Patrik Jonsson
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Christian Science Monitor reporter by day, commercial fisherman by night.
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Articles by Patrik Jonsson
Midterm voters tell politicians: Tackle corruption
Washington | Nov. 07, 2026, 5:00 a.m. ET | 4 min read While economic pressures were a driving issue in the midterm elections this week, voters pointed with similar intensity to another priority: They care about the values and behavior of the officials they elect. And they expect better. Tillie Ann McHone, a delivery driver who cast her vote in Commerce City, Colorado, trained her focus on President Donald Trump.
Voters spoke. And it was about war, not just the economy.
Nov. 06, 2026, 5:00 a.m. ET | 6 min read When Republicans last lost control of both houses of Congress in 2006, the U.S. military was bogged down in Iraq. Then, as now, support for a president who started a war in the Middle East had cratered, amid questions about the war’s rationale and lack of a clear endgame. This week, if anything, the message from the electorate was even louder.
Trump sent the military to Memphis to fight crime. Here’s what happened.
As temperatures inched into the 90s last October, the military marched into Memphis. Ordered into the city by the Trump administration, federal and state law enforcement agencies joined local officers to form the Memphis Safe Task Force, a multiagency operation that, by early 2026, had grown to more than 2,600 personnel and 42 teams across the city.
Botched execution and talk of livestream reignite death penalty debate
The United States is at a crossroads on the divisive question of capital punishment after a botched execution of a Tennessee woman was followed this week by the Trump administration’s announcement of plans to livestream an upcoming firing squad execution. Tennessee saw its second bungled execution in six months on Sept. 30, when a lethal chemical failed to kill Christa Pike, a convicted murderer.
After redistricting, Memphis asks, what does representation mean?
11 hours ago NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — It's not very often that the remnants of a tropical system make a direct impact on Middle Tennessee, but this is exactly what is expected to happen over the weekend. The National Hurricane Center is forecasting that Isaias will strengthen into a hurricane, make landfall …
Redistricting that cracked Memphis raises questions about the meaning of representation
Winding south out of Nashville, the Natchez Trace Parkway runs through Middle Tennessee into northwestern Alabama, then plunges into the heart of Mississippi. It passes fields dotted with cattle, roadside churches, and blink-and-miss towns flying Confederate battle flags. It is a world that appears far from Memphis, a global logistics hub and trade gateway that has long served as Tennessee’s sprawling, eclectic economic engine.
One city thought it had e-bikes all figured out. Not so fast.
Done with school for the day, a troop of teens zipped by on their electric bikes, weaving and chirping as they rode around curves, exuding the confidence of acrobats. After gathering for a “Where next” chat, they took off down another golf cart path, popping wheelies along the way. To some, that afternoon snapshot near the Peachtree City, Georgia, library looked like an idyll of childhood, only with a twist.
Trial by fire – and flood: A new chief pursues FEMA reforms
Sept. 17, 2026, 5:35 p.m. ET | 6 min read A fourth-generation military service member and former Navy SEAL combat medic, Cam Hamilton knows something about improvising – and surviving – under stress. After four overseas tours, he joined the nation’s Homeland Security office, where he oversaw nearly 4,000 emergency responders. Those instincts and acumen will be vital in his new role as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, America’s struggling disaster-response corps.
Buc-ee’s gas stops are beloved. But has its beaver become a ‘trademark bully’?
Central Texas 1 hour ago SC has the best new BBQ restaurant for 2026, Southern Living says. Here’s why it’s great thestate.com - Lyn Riddle • 1h Texas and Georgia lead the recently published list of Southern Living’s best new barbecue restaurants, but, lo and behold, the No. 1 place is in … Texas Hill Country Now This Is the ‘Barbecue Capital of Texas,’ With 5 Legendary Smokehouses and a Charming Town Square Travel + Leisure - Jill Robbins • 43m It’s a classic for a reason.
Buc-ee’s gas stops are beloved. But has its beaver become a ‘trademark bully’?
In just two decades, the gas-and-more travel stop called Buc-ee’s has gone from Texas phenomenon to national roadside empire and interstate institution. With its brisket tacos, “Beaver nuggets,” aisles of retail delight, and huge, pristine restrooms, the chain and its buck-toothed beaver logo promise weary drivers a Texas-size roadside experience.
US on the world stage: Americans’ views have diverged in 25 years since 9/11
For Joshua Kendall, who once worked as a messenger on Wall Street and often made deliveries to the World Trade Center, it was surreal in the days after Sept. 11 to see how buildings he knew had simply “evaporated.” Sitting on a bench in Boston’s Public Garden 25 years later, Mr. Kendall placed the stack of newspapers he was reading on his lap, and considered America’s global role then and now.
‘So heartfelt.’ Dolly Parton blended stardom with a unifying care for people.
“A Few Old Memories” wasn't one of her numerous self-written songs, but the performance on a 1999 album is pure Dolly Parton. She sings of old love letters and a faded photograph – relics of a relationship supposedly put away long ago. The arrangement is spare; her voice rises above fiddle, banjo, and dobro with a sadness that feels less performed than remembered.
Race cars, politics, and sports: ‘Freedom 250’ roars through DC
In 1801, on the nation’s 25th birthday, the nascent District of Columbia’s muddy streets were chockablock with horse racing and cockfighting, according to the White House Historical Association. More than two centuries later, Washington is again hosting sporting events to celebrate 250 years of national grit. In June, the White House staged the kind of mixed martial arts fights once referred to as “human cockfighting” by the late Sen. John McCain.
Why Lindsey Graham’s sister isn’t a lock to hold on to his Senate seat
Just a month ago, Darline Graham was a private citizen, with a career in vocational training for disabled people. Today, she’s the junior United States senator from South Carolina, a political newcomer appointed to serve the remaining months of the term of her late brother, Lindsey Graham. And she’s running for a full six-year term in her own right.
How the Carolinas’ loose rules and loopholes have created a Wild West of hemp
Deep in a region with a history of opposition to marijuana, farmer Allison Justice tends a crop that is laced with irony: hemp. A plant scientist who was working in California’s cannabis industry before converting her family farm here, Dr. Justice was among the first to secure a South Carolina hemp license following Congress’ 2018 farm bill that legalized farming of the fast-growing cousin of marijuana.
Pitch-perfect fandom: Stadium sing-alongs score at World Cup
Carrying his sticks and snare drum through the pale-blue-and-white-jerseyed crowd of Argentina fans, Eduardo Subelza is part maestro, part mood-shifter, and all beat-setter. An American of Argentine heritage, Mr. Subelza, a stay-at-home father from New York, says that he began reconnecting with his Latin roots during the 2022 World Cup. With his dad’s help and a passion for zealous snare drumming, he now follows Argentina’s national football team across the United States to help rally fans.
AI moved in next door. For this Memphis community, life got more complicated.
On the edge of dense woods here, an area once inhabited by the Chickasaw Nation, lies a grotto now ringed by barbed wire that protects a new artificial intelligence data center, dubbed “Colossus 1” by its creator, tech mogul Elon Musk. Just a short crow’s flight away, on the other side of the thicket but close enough to smell acrid fumes wafting from the facility, sits a historic village called Boxtown. Here, narrow paths connect modest homes. White-tailed deer strut across front yards.
America’s next 250? A revival of civic virtues might hold the key.
Like the rapid-fire beats, growling lyrics, and spinning guitar licks that define his band’s death-metal sound, guitarist George Morris’ outlook might be mistaken as angry, even nihilistic. Consider his band’s name: Abandoned in the Abyss. Though the name is meant to reflect a broader feeling of loss and frustration, the Idaho-based musician isn’t feeling particularly hopeless. Why We Wrote This Democracy requires civic engagement – and it can sometimes seem to be falling short.
Supreme Court’s ‘history’ test finds a marijuana user can own a gun
The U.S. government can’t take away a Texas man’s right to own a gun, even though he uses marijuana, the Supreme Court held Thursday, in a unanimous decision that narrows a provision of a federal gun control law. The case, United States v. Hemani, offered the justices a chance to further explain how courts should apply the “history and tradition” test for restrictions on gun ownership that the high court created in a landmark gun rights decision in 2022.
Can a divided US celebrate its 250th together?
Preparations to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s independence, from small-town parades to museum exhibitions and oral-history projects, have been in the works for years. But to many Americans tuning in now, the impression is of a last-minute scramble to mount a semiquincentennial stamped by the showmanship and preferences of President Donald Trump.
Why affordable housing grows scarce – even in Florida and the South
Still just in his 20s, Cody Eades is a grizzled veteran of the American housing market. After he and his wife split up in 2019, the couple sold a home they had purchased in Orlando. They made a small profit. Mr. Eades left town in an RV with a dog and his part of the earnings, working remotely and following the open road. “Problem was,” he says, “I had no home.” Why We Wrote This Finding a reasonably priced home used to be easy in the South.
Are we not alone? Declassified UFO files reopen debate on government transparency.
The Trump administration’s release of troves of material related to unidentified flying objects – and promises of more – has resurrected a debate about the possibility that alien life exists and that the U.S. government is hiding the proof. A new Defense Department website with an “X-Files”-adjacent design uploaded a tranche of 161 UFO files to the public on May 8.
‘They just want to matter’: Swarming teens test community order
For Cabriel Lewis, it was an “epic” teen takeover. When he was just 15, he joined tens of thousands of other teenagers to rush onto tiny Tybee Island, Georgia, a barrier island beach town with only one causeway road on and off. They were trying to take part in “Orange Crush,” a controversial, annual spring break beach bash here. Gridlock ensued, people were injured, ambulances got stuck, and mayhem ruled deep into the night. “It was a lot of fun,” says Mr. Lewis, now 18.
Derfor har Europa ikke råd til at svigte mennesker med Alzheimers sygdom
Europa står over for en demografisk udfordring: Befolkningen bliver ældre – og det går stærkt. Europa vil aldrig være så ung, som vi er nu. Allerede i 2050 vil hver tredje europæer være 65 år eller ældre, og fra den alder fordobles risikoen for Alzheimers sygdom hvert femte år. Samtidig ændrer nye behandlinger sygdommens forløb i andre dele af verden. Men i Europa, herunder Danmark, halter vi bagefter, både når det gælder adgang og investeringer.
As high gas prices squeeze voters, Republican midterm challenges deepen
When Donald Trump ran for president in 2024, he promised to get gas prices below $2 a gallon “within 12 months.” That sounded good to an electorate unhappy about the high cost of living; Mr. Trump secured his second term in the White House, propelled by double-digit advantages on the economy, inflation, and energy prices.
Why violence against the political right appears to be growing
A California man was charged in federal court on Monday with allegedly seeking to kill President Donald Trump at a gala dinner in a Washington hotel on Saturday night. Cole Tomas Allen faces two other criminal charges in connection with the thwarted attack at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. To Mr. Trump’s supporters, the incident is more evidence of a rising tide of left-wing violence.
What’s ethical for undercover operatives? Anti-hate group entered gray zones.
David Gletty has wrestled alligators to prove his bona fides to extremists. He once shot up an empty Florida nightclub to deter an anti-racism event, to the delight of his FBI handlers. And as a solid roller skater, Mr. Gletty, a paid informant, performed on a roller derby TV show while investigating alleged tax fraud by the show’s producers.
How planned ICE mega-jails are testing the small-town Southern welcome
In the 1830s, a group of white settlers stood chatting by a well here when a stranger approached. The group offered the man a drink. Grateful, he noted: “This is quite a social circle.” Now, this community of just more than 5,000 outside Atlanta, appropriately named Social Circle, is seeing its tradition of hospitality challenged once again. Up to 10,000 immigrant detainees, seized by the Department of Homeland Security, are expected to be housed in an industrial building here.
More liberals are buying guns. Why?
On a hillside outside Rome, Georgia, a sign on a small building announces a firm called Osprey Shooting Solutions, whose Latin motto translates to “In peace, like a wise man, he should make suitable preparation for war.” Next door is a dusty gun range where a man practices quick-draw fire with a trainer behind him. The pop-pop-pop of small-arms fire fills the air.
‘No Kings’ protests draw millions. Can they turn momentum into change?
With crowd numbers estimated at several million in more than 3,000 locations, the No Kings Day protests on March 28 – animated by opposition to President Donald Trump – might turn out to be the largest combined single-day protest in U.S. history. The movement, which bills itself as “rising against [Mr. Trump’s] authoritarian power grabs,” cites, in part, his administration’s immigration enforcement tactics and the Iran war.
The South is ascendant. So, my goodness, why is its accent fading?
Every year, the annual Peanut Festival in Brooklet, Georgia, features the ultimate Southern fair competition. With a regional pace that matches its laconic drawl, the “slow tractor race” hands first prize to the driver who crosses the finish line last. Resident Cristy Malott, who helps her husband, Tony, run Southeastern Trade & Auction, knows Brooklet as a leisurely place where she can pick her own strawberries and buy pork from a local farm. She also says that its Southern pace is picking up.
US fights a war abroad, faces terror threats at home
As the United States began attacks on Iran in late February, the federal government braced for possible retaliation at home. To increase security, Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, joined hundreds of other installations in suspending the “trusted traveler” program at its main gate.
Europe cannot afford to leave Alzheimer’s patients behind
With one of the fastest-aging populations in the world, Europe will never be this young again. By 2050, one in three Europeans will be 65 or older, an age when Alzheimer’s disease risk starts doubling every five years. While breakthrough treatments are changing the trajectory of Alzheimer’s disease in other parts of the world, Europe is lagging in access and investment, cutting many people off from care options that could improve their lives.
Yellow ribbons and flags united Americans in past wars. Iran is different.
Joe Nosel remembers well the yellow ribbons that supported the troops in the Gulf War with Iraq in 1990. Then there was the shock and anger of 9/11, which produced a different reaction in 2001 – vengeance and retribution for what was, in effect, Pearl Harbor II, he recalls. There were ribbons on display everywhere then, too.
In race to succeed Marjorie Taylor Greene, candidates steer clear of Trump rift
Reagan Box didn’t plan to become the Door Dash candidate. But when she quit her job as a horse trainer to launch her congressional campaign, Ms. Box needed a way to keep paying the bills. And as she began delivering food around the northwest Georgia district that, until three months ago, was represented by Marjorie Taylor Greene, she realized it wasn’t a bad way to get to know voters. “I keep hearing, ‘I’ve never seen anyone willing to do this to run for office,’” says Ms. Box.
More red states eye the no-income-tax model. Will it work?
As Georgia lawmakers grind through their legislative session in Atlanta, one issue has stood out as their priority: voters’ wallets. Republicans have been looking to regain ground on Americans’ “affordability” concerns, an issue Democrats have capitalized on nationwide. Newly elected Democratic figures – from Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City to Govs. Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia – successfully campaigned on voters’ cost-of-living worries.
Prediction markets are booming. Why are their ads banned from the Super Bowl?
A growing number of Americans are betting on game scores, weather patterns, technology releases, and even when singer Taylor Swift and football player Travis Kelce will get married. They are joining prediction markets – online pools wagering on the outcomes of real-world events – that have turned niche speculation into a mainstream form of trading. These betting markets are booming, with trading up from $9 billion in 2024 to more than $44 billion in 2025.
Gun-rights uproar encroaches on Trump immigration crackdown
The fatal shooting of a protester by federal agents in Minneapolis has opened an unusual rift between a Republican administration and gun rights advocates – and has prompted rapid efforts by the White House to close that divide. For years, Republican leaders – including President Donald Trump – have championed gun rights and cast themselves as defenders of those rights against Democratic opponents.
How an influencer’s unverified report on Minnesota fraud sparked White House action
To Duane Quam, the story that unfolded last month in a gritty online exposé was, in some ways, old news that had finally gotten national attention. A 43-minute video, released just after Christmas, showed what appeared to be empty day care centers that had purportedly received large sums of government subsidies. And it wasn’t just Mr. Quam, a Republican state lawmaker, who noticed it. Produced by a young, self-described independent journalist named Nick Shirley, the video went viral.
As stand-your-ground laws expand, so do firearm fatalities
For more than a decade, activist Mark Baumgartner has protested peacefully against abortion outside a women’s health clinic near the South Carolina state Capitol in Columbia, wearing an official-looking traffic vest – and carrying a pistol. But in November, he and another man got into a confrontation at one of the protests, and video footage shows the two men scuffling. A few moments later, as the men move off-camera, a gunshot is heard.
How the Lumbee Tribe earned federal recognition after a decadeslong effort
Even through the din of his North Carolina fish market, Joseph Jones’s excitement is palpable. On Dec. 17, Congress recognized his people, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, as a full-fledged American tribe, eligible for government benefits, health-care assistance and, potentially, a casino. “It’s been a long time, but we finally made it, man,” says Mr. Jones, whose family owns the Lumbee Fish Market in Pembroke, North Carolina, in a phone interview.
US mass killings drop to 20-year low. Some policy shifts might be helping.
In a respite from years with nation-wrenching mass killing incidents, the United States is on track to record the lowest level of such deadly events in two decades, according to one group of researchers tracking the data. There have been 17 mass killings, 14 of which involved guns, recorded this year, according to a database maintained by Northeastern University, in partnership with the Associated Press and USA Today.
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s split with Trump is the talk of her Georgia district
When Bill Newton gathers with his buddies at Doug’s Diner in downtown Rome, Georgia, it is a politically diverse crew: Two staunch Democrats, of which he is one; two moderate Republicans; and one wealthy Republican who backs Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Amid the breakfast bustle, the group talks politics and local gossip.
With mills closing, timber industry pins its future on innovation, not tariffs
Not long after four major paper and pulp mills closed in Georgia this fall, the phone at the South Georgia Sawmill began ringing nonstop. Loaded down with logs they could no longer sell, woodsmen from around the state were hoping, begging Adam Williams, the sawmill’s owner, to buy at least some of their logs to mill. A fifth mill had closed earlier in the year, and they were out of options. Given the small size of his family-owned operation in Pembroke, Mr. Williams had to say no.
On a South Carolina island, could local control help preserve Gullah heritage?
Like many who moved to this remote island on the southeastern U.S. coast, Mike Hubbard, a retired Virginia farmer, has had to reconsider what constitutes “normal” life. There is no bridge to the mainland. No grocery store. No post office.
Most Americans have avoided shutdown woes. That might change.
One of the remarkable aspects of the current government shutdown is how little it has affected ordinary Americans. Unless you’re a federal employee, are furloughed, or, more likely, are working without pay, the partial closure of the government probably has had minimal effect. But that appears to be changing. Today, money was due to run out for federal subsidies that help 42 million low-income people buy groceries.
Reopening the Blue Ridge Parkway: How geography and government shutdown challenge recovery efforts
The natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Parkway is such that, for decades, this long ridge road that winds for hundreds of miles from Rockfish Gap, Virginia, to Cherokee, North Carolina, was called simply “The Scenic.” As its wide shoulders give way to mountain views, travelers can glimpse apple orchards, bounding deer, and palomino horses munching clover behind log fences. But for Timothy Silver, a local fly fisherman, the 90-year-old road has been more than a path to majestic vistas.
Reopening the Blue Ridge Parkway: How geography and government challenge recovery efforts
The natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Parkway is such that, for decades, this long ridge road that winds for hundreds of miles from Rockfish Gap, Virginia, to Cherokee, North Carolina, was called simply “The Scenic.” As its wide shoulders give way to mountain views, travelers can glimpse apple orchards, bounding deer, and palomino horses munching clover behind log fences. But for Timothy Silver, a local fly fisherman, the 90-year-old road has been more than a path to majestic vistas.
The shutdown looms large in rural America – with Medicaid under debate
A battle over health care funding in Washington is reverberating in places like the hills and hollows of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge region. The federal government is in a shutdown, centered around Democrats’ opposition to cuts in health care programs. Where Republicans see an opportunity to shrink the size of government, their opponents argue that the cuts will reduce access to Medicaid – and ripple out to affect the viability of rural hospitals that are already financially stretched.
Two attacks highlight role of military veterans in mass shootings
Two deadly attacks last weekend – both allegedly launched by decorated U.S. combat veterans – are renewing concerns about whether disaffected or radicalized veterans pose a unique threat to the country. The events also suggest that current efforts to reintegrate some soldiers into civilian life might not be sufficient, or effective.
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