QUOTE OF THE DAY

'My life is still at the mercy of the settlers and the occupation. My community is still suffering from unending violence. Our movie won an Oscar, but our lives are no better than before.'

Hamdan Ballal, the co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land," in a New York Times op-ed, on how he's "still trapped in the same grinding loop of violence and subjugation" in the West Bank

THE EXPLAINER

Modi's 'vendetta' against the Gandhis

India's financial crime-fighting agency has accused the leader of the opposition party, and scion of the country's political "first family," of money laundering, in what allies claim is the latest attack in a long-running feud. Rahul Gandhi, his mother Sonia and other Indian National Congress members were charged last week. But party spokesperson Jairam Ramesh described the case as the "politics of vendetta and intimidation" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his governing Bharatiya Janata Party.

Who are the Gandhis?
The Gandhis (no relation to independence leader Mahatma) have governed India for almost half of the period since the country gained independence in 1947. Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's inaugural prime minister, was followed by his daughter Indira Gandhi and then her son Rajiv. Their Congress Party is "synonymous" with the family, said Al Jazeera.

But for Modi and his allies, the Gandhi dynasty is an "object of intense loathing," said The Times. Modi "routinely singles the family out for behaving as though they were 'born' to rule India."

What are they accused of?
The Gandhis are accused of forming a shell company and using Congress Party funds to take over the then-publisher of the National Herald, founded by Nehru and one of India's oldest newspapers. It's alleged that through the purchase of Associated Journals Limited, the Gandhis illegally assumed control of real estate assets worth $300 million.

The family has previously denied wrongdoing in the long-running money-laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate, India's law enforcement and economic intelligence agency. And in a hearing today, a Delhi court refused to issue notice to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others, asking the agency to bring more documents on record and clear the defects, said The Hindu newspaper.

What's their side of the story?
The Congress "maintains that it bailed out the publisher due to its historical legacy" and accused Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party of using the financial crimes directorate and other federal agencies as "attack dogs," said the BBC. "It's the BJP being determined to remain the predominant party and look invincible by weakening the Congress with these allegations," Neerja Chowdhury, an Indian political analyst, said to The Times. According to data compiled by Reuters last year, the directorate had summoned, questioned or raided nearly 150 opposition politicians since Modi came to power in 2014.

Statistic of the day

26,000: The average daily cost of feeding a single astronaut. The European Space Agency will soon be launching a research program to lower the cost of astronaut food. This includes developing a plant on the International Space Station to produce lab-grown food, according to the BBC.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Warsh: the man who could replace Powell as Fed chair

While President Donald Trump considered firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at one time, he has since reneged on these comments. But Powell's term ends in 2026 either way, and reports say Trump is talking to Kevin Warsh about taking over the position.

Warsh's beginnings and Trump favoritism
After earning his J.D. at Harvard University, Warsh, 55, became a vice president and executive director at Morgan Stanley, then an "economic adviser to President George W. Bush from 2002 to 2006 and a governor of the Federal Reserve Board from 2006 to 2011," said Business Insider. Notably, like Powell, Warsh "does not have a graduate degree in economics," said CNN.

During his time on the Fed's board, Warsh "helped coordinate the sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase" but also "allowed Lehman Brothers to go under in 2008, a watershed moment for global financial markets," said CNN. He was an adviser on Trump's 2024 transition team and is currently a "distinguished economics fellow at the Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank."

Warsh is already a favorite of Trump's. The president reportedly considered him for Treasury secretary during his second term and considered him to run the Fed during his first term.

'Hawkish' economic views
A "known financial hawk," Warsh has been "critical of the U.S.'s expanding debt," said Business Insider. He previously wrote in an op-ed that recent inflation was caused by a "government that spent too much and a central bank that printed too much." Most conventional economists do not agree and instead "attribute inflation's eruption in 2021 mostly to pandemic-induced shocks to demand and supply," said CNN.

Then there's the question of interest rates. Powell is known for his willingness to allow rates to remain high to combat inflation, and Warsh is "widely considered to be even more hawkish," said CBS News.

His views have "alarmed some of the more vocal supporters of Trump's protectionist trade and tariff policy vision," said Politico. And Warsh has been a "vocal defender of globalization and free trade," which could put him at odds with some of the isolationists in Trump's camp.

Good day 🐿️

… for nut crackers. Walnuts can help reduce systemic inflammation while simultaneously lowering the risk of colon cancer, according to the results of a clinical trial conducted at the UConn School of Medicine and published in the Cancer Prevention Research journal. Ellagitannins, plant-derived polyphenol compounds found in walnuts, provided the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties observed in the study.

Bad day 🥛

… for milk safety. The Food and Drug Administration has suspended a quality-control program for testing milk and other dairy products because of reduced capacity in its Food Safety and Nutrition Division, according to an internal email. The testing program will eventually be transferred to another lab that will allow it to continue, said an FDA spokesperson.

Puzzles

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The Week recommends

Films as rip-roaringly good as their original books

Translating a book to the screen can be hit or miss, especially when legions of fans love the source material. Sometimes, though, filmmakers produce a movie that delightfully captures the special essence of the book. Here are a few films that are as good as, if not better than, the written word that spawned them.

'To Kill A Mockingbird' (1962)
The book propelled Harper Lee into the American literary canon despite the controversy surrounding its frank depiction of the country's deep-seated racism. The film, like the novel, was a hit, earning eight Oscar nominations and winning three. The movie is "just as heartbreaking and poignant" as Lee's book, with critics praising the "thematic interplay between public conscience and racial disharmony," said CBR.

'Jurassic Park' (1993)
There are several differences between Michael Crichton's 1990 science-fiction novel and Steven Spielberg's 1993 blockbuster movie, so if you haven't read the book, it's worth checking out. The film's "iconic staging," standout performances and "plentiful special effects" amount to a "breathtaking visual experience," said MovieWeb.

'L.A. Confidential' (1997)
James Ellroy's 1990 crime fiction novel, "L.A. Confidential," is a "gritty homage about the moral rot of 1950s Los Angeles hidden behind Hollywood glamor," Angela S. Allan, a Harvard lecturer in American literature, economic history and popular culture, said to the Harvard Gazette. The adaptation was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and is "one of the best adaptations of a novel I have ever seen."

Poll watch

Less than four in 10 Americans (37%) approve of Trump's handling of the economy, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey. The poll of 4,306 adults also found that 52% of Americans think Trump's actions could make it harder for them to live comfortably in retirement.

INSTANT OPINION

Today's best commentary

'Climate science should be taught in classrooms by trained professionals'
Mark Gongloff at Bloomberg
Under the Trump administration, the Commerce Department "ended a partnership" with the "Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System," says Mark Gongloff. The organization was accused of promoting "exaggerated climate threats" and "contributing to a phenomenon known as 'climate anxiety'" among "America's youth." But a "professed concern about children's climate anxiety" is meant to "justify curbing climate discussions" and is "part of a new breed of denialism."

'The limits of Rogan's just-asking-questions pose'
Helen Lewis at The Atlantic
British writer Douglas Murray recently "confronted" podcaster Joe Rogan over his "decision to platform a series of guests" with controversial views on World War II, says Helen Lewis. Does Rogan's "influence" confer any "responsibility" to "patrol the borders of allowable discourse on his show"? Rogan "says no." But now that Trump is president, those in the "Roganverse are the new establishment, and their desire for power without responsibility is being challenged."

'Economic nostalgia is a poor guide to sound policy'
Veronique de Rugy at the Los Angeles Times
Both the "infamous Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930" — intended to "reduce imports and raise domestic prices" — and the "Trump-era tariffs of today" emerged from "economic nostalgia and fear of change," says Veronique de Rugy. "Both were politically attractive," and "both were costly backward-looking mistakes that undermined the economies they were meant to protect." And just as Smoot-Hawley "hurt the farmers it was meant to help, Trump's tariffs are hurting manufacturers."

WORD OF THE DAY

halo

A rig with 12 cameras that the filmmakers behind "Sinners" created to capture everything star Michael B. Jordan did with his head. The footage was used to replace a body double's head to give the illusion that Jordan was playing "Depression-era twins named Smoke and Stack," said The New York Times. The tech is head and shoulders above the ol' split screen.

Why is Crimea a sticking point between Russia and Ukraine?