to help control bipolar disorder. Over its history, the foundation has awarded more than $462 million in grants to more than 5,600 scientists; all of the money donated by the public goes directly to research grants. Each charity we feature has earned a four-star overall rating…

Dan Neil The Wall Street Journal Out-of-control costs are breaking up Americans’ long “love affair with cars,” said Dan Neil. If you’re in the market for a new car, get ready, because the average sticker price is now $48,883. Once you own it, its value falls by an average of $4,680 per year, according to the American Automobile Association. Add the costs of automobile insurance, which rose 10% in 2024 (after rising 15% in 2023), and you might want to drape that expensive ride in bubble wrap. Because in the era of cars outfitted with sensors and software, “there is no such thing as a minor fender bender.” The cost of fixing damaged cars has shot up 28% since 2021. And for electronics-packed EVs, the repair costs are even…

A growing number of people are having philosophical discussions with ChatGPT, said Kashmir Hill in The New York Times. Sometimes, the technology encourages their most disturbing delusions. BEFORE CHATGPT DISTORTED Eugene Torres’ sense of reality and almost killed him, he said, the artificial intelligence chatbot had been a helpful, time-saving tool. Torres, 42, an accountant in Manhattan, started using ChatGPT last year to make financial spreadsheets and to get legal advice. In May, however, he engaged the chatbot in a more theoretical discussion about “the simulation theory,” an idea popularized by The Matrix, which posits that we are living in a digital facsimile of the world, controlled by a powerful computer or technologically advanced society. “What you’re describing hits at the core of many people’s private, unshakable intuitions—that something…

This week’s question: A man flew for free for six years—taking at least 120 trips on seven airlines—by posing as a flight attendant. If Hollywood were to make a crime caper about this well-traveled counterfeit crew member, what would it be titled? Last week’s contest: When a tornado approached during a couple’s wedding in Portales, N.M., their photographer seized the moment to snap some images of the newlyweds kissing with the twister looming in the background. In seven or fewer words, come up with a caption to accompany a photo from this dramatic wedding shoot. THE WINNER: After this, marriage should be a breeze. Scott Ludwig, Senoia, Ga. SECOND PLACE: Hey, anybody seen the best man? Fernand Dutile, South Bend, Ind.. THIRD PLACE: Newlyweds photobombed by potential home-wrecker —Morgan…

Iran now faces “difficult decisions about whether and how to resume its long nuclear quest,” said Gary Samore in the Financial Times. A key question is whether it will withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, an international pact it’s been party to for over 50 years. If Iran pulled out, it would no longer have to submit to international inspections and “could pursue nuclear weapons with greater secrecy.” But such a move might draw tough economic sanctions and opposition from allies like Russia and China, and would make it “easier for the U.S. and Israel to justify future use of force.” In the U.S., law enforcement officials remain “on high alert for Iranian retaliation,” said Bill Hutchinson in ABCNews.com. The Department of Homeland Security has warned of a “heightened…

Trump administration rolls back protections for national forests The Department of Agriculture announced this week it will rescind a decades-old rule that protects some 58.5 million acres of national forestland from roadbuilding and logging. At a meeting of the Western Governors’ Association in Santa Fe, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins described the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule—which covers about 30% of national forestland—as outdated and restrictive. Scrapping the rule will remove “absurd obstacles to commonsense management of our natural resources,” Rollins said, and also make it easier for the Forest Service to thin and cut trees to prevent wildfires. Conservationists said that wildfires are more likely to occur in forests that have been developed with roads and other infrastructure. “This is nothing more than a massive giveaway to timber companies,”…

Ralph Macchio has had a roller coaster of a career, said Andy Greene in Rolling Stone. At 22, the actor was cast as the teenage lead in 1984’s The Karate Kid, a blockbuster followed by two smash sequels also starring Macchio. But then came the lean years of scant employment, which lasted until 2018, when he reprised his Karate Kid role in the Netflix hit series Cobra Kai. Those decades out of the spotlight weren’t easy for Macchio, now 63. “I was a little rudderless” in the ’90s and 2000s, he says. There were “times where I might not have been the most pleasant guy to be around.” For young actors especially, “there’s a void when fame disappears, when you have it and lose it. When you wave to…

■ Justin Bieber’s marriage appeared to be on the rocks this week, after Hailey Bieber was spotted out and about in New York City without her wedding ring. Soon after paparazzi snaps of his ringless wife were published, the pop star shared a video on Instagram of a blogger saying, “Bitch, if you’re giving me the silent treatment at least tell me why.” Insiders told The Sun that the pair—who have a 10-month-old son, Jack Blue—had an ugly argument on Father’s Day, during which Hailey, 28, called Justin, 31, a “f---ing child” and begged him to seek professional help instead of posting about his emotional struggles on social media. “She’s trying to help him,” said an insider, “but he just keeps shutting her out.” ■ Johnny Depp claimed in…

Ramesh Ponnuru The Washington Post President Trump needs a new enforcement policy on illegal immigration, said Ramesh Ponnuru. He recently managed to execute “a rare maneuver: the flip-flop-flip,” announcing he would exempt farms, restaurants, and hotels from immigration workplace raids, because these businesses would be unable to function without workers who are in the U.S. illegally. After immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller objected, Trump announced that “mass deportation was back on”—but only in Democratic cities and states. Trump’s ambivalence about rounding up productive workers “is understandable and widely shared”: Many industries, including meatpacking and construction, heavily rely on illegal immigrants, and deporting those workers would raise food and housing costs for everyone—Trump voters included. But conducting workplace raids only in blue cities and states like California would be unworkable and…

Tomasz Kurianowicz Berliner Zeitung No wonder the Poles are furious, said Tomasz Kurianowicz. The previous, conservative government in Poland had demanded more than $1 trillion in reparations from Germany for the Nazi occupation. But now the liberal government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk is in power in Warsaw, and it has dropped that request. Instead, Germany put up a “memorial boulder” in Berlin to honor Polish victims—something Poles are calling a “stone of shame.” Polish media is now flooded with angry memes showing Tusk “hugging the stone” in submission. The real issue, though, is deeper. Poles feel Germans still see their nation as a poor relation. Last year, for example, then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a summit to discuss the Ukraine war and failed to invite Poland. For Poles, “this…

Our country faces a serious violent threat from evangelical Christian “zealots,” said Mona Charen in The Bulwark. Vance Boelter, a Minnesota Trump supporter who was charged last week with shooting two Democratic state legislators and their spouses, allegedly had a “kill list” of nearly 70 Democratic politicians, abortion providers, and pro-choice activists. Boelter was a self-declared minister who preached in the Democratic Republic of Congo that “the devil” had infiltrated American churches that tolerated abortion and LGBTQ rights. After his shooting spree, prosecutors say, he texted to his family, “Dad went to war last night.” His belief in “holy war” didn’t come from nowhere, said Jeff Sharlet in Religion Dispatches. Boelter attended the Christ for the Nations Institute, a Dallas-based evangelical Bible college that also produced preacher Dutch Sheets,…

A new “nano-needle” patch could offer a pain-free alternative to traditional cancer biopsies. The flexible device is covered in millions of microscopic needles, thousands of times thinner than a human hair, that gently extract molecular data from individual cells without damaging tissue. Placed on a suspected tumor, the patch collects proteins, lipids, and fragments of DNA, which can then be analyzed by AI. In early trials on human brain tumor samples, the patch returned results in just 20 minutes—fast enough to inform decisions during surgery. And unlike conventional biopsies, which often require removing tissue, the technique allows repeated sampling from the same spot to monitor a tumor’s progression over time. “From a purely scientific standpoint, this is the biggest breakthrough,” study leader Ciro Chiappini, from King’s College London, tells…

Thomas Mallon’s new book, The Very Heart of It, is a collection of diary entries that chart his arrival in AIDS-plagued New York City and the beginning of his career as a critic, essayist, and novelist. Below, he names six favorite books from the same 1983–94 period. Home Ground by Lynn Freed (1986). Freed, who died in May, was the greatest South African writer of her generation, and Home Ground is her most autobiographical novel. Her characters were always amazingly alive as individuals, and not mere political abstractions. Mustang Sally by Edward Allen (1992). We’re all rooting for universities now as they resist Trump’s mad predations, but Allen’s hilarious, poignant novel reminds us of how much self-inflicted sickness they’ve been enduring for more than 30 years. Its English-professor hero,…

The Mortician Profits skyrocketed when David Sconce took over his family’s funeral home. That’s what happens when you throw morals in the incinerator. This viral new docuseries features chilling testimony, including from Sconce, detailing how he harvested organs, pulled gold teeth, and generally broke every rule of the morticians’ ethical code. Max Six Feet Under The HBO series that helped kick off this century’s era of prestige TV is the perfect post-Mortician watch. The Fishers are no Sconces, but it’s riveting to watch the family tackle the quandaries of running a funeral home, and the ways the work intersects with the messiness of their lives Max Alternate Endings: Six New Ways to Die in America A casket and a standard funeral aren’t for everyone. This 2019 documentary depicts six…

A friend who is a retired chef suggested adding marmalade to this recipe, which was ingenious, says Rachel Simons in Sesame: Global Recipes & Stories of an Ancient Seed (Ten Speed Press). The marmalade caramelizes under the broiler, “forming the most delicious sweet crust for the fish.” The rest of the dish benefits from the magic of the seed that inspired my cookbook and, before that, inspired two friends and me to start Seed + Mill, America’s first shop dedicated to food made from sesame, at New York City’s Chelsea Market. The humble seed spread around the world many centuries ago because of its nutty flavor, nutritional density, and long shelf life. In this recipe, sesame oil adds flavor and body to the glaze for the fish, and tahini…

Traveling without a phone might seem impossible, but “the experience can be rewarding,” said Noah W. Miller in The New York Times. Try packing a laptop or tablet instead. “You’re less likely to bring it to the dinner table or beach.” And you can always add browser extensions like Freedom and ScreenZen to block sites that trigger “mindless scrolling.” Or go entirely device-free with a little preparation: Plan extra travel time and print boarding passes in advance. For directions, chat up hotel employees and locals. You might “unexpectedly make friends” and you’ll definitely “learn a city faster by relying on your wits and not GPS.” If “mental snapshots” aren’t enough, a disposable film camera can capture essential moments. Finally, don’t panic. Not long ago, “everyone traveled this way.”…

Alfred Brendel brought classical music to life with Old World exactitude. One of the greatest pianists of his generation, the gangly, Czech-born virtuoso riveted audiences at Carnegie Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein, and other world concert halls with his refined, carefully structured interpretations of Austro-German masters. He was the first to play and record Beethoven’s entire canon in 1965, championed the works of Haydn, and played a role in reviving interest in Franz Liszt. Critics occasionally carped that his playing was a bit dry and cerebral, but Brendel considered it important not to add unnecessary flamboyance. “I am responsible to the composer,” he said in 2002, “and particularly to the piece.” Born the son of an architect in a majority-German town in Czechoslovakia, he spent his early years in what is…