— A headline about this extremely ankle-forward designer shoe. Get a tetanus shot before trying this trend.
Voting
The Court Redraws the Map — and the Rules
What's going on: Yesterday, the Supreme Court effectively took a sledgehammer to a key part of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and raised the bar for what counts as a “racially discriminatory” congressional map. The case looked at a dispute over Louisiana’s 2024 voting map, which added a second majority-Black district after a push from Black voters — who make up about a third of the state’s population. But a group (comprised of self-described “non-African Americans”) claimed this was racial gerrymandering that violated the Constitution, and soon the issue climbed to the highest court.
What this means for voting maps: The conservative justices ruled the VRA only prevents maps that intentionally limit minority voters’ power, but that doesn’t mean states can’t use race to create maps that level the playing field for those voters. For those of us who didn’t go to law school, this decision just made it much harder to prove discriminatory racial gerrymandering in court — especially because states can just argue their maps are driven by politics, not race (yes, it’s perfectly legal to tweak maps for partisan gain). For the minority, Justice Elena Kagan warned that the ruling could undo decades of progress.
What this means at the ballot box: Expect state lawmakers in the South to head back to the (map) drawing board. Republicans could eventually score an additional 19 House seats, though it’s unclear how many can redraw their lines before the midterms. But The Washington Post reports Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has wasted no time and plans to suspend next month’s state primaries to rearrange the map. The justices’ decision built on earlier rulings that already weakened the VRA. And this could open the door to challenges to state-level voting rights protections. Critics — including former President Barack Obama, Martin Luther King III, and state lawmakers — condemned the justices’ decision.
🗞️ The Pentagon has shared its first public estimate of the cost of the Iran war so far. We’d like to see the receipts.
🗞️ A man stabbed two Jewish men in the London suburbs on Wednesday morning in what police are calling a terrorist incident. It’s the latest in a string of antisemitic attacks in the city.
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What's going on: Knowing if someone is an Apple Music or Spotify user is just as important as their astrological birth chart. But regardless of your stance on Spotify Wrapped, the app wants to be your one-stop shop for music, audiobooks, podcasts, and… workout classes? Spotify isn’t the only company with big ambitions. Uber announced it wants to be more than your airport ride. It also wants to help you book a hotel and deliver a toothbrush (even though you swore you packed one). It feels like every company that once did just one thing really well now wants to do all the things...
What it means: We all have one too many apps and logins to keep up with, and companies know that. Many are trying to evolve into “everything apps,” a place with max “customer stickiness,” where you spend all your time and money. Their end goal: to get as big as Amazon, the original “Everything Store” that went from selling cheap used textbooksto Whole Foods groceries. (No wonder Jeff Bezos is worth a cool $280 billion.) But not everyone can pull it off. Elon Musk’s plans to turn X into the American version of China’s WeChat fell flat — just ask Grok. “Enshittification” is coming for us all.
Want To Be a Better Wife? There’s a Class For That
What’s going on: And you thought your sorority sister who openly admitted she went to college to get her M-R-S degree was embarrassing? Now there are so-called “wife schools” popping up online, offering women an opportunity to create happier marriages by adopting more traditional, conservative Christian gender roles. See also: How to be a trad wife. The curriculum (can we call it that?) includes the familiar tropes to let the man lead, be submissive, and don’t nag. It uses its own teachers’ polished domestic lives and marital bliss as proof that there is finally higher education that is worth the investment.
Is this real?: This may sound like a manosphere podcaster’s fever dream with an MLM twist, but it actually exists. It could also be a trend that’s reflecting a crisis within “Christian wifedom.” As more young women are stepping back from organized religion, more young men seem to be gravitating toward their own religious reawakenings. And studies reveal men who view the #tradwife movement positively tend to hold more openly hostile sexist views. Together, these shifts help explain why content promoting traditional marriage roles is finding an audience. What’s not clear is whether they’re selling practical ways to achieve happiness within marriage or indoctrination in disguise. In a society where couples are constantly redefining what marriage is, maybe the best way to learn to be a good spouse is to talk to your partner?
Upper-body sweats. Rapid heartbeat. Anxiety. These are just a few symptoms women experience during a hot flash — and for many, they hit hardest at night, disrupting sleep.
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😯 The Costco cult has spoken, and says these are the 12 items to avoid. We hate to admit it, but they make some good points.
😴 We all know magnesium is a game-changer for a good night’s rest, but one doctor says this is the best time to take it. BRB while we fix our nighttime routine.
🍓 Now is the time to stock up on these eight fiber-rich foods before they’re out of season. Basically, your next great salad starts here.
💍 For their 15-year anniversary, Prince William and Kate Middleton shared this sweet family photo. Even the dogs cooperated.
👗 One dress, so much speculation: Why Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s wife’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner dress is turning heads five days later.
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