The Short List

Sat Apr 20 2024

John Riley | Audience Editor

Jews in America are feeling less safe amid rising antisemitism. Twenty-five years after Columbine, the school shooters are being glorified online. And Taylor Swift fans are euphoric after the pop legend released a surprise double album.

👋Good morning, y'all. I'm John Riley, here again with some of the best stories of the week from USA TODAY. Let's get going, shall we?

But first: meteors! The Lyrid meteor shower will peak this weekend.🌠 Here's a guide to the best viewing.

Antisemitism is everywhere. We tracked it across all 50 states.

🔵Antisemitism is on the rise in America. But not every place is the same: States are not a monolith, nor are people. We set out to answer a question: What does the widely reported surge in antisemitism look like? As we interviewed people, there were things we heard over and over: Jewish people are frightened. They're frustrated. And they all worry about it, even if they feel safe in their own communities. Here's what the Jews we spoke to had to say about their experiences, across all 50 states.

•	Report finds fear rising: More than three-quarters of American Jews feel less safe
•	Antisemitism on campus: Jewish student groups plead for Biden's help

Columbine shooting at 25: Inside the scary online obsession

🔵When the Columbine High School shooting occurred on April 20, 1999, Google was still a startup. Facebook, the iPhone and YouTube had not yet been invented. Yet 25 years later, the traces left online by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold have not faded into the obscurity of the early web. On the contrary, researchers tracking social media, video sites and gaming platforms today find a cult of Columbine thriving among young internet users. Content celebrating the Columbine shooters is easy to find.

•	Columbine's survivors: Memory still 'an open wound'

Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets' is hauntingly brilliant: Review

🟣Taylor Swift's heart is bloodied and battered but ultimately still beating on "The Tortured Poets Department," her surprise double album released Friday, writes USA TODAY's Melissa Ruggieri. "With these songs, Swift pulls listeners into the depths of misery catalyzed by a public breakup while she staged the biggest concert tour in history." Read about those 15 extra tracks, the song about Kim Kardashian and more.

•	'So High School': Swift sings about Travis Kelce romance
•	Stevie Nicks' contribution: Her untitled poem prefaces the album
•	Literary legends: Title track name-drops Patti Smith, Dylan Thomas
•	Quintessentially Taylor: 'I Can Do it With a Broken Heart' is an anguished pop gem