The Week Evening Review
The threat of India-Pakistan violence, David Hogg's Democratic challenge, and RFK Jr.'s food-dye push

 
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION

What happens if India-Pakistan tensions boil over?

India and Pakistan inched closer to overt conflict last week after an attack in the Indian-administered Kashmir region left dozens dead and set the two nuclear-armed neighboring nations on a collision course. India has threatened to withdraw from the treaty that provides water to the bulk of Pakistan, prompting that country to close its airspace to Indian flights. As both countries continue baring their teeth at one another, where might all this hostility lead?

What did the commentators say?
The "fast-rising tensions" between India and Pakistan have led to a "series of escalating tit-for-tat moves" since the terrorist attack, said The Guardian. As a result, the two nations have moved "closer to military confrontation." The hostilities are "rekindling memories of February 2019 when a car suicide bombing in Kashmir brought the two countries to the verge of war." There have been "cross-border skirmishes" involving "small arms fire" across the India-Pakistan border in the past week. 

India's threat to withdraw from the Indus Waters Treaty signifies a "rupture" with "huge symbolic and strategic weight," said The New York Times. Within Pakistan, there's "growing concern" as various Indian figures "hint at the possibility of military strikes," with some Pakistani analysts warning that the "current confrontation could intensify beyond the 2019 standoff." 

In Kashmir, "thousands have flocked to the streets" to protest the violence, said CNN. Several anti-Pakistan protests have "erupted" in various Indian cities, raising fears of "fueling anti-Kashmiri and anti-Muslim sentiment."

What next?
For India, "military retaliation, at some point in the coming days, is a real possibility," said South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman at Newsweek. The "scale and targeting" of the Kashmir attack make it "all but assured" that India will respond "with muscle."

At the same time, New Delhi's regional rivalry with Beijing and the proximity of all three nations make the shared border the "world's only three-way nuclear junction," said The Associated Press. With China's support of Pakistan and the U.S.'s backing of India, any Indian-Pakistani conflict that starts as a bilateral engagement is "unlikely to stay strictly between them, as their strategic partners are likely to get involved."

 
 
QUOTE OF THE DAY

'Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now. These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.'

Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) calling on Democrats to "fight everywhere and all at once" against the Trump administration, during a speech that got raucous applause from a group of New Hampshire Democratic activists, officials and donors

 
 
TALKING POINTS

Hogg challenges Democrats' 'ineffective' old guard

Anti-gun campaigner David Hogg is making waves with his plan to push primary challenges to the party's incumbents in Congress. After rising to prominence as a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at his high school in Parkland, Florida, he is now a vice chair on the Democratic National Committee and is making party leaders anxious.

Democratic critics say Hogg's plan to invest $20 million from his Leaders We Deserve PAC to replace incumbents is "misguided at a time when the party is up against President Donald Trump," said The Washington Post. Hogg said his goal is to help that opposition by replacing "ineffective" Democrats. Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin is working to force Hogg to "choose between his official role and his disrupter goals." 

'Blow up the institution'
Democrats know that voters are "hungry for younger leadership with more verve," said Lauren Egan at The Bulwark. The party is also trying to figure out how to "welcome fresh faces without forcing out older ones." Hogg has "pissed off" old guard party members but also "frustrated some progressives" after declaring he would not go after Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who already has a primary challenge. 

Hogg's boldness is "right on time," even if it angers party elders, said Michael Ceraso at The Hill. But DNC members "weren't asking him to blow up the institution." They were "asking him to fix it." Hogg would do well to follow the example of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who's "turning her progressivism into bridge-building" while still landing punches against Republicans. 

If Hogg wants to back primary challenges, "that's fine," said Jonah Goldberg at The Dispatch. But doing it while in party leadership is "indefensible." 

'Voters should decide'
Martin is calling for party officials' neutrality in primaries to be "codified in the party's official rules and bylaws," said CNN. Voters should "decide who our primary nominees are, not DNC leadership," Martin said to reporters. The changed rules "in effect will force me out of the organization," said Hogg. 

He will not go quietly. Democrats spent $2 billion on the 2024 presidential election and "still lost an election to a convicted felon who literally attempted to overthrow our government," said Hogg on X. That should be "cause for serious reflection" and big changes in the Democratic Party.

 
 

Statistic of the day

56,640: The number of runners who completed yesterday's London Marathon, beating the world record of 55,646 set by the New York City Marathon in November.

 
 
IN THE SPOTLIGHT

RFK Jr.'s food dye phase-out could face pushback

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a timeline for his plans to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic food dyes that color many common foods in the nation's food supply. He asserted that he had reached an "understanding" with major food manufacturers to remove the dyes by 2026. But it's not clear if and when companies will comply.

Kennedy ramps up his war on sugar
Four years from now, "we are going to have most of these products off the market, or you will know about them when you go to the grocery store," said Kennedy. His push to get food manufacturers to remove artificial dyes is his "first effort at sweeping reform of the food industry," which he has "long blamed for creating and marketing ultraprocessed foods that he says are making Americans obese and contributing to a host of diseases," said The New York Times.

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary stated that the agency has several actions planned to phase out the use of synthetic dyes in the future. It will work with companies to voluntarily eliminate six commonly used dyes by the end of next year. 

In addition, the FDA intends to partner with the National Institutes of Health to conduct comprehensive research on the impact of food additives on children's health and development. "For the last 50 years, American children have increasingly been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals," said Makary.

Companies have 'made promises like this before'
While Kennedy made statements about the "understanding" with food companies, no industry officials were present at the press conference to substantiate those claims. However, some companies, including PepsiCo and General Mills, have taken steps that suggest they plan to comply. 

The change will not happen overnight, even if companies do acquiesce. It could take three to four years to build up the supply of botanical products needed for an industrywide shift toward natural dyes, said the team at Sensient Technologies Corporation, one of the world's largest dyemakers. Plus, food companies have "made promises like this before," Thomas Galligan, a principal scientist at watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest, said to NPR.

 
 

Good day 🐶

… for dog's best friend. Dog owners get greater relationship satisfaction from their pets than from any of their human relationships, with the exception of parent-child bonds, according to a new study published in Scientific Reports. Hungarian researchers found that people also experienced fewer negative interactions with their pets than they did with the humans in their lives.

 
 

Bad day 🍷

… for Euro-centric oenophiles. Levels of the forever chemical trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA, have risen "alarmingly" in European wines in recent decades, according to an analysis from the Pesticide Action Network Europe. The wines that contained the highest concentration of TFA were the ones with the "highest amount of pesticide residue," said Salomé Roynel of PANE.

 
 
Picture of the day

Baby steps

A male calf finds his feet next to his mother, Rita, at the U.K.'s Woburn Safari Park. Born last Tuesday, he is one of eight domesticated Bactrian camels at the attraction. Wild Bactrian camels are critically endangered, with fewer than 1,000 remaining.
Woburn Safari Park

 
 
Puzzles

Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section, which also includes sudoku and codewords

 
 
The Week recommends

Want to make the most of your beach day? Stock your gear with items that will keep you cool, comfortable and sun-safe. Luxe beach towels, shade-providing tents and adjustable padded chairs are some of the essentials that a day of sun and sand demands.

Brooklinen cabana stripe beach towel
A plush, oversize towel feels like a warm hug after spending time in the water. One side is "super soft" velour that's "great for lounging on for hours," while the "absorbent" terry side will "dry you off in an instant," said The Strategist. The towel is made of 100% cotton and available in five color options. ($59, Brooklinen)

Homevative floating backpack beach chair
This lightweight folding chair can go just about anywhere. It's "easy to carry across all sorts of terrain — sidewalks, gravel, staircases and, of course, sand" and has plenty of pockets, including an insulated pouch "perfect" for keeping cans and bottles cool in the sun, said Real Simple. The chair also adjusts to five positions with a "crucial" flat option that facilitates "cozy" beach naps. ($65, Homevative)

Sun Ninja tent 
Leave the flimsy beach umbrella at home and instead consider this tent. Made of elastic spandex, it's "impressively portable and versatile" and able to "hold up to breezy conditions," said Gear Junkie. The shade offers excellent sun protection, with a UPF 50+ rating, and can be "set up in a variety of ways," depending on what you need. Choose from a two-person, four-person or eight-person tent and from four colors. (starting at $90, Sun Ninja)

 
 

Poll watch

Younger adults are increasingly turning to peers over doctors for health advice, with 45% of adults ages 18 to 34 saying that they have disregarded their health provider's guidance in favor of information from a friend or family member in the past year, according to global survey results from communications firm Edelman.

 
 
INSTANT OPINION

Today's best commentary

'Each hopes to be spared by the figurative firing squad, but predictably, none will be'
Viet Thanh Nguyen at Time
The Trump administration is "weaponizing the fear of the other and promoting a moral panic" around "refugees and immigrants" who are "seeking to replace white people," says Viet Thanh Nguyen. But the "mechanisms of deportation or the state punishing its enemies are unlikely to stop with Venezuelans or advocates of a Palestinian state," because "authoritarian power will not be satisfied with one sacrifice." It will eventually "require more, since that power thrives on the spectacle of punishment."

'The world has abandoned us to a fate of constant, deadly bombardment'
Manal Qaed Alwesabi at Al Jazeera
In the "first week of April," the U.S. "carried out air raids across Yemen," says Yemeni journalist Manal Qaed Alwesabi. "I often hear people say that what we are suffering cannot compare to what's happening in Gaza. My fellow Yemenis see pain as a matter of comparison, not a matter of justice, as if the pain must compete against another to be recognized." Yemenis are being "reduced" to "mere numbers in international agency reports and news broadcasts."

'Budget-conscious travelers are pulling back over concerns about the economy'
Thomas Black at Bloomberg
Southwest "gained a loyal following" as a "low-cost airline," but it's now "getting walloped and at the worst possible time as it revamps its business model," says Thomas Black. Southwest is in the process of "making historic changes to its service model," breaking tradition by "adopting assigned seating" and "charging for checked bags." But Southwest "remains a domestic airline and will feel the full brunt of whatever happens to the U.S. economy."

 
 
WORD OF THE DAY

meadowscaping

A burgeoning landscaping trend of turning lawns into meadows filled with tall grasses, flowers and herbs. The look is especially popular with younger and more climate-aware generations. It is less expensive to maintain, requires less water and energy and helps sequester more CO2, said the BBC.

 
 

Evening Review was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Joel Mathis, Summer Meza, Rafi Schwartz and Anahi Valenzuela, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images; Mark Wilson / Getty Images; Andrew Harnik / Staff / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images