Back on Track: When your nickname is Amtrak Joe, you better be able to avert a rail strike. And Biden just helped get that done. How Biden navigated a political and economic minefield at a critical moment in rail negotiations.

+ Gov Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry: “About 50 migrants arrived by plane in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., Wednesday on a flight paid for by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and that originated in San Antonio, Texas.” Migrants on Martha’s Vineyard flight say they were told they were going to Boston. Shipping kids and families around the country to score cheap political points is the new normal. Greg Abbott, also in the running to be the next Trump, started the trend. “Two buses of migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border were dropped off near Vice President Kamala Harris’ home in residential Washington on Thursday morning.”

+ Dam Fool: “We understand your questions and concerns in this regard. During today’s meeting, of course, we will explain in detail our position on this issue, although we have spoken about this before.” Putin and Xi held their first meeting since the Ukraine invasion began. And Putin is responding to military setbacks by playing dirtier. Houses flooded after missiles hit major dam.

+ Boys to Men: “The fact that boys mature later than girls is one known to every parent, and certainly to every teacher. According to a Rand survey, teachers are three times more likely to delay entry for their own sons than their own daughters. The maturity gap is now demonstrated conclusively by neuroscience: Brain development follows a different trajectory for boys than it does for girls. But this fact is entirely ignored in broader education policy, even as boys fall further behind girls in the classroom.” The Atlantic: Why boys should start school a year later than girls.

+ By Design: From a browser app that compensates for users’ tremors in real time to a floating wind farm that uses 126 turbines and is designed for deep water, here are FastCo’s 2022 Innovation by Design Awards.