Welcome back to another edition of The Detour. Every couple of weeks, I explore the context and consequences behind U.S. and global affairs.
Here’s what’s on deck:
🔥 A new analysis shows U.S. summers could soon feel like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, or the Mexican Gulf Coast.
📽️ I review a short film about faith, identity, and the quiet power of moral courage.
🫂 Four verified resources to support victims of Texas floods
The Detour is published in partnership with Frame Media, a creative software tool that evolved out of a multimedia journalism publication. Frame allows anyone to create visual, engaging stories that can be hosted online or published to social media. If you’re interested in trying Frame, join the waitlist here.
3.6°F — The average summer temperature increase that 247 U.S. cities will see by 2060, and 7.9°F by 2100, if heat-trapping emissions continue at high levels, according to a new Climate Central analysis released Wednesday.
The shift could make familiar cities feel more like unfamiliar terrain. Or, in some cases, like another continent altogether. Using the latest climate models, the independent research group mapped how future warming would reshape local climates, decade by decade, from 2030 to 2100.
New York City is projected to warm by 7.6 °F, with summers more like present-day Columbia, SC // Credit: Climate Central
Some cities have no North American equivalent for what it will feel like in years to come: Climate Central projects Houston will warm by 6.4 °F, with summers more like present-day Lahore, Pakistan. Phoenix is projected to warm more than any other observed city — by 7.2 °F, with summers more like present-day Al Mubarraz, Saudi Arabia.
Los Angeles is projected to warm by 5.8 °F, with summers more like present-day Túxpam de Rodríguez Cano, Mexico. // Credit: Climate Central
TL;DR: In just one generation, summers in American cities could resemble places hundreds — even thousands — of miles away.
246+ — The number of humanitarian organizations demanding the shutdown of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial aid distribution body backed by Israel and the United States.
“The 400 aid distribution points operating during the temporary ceasefire across Gaza have now been replaced by just four military-controlled distribution sites, forcing two million people into overcrowded, militarized zones where they face daily gunfire and mass casualties while trying to access food and are denied other life-saving supplies,” the statement read.
Indeed, over 500 people have been killed in mass shootings near aid distribution sites or transport routes guarded by Israeli forces since the GHF started operating in May, according to medical authorities in Gaza and confirmed by eyewitnesses and aid workers on the ground.
36x — The amount by which arsenic levels in drinking water in parts of Argentina exceed World Health Organization safety limits, according to a December study by the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology. Lucila Pellettieri, a Reporter-in-Residence based in Buenos Aires, tracked this story down in a feature for Global Press Journal. Despite the Institute’s findings, the problem remains unresolved. To dig in, Lucila told me reached out to a contact at the Institute to learn more:
“We didn’t think it was going to give the values it did,” Adriana Contarini, vice president of the nonprofit ConCiencia Agroecológica, told Lucila. “It’s like having an open pit mine in the middle of town.”
1/3+ — The portion of Tuvalu’s population that has applied to migrate to Australia under the Falepili Mobility Pathway, a landmark new climate visa. With just 11,000 residents spread across nine low-lying atolls, Tuvalu is among the world’s most vulnerable nations to rising seas — and those selected would form the first-ever cohort (of about 280 Tuvaluans yearly) under the scheme.
As the climate crisis deepens, low-lying countries like Tuvalu are witnessing significant parts of their land being inundated from rising sea level. NASA scientists warn that by 2050, half of Funafuti — the main atoll and home to 60 percent of Tuvaluans — could be submerged during daily high tides. The worst-case scenario? A 2-meter sea-level rise would cover 90 percent of it.
2 — The number of top Taliban officials for whom the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Tuesday, charging them with crimes against humanity — specifically, gender persecution. But here’s the most significant part:
The court accused the men of orchestrating a campaign targeting women, girls, LGBTQ people, and others who do not conform to the Taliban’s strict gender policies. According to ICC special adviser Lisa Davis, the case marks the “first time an international tribunal has formally recognized LGBTQ individuals as victims of gender-based crimes against humanity.”
Some (among many) verified groups helping out Hill Country amid ongoing rescue and recovery efforts.
Kerr County Flood Relief Fund| The official relief fund managed by the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, supporting broad rescue and rebuilding efforts.
Austin Pets Alive! | Caring for 150+ displaced animals. Currently most in need of monetary donations, but also accepting pet supplies.
World Central Kitchen | Partnering with Texas restaurants to deliver fresh meals and water directly to affected communities and emergency workers.
Center Point Volunteer Fire Department | First-response rescue operations. Accepting donations via Venmo (@CPVFDTX) and checks by mail. (Be sure to double-check the Venmo handle due to reported impersonation issues!)
"I think we can learn from our mistakes, or learn from one another on how to be better humans towards each other.”
— Director Radha Mehta on the empathy she sought to portray in her short film, written and co-directed by Saif Jaan.
A still from WITNESS. // Photo Credit: Nausheen Dadabhoy
The screenplay for WITNESS, a short film written by South Asian queer writer Saif Jaan, stemmed from a personal account rooted in anger and grief. But when Jaan partnered with director Radha Mehta, it was Mehta who insisted on weaving in an essential thread: hope.
I had the opportunity to view a screener of WITNESS— currently on the film festival circuit — and spoke this week with both Jaan and Mehta about the project. The film has already made quite an impression with its recent U.S. premiere at Slamdance Film Festival in February and its European premiere at Raindance Film Festival in June. It has also been officially selected by Cleveland International, Inside Out Toronto, NFMLA, Out On Film Atlanta, and the Bentonville Film Festival.
Set in a devout Muslim community, the ~14-minute film follows a small-town imam and Shams, a trans man who is a devout and active member of the congregation. But when Shams is unexpectedly outed by another congregant, the imam is thrust into a profound moral reckoning: either stand by Shams, and protect his dignity and continued access to the faith community; or yield to the pressure of religious conservatism.
"The best compliment we received was, 'We need to do a better job taking care of people like Shams,'" Mehta told me.
A still from WITNESS. // Photo Credit: Nausheen Dadabhoy
One particularly powerful scene features the imam leading a Qur’an study for children. As a young boy reads aloud, he stumbles over a verse: “Be mindful of Allah. Surely Allah is all-aware of what you do.” The Arabic word Al-Khabeer — translated as “all-aware” — carries layered meaning. It suggests not only that God observes our actions, but that He deeply understands our intentions, our private struggles, and, most importantly, the true state of our hearts. In gently correcting the boy’s pronunciation, the imam is reminded that faith is not about perfection — it’s about showing up with sincerity, even when we stumble, for both God and one another.
A quiet, understated film that ultimately moved me to tears, WITNESS draws its power from stillness, silence, and the emotional weight carried between words. The film is a powerful call for empathy, a challenge to examine the state of our hearts, and an invitation to call people in, rather than call them out.
