Here in the South of Market section of San Francisco if you pause too long at a stop sign, someone will get into the backseat of your car assuming you're a driver for hire. Our streets have become a petri dish for every kind of car service, so it doesn't surprise me that many of my neighbors assume that Uber and Lyft are actually making urban roads more congested. This perception could be reality. It turns out "that ride-hailing companies are pulling riders off buses, subways, bicycles and their own feet and putting them in cars instead." From AP: Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities.

"There are many reasons for such moves by Mr. Xi and others — including protecting their power and perks in an age of unrest, terrorism and war amplified by new technologies — but a significant one is that few countries have the standing or authority, morally or otherwise, to speak out — least of all, critics say, the United States." The NYT on the latest (and biggest) global move in the direction toward authoritarianism. With Xi's Power Grab, China Joins New Era of Strongmen.

Bloomberg on the early results from the teen-led anti-assault weapon efforts. "The most immediate and dramatic effect of the students' anti-gun activism has come not in politics, but in business. Corporate America, or at least the segment with business ties to the National Rifle Association, is rapidly deciding that the association is toxic." (I'd argue that the most dramatic effect so far is that these kids have kept the issue top of mind and at the top of the news.)

+ Another effect: Florida Gov Rick Scott has called for some modest gun law changes. And in Florida, even modest changes are a big deal. The New Yorker on The NRA Lobbyist Behind Florida's Pro-Gun Policies. "At seventy-eight years old ... her policies have elevated Florida's gun owners to a uniquely privileged status, and made the public carrying of firearms a fact of daily life in the state."

+ The "division is the only law enforcement agency in the country assigned specifically to track down and take guns from felons, the mentally ill and others whose Second Amendment rights have been curtailed in court because of public safety concerns. That is, the people who even the National Rifle Association says should not have guns." WaPo rides along with California agents on the hunt for targeted guns.

+ Freeze, or I'll Tweet!" During a meeting with governors, President Trump said that, unlike the officers on the scene at the school shooting in Florida, he would have run towards the danger. "I really believe I'd run in there even if I didn't have a weapon." ("We can't explain it. We were under attack. And suddenly there was an orange flash and the odor of McDonald's fries. And then we were safe.")

"The court's decision not to immediately hear the administration's appeal could keep in place a legal shield for nearly 700,000 young immigrants for the rest of this year, and perhaps longer." LA Times: Supreme Court extends relief for 'Dreamers,' refuses to rule now on Trump immigration plan.

"Unlike most other songbooks, however, it contains lyrics about killing Jews. 'Step on the gas,' one line reads. 'We'll manage the seventh million.'" The Atlantic: Secretive Fraternities Are Feeding Anti-Semitism in Austria.

+ "She's been threatened with rape, burned in effigy, and mocked by a major party leader using an inflatable sex doll. Now Laura Boldrini, the speaker of the Italian Parliament, stays in a secret location while running for reelection." Buzzfeed: This Woman Is Taking On Racism And Sexism In Italy — And Getting Death Threats For It.

"It could, if the results stand up, be one of the most dramatic medical breakthroughs of recent decades. It could transform treatment regimes, save lives, and save health services a fortune. Is it a drug? A device? A surgical procedure?" The Guardian: The town that's found a potent cure for illness – community.

"Robo-bees and drone-seeded forests: can technology mend our broken relationship with the natural world?" Welcome to the algorithmic wilderness where we use technology to heal the world our technology has damaged. (This is not unlike the time I bought an iPad so I'd use my iPhone less...)

"I went to bed believing that I was more or less in control — that the unfinished business, unrealized dreams and other disappointments in my life were essentially failures of industry and imagination, and could probably be redeemed with a fierce enough effort. I woke up to the realization of how ludicrous that was." The NYT's Frank Bruni on how his life changed overnight: Am I Going Blind?

"Tony wooed Maria from one in West Side Story. Rosario Dawson belted from one in Rent. They became just another piece in a gritty urban jungle gym for the kids in The Get Down. Police procedurals regularly feature guys fleeing (or entering) by means of them." But when it comes to its actual purpose, the fire escape always created as much danger as it replaced.

"That anxiety is strongest in cross-country skiing, which is adored with a fervor that stretches back centuries. Norwegians fear lopsided results can demolish enthusiasm for a sport in countries that are getting demolished." NYT: As Medals Piled Up, Norway Worried: Are We Winning Too Much?

+ Sure, Norway dominated the rest of the Olympics, but America became a Curling powerhouse. From me: Ten quick (mostly ridiculous) thoughts following America's first Olympic Curling Gold.

+ "According to one theory, [they're] used to boost funeral attendances because large crowds are seen as a mark of honor for the deceased." BBC: Why do some Chinese funerals involve strippers?