Document 1ydyQwa4Mg06Yb8pXaOXEn0qK

motivated portrayal of those who work for the American people as members of some mythical elite, separate and suspicious. Such false characterizations drive talented Americans away from public service or discourage them from entering it in the first place." http://wapo.st/2t5Wif5 IN LANGLEY -- NYT A1, "C.I.A. Set Up Secret Back Channel With Syria to Try to Free U.S. Hostage," by Adam Goldman: "In the early days of the Trump administration, national security officials began exploring ways to free Austin Tice, an American journalist and a former Marine officer believed to be held by the Syrian government. ... [I]n early February, Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director, spoke on the phone with Ali Mamlouk, the head of Syria's National Security Bureau intelligence service, a man accused of human rights abuses during the country's civil war and slapped with sanctions by the United States. The call was the highest-level contact between the governments in years. Though Mr. Pompeo's discussion with Mr. Mamlouk prompted further communications that renewed hope that Mr. Tice would be freed, the operation fizzled out after the Syrian government's nerve gas attack in rebel-held northern Syria in April and the American missile strike in response." http://nyti.ms/2t6hK3Z DEEP DIVE -- "Why Grenfell Tower Burned: Regulators Put Cost Before Safety," by NYT's David D. Kirkpatrick, Danny Hakim and James Glanz: "The London police on Friday blamed flammable materials used in the facade for the spread of the blaze and said the investigation could bring charges of manslaughter. ... [I]nterviews with tenants, industry executives and fire safety engineers point to a gross failure of government oversight, a refusal to heed warnings from inside Britain and around the world and a drive by successive governments from both major political parties to free businesses from the burden of safety regulations. ... Builders in Britain were allowed to wrap residential apartment towers - perhaps several hundred of them - from top to bottom in highly flammable materials, a practice forbidden in the United States and many European countries. And companies did not hesitate to supply the British market." http://nyti.ms/2s2auWs GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman, filing from Palm Beach, Florida: --"China's Mistress-Dispellers," by Jiayang Fan in the New Yorker: "'There are no enduring marriages,' [Ming Li] told me matter-of-factly. 'Only mistresses who haven't worked hard enough at tearing it apart.'" http://bit.ly/2t4q2bO --"How Accusing A Powerful Man of Rape Drove A College Student To Suicide," by BuzzFeed's Katie J.M. Baker: "When an Alabama college student told the police she was sexually assaulted, she did everything she thought she was supposed to do. She ended up killing herself." http://bzfd.it/2t0rAmV --"What Makes Us Happy?" by Joshua Wolf Shenk in the June 2009 issue of The Atlantic: "Is there a formula-some mix of love, work, and psychological adaptation-for a good life? For 72 years, researchers at Harvard have been examining this question, following 268 men who entered college in the late 1930s through war, career, marriage and divorce, parenthood and grandparenthood, and old age." http://theatln.tc/2sKRede (h/t Longform.org) --"Shakespeare's Politics," by Robert Cooper in the American Interest: "We know little of his political opinions, but there's much we can learn of them from the recurrent themes of his works." http://bit.ly/2szQRE1 --"Covering the Cops," by Calvin Trillin in the Feb 17, 1976 issue of The New Yorker per Longform's description: "A profile of Edna Buchanan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning crime reporter for the Miami Herald during its heyday." http://bit.ly/2tDzwIB --"Can Jonathan Haidt Calm the Culture Wars?" by Evan R. Goldstein in the Chronicle of Higher Education - per ALDaily.com's description: "Haidt is famous for explaining how liberals and conservatives think. Now he's wagering that social psychology can calm the campus culture war." http://bit.ly/2szUObR --"A Declaration of Urban Independence," by Richard Florida in the July/Aug. issue of POLITICO Magazine: "Cities are under assault in the age of Donald Trump. It would be better for the country if they ran themselves instead." http://politi.co/2sAhrgb --"Fighting for the Immigrants of Little Pakistan," by The New Yorker's Jennifer Gonnerman: "The Brooklyn neighborhood persevered after 9/11. Can it survive in the age of Trump?" http://bit.ly/2t0lovn --"Trained to Kill: How Four Boy Soldiers Survived Boko Haram," by Sarah A. Topol in the N.Y. Times Magazine: "The four children, from a fishing village in Nigeria, were among thousands abducted by Boko Haram and trained as soldiers. They learned to survive, but only by forgetting who they were." http://nyti.ms/2t4cRZ8 --"What's Wrong With the Democrats?" by Franklin Foer in the July/Aug. issue of The Atlantic: "If the party cares about winning, it needs to learn how to appeal to the