Recap

The Best of the Beast, August 18-24: Ruined Movies, Marked Journalists, and Wrongful Births

Are most magicians lazy hacks? How badly does the city of Ferguson screw its poor? And what is a ‘wrongful birth’? Find out in our best work from this week.

Cheap Trick: Most Magicians Are Lazy HacksBy Rick LaxThere’s nothing wrong with recycling the tried-and-testeds of magic. Most magicians do. But it’s time to shock and delight audiences anew.

Parents Sue for ‘Wrongful Birth’By Elizabeth PicciutoWhen a health-care worker misread test results, it left the Halls with a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. Now they’re suing.

Why ‘Boarding’ Is Ruining Movies: Padding Blockbusters With A-List CameosBy Marlow SternJohnny Depp made $1 million for a week of Into the Woods. Meryl phoned in her turn in The Giver. Boarding, or flying in big actors to shoot for a few days, is bad for the big picture.

Ferguson Feeds Off the Poor: Three Warrants a Year Per HouseholdBy Michael Daly

In the chamber where Officer Darren Wilson received a commendation six months before killing Michael Brown, a minor court generates major money from the city’s poor and working people.

Was U.S. Journalist Steven Sotloff a Marked Man?By Ben TaubJust before American journalist Steven Sotloff was abducted in Syria, his fixer’s identity may have been compromised.

Crimea: A Patriotic Russian Vacation From HellBy Anna NemtsovaVladimir Putin snatched Crimea from Ukraine as a strategic, patriotic, and touristic prize. You can scratch that last one off the list.

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