Table of contents for June 19, 2017 in TIME Magazine

What you said about ... THE GOOD SON Karl Vick’s June 12 cover story on Jared Kushner’s role in the White House showed that the popular idea of Kushner as a “moderating force” is “overblown,” wrote Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg News. On Twitter, Paul Risley connected the story’s sketch of Kushner’s relationship with Trump to the family and power dynamics of The Godfather. Rick Thoeni of Denville, N.J., said it was “disappointing” to read that Kushner and Trump are “guided by the words family first” when his own father, as a nuclear launch officer in the U.S. Air Force, said country came first. “Shouldn’t we expect at least this,” he wrote, “from the President of the United States?” ‘Jared’s actually become much more famous than me. I’m a little…

NSA contractor charged over leak Reality Leigh Winner, a federal contractor from Georgia, was charged with leaking top-secret government information on Russian hacking to online news outlet The Intercept. If convicted, the 25-yearold faces up to a decade in prison. Operation to free Raqqa begins The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces launched an operation to liberate Raqqa, the last major stronghold of ISIS in Syria. The assault follows months of advances in areas surrounding Raqqa, which was seized by ISIS in 2014. Orlando man kills 5 former colleagues A man opened fire at his former place of work near Orlando, fatally shooting five people before turning the gun on himself. John Robert Neumann Jr., 45, had been let go by manufacturer Fiamma in April for undisclosed reasons U.N.: Oceans face historic…

A former employee of Bill Cosby’s agent testified in tears that the comedian sexually assaulted her at a hotel in 1996 after encouraging her to take a “big white pill” that made her feel as if she was “underwater.” Kelly Johnson had previously told her story under the pseudonym Kacey. ISIS claims attacks in Iran that kill 12 ISIS said it was responsible for gun and suicide-bomb attacks on Iran’s parliament and the Tehran-based shrine of Islamic Republic founder Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini. The attacks, which killed at least 12 people and wounded about 40, were the first claimed by ISIS on Iranian soil. Flint official quits after racial slur A government official in Flint, Mich., resigned from his post after he was recorded using a racial slur to blame African…

DIED Jack O’Neill, pioneering surfer best known for commercializing the neoprene wet suit, at 94. Jean Sammet, early software engineer who became the first female president of the Association for Computing Machinery, at 89. Former Boston Red Sox outfielder Jimmy Piersall, whose nervous breakdown was portrayed in the 1957 movie Fear Strikes Out, at 87. BORN Twins Ella and Alexander, to actor George Clooney and human-rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney. JOINED NATO, by the tiny Balkan nation Montenegro, which became the military alliance’s 29th member. DECLARED The end of the Zika-virus epidemic in Puerto Rico, termed a publichealth emergency there last August. LEFT J.Crew, by its CEO Mickey Drexler, who joined the retailer in 2003. Drexler oversaw the company’s expansion into a retail titan, but sales have fallen over the…

“For a long Time,” JenniFer Romolini writes, “I was pretty sure I would never make it in the world, that I would never become ‘successful.’” The reason: she was just too weird, too sensitive, too far outside the realm of mainstream office culture. But the former editor of HelloGiggles and Yahoo Shine did eventually succeed, and in her new book, Weird in a World That’s Not, she offers several tips to help fellow misfits climb the corporate ladder. If you’re socially awkward, she writes, try overpreparing for even the most mundane workplace situations—rehearsing compliments for small talk with co-workers, for example, or writing scripts for major meetings. Romolini also advises turning weirdness into an asset, as she did: when yoga became a fad in NewYork City, she drew upon her…

1 INSTAGRAM IS THE MOST STRESSINDUCING SOCIAL NETWORK After surveying nearly 1,500 young people about their social-media use, the United Kingdom’s Royal Society for Public Health found that Instagram was the worst platform for their health and wellbeing, associated with bullying, sleep loss, body-image issues, anxiety and a fear of missing out. 2 IT’S FINE TO WASH YOUR HANDS IN COLD WATER A small study in the Journal of Food Protection found that washing hands in cold, lukewarm and hot water removed bacteria equally well, despite the fact that hot water is commonly believed to be better at killing germs. 3 YOU DON’T NEED MUCH EXERCISE TO FEEL BETTER study in the Journal of Health Psychology found that light physical activity (like strolling) was associated with the greatest emotional benefits,…

It’s a bone-dry desert nIght In aprIl, and Lorde is dancing onstage in a corseted top and shimmery sequined pants that make her look a little like a disco mermaid. It’s her second time performing here at Coachella, the music festival that overtakes the valley east of Palm Springs, Calif., every spring. The first time, in 2014, when she was 17, was a trial for Lorde—a hyperliterate teenager thrust into the center of one of the biggest music festivals in the world. Now 20, she is familiar with this particular type of fever dream. She runs the stage like a veteran pop star, charismatically chatting with the crowd. But she doesn’t dance like a pop star, even as the pulsating chords of her new single “Green Light” crescendo. There’s no…

Between this film and his last movie, I’ll See You in My Dreams, it seems like writer-director Brett Haley is on a crusade to make you a leading man in your 70s. It’s bizarre. It may be a oneman crusade. It’s incredible, particularly when it’s some kid half my age. I just thought, Where does this kid come up with these stories about ageism and life? The fact that [he and co-writer Marc Basch] thought enough of me to write another script was mind-boggling. Someone observed that your character’s name, Lee Hayden, is a mashup of Lee Marvin and Sterling Hayden, two iconic masculine actors. Those are two of my favorite actors from that day. They were men’s men. I identified with those guys. I grew up with them. My…

MOVIES Maudie (June 16) brings folk artist Maud Lewis to life in the story of an unexpected romance between a struggling painter (Sally Hawkins) and a hermit bachelor (Ethan Hawke). BOOKS BuzzFeed writer Anne Helen Petersen profiles groundbreaking women like Serena Williams and Caitlyn Jenner in her sharp book Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud (June 20). TELEVISION Oprah and Ava DuVernay return with a second season of Queen Sugar (June 20), the acclaimed Louisiana drama about radically different siblings united by the family farm that needs rescuing, on OWN. MUSIC Former Gossip lead singer Beth Ditto’s debut full-length solo album, Fake Sugar (June 16), features 12 songs bursting with uptempo punk energy.…

LOVE IT Sofia Coppola became the first woman in more than half a century to win Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for her Civil War–era thriller The Beguiled. Rihanna caught even the announcer’s attention at an NBA Finals game, when she appeared to bow for Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James and heckle Golden State Warrior Kevin Durant. Beren and Lúthien,a book conceived by Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien 100 years ago, went on sale. It was edited by his son Christopher Tolkien. The Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, responsible for movies like the Oscar-winning Spirited Away, announced plans to build a theme park based on its beloved film My Neighbor Totoro in Nagoya, Japan. The word stan, originated by rapper Eminem in 2000, has been added…

How did things change in Dallas after the shooting of five officers in July 2016? As police officers, we struggle to hear any appreciation. What happened in Dallas is that people expressed appreciation. It was sincere, authentic, heartfelt. The families felt it—$11 million was raised for them. A gap has been bridged between the community and its police department. You set a world precedent by using a robot to kill the suspect in that encounter. Did you worry you were opening Pandora’s box? I weighed how to end the siege without losing another officer or citizen. I did not calculate the aftermath as much at the time. I’d make that same decision again. We expect our police departments to make communities safe and we give our officers tools, and I…

‘NOW CHINA LEADS.’ EMMANUEL MACRON, President of France, speaking in a May meeting with leaders of the G7 as U.S. President Donald Trump made it clear that America would pull out of the worldwide Paris climate agreement, according to a new account of the meeting published by Der Spiegel ‘I KNEW THEM ALL.’ ANANYA VINAY, 12-year-old from Fresno, Calif., reacting to winning the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee on June 1 by spelling marocain, which is a type of fabric Sea sponges A SpongeBob SquarePants musical will open on Broadway this fall GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK Seafood The FDA recalled frozen tuna in Texas, Oklahoma and California after a hepatitis A contamination 13Acres of land created in California by a May 20 landslide on the coast near Big Sur ‘Your…

On June 2, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) called for an investigation into leaked documents alleging corrupt influence from business family the Guptas over the administration of President Jacob Zuma. A closer look: CAPTURING THE STATE The cache of more than 100,000 documents allegedly shows the Guptas brokering favors with ministers and lending money to Zuma’s son Duduzane to buy a luxury apartment. The leak supports allegations that the wealthy brothers are using their influence in an act of “state capture,” as South African media call it WEB OF CONNECTIONS The Guptas’ links to Zuma have long been suspected, but claims have become more numerous. In March 2016, then Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas said the family offered to get him promoted. Protests broke out this April after…

UBER The transportation company is planning to test a program called Uber Elevate, an on-demand network of verticaltakeoff- and-landing electric air taxis for urban areas, as early as 2020. KITTY HAWK A Silicon Valley company backed by Google co-founder Larry Page is working on the Kitty Hawk Flyer, an electric aircraft designed to operate over water and doesn’t require a pilot’s license to fly. AEROMOBIL Slovakian company AeroMobil’s roughly $1.2 million flying car will begin shipping in 2020. The gaspowered vehicle can be used on the road and in the air, and can fly from London to Paris in one hour.…

A MONTH AFTER FIRING FBI DIRECTOR JAMES Comey for his handling of the Russian electionmeddling investigation, President Trump tweeted on June 7 that he would name former Justice Department criminal division chief Christopher Wray to lead the bureau. After serving as a federal prosecutor in Atlanta in the late 1990s, Wray rose rapidly at Justice Department headquarters in Washington under George W. Bush. From 2003 to 2005 he oversaw the Enron task force and worked directly with then FBI chief Robert Mueller, who now heads the Russia probe as special counsel. A white collar lawyer, he recently defended Trump ally New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in the Bridgegate scandal. At 50, Wray is young for the job and takes over amid accusations of White House interference in the Russia matter…

When 19 college guys go to Jamaica for spring break, they usually hit the bar and the beach. Not Nicholas Morrison and his friends. Their trip to Montego Bay this March was far more medieval. Every morning they rose at 5:30 a.m. and prayed. Then they visited abandoned children with disabilities and dug an irrigation trench to protect the kids’ homes from flooding in the coming summer rains. The young men joked as they moved 100 lb. boulders without machinery, naming one rock “Happy Birthday” and another “JP2,” a nickname for Pope John Paul II. Their chosen spring-break hashtag? #SemsOnMission. Morrison and his friends are Catholic seminarians, studying to become priests. Philosophy majors at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., they live and study at the nearby St.…

What’s it like to fall in love even as you’re falling apart? In The Hero, Sam Elliott plays Lee Hayden, an aging, mostly out-of-work actor—the cowboy roles in which he used to specialize have all but disappeared. Lee is sanguine enough about the scarcity of acting jobs. But no one wants a cancer diagnosis, and when Lee gets that particular bit of bad news, he heads out to see his pot dealer (Nick Offerman) to indulge in a little self-medication. There he meets another customer, a firecracker more than 30 years his junior, Charlotte (Laura Prepon). The two begin a playful yet often prickly love affair. If the older-dude-younger-woman matchup runs the risk of ruffling some feathers, it should be noted that Charlotte aggressively pursues Lee, and not, as you…

IRELAND’S GOVERNING FINE GAEL Party elected Leo Varadkar, 38, as its new leader. If he gains the backing of Parliament on June 13, he will become the country’s first openly gay or mixed-race Prime Minister, underscoring Ireland’s evolution from a conservative Catholic nation to a socially progressive republic. Here’s what to know about him: MADE IN IRELAND: The Dubliner is the son of an Indian doctor and an Irish nurse, and joined the centerright Fine Gael Party in high school. He won his parliamentary seat at the age of 28, while working as a trainee doctor. He revealed he is gay in the run-up to the 2015 same-sex marriage referendum, which the country approved just 22 years after homosexuality was decriminalized. RIGHT-LEANING: Varadkar might be emblematic of a more liberal…

AN ALLIANCE OF ARAB COUNTRIES TOOK THE unprecedented step on June 5 of severing all ties with the small Persian Gulf state of Qatar. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain say they made this move because Qatar provides material support for terrorist groups like the Islamic State and al- Qaeda that threaten the security of the entire region. Qatar flatly denies this claim. The neighbors have done more than simply dismiss some Qatari diplomats. All have closed air and sea links, and the three Gulf nations have ordered Qatari nationals to go home. Inside Qatar, which sits on a peninsula off Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, the impact has been dramatic. Its stock market fell by more than 7% on the day after the announcement. Shoppers…

CLAIM “At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!’” President Trump tweeted on June 4 REALITY Mayor Sadiq Khan told Londoners there was no reason to be alarmed by increased police patrols—not the terrorist attacks, which he condemned. CLAIM After the London attacks, Trump called Senate Democrats “obstructionists” for holding up his political nominees, “including ambassadors.” REALITY Trump hasn’t nominated an ambassador to the U.K. or anyone to fill 426 other federal jobs requiring Senate sign-off. There are 112 open political slots at the State Department. CLAIM Trump said he was closely monitoring what he called “the terrorist attack in Manila” and said “terror” in the world was sad. REALITY Officials say it was…

Flag day might oFFicially be on June 14, but for many Americans it’s a year-round celebration. Look no further than the countless hats, towels, bumper stickers and other paraphernalia that have been emblazoned with Stars and Stripes; recently, one Omaha teen made headlines for creating a flag out of more than 680,000 plastic bricks. This wasn’t always the case. Most Americans used to see a flag as little more than a utilitarian marker for government buildings and military outposts. After the U.S. approved its flag design in 1777, it took nearly a century for civilians to get excited about the idea. The turning point came in 1861, when the Civil War began. Suddenly, the flag—a military symbol of the Union—gained a new level of importance. “It has been said that…

The President has licensed the Trump name for use on commercial and residential buildings around the globe, bringing in millions of dollars to the Trump Organization. But many of those deals face increased scrutiny with Trump in office TRUMP TOWERS ISTANBUL The President’s company doesn’t own this Turkish office and residential complex, but it allows his name to be used by owner Dogan Holding, which reportedly paid $1 million to $5 million for the rights TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL AND TOWER PANAMA When this 70-story hotel and condominium opened, expected licensing fees were reportedly worth $75 million TRUMP TOWER MANILA This $150 million residential tower, set to open this year, attracted attention after a chief executive behind the tower was named a Philippine envoy to the U.S.…

Clemente dreamed of being a Broadway producer before he decided on the priesthood. “Francis has really showed me, Just go and do it,” he says. “He’s making it an action, not just an idea.” “I would have been a great father. I could have been a great husband,” says Father Michael Trail. “My love for God is so strong that I willingly gave that up.” Father Matt O’Donnell says he wants St. Columbanus Church on Chicago’s South Side to be, in the words of Pope Francis, an “oasis of mercy.” “We’re rethinking, How do we have parishes, how are they going to look?” says Father James Wallace. “Simplify the church and make it more attractive.” College students at Washington’s St. John Paul II Seminary devoted their spring break to service…

Wonder Woman’s bigscreen debut—which came on June 2, 76 years after she first appeared in print—could have been a disaster. Last year critics panned Warner Bros. and DC Comics’ dour Batman v Superman and disjointed Suicide Squad. And Hollywood executives have been skeptical about whether female superheroes can succeed at the box office ever since a string of mid- 2000s flops like Catwoman and Elektra. When movietheater chain Alamo Drafthouse announced that it would schedule allfemale screenings ofWonder Woman, men’s-rights activists accused the company of “sex discrimination.” But the premiere made history:Wonder Woman had the biggest weekend opening ever for a female director, bringing in more than $100 million. This shouldn’t be such a surprise, given the recent success of movies like The Hunger Games and Rogue One, which have…

Ah, June. The AbsoluTe besT monTh of The yeAr. Such a happy month, so full of promise! School winds down, temperatures warm up, and my little suburban patch of the world bursts with green blooming wonder. Brightly colored goldfinches have returned to the feeder out back, and a wren has built a nest in the birdhouse beside the patio. I sit outside with my morning coffee, listen to the birds sing and feel simply at one with the world as a sense of tranquility and satisfaction—HOLD ON A MINUTE. HAS THE BAMBOO STARTED COMING UP OVER THERE?! If it’s true that civilization carries the seeds of its own destruction, my garden may be ground zero. There is a running joke in my household that the title of my next…