Table of contents for April 25, 2022 in TIME Magazine

TIME’S 2022 LIST of the 100 Most Influential Companies (April 11/April 18) generated discussion among business leaders online. Verizon Business CEO Tami Erwin on Twitter pointed to a trend she observed: “Some amazing women leading the companies on this list.” On Instagram, reality TV star Kris Jenner congratulated her daughter Kim Kardashian, SKIMS shapewear founder, for her company’s inclusion, writing: “I’m so proud of my stunningly beautiful, kind and smart @kimkardashian!! What an amazing accomplishment!!!!!!” TV show creator Mindy Kaling wrote on Instagram that she hoped her cover would inspire young people: “I hope there are people out there—young women of color in particular—who see this cover, get inspired, and ask themselves ‘Why not me?’” Per the cover featuring Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon executive Jeffrey Kratz tweeted: “Excited…

FOLLOWING WEEKS of political turmoil, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is out, Shehbaz Sharif is in, and the country’s streak of political dysfunction continues. No elected Prime Minister has ever served a full five-year term, though Khan is the first to be removed by a vote of no confidence in Parliament. This sad statistic is explained by constant infighting among the nation’s political factions, a culture of official corruption, and frequent interventions of military leaders determined to protect their prerogatives. Many of those who voted for the charismatic Khan in 2018 hoped he might end these cycles of failure. He came from neither the Bhutto nor Sharif factions, the dynasties that had dominated Pakistan’s modern politics. His status as a genuine political outsider gave credibility to his campaign pledge…

FOR THE FIRST FEW YEARS OF Barack Obama’s presidency, the White House persuaded immigration activists to hold their fire. The incoming team had to first rebuild the economy and make sure automakers didn’t shutter after the 2008 financial meltdown. Then came a massive health care reboot. Then Supreme Court nominations, a Republican takeover of Congress, and the President’s own re-election. And then. And then. And then. There always seemed to be something keeping immigration from the front burner. By the time it finally emerged as a priority, Obama was in his second term and politically lame, by D.C. standards. The immigration lobby labeled him “the deporter in chief,” and relationships broke down. So why does this history matter in Washington right now? As gun-violence prevention groups work to build support,…

ON A BRISK MONDAY IN HOUSTON IN EARLY March, dozens of protesters gathered across the street from the giant Hilton hotel hosting CERAWeek, the energy industry’s hallmark annual conference. Their signs accused the corporate executives inside of betraying humanity in pursuit of financial return. STOP EXTRACTING OUR FUTURE, read one. PEOPLE OVER PROFIT, read another. Two days later, in a standing-room-only hotel ballroom, Jennifer Granholm, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, offered a different message to the executives: the Biden Administration needs your help to tackle climate change. The scene encapsulated this moment in the fight against global warming: some of the most ardent activists say companies can’t be trusted; governments are saying they must play a role. They already are. The U.S. Department of Energy has partnered with private companies…

IN THE SEASON 5 FINALE OF BETTER CALL SAUL, antihero lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) and his colleague turned wife Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) stress-ate room-service sundaes in an Albuquerque hotel as a conflict with profound implications for their future raged in Mexico. Season 6, back April 18 on AMC after a two-year hiatus, picks up just hours later, as the remnants of their dessert congeal on a rolling cart in the hallway. Maybe it sounds frustrating, having to wait so long for ice cream to melt that you forget about the anxiety it symbolizes. Yet refreshing your memory of a favorite series can also be a pleasure, like catching up with an old friend. It’s customary to gripe about long hiatuses between seasons, but the truth is: I like…

$55 MILLION Cost of a seat on SpaceX’s April 8 flight to the International Space Station, which carried three wealthy businessmen for a stay of more than a week ‘THE DEBATE WE WILL HAVE IN THE NEXT 15 DAYS IS DECISIVE FOR OUR COUNTRY AND FOR EUROPE.’ Emmanuel Macron, President of France, to supporters after April 10 election results placed him in an April 24 runoff with far-right candidate Marine Le Pen ‘I cried like a baby.’ Scottie Scheffler, the 25-year-old American winner of golf’s Masters Tournament, speaking to reporters on April 10 about his nerves before the event ‘I believe this is for the best.’ Parag Agrawal, Twitter CEO, on Elon Musk’s decision not to join the company’s board ‘This is not only a New York City problem. This…

Biden waives ethanol rule to drop gas price President Joe Biden announced on April 12 that he will suspend a summertime ban on sales of higher-ethanol gasoline blends, in an attempt to lower rising gas prices amid the current rampant rates of inflation. The AP estimates the move will lower gas prices by only about 10¢ a gallon at a limited number of gas stations. Mexico’s President to stay in office Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador won a referendum on April 11, with over 90% of voters saying they wanted the President to stay in office rather than step down. But the referendum’s ultimate turnout was low—less than 19%, per early figures. Okla. enacts near total abortion ban On April 12, Oklahoma’s GOP Governor Kevin Stitt signed a…

DIED > Gilbert Gottfried, actor and comedian, on April 12, at 67. > NFL quarterback Dwayne Haskins, on April 9, at 24, after being hit by a truck. RE-ELECTED Viktor Orban, for his fourth consecutive term as Prime Minister of Hungary, after a landslide win on April 3. HIRED Journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, by German newspaper Die Welt, on April 11. She quit her job at a Russian outlet after an on-air protest. WON Singer Ed Sheeran, in a court copyright case over his 2017 hit “Shape of You,” on April 6. A judge ruled he had not plagiarized the song. ADDED A third gender option of “X” on U.S. passports, as of April 11, following a State Department change last year.…

DUBAI MAY NOT IMMEDIATELY COME TO MIND AS ONE OF the world’s foremost coffee capitals. But over the past five years, the local coffee scene has developed to the point where the city should be considered right up there with global coffee meccas like Melbourne, Seattle, and Portland, Ore., argues local entrepreneur Karim Hassan. “Dubai is definitely top five,” he says. He should know. Back in 2015, Hassan founded Seven Fortunes, which has since grown into one of the most successful of a crop of Dubai-based small-batch coffee roasteries, many of which are experimenting with bold flavors and novel blends. Indeed, Dubai is in the middle of an explosion in all things coffee; registrations for local coffee businesses spiked nearly 150% last year, to 171 applications compared with 69 in…

TIME sat down with Estonia’s leader in Tallinn in late March to discuss the war in Ukraine and the threat Putin poses to the Baltic states Given what you’ve seen from the response in Western countries, do you think leaders have woken up to the threat from Putin yet? The attitudes are different than they were before Feb. 24. Before, there were many who were watching this through the lens of the democratic world. But what I was saying then, and what is clear now, is that he’s a dictator. He doesn’t care that he’s hurting his own country. That’s why we have to do everything to stop the war. If Putin wins, or even has the view that he has won this war, then his appetite will only grow.…

There’s a new drug beginning to spread rapidly through the street drug supply in the U.S.: xylazine, an animal tranquilizer, increasingly used as a synthetic cutting agent for opioids like heroin. We recently published a study, based on years of research, which found that xylazine is popping up in cities all over the country. Xylazine is almost never seen by itself. Instead, it is typically added to drug formulations containing fentanyl, a family of powerful opioids made in underground labs. Over the past 10 years, synthetically produced fentanyl—a particularly addictive drug—has largely taken over the illicit opioid market. Combined with poor quality controls inherent to clandestine supply chains, this has ushered in the deadliest overdose crisis in recorded history. The U.S. now has an overdose death rate more than…

KIOUS ‘JAMES’ KELLY NEW YORK CITY, AGE 48 When COVID-19 began to ravage the U.S. in March 2020, health care workers were highly exposed to the virus. Many did not have access to adequate personal protective equipment—including Kious “James” Kelly, an assistant nurse manager at Mount Sinai West hospital in New York City. On March 24, Kelly died from COVID-19 after helping his team care for patients with the new disease. His sister Marya Patrice Sherron, a 48-year-old writer and consultant who appeared on the most recent season of Survivor, remembers his life and impact. MY BROTHER HAS ALWAYS been my hero and my idol. I remember always running to him because he could literally fix anything. When I was a kid, the saying was “If you’re in trouble, go…

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS MUST DO THE WORK Finance is indispensable to the achievement of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which address issues from climate change to inequality. Without capital, no business or government can hope to achieve these goals. At COP26, 450 major financial institutions committed to making their portfolios net zero by 2050, meaning they will require any company they invest in to eliminate or offset their carbon footprint. The $130 trillion they collectively manage may sound like more than enough capital to solve sustainability issues. However, a fraction of that is being put to this use. The OECD estimates $2.5 trillion is needed annually to achieve the SDGs, two-thirds of which must be invested in developing countries. Just 10% is currently being invested. The financial ecosystem is…

WHEN SHOHEI OHTANI TAKES A SEAT ON A SHADED BENCH TO await his turn in the batting cage at Los Angeles Angels spring training, the feeling is like a restaurant when a movie star is escorted to a table. Everyone pretends not to notice, but the mood in the room is suddenly giddy. An All-Star pitcher who hits 46 home runs will do that. Ohtani is a baseball savant doing what has never been seen in Major League Baseball history. The last player to both pitch and hit at an elite level was Babe Ruth, a century ago. But the Bambino stopped pitching relatively early in his career to concentrate on hitting. And no one ever called Ruth fast. Ohtani, the unanimous American League MVP, stole 26 bases last year.…

What is the focus of your group Planeta Océano? We work in marine conservation, engaging and empowering local communities, from kids to teachers to fishermen to government officials to companies. And we’re bringing them together to protect the oceans through research, education, and sustainable development. You mention fishermen, but they would seem to be a natural enemy of a group like yours. How do you work together? Our flagship manta ray protection project is a good example. Fishermen were reporting giant mantas getting entangled in fishing nets, and when that happens, it’s not just the manta that gets harmed, it’s the fishing livelihoods. So we work with them and talk to them about how to avoid that. Some of the fishermen collect data for us. When sea turtles are accidentally…

SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENED in the basement of the children’s summer camp in Bucha. The steps leading down to its unlocked door were lousy with trash from Russian army rations: dried macaroni, empty juice boxes, tins of meat. Standing at the bottom of the stairwell, Volodymyr Roslik, the camp groundskeeper, looked up and raised an eyebrow at me, as if to offer one more chance to reconsider going in. The airless tunnel behind that door resembled a series of torture chambers divided by concrete walls. There was a room that appeared to be used for executions at the front, its walls pocked with bullet holes. In the next room stood two chairs, an empty jug, and a wooden plank. In another, the Russians had brought in two metal bedsprings and leaned…

ON THE MORNING OF APRIL 7, ATOP the Paso del Norte Bridge that connects Ciudad Juárez and downtown El Paso, Texas, 30-year-old Magdalena and her 10-year-old son were waiting to see if they would be allowed to enter the U.S. They migrated from Guatemala in September after facing threats of gang violence, and had since attempted to cross into the U.S. twice. Both times, they were expelled back to Juárez under Title 42—a controversial public-health measure that has allowed U.S. Customs and Border Protection since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to immediately expel migrants, circumventing the normal immigration procedure. EXPULSION On April 1, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it will end Title 42 expulsions on May 23. The decision set in motion a series…

POETRY IS RARELY A PAYING GIG. Never has been. John Donne was a priest. Langston Hughes was a newspaper columnist and a lecturer. William Carlos Williams was a pediatrician. But it’s possible that Elizabeth Alexander has taken the day job to a whole new level: she’s currently the president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the biggest U.S. nonprofit dedicated to the arts and humanities. Its endowment sits at about $9 billion. Having a poetry insider at the head of a big grantmaking institute does not mean, however, that poets have moved to the front of the line for funding. Alexander has a much more ambitious vision for the role that the arts and culture play in the formation of society. And during the pandemic she codified it, in her…

AS WE WATCH THE MURDEROUS carnage that Putin has unleashed against innocent Ukrainians, we are all trying to understand his motivations. Some say he’s reacting to NATO expansion; others contend that Putin can’t abide a Western-leaning Ukraine. Still others offer that Putin so laments the break-up of the Soviet Union that he wants to reassemble it. From my perspective, it’s not due to any of these reasons. It’s simply about money. Unlike most other governments, Russia’s is not there to serve the people, but to enrich senior officials through endemic corruption. The more senior you are, the richer you get. And the most senior person, Vladimir Putin, has become the richest. I estimate his wealth to be well north of $200 billion. I’ve seen how Russian corruption works with my…

FOR MORE THAN A QUARTER OF A CENTURY, AMID growing signs of the ravages of global warming, the U.N. has brought together representatives from almost every country on the planet to work together on solutions. While the private sector has generally had a presence at the annual meetings, known as COPs (Conference of the Parties), their focus has been on government actors—the heads of state and diplomats who attend. But at the most recent one, something was different. Thousands of corporate executives and entrepreneurs flooded into Glasgow to be part of the event. For many, including myself, it was their first COP. The meeting’s shifting makeup reflected a new paradigm in the climate fight. Until now, the general assumption has been that governments would be at the center of any…

TWO OF THE MOST FAMOUS NAMES BEHIND The Wire are back with another story examining the underbelly of law enforcement in Baltimore. David Simon and George Pelecanos, who worked together on the acclaimed 2002–2008 HBO drama, have teamed up for the new HBO Max miniseries We Own This City, about a real-life rogue gun-tracing unit in the Baltimore Police Department. Adapted from former Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton’s 2021 book by the same title, the show, arriving April 25, chronicles one of the most shocking instances of police corruption in the city’s history. In 2017, eight members of the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), assembled to remove guns from the streets in an effort to stamp out violent crime, were charged with robbery, extortion, racketeering, and overtime fraud. Six of…

IN 2015, JENNIFER EGAN WAS DEEP INTO revisions of her novel Manhattan Beach when the memory of a friend from her San Francisco childhood flitted across her mind. She conjured images of tetherball games and bloody noses, but there were cloudy gaps, so she searched the woman’s name on Facebook, only to find her profile flooded with condolences. She had died two days earlier in a car accident. “That had a huge impact on me,” Egan says, gazing at the East River from Brooklyn Bridge Park. “I found myself remembering her childhood as I experienced it, and wanting to see it more clearly. I know it’s all there in my mind—so why can I see some memories and not others?” Egan wished for a machine that would allow her to…