Department of Health and Human Services Will Cut 10,000 Jobs as Part of Major Restructuring Plan

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will eliminate 10,000 jobs as part of a major restructuring plan, it announced Thursday.

Overall, the agency, which is responsible for monitoring infectious diseases, inspecting foods and hospitals and overseeing health insurance programs for nearly half the country, says it will decrease its workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 positions. That includes 10,000 in layoffs as well as another 10,000 workers who are taking early retirements or buyout offers that were given to nearly all federal employees by the Trump administration.

Most of the cuts will come from the public health agencies: The Food and Drug Administration, responsible for setting standards for Americans’ foods and medications, will shed 3,500 workers, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks infectious disease outbreaks, will cut 2,400 positions.

Meanwhile, the National Institutes for Health, the world’s leading public health research agency, will lose 1,200 people. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees health coverage for older and poor Americans, will shed 300 jobs.

source https://time.com/7272143/department-of-health-and-human-services-job-cuts-restructuring/

Breaking Down the Devastating Ending of Weak Hero Class 1

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Weak Hero Class 1 and the Weak Hero Class webtoon

When Weak Hero Class 1 was originally released in late 2022, the violent, coming-of-age series about a group of classmates banding together against their bullies became a word-of-mouth hit among K-drama fans. Originally released on Waave in Korea and on platforms like iQiyi, Kocowa, and Viki internationally, the show was popular among viewers who were able to access it, and found organic growth thanks to their raves on social media.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Still, because Weak Hero Class 1 was not available on streaming behemoth Netflix—which is as close to mainstream TV as we get in today’s fractured media environment—its success was limited. While Netflix has over 300 million global subscribers, Asian content-centric streamers like Rakuten Viki or the Chinese-based iQiyi, both of which offered Weak Hero Class 1 to U.S. viewers prior to its Netflix release, have roughly 95 million subscribers and 101 million subscribers, respectively. While Viki and iQiyi’s global presence is notable, currently, each streamer pulls in only a third of Netflix’s total subscribers. A Netflix success has limits too, but, as Squid Game has proven, those limits can be quite broad. 

Now, Weak Hero Class 1 is available to stream on Netflix, with a second season, Weak Hero Class 2, set to premiere on the streamer later this year. We’re taking the time to break down the heartbreaking, emotionally exhausting conclusion of the first eight episodes for those who have only recently found the series. What happens to high school boys Yeon Si-eun (Wanna One’s Park Ji-hoon), Ahn Suho (Twinkling Watermelon’s Choi Hyun-wook), and Oh Beom-seok (Revenant’s Hong Kyung)? How do things go so wrong for this friend group? And who ultimately survives? For those who have been waiting for Weak Hero Class 2 since 2022, we’ll also discuss what to expect from the sequel season.

Is Weak Hero Class 1 based on a webtoon, anime, or manhwa?

Weak Hero Class 1 is adapted from a Korean webtoon called Weak Hero, known as 약한영웅 in Korean. The comic, or manhwa in Korean, is written by Seopass, with illustrations by Razen. It was first available on Naver Webtoon in 2018, and was also picked up by Line Webtoon in 2019, where it was later translated into English. The webtoon is ongoing, and has released 199 episodes, at the time of this writing. It has also been published in volumed book format in Korea. 

How is the Weak Hero Class 1 TV show different from the webtoon?

The Weak Hero webtoon starts where Weak Hero Class 1 ends: with SI-eun as a newly arrived student at Eunjang High School. All of what happens in Weak Hero Class 1 is told in flashback in the Weak Hero webtoon, as part of Si-eun’s grisly backstory. While the series follows the basic plot of those flashbacks, they are understandably much more fleshed out in the show. The series changes some details, and also adds characters. For example, Yeong-i (D.P.’s Lee Yeon), the teen girl who helps Si-eun take down gang leader Gil-su, is not a character in the webtoon. 

In the webtoon, Su-ho is not a skilled fighter, but rather good at tests. Rather than getting beat by MMA fighter Woo-young (Melo Movie’s Cha Woo-min), Su-ho is accidentally pushed off of a school building by Beom-seok and Jeong Yeong-bin (Kim Su-gyeom). In the English-language webtoon translation, the main character of Yeon Si-eun is called Gray Yeon. Su-ho is Stephen, and Beom-seok is Bryce. 

Is Weak Hero Class 1 a BL drama?

BL, or boys’ love dramas, are a popular TV format. While Thailand has become known as a global exporter of BL dramas, Korea has also released a few, including Semantic Error and To My Star. However, Weak Hero Class 1 is not a BL drama. The central relationships in the series are of friendship.

Why does Beom-seok turn on his friends?

The first half of Weak Hero Class 1 is about the burgeoning friendship between study fiend Si-eun, street smart Su-ho, and timid rich kid Beom-seok. The three unlikely friends bond when they are unwillingly pulled into the systemic violence of their school and neighborhood.

While interspersed with some brutal fight scenes that don’t always go in our protagonists’ favor, the occasional feel-good friendship moments of the series’ first half make the show’s devastating second half—which sees a traumatized and self-destructive Beom-seok turn on his friends—that much more painful. “I actually think this series can be separated in half from [episodes] one to four, and then from [episodes] five to eight,” Hong, who plays Beom-seok, said at the show’s Busan International Film Festival premiere in 2022. “I think, personally, it’s like adding up two different films together.”

The drama takes a heartbreaking turn at the end of episode 4. After Si-eun, Su-ho, and Beom-seok successfully take down local gangster Gil-su, Beom-seok’s politician father, Oh Jin-won (Love Next Door’s Jo Han-chul), gets involved. He covers up the circumstances of Gil-su’s arrest to keep his son’s name out of the press. Additionally, he has his men present Gil-su to Beom-seok. They tell Beom-seok that his father has requested the teenager beat Gil-su up. Beom-seok, who as we’ve seen in the first half of the series is not a naturally violent person, refuses. When he returns home, his father beats him with a golf club. It’s implied that this is common behaviour for the parent, and that Beom-seok is regularly abused both physically and emotionally.

Jin-won is a cutthroat politician who adopted Beom-seok because he thought it would help his campaign, and he uses fear, intimidation, and violence to control his son. Because this is what Beom-seok has learned, he begins to emulate the behavior himself. Insecure and hurting, Beom-seok begins to fear that Si-eun and Su-ho only hang out with him because he bankrolls their excursions. His resentment builds, and he falls in with some of the bullies in their class. When Su-ho, who has never stood idly by when fellow teens abuse their power, calls Beom-seok and his new “friends” out for cutting the school lunch line, Beom-seok decides to use his money to take Su-ho down a peg. He sabotages the motorbike Su-ho uses for his part-time job as a food delivery worker, and hires Woo-young to beat Su-ho up. 

After Su-ho almost dies, Jin-won sends his son to a new school in the Philippines. Jin-won tells Beom-seok that if he doesn’t go, he will have Su-ho killed.

Does Suho die in Weak Hero Class 1?

The season ends with Suho in a coma, as a result of the injuries he sustained when he was beaten and kicked by Woo-young, and then by Beom-seok and his lackeys. Though Beom-seok instigated and carried out the brutal attack, he becomes distraught when he realizes Su-ho may be dying. He tries to stay by Su-ho’s side, but is dragged away by his father’s hired men. 

Later, Su-ho is brought to the hospital, where he is watched over by his grandmother and friends like Si-eun and Yeong-i. Su-ho’s sorry state prompts Si-eun to go on a vengeful rampage to exact violence on anyone involved with the attack. When Si-eun returns to Su-ho’s bedside, emotionally and physically exhausted, he imagines Su-ho waking up and teasing him. However, it is all in Si-eun’s imagination. Su-ho remains in a coma.

Why does Si-eun spare Beom-seok?

Before Beom-seok leaves the country, his father makes him visit his old school to say goodbye. It is an opportunity for Jin-won to gain political capital as a good father. When Si-eun comes into the school, looking to pummel anyone who played a hand in Su-ho’s injuries, Beom-seok is the final target on his vengeance list. But, when push comes to shove, Si-eun can’t hurt the person he once thought of as a friend. Perhaps he sees the defeated agony in Beom-seok’s eyes. Perhaps he is just tired. Whatever the motivation, Si-eun spares Beom-seok, though it may not feel like mercy to Beom-seok.

What happens in the mid-credits scene?

While Beom-seok goes to a new, presumably fancy school in the Philippines, Si-eun begins student life again at Eunjang School. It is the only school that will take him after he is thrown out of his former school for beating up his fellow students and after Jin-won makes sure he is blacklisted at other schools. Eunjang is much rougher than Si-eun’s previous school. Because of Si-eun’s delicate appearance, he is once again targeted as a potential victim by a class bully. In this case, the bully is Choi Hyo-man (Crash Landing on You’s Yoo Su-bin). Si-eun grips his pen, his weapon of choice, and stares Hyo-man down. Here we go again. 

In a mid-credits scene, we hear the voice of a man with a tattooed hand. He is looking at a photo of Si-eun on his phone, identifying him as the kid who beat up MMA figher Woo-young, and who recently transferred to Eunjang. Apparently, “the alliance” was considering recruiting Woo-young for their group. “What should we do now?” the man asks ominously before the scene fades to black and the credits continue rolling. This is most likely teasing the appearance of webtoon character Na Baekjin, or Donald in the English-language translation, the leader of The Alliance and the story’s main antagonist.

In the webtoon, The Alliance, also known as the Yeongdeungpo Union, are a gang made up of students from five different schools, including Si-eun’s new one. Each school, other than Baek-jin’s Yeo-il High School, has a leader who reports to Baek-jin.

Will Suho and Beom-seok be in Weak Hero Class 2?

As Su-ho does not appear for most of the Weak Hero webtoon, other than in flashbacks, it is unlikely he will play a major role in Weak Hero Class 2. There’s always a chance for a surprise cameo that deviates from the source material, but Choi Hyun-wook is not currently listed as a Season 2 cast member.

Similarly, if Weak Hero Class 2 follows the webtoon, Beom-seok will not be in Season 2. Hong Kyung is not currently listed as one of the cast members.

Park Ji-hoon and the Weak Hero Class 2 cast

While Choi and Hong may not be returning for Season 2, Park Ji-hoon will be reprising his central role as Si-eun (aka Gray). Joining him in the cast include Twinkling Watermelon’s Ryeoun as Park Hoo-min (aka Ben Park), Uprising’s Lee Min-jae as Go Hyun-tak (aka Alex Go), and XO Kitty’s Choi Min-yeong as Seo Jun-tae (aka Eugene Gale). 

On the antagonist side, Melo Movie’s Lee Jun-young stars as Geum Sung-jae (aka Wolf Keum) and D.P. Season 2’s Bae Na-ra stars as big bad Na Baek-jin (aka Donald Na). Choi will continue his Weak Hero Class 1 final scene performance as Choi Hyo-man (aka Colton Choi).

When will Weak Hero Class 2 be released?

While Netflix has not yet given a specific release date for Weak Hero Class 2, they have announced that the series will be out sometime in Q2.

When asked about how the series’ new platform will impact the story, Weak Hero Class 1 creative director Han Jun-hee told Korean media: “Weak Hero is still the same work. The only change is the platform. There are no other changes,” said Han. “There are concerns about the different mediums and running times, but we don’t approach it differently just because the platform is different.”

source https://time.com/7271539/weak-hero-class-1-netflix-k-drama/

The Atlantic Releases Signal Messages Showing Hegseth’s Detailed Attack Plans Against Houthis

WASHINGTON — The Atlantic released the entire Signal chat among Trump senior national security officials Wednesday, showing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the exact times of warplane launches, strike packages and targets — before the men and women flying those attacks against Yemen’s Houthis this month on behalf of the United States were airborne.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The disclosure follows two intense days during which Trump’s senior most Cabinet members of his intelligence and defense agencies have struggled to explain how details that current and former U.S. officials have said would have been classified wound up on an unclassified Signal chat that included Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg.

Hegseth has refused to say whether he posted classified information onto Signal. He is traveling in the Indo-Pacific and to date has only scoffed at questions, saying he did not reveal “war plans.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that it was up to Hegseth to determine whether the information he was posting was classified or not.

Read More: In Congress, Calls for Full Signal Chat Transcript Grow Louder

What was revealed was jaw-dropping in its specificity and includes the type of information that is kept to a very close hold to protect the operational security of a military strike.

In the group chat, Hegseth posted:

“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”

“1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)”

“1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)”

“1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)”

“1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.”

“MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)”

“We are currently clean on OPSEC” — that is, operational security.

“Godspeed to our Warriors.”

Goldberg has said he asked the White House if it opposed publication and that the White House responded that it would prefer he did not publish.

source https://time.com/7271744/the-atlantic-releases-signal-messages-hegseth-detailed-attack-plans-against-houthis/

3 Proven Ways to Collaborate Better on Climate Action

On the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly last year, the Potsdam Institute’s Johan Rockström unveiled the Planetary Health Check—a science-based global initiative which showed that six planetary boundaries are nearing dangerous tipping points, threatening our future.

Until now, companies, nations, and organizations have each brought their own weight to bear on this challenge. But as the science shows, and as the effects unfold, it’s clear that it’s not enough for the planet’s leaders—from CEOs to NGOs—to act in silos. The world needs a new and bolder approach to the climate and nature crises—one that brings together different groups and unlocks the creativity needed to turbocharge climate solutions.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

From activists to companies, everyone is talking about collaboration as the key to climate solutions. But that’s easier said than done. Common barriers to the bold cross-sectoral, cross-industry partnerships include challengings in aligning objectives, vision, and values; overcoming competitive barriers; and securing organizational buy-in, to name a few. 

In an effort to champion strong partnerships, earlier this year the World Economic Forum hosted its GAEA (Giving to Amplify Earth Action) Awards. This includes work by honorees Built By Nature, HYBRIT, and the Youth Climate Justice Fund—all of which are raising ambition across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors.

Here’s what their collaborative models look like:

Cross-Sector Problem Solving

The building and construction sector is the largest and fastest growing emitter of greenhouse gases by far, making up nearly 40% of global emissions. But what if cities could absorb carbon instead of emitting it? 

Built By Nature (BbN), an Amsterdam-based non-profit with the vision of a built environment in harmony with nature, is facilitating collaboration across the sector to accelerate the use of timber and other bio-based materials as an alternative to carbon-intensive steel and cement.

Founded three years ago, BbN brings together developers, architects, policymakers, insurers, and financial institutions to better understand and find solutions to tackle entrenched barriers—such as restrictive building codes, outdated risk perceptions, and financing challenges. By bringing these diverse stakeholders together through collaborative national networks across multiple European cities, BbN creates the conditions for bio-based materials to scale. These networks foster peer learning, drive policy change, and surface new innovations that accelerate progress. 

This collaborative approach has allowed BbN to amplify its support by coordinating funding from industry, government, and philanthropic donors. To date, it has invested 6.5 million euros, leveraging an additional 6.7 million euros in co-funding, directing these resources toward targeted research and practical solutions to scale bio-based materials.

And this empowers problem solving. One of the major barriers BbN’s networks have addressed is the challenge of securing insurance for timber buildings. BbN convened a group of U.K.-based industry stakeholders, including developers, architects, insurers, and agents to find solutions. The resulting Mass Timber Insurance Playbook debunks misconceptions, mitigates risk, and provides guidance for unlocking insurance for bio-based construction. 

Without BbN’s collaborative model, sectors would continue to work in their traditional silos, struggling to tackle the complex challenges of decarbonizing construction with innovative, low-carbon materials. 

“Partnerships across sectors are key to our success—and our hope is that the profile that this GAEA Award provides will enable Built by Nature to attract more industry leaders, systems change pioneers and supporters to our mission,” says Paul King, CEO of Built By Nature. 

Tapping Industry Collaboration

Increased demand for steel over the past decade has led to a rapid rise in emissions. To put steel on a net-zero emissions pathway, the world must reduce its reliance on coal—this is what HYBRIT is doing.

HYBRIT brings together Swedish industry leaders SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall on a mission to replace coal with fossil-free hydrogen in steel production. What sets this groundbreaking initiative apart is its peer-to-peer collaboration model, where each partner contributes complementary expertise: SSAB’s advanced steel manufacturing, LKAB’s sustainably-sourced iron ore, and Vattenfall’s fossil-free energy. 

As Anna Borg, Vattenfall CEO and TIME Magazine Top 100 Climate Leader, said at the GAEA Awards ceremony at this year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting: “When SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall started this collaboration in 2016 we knew that this is the business model of the future. But believing wasn’t enough—we had to prove it. HYBRIT has succeeded in delivering a product with superior qualities, proven process, delivered on time and on budget.”

HYBRIT’s technology could reduce Sweden’s emissions by 10%, but its impact extends far beyond its national borders, creating a replicable model for decarbonizing heavy industry globally. These companies, typically operating independently, are showing how collaboration can solve systemic challenges by reducing costs, mitigating risks, and combining knowledge.

Powering Youth Leadership

From setting up grassroots community initiatives to developing technological solutions to climate challenges, young people are leading the charge on climate and nature action. But less than 1% of global climate funding supports youth-led initiatives, leaving them without crucial support and the opportunity to connect with funders and donors.

The Youth Climate Justice Fund (YCJF) is working to address this imbalance by advocating for youth-inclusive philanthropy and developing a pipeline for larger funders, while ensuring that young leaders have agency over how they allocate the funding they receive. As co-director Nathan Méténier highlights, “Our model is about calling everyone in. Young people are a dynamic force, yet we’re falling short in scaling support for their innovations.”

Underpinned by the belief that collaboration is essential for climate justice, YCJF fosters intergenerational relationships by connecting grantee partners with experienced youth activists. It also partners with funders to pilot youth-led convenings, mobilizing resources for frontline climate initiatives. 

“In just two years, we’ve funded 90+ initiatives across 45 countries, committing $2.1 million to grassroots solutions,” says co-director Joshua Amponsem. “There is so much more we can all do together to support young leaders and grassroots groups whose lived experiences offer insights to achieve equitable climate action.” 

Across all three models—Built by Nature, HYBRIT, and the Youth Climate Justice Fund—a common theme emerges: collaboration is integral to achieving systemic change. Yet, because it’s not easy to bring unlikely allies together, these initiatives offer new and innovative approaches to do so meaningfully and authentically. They also demonstrate that when different groups work together, they can pool expertise, resources, and influence to drive meaningful progress in the fight against climate change.

Leslie Johnston is CEO of the Laudes Foundation. Fatou Jeng is a youth climate advisor to the United Nations Secretary General and founder of Clean Earth Gambia.

source https://time.com/7271157/ways-to-collaborate-better-on-climate-action/

Israeli Legislators Pass State Budget in a Move That Shores Up Netanyahu’s Government

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s parliament on Tuesday passed a state budget, a move that shores up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition and grants the embattled leader the chance at months of political stability even as public pressure mounts over the war in Gaza.

The budget vote was seen as a key test for Netanyahu’s coalition, which is made up of ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties who had demanded and largely received hefty sums for their constituents in exchange for support for the funding package. By law, the government would fall and elections triggered if a budget weren’t passed by March 31.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

With its passing, Netanyahu buys himself what’s likely to be more than a year of political quiet that could see his government coast through to the end of its term in late 2026, a rare occurrence in Israel’s fractious politics. It’s a political win for Netanyahu, who faces mass protests over his decision to resume the war in Gaza while hostages still remain in Hamas’ hands, and over his government’s recent moves to fire top legal and security chiefs.

The budget vote could also have implications on the war in Gaza. Netanyahu could feel free to move toward a lasting ceasefire with Hamas since his political allies, who oppose ending the war, have little incentive to trigger new elections while their polling numbers are down, said Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

But the vote doesn’t mean Netanyahu will move in the direction to end the war, she said. She expected him to further his ultranationalist partners’ agenda to keep them as loyal allies and galvanize the nationalist right ahead of any future vote.

“Netanyahu is always thinking about the next elections,” Talshir said. “His goal is to make sure the extreme right will be in his government now and in the future.”

source https://time.com/7271431/israel-parliament-passes-state-budget-netanyahu/

The Sweetest Moment of the Adolescence Finale Is Also Its Most Devastating

The British miniseries Adolescence has become Netflix’s breakout hit of the season, and for good reason. Co-creator and writer Jack Thorne’s third riveting social drama to hit stateside streaming services in two months, after Acorn premiered Best Interests and Toxic Town arrived on Netflix in February, this saga of a 13-year-old boy charged with killing a female classmate speaks profoundly to the impact of social media and that oxymoron “incel culture” on sensitive young minds. The cast—led by co-creator and writer Stephen Graham (Peaky Blinders) and featuring remarkable performances from Top Boy’s Ashley Walters, Graham’s A Thousand Blows co-star Erin Doherty (The Crown, Chloe), procedural stalwart Christine Tremarco, and newcomer Owen Cooper as the diminutive defendant—is a hall of fame of undersung UK television talent. The show is also a technical achievement, with director Philip Barantini’s camera following the characters through each real-time episode in a single dynamic shot.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Spread out over more than a year, the story progresses in snapshots. The first captures the early-morning arrest of Cooper’s Jamie Miller and his father Eddie’s (Graham) awful realization, after viewing video evidence, that his boy is guilty. In the second, Walters’ DI Luke Bascombe and his partner, DS Misha Frank (Faye Marsay), take their investigation to Jamie’s school, an already hostile environment plunged into full-on chaos by the murder. The breathtaking third episode takes place almost entirely among two actors in a single room, where Doherty’s psychologist is tasked with evaluating Jamie. And the last looks in on the Millers more than a year after Jamie’s arrest, as they try to forget about their ordeal and subsequent pariah status for long enough to celebrate Eddie’s 50th birthday. A necessarily tense show, Adolescence offers few scenes of happiness or humor. But there’s one light moment in the finale that I just can’t get out of my head—probably because, in context, it’s also completely devastating.

The episode opens with matriarch and de facto peacekeeper Manda (Tremarco) frying up a full English breakfast for her husband. A homemade birthday card from Jamie, decorated with a skillful portrait of Eddie, allows the parents to enjoy a rare flash of pride in their child. But their fragile optimism is shattered when their daughter, Lisa (Amelie Pease), alerts them that someone has spray-painted “nonse” [sic] on the van that is both the vehicle Eddie uses for his plumbing business and the family car. In a rage, Eddie scrambles to scrub it off with soap and water, screaming at a pair of teens on bikes who taunt him as they ride by, to no avail. As the black pudding congeals, he loads everyone into the van for an emergency hardware store run.

It’s on this ride that the Millers loosen up a bit, making plans to salvage the day with a movie and Chinese food. When Lisa scrolls her phone for music to play, Manda pesters her daughter to cue up something by her childhood favorite, A-ha, which in turn prompts her to tell the story of one of her and Eddie’s first dates. He “decided to test me,” showing up in a “daft pink wig,” she recalls. “Everyone was laughing, but your dad never cared when people laughed at him.” They were around 13 years old, at a school dance, which of course meant that most of the kids were too shy to get their groove on. Finally, as “Take On Me” came over the speakers, Eddie got on the floor and started dancing all by himself. According to Manda, the ridicule continued; as Eddie remembers it, the other kids “were loving me Northern Soul dance moves.” Then, with all their peers watching, he slipped, fell on his nose, and got up with a face covered in blood. “Everyone was just pissing themselves,” Manda says. “And then he said, ‘I’m bleeding here!’”

The exclamation became a running joke at school. Yet, almost four decades later, that evening remains a fond, funny memory for the couple; Eddie laughs self-deprecatingly throughout Manda’s anecdote. His misadventure brought them closer together, as Manda kept the boy who would grow up to be her husband company on the sidelines of the dance. When he dropped her off at home, he says—to their daughter’s mortification—she “snogged the gob off me.”

Manda’s anecdote functions as both confirmation that a monster like Jamie could be the product of a loving home and the eye of the episode’s storm—a reprieve between Eddie’s angry response to the graffiti and his burst of violence when the boys on bikes cruise by the hardware store. More than that, though, it’s a vision of the relatively wholesome rites of passage Jamie’s parents enjoyed at his age. Yes, 13-year-old Eddie made a fool of himself that night, and his classmates yelled “I’m bleeding here!” at him for years afterward. But it was all in fun. He was confident enough to shrug off the laughter. The incident also cemented his age-appropriate relationship with Manda, whose affection clearly helped ease the sting of embarrassment.

Imagine how the night might have played out differently, though, had it taken place in the present. Some kid with a phone would inevitably have recorded Eddie’s fall and posted it on social media, where his peers could pile on with mean comments Eddie would not only see, but also know that all his friends, including Manda, were reading. Maybe the video would go viral, leaving him open to ridicule from children and adults the world over. Maybe someone would turn him into a Bleeding Boy meme that would linger online for decades. (Remember Star Wars Kid?) Maybe Manda, also just 13 and thus susceptible to social pressure, would break up with him because she didn’t want to be a punchline by proxy. Maybe, just as Jamie had seen topless photos of his victim, Katie, that she’d sent to a boy in their class, Eddie would’ve gotten mad enough about the whole ordeal to share images of Manda that would also qualify as child pornography—and also possibly live forever in the darkest corners of the internet.

Eddie and Jamie are different people, to be sure. In his face-off with Doherty’s Briony, we learn that Jamie isn’t “sporty” like his dad, and that probably has something to do with his low position in the junior high social hierarchy. Other qualities Eddie has apparently failed to pass on to his son include charisma and warmth. Yet father and son share hair-trigger tempers. Eddie’s brief but terrifying outbursts in the finale echo Jamie’s sudden verbal assaults on Briony; he’s tiny, but the force of his rage rattles her. In both cases, it’s the women who surround these angry male characters who are burdened with either defusing the situation or enduring it. Their discomfort, their fear, their embarrassment—none of these things seem to matter to aggressors consumed by their own emotions. In Katie’s case, being the object of Jamie’s fury cost her her life.

The gulf between Jamie and Eddie is generational. (We also know that Eddie’s father was physically abusive, in an era when it was more socially acceptable for patriarchs to use violence to keep their families in line.) Thorne, who is just a few years younger than Eddie would be, has written that “the key difference between” himself at 13 and Jamie is that “he had the internet to read at night whereas I had Terry Pratchett and Judy Blume.” Jamie might’ve been the same angry, bullied kid had he come of age in the 1980s. But he wouldn’t have had the virulent misogyny of a “manosphere” that radicalizes pubescent boys in one ear and, in the other, the public taunts of classmates who comment on his Instagram calling him an incel. High on hormones and thrown into a precarious pecking order at school, teens have always had it rough. Every generation has its own particular challenges. What’s so haunting about Manda’s reminiscence is its implication that, given different circumstances, Jamie’s story—and Katie’s—could have had a much happier ending.

source https://time.com/7271212/adolescence-finale-netflix/

Why Usha Vance’s Upcoming Visit to Greenland Is Angering Its Leaders

President Donald Trump is ramping up his pressure campaign to make Greenland part of the U.S., even as Greenland’s leaders insist that they are not interested and that the Danish territory is not for sale. This week, the Administration plans to send three members of Trump’s inner circle to visit the island: Second Lady Usha Vance, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Their visit is being viewed by Greenland officials as an escalation in the Trump Administration’s ongoing push to assert control over Greenland, which is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark. In a video shared Sunday on Instagram, the Second Lady said she’s looking forward to visiting Greenland with one of her sons “to celebrate the long history of mutual respect and cooperation between our nations” and “to express hope that our relationship will only grow stronger in the coming years.”

Greenland’s outgoing Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede called the planned visit “highly aggressive” and accused the Trump Administration of using diplomatic engagements as a smokescreen for its ultimate goal: bringing Greenland under U.S. control. “Greenlanders have tried to be diplomatic, but it simply bounces off Donald Trump and his Administration in their mission to own and control Greenland,” he told the Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq on Sunday.

The White House said that Usha Vance is scheduled to attend Greenland’s national dog-sled race and visit other culturally significant sites.

Read more: Who Is Usha Vance, J.D. Vance’s Wife?

In addition to the growing concerns surrounding the visit, the timing of the delegation’s trip is causing further unease. Greenland just completed a highly contested parliamentary election. The country is in the process of forming a new government and grappling with potential paths toward greater autonomy from Denmark, which is a NATO ally of the United States.

Here’s what to know about the Trump Administration’s upcoming visit to Greenland and why Trump wants the island.

Why Trump wants Greenland

A semiautonomous Danish territory, Greenland has long been viewed as a strategic gem in the Arctic: it’s home to the U.S. Pituffik Space Base, which provides missile warning and space surveillance capabilities, and is situated along vital air and sea routes in the North Atlantic that could be beneficial for shipping and trade.

The Trump Administration has framed a potential acquisition of Greenland as a matter of national security, arguing that American control would counter growing Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic. “We need Greenland for national security and even international security,” Trump said earlier this month during a joint session of Congress. “And I think we’re going to get it one way or the other.”

However, security concerns are not the only factor. Greenland possesses vast deposits of rare-earth minerals critical for advanced technology, including electric vehicle batteries, medical imaging equipment, and military applications. It also contains billions of untapped barrels of oil and a vast supply of natural gas—though mining the island has proven notoriously difficult.

The President previously sent his son, Donald Trump Jr., to the Arctic territory’s capital in January. “This is a deal that must happen,” Trump wrote on social media at the time. “MAGA. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!” Trump’s push to acquire Greenland has also coincided with his vow to make Canada the 51st state and reclaim control of the Panama Canal.

As officials in Denmark and Greenland have rejected Trump’s advances, U.S. officials have escalated their rhetoric. On Sunday, Vice President J.D. Vance blasted Denmark during an interview on Fox News, saying that the country is “not doing its job” and “not being a good ally.”

“So you have to ask yourself: How are we going to solve that problem, solve our own national security?” Vance said. “If that means that we need to take more territorial interest in Greenland, that is what President Trump is going to do, because he doesn’t care about what the Europeans scream at us.”

Usha Vance: Second Lady or diplomatic envoy?

The inclusion of Usha Vance in the delegation has raised some eyebrows, as it will be her most high-profile moment thus far in the new Administration, one that was quickly viewed as a deliberate attempt at “soft power” diplomacy. The White House insists that her visit is for purely cultural purposes, aimed at fostering goodwill. In her video on Instagram, Vance emphasized her excitement about Greenland’s traditions.

“I’ve been reading all about it with my children, and I’m amazed by the incredible skill and teamwork that it takes to participate in this race,” she said, referencing the Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenland’s national dog-sled race.

Yet, Greenlandic leaders are unconvinced. “We are now at a point where it can no longer be described as an innocent visit from a politician’s spouse,” outgoing Prime Minister Egede told Sermitsiaq. “The international community must now react.”

Despite Trump’s repeated assertions that Greenland is vital to U.S. interests, Danish and Greenlandic officials have consistently rejected any suggestion that the territory is available for purchase or annexation.

“We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken,” Egede said on March 5 in response to Trump’s comments to Congress. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen echoed his stance, emphasizing that Greenland’s sovereignty is not negotiable.

Greenland’s political transition following recent elections has further complicated the situation. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the leader of the pro-business Demokraatit party, which emerged victorious in the elections, sought to calm fears while maintaining Greenland’s independence.  In a post on Facebook on Sunday, he wrote: “There is no reason to panic. But there is good reason to stand together and to demand respect. I do. And I will continue to do so.”

source https://time.com/7271197/greenland-usha-vance/