I probably shouldn't be leading with this. The truth is that if the incident hadn't taken place at a well-known company in a highly-covered industry filled with active social media users, there's no way this story would have even made it into NextDraft or to the front sections of most news sources. A person with a gun walking into a corporate office and opening fire is not, on its own, big news. It's too common in the US. After spending the morning at a shooting range, Nasim Aghdam (who was reportedly "upset" with the company's policies and practices) opened fire at YouTube HQ, injuring three people before killing herself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The fact that this event wouldn't ordinarily make the news is the news. America needs a new meme.

+ "Each new shooting sets off a succession of desires: for a false alarm, for an isolated event, for no fatalities." David Graham on the cascade of diminishing hopes.

+ "Mass tragedies of this variety have become a common enough occurrence that the online chaos is almost orderly; not only does the internet's underbelly react to these events with alarming speed, but all sides seem to know their specific roles." Trolls, hoaxes, hacked accounts; Twitter is the best place for breaking news, but it's also the worst place.

We may not be in a trade war with China, but it's sure starting to feel like one. And China is firing some very targeted strikes. "China on Wednesday said it would issue 25 percent retaliatory levies on roughly $50 billion of U.S. imports, including soybeans, cars, chemicals and aircraft. These levies appear to be targeted at states, particularly in the Midwest, where Trump's support is strongest."

+ The president took to Twitter to argue that the US already lost the trade war to China and that's the problem. "When you're already $500 Billion DOWN, you can't lose!" (Editor's note: Then what would you call it if you ended up being $600 billion down?)

"Dr. Martin Luther King, the apostle of non-violence in the civil rights movement, has been shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee." That's how Walter Cronkite reported the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, 50 year ago today.

+ MLK's last 31 hours: the story of his final prophetic speech.

+ The Guardian: Martin Luther King remembered across US.

+ "This week, the US will indulge in an orgy of self-congratulation, selectively misrepresenting King's life and work, as if rebelling against the American establishment was, in fact, what the establishment has always encouraged." Gary Younge with an interesting look how much public (and media) opinion about MLK has changed over the past five decades. Martin Luther King: how a rebel leader was lost to history.

+ "Three weeks after Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination in 1968, the city council in Mainz, Germany, named a street for the slain civil rights leader—doing in just a few days what King's birthplace of Atlanta took eight years to do. Memphis, Tennessee, the place where King was killed, also named a city street after him—but not until more than 40 years after his death." NatGeo: Where the Streets Have MLK's Name.

+ Vox: How America has — and hasn't — changed since Martin Luther King Jr.'s death, in 11 charts.

+ "When you see something that's not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something." Barack Obama and John Lewis discuss Martin Luther King Jr.'s enduring legacy.

"Officials have stressed the importance of preventing both an Islamic State resurgence and increased territorial gains by Russian and Iranian-backed Syrian forces, and of giving the United States leverage in upcoming political talks to resolve Syria's civil war." President Trump instructs military to begin planning for withdrawal from Syria.

+ Meanwhile, Trump is moving forward with a plan to deploy National Guard units to protect the border.

"The request attracted a record number of public comments — with 80,945 against and 75 in favor." The side with 75 got what it wanted. NPR: Michigan OKs Nestlé Water Extraction, Despite 80K+ Public Comments Against It. Nestle's water win (in the shadow of Flint's water disaster) is a preview of what could be many future battles over who owns H20.

"Apps alone aren't a panacea that alone can reform the rehab industry. But by building flexible programs that fit the nuances of their clients' lives, this mini-movement of doctors, researchers, and developers is attempting to give addiction treatment a modern makeover—a welcome smoke signal in the midst of a massive crisis." Zach Siegel in Wired: Addiction Rehab Is Broken. Can Technology Fix It? (What if your addiction is to tech?)

The future of war is technological. The future of technology will be dominated by large corporations. How will consumer tech employees feel about their wares being used for war? We're getting a preview of that with a letter being circulated at Google. "The letter, which is circulating inside Google and has garnered more than 3,100 signatures, reflects a culture clash between Silicon Valley and the federal government that is likely to intensify as cutting-edge artificial intelligence is increasingly employed for military purposes." NYT: Google Workers Urge CEO to Pull Out of Pentagon AI Project.

"The president and some of his allies seized on the special counsel's words as an assurance that Trump's risk of criminal jeopardy is low. Other advisers, however, noted that subjects of investigations can easily become indicted targets — and expressed concern that the special prosecutor was baiting Trump into an interview that could put the president in legal peril." Robert Mueller has informed the president that he is not currently the target of a criminal probe. But he is a "subject" in the probe. Like everything, that got everyone talking, tweeting, and generally freaking.

+ On his way out as national security advisor, HR McMaster blasted US inaction on Russia. Tillerson did essentially the same thing. It's almost like these guys are trying to send us some kind of message.

During the first internet boom, the founders of a startup I advised gave me a gas-powered, stand-up scooter after I complained about parking near their office. The first time I rode it, I got pulled over by a police officer. He said, "We really don't have any specifics laws about what you're riding, but it just seems wrong." A couple decades later, those scooters (now electric) have appeared everywhere in San Francisco. And we still don't really have any applicable laws.

"The study examined a variety of different household tasks—including shopping, laundry, and housecleaning, and found that, for women in heterosexual relationships, it's more important to share the responsibility of doing the dishes than any other chore."

+ "I have matured and I admit responsibility for my actions. I come to you, hat in hand, to apologize for the damage I had indirectly come to cause and to ask you to reconsider my lifetime ban from the property." A Canadian Hotel Forgives Guest 17 Years After Flock Of Seagulls Trashed His Room. (They never seemed like that kind of band...)