Author: Michelle Korhonen
In the summer of 1984, after he finished his first U.S. Foreign Service assignment, in Yugoslavia, Jan Krc flew to Washington, D.C., for what he thought would be a couple of weeks’ training en route to his next post, in South Africa. He thought nothing of it when he was called in for a security debriefing early one morning at the U.S. Information Agency headquarters. There, in a nondescript conference room, he was met by two middle-aged men in suits. The session began with half an hour of preliminaries, but then swerved sharply.Have you engaged in homosexual relations since age…
Even something that starts as irony can give us a sense of community.Evan JenkinsJanuary 26, 2024, 7:30 AM ETThere’s a hole in the cement of a Chicago sidewalk. It is shaped like a rat. That’s about it.Still, over the past few weeks, the Chicago Rat Hole—named Splatatouille in a vote by the residents—has evolved from a neighborhood quirk into an internet sensation. The story began on January 6, when the comedian Winslow Dumaine posted a photo of it on X (formerly Twitter). The photo now has more than 5 million views and has inspired hordes of people to travel across…
A student named Royce closes his eyes during a mindfulness session in class at Patricia J. Sullivan Partnership School in Tampa, Fla. Students say the daily lessons help them cope with their feelings. Octavio Jones for NPR hide caption toggle caption Octavio Jones for NPR A student named Royce closes his eyes during a mindfulness session in class at Patricia J. Sullivan Partnership School in Tampa, Fla. Students say the daily lessons help them cope with their feelings. Octavio Jones for NPR TAMPA, Fla. — At 8:30 a.m. on a sunny winter day, the cafeteria tables at the Patricia J.…
On Tuesday, curiosity finally got the best of me. How potent could Panera’s Charged Lemonades really be? Within minutes of my first sip of the hyper-caffeinated drink in its strawberry-lemon-mint flavor, I understood why memes have likened it to an illicit drug. My vision sharpened; sweat slicked my palms.Laced with more caffeine than a typical energy drink, Panera’s Charged Lemonade has been implicated in two wrongful-death lawsuits since it was introduced in 2022. Though both customers who died had health issues that made them sensitive to caffeine, a third lawsuit this month alleges that the lemonade gave an otherwise healthy…
Health officials at Sarasota County Mosquito Management Services study specimens of anopheles mosquitoes that cause malaria, in Sarasota, Fla. on June 30, 2023. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert after five cases of malaria were confirmed, the first locally acquired cases of the disease in the United States in 20 years. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images Health officials at Sarasota County Mosquito Management Services study specimens of anopheles mosquitoes that cause malaria, in Sarasota, Fla. on June 30, 2023. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and…
Sled dog training in Scotland, a famous rat hole in Chicago, scenes from the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in South Korea, Roman ruins in a field in Serbia, a new photothermal power plant in China, forest fires in Colombia, a World Snow Day celebration in Egypt, and much more
Elise Stefanik and I had been speaking for only about a minute when she offered this stark self-assessment: “I have been an exceptional member of Congress.”Her confidence reminded me of the many immodest pronouncements of Donald Trump (“I would give myself an A+”), and that’s probably not an accident. Stefanik has been everywhere lately, amassing fans among Trump’s base at a crucial moment—both for the GOP and for her future.Stefanik spent October presiding over the leaderless House GOP’s search for a new speaker—a post that Stefanik, the chair of the conference, conspicuously declined to seek for herself. In a congressional…
Were anyone in denial that this would be an election year ruled by conflict and nonsense, a wake-up call came in the form of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest. Performing on the variety show, the rock band Green Day changed one line from their 2004 song “American Idiot”: “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda” became “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda.” Thus was born the first culture skirmish of 2024.Social media lit up with salutes from the left and complaints from the right. Elon Musk tweeted, “Green Day goes from raging against the…
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.A strong economy could work in Joe Biden’s favor in the coming election, but only if consumers’ attitudes stay positive too.First, here are three new stories from The Atlantic:A Sentiment SpikeConsumers have been feeling meh about the economy—which by many measures is doing well—for some time now. Blame it on inflation, or the media, or the state of, you know, life in America. But this…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that up to 86% of new COVID-19 cases stem from the latest mutation, JN.1. The most recent COVID vaccines are expected to help lower chances of serious illness or hospitalization from JN.1. Rogelio V. Solis/AP hide caption toggle caption Rogelio V. Solis/AP The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that up to 86% of new COVID-19 cases stem from the latest mutation, JN.1. The most recent COVID vaccines are expected to help lower chances of serious illness or hospitalization from JN.1. Rogelio V. Solis/AP A new, fast-spreading variant of COVID-19 is…