Extra, Extra
The Virus: “Criminals and gangs grabbed the money. But so did a U.S. soldier in Georgia, the pastors of a defunct church in Texas, a former state lawmaker in Missouri and a roofing contractor in Montana. All of it led to the greatest grift in U.S. history.” How billions in COVID-19 relief aid was stolen or wasted.
+ Chase Money: JP Morgan Chase reaches settlement with victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. The “lawsuit claims that officials at the bank ignored warning signs about Epstein’s abuse because he was a wealthy client.”
+ Bord at Work: “Much of the migration to the United States in recent years has been driven by profound developments in Central and South America and in the Caribbean, where economic turmoil, natural disasters, and drug-related violence have brought many states to the brink of collapse, and where gangs and drug cartels often operate beyond state control.” Dexter Filkins in The New Yorker with a solid overview of the mess at the border and the sadly obvious reason we can’t fix it, or even really address it. America’s broken immigration system has spawned a national fight, but Congress lacks the political will to fix it.
+ Reddit and Weep: “Thousands of sections of the popular online message board Reddit are ‘going dark’ for two days starting Monday to protest controversial new fees the site is charging third-party developers.”
+ Florida Man: Paul Rosenzweig in The Atlantic (Gift Article) on The Three Biggest Obstacles to Convicting Trump. (None of them have anything to do with the severity of the crime or the strong evidence.)
+ Hitting the Green: “On the morning of April 18, Dunne sent Al-Rumayyan a message on WhatsApp. Al-Rumayyan responded a few minutes later. They spoke on the telephone for a while that day and agreed to meet in person in London later that month. It was the beginning of one of the most complicated deals in Dunne’s career.” How the shocking PGA Tour-LIV Golf deal went down.
+ 23 and Me: “At this event, Djokovic played 55 points in tiebreakers, the set-deciding interregnums. He committed zero unforced errors.” And that’s it really. Novak Djokovic, who just won his 23rd major, is a mental rock when it matters most. Novak Djokovic ‘Plays the Hits’ to Claim Another French Open Title. ” Tom Brady was among those in the Djokovic box. And this is fitting. Not only was this the NFL GOAT watching his tennis playing analog button up his GOAT credentials, but there are real substantive similarities here. Was Brady the NFL’s best athlete, possessor of the strongest arm, the most aesthetically pleasing quarterback? He was not. But he maximized every possible advantage, (micro)managed his body, and simply summoned his best when it mattered most. Same for Djokovic.” And from WaPo: “The man who fell to clay earth, splayed there and gazed skyward early Sunday evening had journeyed to that dirt so improbably across the past 12-plus years that it almost hadn’t made any sense.” Novak Djokovic stands alone after roaring to his 23rd Grand Slam title.
+ Canadian Makin’: On the fourth playoff hole of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, Nick Taylor sinks a 72-foot putt for eagle. And then… Golfer Adam Hadwin was mistakenly leveled by security when celebrating.
+ Tooting Our Own Hornick: Kimberly Akimbo took home Best Musical at a Tony Awards that spent a lot of time focusing on the importance of writers (while putting on a show without them.) Ariana DeBose should get a Tony for her performance in the opening act in the Tony Awards. Wow.
