How astronaut Jim Lovell 'inspired generations'

'Jim Lovell never walked the moon, but astronaut was a true trail blazer'

Mark Davis at the Miami Herald

The late astronaut Jim Lovell "blazed that trail on the Apollo 8 voyage that showed that humans could truly leave the Earth," says Mark Davis. In "his Apollo 13 heroism," Lovell reminded "us of the best qualities Americans — and all people — can display." He "never walked on the moon," but his "path through American history, and the legacy he leaves among humanity's greatest explorers, is a journey never to be forgotten."

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'Men like Jeffrey Epstein are everywhere and they almost always get away'

Jens Ludwig at the Chicago Tribune

As the "Jeffrey Epstein case is back in the news, people are shocked by the depraved details and light punishment handed out. The real shock is that anyone is shocked," says Jens Ludwig. These "men are everywhere." It's "tempting for families in affluent urban or suburban areas to think they're safe from all sorts of violence. They are not." One of the "most unusual things about the Epstein case" is "that he got sentenced to any time at all."

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'I'm actually surprised it didn't happen sooner'

Keren Landman at The Atlantic

When "gunfire pelted the Atlanta-based headquarters of the CDC" on Friday, the "employees were not particularly shocked," says Keren Landman. Public health "workers have been facing escalating hostility since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic." In the "second Trump administration, those attacks have become commonplace — the very selling points, even, that have helped a number of President Donald Trump's health appointees gain their positions." Workers are "still getting used to the idea that the danger has arrived."

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'Lab-grown diamonds are testing the power of markets'

Allison Schrager at Bloomberg

The "popularity of lab-grown diamonds is making me question the beauty of markets, which is their ability to place a value on pretty much anything," says Allison Schrager. It is the "diamond's scarcity (as well as some good marketing) that made the market large and valuable." Now "diamonds can be made in a lab in not too much time, in just about any quantity." If the "supply of diamonds is unlimited, what is their value"?

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