Youth sports used to be an activity that brought people from different backgrounds—economic, social, political—together. Like so many other unifying activities, youth sports, even the all-American pastime, have been segmented in ways that further separate us from our neighbors—in ways that have left the playing field anything but level. How unlevel? Bloomberg (Gift Article): Private Equity Is Coming for Youth Sports. "The sandlot era when kids played sports largely unsupervised is long gone. And the days of parent-coached recreational leagues are fast receding. In their place has come the age of travel squads. Kids as young as 6 are playing on teams with paid coaches, year-round schedules, multiple practices per week, long-distance travel and, in many cases, intense competition for roster spots. In theory, these teams prepare kids to play at the college level and beyond. In practice, they’re making youth sports increasingly expensive, exclusive and pressurized."

+ Scheduling Note: NextDraft will be off on Friday. Have a good Labor Day Weekend!

2

The Other War

World leaders gather to work on a ceasefire deal in a negotiation that the warring partipants don't even attend. Millions displaced. A fight to get food to the hungry. The conflict is one you might not have heard much about, not in the news, not on college campuses, not in political debates. But its scope is enormous. "At least 10 million Sudanese have fled their homes since the war started in April 2023. Over half the country’s 48 million people are acutely hungry, according to the United Nations." Declan Walsh in the NYT (Gift Article): Peace Talks at Swiss Resort Beckoned. Sudan’s Divided Generals Wouldn’t Go.

+ AP: "Devastating floods in recent weeks have compounded the tragedy. Dozens of people have been killed and critical infrastructure has been washed away in 11 of Sudan’s 18 provinces, according to local authorities. 'We are at a breaking point, a catastrophic, cataclysmic breaking point.'"

+ The Economist (Paywall): Why Sudan’s catastrophic war is the world’s problem. "The war in Sudan has received a fraction of the attention given to Gaza and Ukraine. Yet it threatens to be deadlier than either conflict. Africa’s third-largest country is ablaze. Its capital city has been razed, perhaps 150,000 people have been slaughtered and bodies are piling up in makeshift cemeteries visible from space. More than 10m people, a fifth of the population, have been forced to flee from their homes. A famine looms that could be deadlier than Ethiopia’s in the 1980s: some estimate that 2.5m civilians could die by the end of the year."

3

Grave Concerns

"Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside ... This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve." US Army rebukes Trump campaign for incident at Arlington National Cemetery. (According to Heather Cox Richardson, "Arlington National Cemetery was established on the former property of General Robert E. Lee in 1864, after the Lee family did not pay their property taxes." No wonder Trump felt right at home there.)

+ In response to her comments about Trump's Arlington photo op, JD Vance said Kamala Harris can, "Go to Hell." Harris hadn't commented about the Arlington controversy. WaPo: Vance tells Harris to ‘go to hell’ for cemetery criticism she didn’t give.

+ "Donald Trump amplified a vulgar joke about Vice President Kamala Harris performing a sex act. He falsely accused her of staging a coup to secure the Democratic nomination and faulted her without evidence for a security lapse that enabled a rogue gunman to try to assassinate him. He shared a manipulated online image of Bill Gates in an orange jumpsuit and a call for Barack Obama to face a 'military tribunal.' He promoted explicit tributes to the QAnon conspiracy theory. He hawked digital trading cards in an online infomercial along with pieces of his debate night suit. ('People are calling it the knockout suit.') His campaign feuded publicly with Arlington National Cemetery over their visit." WaPo (Gift Article): 24 hours of Trump: QAnon tributes, crude attacks and hawking pieces of his suit. (Even without the decade of lies, insurrection, indictments, and impeachments, Trump is unfit for the White House based solely on his behavior over the past 48 hours. Or the next 48 hours.)

4

Murder, She Rode

"'I’m not going to let anybody underestimate me,' said Adam, who has multiple sclerosis and is known for her ability to zoom down the court, her signature sleek ponytail flying out behind her. “The guys think they’re going to come and hit into me and knock me over, and I hit them right back and put them on their face and kind of roll away like it was nothing.' There’s a reason they call this sport 'murderball.'" Wheelchair Rugby is expected to be one of the tighter (and more extreme) competitions at the Paralympic Games. WaPo (Gift Article): Wheelchair rugby isn’t for the faint of heart. "'Something that’s powerful about this sport is that it laughs in the face of societal views of disability ... One of the big jokes we have on the court is what’s the worst that could happen? We could break our necks? We’ve already done that.'"

5

Extra, Extra

Size and Speed: "The human brain, more than any other attribute, sets our species apart. Over the past seven million years or so, it has grown in size and complexity, enabling us to use language, make plans for the future and coordinate with one another at a scale never seen before in the history of life. But our brains came with a downside, according to a study published on Wednesday. The regions that expanded the most in human evolution became exquisitely vulnerable to the ravages of old age." Carl Zimmer in the NYT (Gift Article): Our Bigger Brains Came With a Downside: Faster Aging.

+ Gouge Gauge: "Kroger Co. hiked prices on milk and eggs more than needed to account for inflation, the company’s top pricing executive testified during a court hearing on the US government’s bid to block the grocery chain’s purchase of rival Albertsons."

+ Uncovered: "In the countries where 'age-appropriate' sexuality education is available, 'it has increasingly come under attack in recent years on the false premise that it encourages sexual behavior.'" WHO Europe laments declining rates of condom use among sexually active teens worldwide.

+ Football Deaths: "Over and over, tragedies have hit families just as they were celebrating a new school year and the start of football season. While the two most recent examples involve head injuries — a known risk of traumatic injury — other cases involve suspected heatstroke, as players participated in practices in the high heat indexes of August." NPR: At least 7 middle and high school football players have died in August.

+ Shot in the Dark: "Growing numbers of Americans are buying into misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, according to a new national survey, with more than one in five believing it's safer to get the virus than to get a shot." (And these trends often extend to other vaccines.)

+ Baby Got Backup: "They indulge in recovery, coaching in newborn care and pampering. Perhaps the most coveted service, however, is the 24-7 nursery staff, affording new parents that elusive treasure: sleep." WSJ (Gift Article): The New Wellness Retreat: Around the Clock for Parents and Newborn at $1,000 a Night. (This seems like a good start. Now they just need to provide services that extend through the teen years.)

6

Bottom of the News

"Villa Vie Residences' Odyssey arrived at Queen’s Island in the Northern Ireland capital to be outfitted before it was scheduled to leave on 30 May for the first leg of a three-year cruise." Three months into their global cruise, they've not left Belfast.

+ Dodgers fans are notorious for arriving late to games. But not when there's a Shohei Ohtani bobblehead to be had. Shohei Ohtani bobblehead night: Dodgers star makes MLB history after catching first pitch from his dog. (It's hard to believe that dressing one's dog in Dodger blue is not considered animal abuse.)

+ I'm not going to read a single word of this article because the headline is a work of art that stands alone. Ludacris’ gulp of untreated Alaska glacier melt was totally fine, scientist says.

+ Scheduling Note: NextDraft will be off on Friday. Have a good Labor Day Weekend!