Good morning. One business struggles to survive near the tumult of a homeless encampment. |
 | | Joe Faillace at his sandwich shop.Todd Heisler/The New York Times |
|
Joe and Debbie Faillace opened a sandwich shop in Phoenix called Old Station Subs 37 years ago. They planned to build up the business and eventually sell it for enough money to retire. Instead, America's homelessness crisis disrupted their dreams. |
The Faillaces are not homeless themselves. But one of the country's largest homeless encampments, with 1,100 people, has appeared within blocks of the shop. My colleague Eli Saslow spent dozens of hours with the Faillaces, their workers and customers at Old Station, which has become a front-row seat to chaos. People from the encampment will often come into the restaurant, telling fantastical stories and asking for money. A bullet recently dinged a fence nearby. |
The turmoil surrounds them, Eli reported in a story published this weekend about the Faillaces' plight. People argue, fight and deal and use drugs, much of it out in the open. The police were called an average of eight times a day within a half-mile of the restaurant last year. Hundreds of crimes were reported, including four homicides. The remains of a 20- to 24-week-old fetus were burned and left by a dumpster in November. |
Now, Debbie wants out of the neighborhood. But the Faillaces can't find anyone to buy their restaurant, even as they've steadily reduced the price. |
"The people suffering the most in these situations are those who are now living unsheltered in the streets," Eli told me. "But it's also true that the rising homeless population has had dramatic impacts across cities. It's Joe and Debbie's shop, where just existing within that restaurant has become incredibly difficult, but it's also every other business in that neighborhood." |
The resulting homelessness crisis has reshaped life not just in Phoenix but also other U.S. cities, where encampments have grown and become more common. "I'm realizing here lately that we're living in a frigging hellhole," Joe said. "Us, them, inside, outside. Who's it working for? When does it stop?" |
Read Eli's story here — his first for The New York Times since he came from The Washington Post, where he won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of compelling narratives about going hungry in the U.S. |
- Vladimir Putin made surprise visits to two Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, Crimea and the city of Mariupol, a defiant gesture after an international court issued a warrant for his arrest.
- The warrant cites Russia's deportations of Ukrainian children. Moscow has signaled that they will continue.
- Russian troops are closing in on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, partly by sending unarmed soldiers to near-certain death.
|
 | | A cemetery in Falluja, Iraq. Joao Silva/The New York Times |
|
 | | Jalen Wilson, a Kansas Jayhawks player.Michael Reaves/Getty Images |
|
- Kansas, a No. 1 seed, lost to Arkansas in the men's basketball tournament. Princeton, a No. 15 seed, beat Missouri to head to the round of 16. See the latest from March Madness.
- The conspiracy-theory broadcaster Alex Jones is transferring millions of dollars to family and friends as Sandy Hook families seek the $1.4 billion awarded by courts for his lies.
- Midsize banks are teetering and markets are seesawing after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Here's a visual guide to the turmoil.
- Frozen organic strawberries have been recalled over links to five cases of hepatitis A in Washington State.
- Lawyers are turning to historians as they comb through Colonial-era statutes to litigate modern gun laws.
|
Narendra Modi's modernizing vision is pulling India forward, but his authoritarian streak is dragging it backward, Nicholas Kristof argues. |
The Sunday question: Should the Federal Reserve slow its rate-hike roll? |
Continuing to raise interest rates to fight moderating inflation isn't worth hurting workers and rewarding risk-taking banks, says The American Prospect's Robert Kuttner. Silicon Valley Bank's collapse was mostly a failure of management and regulation, The Washington Post's Catherine Rampell counters, and inflation remains too high to ease off. |
The All Access sale ends soon. |
If you're reading The Morning, it's a new day — and another opportunity to take advantage of the All Access sale before it ends. Enjoy special savings on everything The Times offers. Carpe diem, and subscribe today. |
 | | Radio Man after staking out the stage door to "The Late Show."Jonah Rosenberg for The New York Times |
|
Lives lived: Lance Reddick was a prolific actor who played a police commander in "The Wire" and had prominent roles in the "John Wick" movie franchise. He died at 60. |
Our editors' picks: "The Queen of Dirt Island," which follows four generations of women in rural Ireland, and eight other books. |
| THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE |
- China's top leader, Xi Jinping, will travel to Russia to meet with Putin tomorrow.
- The Supreme Court hears the case Arizona v. Navajo Nation tomorrow. It stems from a labyrinth of previous cases, but mostly centers on the Navajo Nation's water needs and the Colorado River.
- The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on Wednesday in the U.S..
- The Federal Reserve will decide on Wednesday whether to further raise interest rates.
- The CEO of TikTok will be testifying before congress on Thursday.
|
 | | James Ransom for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. |
|
The pangrams from yesterday's Spelling Bee were apricot, capacitor and patriotic. Here is today's puzzle. |
Take the news quiz to see how well you followed the week's headlines. |
Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — German |
Lauren Hard, Lauren Jackson, Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti and Ashley Wu contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com. |
|
