For now, the country’s railroads will continue to run. A national strike—which would’ve started at midnight tonight and disrupted both freight and passenger rail—was averted by a tentative deal between union leaders and railroad management. That deal still needs to be ratified by the union members themselves.President Joe Biden praised the agreement as “a big win for America.
Of all the achievements that Roger Federer has notched during his stellar tennis career, his 19 consecutive ATP Fans’ Favourite awards are particularly telling. The accolades are not remotely as consequential as his 20 Grand Slam titles (the third-most ever) or the 310 weeks he spent ranked No. 1 in the world (the second-most ever). The Fans’ Favourite award is essentially an annual popularity contest.
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.Today our staff writer Amanda Mull answers my questions about her recent article exploring gray floors, house flipping, and how America fell under HGTV’s spell.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.
King Charles should get ready to abdicate.
At a press briefing earlier this month, Ashish Jha, the White House’s COVID czar, laid out some pretty lofty expectations for America’s immunity this fall. “Millions” of Americans, he said, would be flocking to pharmacies for the newest version of the COVID vaccine in September and October, at the same appointment where they’d get their yearly flu shot. “It’s actually a good idea,” he told the press.
Demetre Daskalakis has become caricatured as a tattooed oddity among buttoned-up bureaucrats. The truth is far different. “I wish I were that interesting,” he says.
Nearly 1,500 people have died and tens of millions have been displaced in Pakistan, where catastrophic flooding has left a third of the country underwater, washing away homes, farmlands, bridges, hospitals and schools. “People have lost everything,” says Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a Pakistani artist and the grandson of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Ukraine has accused Russia of bombing a dam in the southern city of Kryvyi Rih — where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was born — forcing evacuation in parts of the city due to flooding. The bombing is the latest Russian attack on civilain infrastructure since Ukrainian forces recaptured over 3,000 square miles of territory from Russia during a counteroffensive this past week.
Railroad workers have reached a new tentative union contract with rail companies, averting a potential strike set to start on Friday that could have shut down rail service across the United States.
Syphilis rates saw the biggest annual increase in more than 70 years.
Despite the signs of moderating price increases, inflation remains far higher than many Americans have ever experienced and is keeping pressure on the Federal Reserve.
The plan touted by the U.S. Treasury secretary aims to diminish the Kremlin’s revenue while preserving the global oil supply.
“Jerome Powell’s rhetoric is dangerous, and a Fed-manufactured recession is not inevitable — it’s a policy choice,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said.
The housing market has cooled so much as the Fed withdraws its support for the economy that some analysts say it may be in a slump.
In a closely watched speech, the Fed chair foreshadowed further interest rate increases and warned that rates might need to stay high for some time to kill price spikes.
The geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China is reshaping life in the U.S. territory of Guam, where the already-massive military presence is set to expand as the Pentagon builds up its capabilities in the Pacific. “We are directly in the line of fire,” says Julian Aguon, a CHamoru writer and human rights lawyer, who describes the build-up of U.S. troops and military infrastructure on Guam as “nothing less than cataclysmic” for the Indigenous people.
We look at how the Ukraine war is contributing to an energy crisis across Europe with Greek politician and economist Yanis Varoufakis. Last week Russia announced it would not resume sending natural gas to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, blaming Western sanctions for supposed maintenance delays keeping the gas shut off.
Kimberly Mata-Rubio said she shared the last photo of her daughter with Sen. Cruz. The photo showed her daughter, Lexi, in a child-sized casket.
Donald Trump’s MAGA followers were in full meltdown mode this week after the news broke Tuesday that the FBI had seized the cell phone of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, one of the leading figures and financiers of the Trumpist election-denialism movement. Within hours, a number of leading Trump defenders—including Fox News’ Tucker Carlson—were denouncing what they all claimed was a sure sign of the Biden administration’s persecution of conservatives.
What’s the first thing any self-respecting, savvy Democrat should do when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is having a bad week?
Make. It. Worse.
McConnell has lost control of his conference. South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham threw the Republican Senate into disarray with his national abortion ban. Meanwhile, Sen.
Russia has hit the dam at Kryvyi Rih with what is reported to be at least six ballistic missiles. The impact created sizable damage to a dam over the Inhulets River, resulting in a flood that for some time was raging downstream. Reportedly, several bridges have already been swept away, and a number of towns and villages on both sides of the river have experienced flooding as water levels rapidly rose.
Republicans who have spent the past few weeks desperately trying to erase their abortion stances from their campaign websites had all that hard work go up in smoke Tuesday, when a freelancing Lindsey Graham decided to force the issue on them.
Some of them seemed to welcome it, though. Like Arizona’s Blake Masters, who’s running for the U.S. Senate. He was one of the first to start backpedaling from his extreme abortion stance.
Texas’s ban on abortions after six weeks has been in effect for about a year now, since the U.S. Supreme Court decided, from the shadow docket, to let it happen. Since then, the Court has overturned federal abortion protections, and Texas’s near-total ban has been enacted. Now it appears that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration is actively covering up any deaths that have occurred because of the forced birth laws.
Four leading health organizations played a major part in envisioning and founding critical programs to develop, secure and distribute Covid tests, vaccines and treatments.
A team of journalists looked at how much four health organizations collectively raised, granted and invested for Covid and in preparation for the next pandemic.
Workers may walk off the job – or be locked out by their employers – if they can’t reach a deal by the Friday deadline.
Republicans attacked Mandela Barnes’ national support of ending cash bail with a racist and fear-mongering ad.
Charlotte Bennett is one of the dozen-plus women who came forward with sexual harassment allegations against the former New York governor.
The first Alaska Native to represent the 49th state says she is operating on adrenaline and joy as she settles in.
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.Brain fog is one of the most destructive symptoms of long COVID—and one of the most misunderstood.
This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.