How a Secretive Gambler Called ‘The Joker’ Beat the Texas Lottery Wall Street Journal
You Might Think of Shrimp as Bugs of the Sea. But a Remarkable Discovery Shows the Opposite: Bugs Are Actually Shrimp of the Land Smithsonian Magazine
30,000 gallons of maple syrup likely lost in historic Michigan ice storm Bridge Michigan
Cholera cases in Europe linked to holy water imported from Ethiopia News-Medical
Climate/Environment
The world is heating up. How much can our bodies handle? Grist
Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change. WaPo
In Western Pennsylvania, an Old Coal Town Gets a Gas-Fired Data Center Allegheny Front
Gulf energy giants invest in US gas boom Semafor
Pandemics
Measles outbreaks spark concern over rare ‘horrific’ neurological disorder CBC
The Greatest COVID-19 Misconception Pandemic Accountability Project
CDC’s cruise ship inspectors laid off amid bad year for outbreaks CBS News
India
Terms finalised, US-India drill down on sectors for trade deal Hindustan Times
The Koreas
Commentary: South Korea’s likely next leader may rethink US alliance, pull closer to Beijing, Pyongyang Channel News Asia
The Force That Drives Korea Unchartered Territories
China?
China offers off-ramp Pekingnology
China Halts Critical Exports as Trade War Intensifies New York Times. Headline is misleading; published yesterday but more an update on measures Beijing enacted April 4.
China’s New Economic Weapons The Washington Quarterly
Xi to visit Southeast Asia amid China’s grievous export crisis Asia Times
China Power: As Beijing plays up global peacemaker role, scepticism lingers in Southeast Asia Channel News Asia
Syraqistan
Israeli military strikes Gaza City’s last functioning hospital NBC News
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Washington, Riyadh agree to ‘pathway’ for Saudi civilian nuclear program The Cradle
US Envoy Steve Witkoff offers Iran nuclear deal without ‘full dismantling demand’ The New Arab
US, Iran take a leap forward in trust building Indian Punchline
On the Path to War with Iran – Alastair Crooke, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen The Duran
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After Ukraine, Trump is now eyeing Pakistan’s rare minerals The Independent
Pakistan Deepens Ties with China and Russia in Eurasian Pivot Glenn Diesen’s Substack. A talk with General Raza Muhammad.
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Pro-Erdoğan journalists echo Trump’s ‘relocation’ plan for Gaza, sparking backlash Turkish Minute
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The Maltese Falcon Poachers: How European hunters brought death and destruction to Egypt’s migratory birds The New Arab
European Disunion
EU will use Trump tariff freeze to push new fossil fuel deal Politico
Hungarian opposition leader tells supporters he will restore Western alliances if he defeats Orbán AP
S&P revises Hungary’s outlook to negative, citing stagflation risks and fiscal slippage Bne Intellinews
Hungarian Two-tailed Dog Party stages largest protest to date against amendment of Assembly Act Euronews
New Not-So-Cold War
When Alleged Western Military “Experts” Insist that Russia is Not Making Progress, Just Show Them This Larry Johnson
Ukraine Loses F-16 Under Unclear Circumstances Military Watch
Russia ‘was and remains the aggressor’, says Von der Leyen following deadly attack on Ukraine’s Sumy Euronews
EU to weigh new Russia sanctions, security guarantees for Ukraine at Luxembourg Summit Ukrainska Pravda
Less than 500 people have signed contracts under the 18-24 program so far – OP Ukrainska Pravda (machine translation)
Top Kiev official wants women conscripted into army RT
Ukraine’s military chief ‘must go’, says commander who quit to speak out The Guardian. A context-free interview with Bohdan Krotevych, former Azov brigade leader.
Are Holocaust Perpetrators Heroes of Ukraine?
The Rivne Regional Council asks Zelensky to award Taras “Bulba” Borovets the title of Hero of Ukraine — the country’s highest state honor.
Taras “Bulba” Borovets and his paramilitary formation, Polis’ka Sich, were responsible for… pic.twitter.com/Z8o8l0JDwU
— Marta Havryshko (@HavryshkoMarta) April 12, 2025
South of the Border
Ecuador’s Noboa holds on to power, voters back ‘iron fist’ on cartel violence France24
U.S. intelligence report favors incumbent Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa in election CBS News
“Liberation Day(s)”
Trump’s electronics tariff exemption is temporary, Commerce Secretary says Axios
Charting the Largest Tariff Hike in Modern History Apricitas Economics
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Donald Trump loves mess Read Max
Worst Case Scenario: Trump’s Tariffs Walling US Off Ahead of Wider World Conflict Brian Berletic, New Eastern Outlook
Debunking the Pettis-Miran Hypotheses Policy Tensor
GT Voice: Will fallout from US tariffs affect risk assessment of dollar assets? Global Times
OMG the Dollar Is Collapsing, or Whatever Wolf Street
Is the Trump Tariff Financial Crisis a Crisis of the Dollar? It Doesn’t Seem to Be … Yet Notes on the Crises
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BREAKING: US Politicians were buying tariff exempt companies before the news like $AAPL Apple.
Take Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene. She bought $AAPL, $AMZN, $DELL, $NKE, and others before the surprise announcement today, buyjng the companies as they fell.
Unusual. pic.twitter.com/XHOdKjhNNB
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) April 12, 2025
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Transcript: Are US tariffs just the beginning? With Abraham Newman FT
DOGE
Judge relaxes ban on DOGE access to sensitive US Treasury information CNN
DOGE takes over federal grants website, wresting control of billions WaPo
Democrats en Déshabillé
Gretchen Whitmer ribbed online for seeming to hide face in Oval Office Fox News
Person arrested for allegedly setting Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official Harrisburg residence on fire Spotlight PA
GOP Funhouse
The still untold story about GOP Rep. Cory Mills is a massive sleeper scandal for an outlet with resources to take an eye off the Trump ball: Money, sex, international arms deals, stolen valor claims, wildly shady finances. Here’s the gist, most of it from public record. (1/X)
— Roger Sollenberger (@SollenbergerRC) April 11, 2025
Immigration
Recent immigration brought a population rebound to America’s major metro areas, new census data show Brookings
Venezuela: 35 Migrants Rescued From Guantánamo Repatriated, None Belongs to Tren de Aragua Orinoco Tribune
Police State Watch
American Rendition: Rümeysa Öztürk’s Journey From Ph.D. Scholar to Trump Target Languishing in Louisiana Cell ProPublica
The Attack on International Students Can We Still Govern?. A good roundup and examination of wider implications.
AI
How to Train an Artistic AI ArtReview
Healthcare?
Kaiser accused of illegally using clerical staff, algorithms to triage suicidal patients Courthouse News Service
Private Equity’s Growing Role in Disability Care Demands Urgent Oversight MedPage Today
“Slow Pay, Low Pay or No Pay” ProPublica
Groves of Academe
Palantir wants to poach top high school grads with a new anti-college internship: ‘Skip the debt. Skip the indoctrination.’ Business Insider
Imperial Collapse Watch
This is why the Russian experience is so relevant to America today.
As @EvgeniaKovda keeps saying, she and other Russians and all former Soviet people are from America’s future. They already went through what America is going through right now.
— Yasha Levine (@yashalevine) April 13, 2025
Supply Chain
The Port That Powers a Nation: How New Orleans Connects America to the World Big Easy Magazine
Antitrust
Exclusive: @Meta adding former Trump & Bush official Dina Powell McCormick to its board, along with @stripe CEO Patrick Collison
—Reminder, it added Trump ally Dana White to board in Jan
—Meta faces historic antitrust trial against FTC next week@axioshttps://t.co/iOEpUx3AXk— Sara Fischer (@sarafischer) April 11, 2025
The Friendly Skies
Three Delta Air Lines Flights Makes Emergency Landings Due to Same Problem Aviation A2Z
The Bezzle
The Trump Family Is Going All-In on Crypto Projects, From Bitcoin Mining to Stablecoins Bloomberg
Guillotine Watch
Homeless workers now have to submit *proof of employment* to be allowed to sleep in their cars in one of the richest counties in the U.S.
Welcome to America: people shivering overnight in subzero temperatures for the privilege of keeping the local economy booming. pic.twitter.com/JPXk45Fmw1
— Brian Goldstone (@brian_goldstone) April 13, 2025
Class Warfare
Amazon workers force temporary shutdown after death at JFK8 warehouse WSWS
What Could Go Wrong?
It’s the first U.S. nuclear plant to use AI. Where does Diablo Canyon go from here? Cal Matters
Dinosaur Doomsday Crater Became an Ocean Oasis for 700,000 Years Gizmodo
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
