Your weekend long reads 🗞️

Good morning, friends of The Short List! It's John, and I hope your weekend brings you exciting discoveries.

Here are some of the best reads of the week from the USA TODAY Network:

►Behind the Blue Wall: To many in law enforcement, speaking out against another cop is a betrayal that can’t go unpunished. When it happens, they make it clear that whistleblowers have violated a code – the blue wall of silence. They've issued death threats, ignored requests for backup, threatened family members and planted drugs on the officers who spoke up, a USA TODAY investigation found. The pattern of retaliation is destructive and widespread and helps police leaders avoid accountability.

The previous story in the Behind the Blue Wall series, published in September, tells the story of a Joliet, Illinois, police officer who exposed a video showing a death in police custody.  After Sgt. Javier Esqueda leaked the footage to a local television reporter, he was arrested on felony charges of official misconduct.

►The Astroworld concert tragedy: As the deadly concert disaster unfolded, Houston fire officials – perched outside the festival grounds – had no way to directly communicate with the festival medic group contracted to provide treatment to fans. Houston fire officials shared two-way radios with police but only had cellphone numbers for ParaDoc medics – which didn’t work or weren't answered in the frenzy of the night, fire officials said.

There are more compelling long reads below. Have a great weekend!

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