Weekly News Roundup - 5/24/24
Open AI picks a fight with the wrong celebrity; beach-goers will be looking for Alito's flags this weekend
Welcome to the 20th Weekly News Roundup of 2024. The archive for all weekly news roundups is here. If you notice stories or issues you’d like to see mentioned in these roundups, let me know. In 2024, the Border Stalkers Substack is featuring one news update a week, and one book a month, with weekly posts on each book. The book of the month schedule is here.
These weekly dispatches are designed for people who may not have time to do more than glance at the headlines, or who want to stay informed without becoming obsessed by politics and news. These roundups are a targeted way to get a sense of the shape of the past week on the national level. Without such a map, we can be disoriented, not knowing where we have been over the past several days, or where we may be going.
But by spending concentrated, limited time thinking about the big picture, we can devote more of our time to where “agency and justice begin and end,” as Karen Swallow Prior put it: “on the ground, bodily, in community and real relationships, in flesh and blood.”
Note: I'm going to take off next week from a book post. I'll be back the first week of June with my first post on Yuval Levin's new book American Covenant. Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
Quote of the Week
“Few have time for long-term planning, which is a mistake. One of the sentences someone said to me that got me thinking was, ‘Where does long-term planning fit in an organization?’ They talked about how every organization is different and how getting anyone to focus on it is hard. Some feel like all they can do is try to ride the wave, but the smart ones know there is an opportunity to shape the details of that change. If I were talking to any CEO right now I would be advising them to put someone in charge of long-term planning. -
for Anchor Change“They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.” - Flannery O'Connor, quoted in
's review of Ethan Hawke's new O'Connor biopic, Wildcat.Week in Review
Friday, May 17
A former Open AI leader who resigned earlier in the week says that the company's work on making AI safe has "taken a back seat to shiny products."
Student protesters at the University of Chicago take over the school's Institute of Politics building briefly late in the day, but the protesters leave after former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, the director of the IOP, refuses their directive to vacate the building.
Former Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani is served an indictment for his alleged part in the fake electors scheme in Arizona while leaving his 80th birthday party.
Sunday, May 19
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian die in a helicopter crash in northwestern Iran, apparently due to fog.
Pope Francis gives a rare on camera interview to an American news reporter, speaking with Norah O'Donnell on 60 Minutes. He has strong words for those in Texas, led by Attorney General Ken Paxton, who are trying to shut down a Catholic charity that provides food and shelter to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Francis says: "That is madness. Sheer madness. To close the border and leave them there, that is madness. The migrant has to be received. Thereafter you see how you are going to deal with him. Maybe you have to send him back, I don't know, but each case ought to be considered humanely. Right?"
On Pentecost Sunday, groups of Catholic pilgrims begin a two-month trek from four corners of the U.S., planning to converge in Indianapolis in mid-July for a National Eucharistic Congress. It's expected to be a gathering of roughly 50,000 Catholics.
Monday, May 20
The top prosecutor for the International Criminal Court says he is seeking arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas but also for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over alleged war crimes. The warrant request will go before a panel of judges. If issued, warrants would put any of the leaders indicted "at risk of being arrested and sent to The Hague for trial if they travel to one of the court’s 124 member nations, which include most European countries," according to the New York Times.
Michael Cohen completes his fourth and final day of testimony. He admits to stealing $30,000 from the Trump organization, another blow to his credibility. Trump's defense lawyers call their first witnesses of the trial, and the judge says the trial will likely hear closing arguments a week later, on the day after Memorial Day.
Actress Scarlet Johannson says a chatbot voice for Open AI is "eerily" similar to her own, despite the fact that she rejected a request from the company to use her voice for such a purpose. She threatens legal action against the company.
Tuesday, May 21
One person is killed and several are critically injured when a passenger flight with 229 people on board from London to Singapore encounters severe turbulence.
The Justice Department indicts a former Southern Baptist seminary professor for allegedly obstructing justice by lying to the FBI. It is the first public move by the Justice Department to acknowledge it is investigating the SBC in potential crimes involving sexual abuse.
Wednesday, May 22
Nikki Haley, who has continued to attract roughly 20% or more of Republican voters in primary elections despite having dropped out, says she will vote for Trump in the fall election, but says Trump has work to do to win over many of her supporters. A few hours later, the Biden campaign hosts a call with Haley supporters who say they will vote for Biden's reelection, a sign that the president is looking to capitalize on Republican discontent with Trump.
New York City increases efforts to evict migrants from city-run shelters that have become overcrowded due to an influx into the city of people seeking asylum.
Thursday, May 23
The Justice Department, along with 30 state and district attorneys, sues Ticketmaster for holding a monopoly on ticket prices for events, seeking to break up the company.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has flown an "Appeal to Heaven" flag outside his beach home in New Jersey for extended periods in recent years, the New York Times reports. Scholar Matthew D. Taylor has done extensive work demonstrating the flag's links to anti-democratic strains inside far-right Christian movements in the U.S.. Episode 5 of his podcast series looks at the flag specifically.
President Biden hosts a state dinner for Kenyan President William Ruto at the White House.
Trump holds a political rally at Crotona Park in the Bronx.
The NCAA and major athletic conferences say they have agreed to pay a roughly $2.8 billion settlement to resolve claims over payment of student athletes, clearing the way for a more professionalized system of college sports. The settlement money will be paid out over 10 years for around 14,000 claims, according to the Associated Press.
Friday, May 24
The United Nations International Court orders Israel to stop its military incursion into Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, saying the humanitarian situation there is "disastrous." Israel was not expected to comply.
Americans head for beaches and other vacation spots to start the three-day Memorial Day Weekend, which signals the beginning of summer for many.
Interesting Reads:
5 Things to Know About Memorial Day, including its evolution and controversies, by Ben Finley for The Associated Press
The Coming War Between DC and Silicon Valley, by Matthew Kaminski for Politico Magazine
Day 18: Cohen Crushed on Cross, by Jonathan Alter for OLD GOATS
Publishers Aren't in Trouble—Writers Are, by Elle Griffin for Persuasion
American Airlines Retreats After Blaming a 9-Year Old for Not Seeing A Hidden Camera In Lavatory, by The Associated Press
Daily Marijuana Use Outpaces Daily Drinking the U.S., New Study Says, by Carla K. Johnson for The Associated Press