We’re still a few weeks away from April showers bringing anything May-related, but as many state legislative sessions hurtle towards final adjournment for the year, the deluge of bad new policies and laws is right on top of us, like one of those little cartoon rainclouds hovering over an unhappy character.
Take, for instance, all those bills targeting transgender kids that are becoming law.
On Tuesday night, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill denied allegations that he carried on a “sordid” affair with a Montgomery woman named Cesaire McPherson. McPherson detailed “a number of sordid accusations” about an affair she and Merrill had that lasted at least 16 months. McPherson also accused the Alabama Secretary of State of making racist comments.
The Los Angeles Police Department tried its best to keep officer body camera footage showing cops arresting a Black Hollywood music producer out of the public’s eye, and for good reason.
Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said the agency would take steps to address an issue affecting “the health of our entire nation.
A group calling itself the “Women of U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz’s office” released an unsigned statement in support of the Florida politician.
The bill would also require faculty to complete annual surveys on their political beliefs.
Here’s a cool trick for blowing any American’s mind. Tell us that in France, so many boulangeries shut down for vacation every summer that it can be tough to snag a baguette. Bakers aren’t the only ones who get time off. In August, up to half of the country’s salaried employees have been known to take at least a full week off from work. Half!Americans are good at lots of different things, but going on vacation is not one of them.
Karlin Chan started the Chinatown Block Watch last February. He’s still at it.
We gummed up a system that’s supposed to aid struggling Americans quickly.
It will be hard to “restore bipartisan faith” in elections with Trump out to destroy it.
I will seek medical intervention if necessary.
Canada has had to rely entirely on over-burdened foreign supply chains for a Covid vaccine rollout that has lagged international peers.
I was 8 when Patty Hearst was kidnapped. For several years, I was afraid to sit in a well-lit room after sundown, because I was next on the kidnappers’ list, and they were lurking in my backyard. I was sure of this.Was my fear justified? Of course not. Was it real? One hundred percent yes.Bill Clinton pardoned Hearst on his last day in office. When I heard the news, I cheered.
Editor’s Note: Read Elizabeth McCracken’s new short story, “The Irish Wedding.” “The Irish Wedding” is taken from Elizabeth McCracken’s forthcoming collection of stories, The Souvenir Museum (available on April 13). To mark the story’s publication in The Atlantic, McCracken and Ena Alvarado, a former assistant editor of the magazine, discussed the story over email. Their conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Editor’s Note: Read an interview with Elizabeth McCracken about her writing process. Because Jack didn’t drive—not stick, not on the left side of the road, not at all, ever—Sadie piloted the rental car from the Dublin airport to the wedding, grinding gears and scraping along the greenery and—for a few miles—creeping behind a tractor on a winding road. It was 10 p.m. and raining. If Ireland were emerald, she couldn’t say. She would risk nothing.
As people try to find a safe way to gather and travel during the pandemic, there is growing interest in documenting who has been vaccinated or tested negative for COVID-19. The World Health Organization has warned so-called vaccine passports may not be an effective way to reopen, and healthcare professionals argue vaccine certificates may further exacerbate vaccine inequality.
The Biden administration is facing criticism from human rights groups after it announced this week it will leave in place a Trump-era policy to allow military commanders to use landmines across the globe. A Pentagon spokesperson described landmines as a “vital tool in conventional warfare” and said restricting their use would put American lives at risk, despite Biden’s campaign promise to promptly roll back Trump’s policy.
The United States and Iran are holding more indirect talks as part of a push to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, after former President Donald Trump pulled out of the accord nearly three years ago. The two countries agreed to set up two expert-level working groups along with other signatories of the 2015 deal, which is formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.
My husband and I are baffled and more than a little uncomfortable.
It really bothers me that my son’s height is such a topic of conversation.
My 4-year-old is completely hung up on Gaston. And now I am, too.
New York and New Jersey want to help groups harmed by the war on drugs. Their plan isn’t good enough.
Get in, Jack—we’re transforming American infrastructure.
The opportunity for a competent administration to do something historic was helped by timing, weather, and, yes, Trump.
“We’ve already been f—ing smoking weed the whole time.
Activists fear the police-enforced closure will inspire similar actions across the city.
A new analysis raises questions about whether more could have been done to prevent a contamination that ruined more than 15 million vaccine doses.
The public health effort has been stymied by a shortage of disease trackers.
Gayle Smith, who led the agency under former President Barack Obama, will serve as coordinator of global Covid response and health security.
The Republican warned the measure amounted to government overreach, but Republican lawmakers are likely to override his veto.