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HACKING U.S. DEMOCRACY

Massimo Calabresi’s May 29 story about Russia’s use of social media to influence Americans was a reminder to be “wary of the source of that liked/upvoted social post,” wrote Sanjeev Verma of Sunnyvale, Calif. However, as Francis Hamit of Sherman Oaks, Calif., pointed out, foreign attempts to sway American politics aren’t necessarily new. “It’s just that we are finally paying attention,” he noted.

The issue’s cover provoked a similarly strong response. Anthony Plumer of Portland, Ore., called the image of Moscow’s St. Basil’s Cathedral merging with the White House “utterly chilling.” But others argued such a cover should not run before an investigation into possible connections between the two is complete: “Until there is proof [Russia] has influenced or is influencing the man who now resides in the White House,” wrote retired Seattle police sergeant Joy A. Mundy, “I believe he deserves to have the same respect that I gave a person when I had to make an arrest.” And Archimandrite Nektarios Harding, a Russian Orthodox monk in Jordanville, N.Y., felt it was “blasphemous” to show the Cathedral in that way–just as Jay Timmer of Holland, Mich., thought the image disrespected the American flag that flies over the White House, “which stands for so much more than a political party or an editor’s whim.”

GROWING UP IN PUBLIC

Fittingly, Belinda Luscombe’s May 29 story on the families chronicling their lives on YouTube sparked social-media debate. “Our kid had a terminal disease and we documented all of her life on Facebook. I don’t regret it in the least,” Robert Scott of Rossford, Ohio, tweeted. On Facebook, Osama Rashad, a photographer in Cairo, said he hoped the kids in such videos had the power to say “we need to stop this” if it wasn’t fun anymore.

Back in TIME

Aug. 17, 2009

This week’s examination of the latest science of weight loss is not the first time we have tackled the subject. Read past issues at time.com/vault

THE BIG QUESTION

More Americans were exercising regularly, but obesity was still increasing. Why?

THE ANSWER

As one researcher put it, while exercise is good for other reasons, it’s “pretty useless” for weight loss.

CHOICE FACTOID

So, what accounts for the idea that you can work off the pounds? Sure, public-health officials recommend exercise for its own benefits, but a more surprising source was found in President Bill Clinton, whose jogging habits had made headlines just as interest in the weight-loss benefits of exercise increased.

–LILY ROTHMAN

STATE OF THE UNIONS

Almost 50 years after the Supreme Court legalized interracial marriage, more Americans are marrying people of other races than ever before. A new TIME data visualization shows the breakdown across the nation, based on Pew Research’s new finding that 17% of all U.S. marriages in 2015 were between people of different races or ethnicities. See the analysis and full map at time.com/PewMarriage

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Write to Lily Rothman at lily.rothman@time.com