Ayotzinapa, Mexico Eduardo Verdugo/AP
Two people stencil graffiti of the faces of the 43 missing students
Donald Trump's sporadic outbursts of bigotry directed at the large and complicated nation directly south of the United States has only made it harder for Americans to grasp the current social turmoil in Mexico. It's a country undergoing enormous economic shifts and an upsurge of activist consciousness, troubled by numerous internal issues: official corruption, crime and the effects of global capitalism, just for starters. The unsolved disappearance of 43 student protesters from a rural teachers college—who may have been murdered by police, by organized crime or (as this graffiti suggests) by the Mexican government—crystallizes all these issues into one horrifying case that has mesmerized the Mexican people for two years.
–Andrew O'Hehir, senior editor
Santa Cruz, California Josh Edelson/Getty
Firefighters try to control a wildfire
“The violence and the unpredictability of the Santa Ana [wind] affect the entire quality of life in Los Angeles, accentuate its impermanence, its unreliability,” wrote Joan Didion in Slouching Towards Bethlehem. “The wind shows us how close to the edge we are.” And we might be getting close to the edge. This year, the unpredictability of this infamous wind in California comes with soaring temperatures and a surge in wildfires across the west coast and Alaska. Researchers have pointed out that climate change is a vicious cycle: warmer temperatures dry out forests more quickly and turn them into fuel for wildfires, which, in turn, affect carbon loss by both releasing more carbon and failing to reabsorb it.
–Mireia Triguero Roura, editorial assistant
Hempstead, New York Patrick Semansky/AP
Donald Trump listens to Hillary Clinton during the presidential debate
Trump can be seen here deciding how he can spin the fact that he COMPLETELY BUTCHERED English grammar last night. Bigly?! There is no way he said "big league." Trump is about as good at speaking as he is at paying his workers.
–Tatiana Baez, social media coordinator
Washington, DC Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Tribal leaders meet with President Obama, who leaves with new lid
Being a president means wearing different hats, overseeing solemn ceremonies as well as lighter moments. On Monday, President Barack Obama did just that: At the Eighth White House Tribal Nations Conference, he affirmed the nation’s commitment to addressing concerns of Native Americans’ concerns, from the effective prosecution of violence against indigenous women to the desire to protect sacred lands. Even so, he graciously accepted a new hat and blanket, with a quip: “I’m very glad that you also have a blanket for Michelle so she doesn’t steal mine.”
–Marjorie Backman, copy editor
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