Evan McMurry

What Kids Told Us About How to Get Them Off Their Phones Children who were raised on screens need more freedom out in the real world.

“Children want to meet up in person, no screens or supervision. But because so many parents restrict their ability to socialize in the real world on their own, kids resort to the one thing that allows them to hang out with no adults hovering: their phones.”

Israel’s Last Chance Flooding Gaza with food is the only way out of a crisis largely created by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.

Franklin Foer: “The fact that Hamas ignited this chain of events, and that it could end the war if wanted to, does nothing to absolve Israel of its primary role in the food crisis.”

Israel’s Last Chance Flooding Gaza with food is the only way out of a crisis largely created by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.

“Launching its carnival of murder, rape, and kidnapping, [Hamas] wagered that it could bait its enemy into moral blunders that would discredit it in the eyes of the world. That vision is now unfolding.” www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

I hope whoever grabbed one grabbed the other.

The Mystery of the Strong Economy Has Finally Been Solved Turns out it wasn’t actually that strong.

“Hours earlier, President Donald Trump had announced a huge new slate of tariffs, set to take effect next week. He’d been emboldened by the fact that the economy had remained strong until now despite economists’ warnings—a fact that turned out not to be a fact at all.”

ICE’s Mind-Bogglingly Massive Blank Check Congress has appropriated billions with few strings attached, creating a likely windfall for well-connected firms.

“The more than $175 billion that Congress handed to the nation’s immigration enforcers when it passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is larger than the annual military budget of every country in the world except the United States and China.”

The Only Information Source Trump Trusts The president responds more to mass media than to the substance of underlying events.

@dgraham.bsky.social: “Despite access to high-quality information about what’s going on in Gaza, he seems to really perk up only once it’s on the tube.”

The FBI’s Leaders ‘Have No Idea What They’re Doing’ A casualty of Trump’s purge speaks out.

@qjurecic.bsky.social: “The bureau is in the early stages of something like a radical deprofessionalization.”

The Death of Democracy Promotion Despots and human-rights abusers can rest easy now that America has gotten out of their way.

@brianklaas.bsky.social: “The world’s worst dictators can rest assured that the next American diplomat to come knocking on their palace doors is more likely to be looking for property rights than human rights.”

ChatGPT Gave Instructions for Murder, Self-Mutilation, and Devil Worship OpenAI’s chatbot also said “Hail Satan.”

“On Tuesday afternoon, ChatGPT encouraged me to cut my wrists.” Lila Shroff reports on how the chatbot was easily prompted to offer instructions for murder, self-mutilation, and devil worship:

No One Was Supposed to Leave Alive Venezuelans deported by the Trump administration say they were tortured during four months in CECOT.

Venezuelans deported by the Trump administration tell Gisela Salim-Peyer that they were tortured during their months inside El Salvador’s megaprison.

Trump’s Campaign to Crush the Media The president has launched a frontal assault on the journalism business. So far, he’s winning.

Paul Farhi: Each of Trump’s actions “has been extraordinary in its own right; collectively, they represent a slow-motion demolition of the Fourth Estate.”

Six Films Better Than the Books They’re Based On These movie adaptations find a way to elevate their source material.

I'm in @theatlantic.com talking about a good film adaptation. Go get it:

Inside Trump’s Unsuccessful Attempt to End the Epstein News The president was adamant about doing nothing. But the story wouldn’t go away.

As the Jeffrey Epstein story persists despite his efforts, Trump has felt deeply betrayed by his base and raged against MAGA influencers whom he believes have grown famous off their association with him, @ashleyrparker.bsky.social and @jonlemire.bsky.social report:

‘Just Asking Questions’ Got No Answers About Epstein Right-wing internet personalities have a lot to learn from the mainstream media that they decry.

this @helenlewis.bsky.social lede: “Defending mainstream journalism these days is about as appealing as doing PR for syphilis. Nonetheless, here I am.”

Trump’s War on the ‘Deep State’ Comes for the Dogs The pettiness of the administration’s retribution campaign begins to bite.

via @shaneharris.bsky.social: James Clapper was barred from attending the CIA graduation of a dog he'd sponsored, because of a Trump executive order:

Security Experts Are ‘Losing Their Minds’ Over an FAA Proposal The Trump administration is considering hiring foreigners as air traffic controllers.

The FAA’s security experts are “losing their minds” over the prospect of turning foreign nationals into key nodes of the United States aerospace system, one official told @isaacstanleybecker.bsky.social.

Security Experts Are ‘Losing Their Minds’ Over an FAA Proposal The Trump administration is considering hiring foreigners as air traffic controllers.

“The FAA is facing significant air traffic controller staffing shortages, and to address this issue, is exploring the idea of recruiting experienced international talent,” states a three-page executive summary of the initiative.

Via @isaacstanleybecker.bsky.social:

The AI Mirage For decades, tech companies have promised that AI will make our computers easier to use. That hasn’t happened yet.

@ibogost.bsky.social: “AI may not ever accomplish all of the things the tech companies say it will—but it seems that, at the very least, computers should be smarter now than they were 10 or 15 years ago.”

Grok Says White, Asian, and Jewish Are the ‘Good Races’ Days after praising Hitler, Elon Musk’s chatbot is back at it.

Days after Elon Musk’s chatbot praised Hitler, @matteowong.bsky.social tested the new, updated version of Grok. It didn’t go well.

What It Means to Be a Mystic Girl Camp was the place these girls felt safe and free.

A thoughtful, heartfelt, insightful piece from a Texan native. Please give it a read:

Start Budgeting Now Households will pay an average of $2,400 more for goods this year, thanks to Trump’s policies.

@annielowrey.bsky.social: You might have forgotten about the trade war, but the trade war has not forgotten about you.

@ibogost.bsky.social on keeping your shoes on at the airport: theatln.tc/eein3HdM

Trump Loves ICE. Its Workforce Has Never Been So Miserable. A “mission impossible” deportation campaign has left many employees burned out and morally conflicted.

“Morale is in the crapper,” another former investigative agent told @nickmiroff.bsky.social. “Even those that are gung ho about the mission aren’t happy with how they are asking to execute it—the quotas and the shift to the low-hanging fruit to make the numbers.”

“No drug cases, no human trafficking, no child exploitation,” the agent said. “It’s infuriating.” The longtime ICE employee is thinking about quitting rather than having to continue “arresting gardeners.”

Trump Loves ICE. Its Workforce Has Never Been So Miserable. A “mission impossible” deportation campaign has left many employees burned out and morally conflicted.

“It’s miserable,” one career ICE official told @nickmiroff.bsky.social.

there's a metal show right by the Os game at Camden, but it's Baltimore so you can't tell who's going to which

Fast Fashion’s End Has Been Greatly Exaggerated Tariffs won’t kill the industry. In fact, they might even make waste and exploitation problems worse.

“America’s trade war and isolationism are alienating nearly every country it does business with, and halting any momentum to make the fashion industry more responsible. In fact ... our clothes may eventually be made under even worse conditions than they are today.”

Why Evangelicals Turned Their Back on PEPFAR A religious movement that has so often taken public stands has been unusually quiet since Trump gutted the program to combat AIDS in Africa.

“Even pastors whose moral conscience might make them inclined to speak out against the decimation of PEPFAR think twice about doing so, because they don’t want to become the target of attacks by members of their own congregation.”

What Progressives Have to Learn From Zohran Mamdani The New York City mayoral primary showcased a better kind of politics than the left is used to.

“The partnership between Zohran Mamdani and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander doesn’t just showcase an unusual alliance. It provides a road map for Democrats, whose future success will require a different kind of politics than the left currently favors.”