The US's new border, Comey violated the rules but won't be charged, your weekend longreads
THE BIG STORY
The US is doing everything it can to make Central America its new border
There's a lot of talk about the US-Mexico border wall, but a version of it already exists almost 3,000 miles south. That's where the Trump administration has been arm-twisting governments into doing its own border work.
For immigrants, the most perilous part of the journey to the US was never in Central America, where there's easy movement between borders. It was in Mexico, where criminals often kidnap immigrants and authorities extort or deport them.
But because of pressure from President Donald Trump, governments in the region are implementing anti-immigrant policies that have turned Guatemala into a minefield for people crossing.
We traveled across Guatemala with Brenda Rivera and her three children, who fled home after local gangs tried to recruit her preteen son.
What we found is that the Trump administration's pressure created a new set of dangers and obstacles for those seeking asylum — and that's only the tip of the iceberg.
More about this story: Reporter Karla Zabludovsky described reporting it as "frightening and uncertain." Read more from her here.
Daniele Volpe / BuzzFeed News STAYING ON TOP OF THIS The Trump administration wants to start DNA testing undocumented immigrants
According to to a draft policy we obtained, the government wants to enable Customs and Border Protection officials to collect DNA samples from undocumented immigrants in its custody.
The move will likely inspire the anger of civil liberties groups and immigrant advocates, who argue that the government should not draw sensitive personal information from people without being tied to a specific crime.
SNAPSHOTS James Comey won't face charges for sharing memos about his interactions with Trump. The Justice Department's watchdog arm said former FBI director James Comey violated DOJ and FBI policies as well as his employment agreement when he shared memos about his conversations with Trump, but he won't face charges.
YouTube reinstated a prominent European white nationalist after he appealed his removal. The video platform said it was a "mistake" to remove the channels of Martin Sellner and another far-right personality known as "the Iconoclast," but wouldn't explain what happened. The channels were removed earlier this week, and restored yesterday.
Nearly 900 immigrants had the mumps in US detention centers in the last year. A total of 898 cases were reported in adult immigrants in 57 detention facilities across 19 states from September 2018 to August 2019, according to the CDC. An expert told us that based on the CDC's data, an ICE detainee had roughly at least a 4,000-fold greater risk of getting mumps.
A teen is a child pornographer for sexting a video of herself to her friends, a court ruled. For the first time, Maryland's highest court had to grapple with applying the state's child pornography law to minors who consensually sext. The court decided that the state's law applies to a 16-year-old girl who texted a one-minute video of herself to her teenage best friends.
A defense agency asked people for help finding dark underground tunnels ASAP, and people were like um what? DARPA, AKA the research agency within the US Defense Department, sent a tweet saying the agency is interested in identifying "underground and urban tunnels & facilities able to host research & experimentation." People rather quickly flew into the EXCUSE ME? mode.
 THE AMAZON IS BURNING Two stories you need to read about the Amazon fires
First: These scientists know how bad the Amazon fires could get — they saw it burn 20 years ago. The scientists who were figuring out how to use satellite technology to monitor deforestation two decades ago are now finding themselves in the spotlight, pushing back against misinformation, and wrestling with their own emotions about the Amazon's uncertain fate.
Second: This indigenous tribe has survived forced labor and epidemics. Now their lands are on fire. We traveled to the state of Amazonas, where members of the Tenharim community are attempting to put out a fire that has been burning for six days.
Chief Gilvan Tenharim told us he is worried about recent remarks from President Jair Bolsonaro about his government's ambivalence toward setting aside lands for indigenous populations and conserving protected areas.
Avener Prado / BuzzFeed News LONGREADS AND CHILL Some essays to sit with for your long weekend
Dave Chapelle Doesn't Need To Punch Down. I haven't yet seen Chapelle's new special, but when I do get around to it, I'll be keeping in mind this piece from Tomi Obaro, thinking through Chapelle's insistence on anti-trans and victim-blaming jokes. From the essay: "He's not a little boy. He's a grown-ass man. And it feels like he keeps making anti-trans and victim-blaming jokes just because he can, which, sure. But why not strive to be more interesting, more original, more thoughtful?"
Succession Is A Horror-Comedy About The Terrible Humanity Of The Rich. I often feel uncomfortable watching Succession, and that's part of the point. Alison Willmore picks apart the way the show treats our sympathies to the super-rich protagonists, and gets at the heart of this discomfort: "It's hard to imagine how anyone could watch Succession and not understand that whichever of these characters might win, the rest of us still lose."
Friends Hasn't Aged Well. The one where you return to a show you watched during a formative time to find there was never really any there there. As the show's 25 year anniversary approaches, Scaachi Koul eviscerates Friends: "Friends, a show about white people being thin and having the pointiest nipples in the continental Americas — and a show that I, at one time, watched and enjoyed — is absolute garbage."
Take stock of the things that restore you — and return to them today, Elamin BuzzFeed, Inc.
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