Today’s Big Story

ADHD on the Mind

With diagnoses at a record high, have we been thinking about the condition all wrong?

It’s been called the “ADHD surge.” That acronym for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has become synonymous with childhood behavioral issues in America. Once considered a niche condition, ADHD is now one of the most commonly diagnosed disorders in the country—in all age groups. And particularly among white Americans. But now the scientists who study the condition are wrestling with some fundamental questions about the way we define and treat it.

As more Americans suspect they have ADHD, social media platforms have become go-to spots for sharing symptoms and getting advice. On TikTok, popular content on #ADHD and related hashtags have amassed hundreds of millions of views, tapping into humor or themes that feel relatable to many who live with the mental health condition. And while that might sound a little unreliable, NPR reports that therapists say it's undoubtedly helped lead many adults to a diagnosis after years of being overlooked.

The condition goes beyond problems concentrating or being hyperactive, though. People with it can struggle regulating their emotions and impulses. It’s been linked to substance abuse and financial difficulties as well as higher rates of crime and even car crashes. So it’s good that more people are discovering they are suffering from it. But normally, when a diagnosis booms like this, it’s because of some novel scientific breakthrough—a newly discovered treatment or a fresh understanding of what causes the underlying symptoms. But the New York Times spent the last year interviewing ADHD scientists around the world, and what they heard from them was, in fact, the opposite: “In many ways, we now understand ADHD less well than we thought we did a couple of decades ago.”

The truth is that ADHD has always been a tricky condition to diagnose. One patient’s behavior may look quite different from another’s, and certain symptoms can also be signs of other problems, from anxiety and depression to childhood trauma and autism spectrum disorder. And the biggest long-term study of ADHD treatments found that after 14 months of treatment, a daily dose of Ritalin did a better job of reducing children’s symptoms than non-drug interventions like therapy or parent coaching. But then the effect started to fade, and by 36 months, the relative benefit of the drug treatment had disappeared altogether. The only thing that’s clear is that there’s still a lot of research that’s needed to be done.

Trade War Continues to Intensify

China suspends exports of critical rare earth minerals, consumer sentiment plummets

President Donald Trump said Sunday he’ll announce tariffs on semiconductor chips “over the next week,” though he indicated he could offer flexibility to some companies. It’s a bit confusing, Axios reports, since the White House on Friday indicated that smartphones and computers would be exempted from the 125% import levies Trump imposed on China—where Apple assembles most of its iPhones.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled back to D.C. from his weekend at Mar-a-Lago that administration officials would discuss tariffs on products like iPhones and tablets with companies “because you have to show a certain flexibility, nobody should be so rigid.” Earlier in the day, Trump announced a national security trade probe into the semiconductor sector. China continues to retaliate—Beijing has suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, threatening to choke off supplies of components central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. Shipments of the magnets, essential for assembling everything from cars and drones to robots and missiles, have been halted at many Chinese ports while the Chinese government drafts a new regulatory system.

Meanwhile, administration officials were out in force across the television networks Sunday defending President Trump’s economic policies after another week of reeling markets. The damage control is necessary, since consumer sentiment plunged 11% this month to a preliminary reading of 50.8, the University of Michigan said in its latest survey released Friday, the second-lowest reading on records going back to 1952. April’s reading was lower than anything seen during the Great Recession.

What Will Bring People Back to Theaters?

New movies based on fresh ideas are fizzling at the box office

If it seems like everything is a remake, a sequel or some kind of spin-off lately, it’s because these franchises are the safest bet for movie makers. After years of gripes from moviegoers and Hollywood insiders alike about the seemingly nonstop barrage of familiar films and adaptations of comic books and toys, the studios placed more bets on original ideas. But the results have been ugly.

Nearly every movie released by a major studio in the past year based on an original script or a little-known book has been a box-office disappointment. Before this weekend’s flops were Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Mickey 17” and “The Alto Knights,” Paramount’s “Novocaine,” Apple’s “Fly Me to the Moon,” Amazon’s “Red One” … yeah, none of those sound familiar to me, either.

And getting people into theaters more frequently is a huge priority for an industry still recovering from the pandemic. Box-office revenue in the first three months of this year in the U.S. and Canada was the lowest it has been, excluding the pandemic, since 1996. But Variety reminds us that blockbuster culture, the cornerstone of the movie business for decades, is still alive and kicking, and, in certain ways, thriving. (Those audiences aren’t staying home.) Marvel-movie burnout is not the same thing as the movie industry dying. Their prescription? Release less movies, but make them better. That’s apparently what we did in the 1980s and ’90s, and it might just be what we need now.

Rory McIlroy Wins Masters

He beat Justin Rose in a playoff, giving him a career Grand Slam

In his 1975 Masters file for Sports Illustrated, the great Dan Jenkins wrote: “There is an old saying that the real Masters doesn’t begin until the back nine on Sunday.” That was 50 Masters ago … and it’s still true. Because Rory McIlroy’s greatest achievement of his career was as nerve-racking and dramatic as the near misses that came before it.

After a topsy-turvy final round, the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland overcame a shaky start—and even more perilous finish—in the final round of the 89th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday to defeat Justin Rose in the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win a green jacket and become only the sixth golfer to complete the career Grand Slam. According to ESPN, he joins Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to capture the four major championships in the Masters era.

“There were points in my career where I didn’t know if I would have this nice garment over my shoulders,” McIlroy told the Associated Press, in that Masters green jacket, looking like a perfect fit. “But I didn’t make it easy today. I certainly didn’t make it easy. I was nervous.”

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