'Flags are talismans of national pride, but their absence can also reflect a venomous divorce'

'Behind Russia's absence at the Olympics, a deepening fury'

Lee Hockstader at The Washington Post

Russia has not "disguised its rage at having been all but excluded from the 2024 Summer Games," says Lee Hockstader. The 15 neutral Russian athletes reflect the "extent to which the Kremlin is convinced, and has persuaded Russians, that the war in Ukraine is a proxy for a long-term struggle with the West." Russia has become an "increasingly galvanized society led by elites who see the Western powers as Moscow's sworn enemy," which is a "recipe for generational struggle."

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'I'm from Appalachia. JD Vance isn't. He got our story wrong.'

Riley Crabtree at USA Today / Columbus Dispatch

J.D. Vance "painted Appalachia as a place to escape" and "insinuated Appalachians were stubborn folks with no value and no real culture," says Riley Crabtree. His "portrayal of my part of America was personal — not universal," and for many Appalachians, "achieving even a career that can provide for your family is difficult." Because of Appalachia, "I have lived a wonderful life" with a "tight-knit family," which is "quite different from Vance's image of the region."

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'Hochul's Covid report leaves NY still lacking answers four years later'

New York Post editorial board

Four years after Covid began, New Yorkers "still have no reliable, independent assessment of how well their leaders responded," says the New York Post editorial board. Without this, it's "hard to hold anyone accountable for failures and to better prepare better for the next epidemic." This is a "serious problem, because many" of these policies "were monumentally tragic mistakes." There should be an "independent commission, with subpoena power, to provide the comprehensive accounting New Yorkers want."

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'Trump's crypto turnaround heralds an economic nightmare'

David Gerard at Foreign Policy

Donald Trump's crypto courting is a "surprise given Trump's previous strong opposition to crypto," says David Gerard. What "Trump wants from the crypto industry is money," and "many in Silicon Valley would like an authoritarian who they think will let them run free with the money." If Trump "allowed crypto free rein, it might help further the collapse of the U.S. economy." But it's "more likely that Trump will be happy to take crypto's money and run."

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