Extra, Extra
MAGArthyism: “Ruling that Mr. Mahdawi should be released on bail, Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford of Federal District Court in Vermont said he did not pose a danger to the public and he was not a flight risk. The judge drew parallels between the current political climate and McCarthyism, saying it was ‘not our proudest moment.'” Columbia Student Who Was Arrested at Citizenship Interview Is Freed.
+ Recuse Me? “The justice did not provide an explanation for her recusal, but it may have to do with her close friendship with Nicole Stelle Garnett, a professor at Notre Dame Law School who was an early adviser for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, the school involved in the dispute.” NYT (Gift Article): Justice Amy Coney Barrett Recuses Herself in a Charter School Case. (This seems both right, and really surprising.)
+ Auto Biography: “The Michigan steel travels across the border to the Lanex’s Windsor plant, which shapes it into striker plates. The components are then handed off to another Canadian company, in nearby Brampton, for heat treating. Afterward, Lane drives the parts back over the border to Warren, Michigan, for plating, a process that applies a rust-protective coating. Finally, he brings them once more to Windsor, for inspection and packaging in his warehouse. Only then are the striker plates shipped to a vehicle assembly plant in the United States, where they’re mounted onto door frames.” This one auto part crosses the border four times on its way to your car. (“Roughly 30,000 individual parts that go into a single vehicle.”)
+ Unsettling Settlement: “The thousands of claims tell the story of a county government that did little to screen for abusers, allowing a sprawling network of facilities for young people to become hunting grounds for predators. Victims said staffers were seldom disciplined for preying on vulnerable kids.” L.A. County approves $4-billion sex abuse settlement, largest in U.S. history.
+ Zyn Master: “Philip Morris is up nearly 40% this year amid broader market turmoil fueled by tariff fears.” Two reasons: Tobacco is mostly a domestic operation. And Zyn. Philip Morris already sold enough Zyn in 2025 to span Route 66.
+ Bad News, Bears: “The 35-year-old McDowell is a North Carolina lobbyist who never worked for Congress, the White House or any other Washington institution. He is instead parlaying his background as a self-described government skeptic, who made his children baby food out of dandelion root and bear meat he hunted himself in an effort to avoid additives, into a power broker for the new administration where Kennedy, the health secretary, is reconsidering the role of pharmaceuticals and food ingredients.” WSJ (Gift Article): The MAGA Lobbyists Upending Washington With McDonald’s and Bear Hunting. Meanwhile, the person he lobbies the most: Kennedy Advises New Parents to ‘Do Your Own Research’ on Vaccines.
+ Papa Don’t Preach: There were two recent father-son stories in pro sports. Neither one was good. “The Atlanta Falcons have been fined $250,000 and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been fined $100,000 as the result of Ulbrich’s son participating in a prank call to Shedeur Sanders during the NFL draft.” And Tyrese Haliburton scolds his father for sparking postgame fracas after Pacers eliminate Bucks.
