The week USA september 17 2022

MAIN STORIES BUSINESS TRUMP’S GROWING PANIC Accelerating the electric future p.4 p.38 THE LAST WORD A conservative’s lament for the GOP p.40 Rusty Bowers THE BEST OF THE U.S AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA Going on offense Can Ukraine’s army reclaim southern territory seized by Russia? p.5 SEPTEMBER 9/SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 VOLUME 22 ISSUE 1095-1096 ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS WWW.THEWEEK.COM Contents Editor’s letter The contention that climate change isn’t real has gone poof! in a wisp of smoke, like a piece of paper held under a magnifying glass on a 100-degree day But there are still those who contend that rapidly reducing the use of fossil fuels would be too painful a price to pay, and that rather than succumb to “alarmism,” humanity should learn to “adapt” to a hotter planet The summer of 2022 has put the adaptation option under the magnifying glass Unprecedented heat and drought have scorched China for months, and dried up so many rivers—including the mighty Yangtze—that authorities are instituting rolling blackouts because of lost hydropower (See International columns, p.15.) In Europe, 104-degree days and prolonged drought baked a shocked Britain brown, revealed long-submerged relics in the Tiber River and sunken German warships in the Danube, and shut down popular river cruises on the Rhine In the American Southwest, the worst megadrought in 1,200 years may lead to major water usage cuts for seven sunblasted states dependent on a waning Colorado River Is turning off the water an adaptation? A hotter atmosphere traps a lot of moisture, so that when rain does arrive, it sometimes comes down with biblical ferocity In recent weeks, a spate of “1,000-year floods” have submerged Kentucky, Dallas, and other parts of the U.S., destroying thousands of homes In Pakistan, “a monsoon on steroids” has flooded close to a third of the country, killing more than 1,100 people and inflicting misery on 33 million All this comes after just degrees Fahrenheit of warming so far Without a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gases, we may be heading for a rise of degrees F in two decades, with more to come As the pandemic has shown, our species is prone to kicking the can down the road, to selfishly putting off the change and sacrifice needed to avoid collective future catastrophe But what if William Falk Editor-in-chief the future shows up early? AP, Getty NEWS Main stories Trump’s cache of classified documents; Ukraine pushes back; Covid boosters Controversy of the week After Dobbs, the GOP has second thoughts on abortion The U.S at a glance A fake Rothschild penetrates Mar-a-Lago; water crisis in Mississippi; a U.S monkeypox death The world at a glance Gorbachev dies; floods cover one-third of Pakistan; Air France pilots’ brawl 10 People Harry Styles rinses off his celebrity; how the Williams sisters inspired Coco Gauff 11 Briefing Why nuclear power is getting a new burst of interest 12 Best U.S columns America’s last ‘trusted doctor’; no-knock injustice 15 Best international columns A historic drought in China; Kenya’s ‘hustler’ president 16 Talking points The student loan bailout; CNN woos the Right; the biology of long Covid Editor-in-chief: William Falk Managing editors: Susan Caskie, Mark Gimein Assistant managing editor: Jay Wilkins Deputy editor/Arts: Chris Mitchell Deputy editor/News: Chris Erikson Senior editors: Nick Aspinwall, Danny Funt, Scott Meslow, Rebecca Nathanson, Dale Obbie, Zach Schonbrun, Hallie Stiller Art director: Paul Crawford Deputy art director: Rosanna Bulian Photo editor: Mark Rykoff Copy editor: Jane A Halsey Researcher: Nick Gallagher Contributing editors: Ryan Devlin, Bruno Maddox A dried-up tributary of the Yangtze River in Chongqing, China (p.15) Group publisher: Paul Vizza (paul.vizza@futurenet.com) ARTS LEISURE 23 Books Are human beings really the smartest animals? 31 Food & Drink A simple favorite of napa cabbage and noodles; eating well at the airport 24 Author of the week George R.R Martin is not in a rush 26 Art & Music An epic sculpture, 50 years in the making 28 Film & Stage A megachurch satire in Honk for Jesus Harry Styles (p.10) 32 Consumer Nissan brings back a classic sports car; keeping bedsheets white BUSINESS 36 News at a glance Fed sticks with tough inflation measures; Russia shuts off Nord Stream gas 37 Making money The inner pain of the crying CEO; when IRAs get too big 38 Best columns California sets the pace on electric transition; AI: utopia or dystopia? Account director: Mary Gallagher (mary.gallagher@futurenet.com) Media planning manager: Andrea Crino Direct response advertising: Anthony Smyth (anthony@smythps.com) SVP, Women’s, Homes, and News: Sophie Wybrew-Bond Managing director, news Richard Campbell SVP, finance: Maria Beckett VP, Consumer Marketing-Global Superbrands: Nina La France Consumer marketing director: Leslie Guarnieri Manufacturing manager, North America: Lori Crook Operations manager: Cassandra Mondonedo Visit us at TheWeek.com For customer service go to TheWeek.com/service Renew a subscription at RenewTheWeek.com or give a gift at GiveTheWeek.com THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 NEWS The main stories DOJ bolsters its Trump obstruction case What happened crimes of a former president who has “attacked the heart of our system of governDonald Trump’s legal jeopardy deepened this ment” would give “license to future presiweek when the Department of Justice said dents to whatever they want.” in a court filing that he and his team “likely concealed” top-secret government records Graham’s reckless talk of rioting sounds “like stored at Mar-a-Lago from federal investigaa threat,” said The Washington Post By raistors “Efforts were likely taken to obstruct ing the specter of violence without condemnthe government’s investigation” into Trump’s ing it, he and other Trump toadies “play a possible mishandling of classified documents, game of intimidation,” putting Garland and the filing said Federal agents removed more federal investigators on notice they will “face than 100 such documents from Mar-a-Lago the consequences” if they prosecute Trump after a Trump lawyer signed a document Such “irresponsible rhetoric” sows the seeds in June asserting that a “diligent” internal DOJ photo of documents in Trump’s office for violence, just as it did before Jan Fedsearch had been conducted and all sensieral prosecutors “must not allow themselves to be bullied.” tive materials had been handed over, the DOJ said Several secret documents were hidden in his office at Mar-a-Lago That called into “serious question” whether Trump’s team was acting in good faith, What the columnists said said the 36-page filing—a response to Trump’s request to have an New revelations about Trump’s secret-document theft have raised independent “special master” appointed to review the seized docu“grave concern” among U.S intelligence agencies, said Julian ments The DOJ said Trump and his lawyers made no claim the Barnes and Mark Mazzetti in The New York Times A redacted documents had been declassified during a year of efforts to reclaim federal affidavit released last week showed he held numerous docuthem, and included a photo of seized folders whose markings ments marked “HCS,” which contain information obtained by indicated they contained intelligence from spy satellites and covert human sources—CIA spies and informants It raised the possibility human sources—putting them at the highest level of classification that such sources could be identified and their lives put at risk “if the documents got into the wrong hands.” Just last year the CIA With evidence mounting that the Justice Department may be warned every one of its stations around the world about “troubling pursuing criminal obstruction charges against Trump, Sen Lindsey numbers of informants being captured or killed.” Graham (R-S.C.) warned on Fox News “there literally will be riots in the street” if Trump is prosecuted Trump, who has warned that The Justice Department has “serially destroyed the lies Trump has “terrible things are going to happen” if federal officials continue to told in his defense,” said Jonathan Chait in New York magazine He investigate him, reposted Graham’s comments on his social network had no right to take these “highly sensitive” government documents Truth Social along with QAnon mottoes and photos of Democrats to Mar-a-Lago, as he claimed, nor was he “cooperating fully.” labeled “the enemy.” The nation, he wrote, is “going to places, in a Instead, it’s now clear Trump and his lawyers lied repeatedly about very bad way, it has never seen before!” what documents he held and where they were being kept “The spectacle of a former president facing criminal investigation” is an alarming one, said The New York Times But if Attorney General Merrick Garland believes he has enough evidence to prove Trump guilty of serious wrongdoing, he must seek an indictment Putting Trump on trial may “entrench support” for him, and lead to “political escalation,” with Republicans seeking vengeance on President Biden and other Democrats But ignoring the blatant It wasn’t all bad QUber driver Fritz Sam was taking a passenger to New York’s LaGuardia Airport when he saw fire coming from a nearby brownstone Sam asked his passenger, Jemimah James Wei, if they could stop to help “Obviously!” Wei said As residents streamed out, Sam rushed inside, searching for anyone who might be trapped He cajoled and guided two petrified residents out to safety as smoke billowed behind them Minutes later, firefighters arrived and determined that everyone was safe, so Sam and Wei headed off again to the airport On the way, Sam apologized for smelling like smoke “Firstly, you smell fine,” Wei said “And secondly, you just saved a life Maybe multiple.” THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 “No one should be intimidated” by threats of violence, said Amanda Marcotte in Salon Trump’s ability to command loyalty and incite his followers is built on their belief in his “apparently bottomless power” to “impose his will over reality” and escape all consequences for his actions A public court case that reveals Trump as a flailing, frightened crook will puncture that illusion and weaken the cult leader’s hold over his followers “They may even start looking for the exits.” QA crowd cheered last week as a Belgian-British teenager Mack Rutherford, 17, landed in Sofia, Bulgaria, becoming the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo Rutherford is no stranger to breaking records: In 2020, he became the youngest licensed pilot at age 15 Traveling up to 186 mph, Rutherford battled monsoons, sandstorms, and extreme heat, passing through 52 countries on five continents Flying a Shark Aero ultralight modified to carry extra fuel, Rutherford got flying tips throughout his five-month journey from his sister, Zara, who at 19 had set the previous record for the youngest pilot to circle the globe in an ultralight craft Round-the-world mission Note to readers The Week will not publish an issue for one week Your next issue will arrive in two weeks Our next edition will be dated Sept. 23, and should begin arriving on Sept. 16 The Week currently publishes 48 issues a year Illustration by Fred Harper Cover photos from Getty, Ford, Getty Department of Justice, AP What the editorials said and how they were covered NEWS Ukraine begins southern counteroffensive What happened What the columnists said Ukrainian forces launched a high-stakes A great deal depends on this counteroffencounteroffensive to take back southern terrisive, said Julia Ioffe in Puck A victory tory occupied by Russia this week and quickly would be a “vital psychological salve for reclaimed four villages in the Kherson region a country shattered by war.” Kherson’s “The occupiers should know: We will oust capital was the first major city to fall into them to the border,” said Ukrainian President Russian hands, and it now serves as Russia’s Volodymyr Zelensky His administration foothold on the Dnipro River, which bisects said Ukrainian forces had punctured Russia’s Ukraine Liberating that city is the goal But front lines and almost completely severed its success is far from guaranteed, and failure supply lines across the Dnipro River, using would “help Putin to solidify control over HIMARS launchers to disable most of the Kherson” before officially annexing the Battering away at Russia’s front line bridges Those launchers were part of a large region through a sham referendum Unlike package of weaponry the U.S sent to help Ukraine prepare for the Russia, Ukraine can’t “afford to lose.” southern counteroffensive, including ammunition, drones, howitUkrainians have a decent chance of retaking Kherson, said Sébaszers, and Javelin missile systems The Biden administration pledged tien Roblin in NBCNews.com They’ve been preparing for months another $3 billion in military aid last week Russia has heavily fortified the city, though, and breaking through Russia said the counteroffensive had already “failed miserably.” will require large-scale coordination of infantry, tanks, artillery, and But the deputy head of Kherson’s Russian occupation government airpower That’s a combination Ukraine’s army has little experiapparently fled—he filmed his victory message from a Russian city ence with, so it may take them “several short hops rather than a more than 500 miles away Another Russian-appointed official in sustained drive.” They’ll need continued military aid Kherson was found dead in his home With some 80,000 Russian soldiers killed or wounded, President Vladimir Putin ordered the For now, “the moment of peril has shifted from Ukraine to Russia,” recruitment of 137,000 more soldiers, although he stopped short said David French in The Dispatch Ukraine has retaken “territory of calling up a draft Russia now controls about a fifth of Ukraine, the size of Denmark” and has a clear opportunity to notch its most including the nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, which has seen important battlefield victory in months Yet even if this offensive sporadic shelling Fearing that a direct hit could cause a nuclear disucceeds, don’t expect “a true Ukrainian breakthrough.” The war saster, Ukrainian officials gave residents of nearby towns potassium of attrition is likely to slog on Just as there is “no clear path to iodide tablets to treat potential radiation sickness U.N nuclear Russian domination,” there is also “no clear path for a complete inspectors headed to Zaporizhzhia this week to assess the risks Ukrainian victory.” Getty FDA approves first Omicron boosters What happened What the columnists said Americans who have received two primary vaccine doses could begin getting new booster shots soon past Labor Day, after the Food and Drug Administration this week authorized the first Covid vaccines reformulated for Omicron Pfizer and Moderna have both created versions of a bivalent vaccine containing genetic material from the original Covid strain and two Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and the dominant BA.5 Pfizer’s booster has been approved for everyone over 12, while Moderna’s is cleared for adults The federal government has already ordered 171 million doses of what is expected to be the last free Covid booster Last month, the government ceased sending free Covid tests to households, due to lack of funding The boosters “promise to be a life raft in dangerous seas,” said The Washington Post in an editorial It’s a trade-off: Use vaccines only tested on mice but available while the dominant variant is still BA.5, or risk ending up with a booster “well behind the curve if the virus mutates.” While scientists pursue the goal of a pan-coronavirus vaccine that will endure through future variants, “a booster that is currently relevant, with less clinical trial data, seems reasonable.” Mice studies have worked for the flu vaccine, so “this is a gamble that the past is prologue.” While the Omicron boosters have only been tested on mice, fears that the virus could mutate again before human trials are complete have prompted the pharmaceutical companies to pursue authorization now Dr Ashish Jha, the White House’s Covid response coordinator, expressed confidence that the new boosters would improve on the original vaccines “in terms of their ability to prevent infection, transmission, and serious illness and death.” So far, two-thirds of the U.S population have had two vaccine doses, but only about one-third have received a booster shot, and just 31 percent of children ages to 11 have gotten an initial vaccination Covid stubbornly remains a factor in American life: Every day, there are more than 90,000 reported new cases in the U.S., and nearly 500 deaths It’s not clear the gamble promises much of a payoff, said Faye Flam in Bloomberg “There’s almost no public data on the efficacy of the boosters.” Still, it’s “unlikely to pose any new health threats,” and if it reminds vaccinated people to get boosted, “maybe that’s an upside.” But most of the people hospitalized and dying are unvaccinated, and this booster does nothing for Americans who never got the original shots “They are, inexplicably, not eligible for it.” Unfortunately, none of this matters if Americans keep “greeting the coronavirus with little more than a shrug,” said Katherine Wu in The Atlantic Boosters only work if people get them Mask mandates are gone, as is emergency funding As fall approaches, “calls for staying up-to-date on vaccines are one of the last nationwide measures left—which puts a lot of pressure on shotinduced immunity to combat the virus, all on its own.” THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 NEWS Controversy of the week Abortion: The GOP’s post-Dobbs regrets New York by making abortion a central Three months after the Republican Party’s issue Throughout the country, women and Supreme Court appointees overturned Roe young people are registering to vote in a midv Wade, there is some serious “buyer’s term election “they might otherwise skip.” remorse creeping in,” said Aaron Blake in The Voters usually use the midterms to punish Washington Post The most direct expression partisan overreach by the party that holds of regret came last week from Republican the White House But the Dobbs decision South Carolina state Rep Neal Collins in has changed the usual dynamics and “draremarks that went viral A 19-year-old conmatized the conservative Republican hold on stituent, he said, was told by doctors she has a the Supreme Court,” so it’s the GOP’s power nonviable fetus that will die in the womb, but that many voters want to rein in they sent her home because South Carolina’s Will the GOP pay for near-total bans? new “heartbeat” abortion ban would make Republicans need to dust themselves off and “adapt to the poststandard medical care illegal A prolonged miscarriage without Roe political world,” said Rich Lowry in the New York Post They medical assistance, the woman’s doctor told Collins, creates “a no longer have the luxury of staking out “maximalist” pro-life greater than 50 percent chance that she’s going to lose her uterus” positions that fire up the conservative base Rather than “run and to infection and a 10 percent chance she will die “That weighs hide from the issue,” the GOP should unify around an abortion on me,” said Collins, choking up “I voted for that bill.” The ban after 15 weeks—the point at which most Americans suppolitical implications of such horror stories are weighing on other Republicans in battleground states, so they are discreetly scrubbing port restrictions Some pro-lifers may recoil at that suggestion of compromise, said Ramesh Ponnuru in National Review But if references to abortion from their campaign websites Going into Republicans shift the debate to banning the later abortions that the midterms, Republicans clearly have an “abortion problem,” Democrats insist should be legal, they can get “the median voter” said The Wall Street Journal in an editorial “The long-predicted GOP ‘wave’ election” appears to be “crashing on an offshore reef.” back on their side Only in America QA Nebraska man was arrested for staging an active-shooter drill at an Omaha charity office without informing terrified employees that it wasn’t real John Channels, 27, was paid by Catholic Charities to barge into their offices firing an assault rifle loaded with blanks, as fake blood–spattered actors fell “dead.” Catholic Charities said Channels “mishandled” the drill’s “implementation.” QLakewood, N.J., has cut down all the shade trees in its town square to make it less attractive to the homeless Mayor Ray Coles says the tree removal was a response to complaints of homeless people harassing passersby and defecating in the street Homeless advocate Steven Brigham says the real issue is Lakewood’s lack of shelters, and called it “extremely extreme to cut down the trees.” Good luck with that, said Heather Digby Parton in Salon For 50 years the GOP galvanized its “fanatical anti-choice base” by promising to use the power of the state to force all pregnant women to give birth Now that many red states are doing just that, Republicans have discovered that “their medieval approach to reproductive rights” is an electoral “kiss of death” in swing states Abortion bans will hurt Republicans not only in November but “over and over again as one state after another grapples with the mess they made for themselves.” Good week for: Taylor Lautner, after the actor shared the happy news that he is marrying his girlfriend, Taylor Dome, who will take his last name Etiquette experts surveyed by Slate agreed that the couple should be known as “the Taylors Lautner.” Boldly going, with the news that the ashes of Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura in the original Star Trek TV series, will be blasted into space later this year on a private spacecraft that will also carry the ashes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and James Doohan, who played chief engineer “Scotty.” Midlife crises, after quarterback Tom Brady finally explained his mysterious 11-day absence from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers “I’m 45 years old,” he said “There’s a lot of s - going on.” Bad week for: Stable geniuses, after former President Donald Trump responded to his growing legal danger by demanding that the country declare him the “rightful winner” of the 2020 election or “hold a new Election, NOW!” Roaming, after Avis slapped an $8,000 surcharge on a Canadian woman, claiming she drove a rental car 22,369 miles in three days—nearly the circumference of Earth Avis later apologized Britons, who in coming years may need to become “less squeamish” about drinking water extracted from sewage, according to Sir James Bevan, head of Britain’s Environment Agency Purified sewage water, Bevan said, is “perfectly safe and healthy,” even if it’s “not something many people fancy.” THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 In other news U.S life expectancy plunges again The average American’s life expectancy fell from nearly 79 years in 2019 to 76.1 years in 2021, the sharpest twoyear decline in a century, the National Center for Health Statistics reported this week The decline was most acute among Native Americans and Alaska Natives, whose life expectancy fell 6.5 years since the start of the pandemic, to 65 The second-worst drop occurred among white Americans, with more than half of the increase driven by Covid Unintentional injuries, including overdoses, accounted for 12 percent of the drop among whites Although many other high-income countries saw life expectancy drop in 2020, most held steady or began to recover last year, thanks in large part to higher Covid vaccination rates AP In fact, a Democratic wave is building that could keep the House in the party’s hands, said Ed Kilgore in New York magazine Liberal and independent voters have been enraged and energized by the sudden demise of Roe and the ensuing stampede of red-state legislators to pass “draconian” abortion bans from conception onward, with no or very limited exceptions for rape and incest and the life of the mother An abortion referendum in conservative Kansas led to a 2-to-1 pro-choice landslide, and last week Democrat Pat Ryan pulled off a surprising victory in a special House election in upstate The U.S at a glance AP (2), Getty (2) Bend, Ore Heroic sacrifice: A Safeway supermarket employee was killed this week as he confronted a heavily armed gunman who fired more than 100 rounds in a matter of minutes The gunman, Mass shooting averted 20-year-old Ethan Blair Miller, walked into the store and killed a customer, Glenn Bennett, 84, at the entrance Instead of fleeing, the employee, Donald Surrett, a 66-year-old Army veteran, hid in the produce section and attacked the gunman with a produce knife Miller killed Surrett, then turned his gun on himself Miller’s AR-15–style rifle and a sawed-off shotgun in his car appear to have been purchased legally, and he had no prior criminal history Described by former classmates as a loner prone to fighting, Miller graduated high school in 2020 and had worked at the Bend Safeway Online, he appeared to rant about selfhatred and isolation, saying he wanted to shoot up his alma mater but couldn’t wait to because “the Rage has become uncontrollable.” Harris County, Texas First U.S fatality: With monkeypox cases now reported in all 50 states, Texas announced this week the country’s first suspected monkeypox-related death Health officials said the adult victim was “severely Monkeypox virus immunocompromised” and are still determining whether monkeypox was the direct cause of death During this year’s global outbreak, there have been just 15 fatalities reported out of 47,000 documented cases outside of West and Central Africa, where the virus is endemic Most deaths involved people with underlying conditions that weakened their immunity There have now been more than 18,000 U.S cases, including 31 in children Monkeypox spreads mainly through extended skinto-skin contact, and the vast majority of U.S cases have spread among men who have sex with men But the virus can also be passed along by contaminated bedding and towels Cassville, Mo In loco parentis: A Missouri school district serving 1,900 students drew national attention last week when it reinstated paddling The school district, which had eliminated corporal punishment in 2001, will bring back spanking in school, but only with parents’ permission “Parents have said, ‘Why can’t you paddle my student?’” said Superintendent Merlyn Johnson “We’ve had people actually thank us for it,” he said Corporal punishment remains legal in 19 states, despite objections from groups such as the American Psychological Association, which says paddling can cause trauma and does not improve behavior More than 100 Cassville students protested the reinstatement of paddling, saying it’s demeaning and painful “Corporal punishment is honestly an archaic and completely pointless and irresponsible way to punish children and high schoolers,” said Kalia Miller, 17 Palm Beach, Fla Getting close to Trump: The FBI is investigating an immigrant from Ukraine who allegedly bypassed security at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club by pretending to be a descendant of the Rothschild banking dynasty The investigation was launched this week after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported last week on Inna Yashchyshyn, 33, who the paper reported went by the name Anna de Rothschild during several trips last year to Trump’s club, using a fake Florida ID and claiming to own a Miami Beach mansion Yashchyshyn took part in a May 2021 golf outing at Mar-aLago, posing for a thumbs-up photo with Trump and Sen Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) In reality an immigrant from Ukraine, Yashchyshyn was working for a Canadian charity, United Hearts of Mercy, founded by Florida-based Russian businessman Valery Tarasenko Yashchyshyn has denied posing as a Rothschild, and any other wrongdoing NEWS Jackson, Miss Water crisis: The capital city’s main water treatment plant failed this week, leaving more than 150,000 residents Seeking safe water without access to safe drinking water After decades of water issues and calls for upgrades dating back to the 1940s, Jackson has spent the past month on a boil-water advisory after health officials found cloudy water that could cause digestive problems, the result of broken pumps at the treatment plant After flooding further disrupted treatment, low water pressure left many residents unable to shower, flush toilets, or cook The four-fifths Black city has suffered from tax revenue shortages after decades of white flight to the suburbs, and the water crisis sparked finger-pointing between Jackson’s Democratic officials and the state’s GOP leaders In recent years, Republicans blocked funding for Jackson’s water and sewer improvements, but the Environmental Protection Agency also recently blamed Jackson officials for not recruiting to fill the treatment plant’s acute staffing shortages Atlanta Subpoena upheld: Georgia Republican Gov Brian Kemp must testify before a special grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election results by former President Trump Gov Kemp and his allies, a judge ruled this week, though in an apparent concession to Kemp, he won’t have to testify before the November election Kemp, who is running against Democrat Stacey Abrams in a rematch of their 2018 contest, enraged Trump in December 2020 by refusing to convene the state legislature to appoint proTrump electors from Georgia, a state Joe Biden won Trump endorsed a loyalist in a primary challenge against Kemp, former Sen David Perdue, who lost by more than 50 points Kemp, who must court Trump voters to win re-election, fought the subpoena for weeks, arguing that sitting governors are protected from lawsuits But the judge ruled that Kemp’s immunity does not extend to the grand jury investigation THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 NEWS The world at a glance Riga, Latvia Soviet obelisk removed: In the latest manifestation of growing anti-Russian sentiment in the Baltics, Latvia has torn down a 260-foot Soviet monument The concrete obelisk was originally erected in 1985 as a memorial to Soviet soldiers who died fighting Down it goes Nazi Germany As two diggers toppled it last week, a large crowd applauded “This monument was a steady reminder of our occupation and the associated fate of many people: deportation, repression, and so on,” said Latvian President Egils Levits, referring to Latvia’s five decades as a Soviet Socialist Republic A quarter of Latvian citizens are ethnic Russians, and many had gathered at the obelisk every year on May to celebrate the Soviet victory in World War II Greenland Sea level rise inevitable: Massive ice losses in Greenland will cause global sea levels to rise nearly a foot by 2100 even if humans stop emitting greenhouse gases today, a new study said this week The study, published in Nature Climate Change, said 3.3 percent of the Greenland ice cap—some 110 trillion tons of ice—is certain to melt due to human-driven climate change and can’t be saved “Every study has bigger numbers than the last,” said study co-author William Colgan “It’s always faster than forecast.” The ice loss Melting away will cause dramatic increases in flooding in coastal cities Paris Cockpit fight: Two Air France pilots brawled in the cockpit during a Geneva-Paris flight in June, French media reported this week The pilot and co-pilot began arguing shortly after takeoff, and one of them hit the other By the time cabin crew separated them, they had grabbed each other by the collar The flight landed safely, though, with one crew member remaining in the cockpit to monitor the pilots France’s air investigation agency recently issued a report on safety violations in the airline, including an incident in December 2020, during a flight from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, to Paris, in which pilots failed to land even though an engine was leaking fuel and could have caught fire Air France said it will conduct a safety review Tanaru Reserve, Brazil ‘Man of the Hole’ dies: An unidentified Indigenous man thought to be the last living member of his tribe has died, Brazil’s Indigenous agency said last week The man had resisted attempts to contact him for decades, even as the rest of his tribe was killed by ranchers and other tribes, and the government designated a special Last of his people nature reserve just for him He was known as “Man of the Hole” because he had been seen digging deep holes to use as traps and hiding spaces Authorities said he likely knew he was dying, as his body was found surrounded by carefully placed feathers in a hut he had built It’s the first recorded disappearance of an entire uncontacted tribe in Brazil THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 Abuja, Nigeria No foreign models: Nigeria this week became the first country to ban foreign models and voice-overs from its advertisements The country’s advertising regulator said the total ban on non-Nigerian models and voice-over artists was meant to provide jobs for young Nigerians It will be a huge change for local media, as to date, TV and print ads have been dominated by white, particularly British, faces and voices The ban is a response to a “new sense of pride” among young people eager to be represented in the media, said Steve Babaeko, president of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria “I think the law is just catching up with national sentiment,” he told The Times (U.K.) Nigeria is projected to be the world’s fastest-growing generator of entertainment and media revenue in the next five years Reuters, Getty, AP, Shutterstock Lima, Peru President’s inner circle accused: The sister-in-law of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo was sent to jail this week in a corruption probe that’s reaching ever closer to the embattled leftist leader Yenifer Paredes, whom Castillo has referred to as his “daughter,” received 30 months of pre-trial detention for alleged influence peddling in the Castillos’ home region of Cajamarca Prosecutors Protesting corruption have opened six criminal investigations against Castillo and his inner circle, and have even requested that his wife be barred from international travel for three years But they cannot charge or detain Castillo, who has denied all wrongdoing, while he remains president Since rising from unknown teacher to far-left president last year, Castillo has presided over a widely unpopular and ineffective administration He’s already survived two impeachment attempts and replaced dozens of cabinet members The world at a glance Moscow Gorbachev dies: Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader whose reforms led to the dissolution of the USSR, died in Moscow this week at age 91 Soon after becoming Soviet leader in 1985, Gorbachev began espousing glasnost, or openness, and perestroika, or restructuring of the economy and political system He struck a major nuclear arms Gorbachev reduction deal with the U.S., lifted the repressive restrictions on Soviet media, and allowed his country’s first multiparty elections While Gorbachev never intended to bring about the Soviet Union’s collapse, his reforms shook the foundations of an already faltering state, leading to its disintegration—and the birth of many newly independent countries—in 1991 Most world leaders eulogized Gorbachev as a visionary, but Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has called the Soviet Union’s demise a catastrophe, said only that he sent condolences to the family NEWS Peshawar, Pakistan Country underwater: Massive flooding inundated fully a third of Pakistan this week, affecting 33 million people in a natural disaster of stupefying scale The rushing waters have flattened entire villages, and city streets have become roaring rivers that Displaced from Sohbatpur crash into multistory buildings and crumble them to rubble At least million homes have been destroyed The flooding is a result of the unprecedented and unrelenting monsoon rains that have been pounding the country since mid-June, forcing millions of people to evacuate and killing more than 1,100 Near Peshawar in the north, a partially built hydroelectric dam was washed away, while satellite images showed that part of southern Sindh province was turned into a 62-mile-wide lake after the Indus River overflowed Nearly half of Sindh’s cotton crop has been lost, and more flooding is expected because the rivers to the north continue to swell Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pleaded for help from the international community, saying the floods had caused some $10 billion in damage and that Pakistan was bearing the brunt of global climate change that it did not cause “This flood situation is probably the worst in the history of Pakistan,” he said “We are suffering from it, but it is not our fault at all.” Pakistan, home to 220 million people, produces less than percent of the world’s carbon emissions Getty (3), Reuters, Getty Baghdad Al-Sadr quits: At least 24 people were killed in Baghdad during ferocious street battles this week after Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr abruptly quit politics Al-Sadr’s nationalist bloc won last October’s elections but could not muster a governing coalition, and his bloc has been One of al-Sadr’s militants feuding with Iran-backed Shiite factions Earlier this month, he had his followers occupy parliament to protest one faction’s attempt to form a government Once al-Sadr tweeted his decision, fierce fighting broke out, and his supporters stormed the Green Zone, occupying the presidential palace and swimming in its pool, until al-Sadr begged them to stand down “I apologize to the Iraqi people,” he said “I was hoping for a peaceful demonstration, not with mortars and weapons.” Mekelle, Ethiopia War restarts: Ethiopian governInjured in an airstrike ment forces and Tigray rebels broke their cease-fire in the nearly two-year Tigray war last week Airstrikes around the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, hit numerous targets, and the rebels said a kindergarten was damaged, killing at least four people “This vicious regime has outdone itself with today’s deliberate targeting of a children’s building,” Tigrayan authorities said The Ethiopian government said only military targets were hit and accused the rebels of staging civilian deaths War first broke out in November 2020, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to oust the Tigray People’s Liberation Front from the northern Tigray region, and the conflict has caused a hunger crisis there The two sides agreed to the cease-fire in March, allowing aid to finally reach millions Sydney True-crime case solved: Former Australian rugby player Chris Dawson was found guilty this week of having killed his wife, Lynette, in 1982, ending a 40-year cold case that was the subject of a popular true-crime podcast Dawson was convicted after a three-month trial, which heard new evidence, including some from the 2018 podcast The Teacher’s Pet Dawson was working as a gym teacher at a Sydney high school when he began a sexual relationship with the family’s 16-year-old babysitter, JC Shortly after Lynette went missing, JC moved into the family home Dawson, now 74, denied killing his wife and maintained that she had walked out on him and their two Dawson: Jailed after 40 years young children THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 10 NEWS People Gauff’s debt to the Williams sisters Kidron takes on Silicon Valley Styles clings to privacy Beeban Kidron remembers the moment she decided to leave her 30-year career as a filmmaker, said Charles Hymas in The Telegraph (U.K.) In 2012, the British director had begun to observe a profound change in children’s behavior “I’d walk into a room full of kids and they were silently tapping on their phones,” she says “I was fascinated.” She began shooting a documentary, spending hundreds of hours shadowing teenagers as they engaged with the online world, whether that meant chatting on social media or looking at porn The kids, says Kidron, 61, didn’t realize companies were trying to addict them “What cuts a hole in my heart is the number of kids stuck in ‘the loop’ who say they tried to get off,” she says “I spent time with one child who put her phone in the bin and then found herself in the rain scraping through the bin to get it in the middle of the night.” The experience led Kidron, a member of the British House of Lords, to push for online protections for minors Her reforms are being implemented globally, and California just passed a law requiring social media companies to protect child users from addictive features “If we’d just stop talking about content and start talking about product safety,” Kidron says, “we’d be in a much better place.” Harry Styles has learned how to handle the intrusive attention that comes with pop stardom, said Brittany Spanos in Rolling Stone He’s dealt with obsessive fans for 12 years, first as a member of the boy band One Direction, and then in a solo career that has really taken off Immediately after performing in front of stadiums full of hysterical fans—still mostly girls—Styles, 28, always insists on taking a shower “It’s really unnatural to stand in front of that many people and have that experience,” he says “Washing it off, you’re just a naked person, in your most vulnerable, human form Just like a naked baby.” The singer is also a movie star and fashion icon, though his gender-bending clothing choices have drawn accusations of “queerbaiting”—using queer aesthetics to seem edgy without actually coming out “Sometimes people say, ‘You’ve only publicly been with women.’ I don’t think I’ve publicly been with anyone,” Styles says “If someone takes a picture of you with someone, it doesn’t mean you’re choosing to have a public relationship.” He is troubled that some of his female fans have been brutal online toward his girlfriend, actress and director Olivia Wilde, 38, and he’s responded by closing off his private life even more “I’ve never talked about my life away from work publicly and found that it’s benefited me positively,” he says QA federal jury last week awarded $15 million to Vanessa Bryant after finding that Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and firefighters violated her family’s civil rights by taking and sharing photos of mangled bodies at the site of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, NBA legend Kobe Bryant; their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna; and seven others The jury also awarded $15 million to Chris Chester, whose wife, Sarah, and daughter, Payton, were among the deceased In testimony, deputies and firefighters admitted to showing photos of body parts at a bar, a cocktail party, and an awards gala The plaintiffs had sought THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 an additional $75 million for emotional distress, but the jury did not award that Bryant said she would donate the money to her family’s nonprofit sports foundation QShivon Zilis, an executive at Elon Musk’s brain-chip company Neuralink, claims that the twins she had with Musk last fall were conceived through in vitro fertilization, not through an affair Zilis has told fellow employees at Neuralink that she was never sexually or romantically involved with Musk, Reuters reported last week That claim has allowed Musk, 51, and Zilis, 36, to continue working together, despite company policy prohibiting personal relationships between a boss and underling Musk, who speaks frequently about the dangers of declining birth rates, is father to nine children with three women QTwo Floridians pleaded guilty last week to stealing and selling the diary of President Biden’s daughter Ashley shortly before the 2020 election Aimee Harris, 40, and Robert Kurlander, 58, admitted they took the diary and other personal items from a home where Ashley Biden, 41, had lived for months They then sold the diary to the right-wing activist group Project Veritas for $20,000 each The contents of the diary, which include Ashley Biden’s intimate thoughts about family and recovering from addiction, were eventually published by a different website Harris and Kurlander are now cooperating with authorities in an ongoing investigation of Project Veritas, which said in a statement that its purchase of the stolen diary was “news gathering” protected by the First Amendment Getty (3) Coco Gauff erupted onto the tennis scene in storybook fashion, said Alyssa Roenigk in ESPN.com Three years ago, the teenage prodigy from outside Atlanta faced one of her idols, Venus Williams, at Wimbledon—and won After her surprise defeat of Venus, Gauff shook hands with her idol and said, “I wouldn’t be playing tennis without your influence.” Gauff, now 18, has never been shy about giving credit to her inspirations If she hadn’t seen two fellow Black women torching the pro tennis circuit, she might never have asked for a racquet But once she did, her parents devised a 10-year plan to make her a pro, modeled explicitly after the extremely regimented training approach made famous by the Williams sisters’ father, Richard “Serena, Venus, Serena, Venus,” Gauff says “That’s all I watched growing up.” She their posters in her room, modeled her swing after theirs, and at age 9, Gauff even portrayed a young Serena in a Delta Air Lines commercial Now, with Serena about to retire from competitive tennis, Gauff is coming into her own “For a long time, I was stepping onto the court trying to be the next Serena,” she says “But that’s not why I play tennis That’s what people wanted to hear.” These days, Gauff says, she plays “for myself.” Television 30 ARTS Addictive legal dramas… Extraordinary Attorney Woo Netflix’s latest breakthrough Korean hit follows a plucky attorney with autism as she finds her footing at a top firm Even with subtitles, it’s a pleasant, easy watch filled with likable characters and interesting cases Netflix Damages Everybody knows Glenn Close is good But they may not know just how good she was in this circa-2007 series about cold-blooded, cleverbeyond-her-peers lawyer Patty Hewes Co-stars Rose Byrne and Ted Danson are also top-notch Hulu Goliath Looking to fill a hole in your viewing life now that Saul Goodman is gone? Goliath is not on Better Call Saul’s level, but it does have Billy Bob Thornton—compelling as ever as a washed-up former hotshot who takes on his prominent old firm Bonus: William Hurt as Billy’s evil ex-boss Amazon Prime The Good Wife An excellent cast carried this multi-Emmy-winning drama series Julianna Margulies led the way as a politician’s wife who returns to practicing law after a scandal sends her husband to prison Paramount+ Suits Meghan Markle can be proud: The legal series she co-starred in was consistently great across nine seasons, featuring clever dialogue and strong character development But Suits isn’t about Markle It’s about a brilliant fake hired at a top Manhattan law firm Amazon Prime The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching Pinocchio Disney’s effort to give every one of its animated classics an at least average live-action remake continues Though the studio’s new Pinocchio won’t upstage the 1940 version, it does have its high points, beginning with a superb cast, featuring Tom Hanks as Geppetto, Cynthia Erivo as the Blue Fairy, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the voice of Jiminy Cricket Families looking for fresh streaming content (who isn’t?) will find it a worthy-enough adventure—at least until Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion Pinocchio hits theaters in November Available Thursday, Sept 8, Disney+ Wedding Season ’Til death us part and all, but what if the bride poisoned the groom and the rest of his wedding party? In this new British action-comedy series, Rosa Salazar and Gavin Drea co-star as Katie and Stefan, would-be soulmates who meet at a wedding weeks before Salazar’s Katie is scheduled to tie the knot with another man When the groom and most of his family drop dead at the reception, Katie and Stefan wind up on the run, each uncertain the other can be trusted Available Thursday, Sept 8, Hulu The Serpent Queen No one else in history’s parade of cunning, cruel monarchs was quite like Catherine de Medici In this devilish new series, which traces Catherine from her youth in Florence, the always excellent Samantha Morton plays the 16th-century queen after she has married into the French royal family, endured her husband’s cheating, and survived plots against her crown to reveal a callous thirst for power Sunday, Sept 11, at p.m., Starz The Handmaid’s Tale The series based on Margaret Atwood’s classic dystopian novel continues to spin out its own dark dramas As Season begins, Elisabeth Moss’ June Osborne has just assassinated her abusive former master, Fred Waterford, a co-founder of the totalitarian state of Gilead But even across Gilead’s northern border, in Canada, June is not safe from the reach of Waterford’s powerful widow, Serena Moss and Yvonne Strahovski THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 look set up for a season-long cat and mouse Available Wednesday, Sept 14, Hulu The U.S and the Holocaust Americans like to think that our nation served purely as a refuge and liberator when Nazi Germany undertook the extermination of Europe’s Jewish population Ken Burns’ new three-part dive into U.S history reckons with a more complex truth Perhaps its most surprisingly moving passages feature the stories of Jewish immigrants who were children when their families sought asylum here Begins Sunday, Sept 18, at p.m., PBS; check local listings Other highlights The Murders Before the Marathon Journalist Susan Zalkind details her investigation into an unsolved 2011 triple homicide that may have been committed by Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev Available Monday, Sept 5, Hulu The 2022 Emmy Awards Succession leads all shows with 25 nominations as stars gather for television’s big awards night Monday, Sept 12, at p.m., NBC Sins of Our Mother The latest true-crime film from the Girl in the Picture team focuses on Lori Vallow, a mother accused of killing her children after falling under the influence of an apocalypse-obsessed author Available Wednesday, Sept 14, Netflix Show of the week Atlanta Boston Legal You expect a show featuring William Shatner and James Spader to be full of over-thetop performances But David E Kelley’s 2000s drama delivers more than just the dynamic duo charismatically hamming it up Hulu Hanks’ Geppetto with Disney’s new Pinocchio Glover (second from left), with his returning co-stars It’s back to Atlanta one last time for Earn, Alfred, and crew Donald Glover’s acclaimed series wandered Europe for a season and took some experimental detours that left some avid fans cold But the concert tour is over for Al and his Paper Boi entourage, and the little that’s known about this fourth and final season is that it will unfold on familiar ground and that Glover has declared it will put Atlanta on a level with The Sopranos, one of his favorite shows Here’s hoping his verdict is spot-on Premieres Thursday, Sept 15, at 10 p.m on FX; available Friday, Sept 16, on Hulu • All listings are Eastern Time Disney, FX Streaming tips LEISURE Food & Drink 31 Napa and noodles: A salad that makes a great everyday lunch tbsp soy sauce tbsp pale rice vinegar tbsp sugar ½ tsp MSG tbsp toasted sesame oil ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro “The workhorse of the Chinese kitchen,” napa cabbage can be enjoyed in so many different ways, says Hannah Che in The Vegan Chinese Kitchen (Clarkson Potter) My dad’s “all-time favorite” dish is a simple stir-fry of napa cabbage in a soy sauce and rice vinegar sauce The leafy vegetable, which is native to China’s Yangtze region, is also great when simmered until meltingly tender, and its “juicy and crunchy” leaves are welcome in any raw salad My grandfather was apparently so acclaimed for the dish below that his friends would specifically request it whenever he was invited to a get-together or had people over for dinner “It couldn’t be simpler: You salt napa cabbage, squeeze out the water, and toss the juicy shreds with slippery vermicelli noodles and a sesame oil vinaigrette zingy with garlic and cilantro.” The result is “sort of like a Chinese slaw— fresh with a snap of acidity, cleansing for the palate, and fantastic cold.” Hannah Che, Phillip Reed/Washington Post The recipe works best if you make the salad in advance and let the flavors develop and be absorbed I like to prepare a big batch to have at lunch throughout the week “With its sweet, sharp juices, it’s great paired with a roasted sweet potato.” Separate cabbage into leaves Slice each leaf horizontally through the white stem portion, then stack the leaves and cut them crosswise into ¹⁄8 -inch shreds Place cabbage and cucumber in a colander and toss with salt Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil Add vermicelli and cook according to package instructions Rinse under cold water and drain Snip with kitchen scissors into shorter, more manageable lengths Recipe of the week Napa cabbage and vermicelli salad ½ medium head napa cabbage small Persian cucumber, thinly julienned tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste oz mung bean vermicelli noodles, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes ½ medium carrot, finely julienned scallion, both white and green parts, cut into 3-inch segments and thinly julienned garlic cloves, finely chopped Squeeze out excess liquid from cabbage and cucumber by pressing them between your hands Drop each squeezed handful into a large bowl Add vermicelli, carrot, scallion, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, MSG, and sesame oil and stir well Taste and adjust salt and other seasonings as needed You can enjoy this salad immediately or chill it in the refrigerator, covered, for a few hours to let flavors meld Stir in cilantro just before serving Serves As versatile as you need it be Dining out: Refueling stops at five major airports Wine: California chardonnay “A respectable airport restaurant is like a port in a storm,” said Gabe Hiatt in The Washington Post When you’ve braved security, crowds, and cancellations, you deserve a treat, and “even in the corporate wasteland of the airport, there’s quality to be had.” We surveyed critics and travel writers for their favorite sanctuaries at the country’s busiest airports and came up with a great tip or two for each hub The prop-plane cocktail lounge at JFK Atlanta Turn to Paschal’s, an outpost of a former Atlanta luncheonette that grew into a meeting ground for civil rights leaders, for top-notch fried chicken, collard greens, and “perfect” candied yams “Expect to see a wide mix of Southerners (and pilots) in line.” Chicago O’Hare “Food writers and frequent fliers agree” that Rick Bayless’ Mexican sandwich shop, Tortas Frontera, serves some of the best airport food anywhere.” Chipotle-roasted chicken, chilerubbed cauliflower, and other delights are stuffed into soft telera rolls Miami In an airport loaded with good Cuban food, the go-to is Café Versailles Little Havana’s “iconic gathering place” has five outposts at MIA, all of which can be counted on for iced café leches, ham croquetas, and pan de bono New York City’s JFK Long waits call for a trip to the TWA Hotel, a refurbished modernist 1960s terminal that now houses a Jean-Georges Vongerichten café, a 1940s prop plane converted into a cocktail lounge, and a food hall with such NYC staples as bagels and Mister Softee ice cream Phoenix The excellent waffles, pancakes, breakfast burritos, and Bloody Marys are served all day at Matt’s Big Breakfast in PHX’s Terminal California chardonnay has for too long been “a wine that many discerning consumers love to hate,” said Eric Asimov in The New York Times But if you pass on the immensely popular white because you assume every bottle will be big, buttery, and oaky, you are missing out “These days, many chardonnay producers are aiming for grace rather than for power” and delivering pleasures like these: 2020 Valravn ($20) Three Sonoma County vineyards contributed their grapes to this wine “It’s a fine, entry-level chardonnay, rich and juicy, yet focused and balanced.” 2020 Lola ($25) “Like all the Lola wines I’ve tasted,” the Sonoma Coast winery’s chardonnay is “fresh and lively, subtle and unpretentious.” 2019 Hanzell Sebella ($28) Sonoma County’s Hanzell Vineyards helped pioneer the modern style, and its Sebella is a great introduction: “rich, precise, and intensely stony.” THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 Consumer 32 LEISURE The 2023 Nissan Z: What the critics say Car and Driver “Sports cars are having a moment.” A new Toyota Supra and Corvette both debuted last year, and Nissan is now bringing back its classic two-door rear-wheel-drive coupe Though it’s “more refined than the car it replaces,” largely thanks to a new engine and upgraded interior, the new Z shares too many parts with its 14-yearold predecessor Yes, this two-seater is capable at moderate speeds But when pushed hard, the 2023 Z “does not respond the way a sports car should.” impressive.” The new twin-turbo V-6 churns out 400 hp and “pulls hard all the way to its 6,800-rpm redline.” That’s a lot of power for $40,000—more than Toyota’s Supra, which costs $3,500 more The Nissan is “easier to live with,” too “It’s a delight on backroads,” especially if you opt for the six-speed manual, and its striking design “avoids the cornball nostalgia of every retro-obsessed American muscle car.” The Drive “As a complete package, the new Z is hard to beat.” No, it’s not as fast or nimble as some performance-focused track dancers, but it’s “stunningly handsome,” it“rides Jalopnik “The most important numbers are plenty An appealing package, from $39,990 great,” and it’s “downright practical” if you only need two seats and moderate cargo space and don’t mind that the six-speed is rated to average just 20 mpg In the end, it’s “one of the more charming new automobiles for sale today.” The best of lunch boxes, bags, and bowls W&P Porter Bowl Hydro Flask Lunch Box Baloray Lunch Tote This 10-inch-wide polyester tote bag “fits more food than you’d think.” The insulated, foil-lined interior keeps its contents cool, and it’s “super easy to wash.” A phone or wallet can fit in the front pocket For teenagers who love Hydro Flask’s water bottles, the brand’s popular lunch box won’t disappoint The double-insulated hard-shell container won’t bend or fold, and it keeps food cool for hours It’s available in three sizes $45, hydroflask.com Source: People $16, amazon.com Source: Good Housekeeping L.L Bean Lunch Box Made from the same durable materials used in L.L Bean’s backpacks, this wellinsulated soft lunch box “will last for years.” An all-ages option, it comes in eight solid colors and many kidfriendly patterns “Delightful to hold and use,” this minimalist bowl “fits easily into a tote.” Though it’s not leakproof, it’s microwave-proof and great for transporting salads, grain bowls, and leftovers It’s also “an accessory in its own right.” $20, wandp.com Source: Wirecutter $20, llbean.com Source: Forbes Colony Co Canvas Lunch Bag “When in doubt, brown-bag it.” This roll-top sack is made of beeswax-coated canvas that’s water repellent and “remarkably easy to clean.” The bag also “looks cool,” and the industrial-strength stitching carries a lifetime guarantee $23, colonyco.com Source: Esquire Tip of the week How to keep bedsheets white And for those who have everything Best apps To take on a seaside vacation QShower before bed Because the primary cause of yellowing is your skin’s natural oils, a quick rinse before bedtime helps prevent staining Wearing pajamas also helps, because that reduces the amount of contact between the sheets and your skin, and “the more coverage the better.” QMind the product Moisturizers, hair treatments, and other oily bath products can also transfer to the sheets Don’t get in bed until the products dry, or use them in the morning QBanish pets Pets and their skin oils “bear some culpability, too.” Discourage cuddling by giving your dog or cat a separate bed QLaunder weekly Even dark sheets should be washed every one to two weeks, but “err on the more frequent side” if you’re trying to keep white sheets white QHang outside If possible, air dry the sheets on an outdoor rack or clothesline, because “sunshine is a powerful whitener.” Adirondack chairs are great to lounge in, but most aren’t built for beach trips The inflatable AeroRondack Chair solves that problem Created by Bote, a Florida company known for its inflatable paddleboards, it “sports an impressive level of rigidity for something that weighs only 16 pounds,” and it’s “fairly portable, too.” Because the military-grade PVC skin is “pretty close to indestructible,” design mavens may be tempted to work the chair into a living room array Still, the obvious target customers for the AeroRondack are “boaters and beachgoers with a propensity to veg out with a beer in hand.” $549, boteboard.com QOcearch Shark Tracker tracks sharks that have been tagged by marine biologists You can follow the sharks’ oceanwide migrations—and see whenever one approaches your nearest beach QGoogle Lens can pull up info on the seashells and pieces of coral you find while beachcombing The image-recognition app can also identify plants and insects QFishAngler tells you all you need to know about local fishing spots It even includes a “fish forecast” that suggests the ideal times to cast your line QMarineTraffic tracks ships and can identify any that you spot on the horizon A $10-ayear subscription adds a tool that identifies ships using your smartphone camera QKnots3D uses animations to teach you how to tie more than 150 knots, “from those that might help you catch a fish to those that might help save your life.” Source: Better Homes & Gardens Source: Fast Company Source: The New York Times THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 34 Best properties on the market This week: Homes in Seattle Downtown The 1912 landmarked Fischer Studio Building was originally a concert hall with music studios and housing for musicians This three-bedroom top-floor 1970s apartment, renovated in 2016, features the preserved tiled foyer; carved-wood doors; an open main space with 15.5-foot ceilings, French glass doors to Juliet balconies, and woodburning fireplace; a chef’s kitchen with granite counters and extensive cabinetry; and a second suite with kitchenette and loft Pike Place Market is five minutes’ walk away $1,750,000 Victoria Odell, Windermere Real Estate/Luxury Portfolio International (206) 850-0756 Northlake The Haida Bird, a 555square-foot houseboat, rides at the end of a dock on Lake Union Built in 2005, the one-bedroom home has a main living space with wood-clad ceilings, wood floors, a woodburning stove, and stained-glass doors to the deck; a large galley kitchen; a vaulted second-floor bedroom with desk nook and multiple windows; a steel storage hull; and water and city views The dock is close to Gas Works Park, the university, and downtown $555,000 Krista Belova, Windermere Real Estate North/Luxury Portfolio International, (425) 269-6793 Phinney Ridge The 1950 three-bedroom home known as the Clubhouse is near shops, restaurants, Green Lake, and the Woodland Park Zoo Expanded and remodeled in 2013, the house features a butterfly roofline, floor-to-ceiling windows, hardwood floors, an open kitchen with Wolf stove and butcher block and marble counters, a dining area with sliders to a covered deck, and two primary suites with steam showers and soaker tubs The landscaped lot includes a deck with firepit, a hot tub, mature trees, garden beds, a pond, and a waterfall $1,700,000 James Richardson, Coldwell Banker Danforth, (206) 778-6900 THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 Best properties on the market 35 Pioneer Square The Smith Building, a 1900 warehouse in the International District, was converted to condos in 1984 This twobedroom penthouse loft apartment, two floors and a mezzanine, has an open main space with exposed brick, dark wood floors, high beamed wood ceilings, Palladian windows, and a gas fireplace; a chef’s kitchen with concrete counters; a primary suite with sauna; and a second bedroom also suitable for a family room or office Outside is a private 500-square-foot terrace with water and city views $1,295,000 Moira Holley, Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty, (206) 612-5771 Seattle Washington Mount Baker This 1925 Spanish Revival home was designed by noted Seattle architect Ellsworth Prime Storey The four-bedroom house on a corner lot features wood floors, arched doorways, a living room with tiled fireplace, a dining room with oversize windows overlooking the pool, a skylit chef’s kitchen, updated bathrooms, a gym room, and a sauna The 0.38-acre gated property is surrounded by hedges and includes a landscaped brick patio, swimming pool, and two-car garage; Lake Washington, shops, and restaurants are steps away $3,895,000 Scott Wasner, Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty, (206) 910-1410 Steal of the week Uptown The Pittsburgh, a brownstone apartment complex built in 1907, was restored in 2017 with attention to preserving its classic features This one-bedroom top-floor condo unit with no shared walls has windows on three sides; 10-foot ceilings; wood floors and trim throughout; the original solid-wood pocket doors, crown molding, and fireplace surround; an updated kitchen with granite counters, stainless appliances, and historic glass cabinets; and access to a bike room, storage unit, and landscaped courtyard Nearby are the Seattle Center, Space Needle, and Olympic Sculpture Park $389,000 Holly Schramm, Berkshire Hathaway HS NW, (206) 390-9268 THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 BUSINESS The news at a glance 36 QDespite the West’s sanctions, sales are booming in Russia’s oil export market Russia has earned $20 billion in average monthly sales this year compared with a $14.6 billion monthly average in 2021 The country exported 7.4 million barrels of crude oil, diesel, and gasoline each day in July, down only about 600,000 barrels a day since the start of the year The Wall Street Journal QMore than $150 billion of mergers and acquisitions have been scrapped or stalled since the beginning of June KKR & Co last week abandoned a $14 billion bid for an Australian hospital chain Bloomberg QA 1952 Mickey Mantle rookie Economy: Fed toughens inflation stance It was good for investors to hear The Federal Reserve chairman’s this, said Gina Chon in Reuters gloves are off in the fight against Breakingviews After a bruising inflation, said Jeff Cox in CNBC first half of the year, they “have com Jerome Powell issued his been searching for dovishness.” sternest commitment yet to halting The market rallied last month rising prices in his annual policy after Powell suggested the pace speech at Jackson Hole, Wyo., last of tightening might slow earlier week “Even after four consecuthan expected But Powell “didn’t tive interest-rate increases totaling mince words” this time when he 2.25 percentage points, Powell said “the central bank would said this is ‘no place to stop or Powell: This is ‘no place to stop.’ whatever it takes to tame inflapause.’” He acknowledged that economic pain would be an “unfortunate cost” of tion, even if it’s painful for the economy.” Recent restoring price stability Powell’s tone was far dif- inflation data has been encouraging, and consumers’ own projections of inflation have been declinferent from last year’s Jackson Hole conference, ing But Powell is right: Easing up and “curbing when he called inflation “transitory.” Stocks fell rate hikes prematurely would be a mistake.” This swiftly after Powell finished speaking, and the is the “strong medicine” the markets needed market continued heading lower into this week Ukraine: Russia pressures Europe with gas shutdown card graded in mint-plus condition sold for a record $12.6 million, becoming the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia to be sold at auction The previous owner bought the card in 1991 for $50,000 Russia shut down its main pipeline for natural gas to Europe this week, said Georgi Kantchev in The Wall Street Journal, claiming that a threeday halt was required for “scheduled preventative work.” The pipeline, the 760-mile-long Nord Stream, is operating at just 20 percent of its capacity Western governments have dismissed Russia’s explanations, seeing the cuts in gas exports as “an economic attack in retaliation for supporting Ukraine in the war.” Maintenance operations are “usually telegraphed well in advance,” but this announcement caught European officials by surprise Europe has been racing to fill its gas storage to avoid severe rationing this winter The New York Times Pharma: Moderna-Pfizer lawsuit over mRNA patents QThe mortgage denial rate for Black homebuyers is twice that of the overall population of borrowers in the country’s largest 50 metropolitan areas In St. Louis, the denial rate for Blacks was 20.73 percent, versus 7.33 percent for the overall population CNBC.com QThe national average credit score sits at an all-time high of 716, unchanged from a year ago, according to a new report from Fair Isaac Co., developer of the FICO score Fortune QAs of July, 59 percent of Americans said they lived paycheck to paycheck, down from 61 percent in June but still higher than a year ago, when the number of adults who felt stretched too thin was 54 percent The number was higher (63 percent) among those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 CNBC.com Moderna filed a lawsuit against Pfizer last week alleging that Pfizer copied its vaccine technology, said Daniel Trotta in Reuters Moderna has been “an innovator in the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology that enabled the unprecedented speed in developing the Covid vaccine,” its lone commercial product It says Germany’s BioNTech, which partnered with U.S pharma giant Pfizer on a separate mRNA Covid vaccine, “appropriated two types of intellectual property” Moderna had patented Both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech are already “facing multiple lawsuits from other companies” alleging patent infringement Truth Social: New woes for Trump’s media app Donald Trump’s social media app is in “financial peril,” said Drew Harwell in The Washington Post Truth Social reportedly stopped paying its web-hosting service, RightForge, in March and now owes it more than a million dollars This week, Google said it had not allowed Truth Social onto its app store because of “insufficient content moderation.” The woes make it even more difficult for Truth Social to complete its plans to go public, which have repeatedly been put on hold Markets: U.S reaches deal to audit Chinese firms The U.S and China reached a deal to keep Chinese companies listed on Wall Street, said Patrick Temple-West and Tabby Kinder in the Financial Times The agreement, announced last week, will finally “allow U.S regulators access to audits of Chinese companies listed on American exchanges.” In 2020, Congress passed legislation subjecting roughly 200 Chinese and Hong Kong companies, including Alibaba, to delisting by 2024 “if an auditing deal was not reached.” U.S officials cautioned that China still must prove it will be “compliant” with the new framework THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 Out: Business cards In: Cyborg implants The traditional practice of exchanging paper business cards may finally be dead, said Alex Harring and Emily Glazer in The Wall Street Journal Instead, people are turning to hybrid or other solutions The newly-invogue replacement: a plastic card with a QR code that transfers the contact info to a phone It’s a much more efficient solution, papercard critics say, than the “germ-swapping, environmentally unfriendly and laborious tradition of exchanging physical cards, only to manually imprint the fine print into phones later.” One marketer, though, got his QR code turned down by cybersecurity experts, who worry about their phones getting hacked If a plastic card feels too basic, a ring with an embedded chip can also the trick Derek Peterson, the technology chief at Boingo Wireless went further and “had a chip inserted between his left thumb and index finger that carries his contact information.” Getty, AP The bottom line Making money BUSINESS 37 Oversharing: The boss says he really hurts inside “inspirational thought leaders” and can’t Is “emotional vulnerability” really part of resist the self-aggrandizing urge to share the job description for a CEO? asked Emma their inspirational messages What makes Goldberg in The New York Times In an posts like these so unsettling is that “they effort to better connect with workers, execuclaim to offer some window of insight when tives are rejecting “the stifling environments what they really are is marketing,” said they got accustomed to when starting their Shannon Palus in Slate No one makes a careers” and have instead been “racing to let LinkedIn account to share business stories their employees know they’re not just empty with friends and family You it to make suits.” Popular TED Talks and best-selling connections and make money Even if the management books now stress the value of feelings behind the post are genuine, the act “emotional intelligence.” Technology also of sharing them has become “baldly part of has “blurred the lines between work and the CEO’s hustle.” life,” leading to an “expectation that people bring their ‘full selves’ to work.” But are Take it easy on the crying CEO, said Minda employees comfortable with all this oversharZetlin in Inc Awkward as Wallake’s post ing? It’s not clear Earlier this month, Braden was, “his sorrow seems pretty genuine to Wallake, the 32-year-old chief executive me.” Even if it wasn’t, he used the newof a small sales and marketing company, found notoriety to promote one of the went viral for posting a “crying selfie” on Wallake’s ‘crying selfie’ laid-off workers, Noah Smith, “in glowing LinkedIn to show his dismay after laying off terms as both a person and employee.” Smith was immediately two workers “I know it isn’t professional to tell my employees that I love them,” Wallake wrote “But I do.” The post generated inundated with job offers Does that sound like such a heathen? I don’t suspect any malice in Wallake’s post, said PR pro Aaron 10,000 comments, with many criticizing Wallake for “highlightKwittken in TheDrum.com But good intentions still resulted ing his own grief at a moment his employees were suffering.” in a big miss That’s because “his post came off as narcissistic, stunty, and overly theatrical.” It’s never a great idea to “promote Cringe, said Arwa Mahdawi in The Guardian Wallake “is your own alleged humanity” when you are the one with the a perfect encapsulation of everything that is irritating about power Playing the victim in these situations ends up looking LinkedIn and, by extension, everything that is wrong with cor“exploitative and insincere.” porate culture.” Too many executives today feel they have to be What the experts say A post-retirement tax nightmare For some higher earners, saving for retirement in a tax-deferred account is a ticking tax time bomb, said David McClellan in Kiplinger’s Saving “everything you can in tax-deferred accounts” to benefit from tax-sheltered growth is still good advice for most savers But eventually all retirees must take required minimum distributions (RMDs) starting at age 72 For those with extensive pretax savings, that “represents a growing tax liability.” A couple who have $500,000 in savings at age 40—and max out their contributions every year—will end up with $7.3 million in their 401(k) and face RMDs exceeding $435,000 by retirement and reaching $739,000 by age 80 Those are taxed as ordinary income How to defuse the tax bomb? Consider transferring money from an existing tax-deferred account to a tax-free Roth IRA This is a better strategy in lowincome years, as “the transfer amount is usually fully taxable.” LinkedIn The fine print in your home policy You may be less prepared for climate-related disasters than you think, said Tara Siegel Bernard in The New York Times The first thing you should is “assess your home’s risk to earthly hazards.” One online tool, Risk Fac- Charity of the week tor, “outlines flood, fire, and extreme-heat risks,” estimating the odds of catastrophic weather events and “how much repairs might cost.” From there, you should know your insurance coverage—and “always choose ‘replacement value’ coverage when you can.” When Hurricane Ida peeled back the roof of Jeanne Gouaux’s home in Louisiana, she didn’t learn until later that her wind and hail policy “only provided the depreciated value” of the destroyed property, giving her half the money she needed A hidden bounty of forgotten gifts If you’re like most people, you’re probably sitting on an unused gift card worth a considerable sum, said Lorie Konish in CNBC com A new survey by CreditCards.com found that 47 percent of people “currently have at least one unused gift card, voucher, or store credit” lying around And the credit is nothing to sneeze at “The average unused amount is $175 per person, up from $116 last year.” Amid 40-year-high inflation, those sums—a total of $21 billion—“may provide a welcome boost to consumers’ wallets.” Some companies, like CardCash, Raise, or ClipKard, will even buy unused gift cards if there’s nothing you want to purchase for yourself Only 10 percent of people in South Sudan have access to basic sanitation, and fewer than 60 percent are drinking clean water Since 2003, Water for South Sudan (waterforsouthsudan.org) has provided villages across the country with access to safe water, while also working to strengthen hygiene and sanitation practices Over nearly two decades, Water for South Sudan has drilled more than 570 new wells Water for South Sudan’s founder, Salva Dut, was one of 20,000 “Lost Boys” separated from their families during the Sudanese Civil War; some, like Dut, were eventually resettled in the U.S Dut led a group of more than a thousand boys hundreds of miles to Kenya, a journey that inspired the novel A Long Walk to Water Each charity we feature has earned a four-star overall rating from Charity Navigator, which rates not-for-profit organizations on the strength of their finances, their governance practices, and the transparency of their operations Four stars is the group’s highest rating THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 Best columns: Business 38 Autos: A jump-start for the electric future When ‘nofault’ means ‘your fault’ Bryce Covert New York magazine Between utopia and dystopia Kevin Roose The New York Times For too many American workers, it’s three strikes and you’re out of a job, said Bryce Covert An estimated 18 million workers are subject to pointsbased systems that monitor attendance at large corporations like Walmart, Amazon, AT&T, and Boeing These attendance systems “go by different names in corporate-ese,” and are frequently lumped together as “no-fault policies.” Generally, the way the systems work is that “being late or leaving early incurs a fraction of a point, while missing a whole day or shift incurs a full one.” Three points is usually grounds for termination Workers end up getting points for going to the emergency room—or they skip going because they fear losing their job and their health benefits When regulators examined one case of AT&T firing an employee for her pregnancy-related absences, they found the company is likely “violating all pregnant workers’ rights nationwide.” The Family and Medical Leave Act requires large employers to provide unpaid leave for serious illness or the birth of a child to employees with a year of tenure Many attendance policies don’t make that clear, and they are almost impossible to challenge One worker fired after missing a day because of a miscarriage asked for a copy of the company’s policy—and was told to get a subpoena AI has suddenly turned from a “fun party trick” into a profound transformation in how we relate to machines, said Kevin Roose “Five years ago, the biggest story in the world of artificial intelligence was AlphaGo, a deep-learning model built by Google’s DeepMind that could beat the top players at the board game Go.” Now Google has used AI to solve the crucial protein-folding problem that “had vexed molecular biologists for decades”—predicting how molecules in 200 million proteins fit together, a seismic advance for drug development I’ve been playing around with DALL-E 2, an app developed by OpenAI that turns text descriptions into images “I spent hours thinking up weird, funny, and abstract prompts to feed the AI,” and within seconds, DALLE would spit out “wholly new creations.” I liked the images so much that I used them to illustrate my article, something that will become routine And there’s the rub “In a few years, the vast majority of the photos, videos, and text we encounter on the internet could be AI-generated Our online interactions could become stranger and more fraught, as we struggle to figure out which of our conversational partners are human and which are convincing bots.” That has some researchers excited—and others “sketching out contingency plans for a dystopian future.” THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 Getty Nitish Pahwa in Slate Today, it reads as The end of the gas-guzzler is nearing, “a reasonable, workable, legally binding and California is showing the way, said guidepost.” Most of the world’s biggest Shannon Osaka in The Washington Post automakers, from Ford to General Last week, California announced that it Motors to Volvo, “were already workwould bar the sale of new gas-powered ing to phase out their gas-fueled stock” cars, with limited exceptions for plug-in over the next decade Consumer demand hybrids, starting in 2035 That may seem for EVs has never been higher And the like a long way off, but the legislation remove comes on the heels of the passage quires a steady buildup of EVs and plug-in of the Inflation Reduction Act, which hybrids as a proportion of new-car sales, included billions in tax incentives for EV from 35 percent in 2026 to 68 percent by purchases “The future will be electric 2030 to 100 percent by 2035 (plug-in hybecause the present already is.” brids can make up only 20 percent of that) “California’s car market is only slightly Other states have moved to copy California’s rules Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, said The smaller than those of France, Italy, and Britain,” and the Golden State also sets the agenda for other left- Economist Sales of EVs currently make up about 16 percent of the total in California That’s a big figure, but getting to Califorleaning states California’s move immediately triggered a 2021 nia’s mandated numbers “will mean making a lot more batteries.” law in Virginia that aligns its emissions standards to whatever That’s a challenge given today’s supply-chain bottlenecks and California is doing Washington, Massachusetts, and Oregon geopolitics China “dominates the market for the necessary raw have also signaled they intend to follow suit with their own firm materials,” like lithium, “and the processing capacity” for batterdeadlines With all this momentum, “the transition from gasies California will also need to quickly build up its charging infrapowered, internal combustion-engine vehicles to electric vehicles structure The new regulations call for EVs sold in the state to no longer feels niche, or speculative It feels inevitable.” be capable of traveling at least 150 miles on a single charge, said Dan Walters in CalMatters That “wouldn’t even cover a one-way “This transition is not being forced on an unwilling industry,” trip” between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe “Is California willsaid the Los Angeles Times in an editorial Automakers envy ing to build the hundreds of thousands of recharging stations” Tesla’s surging popularity and are trying to replicate its success Even Toyota, “which only a few years ago joined with the Trump that will be required? The average price tag on a new EV today is $66,000 Unless that comes down significantly, “how would the administration in challenging California’s authority to regulate decree affect low-income Californians?” Declaring 2035 as the vehicle pollution, has recently changed its stance and says it is deadline to end of sales of new gas-powered cars was “the easy now on board with the state’s efforts.” California’s deadline part.” Actually making the transition will be harder is less threatening than it would have been a decade ago, said Obituaries 39 The Ponzi fraudster who swindled thousands Steven Hoffenberg Steven Hoffenberg earned his infamy twice over The brash 1945–2022 New York financier drew a 20-year prison sentence for masterminding one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S history, swindling thousands of people out of some $460 million The owner of a debt-collection firm, Towers Financial, Hoffenberg lured investors—many of them retirees and widows on fixed incomes—by posting fantasy profits and promising big returns Instead, he siphoned millions from the firm to bankroll his glitzy lifestyle, buying a yacht and a fleet of luxury cars and renting an entire floor of Trump Tower Hoffenberg’s other point of notoriety was his mentoring of Jeffrey Epstein, who was later charged with serial abuse of underage women and hanged himself in jail Hoffenberg “had unusual charm and a masterful mind,” said his daughter, Haley Hasho, “but didn’t use it fruitfully.” Hoffenberg was born in Brooklyn, where his father worked in insurance, said The New York Times He dropped out of City College and became a “bust-out artist,” taking over businesses and using them to buy goods on credit, which he then sold while stiffing his creditors He founded Towers Financial in 1972, and as his “business grew, his financial machinations became increasingly complex.” He took on Epstein, a former Bear Stearns trader, as a consultant when the “1980s takeover boom was in full swing,” and in 1987 the pair made an ill-fated bid to gain control of Pan Am airlines They bought two small Illinois insurance companies and raided the accounts, ultimately sending the firms into receivership and leaving thousands of customers with unpaid medical bills Hoffenberg “made headlines in 1993,” said The Daily Beast, when he rescued the New York Post from bankruptcy He briefly controlled the tabloid, but his attempt to buy it “was upended when the SEC sued him” and froze his assets “It all unraveled quickly in 1994,” said The Washington Post After pleading guilty to fraud and conspiracy, Hoffenberg spent 18 years in a federal prison When he emerged, his high-flying days were over; he was found dead in a modest apartment in Derby, Conn., where police said his body sat unnoticed for a week In later years, he “portrayed himself as pained about the scams” and his involvement with Epstein “It’s a lifetime of errors,” he said in 2019 “How you correct a lifetime of errors?” The novelist who gave soap operas a conscience Michael Malone’s desire to tell stories sent him from 1942–2022 academia to the soaps By 1991, the University of Pennsylvania lecturer had published several novels set in his native North Carolina But when he was invited to write for ABC’s One Life to Live, he said he “couldn’t resist.” During his 1991–96 first run as head writer, the long-running soap opera took on daring, socially relevant themes such as homophobia, AIDS, and sexual assault— all broadcast to a much wider audience than Malone reached on the page “I think Dickens would have done it,” he said “There was no way ever on God’s green earth that million people a week would be reading my novels.” Witness, he mastered “moving seamlessly” between comedy and sharp-eyed suspense In daytime TV too, “Malone was the boldest of storytellers,” said The Toronto Star A 1992 One Life to Live episode featured 17-year-old Ryan Phillippe as the first gay teenager on television, and Malone’s writing team won a Daytime Emmy for episodes about the rape of a college student Despite typically soapy twists, the storyline was “rooted in real emotion,” with victim Marty Saybrooke sometimes unsympathetic but still worthy of being believed After a stint on NBC’s Another World, he briefly returned to One Life to Live in 2003 and had another of its characters cross over to narrate his 2005 novel The Killing Club Born in Durham, N.C., Malone, the eldest of six, often served as his deaf mother’s ears, said The Washington Post, “developing observational skills that he later used in his novels.” He received a literature degree from the University of North Carolina and wrote his first novel, 1975’s Painting the Roses Red, while procrastinating on his Harvard doctoral dissertation In subsequent books such as Handling Sin and Time’s Malone spent his later years living in eastern Connecticut and Hillsborough, N.C., where “he wrote his last three books,” said the Charlotte, N.C., Observer With fellow Southern novelist Allan Gurganus, he staged a two-man version of A Christmas Carol every year Still, the soaps left a lasting mark “My chapters used to close out very quietly,” he said in 2002 “Now they may end with ‘Get out of the car! There’s a bomb!’” AP Michael Malone The football coach who inspired Friday Night Lights Gary Gaines never read the book that made him famous The soft-spoken Texas football coach felt betrayed by Buzz Bissinger’s best-selling Friday Night Lights, which Gary Gaines was adapted 1949–2022 into a film starring Billy Bob Thornton as well as a popular TV show Bissinger had been intrigued to hear that Gaines’ high school team, the Permian Panthers, played to crowds of 20,000, and he traveled to Odessa, Texas, to chronicle the 1988 season Gaines said his wife read the resulting book and called him sobbing, saying the journalist had depicted their football-obsessed town as crawling with racists “Bissinger came to something and he did something else,” Gaines said in 2015 “I’m glad it’s behind us.” Born in Crane, Texas, Gaines was a high school quarterback and played wingback at Angelo State University, said The New York Times After graduating in 1971, he went straight into coaching and became Permian High School’s head coach in 1986 In just two years, he led the team to the state semifinal But in Odessa, that wasn’t good enough; Gaines found “For Sale” signs in his front yard after a loss The next year, though, Permian had a perfect season and won the state championship After four winning years, with a record of 47-6-1, he moved on to college coaching, and did stints at Texas colleges and high schools for the next two decades He found his way back to Permian in 2009, said The Dallas Morning News, but “it wasn’t the same,” and he retired in 2012, unable to re-create his past glories He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years later “A lot of people were attached to the book and the movie,” he said in 2015 “It’s hard for me to put my head around that.” THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 The last word 40 A conservative in the wilderness Rusty Bowers thought he knew what his Republican Party stood for, said Ed Pilkington in The Guardian Then came the aftermath of the 2020 election and the rejection of democracy R USTY BOWERS IS headed for the exit After 18 years as an Arizona lawmaker, the past four as speaker of the state’s House of Representatives, he has been unceremoniously shown the door by his own Republican Party appreciation of life Things have a bigger meaning.” Bowers said that his core values were instilled in him as a child growing up within a conservative Republican tradition He is the father of seven children, one of whom, Kacey, died last year “Family, faith, community—these are values at a very core level You don’t survive out here, on land like this, alone.” In July, he lost his bid to stay in the Arizona legislature in a primary contest in which his opponent was endorsed by Donald Trump The rival, David Farnsworth, made an unusual pitch to voters: The 2020 presidential election had not only been stolen from Trump, he said, it was satanically snatched by the “devil himself.” A fourth-generation Arizonan, Bowers, 69, grew up within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints His faith, along with his other great passion, for art—he is a painter and sculptor—is visible all around The front of the main house is lined with three large bronzes depicting the epic 1,100-mile journey across America that the Mormons undertook in 1846–47 From the beginning, conservatism and the Republican Party were interchangeable for Bowers Bowers was ousted as punishment The Trump acolytes who over the past two years have gained control of the state’s Republican Party wanted revenge for the powerful testimony he gave in June to the Jan hearings in which he revealed the pressure he was put under to overturn Arizona’s election result Bowers identifies as “pro-life,” sees the U.S Constitution as being inspired by This is a very Arizonan story But it is also Bowers at his ranch: ‘We are compelled to work.’ God, and voted for Trump in the 2020 an American story that carries an ominous thing is, I always thought it would be the election “I campaigned for Trump, I went warning for the entire nation Bowers’ other guys And it’s my side That just rips to his rallies, I stood up on the stage with assailants in the Arizona Republican Party at my heart: that we would be the people him,” he said Somewhere along the line, wanted to punish him because he had who would surrender the Constitution in though, things started to come unstuck steadfastly refused to their, and Trump’s, order to win an election That just blows A rift opened up between his old-school bidding He had declined to use his power my mind.” Republican values and those of a new as leader of the house to invoke an “arcane cadre of activists energized by Trump Arizonan law”—whose text has never been OWERS WILL TALK about all that, and and his embrace of conspiracy theories found—that would allow the legislature to much more But first, he wants to and strongman politics cast out the will of 3.4 million voters who show me around his spiritual home had handed victory to Joe Biden and switch He arranged to meet me at his family’s In hindsight, Bowers now recognizes that the outcome unilaterally to Trump ranch, “so you can see a bit of why I think the opening shots of the conflict were fired the way I do.” not around the 2020 presidential election Bowers has a word for that kind of thinkbut earlier in the year, in the initial days of ing “The thought that if you don’t what The ranch is nestled in a hollow among Covid Trump-fanatical Republicans in the we like, then we will just get rid of you and desert hills about 90 minutes’ drive east of Arizona House displayed in their anti-mask march on and it ourselves—that to me Phoenix, at the end of miles of dramatiantics the same disdain for the rules, the is fascism.” cally snaking dirt road Fifteen months ago same bullying style, that was later to erupt a wildfire swept through the area, destroyCome January, Bowers will no longer be in the stolen-election furor “It was like a ing majestic cottonwoods and sycamores an Arizona politician He can now speak prep show,” he said and sending flames high up above the hills his mind—and he does In an interview, he The main house came within 10 feet of Then came the first signs of Trump’s defeat spoke his mind about the phone conversabeing destroyed, and his art studio, replete in the 2020 election Bowers himself tions he had with Trump and his lawyer with many of his landscape paintings and a always expected that the presidential race Rudy Giuliani at the height of the 2020 in Arizona would be close “We were very stolen-election mayhem He spoke about the large portion of his legislative papers, was much aware that a demographic of women, “clown circus” of Trump loyalists who tried burnt to ashes 18 to 40, college-educated, professional, to bully him into subverting the election I ask him what this extraordinarily beautiwith small children, were not voting for ful and harsh landscape reveals about his He spoke his mind too about the very Donald Trump,” he said political character “Well, I’m not a man of real danger facing democracy in America When the results were confirmed, and Biden today—to his astonishment, at the hands of means,” he said “We pay for things as we go We are compelled to work, to things had won by 10,457 votes, armed Trump his own party “The Constitution is hangwith our hands That gives you a different supporters protested outside counting ing by a thread,” he told me “The funny THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 Adam Riding/Guardian News & Media B The last word centers in Maricopa County demanding “audits.” Bowers decided to take a look for himself He gathered a group of trusted lawyers and went to investigate the counting process close up “I saw incredible amounts of protocols that were followed and signed off by volunteers—Democrats, Republicans, independents Yes, Republicans for crying out loud! And they did it by the book.” O N NOV 22, 2020, two weeks after Biden had been declared the next president of the United States, Bowers received a call from the White House Trump and Giuliani were on the line continued to be lobbied right up to the eve of Jan when John Eastman, the conservative law professor advising Trump on his attempted electoral coup, rang him and exhorted him to “decertify” the electors “Just it and let the courts figure it all out,” Eastman said Bowers was direct on that occasion too “No,” he told Eastman “Taking away the fundamental right to vote, the idea that the legislature could nullify your election,” Bowers says now, “that’s not conservative That’s fascist And I’m not a fascist.” As Jan approached, and the cries of stolen election reached fever pitch, the attacks on Bowers became personal A After exchanging niceties, they got down “Trump train” of angry fanatics blaring to business Giuliani said they had found their horns in pickup trucks festooned 200,000 illegal immigrants and 6,000 dead with MAGA flags turned up at his home people who had voted in Arizona “We need in Mesa, some bearing digital boards proto fix that,” Giuliani told him, cajoling him claiming him to be a pedophile to call a special committee of the Arizona legislature to look into the supposed fraud Bowers remembers vividly how Trump and Giuliani played good cop and bad cop on that call “Trump, you know, he wasn’t angry He wasn’t threatening He never said to me, ‘I’m going to get you if you don’t this.’ Giuliani, he was the bulldog.” It took a moment for the penny to drop Bowers was being asked to overturn the election through diktat “I’m not a professor of constitutional law, but I get the idea They want me to throw out the vote of my own people,” he recalls thinking “I said, ‘Oh, wait a minute Wait, wait, wait So now, you’re asking me to overthrow the vote of the people of Arizona?” Bowers’ response to the good cop, bad cop routine was categoric He told them: “I took an oath to the American Constitution, the state constitution and its laws Which one of those am I supposed to break?” It didn’t stop there Bowers was pounded by wave after wave of demands that he subvert the election, some coming from the White House, some from “America First” politicians closer to home The speaker I N JULY, THE executive committee of the Arizona Republican Party censured Bowers Its chairwoman, Kelli Ward, a Trump devotee, said that he was “no longer a Republican in good standing.” Then on Aug 2, Bowers was defeated in his primary by the Satan-evoking Farnsworth That same night, the slate of election deniers standing for statewide positions won a clean sweep Republican nominations for governor, a U.S Senate seat, state attorney general, and secretary of state all went to enthusiastic backers of Trump and his 2020 attempted coup They included Mark Finchem, who was present at the attack on the U.S Capitol on Jan and who continues to try to decertify Biden’s presidency to this day Finchem is now the Republican candidate for secretary of state Should he win in November, he would be in charge of Arizona’s election administration through the 2024 presidential contest, in which Trump has indicated he is likely to be competing Trump’s grip on the Arizona Republican Party is now complete; the strain of constitutional conservatism epitomized by Bowers is in the wilderness Bowers: ‘I Do Not Like Bullies.’ Bowers said he remains optimistic that the party will one day find its way back onto the rails He draws succor from the many people who have come up to him since his defeat telling him—quietly, so that nobody can hear—that they admire him and back him “It’s not like I’m alone in the wilderness There’s a lot of people from all over the United States thanking me.” To protect his family, he would step outside the house and confront the protesters One man had three bars on his chest, signaling he was a member of the far-right militia group the Three Percenters The man was screaming obscenities and carrying a pistol “I had to get as close to him as I could to defend myself if he went for the gun.” But for now, he accepts that things are likely to get much worse before they get better I asked him, at this moment, is the Republican Party in Arizona lost? “Yeah,” he said “They’ve invented a new way It’s a party that doesn’t have any thought It’s all emotional, it’s all revenge It’s all anger That’s all it is.” The worst of it was that during several of these menacing protests, his daughter Kacey was inside the house mortally ill in bed with liver failure “She would say, ‘What are they doing out there?’ She was emotional She told me, ‘I’m going to die.’ I said, ‘Honey, you’re not going to die.’ So she had feelings, we were trying to keep her positive.” He held the thumb and forefinger of his right hand so close together that they were almost touching “The veneer of civilization is this thin,” he said “It still exists—I haven’t been hanged yet But holy moly, this is just crazy The place has lost its mind.” In return, Bowers was polite but firm He told the duo that they had to provide hard evidence “I said, ‘I’m not doing anything like this until you bring me something Let’s see it I’m not going to have circus time at the House of Representatives.’” That’s when Trump and Giuliani unveiled their second, even more incendiary, proposal They had heard that there was an “arcane Arizona law” that would allow the Republican-controlled legislature under Bowers to throw out Biden’s electors and send Trump alternatives to Congress in their place 41 Kacey Bowers did die, on Jan 28, three weeks after the insurrection at the U.S Capitol I asked Bowers whether, through all this, he had ever doubted his strength to stand up to the onslaught Were his values tested? “I never had the thought of giving up,” he said “No way I don’t like bullies That’s one constant in my life: I Do Not Like Bullies.” A version of this story was originally published by The Guardian Used with permission Due to an error at the printing plant, some editions of The Week had a subscription advertisement in place of the first page of The Last Word in the Sept edition To read that Last Word in its entirety, please go to TheWeek.com/the-last-word We are sorry for the inconvenience THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 The Puzzle Page 42 Crossword No 663: Let’s Run a 10K by Matt Gaffney The Week Contest This week’s question: A Detroit man had a tattoo parlor implant a chip in his hand that unlocks and starts his Tesla What would you call a company devoted solely to microchipping people who want to move through the world without keys, phones, or other portable devices? Last week’s contest: A Missouri pastor used a recent sermon to lambaste his “cheap” congregation for not getting him the expensive Movado watch he’d asked for What would you call a custom luxury timepiece created particularly for faith leaders who often ask for money and gifts? THE WINNER: “Tithex” Rebecca Burgan, Grass Valley, Calif SECOND PLACE: “Alpha and Omega” Patty Oberhausen, Fort Wayne, Ind THIRD PLACE: “The Holy Rolex” Erica Avery, Greenfield, Mass For runners-up and complete contest rules, please go to theweek.com/contest 52 The Bachelorette network 55 T, to Telemachus 57 Get away 59 President Lincoln’s treasury secretary; his visage graces the $10,000 bill 63 Wear in the dressing room 64 He hosted The $10,000 Pyramid in 1973 and 1976; later versions of the game show saw that number go way up 68 Many a Chicago Hope character, briefly 69 Tulsa sch named for an evangelist 70 Arm bones 71 Witherspoon in Wild 72 Calendar page between AUG and OCT 73 Annoying and metallic, as a sound DOWN Phone feature, briefly Stat for Shohei Ohtani Cozy getaway spot Get the feeling Like some courtroom motions Player on a jogger’s arm Carry Bridge measurements Golf hole with a crooked layout 10 Tim Ryan and J.D Vance’s state 11 Molten materials THE WEEK September 9/September 16, 2022 12 13 18 21 22 23 24 29 30 32 34 36 38 39 40 42 43 48 50 52 53 54 56 58 60 61 62 65 66 67 Reznor or Dilfer Hard to boss around Egyptian port Not our Wheel of Fortune actions Word with code or colony Didn’t have another choice Cookie with its name on it Matt of Stillwater Most of Honolulu County Classico competitor Facebook’s parent company Big ray Leading the other team Jeweler’s item “Let me put it this way ” Like some wooden flooring Right away Hard wood Showy perennial Ballet studio protrusion Bonnie’s partner in crime Dramatic hairstyles Violin’s cousins Calls in a field Glazed fabric Large size at ThirdLove _ Arbor, Mich Kurosawa classic Of critical importance W The winner gets a one-year subscription to The Week Sudoku Fill in all the boxes so that each row, column, and outlined square includes all the numbers from through Difficulty: medium Find the solutions to all The Week’s puzzles online: www.theweek.com/puzzle ©2022 All rights reserved The Week (ISSN 1533-8304)) is published weekly, except January 7, January 14, July 15, and September 16 The Week is published by The Week Publications, Inc., 135 West 41st Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10017 Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices POSTMASTER: Send change of address to The Week, PO Box 37252, Boone, IA 50037-0252 One-year subscription rates: U.S $199; Canada $229; all other countries $269 in prepaid U.S funds Publications Mail Agreement No 40031590, Registration No 140467846 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to P.O Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4R6 The Week is a member of The New York Times News Service, The Washington Post/Bloomberg News Service, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, and subscribes to The Associated Press The Week is part of Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885), registered in England and Wales Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA11UA Sources: A complete list of publications cited in The Week can be found at theweek.com/sources H M R S ACROSS Like good lettuce “ _ no big deal” Numbskulls 14 “L’il” cartoon character 15 Hitmaker’s music category 16 Leigh role 17 Its nickname is “Land of 10,000 Lakes” 19 Donates 20 President Biden announced $10,000 of forgiveness on Aug. 24 for those who’ve taken out these 22 An orange or a billiard ball, say 25 _/her 26 Digs for pigs 27 Chicken potpie morsel 28 Preppie line of clothing 31 Self-motivating force 33 Former Pepsi CEO Nooyi 35 Malek who portrayed Freddie Mercury 37 Famous _ cookies 41 “Wonder” and “Jealousy” singer who used to front the band 10,000 Maniacs 44 Difficult and draining task 45 No longer worth disputing 46 Seek assistance from 47 Nat with the world’s tallest building 49 Org that may soon include Finland 51 Whole bunch How to enter: Submissions should be emailed to contest@theweek.com Please include your name, address, and daytime telephone number for verification; this week, please type “Microchipping company” in the subject line Entries are due by noon, Eastern Time, Tuesday, Sept. 13 Winners will appear on the Puzzle Page next issue and at theweek.com/puzzles on Friday, Sept. 16 In the case of identical or similar entries, the first one received gets credit 9000 9001 ... THE WEEK September 9 /September 16, 2022 18 NEWS Pick of the week? ??s cartoons THE WEEK September 9 /September 16, 2022 For more political cartoons, visit: www.theweek.com/cartoons Pick of the week? ??s... us at TheWeek.com For customer service go to TheWeek.com/service Renew a subscription at RenewTheWeek.com or give a gift at GiveTheWeek.com THE WEEK September 9 /September 16, 2022 NEWS The main... please go to TheWeek.com /the- last-word We are sorry for the inconvenience THE WEEK September 9 /September 16, 2022 The Puzzle Page 42 Crossword No 663: Let’s Run a 10K by Matt Gaffney The Week Contest