Good morning! Spring snuck up on us. And whereas she’s all the time finicky, it looks like she’s sticking round for a short while. Highs shall be within the 60s all week—some days would possibly even hit the low 70s. We’ve hit the time of the yr when you are able to do stuff exterior after regular work hours. Go hang around at a street-end park (don’t let any NIMBYs inform you they’re not public) and get that Vitamin D and dopamine.
Till then, although, let’s do the information.
One Million: That’s how many individuals Trump hopes to deport in his first yr again in workplace. Not for any specific motive—simply because it’ll make him really feel like a giant sturdy boy. Fundamental humanity isn’t going to cease him, however there are lots of explanation why he’s not prone to succeed: First, we’ve by no means come near that quantity (the present file is held by Obama, who deported some 400,000 individuals in a single yr); second, analysts don’t suppose we’ve got the funding or staffing ranges to make it occur; and third—let’s say it collectively now—most immigrants have a proper to a court docket listening to earlier than being deported.
We’re Nonetheless in a Commerce Battle: Even when it’s feeling an increasing number of like a slapfight. In case you’ve misplaced observe of the tariff see-saw, right here’s the place they stand: Our 10 % international tariffs are nonetheless in impact; so are the tariffs on automobiles, aluminum, and metal; Trump loosened up the “reciprocal” tariffs and the tariffs towards Mexico and Canada (NYT calls them “partly in impact”); and naturally, for the rationale we’re in a commerce conflict within the first place, the tariffs towards China are enormous and in impact. Over the weekend, the New York Instances reported that China has suspended exports of uncommon minerals that solely they mine, chopping off provides for automakers, aerospace producers, semiconductor firms, and army contractors worldwide.
Individual, Lady, Man, Digicam, TV: It’s that point of yr once more, after we watch the president fake that he’s firing on all cylinders. Yesterday, the White Home launched the outcomes of Trump’s annual bodily examination, and a navy captain insists that he’s “totally match to execute the duties” and “reveals glorious cognitive and bodily well being.” At 78, Trump is the oldest individual to be sworn in as president, and he’s been extraordinarily guarded with the press about his well being since he was grazed by a bullet in July. The New York Instances described Trump as a “fast-food fanatic,” “fueled by a food plan heavy on ice cream, pink meat, and soda,” He weighed in at 224 kilos, which is barely fascinating as a result of the final time his weight was made public was when he was charged with makes an attempt to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat in Georgia.
What if Universities Have been the Resistance? Trump has taken purpose at mainly each main college, utilizing obscure claims about DEI and anti-semitism to attempt to get them to bend the knee. And it’s beginning to work—simply have a look at Columbia College. However Masha Gessen has a unique concept: What if as a substitute of acquiescing to an anti-intellectual totalitarian, universities banded collectively to guard reality? “Universities are unbiased facilities of mental and, to some extent, political energy. He’s attempting to destroy that independence,” they wrote within the New York Instances. “There’s a approach for universities to struggle again. It requires greater than refusing to bend to Trump’s will, and it requires greater than forming a united entrance. They need to abandon all of the considerations—rankings, donors, campus facilities—that preoccupy and distract them, and deal with their core mission: the manufacturing and dissemination of data.” Learn extra about it right here.
Child, You’re a Firework: Jeff Bezos’s fiancé, Lauren Sanchez, introduced an all-female crew to area together with her this morning. For a little bit greater than 10 minutes, Katy Perry (sure, that one), journalist Gayle King, bioastronautics analysis scientist Amanda Nguyễn, philanthropist Kerianne Flynn, and former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe crossed the Kármán line, the internationally acknowledged boundary of area. This was the eleventh area tourism flight that Bezos’s Blue Origin has popped into area.
Ought to Bezos be sending a crew into area as an early wedding ceremony present whereas the world is actually on fireplace? No. However right here’s a silver lining. Amanda Nguyễn was a NASA-bound Harvard astrophysics pupil, till she was raped at a frat get together in 2013. Then she discovered that, not solely would she must undergo the re-traumatizing technique of getting a rape equipment executed, she’d must pay for the privilege and struggle to maintain the state from destroying the proof. So she put her NASA plans on maintain and helped draft the Sexual Assault Survivor’s Rights Act, which Obama signed into regulation in 2016. This morning, she went into area for 10 minutes to gather information on menstruation in zero gravity—one of many primary (baseless) excuses different orgs have chosen to not ship girls into area.
ICYMI: State employees threw down in Olympia final week, refusing to let Governor Ferguson attempt to steadiness the state funds on their backs. Ferg needs to furlough state staff to attempt to reduce prices reasonably than think about a world the place our state has a progressive tax construction. Marcus Harrison Inexperienced has extra on it right here.
Talking of Progressive Tax: Did you’re feeling the shift within the matrix? On Friday, the Seattle Instances reported that within the shadow of a bleak funds forecast, Mayor Bruce Harrell is contemplating new progressive tax streams—an area wealth tax, maybe, or an expanded payroll tax (like Jumpstart, however greater!). Taxes like these shift a number of the burden of our metropolis’s funds from common working individuals to our metropolis’s wealthiest, which is why it’s 1) superior, and a couple of) shocking that it ever got here out of Harrell’s mouth. We’ll see if he can get it on paper.
REI Backtracks: Our homegrown outside clothes shop lastly admitted that signing a letter backing Doug Burgum, Trump’s decide for inside secretary, was a mistake. Since entering into the place, Burgum has referred to as for extracting pure sources from in any other case untouched land in Alaska, constructing housing on federal lands, and restoring the coal trade. Who may have seen that coming?
One other Hate Crime: On Friday, a person was arrested in Fremont on suspicion of a hate crime. He allegedly threw massive rocks at a girl, grazing her head, whereas shouting profanities about her sexual orientation.
Wonky Transit Week: A few of our tracks want love, so gentle rail trains between Westlake and Stadium stations will arrive 25 to half-hour aside till subsequent Wednesday. The sections north and south of that block shall be working virtually usually—each 12 minutes. The most important annoyance is that you simply’ll have to alter trains at Westlake and Stadium. Plan for some additional time and produce a great e book.
To Ease You Into Your Monday: Right here’s a dwell stream of an eagles’ nest in West Virginia. This nest has been right here since 2002, and eagles come again yearly. Proper now, the infants appear like bizarre little dinosaurs, and so they’re right here to hang around so long as you want them at present.
