Morning Must Reads: May 29

3 minute read
Capitol
The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images
By Alex Rogers

  • “Mr. Obama’s address to graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point marked the start of his campaign to counter critics of his foreign policy doctrine and blunt charges, chiefly by political opponents, that what his critics call his gun-shy approach has diluted American influence on the world stage.” [WSJ]
    • “President Barack Obama—who today at West Point offered a recalibration of his foreign policy—has made no catastrophic missteps in his conduct of foreign policy over his term-and-a-half in office…Foreign policy, for him, is a management challenge: containing threats, quieting unhappy allies, limiting damage. There is no particular vision associated with his detached, cold-eyed approach to foreign affairs.” [Jeffrey Goldberg/Bloomberg]
  • Al-Sisi Wins Egypt’s Presidency But Is Stumbling Already [TIME]
  • 5,565 Days: Why Declare When U.S. Troops Will Leave Afghanistan? [TIME]
  • Ed Miliband: “It’s Important To Follow Your Own Path” [BuzzFeed]
  • Traitor or Patriot? Edward Snowden Sits Down With Brian Williams [NBC]
    • “The much-hyped interview was scant on new policy details, but provided an articulate and resolute Snowden with another opportunity to keep both himself and surveillance reform relevant as Congress debates how much it should limit the government’s bulk data collection authority.” [National Journal]
  • “At least 1,700 military veterans waiting to see a doctor were never scheduled for an appointment and were never placed on a wait list at the Veterans Affairs medical center in Phoenix, raising the question of just how many may have been ‘forgotten or lost’ in the system, according to a preliminary report made public Wednesday.” [CNN]
    • Here is the damning data [TIME]
  • “President Obama will use his executive authority to cut carbon emissions from the nation’s coal-fired power plants by up to 20 percent, according to people familiar with his plans, and will force industry to pay for the pollution it creates through cap-and-trade programs across the country.” [NYT]
  • The Campaign for Junk Food [Michelle Obama/NYT]
  • Prettier in Print
  • Maya Angelou: A Hymn to Human Endurance [TIME]

  • “President Barack Obama—who today at West Point offered a recalibration of his foreign policy—has made no catastrophic missteps in his conduct of foreign policy over his term-and-a-half in office…Foreign policy, for him, is a management challenge: containing threats, quieting unhappy allies, limiting damage. There is no particular vision associated with his detached, cold-eyed approach to foreign affairs.” [Jeffrey Goldberg/Bloomberg]

  • “The much-hyped interview was scant on new policy details, but provided an articulate and resolute Snowden with another opportunity to keep both himself and surveillance reform relevant as Congress debates how much it should limit the government’s bulk data collection authority.” [National Journal]

  • Here is the damning data [TIME]

  • Cover: “The Transgender Tipping Point” by Katy Steinmetz
  • “Has Assad Won?” by Ayrn Baker
  • “The Hidden Cliffs in Obamacare” by Steven Brill
  • “Marine Le Pen’s Plot Against Europe” by Vivienne Walt
  • “The Man Who Guards the Planet” by Jeffrey Kluger
  • “Behind the Scenes with John Green” by Lev Grossman
  • “Don’t Forget Taiwan” by Zoher Abdoolcarim
  • “10 Questions with Margaret Lambert” by Belinda Luscombe

    • More Must-Reads from TIME

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