Good morning,
Welcome to MS NOW’s Sunday Spotlight, where you can find a selection of the week’s most interesting and important stories.
The pope had two words for a high-ranking American guest, and they weren’t “bless you.” Meanwhile, President Donald Trump got his revenge, there’s reason to doubt an emerging conspiracy theory and a top judge doth protest too much. Plus, the Met Gala hasn’t met the moment.
Don’t forget to check out more top columns and videos from the week below.
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Wow, OK: In another administration, the first American pope meeting with a secretary of state who also happens to be Catholic might have been a sweet moment. But Pope Leo’s meeting with Marco Rubio was as awkward as a blind date. For starters, Rubio’s boss recently posted an AI image of himself as Jesus and falsely claimed that the pope wants Iran to have nuclear weapons, argues Anthea Butler. Then, after the pontiff gave Rubio a pen of cedarwood — a symbol of peace — the secretary reciprocated with a crystal football, an odd gift for a baseball lover. The pope’s response summarized the whole meeting: “Wow, OK.” Read more.
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Revenge, served hot: When a group of Republican state senators in Indiana refused Trump’s entreaties to gerrymander their state this year, the president vowed revenge. He got it during primaries this week, as Trump-endorsed candidates defeated at least five of the senators. But the wins showed the rot within the GOP, as Republicans and their allies went to great lengths for a pointless political exercise that may leave the party worse off, argues Paul Waldman. The exercise showed that no one around the president “has the guts” to point out that it would be better to focus on winning the November midterms. Read more.
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Last words: Conspiracy theorists have already started raising questions about the purported suicide note from Jeffrey Epstein that was unsealed this week. But the timeline of its release, the handwriting and an obscure reference to the “Little Rascals” that Epstein had used before all point toward the note’s authenticity, argues investigative journalist Lindsay Beyerstein, who has reported extensively on Epstein. The note was also entered into the legal record before Trump began his second term, which undermines any conspiracy theory that it was forged by the administration. Read more.
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Strike two: Chief Justice John Roberts famously said that a judge’s job is to call balls and strikes. But polls show an increasing number of Americans think members of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority have swapped their black robes for team uniforms, argues Duncan Levin. At a judicial conference this week, Roberts said that Americans were wrong to view the justices as “political actors,” but Levin writes that the problem isn’t that the public misunderstands what justices are doing but rather that they “can plainly see” exactly what the court is doing on everything from abortion rights to affirmative action to gun safety laws to the Voting Rights Act. Read more.
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Mr. and Mrs. Met: Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos were honorary co-chairs and lead sponsors of this year’s Met Gala. But they are part of the reason that what was once known as “fashion’s biggest night of the year” is now being described as a “billionaire circus,” argues Hannah Holland. Long out of step with the average American, the gala has become a symbol of American excess, “gutted of meaning, pandering to the billionaire class, publicity for the sake of publicity.” The gala is increasingly a target for protesters, including those this year highlighting allegations of poor working conditions at Amazon. Read more.
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Tennessee has only one congressional seat held by a Democrat, centered on the majority-Black city of Memphis. But after the Supreme Court gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the state’s Republican supermajority quickly passed a redistricting plan that would split the city into three parts — eliminating the House delegation’s lone Democrat. That’s why you shouldn’t see this as another partisan fight, but rather as “the Republicans’ naked attempt to erase Black political power and influence,” argues Earle J. Fisher, senior pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Memphis. To fight back, Memphis residents and their allies need to adopt the long-range vision of the civil rights activists of the past, building civic infrastructure, strengthening voter education and cultivating courageous candidates. “The situation that confronts us requires more than outrage,” he argues. Read the column here.
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This week on “The Best People,” Nicolle Wallace is joined by GOP strategist Sarah Longwell to discuss the power of simply listening to voters, how the two wings of the MAGA movement are fraying and what Democrats can do to capitalize on President Trump’s failures. Listen now, and subscribe to MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts for early access, ad-free listening and bonus content.
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Catch “Why Is This Happening: The AI Endgame,” a new podcast series from Chris Hayes where he speaks with leading experts to ground the conversation around AI. First up: journalist Derek Thompson on who’s leading the AI race. Watch now at ms.now/withpod.
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