This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here.
This week, we published two essays about new books featuring unusual, surprising female protagonists.
Israel’s seizure of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt has sparked anger from the Egyptian government, which has warned that Israel is endangering the landmark 1978 Camp David Accords that normalized relations between the two countries. Despite the increasingly critical tone about Israel’s war on Gaza, however, Egyptian authorities have closely coordinated with Israel in decisions around allowing humanitarian aid in through the Rafah crossing and allowing Palestinians out of Gaza.
More than a thousand Harvard students walked out of their commencement ceremony yesterday to support 13 undergraduates who were barred from graduating after they participated in the Gaza solidarity encampment in Harvard Yard. Asmer Safi, one of the 13 pro-Palestinian student protesters barred from graduating, says that while his future has been thrown into uncertainty while he is on probation, he has no regrets about standing up for Palestinian rights.
The presidents of UCLA, Northwestern and Rutgers universities were questioned Thursday on Capitol Hill about pro-Palestine protests on campus Thursday, the fourth time in six months that the Republican-led House Education Committee has summoned school leaders to Washington over accusations of antisemitism.
In August 2022, the U.S. passed the most ambitious climate legislation of any country, ever. As the director of President Joe Biden’s National Economic Council at the time, I helped design the law. Less than two years later, the Inflation Reduction Act has succeeded beyond my wildest hopes at unleashing demand for clean energy.
Public health experts say the virus’ move from birds into mammals is worrisome due to the risk that the virus evolves to be capable of spreading among humans.
The social media post came after Trump said in a TV interview that he plans to share a policy on contraception “very shortly,” without providing details.
Democrats’ efforts to ride the coattails of abortion ballot measures put passage at risk.
Health systems are trying to move more of the work they do to your house.
The president is getting more micro in his economic sales pitch as the landscape loses its luster.
Friday’s government report showed that last month’s hiring gain was down sharply from the blockbuster increase of 315,000 in March.
Biden and Trump are both campaigning on warped economic statistics, cherry-picking weird data from the Covid crisis.
By any measure, it amounted to a strong month of hiring.
The concern is that higher rates are putting pressure on households and businesses looking to borrow, weighing on hiring, investment and the housing market.
We speak with The New Republic’s Kate Aronoff about how President Biden has unveiled steep tariff increases on various Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, which will quadruple from the current tariff rate of 25% to 100%. “What you see … is Biden really looking to lean into a really quite hawkish position on China,” says Aronoff. She explains why Biden is caught between insulating the American auto industry from competition and allowing affordable EVs to enter U.S.
When Donald Trump insinuated this week that his successor and the FBI were out to kill him, he showed how central violence has become to his conception of political leadership. The former president declared Tuesday on Truth Social, his social-media platform, that he “was shown reports Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, in their illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL FORCE).”
Trump has a way of projecting his own vices onto others.
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.
Amid the parade of outrages, what we’re feeling isn’t numbness. It’s more like airsickness.
First, here are three new stories from The Atlantic:
Trump’s money problems are becoming a crisis for the entire country.
Cows have almost certainly infected more than two people with bird flu.
It now heads to the desk of GOP Gov. Jeff Landry, who has not publicly weighed in on the legislation but is expected to sign it.
Even as a little girl, Furiosa understood the value of staying hidden in the wasteland of postapocalyptic Earth, where resources are scarce, war is everlasting, and strangers are immediately treated as threats. But keeping out of sight is not the easiest task in the Mad Max films.
Donald Trump posted on Truth Social today that he can free the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich from his unjust detainment in Russia—but only after he is elected president.
Evan Gershkovich, the Reporter from The Wall Street Journal, who is being held by Russia, will be released almost immediately after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office. He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY.
The new Netflix documentary Power examines the role of police in the United States. We speak to its Oscar-nominated director, Yance Ford, about how policing is used to suppress dissent and protect property in the U.S.
When a group of volunteer doctors with the Palestinian American Medical Association traveled to Gaza last month, they were prepared to treat some of the most horrific injuries caused by Israel’s relentless assault on civilians in Gaza. But they were not prepared to be stranded under the bombardment for over a week after the Israeli military seized and closed the border crossing into the southern end of the besieged region, preventing people and supplies from getting in or out. Dr.
Three European nations have announced plans to recognize the State of Palestine, joining 143 other countries around the world in formal recognition. Leaders in Ireland, Norway and Spain cited a desire to support a political solution to the ongoing conflict in Gaza as the driving force behind the announcements, while Israel responded by recalling its ambassadors from all three countries. Israel’s Ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich called the move a “prize for terrorism.
The social media post came after Trump said in a TV interview that he plans to share a policy on contraception “very shortly,” without providing details.
Democrats’ efforts to ride the coattails of abortion ballot measures put passage at risk.
Health systems are trying to move more of the work they do to your house.
Federal health officials estimate that roughly 100,000 people enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will sign up for subsidized plans through the health insurance marketplace over the next year under the rule.
The president is getting more micro in his economic sales pitch as the landscape loses its luster.
Friday’s government report showed that last month’s hiring gain was down sharply from the blockbuster increase of 315,000 in March.
Biden and Trump are both campaigning on warped economic statistics, cherry-picking weird data from the Covid crisis.