Donald Trump and the GOP Tradition of Foreign-Policy Incoherence
It's easy to mock the Republican front-runner. But the “more serious” candidates he toppled don’t make a lot more sense.
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More Top Stories
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Alkis Konstantinidis / Reuters More Top StoriesHuman Extinction Isn’t That Unlikely
“A typical person is more than five times as likely to die in an extinction event as in a car crash,” says a new report.
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Garth Stead / Reuters More Top StoriesLife As the OnStar Voice: Arranging Tow Trucks and Delivering Babies
Letisha Ghanbari has talked people through lock-outs, roadside assistance, and, of course, childbirth.
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Comedy Central More Top StoriesInside Amy Schumer, Guns, and Comedy’s Fifth Wall
The latest (very funny and very political) episode of the performer’s sketch show doubles as a call to arms.
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Noah Berger / Reuters More Top StoriesThe Perks—and Limits—of Having a Superstar Mentor
Knowing the right people certainly has benefits, but how long do they last?
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Danny Johnston / AP More Top StoriesThe Voter-ID Fight in Missouri
After a decade of battles, Republicans hope to call a referendum to amend the state constitution to require photo identification to cast a ballot.
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Kim Kwang Hyon / AP More Top StoriesNorth Korea Sentences an American to 10 Years in Prison
Kim Dong-chul of Fairfax, Virginia, was arrested last October.
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Daniel Avila / NYC Parks More Top StoriesPlaygrounds for All
The success of “joint use” programs in San Francisco and New York shows the benefits of opening schoolyards up to the local community.
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Matt Rourke / AP More Top StoriesThe 400,000 Latino Children Missing From the Census
“The persistent undercount of the nation’s second largest population group is a civil rights issue.”
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Notes
First thoughts, running arguments, stories in progress -
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Global
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Michael Kai / Corbis GlobalWhy Finland’s Mail Carriers Are Mowing People’s Lawns
Posti, the country’s mail service, will start offering the service next month in an effort to raise money.
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Abdalrhman Ismail / Reuters GlobalThe Latest Casualties of the Syrian Conflict
Doctors Without Borders says an airstrike on a hospital it operates in Aleppo has killed at least 14 people.
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Lefteris Pitarakis / AP GlobalThe Rift Over Israel in Britain’s Labour Party
Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone has been suspended from the party after he appeared to suggest Hitler was a Zionist.
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Evan Vucci / AP GlobalTrump’s Incoherent Foreign-Policy Plans
The Republican front-runner delivered a formal address on his “America first” doctrine, TelePrompter and all.
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Bassam Khabieh / Reuters GlobalObama Drops Rhetoric as Assad Drops Barrel Bombs
As long as Syrian civilians are on the bullseye, nothing will be accomplished at peace talks.
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Lynne Sladky / AP Why Zika Needed an Ounce of Prevention
Congress delayed the fight to fund the virus—a decision that comes at the cost of public health and potentially billions for the U.S. economy.
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Jim Young / Reuters ‘Ban the Box’ Goes to College
When schools ask applicants about their criminal histories, a veneer of campus safety may come at the expense of educational opportunity.
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Reuters The Business of the DNC Convention
Minority and female-owned businesses in Philadelphia are cashing in on the multimillion-dollar political convention this summer.
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Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters You Can’t Escape Data Surveillance in America
The Fair Credit Reporting Act was intended to protect privacy, but its provisions have not kept pace with the radical changes wrought by the information age.
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J. Scott Applewhite / AP The Supreme Court’s Expansion of FBI Hacking Powers
The justices signed off Thursday on a new procedural rule for warrants targeting computers.
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Video: To Break a Phone Addiction, Turn Your Screen Gray
A suggestion for compulsive checkers
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Video
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VideoThe Irony of Viruses
They rewire the immune system, so that what used to make us sick now keeps us healthy.
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VideoCan Religious Freedom and LGBT Rights Co-Exist?
The two sides haven’t found a way to work together—and the fight is getting a lot nastier.
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VideoThe Plight of the Female Lucha Libre Star
A short film follows a Mexican professional wrestler who dreams of becoming a world champion.
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VideoThe Mexican Citizens Fighting America's Fires
Meet the members of Los Diablos, the only international firefighting crew.
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VideoCounting the Dead in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
For 50 years, the librarian Gladys Hansen has made it her goal to correct the record.
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Politics & Policy
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Carolyn Kaster / Reuters Politics & PolicyThe Senate Goes Home Without Funding Anti-Zika Efforts
Lawmakers are still split on how the administration’s viral offensive should be funded, and by how much.
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The Atlantic -
Evan Vucci / AP Politics & PolicyJohn Boehner on Ted Cruz: ‘Lucifer in the Flesh’
Why hasn’t the Texas senator managed to unite the Republican Party in opposition to Donald Trump? It’s not complicated.
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Mark Blinch / Reuters Politics & PolicyReligious-Liberty Laws That Have No Meaning
Tennessee is just the latest state to pass legislation claiming to protect conservatives who object to LGBT relationships and identity.
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Elizabeth Shafiroff / Reuters Politics & PolicyHow to Save the Republican Party
In Trump’s aftermath, his enemies on the right will have to take stock and propose a meaningful alternative vision for the GOP’s future.
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Kevin Lamarque / Reuters Politics & PolicyWhat Sanders and Trump Understood
By speaking to the discontents of neglected groups of voters, the two men—who share little else in common—have both found political success.
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Dominick Reuter / Reuters Politics & PolicyHow Hillary Clinton Can Win the Right Way
If the presumptive nominee wants to be great at being president rather than just to be the president, she's going to need to shake things up.
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Culture
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Open Road Films CultureMother’s Day: A Treacly Cavalcade of Horror
Garry Marshall's patronizing 'holiday anthology' film boasts a star-studden ensemble, but its characters seem barely human.
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Oriol / Trizz (S.C.P.) / Corbis CultureSeeing Red: The Rise of Mensesplaining
With women explaining periods to men, pop culture is finally treating menstruation as a societal issue everyone should care about.
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Jerry Lai / USA Today Sports CultureThe Roots of NFL Draft Obsession
There’s been an NFL draft since 1936. But how did it become the three-day media spectacle it is today?
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Frank Micelotta / AP CultureWhy Beyoncé Is Embracing Her Own Backlash
The “Boycott Beyoncé” merchandise on sale at her concerts affords her a new kind of appeal.
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Lisa Sciascia / fstop / Corbis CultureThe Perils of Choose Your Own Adventure Books
The series allowed children to build their own story—but it also created false perceptions about decision-making.
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Netflix CultureHow Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Became TV’s Screwball Musical
The composer Jeff Richmond, who worked with his wife Tina Fey on SNL and 30 Rock, created an elaborate series of song parodies for the show’s second season.
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A24 CultureGreen Room: Escape From the Nazi Punks
Jeremy Saulnier’s taut, gory thriller follows a band trapped in a rock venue by white supremacists after witnessing a crime.
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Today's Newsletter
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Jorge Silva / Reuters Today's NewsletterSubscribe to Our Afternoon Newsletter
The Atlantic Daily: our wrap-up of notable news, ideas, and images—by email each weekday
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Projects
Next America
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Kevin Lamarque / Reuters On the Fast Track to Adulthood With Limited Options
Low-income students don’t have the luxury of meandering through college.
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Technology
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Reuters TechnologyDon’t Panic (for Now) About ISIS Hacking
The group’s cyberwarriors are underfunded and poorly organized, but a recent shakeup could signal a change.
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Reuters / Dado Ruvic TechnologyGo Tweak Yourself, Facebook
Talking about social network changes as mysterious changes to algorithms turns software companies into false idols.
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Jacquelyn Martin / AP TechnologyThe FBI’s Most-Wanted Cybercriminals
The agency’s list is growing as foreign hackers continue to attack the U.S.
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Mary Altaffer / AP TechnologySad People Aren’t Ignored on Facebook
A new study finds that users don’t ignore a status message just because it expresses a negative emotion.
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Ilya Naymushin / Reuters TechnologyLearning From the Swinging Bridge
What rickety, rural suspension bridges can teach us about modern infrastructure. An Object Lesson
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Mosaic TechnologyThe Robot Revolution in Caregiving
As a growing population ages, could computerized assistants provide medical support and companionship?
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Tony Webster / Flickr TechnologyOne Easy Way to Make Wikipedia Better
Researchers say the online encyclopedia should have a source-o-meter on each page, reflecting the quality of citations.
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U.S.
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Brian Snyder / Reuters U.S.Automatic Voter Registration Comes to Vermont
The Green Mountain State could expand its electorate by thousands under a new law signed Thursday.
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Mark Theiler / Reuters U.S.A Controversial Therapy Law in Tennessee
The legislation allows counselors to refuse treatment to clients based on the counselors’ personal beliefs.
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Max Whittaker / Reuters U.S.A Costly Suspension for UC Davis’s Embattled Chancellor
Katehi has been put on paid leave for 90 days while investigators probe allegations of nepotism, conflicts of interest, and squandering public money on PR.
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Jim Bourg / Reuters U.S.A Police Shooting Over a Fake Gun in Baltimore
City police shot and injured a 13-year-old boy carrying a fake weapon Wednesday.
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Charles Rex Arbogast / AP U.S.A 15-Month Sentence for Dennis Hastert
The former House speaker pled guilty to violating banking regulations in an attempt to cover up sexual-abuse allegations.
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Steve Helber / AP U.S.Governor McAuliffe’s Gambit
A move to restore voting rights to Virginians with felonies has signaled a new way forward in the commonwealth.
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W. L. Sheppard / Harper's Weekly U.S.The Racist Roots of Virginia’s Felon Disenfranchisement
A century ago, the commonwealth's leaders weren't circumspect about their motives.
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Business
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The Atlantic BusinessThe Divorce Gap
There’s a common perception that women siphon off the wealth of their exes and go on to live in comfort. It’s wrong.
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Petros Giannakouris / AP BusinessA Conversation With Joseph Stiglitz
The Nobel-winning economist discusses the Fed, the election, and the role of economists in fixing inequality.
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Orlin Wagner / AP Photo BusinessThe Most Career-Minded Generation
Compared to 30 years ago, young people today are much more likely to say they’re going to college to secure a good job and steady pay.
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Brian Snyder / Reuters BusinessThe Impossibility of Reviving American Manufacturing
It’s easy for candidates to talk about bringing jobs back from China, but making factories the centerpiece of the U.S. economy is another matter.
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Zak Bickel / The Atlantic BusinessHow Segregation Has Persisted in Little Rock
Nearly 60 years after the integration of Central High, the city’s schools are still divided by race.
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Brendan McDermid / Reuters BusinessToo Many Elite American Men Are Obsessed With Work and Wealth
And it’s making the pay gap worse.
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Brian Snyder / Reuters BusinessThe Two Contradictory Ideas Many Americans Have About the Economy
How do people reconcile a belief in individual autonomy with nationwide wage stagnation?
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Science
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Zak Bickel ScienceA DNA Sequencer in Every Pocket
A biotech company is building devices that will allow people to decipher genes in remote jungles, at sea, or even in space—and they say they’re just getting started.
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Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters ScienceWhy Are Your Gut Microbes Different From Mine?
To find out, scientists collected poop from thousands of people—but they ended up with more questions than answers.
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STR New / Reuters ScienceSpecialty Coffee’s Resident Scientist
A computational chemist is changing the way coffee makers think about water.
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Joe Skipper / Reuters ScienceA Red Dragon on the Red Planet
Spaceflight company SpaceX said Wednesday it will start sending unmanned rockets to Mars in two years.
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Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters ScienceThe Creatures That Remember Chernobyl
Radioactive boars and bunnies won’t let us forget about the nuclear disaster.
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Kyle Bean and Mitch Payne / Mosaic ScienceTaking Sperm From the Dead
Post-mortem sperm extraction gives widows the chance to have children with the recently departed.
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James Gathany/ CDC / Reuters ScienceGenetically Modified Mosquitoes: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
The Zika virus could open the door for a new era of gene-tweaking for pest control and disease prevention.
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Health
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Image Source / Corbis HealthThe Strong Evidence Against Spanking
A review of the available research finds that physical punishment is significantly linked to bad outcomes for kids.
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Luke MacGregor / Reuters HealthHow Older Brothers Influence Homosexuality
Homosexuality might be partly driven by a mother’s immune response to her male fetus—which increases with each son.
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Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters -
Winfried Rothermel / AP HealthCan You Tell If Your Loved Ones Are Lonely?
A new study suggests yes, but it depends on the relationship.
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Corbis HealthThe Diseases You Only Get If You Believe in Them
An exploration of syndromes that are unique to particular cultures.
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Nicky Loh / Reuters HealthWhy We Sleep Badly on Our First Night in a New Place
Is it because half our brain is staying up to keep watch?
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Education
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Matt Rourke / AP EducationThe 400,000 Latino Children Missing From the Census
“The persistent undercount of the nation’s second largest population group is a civil rights issue.”
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Jeff White / AP EducationDo Smartphones Have a Place in the Classroom?
From middle schools to colleges, cellphones’ adverse effects on student achievement may outweigh their potential as a learning tool.
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Zak Bickel / The Atlantic EducationWhy Would a Teacher Cheat?
Educators often choose to inflate students’ scores on standardized tests, and the motivations—and effects—indicate that a little deception isn’t always a bad thing.
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Jonathan Alcorn / Reuters EducationHow Mentorship Is Helping More Latino Men Earn College Degrees
There’s no one right approach, but they all start with reaching boys early.
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Wikimedia EducationThe Growing College-Degree Wealth Gap
A new report demonstrates a stubborn chasm between rich and poor students earning bachelor’s degrees.
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Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters EducationHow Internet Filtering Hurts Kids
Zealously blocking their access to certain websites can end up undermining learning.
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Brian Snyder / Reuters EducationWhat Workplaces Gain When They Send Their Employees Back to School
New evidence the corporate college perk works.
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A&Q
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The Atlantic A&QWhat Can the U.S. Do About Mass Incarceration?
Conservatives and liberals agree too many Americans are locked up, but that doesn’t mean solutions will be easy to achieve.
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Zak Bickel / Kara Gordon / The Atlantic A&QHow Can the U.S. End Homelessness?
Giving people access to services and a place to stay can reduce the number living on the street. Can that be done affordably?
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Zak Bickel / Kara Gordon / The Atlantic A&QWhat Should the World Do With Its Nuclear Weapons?
At the possible brink of a new nuclear arms race, questions answered during the Cold War will need to be reopened.
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Zak Bickel / Kara Gordon / The Atlantic A&QHow Can the U.S. Create More Start-Ups?
Some people think they can encourage more would-be entrepreneurs to strike out on their own using national and local policy. Can they?
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Zak Bickel / Kara Gordon / The Atlantic -
Zak Bickel / Kara Gordon / The Atlantic A&QWhat Caused the Great Crime Decline in the U.S.?
The country’s crime rate plunged dramatically over the last 25 years. What happened?
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AP / Zak Bickel / Kara Gordon / The Atlantic A&QHow Should the U.S. Fund Research and Development?
The United States leads the world in dollars invested in furthering innovation. It won’t for long.
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In This Issue
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Hugh Kretschmer In This IssueThe Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans
Nearly half of Americans would have trouble finding $400 to pay for an emergency. I’m one of them.
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Toby Melville / Reuters When Should Kids Start Learning About Sex and Consent?
“My son is learning algebra now in the eighth grade, but it’s not the first time he’s getting math. It’s antithetical that we wouldn’t do the same with sexuality.”
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