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America’s national debt hit $40 trillion last week. That number certainly feels like something worth panicking over—the mind balks at all the zeros. But although the debt has been in the trillions for decades, not everyone has considered it a problem.

Meta avoided the worst today by settling a massive lawsuit over alleged damages “to the mental and physical wellbeing of America’s youth.” The case, brought by the attorneys general of 47 states, plus U.S. territories and Washington, D.C., had been mid-trial in a federal court in California and was by far the most significant legal challenge the company has ever faced.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s brief trip to Moscow yesterday was unannounced but hard to miss: He flew in a C-17A, a large heavy-transport plane, that open-source analysts quickly identified and tracked. Within hours, he was already on his way home.
The purpose of Ratcliffe’s visit remains unknown. In an interview with Glenn Beck this morning, President Trump described it as “sort of semi-routine,” but such trips are rare.

Last night, NIPSCO, an Indiana utility company that provides electricity to half a million people in the northern part of the state, finally made the deadline for restoring power to the city of Gary. On August 11, a derecho swept across northwest Indiana, and winds nearing 100 miles an hour knocked out power for more than 370,000 people, NIPSCO has said.

President Trump gathered his top political advisers in the Oval Office early this month to solve a problem of riches: how to spend his super PAC’s $400 million political war chest with fewer than 100 days to go before the midterm elections.
Republican strategists are concerned about Trump’s low approval ratings and voter anxiety about the economy.

Dolly Parton’s death at age 80 comes at a time when her influence seems at its peak. Country music is surging, female singer-songwriters are on top, and audiences seem hungry for honest idiosyncracy—for figures who, like Dolly, transmit their inner truth to mass audiences in a voice that’s clear yet scraggly. But Parton’s greatest legacy is existential in nature. Piling on wigs and feathers, she showed that you can be yourself while playing a character.

ICE quietly enacted new rules this month that will keep officers involved in deadly-force incidents—such as firing a gun and using a choke hold—off the streets until the completion of an investigation. Previously, these officers were able to return to their regular job in as few as three days.

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
Dolly Parton transcended.
It almost didn’t matter what: class, gender, region, musical genre, partisanship. She transcended boundaries in all of them.

Paul Natkin / Getty
Dolly Parton performs at the Mill Run Theater in Niles, Illinois, on August 29, 1977.Michael Ochs Archives / Getty
Dolly Parton and her collaborator Porter Wagoner perform onstage, circa 1967.Ron Hill / The Oklahoman / USA Today Network / Reuters
Dolly Parton and the Wagon Masters pick and sing for a Civic Center Music Hall audience in Oklahoma City on October 8, 1968.Gary Null / NBC / Getty
Dolly Parton sings for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show on December 14, 1977.