Evan McMurry
@evanmcmurry.theatlantic.com
Senior Editor, Audience - @theatlantic.com, things of that nature
New polls show Trump losing support among the groups at the heart of his supposed 2024 political realignment, @dgraham.bsky.social argues:
Americans Are Turning on Trump
The president’s big gains with Black, Hispanic, and young voters in 2024 suggested a major shift. Less than two years later, he has lost those new supporters.
theatlantic.com
Via NYT: The scope of cyberattacks on U.S. water systems has grown to include at least seven states and may be far wider, officials and experts warned, as the authorities raced to safeguard the nation’s water supply against an assault that increasingly appeared to be the work of Iran.
Scope of Hacks on U.S. Water Supply Widens as Evidence Points to Iran
Michigan and Minnesota are among at least seven states coping with cyberattacks aimed at disrupting water systems nationwide.
nytimes.com
A public health researcher at Johns Hopkins University who was arrested by immigration officials while boarding a domestic flight has been released after spending multiple days in federal custody across three different states.
Johns Hopkins researcher Fatima Ameaka released from ICE custody
A public health researcher at Johns Hopkins University who was arrested by immigration officials while boarding a domestic flight has been released after spending multiple days in federal custody acro...
thebanner.com
Exclusive: Zelensky needs help from Elon Musk to get through the coming winter—but that agreement may hinge on Donald Trump’s willingness to make the call to his billionaire friend, officials tell Simon Shuster, Missy Ryan, and Jonathan Lemire:
Zelensky Asked Trump for a Favor From Elon Musk
Ukraine wants to start using Musk’s Starlink to target ballistic-missile launchers inside Russia.
theatlantic.com
Via @thebaltimorebanner.com: A Johns Hopkins public health researcher and former Fulbright scholar was detained by immigration agents while boarding a domestic flight this week, the university confirmed, as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement efforts at airports.
ICE detains Hopkins public health researcher as agency expands airport arrests
A Johns Hopkins public health researcher and former Fulbright scholar was detained by immigration agents while boarding a domestic flight this week, the university confirmed, as the Trump administrati...
thebanner.com
Post a perfect album from the 90s
Julian Sanchez@normative.bsky.social · last wk.Post a perfect album from the 90s
A luxury development planned by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump on an Albanian island has spurred an international anti-Trump uprising, @isaacstanleybecker.bsky.social reports:
The Trump Family Sparks a Revolution in Albania
A luxury development planned by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump has spurred anti-corruption protests.
theatlantic.com
The secretary of defense loves to demonstrate his physical fitness—but according to military experts, he needs to work on his form, @tombartlett.bsky.social writes.
Pete Hegseth, You Call That a Pull-Up?
Military fitness experts say the secretary of defense fails on form.
theatlantic.com
In our online ordering/Amazon world, there's a palpable thrill to finding the exact book you went to the IRL bookstore for. I just shouted "yes!" and pumped my fist in the fiction aisle.
I will see and likely enjoy the Odyssey, but just a reminder that movies don't have to be long:
The Perfect-Length Movie
Culture and entertainment musts from Evan McMurry
theatlantic.com
“The Chinese, the Russians, the Iranians, the North Koreans, and many other enemies of the United States clearly hope to undermine the faith of every American citizen in their own elections. But no regime, no spies, no saboteurs have yet matched the damage that America’s own president did tonight.”
Trump Just Did More Damage to American Elections Than China
His speech was a mashup of charges that aren’t supported by the documents he released.
theatlantic.com
“His announcement comes at a moment when the Iran war is once again heating up, which is certain to put more strain on the military’s already-depleted missile stockpiles. Maybe that’s the number Hegseth should be worried about.”
Pete Hegseth Wants YOU to Test Your Testosterone
The secretary of defense has a questionable plan to monitor the hormone levels of every service member over 30.
theatlantic.com
Hiding in this piece: Mike Tyson reading The Letters of Virginia Woolf.
This @willoremus.com piece on AI's fave writing tic is not just fascinating, it's also—nah, just read it:
The Most Famous AI Writing Tic Is Also the Most Mysterious
Why chatbots love “it’s not X, it’s Y”
theatlantic.com
PEN America’s president resigned over an article detailing the isolation and exclusion that many Israeli and Jewish writers feel after October 7.
A Free-Speech Meltdown
PEN America’s president resigned over an article detailing the isolation and exclusion that many Israeli and Jewish writers feel after October 7.
theatlantic.com
Hoping to silence inquiries about his financial interests, the British populist provocateur Nigel Farage risked everything in a Trumpian gamble, Helen Lewis writes:
Nigel Farage Wants a Mandate For Corruption
The British populist leader makes a Trumpian gamble.
bit.ly
A new report threatens to end Graham Platner’s Senate campaign in Maine—making clear how irresponsible it was for Democrats to support his candidacy in the first place, @jonathanbchait.bsky.social argues: theatln.tc/OW0rzM68
I broke out my best overdrive pedals to rock "Battle Hymn" for @theatlantic.com. Your version does not have to sound like Motorhead.
The Atlantic@theatlantic.com · 4w agoThe Atlantic wants to hear from you! Post a video of your rendition of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” featured on our July issue cover, tag @theatlantic.com, and use #AtlanticBattleHymn for a chance to receive a special gift. Full terms to submit your video here: theatln.tc/UHTYsKsH
@sallyjenx.bsky.social: “A team should have to beat just 11 men to win a World Cup match, not 11 men and a referee, and certainly not 11 men, a referee, a FIFA bureaucrat, and an American president.”
A Very Bad Call
The red card against Team USA’s Folarin Balogun at the World Cup wasn’t good. FIFA’s decision to overturn it after hearing from Donald Trump was even worse.
theatlantic.com
@willoremus.com talked to Jamir Nazir. “Nazir told me he feels vindicated—and relieved. ‘Look, I didn’t use it!’ he said about AI.”
Thoughts on AI, From a Prizewinning Writer Accused of Using AI
Jamir Nazir, the controversial winner of a prestigious literary award, tells his side of the story.
theatlantic.com
NEW: The White House is considering mass pardons:
The White House Considers Granting 250 Pardons for the Nation’s Birthday
The idea has set off a frenzy of appeals for clemency.
theatlantic.com
New frontier in the QR-ordering age of restaurants: if you don't order anything for 30 minutes, tab auto-closes with a 20% gratuity. I'm at an airport restaurant so I get the need to move people along, but still.
ICE vehicles hit Baltimore father’s car as he took his children to school, attorney says:
ICE vehicles hit Baltimore father’s car as he took his children to school, attorney says
ICE says Jesus Acevedo Sanchez and his wife, who were detained while dropping off their children at a Baltimore school, face federal charges.
thebanner.com
NEW: Despite insisting that a $1.776 billion fund has been scrapped, the administration is quietly assuring allies that plans remain on track:
Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Payouts May Not Be Dead After All
Despite insisting that a $1.776 billion fund has been scrapped, the administration is quietly assuring allies that plans remain on track.
theatlantic.com
“Since the early 1990s, I have visited scores of prisons and jails throughout the United States, as well as the Guantánamo Bay detention camp. The immigrant-detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz, deep in the Florida Everglades, stands out.”
The Alligator Alcatraz Boondoggle
The immigrant-detention facility, which may soon be shut down, has been a cruel and costly publicity stunt.
theatlantic.com
“The problem of excusing abhorrent ideologies for the sake of electoral gains is growing more pervasive and universal,” Mike Nelson argues. “It’s shameful that our leaders are willing to accept this over such small stakes.”
The Hypocrisy of the Democrats Who Defend Graham Platner
They wouldn’t be so accepting of his Nazi tattoo if he were a Republican.
bit.ly
BREAKING: In a memo obtained by The Atlantic, the Kennedy Center’s lawyers today directed employees to remove references to the center being named for anyone other than President John F. Kennedy.
Trump’s Name Is Disappearing From More Than Just the Kennedy Center
Lawyers are ordering staff to remove “Trump” from email signatures, letterhead, website, brochures, promotional materials, press releases, signs, and more.
theatlantic.com
The triumphal arch that Donald Trump wants to build across from the Lincoln Memorial would pervert the significance of a uniquely meaningful place, Sebastian Smee argues. theatln.tc/ZBNdWAOL
If we confuse generative AI’s ability to produce text with consciousness, we risk assigning moral responsibility to chatbots—and not to their makers, Ted Chiang argues.
No, Artificial Intelligence Is Not Conscious
Taken to its logical conclusion, this line of thinking is absurd—and damning.
bit.ly
Both a sweeping and precise examination of what AI consciousness means, why we haven't and don't want to achieve it, and who it benefits to say that we have:
No, Artificial Intelligence Is Not Conscious
Taken to its logical conclusion, this line of thinking is absurd—and damning.
theatlantic.com