Judge Denies Efforts to End Oversight of Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office as Racial Profiling of Latinos Persists
A federal judge has refused to lift more than a decade of court oversight over the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, ruling that racial profiling of Latino drivers hasn’t stopped and that Sheriff Jerry Sheridan’s own record — including his role obstructing reforms under predecessor Joe Arpaio — undercuts any claim the department can police itself. The 72-page decision keeps federal monitors in place indefinitely, a reminder that some of the country’s most consequential civil-rights fights are still being litigated one traffic stop at a time.
Read the full story →Sticker Shock at the Doctor’s Office Could Motivate Midterm Voters
Healthcare costs are set to keep climbing into next year, and KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner says the sting of surprise co-pays and demands for a credit card before treatment could do for the 2026 midterms what similar increases did for the early-2000s debate that produced the ACA. Candidates are already building campaigns around who can bring the bill down.
Read more →Book Review: The Nerd Reich by Gil Durán
Gil Durán’s new book digs into the unease of watching the people who build our everyday technology accumulate outsized influence over politics and public life. VIRA’s review calls it a sharp, well-timed read for anyone tracking how Silicon Valley money is reshaping Washington.
Read the review →Book Review: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
Jonathan Haidt’s bestseller on smartphones, social media and the youth mental health crisis is still one of the most-discussed books on the shelf. VIRA’s review revisits why the nightly phone-at-bedtime battle in so many households traces straight back to Haidt’s data-driven case for delaying kids’ access to screens.
Read the review →- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi — the neurosurgeon’s memoir on facing terminal illness, still resonating years on.
- The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery by W. Lee Warren, MD — a neurosurgeon’s field guide to rewiring your own thinking.
- The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede — the Gander, Newfoundland 9/11 story finding a new generation of readers.
- How to Eat an Elephant by Sarah Longwell — a political field report rather than a manifesto.
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling — a 2003 hardcover still landing on this week’s list.
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir — the bestseller that refuses to slide off the list.
- The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman — book six of “Dungeon Crawler Carl,” still going strong.
 Politics Judge Denies Efforts to End Oversight of Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office |  Health & Wellness Sticker Shock at the Doctor’s Office Could Motivate Midterm Voters |
