* The Economist on why democracy fails in the Middle East: fear of Islamist parties; the diversity of Arab peoples. * America needs the government to reclaim its role as an employer to complete the recovery. * "Americans Don’t Miss Manufacturing—They Miss Unions." * Could an American “baby lull” presage
* White House directs all US public schools to accommodate trans students' gender identities. * Seven months after promising to relocate 10,000 Syrian refugees, America has settled under 2,000. * Global urban air pollution is worsening, and most cities in developing countries fall far shy of WHO air quality standards.
* US missile shield in Europe goes live today to protect NATO from Iranian rockets. * Hollande's Socialist government to resign en masse if it loses today's confidence vote in France. * Study finds that mandatory voting in Austria doesn't affect electoral outcomes. * Turkish troops shoot and
* UK's Cameron calls Nigeria "fantastically corrupt"—and Nigerian president Buhari agrees. * How Uganda came to be the world’s foremost exporter of mercenaries. * Gessen: Considering Russia's tone-deaf positions, it's no wonder a motorcycle club can shape its foreign policy. * Three points
* Sanders likely to win West Virginia today, but Clinton’s overall delegate lead looks insurmountable. * Fictional political pundit out-guesses Nate Silver, 538, Vox, and other "science"-based poll predictions. * Republican senators meet with and praise Supreme Court nominee Garland—and continue to block his fate. * Obama to
* White House aide harangued for telling the NYTimes the Iran nuclear deal was sold on fiction. * North Carolina to defy federal deadline on bathroom law, risking $4.8 billion in federal funding. * "Rockstar" Democratic fundraiser Elizabeth Warren may find a Trump presidential run playing right into her hands.
* After repeatedly saying he'd support the Republican nominee, Paul Ryan says he can't back Trump. * Profile of Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke, a black Fox News talking head and Trump's favorite lawman. * Dispatch from a business-casual white supremacist conference. * On the campaign trail with
* Justice Department warns North Carolina that its transphobic bathroom law violates civil rights laws. * The US wasted over a billion dollars trying to fight AIDS in Africa by promoting abstinence. * Europe to cease issuing the €500 bill; $1 million worth weighs five pounds and fits in a small bag. * Quick
* Trump locks in the GOP nomination, Cruz quits the race, Bernie wins Indiana to little avail. * GOP faithful switch to supporting Hillary. * Trump supporters attack GQ writer, who wrote a profile of Trump's wife she didn't like, with lurid antisemitism. * Tennessee governor signs law allowing university
* Andrew Sullivan: The rise of Trump marks the extinction of our democracy. * Opposition to Vietnamese refugees in the '70s was higher than today's opposition to Syrians. * Collection of once-embargoed photos of “enemy” Japanese Bay Area citizens being rounded up. * Neither free-market policy nor individual behavior
