The Atlantic Daily: Watch Out for Falling Confederate Symbols
A movement to shelve the Stars and Bars grows, dreaming of a 32-hour workweek, and more...
What’s Happening: Watch Out for Falling Confederate Symbols
The days of the Confederate flag as both a political emblem and a readily available pop-culture tchotchke may be ending. On Tuesday, one day after South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley called for the flag to be removed from the grounds of the state capitol, a slew of elected officials and retailers echoed her stance. Among those scrapping or reconsidering: Virginia, eBay, Amazon, Walmart, Sears, and flag-makers.
Talking tough in Eastern Europe: On a trip to Estonia, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that the United States will deploy heavy-artillery equipment in the country, along with Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania. The move comes as NATO responds to Russia’s continued activity in Ukraine.
South Sudan buckles: High hopes for the world’s youngest country are faltering as hunger, violence, and political instability push the African nation to the brink. With poverty and a civil war crippling the four-year-old country, millions have been internally displaced.
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Quoted
- Joe Pinsker: “For the foreseeable future, the 32-hour fantasy will remain a quirk and a perk—a way for small, forward-thinking companies in knowledge industries to compete with their more powerful rivals for talented employees.”
- Ian Bogost: “Even the most popular Internet of Things devices seem to solve problems that have already been solved, perhaps for decades.”
- James Hamblin: “[R]emoving those dyes represents no tangible progress. They are not proven to be detrimental; but eating pure-sugar meals is proven to dispose kids to obesity, diabetes, and hyperactivity.”
News Quiz
1. The average completion rate for the University of Pennsylvania’s massive open online courses [MOOC] was just___________.
(See answer or scroll to the bottom.)
2. Non-religious circumcisions are typically done in the hospital around___________hours after the baby’s birth.
(See answer or scroll to the bottom.)
3. On Tuesday, the Senate made surprise progress on the ____________legislation, which would authorize the president to negotiate international trade agreements.
(See answer or scroll to the bottom.)
Verbs
Hostage policy revised, skinny jeans stigmatized, Chipotle cups preserved, Trump soars, Tidal CEO waves, and UN peacekeepers indicted.
ANSWERS: 4 PERCENT, 24-48 HOURS, TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY.
About the Author
Adam Chandler is a former staff writer at The Atlantic. He is the author of Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom.