The Odyssey
directed by Christopher Nolan.
Christopher Nolan’s $250 million action movie version of Homer’s ancient Greek poem is an entertaining way to hide from the high temperatures for a few hours. Nolan’s trademark jumps and twists in the narrative structure are relatively easy to follow, and appropriate for The Odyssey, a narrative of tales nested in tales. My teenagers had a good time. Unlike some of Nolan’s other films, The Odyssey is not boring, thanks to the source material, which is impossible to mess up entirely. It’s a family-friendly audiovisual spectacle, like an elaborate Fourth of July fireworks display – and with about the same level of narrative and emotional depth.

More than 155 scientists, physicians and public health advocates have called for an end to what they describe as the “vilification and harassment of many American scientists” by the Trump administration and its allies.

In an open letter published one day before Anthony Fauci, the former top US government science adviser, is scheduled to appear at a high-profile hearing in US Congress, after the Republican-controlled Senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee compelled him to testify, the scientists and physicians dismissed allegations against the ex-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid) director as “baseless”.

The Trump administration is doing everything it can to get rid of what it considers to be “undesirable” people.

The administration has removed temporary protected status (TPS) for more than a million people from over a dozen countries. It is sending people back to active war zones in Sudan and Somalia. It is deporting people to Myanmar, a country under a military dictatorship. In the case of Venezuela, it is returning people to a country struggling to deal with the after-effects of an earthquake.

Some holders of this status have been in the country for a long time. Nearly 90 percent of the 170,000 Salvadorans who have TPS, first granted 25 years ago, participate in the U.S. labor force, contributing over $5 billion to the U.S. economy.

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, remains in solitary confinement after being detained for one and a half years. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is outraged by the treatment of health care workers, most of whom are being detained in dire conditions, without justification or cause.

We join global calls for their immediate release. Dr. Abu Safiya’s placement in solitary confinement and reported torture follow an appalling pattern of Israeli authorities detaining and targeting medical staff across Palestine.

According to the Healthcare Workers Watch, 95 Palestinian health care workers remain detained by Israeli authorities since October 2023. During the same time, 1,700 health staff have been killed, as well as 15 MSF colleagues.