Extra, Extra
Mind If We Play Through? “The decision was informed by the president’s behavior during the search and rescue operation for the aircrew of the downed F-15 fighter jet late last month, when the president reportedly screamed at his aides for hours. As a result, his aides ‘kept the president out of the room as they got minute-by-minute updates because they believed his impatience wouldn’t be helpful, instead updating him at meaningful moments.'” A commander-in-chief kept out of war meetings because of erratic behavior? That seems bad. Meanwhile, in Iran, it’s not completely clear who’s in charge. WSJ (Gift Article): Iran’s Hard-Liners Flex Their Muscle With a U-Turn Over Hormuz. “Divisions between moderates and the Revolutionary Guard will complicate U.S. efforts for a diplomatic win.” For now, the two sides are talking about restarting talks. Here’s the latest from The Guardian, NBC, and BBC.
+ Everybody’s Working for the Weakened: “But only the entities that officially paid the tariffs are eligible to recover that money. That means that the fuller universe of people affected by Mr. Trump’s policies — including millions of Americans who paid higher prices for the products they bought — are not able to apply for direct relief.” NYT: Trump Administration Takes Steps to Refund $166 Billion in Tariffs. (Would corporations have even demanded these refunds a few months ago, before Trump’s polls weakened?)
+ Miracle on Ice: Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial. This is good news about mRNA, which provided a medical miracle with the Covid vaccine. So you have to wonder why Trump and RFK, Jr pulled $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccines. Of course, it’s more curious, and more dangerous, that these guys seem to hate vaccines in general. ProPublica: The Horrors That Could Lie Ahead if Vaccines Vanish. “If current rates drop by half, all four diseases could return.”
+ Shreveport Mass Shooting: “A man in Louisiana killed eight children Sunday in a shooting that authorities described as a domestic violence incident and was later killed by police after he fled in a carjacked vehicle.”
+ Mushroom Cloud: “Shares of psychedelic drug developers rose in premarket trading on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing health regulators to speed up reviews of psychedelic drugs and boosted federal research funding.” Joe Rogan was a big proponent of this and was there for the EO signing. Which is interesting, considering he’s been attacking Trump’s war. Trump is savaging allies who criticize the Iran war. But he’s treating Joe Rogan very differently. (There’s one war Trump will never lose: The ratings war.)
+ Bag of Tricks: “Every time you stood in a store in the 2010s and compared a JanSport to a North Face to an Eastpak, you were comparing three labels owned by the same parent corporation. Same earnings call. Same margin targets. Same quarterly pressure. The sense that you were choosing between competitors was a fiction that VF Corp had no incentive to correct.” Your Backpack Got Worse On Purpose.
+ Liquid Assets: “When asked about the past day’s beverage consumption, they found that 66% of all participants had coffee, more than the 64% who said they had bottled water. Tea, soda, and juice sat at 47%, 46%, and 26%, respectively.” Coffee More Popular Than Water, Says National Coffee Association. (Of course, without the water, I find that coffee to be a little dry.)
