Table of contents for May 15, 2017 in TIME Magazine

As Donald Trump's White House continued in hyperdrive to promote his first 100 days as a breakout reality-show hit, congressional aides a few blocks east were negotiating a deal to avert a disastrous government shutdown over the current funding agreement. The more than $1 trillion, almost 1,700-page bill, which keeps the lights on through September, served as a reality check for the President: the 535 voting members of Congress cannot be ignored. "I think he needs to understand our democratic system and our separation of branches," says Democratic Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland. "This is not running a business. This is running a country." No lesson has been so stinging for the neophyte President. His campaign promises face delay at the hands of an unexpected impediment: Republicans in the House…

It's easy to see why huge numbers of furious Venezuelans have hit the streets in recent weeks. Years of mismanagement have left the country's oil-export-dependent economy in a shambles. To appease the angry poor, President Nicolás Maduro announced a 60% increase in the minimum wage on May 1. That won't reverse the decline of a country where production is in free fall, inflation is in the triple digits and hunger is now a common problem. It's hard to find time for work while standing in line for the few remaining staples most of the public can afford. The latest protests, and government response to them, have pushed Venezuela closer to the brink of collapse. Demonstrations have turned violent, with both protesters and police fueling the fire. There have been deaths,…

When Victor Collins was found dead, floating faceup in his friend James Bates' hot tub in Bentonville, Ark., one chilly morning in November 2015, police were quick to suspect foul play. Broken glass littered the patio, and blood was splattered on a brown vinyl pool cover nearby. But in a subsequent investigation, which led police to indict Bates, 32, for Collins' murder, some of the most crucial evidence was gleaned not only from the crime scene but from an array of Internet-connected devices in Bates' home. Data from his "smart" utility meter, for example, indicated that someone had used 140 gal. of water between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., a detail that seemed to confirm investigators' suspicions that the patio had been hosed down before they arrived. Records from Bates'…

Foreign aid is often in the hot seat, but today the heat is cranked up especially high. The U.S. government, one of the world's most influential donors, is considering dramatic cuts to health and development programs around the world. I understand why some Americans watch their tax dollars going overseas and wonder why we're not spending them at home. Here's my answer: These projects keep Americans safe. And by promoting health, security and economic opportunity, they stabilize vulnerable parts of the world. This is a lesson I've learned myself. When I first got involved in health and development, the main motivation was to save and improve people's lives around the world. That's still true today, but over the years I have come to see the tangible ways in which American…

At the end of the 1993 romantic comedy Groundhog Day, after a seeming eternity of waking up over and over again on the same day, weatherman Phil Connors finally, truly, spiritually awakens. Twenty-four years later, Phil is again trapped inside of Feb. 2. Only this time, he bears no resemblance to the actor who originated the movie role--a delightfully caustic Bill Murray. And his purgatory plays out in front of a live audience on Broadway. The musical Groundhog Day, which opened on April 17 to rave reviews, is the latest entry in the increasingly popular movie-to-musical pipeline. (See related chart on page 52.) Just as Hollywood is rebooting old hits and elevating forgotten comic-book heroes, the theater industry has turned to existing intellectual property--and movies in particular--for inspiration. As a…

THE TIME 100 Sarah Deschamps of Naples, Fla., was one of many readers who praised TIME's annual list of the world's most influential people, calling it a much-needed reminder that "there are people reaching high, and bringing us up with them." Others thought the issue was missing several players, including former TIME 100 members Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Elon Musk. Refinery29's Sesali Bowen, meanwhile, spotlighted the diverse range of talent TIME recognized, both on the list and as writers. "Not only is TIME honoring people of color as influential, it also trusts that people of color are among the experts who can support its claims," she wrote. "To all of the other awarding bodies and institutions: This is how it's done." "LET'S TALK ABOUT GRIEF" Many readers responded literally…

Although the latest spending bill did not include funds for it, President Donald Trump is not backing down from his pledge to build a nearly 2,000-mile wall along the Mexican border. Designs are being solicited, and construction of prototype barriers is scheduled to begin in San Diego this summer. But fulfilling Trump's signature campaign promise won't be easy. Mexico says it won't pay, Democrats are opposed, and even GOP allies suggest a wall spanning the full border is unrealistic. Here are some other challenges facing the project: Current barriers The U.S. first began erecting physical fencing in 1990, though most was built beginning in 2006. Today roughly one-third of the Southern border features barricades of some type: BOLLARD FENCE Constructed of upright posts embedded in the ground, these barriers are…

Imagine hailing a ride with your phone and having an electric plane arrive to whisk you away. That's the vision of German startup Lilium, which is developing a five-seat electric jet that can take off and land vertically, enabling it to serve some of the world's densest cities. The key is a series of engines that can rotate 90 degrees; this allows the jets to reach horizontal flying speeds of up to 186 m.p.h. (faster than many helicopters) and then descend straight down once they've reached their destination. But the jets are far from being commercially ready: Lilium only just completed its first set of test flights in Bavaria, using a two-seat prototype. --Julia Zorthian For more on these stories, visit time.com/ideas…

It was Vintage Ronald Reagan. Addressing a fundraiser for the JFK Library in 1985, the 40th President mused about the mystery and magic of the White House. "Nothing is ever lost in that great house; some music plays on," Reagan said to an audience that included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. "I have been told that late at night when the clouds are still and the moon is high, you can just about hear the sound of certain memories brushing by. You can almost hear, if you listen close, the whir of a wheelchair rolling by and the sound of a voice calling out, 'And another thing, Eleanor!' Turn down a hall and you can hear the brisk strut of a fellow saying, 'Bully! Absolutely ripping!' Walk softly now and you're drawn…

It hardly seems coincidental that Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale is one of two classics to garner renewed interest after President Trump's election. (The other, George Orwell's 1984, is being adapted for Broadway this summer.) Handmaid's themes--the cruelty and illiberal thinking of theocracy, the ease by which democracies slip into authoritarianism--are suddenly so relevant to so many that it would be easy to conclude that the new series, now playing on Hulu, is the beneficiary of extraordinarily good timing. But that would be giving Hulu's Handmaid's too little credit. The ideas drawn out in this masterful adaptation did not suddenly become relevant after one election. And the show is as elegantly made as anything on television this year. It manages to bring a dystopian story to life in…

Repressed grownups and their problems are a bounteous source of inspiration for writers and filmmakers, and The Dinner--which director Oren Moverman adapted from Herman Koch's 2009 novel--serves up a multicourse feast of dysfunction. Richard Gere plays Stan, a chilly, pragmatic Congressman gunning for the governor's office. His second wife, Katelyn (Rebecca Hall), stands with him, though she can barely hide her exasperation. His brother Paul (Steve Coogan) has had it rough: his struggle with mental illness has cost him his job as a history teacher, and though his wife Claire (Laura Linney) is supportive, her own health problems have cast a shadow on the marriage. The two couples gather for dinner at a chichi restaurant, one of those places where the food is marched out with reverence, like edible royalty.…

On April 23, Jordan's cabinet revoked a law that allows rapists to avoid jail terms if they marry their victims. Parliament is due to vote on ratifying the change in May, the latest move in the Middle East against similar laws: THE LOGIC Between 2010 and 2013, 159 rapists in Jordan took advantage of the law, which was cast as the lesser evil in brutally patriarchal societies. Supporters argued that marriage protected the victims' reputation and prevented "honor killings." REFORMS WON Public outrage has led to change: Morocco scrapped its version of the law following the suicide of a 16-year-old who was forced to marry her rapist in 2012. In 2016, mass protests led Turkey to withdraw a bill that would pardon men convicted of sex with underage girls if…

There are plenty of modern-day directors who are cool, as Jonathan Demme was, and some who perhaps have as much heart. But no one else has shown such perfectly balanced proportions of both. In obvious ways and in subtle ones, Demme, who died on April 26 at age 73, approached every project with an unapologetically liberal bent and, even more important, with supreme compassion for the off-kilter beauty of everyday Americans. You can see that in movies like 1993's Philadelphia, one of the first Hollywood films to deal openly with AIDS and homophobia, and 1977's Handle With Care, about a group of people in small-town Nebraska whose lives intertwine in a kind of rambunctious mess. Demme created characters who take chances, who define themselves two and three times over--like Lulu…

When the Martians first land on Earth in the 1996 sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks!, for a moment it appears all will be fine. "We come in peace," says their leader, as the music swells and a dove soars overhead. Seconds later the Martian pulls out a laser gun and opens fire on a crowd of human onlookers. Yet another blockbuster alien invasion has begun. That's Hollywood, of course. But the melodrama underscores one of humanity's most widely held fears: that if and when we do encounter extraterrestrial beings, they will wreak all kinds of havoc, much as they do in the movies. Or will they? For his new book, Aliens: The World's Leading Scientists on the Search for Extraterrestrial Life, quantum physicist Jim Al-Khalili asked a series of experts to…

Whenever I'm feeling down about the world, I drink poison. Not quick-acting poison. The stuff with a longer half-life: sugary delights that get my heart thrumming. America seems to do the same. For five days, starting on April 19, the country gorged half a meal of calories in one limited-release Starbucks candy drink: the Unicorn Frappuccino. It was a sensation within a larger sensation of unicorniness: pastel streaks known as "unicorn hair"; ice cream branded "unicorn food"; and, coming to New York, a store for the species. What's going on? The story is a thoroughly modern-America blend. It may have started with food stylist Adeline Waugh, 27, who begot a "unicorn food" craze when she tinted healthy toast with natural ingredients (beetroot, chlorophyll) to make it more Instagram-friendly. As Waugh…

Across China, the virus that could spark the next pandemic is already circulating. It's a bird flu called H7N9, and true to its name, it mostly infects poultry. Lately, however, it's started jumping from chickens to humans more readily--bad news, because the virus is a killer. During a recent spike, 88% of people infected got pneumonia, three-quarters ended up in intensive care with severe respiratory problems, and 41% died. What H7N9 can't do--yet--is spread easily from person to person, but experts know that could change. The longer the virus spends in humans, the better the chance that it might mutate to become more contagious--and once that happens, it's only a matter of time before it hops a plane out of China and onto foreign soil, where it could spread through…

Though it might sound quaint, there was a time when people could be astonished. Before supercomputers fit into shirt pockets and Presidents tweeted. Before moving pictures were beamed through the air. Before moving pictures. Not only could people be astonished--they enjoyed it. Loved it enough to pay for it. And so businesses sprang up to meet the demand. The astonishment industry was called the circus. And what an industry it was. Picture yourself in a quiet American town of ordinary people doing nothing even remotely astonishing. One day, a couple of strangers show up with handbills and paste to cover the town with circus posters. See the fearless lion tamer. Thrill to the death-defying wire walkers. GASP at the woman on the flying trapeze. Your brain did the rest. By…

As modern garden-variety escapist cinema goes, there's nothing inherently wrong with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, director and writer James Gunn's sequel to his 2014 megahit, both adapted from the Marvel comics series. But this overstuffed follow-up is also emblematic of all we've come to settle for in movie entertainment: it feels not so much crafted as squirted from a tube. There are enough plots here to fill a dozen galaxies. Chris Pratt returns as boyishly cute space pirate Peter Quill, leading a crew that includes Zoe Saldana's green-skinned warrior beauty Gamora, as well as Rocket, the potty-mouthed raccoon voiced by Bradley Cooper. Vol. 2 also introduces a sort-of new character, Baby Groot (Vin Diesel), a twig-size offshoot of the grownup tree-person Groot, who met a noble almost-end in…