Índex per October 8, 2018 a TIME Magazine

‘We believe the [Iran deal] should stay in place, and others involved believe it should stay in place.’ THERESA MAY, British Prime Minister PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP UNINTENTIONally drew a round of laughter in his address to the U.N. on Sept. 25, when he claimed his Administration had achieved more than almost any before it. But the divisions on display at the 73rd General Assembly were no cause for mirth. At Turtle Bay, the question of how the world should engage with Iran reached a boiling point, almost five months after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the multilateral agreement designed to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. The issue is becoming a crucial test of U.S. dominance in transatlantic relations. Trump has already ordered the reinstatement of sanctions…

UNDER A NEW FEDERAL RULE BEING proposed by the Trump Administration, immigrants who use public benefits could be ineligible for legal status in the U.S. That would be a big new change for U.S. immigration law, and it hinges on redefining one very old phrase: public charge. The notion that immigrants should be self-sufficient is already ingrained in American law. The government has long looked at how likely someone is to become a public charge—a person who relies on public assistance to survive—when determining whether he or she will be allowed to come to or stay in the country. That exact phrase has been in use in U.S. immigration law for more than a century. But since the late 1990s, the federal government has defined public charges as people…

DIED Hall of Fame NFL receiver Tommy McDonald, at 84, on Sept. 24. The Philadelphia Eagles star had suffered from dementia for several years. ANNOUNCED The planned resignation of Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, on Sept. 24. The company they founded was bought by Facebook in 2012; insiders reported that the news followed internal disputes over Instagram’s autonomy. ARRESTED 3-D-gun designer Cody Wilson, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor, on Sept. 21. He was released after posting a $150,000 bond. DETAINED Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, moments after finishing a 30-day jail sentence, on new protest-related charges. SUED Walmart, by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on Sept. 21, for alleged discrimination against pregnant employees. RESTORED Grizzly bears, to the endangered-species list, after a…

Prisoners put to work In an excerpt from his new book, American Prison, Shane Bauer writes that the 13th Amendment’s preserving slavery as punishment for a crime helped entice companies to seek cheap imprisoned laborers “in part because ... they could be driven by torture.” A new view from above Remote-sensing scientists and co-authors of the book City Unseen Karen C. Seto and Meredith Reba write about how they use satellite infrared images to reveal changes that the human eye alone cannot see in cities around the world, like expansion and resource usage over time. They write, “We need many perspectives to make better decisions about our urban futures.” Healing in Myanmar “At its most base level, justice involves acknowledgment of responsibility,” co-writes the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Myanmar,…

Given how drastically women’s roles have changed within the past century, we should consider ourselves lucky that we’ve gotten so many different versions of A Star Is Born. What happens when a woman’s career ascends just as her romantic partner’s tumbles into decline? And just how far can a woman go without losing herself? Bradley Cooper brings that conversation into the modern age with his renewed A Star Is Born. The plot harks back to George Cukor’s 1932 What Price Hollywood?, drawn from a story by Hollywood scribe Adela Rogers St. Johns. Next came William Wellman’s 1937 A Star Is Born: Janet Gaynor’s sensible sweetness balances Fredric March’s rakish élan. In 1954 Cukor tackled the material again, with stars Judy Garland and James Mason outperforming each other…

IF YOU’RE PUT OFF BY THE title of the new CBS dramedy God Friended Me, take solace in the fact that the show’s hero finds his predicament pretty absurd too. An outspoken atheist who dreams of upgrading his provocative podcast into a radio show, Miles Finer (Brandon Micheal Hall) is mildly amused when he gets his first Facebook friend request from, yes, God. Yet the higher power persists, using social media to put Miles in the path of strangers who need his help. Though it has some hollow inspirational moments, the show, which premieres Sept. 30, is surprisingly charming and open to tough questions about faith. Hall is a likable, energetic lead, while national treasure Joe Morton, last seen as Scandal’s fearsome Papa Pope, reveals a softer side as…

SUPREME RECKONING The cover of the Oct. 1 issue showed Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and sitting Justice Clarence Thomas, both of whom were accused of sexual misconduct during their confirmation hearings—prompting Tim Ackert of Orlando to agree that the current situation is “déjà vu all over again.” Readers disagreed on what that should mean for the court. Elizabeth Hinesley of Delray Beach, Fla., felt that “one possible act of a drunken teenager” shouldn’t be disqualifying; Ruth Dell of Tiburon, Calif., thought the idea that such things aren’t relevant overlooked “what is at stake.” And Carol Bogard of Wilton, Conn., was left feeling that, regardless of whether Kavanaugh is confirmed, “the court of public opinion has found him gravely wanting.” ‘Maybe what we need is more female nominees.’…

CAREERS More than a quarter of teens in Kenya and Nigeria said that if they could grow up to have any career, they’d become doctors—in contrast to 5% in Britain, where the most popular response was soccer player. DEVICES Globally, an average of 63% of young respondents have smartphones. Youth in Russia reported the highest level, 94%. For non-smart mobile phones, the rate there was 15%. (Some young Russians own both.) THE FUTURE Over nine-tenths of teenagers in Kenya, Mexico, China, Nigeria and India felt optimistic about their futures, while young people in France (69%) and Sweden (65%) proved the most pessimistic.…

ON SEPT. 25, U.S. SPORTSwear brand Michael Kors—best known for its namesake’s attainable style—confirmed a $2.1 billion takeover of Versace, the iconic Milanese fashion house known for pretty much the opposite look. The move to combine decadent, over-the-top Italian glamour and all-American ease might seem like a mismatch, but it’s a bold bid by the company—soon to be renamed Capri Holdings—to create a high-end conglomerate to rival Europe’s more established luxury giants like LVMH, Kering and Richemont. The sale ushers in a new chapter for Versace, a family business run by Donatella Versace—sister of founder Gianni—who will be staying on as creative lead. The challenge will be for Capri to make good on the investment without the overexposure the Michael Kors brand suffered as it went from American fashion…

FOLLOWER COUNTS ON TWITTER HAVE BECOME A fashionable currency—something that prominently displays a person’s clout and even generates income for users with big enough numbers. Yet on Sept. 20, one of those “influencers” sent a tweet criticizing the popularity contest that such metrics create. “[We] should be able to participate in social media without having to show how many followers or likes we have,” wrote uber-celebrity Kanye West. “This has an intense negative impact on our self worth.” Not only that. As Twitter, along with other social-media platforms, continues to grapple with issues ranging from hate speech to disinformation, academics are warning that “scores” like follower counts and retweet tallies may be contributing to a culture of mindless outrage and even making users more susceptible to manipulation. Twitter CEO…

Deep in the interior of Central Africa lies the Republic of Chad, a country dependent on agriculture for most of its revenue. Below the surface, it has abundant reserves of petroleum, but it was not until Chinese oil and gas giant China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) began production there in 2011 that the country was eventually able to fulfill domestic oil demand with its own supply. When CNPC first set foot in Chad 15 years ago, domestic oil consumption in the country was heavily dependent on imports. In September 2007, a bilateral agreement was reached to build a joint-stock refinery plant, marking the starting point of China-Chad petroleum cooperation. As the N’Djamena refinery plant went into production in June 2011, President Idriss Déby Itno said his country had won…

THERE ARE THOSE WHO take risks. And there are those who like to sit in a chair watching as others take risks. If you fit in either of those categories, the documentary Free Solo—a portrait of climber extraordinaire Alex Honnold, focusing on his record-breaking scaling of Yosemite National Park’s magnificent, 3,000-ft.-high El Capitan—is for you. Honnold is a free solo climber, which means he scales rock formations—and not safe little short ones, either—without harnesses or ropes. Directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (Meru) follow Honnold, a charming, low-key savant, as he prepares for the supremely dangerous El Capitan climb. Honnold’s sport of choice involves insinuating his fingers and toes, the latter clad in soft, flexible shoes, into the tiniest dents of a rock face. If he slips, he…

‘It felt at the time on par.’ JACINDA ARDERN, Prime Minister of New Zealand and the first world leader to bring a baby to the U.N. General Assembly, to Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, who asked if running a country was harder than taking an infant on a 17-hour flight $6 billion Increase in Nike’s market value in the first three weeks of September, when it debuted activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick as the face of the “Just Do It” ads 2 Number of heads on a copperhead snake discovered in the yard of a Northern Virginia home BAD WEEK Donuts Dropping a word from its name, the coffee chain becomes just Dunkin’ GOOD WEEK Hazelnuts M&Ms announces the addition of a new flavor: “hazelnut spread” ‘YOU CAN’T…

Floodwaters shut down power plant In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, water breached a dam and flooded two deposits of toxic coal ash at a Duke Energy power plant near Wilmington, N.C., prompting the plant’s shutdown on Sept. 21. The company says no ash spilled into the Cape Fear River, but environmental advocates disagree. Indian court backs identity system India’s Supreme Court ruled Sept. 26 that the Aadhaar system, a biometric database containing fingerprints and eye scans of more than 1 billion Indians, does not violate the right to privacy. But the court also said the nationwide scheme could not be compulsory for access to bank accounts or cellphone connections. Dallas police officer is fired after shooting Weeks after killing her neighbor Botham Shem Jean, officer Amber Guyger was…

DOZENS OF WOMEN HAVE ACCUSED BILL COSBY OF DRUGGING and raping them, but he’ll serve prison time for only one case. On Sept. 25, Judge Steven T. O’Neill designated the 81-year-old a sexually violent predator and sentenced him to three to 10 years for assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. Cosby has denied all allegations and plans to appeal, but that won’t detract from the significance of the day’s prevailing image: the star handcuffed and led off to prison. Although most of the 60 women who accused him came forward before #MeToo erupted, Cosby is the first major celebrity to be convicted amid a nationwide reckoning on sexual misconduct. His accusers and their allies hope the verdict is a signal that times are changing, that women can be heard and…

FOR REASONS I HAVE YET TO FULLY comprehend, I have found myself in the middle of some of the most tumultuous confrontations between politics, sex and power over the past 20 or so years. Early in my career, Monica Lewinsky was my intern in the Clinton White House. I testified in front of Ken Starr’s grand jury and fought President Clinton’s impeachment as a White House deputy press secretary. I also helped former presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth manage the press around his extramarital affair. Most recently, I was Hillary Clinton’s communications director in the 2016 presidential campaign, which often felt like a primal battle between the sexes. And the women’s side lost. For those of us concerned that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh could be…

IF YOU’VE LOOKED AT A screen at any point over the past few months, you’ve probably seen the trailer for A Star Is Born— at a movie theater, on TV or on YouTube, where it’s already been viewed 9.2 million times. Or maybe you’ve seen the recut version of it, which reimagines the film starring the Muppets. Or maybe you follow the Twitter account dedicated to memes based on the trailer’s most memorable moments—like the one where Bradley Cooper’s aging rocker, Jack Maine, rolls down his car window and grunts at Lady Gaga’s aspiring singer, Ally, “Hey.” She turns. “What?” His eyes crinkle. “I just wanted to take another look at you,” he says. It’s the kind of perfect little movie moment that can thaw even the iciest of…

‘WE QUESTION WHY WE WANT TO “FIX” THINGS AND WHAT IS NORMAL OR ACCEPTABLE IN SOCIETY ’ Maniac is loosely based on a Norwegian series. What did you change? We didn’t pull much besides the idea of delusions. There’s one male protagonist in the original, and I wanted to work with Emma Stone. So the characters were going to have to change. She did not want to play a therapist fixing a man’s problems or a manic pixie dream girl who is just a foil to the male character. Why was it appealing to dive into delusions? You spend so much time with a show, and being able to play with different rules and set pieces was appealing. But we didn’t just want a grab bag of…

‘WE NEED TO BE INVITED INTO THE LIVES OF OTHERS ... STORIES REMAIN OUR BEST TEACHERS OF EMPATHY ’ What inspired you to write Sea Prayer, your new book about a refugee father preparing to make a perilous journey across the Mediterranean? Ever since I saw the photo of Alan Kurdi, the 3-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015, I have wanted to write about sea crossings. My entry point into that story was as a father. I saw that photo and I was devastated. I kept imagining his father’s anguish. I kept asking myself what I would do if I had to be the one to see a stranger lift my son from the sand, and have…