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  • The Week Evening Review
    Texas' flood risks, The New York Times under fire, and Syria's returning refugees

     
    TODAY'S BIG QUESTION

    Why are flash floods in Texas so deadly?

    As rescuers continue searching for survivors from deadly flash flooding in Texas' Hill Country over the Fourth of July weekend, state officials say they could not have foreseen the incident. But skeptics point out that flooding of this nature is quite common in the area. With over 100 people dead, including 27 kids and counselors from a girls' summer camp, residents and experts will be working to prevent tragedies like this in the future. 

    What did the commentators say?
    The floods developed incredibly fast, with downpours causing the Guadalupe River near San Antonio to rise 26 feet in just 45 minutes. But these floods are a "known risk in central Texas, which the National Weather Service has identified as the most flash-flood-prone area in the country," said The Globe and Mail. Factors like "steep terrain, intense storms and soil conditions" can "exacerbate flood risk." Hill Country "sits at the intersection of all three."

    In this region of Texas, the "hills are steep, and the water moves quickly when it floods. This is a semi-arid area with soils that don't soak up much water, so the water sheets off quickly and the shallow creeks can rise fast," said Hatim Sharif, an engineering professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, at The Conversation. When these creeks come together at a river like the Guadalupe, it can "create a surge of water that wipes out homes and washes away cars and, unfortunately, anyone in its path." This is often exacerbated by torrential rain during the Atlantic hurricane season.

    What next?
    These types of flash floods are likely to continue plaguing parts of the U.S., as "climate change will only make events like this more common," said Time. Hotter temperatures will lead to more frequent heavy rain and "stronger and more destructive storms."

    Questions are "piling up about whether local officials in a region nicknamed Flash Flood Alley should have done more to prepare," said NPR. Some local Texas officials have lambasted the National Weather Service, saying the agency did not provide proper warning, which it denies. 

    "We knew we would get rain, we know the river rises, but nobody saw this coming," Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said to CBS News. "We had no reason to believe that this was gonna be anything like what has happened here."

     
     
    QUOTE OF THE DAY

    'We don't want to use violence, but what's happening to our community is completely violent.'

    Ron Gochez, the leader of Unión del Barrio, a group that defends Latino communities, speaking to The New York Times about Trump's immigration crackdown in the city. Immigrant rights groups have been springing up around the country since Trump retook office.

     
     
    IN THE SPOTLIGHT

    Backlash over NY Times' Mamdani college leak 

    The New York Times' decision last week to publish leaked details of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's 2009 Columbia University application has thrust the storied paper into a blossoming scandal. Revelations about the leak's origin have threatened to undermine the Times' claims of newsworthiness.

    The paper obtained the details through an unnamed intermediary described as someone who "opposes affirmative action and writes often about I.Q. and race," later identified as eugenicist Jordan Lasker. Now, Mamdani's application has taken the backseat to a broader furor over the Times' motivation and sourcing. 

    Newsworthy or manufactured issue?
    As a high schooler, the Ugandan-born and ethnically Indian Mamdani listed himself as both Asian and African American, which is "newsworthy," said Times Assistant Managing Editor for Standards and Trust Patrick Healy in a series of social media posts responding to pushback over the story. The decision to grant Lasker semi-anonymity by using his digital sobriquet was simply an opening for readers to "learn more about the person."

    Given that the story was based on hacked and leaked materials, there should be an "extra high bar of newsworthiness to justify publication," said former Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan at The Guardian. The Mamdani piece "fell far short of the newsworthiness bar."

    The paper framed the report as "'Mamdani faked being Black'" because it expected that to be a "huge scandal that would cripple him," said The Washington Post's Perry Bacon on Bluesky. The Times "heavily suggested" that Mamdani was intentionally misrepresenting himself, said journalist Matt Pierce on Bluesky. But those insinuations were "unsupported" by its "own reporting."

    Political lessons
    Regardless of the Times' motivation, there's "value to the story of Mamdani's Columbia application," said Philip Bump at The Washington Post. His challenges in articulating his complex identity offer an "excellent distillation of the narrow and archaic way Americans evaluate race." People searching for a villain in this episode should instead be mad that colleges "incentivize applicants to be misleading about their skin pigmentation" because "false value is assigned to it," said Robby Soave at Reason.

    This incident, coupled with the Times' previous coverage, makes it appear as if the paper is "on a crusade against Mamdani," said Sullivan at The Guardian. The real question, said Max Tani at Semafor, is how he will "treat the hometown paper of record if he's elected mayor."

     
     

    Statistic of the day

    15%: The percentage by which African countries receiving higher levels of USAID funding were associated with a reduction in across-the-board mortality rates, according to a study in The Lancet. Higher USAID funding also resulted in a 32% drop in mortality for children under age 5.

     
     
    the explainer

    Syria's returning refugees

    More than 13.5 million Syrians were displaced from their homes during their country's nearly 15-year civil war, with most finding refuge in neighboring nations. Now, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December, a steadily climbing number of people are returning. But the life that awaits them in their war-torn homeland remains rife with difficulty. 

    How many have returned? 
    More than 2 million Syrians have gone back to their areas of origin, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Some 1.5 million were internally displaced, and about 600,000 have returned from Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Among the nearly 1 million Syrians who found refuge in Europe, mainly in Sweden and Germany, there has been little movement. Some host countries have made moves to encourage refugees to return. 

    Is it safe to go back to Syria? 
    Widespread fighting has subsided, but in the north, there are pockets of violence between groups based in Turkey and the Syrian Defence Forces. There have also been incidents of violence against Alawites, the ethnic group closely associated with Assad, and Israeli air strikes in southern Syria around the bordering regions of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. 

    What are the other obstacles? 
    The destruction inflicted on Syria's cities and infrastructure and limited access to shelter and electricity have prevented a bigger influx of returning refugees. Although most Syrians say they intend to return, a U.N. poll earlier this year suggested that housing, safety, lack of services, and economic hardship were the key reasons why many did not plan to go back in the next 12 months. The Syrian government hopes Western countries can help with the multibillion-dollar cost of rebuilding, and the U.S. and EU have already agreed to lift sanctions to aid reconstruction. 

    Some Syrian refugees may never wish to return, however, since they have built new lives elsewhere. And for families with children who have been born and raised far from Syria, there's even less incentive to return, particularly given the ongoing instability and poor living conditions.

     
     

    Good day 🥰

    … for emojis. Couples who use emojis in text messages feel closer than couples who don't, according to a study in the journal PLOS One. Those who included emojis were more likely to be highly responsive and understanding in their relationships, according to an analysis of 260 texts by University of Texas researchers.

     
     

    Bad day 🩹

    … for tennis pros. Italy's Jannik Sinner and Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov were both injured during last night's Wimbledon match. The top-seeded Sinner injured his elbow in a fall before advancing to the Wimbledon quarterfinals after Dimitrov withdrew due to an injured pectoral muscle.

     
     
    Picture of the day

    Heartbreak in Hunt

    A sheriff's deputy wipes away tears while searching through the banks of the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, following the devastating flash floods on July 4. The disaster has claimed the lives of 27 campers, contributing to a death toll that has now surpassed 100. 
    Julio Cortez / AP

     
     
    Puzzles

    Daily crossword

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

    Play here

     
     
    The Week recommends

    Snow what? Ski towns to visit during summer.

    Don't confuse a lack of snow with a lack of things to do. Ski towns can be just as exciting in the summer as they are in winter. These destinations offer what you need for an action-packed mountain escape.

    Breckenridge, Colorado
    A high-altitude adventure awaits in Breckenridge (pictured above). At 9,600 feet above sea level, the city enjoys mild temperatures during summer. It stands out for its "world-class" activities, like fly-fishing, rafting, mountain biking, trail running, stargazing, wildflower spotting and panning for gold at the Country Boy Mine, said Outside. Downtown, the "very hands-on" Breckenridge Arts District beckons with its galleries, studios and performance spaces. 

    Stowe, Vermont
    Summer here means trading your skis for canoes and kayaks. During warmer months, adventurers can be found on the water and biking around this "classic" New England town, said Lonely Planet. On Sundays through mid-October, the Stowe Farmers' Market is buzzing with vendors offering fresh produce, cheese and meat, and artisans selling jewelry, purses and artwork.

    Whistler, British Columbia
    The transition from skiing to mountain biking in Whistler is such a big deal that it's celebrated each May during a day known as Whismas. The biking is "almost as legendary as the skiing," with "every type of terrain imaginable," said Powder. To learn more about the area and its Indigenous history and culture, visit the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Center, said Condé Nast Traveler, where the "exhibitions, short films and drum music bursting forth all foster a sense of exploration."

    Read more

     
     

    Poll watch

    Over three-fifths of people (64%) across 12 countries are dissatisfied with their country's democracy, according to a Pew Research Center survey. The poll found this dissatisfaction has been steadily increasing over the last few years, with 52% and 53% of people dissatisfied in 2021 and 2022, respectively, before a 10-point jump in 2023.

     
     
    INSTANT OPINION

    Today's best commentary

    'AI is changing our world. At what point will it change our reality?'
    Kofi Mframa at USA Today
    While videos are "still clockable as AI, the technology will only get better, making it even more difficult to determine what's real and what's fake," says Kofi Mframa. In an "age where misinformation already runs rampant, the line separating fact from fiction has become a blur." Advancements in AI will "only erase it further by proliferating false realities until we find ourselves in a post-truth society." A "generation averse to critical thought is primed to fall for AI trickery."

    'Leaders must learn the art of dealing with Donald Trump'
    Jeffrey Sonnenfeld at Time
    Trump "threatens schools and businesses to pay the tributes he demands or suffer the consequences," says Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. Trump is a "bully," and some leaders recently have "succumbed to such efforts and paid the piper, while others have resisted." The "most effective way to deal with Trump is through collective action, but if abandoned by peers, leaders can make needed cosmetic concessions to allow their adversary a dignified path for retreat." Leaders "must learn this wisdom."

    'The Milei "miracle" is a vindication of free markets'
    The National Review editors
    Argentina is achieving "growth not through a strategic industrial policy or a mercantilist trade policy" but is achieving it by "rolling back the overextended public sector, slashing the government budget, controlling the money supply and removing price controls," say the National Review editors. It's "common to refer to growth stories like Argentina's as miracles," but President Javier Milei "knows that these are not miracles." They are "exactly what economic principles suggest would happen when government controls are removed."

     
     
    WORD OF THE DAY

    Stratus

    A new Covid variant that's on the rise. Known officially as XFG, it is considered a "Frankenstein," or recombinant, variant due to its hybrid genetic composition and is a descendant of the widely spread Omicron. Stratus has a distinctive property of giving people a hoarse voice. 

     
     

    Evening Review was written and edited by Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Justin Klawans, Joel Mathis, Summer Meza, Rafi Schwartz, Anahi Valenzuela and Richard Windsor, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

    Image credits, from top: IIllustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images; Vincent Alban / Pool / AFP via Getty Images; Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images; The Breckenridge Tourism Office, GoBreck.com
     

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