The Atlantic Daily: Rorschach Report
After Mueller, both disillusionment and glee. Plus: ISIS without land isn't necessarily ISIS defeated, advice for the couple with an unwanted pregnancy, and more
What We’re Following
The summary of the Mueller investigation released by the attorney general had one big conclusion: No collusion. Though the actual report hasn’t yet been made public, Trump and his allies were quick to spin the SparkNotes version as a political win. Though the investigation once looked like it might imperil Trump’s presidency, Barr’s initial interpretation seems to now be a tchotchke he can tout on the campaign trail. On the flip side, plenty of liberals had been anticipating that Mueller would effectively put an end to Trump’s presidency—with a small cottage industry of books and Mueller-themed wares such as candles and throw pillows peddled to those who saw the special counsel as the singular messiah who could lift them out of the Trump malaise.
U.S.-backed Kurdish forces stripped ISIS of its physical territory, but the terrorist group is still flush with cash. By one estimate, the organization still has hundreds of millions of dollars, and strangling ISIS financially rather than geographically is a much harder task. As it’s lost territory, the Islamic State has in some ways become even more dangerous, channeling its funds into terrorism rather than building an empire. Though ISIS is a shell of its former self, its vast wealth means it’s not going away anytime soon.
Ahead of municipal elections in Turkey this weekend, the front line of the country’s political battle is … grocery stores. Turkey’s economy has been teetering for the past year, over which the country’s currency has lost 40 percent of its value. For ordinary Turks, that has resulted in skyrocketing food prices, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has responded by accusing the grocery stores of “treasonous” profiteering. At some grocery stores, police officers roam the aisles to monitor prices—but cracking down on supermarkets amid the country’s economic problems is a distraction from the larger structural reforms it needs. Soaring food prices, shortages, economic turmoil—now a familiar, unhappy narrative.
Snapshot
(Charles Krupa / AP)
Earlier in March, Cyclone Idai ravaged parts of southeastern Africa. With winds that reached up to 120 mph, the storm has so far led to 750 deaths and has left thousands more stranded in rural areas. Our photo editor, Alan Taylor, pulled together these images, which show the extent of the devastation throughout Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi.
Evening Read
(Phil Clarke Hill / Getty)
Arugula offers a peppery flavor that is unique in the pantheon of salad greens, so why isn’t it more popular in the U.S.? One potential reason is because … it was put through the political wringer during an Obama gaffe in 2008.
Today, arugula trails far behind both kale and spinach in popularity. Americans who heard about it for the first time via political gaffe apparently didn’t leap to give it a try, and it has also been usurped by more novel choices in the progressive corners of food culture that first embraced it as a European crossover. Arugula is neither enduringly trendy, like kale, nor so lame that Millennial irony breathes new life into it, as with iceberg-wedge salads.
Dear Therapist
(Bianca Bagnarelli)
Every Monday, Lori Gottlieb answers questions from readers about their problems, big and small. This week, Anonymous from Halifax, Nova Scotia, writes in:
My wife and I recently discovered she's about six weeks pregnant. This is devastating news for both of us. We have a 17-month-old daughter and we planned on having only one child. The birth control we had been using failed. I tried to have a vasectomy nine months ago and my wife objected at the doctor's office without citing reasons. She said she would get an IUD instead, but she was unable to get the IUD, because doctors had to remove a fibroid first. She learned about the pregnancy at the doctor's office during a consult on removing the fibroid.
Since hearing the news, I have been honest with her about my feelings. I reminded her that we simply cannot afford a second child and we can kiss our joint career aspirations goodbye if we have another baby. She agrees with me.
→ Read the rest, and Lori’s response. Have a question? Email Lori anytime at dear.therapist@theatlantic.com.
The Atlantic Crossword
(Araki Koman)
Have you tried your hand at our daily mini crossword (available on our website, here)? Monday is the perfect day to start—the puzzle gets bigger and more difficult throughout the week.
→ Challenge your friends, or try to beat your own solving time
Concerns, comments, questions, typos? Email newsletters editor Shan Wang at swang@theatlantic.com
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