It’s rare in professional sports to see a star publicly excoriate league leadership. Last week, the Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier delivered a savage takedown of commissioner Cathy Engelbert, saying the sport had “the worst leadership in the world” and accusing Engelbert of jeopardizing player safety by failing to address concerns with poor officiating.
“The real threat to our league isn’t money,” Collier said. “It isn’t ratings or even missed calls or even physical play.

If you haven’t already heard of Friend, the company that makes a $129 wearable AI companion—a plastic disk, containing a microphone, on a necklace—you probably also have not seen Friend’s recent ad campaign. Late this past summer, Friend paid $1 million to plaster more than 10,000 white posters throughout the New York City subway system with messages such as I’ll binge the entire series with you.
People hate these billboards. Revile them, even.

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Last week, on the first day of the still-ongoing federal-government shutdown, a curious meme appeared on New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s press-office X account.

Welcome back for another week of The Atlantic’s un-trivial trivia, drawn from recently published stories. Without a trifle in the bunch, maybe what we’re really dealing with here is—hmm—“significa”? “Consequentia”?
Whatever butchered bit of Latin you prefer, read on for today’s questions. (Last week’s questions can be found here.)
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When the Supreme Court handed down its opinion in Mahmoud v. Taylor this summer, liberal parents and advocates were understandably alarmed. The Court sided with the plaintiffs, parents from Montgomery County, Maryland, who wanted their young children excused from reading and discussing books on sexual orientation and gender identity.

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Democrats are continuing to use their leverage in the federal-funding process to confront Republicans. Meanwhile, the threat of layoffs looms for many government workers.

This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
One of my highlights of the past year has been receiving your weekly emails with photos that spark a sense of awe in the world around you. In reviewing your submissions, I’ve most enjoyed seeing how the beholder’s mind works.