Issue May 20, 2016 - The Week Magazine (2024)

Home//The Week Magazine/May 20, 2016

The Week makes sense of the news by curating the best of the U.S. and international media into a succinct, lively digest.

Read on Any Device

Switch between PDF & Text Mode

Bookmark & Search Content

Read Offline

Receive New Issue Notifications

Cancel Anytime

in this issue

IN THIS ISSUEEditor’s letterThe world is freaking out over the possibility of a President Trump. “The unthinkable has come to pass,” Germany’s Die Welt newspaper declared after the businessman became the GOP’s presumptive nominee. South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo said it was “dumbfounded” by Trump’s “myopic” views, while South Africa’s City Press published a column headlined “God Help Us All If Trump Wins.” To these commentators, Trump is the living embodiment of the Ugly American: vulgar, arrogant, and ignorant of the outside world. (See Best International Columns.) Yet Trumpism is not a uniquely American phenomenon. The ideology that has fueled his rise—a mix of nativism, isolationism, and economic protectionism—is growing across the Western world.In France, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the anti-immigrant National Front, is a serious contender in next year’s presidential elections.…1 min

NEWSRepublican leaders divided over TrumpWhat happenedA schism opened up within the Republican Party this week, as lawmakers and officials began deciding whether or not to back Donald Trump as their presumptive presidential nominee. House Speaker Paul Ryan was the most powerful Republican to withhold his support, saying, “I’m just not ready to do that at this point.” But Ryan didn’t rule out a future endorsem*nt, and was scheduled to meet the billionaire in Washington to talk about their policy disagreements after The Week went to press. Several senior Republicans flatly refused to support Trump, including former rival Jeb Bush, former presidents George W. and George H.W. Bush, and former presidential nominee Mitt Romney, all of whom said they would not attend the Republican National Convention in July. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska led calls…4 min

NEWSWhat next?Unifying the party isn’t Trump’s only challenge, said M.J. Lee and Sara Murray in CNN.com. He has “spent the last year railing against his party’s powerful donors,” but now realizes he’s facing an opponent in Clinton who will have more than $1 billion in her war chest. So last week he announced he will rely on outside contributions to fund his campaign, which means he’ll have to do something he’s unaccustomed to doing: beg for checks. “The reception has been chilly so far,” said Charles Gasparino in the New York Post. Some potential GOP donors are waiting to see if Trump moderates his tone; others are promising to fund only House and Senate candidates. The Donald had better hit those phones—he “needs the fat cats.”…1 min

NEWSObama battles North Carolina over ‘bathroom law’What happenedThe clash over transgender bathroom use escalated into a major civil rights battle this week, as North Carolina and the Obama administration filed dueling federal lawsuits over a state law requiring transgender people to use public bathrooms corresponding with their sex at birth. Last week, the Justice Department gave Republican Gov. Pat McCrory until May 9 to stop enforcing the law, known as HB2, saying it was discriminatory. McCrory responded by filing suit, calling the legislation “commonsense privacy policy” and accusing the government of overreach. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch then countersued, likening HB2 to Jim Crow laws and assuring transgender Americans, “We will do everything we can to protect you.” North Carolina stands to lose more than $4 billion in federal education aid over the law.What the columnists…2 min

NEWSFacebook accused of anti-conservative biasWhat happenedA U.S. Senate committee launched an inquiry into Facebook’s “trending” news list this week after former employees alleged the social media site routinely suppresses conservative political stories. In an interview with tech blog Gizmodo.com, one unnamed former member of Facebook’s news curation team said that popular stories about Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Mitt Romney, and other conservative subjects were often removed from the trending list, which is partly compiled by an algorithm. Viral stories from conservative outlets like Breitbart.com would be nixed unless they were also being covered by mainstream news sites. “It was absolutely bias,” said another former employee. Facebook said its news curators weed out only duplicates and other “junk,” and follow “rigorous guidelines” for neutrality. In a letter, the Republican-led Senate Commerce Committee asked Facebook to…2 min

NEWSIt wasn’t all badWhen Yiru Sun had to cancel her wedding, she knew she couldn’t let her reception go to waste. The Manhattan insurance executive called off her big day after taking issue with a prenuptial agreement, but had already paid a nonrefundable $8,000 deposit for her party in a ritzy mansion. So Yiru reached out to the Salvation Army, which invited 60 needy kids and their families for a luncheon with balloons, ice pops, and face painting. “I cannot be the princess of my wedding day,” she said. “But I can give the kids a fairy tale.”Anaya Ellick was born without hands, but she’s still got the neatest handwriting in her class. The Virginia first-grader recently won a trophy and a $1,000 prize for her beautiful penmanship at the Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting…1 min

Issue May 20, 2016 - The Week Magazine (2024)

you may also like