Do you want to give your young child more independence and a chance to grow up more like you did -- taking such wild risks as walking home from school, riding public transportation, or playing at home or outside unattended? As a first step, you might want to head to Utah (yes, Utah), or at least put the kid in an Uber headed in that direction. As WaPo reports, Utah recently became the first state to sign a free-range parenting bill into law. From now on, "a child, whose basic needs are met and who is of sufficient age and maturity to avoid harm or unreasonable risk of harm, [is free] to engage in independent activities" without putting their parents into legal jeopardy.

"A population undercount not only threatens our economy, it jeopardizes our fair representation in Congress and our fundamental voting rights." California and several other states have sued the Trump administration over its plan to add a citizenship question to the next census. Does California have a case?

+ Vox: The citizenship question on the 2020 census, explained.

"The North Korean leader and his wife received a warm welcome in his first trip abroad since taking power in 2011, holding talks with President Xi Jinping and meeting a host of dignitaries. Xi told Kim that China has made a 'strategic choice' to have friendly ties with North Korea, and they would "remain unchanged under any circumstances." Kim Jung Un's unexpected visit to China sends a message to the US: China Is Back on Our Side.

+ Reuters: China says North Korea's Kim pledged commitment to denuclearization.

+ NYT: North Korea Is Firing Up a Reactor. That Could Upset Trump's Talks With Kim.

"Until a few months ago, Mercer, 71, ran what is arguably the world's most successful hedge fund. He employs a phalanx of servants and bodyguards and owns a 203-foot yacht named Sea Owl. He was the money behind Breitbart News and Steve Bannon, whose fiery populism helped propel Trump to the White House, as well as the data firm Cambridge Analytica, which shaped the campaign's messages. Shortly after the election, Mercer donned a top hat and welcomed the president-elect to a costume party at his seaside mansion on Long Island. What was a guy like that doing in the desert, wearing a gun and a shiny badge?" In Businessweek, Zach Mider shares the wild story of Robert Mercer's Secret Adventure as a New Mexico Cop.

"The discussions came as the special counsel was building cases against both men, and they raise questions about whether the lawyer, John Dowd, was offering pardons to influence their decisions about whether to plead guilty and cooperate in the investigation." Trump's lawyer raised prospect of pardons for Flynn and Manafortas the Special Counsel closed in. (Something tells me we're all going to have PhD-level knowledge of the pardon laws before this is over...)

+ WaPo: Mueller just drew his most direct line to date between the Trump campaign and Russia.

+ This week, the media is obsessed with Facebook. But the president is obsessed with Amazon.

+ WaPo: Trump privately presses for military to pay for border wall. (Problem: Trump can't find anyone to pay for his see-through wall. Solution: Just tell him the Mexicans paid for it and it's done. "And look, you can see right through it.")

"Residents can't pay their water bill or their parking tickets. Police and other employees are having to write out their reports by hand. And court proceedings for people who are not in police custody are canceled until computer systems are functioning properly again." We spend a lot of time worrying about massive infrastructure hacks, but the city of Atlanta is still being hobbled by what looks like a $50K ransomware attack. And it's been a week.

+ CBS News: Atlanta ransomware attack still causing chaos.

"From Google to Slack, companies are quietly updating terms, rewriting contracts, and rolling out new personal data tools in preparation for a massive shift in the legal landscape. So far, it's mostly been a problem for legal departments, but as policy changes and contract fights go public, it's started affecting the average web user, too." The Verge: How Europe's new privacy rule is reshaping the internet.

+ "Everyone should know what they're doing. Everyone should know what they're giving up." Tim Cook says it might be too late for companies like Facebook to self-regulate.

+ "Facebook's content guidelines and corporate policies continue contradicting our values." The latest member of the delete-Facebook club: Playboy.

"Keith Raniere created a secret society of women whom he had sex with and branded with his initials, coercing them with the threat of releasing their highly personal information and taking their assets." Buzzfeed on the arrest of a self-help guru who allegedly forced his members to become sex slaves and branded them.

+ "Kitti Jones, who dated Kelly from 2011 to 2013, says ... that Kelly made her have sex with him and others inside what she characterized as a sex dungeon. NY Daily News: R. Kelly accused of grooming 14-year-old as sex pet.

"I think the original thought process of getting the ball elevated originated right there in Boston. [Ted Williams] said we don't swing down on the ball. We swing up on the ball. The angle of the ball is coming down toward us. To be level, we have to have a slight uppercut and elevate toward the ball. And yet, for some reason, nobody embraced that in Ted's day." They're embracing it now. As a new season of baseball gets underway, it's all about launch angle. Boston Globe: A new launching point.

+ An LA Dodgers game was called early after a sewage lake formed in "foul" territory. (And the Giants still had a worse Spring.)

"Working knowledge of social media, especially Twitter is a plus, as is a better than average knowledge of the adult film industry and a collection of Playboy magazines from 1985-2010. Must look the part - Gregory Peck or Tommy Lee Jones type. Prior appearances on Fox News a huge plus." A Craiglist ad seeking lead attorney for difficult client.

+ America's gender-fluid future, in 100 years of baby name trends.

+ NYT: "Minutes later, the fish was knocked out and getting an eyelift, a procedure that has become standard practice in Mr. Ng's job as one of the premier cosmetic surgeons for Asian arowana fish here in Singapore."

+ I'm not saying I recommend this essay by Vincent Gallo. I'm not endorsing its opinions. Or even saying I totally understand it. But I couldn't stop reading it.