“The problem of excusing abhorrent ideologies for the sake of electoral gains is growing more pervasive and universal,” Mike Nelson argues. “It’s shameful that our leaders are willing to accept this over such small stakes.”

BREAKING: In a memo obtained by The Atlantic, the Kennedy Center’s lawyers today directed employees to remove references to the center being named for anyone other than President John F. Kennedy.

The triumphal arch that Donald Trump wants to build across from the Lincoln Memorial would pervert the significance of a uniquely meaningful place, Sebastian Smee argues. theatln.tc/ZBNdWAOL

If we confuse generative AI’s ability to produce text with consciousness, we risk assigning moral responsibility to chatbots—and not to their makers, Ted Chiang argues.

Both a sweeping and precise examination of what AI consciousness means, why we haven't and don't want to achieve it, and who it benefits to say that we have:

“Foreign officials described an awkward silence. Several times during the 90-minute call, Trump had to interject: ‘Hello? Hello? Anyone there?’”

NEW: Trump is tired of the Iran war, but Iran is not, @jonlemire.bsky.social reports:

When medical oncologist Stephen Kornfeld set sail aboard a cruise ship, he didn’t expect that he would end up taking care of three people thought to be sick with hantavirus, Katherine Wu reports. She spoke with him about his experience:

Marketers and listeners have always played a cat and mouse game. @skornhaber.bsky.social on how the authenticity discussion is now happening in the language of algos and psyops:

Exclusive: FBI Director Kash Patel has distributed “Ka$h”-branded bottles of bourbon to bureau staff and civilians, multiple people in Patel’s orbit tell Sarah Fitzpatrick. theatln.tc/n62c70PM

Exclusive: FBI Director Kash Patel has distributed “Ka$h”-branded bottles of bourbon to bureau staff and civilians, multiple people in Patel’s orbit tell @sfifz787.bsky.social.

FBI Director Kash Patel has distributed “Ka$h”-branded bottles of bourbon to bureau staff and civilians, multiple people in Patel’s orbit tell Sarah Fitzpatrick.

I kid you not, this novel contains an oblique reference to the 1990 Kevin Bacon movie Tremors, which we all know and love.

“‘He’s been talking recently about how he is the most powerful person to ever live,’ the confidant told us.”

@russellberman.bsky.social: “Massie’s endorsement didn’t get him the job in Trump’s Cabinet. He was recounting this to me in, of all places, a bridal suite inside a converted barn in his northern-Kentucky district.”

NEW: In closed-door meetings, J. D. Vance has repeatedly questioned the Defense Department’s depiction of the war in Iran and whether the Pentagon has understated what appears to be the drastic depletion of U.S. missile stockpiles.

Prediction markets have been dogged by accusations of insider trading in many areas—but shady bets on war “risk unleashing an entirely new kind of national-security threat," @saahildesai.bsky.social argued in March.

@phillipspobrien.bsky.social: “Using language that would until recently have been unthinkable, Zelensky has indicated that he no longer views the United States as a reliable ally and, even more astonishingly, that all of Europe needs to start moving on from the transatlantic relationship.”

Which restaurant serves the best free bread in America? @caity.bsky.social embarked on a quest to find out. theatln.tc/4cin9JlZ In The Atlantic’s May cover story, read about Weaver’s 13,000-mile investigation—and find her pick for the best loaf in America.

NEW: Kash Patel’s colleagues are alarmed by what they describe as erratic behavior and excessive drinking, Sarah Fitzpatrick reports. She spoke with more than two dozen people with knowledge of his conduct, some of whom described it as a national-security vulnerability.

The Trump administration has abruptly canceled an $11 million contract with Catholic Charities to shelter and care for migrant children who enter the U.S. alone, ending a relationship between the Catholic Church and the government dating back to the first arrivals of Cuban exiles in South Florida:

Caity Weaver embarked on the greatest quest since The Odyssey, all to find the best free restaurant bread in America. She traversed 13,000 miles, had rolls thrown at her, got a rec from Stephen King, and more. Go get it:

See supporters of Hungary’s Tisza party and its lead candidate, Péter Magyar, celebrating in the streets of Budapest after soundly defeating Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party in a general election. See more images at the link: theatln.tc/GzuYDsSH

@dgraham.bsky.social: ”The posts illustrate that Trump views religion much the way he views everything else: as something that can serve him but does not create any obligations on him.”

@isaacstanleybecker.bsky.social: “Trump has a way of distancing himself from people who disappoint him ... But having tied himself so tightly to Orbán, he may find it unusually difficult to dissociate himself from the prime minister’s downfall.”

@qjurecic.bsky.social: “Pushing out the division’s career staff allowed Dhillon to move forward with reshaping the Civil Rights Division...But this loss of horsepower and expertise has come at the cost of her own effectiveness in the role—if, that is, effectiveness is really the goal to begin with.”

“Much as Iran’s forces exceeded expectations against the world’s most powerful military, Iran’s social-media posters have held their own against, or even upstaged, the world’s loudest voice online.”

”A group of new accounts on the prediction market Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the U.S. and Iran would reach a ceasefire on April 7, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for these new customers.”

The war in Iran has showed that “the United States is, in effect, moving toward a world in which it faces more connected opponents with a less cohesive coalition of its own,” Thomas Wright argues:

Trump said he went to war to end Iran’s nuclear ambitions—but Tehran showed that it has a non-nuclear way to deter future attacks, @nancyayoussef.bsky.social reports. theatln.tc/ZqHD6VQT 📸: Kaveh Kazemi / Getty

“Despite those significant complications, the White House seemed determined to plow ahead with a diplomatic process it was already describing as nothing short of total victory.”

“Some companies may start to pare back products they’ve made ‘smart’ to justify markups ... ‘Do we stop getting smart refrigerators? I don’t think that’s a net bad,’ Laine Nooney, a technology historian at NYU, told me.”

@dgraham.bsky.social: ‘Trump’s message this morning is also notable for the autocratic view that underpins it.”

@radiofreetom.bsky.social: If such an order comes to pass, the military can and must refuse.

Donald Trump’s threatening message to the Iranians shows that he believes he is completely unconstrained by American law, international law, Congress, or public opinion, @dgraham.bsky.social argues:

Yesterday, four astronauts swung around the far side of the moon, traveling farther from the Earth than any humans had ever gone before, taking some spectacular photographs along the way. theatln.tc/19ze00pK 📸: NASA; Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP / Getty

“The carrots that America offers the nation are sticks to the men who rule it. And the sticks that America wields against the regime—isolation, conflict, and chaos—are carrots to men whose power depends on all three.”

Per WSJ: An Iranian drone attack last month on the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia did more extensive damage than previously disclosed, current and former American officials said, showing Iran’s ability to hit Washington’s assets in the kingdom.

Just over a month into the war in Iran, Pete Hegseth has purged the Army’s top officer—and the Army secretary’s job is also in jeopardy, Missy Ryan, Nancy A. Youssef, and Sarah Fitzpatrick report:

After Pam Bondi’s ouster, other top administration officials could be in jeopardy.

This is awful.

New: Military officials are planning for two potential high-risk ground assaults in Iran—all they need now is Trump’s go-ahead, three people familiar with the matter tell Nancy A. Youssef and Jonathan Lemire:

“Even before Donald Trump lifted oil sanctions on Russia, oil prices were skyrocketing—and filling Vladimir Putin’s war chest with billions of dollars, just as Russia’s wartime deficits were starting to cause significant pain.”

The war in Iran could raise global food prices as the conflict disrupts fertilizer shipments through one of the world’s most critical trade routes:

Breaking News: The U.S. will allow a Russian oil tanker to reach Cuba, letting critical fuel in after months of what amounted to a blockade.

This is a GREAT read if you want to have a major coronary event

"Intelligent political agency is impossible without a foundation of fact. Yet the rise of unrestrained AI, combined with the incentives and biases that drive social media, has served to supplant facts with consequential delusions, and helped mass-market them to those most inclined to believe them."

This is a remarkable synthesis of our current cultural moment:

@elcush.bsky.social: “Hundreds of airports in this otherwise great nation do not have even one single solitary Chili’s Too.”

@tombartlett.bsky.social: “Each of these events individually is bad news for Kennedy’s agenda; together, they suggest that his grip on power is waning.” theatln.tc/FtNRfXK5