Extra, Extra
Calculating Risk: “An urgent meeting had been requested by the foreign ministers of Greenland and Denmark, which has said that any invasion or seizure of the territory by its NATO ally would mark the end of the western military alliance and ‘post-second world war security.'” Marco Rubio says he will meet Danish officials to discuss Greenland next week. (Offend allies, empower enemies. That’s the Trump doctrine.)
+ Ice Age: “An ICE agent shot and killed a woman Wednesday morning in south Minneapolis. ICE says the woman was shot in her car after attempting to run over agents. Mayor Jacob Frey and witnesses are disputing ICE’s version of events.” Frey, Walz dispute that ICE killed woman in self-defense. “Frey said he’d seen video of the confrontation and said ICE was “already trying to spin this as an act of self-defense. That is bullshit. This was an agent recklessly using power … that resulted in someone dying, getting killed … The narrative that this was done in self-defense is a garbage narrative.'”
+ Oil Spillover: “The split screen of the government’s leading a show of support for an unpopular authoritarian leader while cracking down on his critics was especially striking because the United States is now supporting that government.” Maduro Is Gone, but Repression in Venezuela Has Intensified. Gonna be tough to pour oil on this troubled water. Meanwhile, U.S. seizes Russian-flagged oil tanker linked to Venezuela after weekslong pursuit.
+ Pay to Play: “Youth sports has transformed over the past two decades, from low-cost grassroots programs run mostly by local groups into a high-priced industry filled with club teams, specialized training and travel tournaments staged at gleaming youth sports complexes — changes fueled, in part, by a surge in private equity and venture capital investment.” WaPo (Gift Article): The soaring price of youth sports: $50 to try out, $3,000 to play. (This is one of the many ways the economic divide leads to a social divide.)
+ Stalled Progress: “Nearly 60 women lawmakers in Japan, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, have submitted a petition calling for more toilets in the parliament building to match their improved representation.” 73 women. One restroom and two stalls.
+ Irish Sling: Here’s a pretty interesting football stat: Quarterbacks from Notre Dame have lost 25 consecutive starts in the NFL over the past 14 seasons.
+ Quit Claim: “According to my brain, I knew I was in Echo Park, the LA neighborhood that’s home to Dodgers Stadium. But whether it was the real Echo Park or a simulation, a convincing-enough mix of new highrises and grungy cottages in imitation of Echo Park, I wasn’t sure. For several hours, I’d been haunted by yellow-tinted hallucinations, sweeping in and out of my mind like searchlights, which told me I might’ve slipped between worlds.” Rosecrans Baldwin in GQ: A Cautionary Tale Against Quitting Zyn—or Anything—Cold Turkey.
