TheNewsGal, Edition No. 106

What a week! These are the standouts.

All the things

• Rescuing America: It’s not easy fostering a dog, especially during fire season. But it’s worth it. Love. (Mara Feeney, Alta, ~8 min.)

• “DNA Doesn’t Lie. People Lie.” After discovering six adopted brothers and sisters, these siblings believe their story is more than a sprawling family secret. My god. (Jackie Peiser, Washington Post Magazine, ~24 min.)

• The Power Of A Good Cry: Tears are central to great acting. A lifetime of weeping at the movies has taught me how much letting it all go in real life can matter, too. Brilliant. (Welsey Morris, New York Times Magazine, ~16 min.)

• The Unprecedented AOC: How a struggling bartender became the face of a resurgent left. A neat look back. (Lisa Miller, New York Magazine, ~31 min.)

(Bitter Southerner)

• A Family Project: Bringing their mother home to be buried on family land was the easy part. Together, they had to figure out the what, when, where, and how. As good as a personal essay gets. (Laurelyn Dossett, Bitter Southerner, ~8 min.)

• “She Was Committed To The Dark Side”: How My Best Friend’s Wedding messed with Julia Roberts’ image and changed rom-coms for good. Behind the scenes of a Martin family fave. (Scott Meslow, Vulture, ~19 min.)

• He Spent 25 Years Infiltrating Nazis, The Klan, And Biker Gangs: Scott was a top undercover agent for the FBI, putting himself in harm’s way dozens of times. Now, he’s telling his story for the first time to sound the alarm about the threat of far-right extremists in America. Holy schnikees. (Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, ~36 min.)

(Evan Angelastro for Time)

• How America Saved Millions Of Dogs — By Moving Them. A good-news animal story! (Andrew Blum, Time, ~15 min.)

• The Shadow And The Ghost: A woman who called herself Reverand Mother claimed that she could perform miracles. The price was her followers’ adoration and obedience — and in some cases, their lives. What. A. Read. (Christine Grimaldi, The Atavist, ~89 min.)

• What The Conversation Around The “Great Resignation” Leaves Out: You can’t talk about labor without talking about care work. YES. (Meg Conley, Harper’s Bazaar, ~11 min.)

• These Olympics Are Not A Shelter: The rationalizing and compartmentalizing that sports tend to require isn’t working this time. Nailed it. (Alex Kirshner, Slate, ~9 min.)

(Laura Chase de Formigny for Washington Post Magazine)

• Into The Fire: Tens of thousands of restaurants have closed during the pandemic. The inside story of one family’s battle to save theirs. Jeezuz. (Tim Carman, Washington Post Magazine, ~25 min.)

• The Afterlife Of A Las Vegas Spectacular: Nearly two years after Le Rêve went dark, cast members are still grappling with what it means to be a performer without a show. Damn, Le Rêve was the best. (Meg Bernhard, New Yorker, ~11 min.)

• After The Family Cabin Burned: But there was also the feeling of home, and these feelings shiver still in my core. Beautiful. (Stella Cabot Wilson, Catapult, ~12 min.)

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If you read one thing this week

• It’s Your Friends Who Break Your Heart: The older we get, the more we need our friends — and the harder it is to keep them. Ain’t this the truth. (Jennifer Senior, The Atlantic, ~38 min.)