Good morning, Welcome to MS NOW's Sunday Spotlight, where you can find a selection of the week's most interesting and important stories. Iran retains leverage over a significant pressure point for the world economy. Meanwhile, House Republicans are getting nervous about the election, a dark money group is hoping to use influencers in a big upcoming primary and the White House has a tell that it's losing on immigration. Plus, ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for Timothée. Don't forget to check out more top columns and videos from the week below. |
Dire strait: Roughly a fifth of the world's traded oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. But Iranian forces have laid mines and threatened any ship that attempts to pass through, writes Adam Hudacek. The resulting bottleneck is expected to send crude oil prices even higher, and by extension, cause hikes in consumer goods, steel, aluminum and roughly a third of the world's fertilizer supply — sending food prices soaring. That gives Iran the ability to exert pressure on the U.S. to end the conflict. Read more. |
Republicans in retreat: Publicly, House Republicans sound optimistic about their chances of keeping the House in November. But behind the scenes, some are frustrated and even outright pessimistic about their prospects, write Mychael Schnell and Syedah Asghar. On the campaign trail, House Republicans have struggled to sell the "one big" bill they passed last summer, while in Washington, they are not able to find an agenda this year that they can pass into law. For his part, President Donald Trump is focused on a voting bill that remains stalled in the Senate. Read more. |
Sponsored posts? A secretive political organization called Democracy Unmuted has reached out to online influencers with an unusual proposition: $1,500 for a negative post about Illinois congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh on Instagram and TikTok, writes Brandy Zadrozny. It's unclear who paid for the campaign targeting as the digital marketing group that made the offer said Democracy Unmuted was "not an official org yet," and that it could not disclose the funders other than to say they are from Illinois and "have served in the highest offices and been at the top of their game in the media." Read more. |
'Mass' message: The White House seems to know it is losing its immigration fight in the court of public opinion. A sign of that came recently when a White House deputy chief of staff reportedly urged House Republicans in private to stop emphasizing "mass deportations" and focus instead on efforts to remove violent criminals, argues Zeeshan Aleem. But a change in messaging may not be enough to stop a slide in support for Trump's approach to immigration, and warning signs abound that his own voters may be splitting over the issue. Read more. |
On point: Actor Timothée Chalamet caused a furor when he said "no one cares about" opera and ballet in a recent interview. But he's not wrong that serious explorations of the human condition in art are dying, argues culture writer Noor Noman. For that, you can blame social media, which has reduced our attention spans so much that even TV scripts are getting dumbed down. Global art sales are down, and half of America's biggest ballet companies are in the red. Chalamet's remarks hit a nerve because they held up a mirror to our disregard of the arts. Read more. |
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The D.C. Bar's disciplinary case against a Trump administration attorney is more than just professional misconduct: It's a key test of whether the legal profession will hold government officials accountable for using their power to try to silence private institutions, writes Duncan Levin, a criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor. As interim U.S. attorney in D.C. last year, Ed Martin threatened Georgetown University Law Center over its policies on diversity, equity and inclusion, in an unfortunate echo of McCarthy-era blacklists and the Watergate scandal. If the Bar finds that Martin abused his position, sanctions could range from a reprimand to a suspension of his law license or even disbarment. Read the column here. — Ryan Teague Beckwith, newsletter editor |
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Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels are analyzing how culture and politics collide in their original podcast, "Clock It with Symone & Eugene." This week, Don Lemon joins to discuss the latest in the Middle East, if Donald Trump should be invited to the White House Correspondents' Dinner, and to give his take on the role of a journalist in the modern age. Listen now, and subscribe to MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening and bonus content. |
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This week on "The Best People," Nicolle Wallace is joined by professor Eddie Glaude, former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and The Atlantic's Tom Nichols to discuss how to make sense of this moment in history and the erosion of the public good in Trump's America. Listen now, and subscribe to MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts for early access, ad-free listening and bonus content. |
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