The Full Belmonte, 4/15/2023
Alleged leaker Jack Teixeira is taken into custody by armed tactical agents in Dighton, Massachusetts, on Thursday. Source: WCVB-TV
“Airman Charged Over Leak as Biden Clamps Down on Secrets
The US charged Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira over the disclosure of intelligence secrets, a major embarrassment for President Joe Biden’s administration. Investigators are probing whether foreign adversaries played a role in the leak, which could lead to a 15-year prison sentence.” [Bloomberg]
Wolf in sheep's clothing': How a USPS worker's fight over Sunday shifts could change your workplace
The justices will hear arguments Tuesday in what one observer described as the ‘most wide-reaching religious liberty case in roughly half a century.’
“WASHINGTON – Gerald Groff wanted to spend his Sundays at church. His employer, the U.S. Postal Service, wanted him delivering packages.
That simple dispute between an employee and his managers sparked one of the most significant religious cases to reach the Supreme Court in years – with the potential to shift the balance of power between employees and employers over weekend schedules, dress codes and how workers conduct themselves around colleagues.
The appeal raises a basic question with potentially sweeping consequences: How far must large employers go to accommodate the religious needs of their workers? For Groff, an Evangelical Christian who told his boss in 2017 that he wouldn’t cover Sunday shifts because of his faith, the answer became a personal and painful one.
‘I lived under a cloud of thinking any day I could report to work…and then be told that I was terminated,’ said Groff, a 45-year-old Pennsylvanian who resigned from the Postal Service in 2019. ‘Two years of just pretty much every day was tough.’
For nearly five decades, similar disputes have been guided by a 1977 Supreme Court decision that allows employers to deny religious requests if they present more than a trivial cost. That meant companies could decline to alter schedules to account for a sabbath or allow an employee to wear a turban in most circumstances.
Groff is asking the Supreme Court to toss that standard. But his critics fear what the court's conservative majority might come up with as a replacement. And they're concerned that new standard could lead to workplace discrimination.
‘There’s a huge can of worms that this opens up,’ said Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. ‘Letting people shift the cost of exercising their religion onto their co-workers in a way that harms their co-workers is the opposite of equality.’
The court will hear arguments in Groff v. DeJoy on Tuesday.
How Amazon packages delivered a sweeping religious dispute
Groff started at the Postal Service after years of missionary work in Africa and Asia. He wanted a career that would allow him to keep his sabbath, and since mail isn’t delivered on Sundays, the job seemed to be a safe bet. Everything changed when the USPS signed a contract with Amazon in 2013 to deliver packages on weekends.
His supervisors initially exempted Groff from working Sundays as long as he covered other shifts. But their attempts to find volunteers for those days didn’t always work, and by 2018, Groff had missed 24 Sunday shifts. Disciplinary measures began mounting.
Groff said he didn’t hear grumbling from colleagues.
‘If they had to work a Sunday for me, I could remind them that I may have worked Thanksgiving for them,’ said Groff, who is represented by First Liberty Institute, a group that has brought several successful religious claims to the nation's highest court.
Still, at least one industry group and several unions opposing Groff worry about the fallout if more employees become entitled to time off for religious holidays and sabbaths. A new standard, some fear, could make a mess of seniority systems that have been negotiated to deal with shifts few want to work.
‘Most pilots would prefer not to fly a trans-continental redeye on Christmas Eve,’ Airlines for America, a trade group, told the court in a brief last month. Seniority systems, the group said, ensure that ‘pilots are assigned to all the flights that need to be flown.’
Groff's case could affect more than a company’s scheduling, experts say. A win for Groff, for instance, might help a teacher who, based on religious beliefs, declines to use transgender pronouns in the classroom. It could give a boost to pharmacists who decline to fill birth control prescriptions based on religion.
‘This case is a wolf in sheep's clothing,’ Laser said.
James Phillips, a law professor at Chapman University, said the case has the potential to be the ‘most wide-reaching religious liberty case in roughly half a century.’ But he pushed back on the notion it might open the floodgates to other types of claims.
‘For people who it isn't really a strong religious need, it’s not as big a deal to work on Sunday,’ he said.
Resetting the standard
Groff has at least two things working in his favor at the Supreme Court.
The first is that the standard the justices set in the 1977 decision is the kind of court-created policy widely disfavored today. Federal law requires employers to honor an employee's religious request as long as it doesn’t represent a ‘undue hardship’ on their business. The Supreme Court defined that term in 1977 as anything having more than a ‘de minimis,’ or trivial cost, for the business.
But that definition isn't in the law, a point even some of Groff's critics acknowledge.
Groff’s argument, meanwhile, is likely to resonate with the Supreme Court's conservative majority, which has handed religious interests a steady series of recent wins.
Last year, the court sided with a high school football coach who wanted to pray on the 50-yard line after games. In 2021, it allowed a Catholic foster care agency to turn away same-sex couples as prospective parents. In 2019, the court ruled that a Latin cross on government land outside Washington, D.C., did not have to be moved or altered in the name of church-state separation.
For religious groups, the Groff case is the latest opportunity to right what they see as a decades-old wrong.
‘The employer has to show that it's going to hurt in some way’ to honor an employee's religious request, said Mark Rienzi, president of Becket, which has represented religious clients at the Supreme Court. ‘It's not enough to just say, 'I'd rather not.'“ [USA Today]
Supreme Court grants temporary pause on abortion pill ruling
BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL
“The Supreme Court briefly paused a ruling from a federal court that would severely restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone.
The short order from Justice Samuel Alito on the court’s emergency ‘shadow docket’ will keep the status quo in place until at least midnight Wednesday while the administration’s emergency request for a stay is considered by the full court.”
Read the full story here [The Hill]
Pompeo won’t run for president in 2024
BY BRANDON CONRADIS AND JARED GANS
“Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday evening said he was opting out of the 2024 presidential race, putting to rest speculation that he would challenge his ex-boss, former President Trump.
‘We’re not going to join the race in 2024,’ Pompeo told Fox News’ Bret Baier when asked about his decision.” [The Hill]
Tax Day is Tuesday
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
“Taxes are due April 18 — three days after the normal April 15 deadline — giving procrastinators a short reprieve to file income tax returns this year,
Zoom out: Many Americans are getting smaller tax refunds this year as a few pandemic policies expire and tax credits return to past levels, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes.
By the numbers: The IRS has received 101.3 million returns and processed 69.1 million refunds as of April 7.
The average refund amount is $2,878 compared to last year’s average of $3,175 on April 8, a difference of 9.3%.” [Axios]
Supreme Court Opens Path to Curbing FTC, SEC Powers
Unanimous decision makes it easier to bring constitutional challenges to agencies’ powers
The SEC has curbed its use of in-house courts and files most of its enforcement litigation in federal court.PHOTO: ANDREW KELLY/REUTERS
“WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Friday issued an opinion that will make it easier for businesses to challenge the way government enforcers use special in-house courts to block mergers, punish stockbrokers and money managers, and go after allegedly unfair business practices.
In a unanimous decision, the justices said people and businesses subjected to administrative proceedings at the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission can seek to enjoin, or block, those proceedings by suing in U.S. District Court and raising constitutional arguments there….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Guns and 2024: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley promote gun rights at NRA meeting
“WASHINGTON – Undeterred by recent mass shootings, Donald Trump and other Republican presidential hopefuls pledged their fealty to gun owners' rights during a Friday convention of the National Rifle Association.
While mass killings in Nashville and Louisville put more political pressure on Republicans to support some kind of gun control, the Republicans told the powerful gun lobby that the Second Amendment is sacrosanct.
‘This is not a gun problem, this is a mental health problem, this is a social problem, this is a cultural problem, this is a spiritual problem,’ Trump said during a candidate forum sponsored by the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action.
The National Rifle Association held its convention in Indianapolis within two weeks of two more mass shootings, one at a school in Nashville and the other at a bank in Louisville.
Democrats jeered the GOP for its parade of candidates before the NRA and said guns will be a major issue throughout the 2024 election year.
The ‘Republican extreme records on guns will be on full display’ throughout the campaign, said Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
The GOP candidates visited the NRA in very different political positions. Trump is dealing with his recent indictment, while prospective rivals like Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, and Nikki Haley are looking for traction in the still-evolving 2024 Republican presidential race.
Trump's legal issues
Seeking legal as well as political support, Trump told NRA delegates he is being investigated by the same kind of people who want to confiscate guns.
Playing to the crowd, Trump proposed what he called ‘National Concealed Carry Reciprocity,’ forcing pro-gun control states to let visitors carry weapons if they have permits issued by other states. He also proposed a tax credit for teachers to offset the costs of firearms training and touted the pro-gun judges he appointed during his term in office.
Trump, who saw several mass shootings during his presidency, has always backed NRA-backed gun policies, and credited the group with giving him a huge political boost during his first presidential campaign in 2016.
At one point in a long speech, Trump spent several minutes talking about 2024 Republican polls and mocking his rivals. He repeatedly mangled DeSantis' name and joked about Haley's low polling.
Trump addressed the gun lobby ten days after pleading not guilty in New York City to charges of falsifying business records in order to cover up hush money payments and campaign finance violations.
On Thursday, Trump spent some seven hours in a lawyer's office for a deposition in a fraud lawsuit filed against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump attorney Christopher Kise said Trump ran a successful business and eventually ‘everyone will scoff at the notion any fraud took place.’
During Friday's speech, Trump reminded the gun owners that James filed a 2020 lawsuit against the NRA.
DeSantis on the verge
DeSantis, who also made campaign-like appearances in Virginia and New Hampshire on Friday, spoke to the NRA via video with a 3-minute speech focused on the subject at hand.
Citing his record as governor of Florida, DeSantis said ‘we've gone on offense to expand individual gun rights.’
DeSantis is expected to announce a 2024 candidacy after the Florida Legislature adjourns in May. The session has featured passage of a number of DeSantis-backed measures that could well surface in a presidential campaign.
Among them: A bill that will allow Florida residents to carry concealed guns without permits.
Haley v. Trump v. DeSantis
Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, spoke for less than a minute via video, telling NRA delegates that her daughter is getting married this weekend.
Proclaiming a life-long commitment to gun rights and the Second Amendment, Haley said she is ‘a concealed weapons permit holder myself’ and that her husband is a hunter.
‘You've always got a partner in me,’ Haley told NRA delegates.
Haley did not mention two other Republicans who have dominated her campaign of late: Trump and DeSantis, both of whom enjoy leads over her in early polling.
In a memo to donors, the Haley campaign denounced Trump's indictment as ‘outrageous prosecutorial abuse,’ while also suggesting it would be a major distraction for him.
‘It’s increasingly clear that Trump’s candidacy is more consumed by the grievances of the past and the promise of more drama in the future, rather than a forward-looking vision for the American people,’ the memo said.
As for DeSantis, the Haley campaign cited changing views on aid to Ukraine and questionable campaign skills. The memo said DeSantis has ‘made one misstep after another, confirming what many observers have long suspected: he’s not ready for prime time.’
Pence and the grand jury
Pence, the former vice president, said that he and other members of the Trump administration ‘stood without apology for the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.’
The former governor of Indiana reminded NRA members of the high number of conservative judges the Trump administration picked for the Supreme Court and lower courts, and their rulings in favor of gun rights and against abortion rights.
Citing the recent shootings, Pence said he mourns the victims. He also said that Biden and the Democrats are offering ‘tired arguments’ for ‘gun control and gun confiscation.’ He instead called for improved mental health programs to help troubled youths, more security officers in schools, and a federal death penalty statute for mass shooters.
The NRA meeting came at an interesting time for Pence. He is expected to testify soon to a grand jury about his dealings with Trump in and around the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.
Pence has said Trump was wrong to demand that he throw out electoral votes favorable to Biden, but he has otherwise defended Trump amid the many investigations of the ex-president.
Seeking traction
Other presidential aspirants addressing the National Rifle Association are looking to build their political profiles.
Tim Scott, a senator from South Carolina, spoke by video and stressed his congressional record against gun control supporters who want to leave Americans ‘unsafe’ and ‘unarmed.’
Scott announced just this week that he has formed an exploratory committee, a major step toward a possible 2024 presidential candidacy.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman who built a brand by opposing so-called ‘woke’ social policies, told the NRA that a ‘mental health epidemic’ is the biggest reason for mass shootings.
Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, said he would also defend the Second Amendment and called for better security in schools.
In past weeks, Hutchinson has called on Trump to suspend his campaign because of the indictment. He did not mention Trump by name during his NRA appearance, but did suggest that the Republicans should not re-nominate the former president by saying ‘we don't need a rerun of 2020.’
Two other NRA speakers are also said to be considering presidential bids: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
The Nashville sound
In addition to the NRA, Trump, Pence, and perhaps others are expected to address a closed-door Republican donor retreat in Nashville, Tenn., the city that was the site of the shooting that killed three children and three adult staff members at a Christian school.
Nashville is also the city where Republican members of the state legislature expelled two Democrats for disrupting a meeting to protest the lack of action on gun control. The two members have since been re-appointed.” [USA Today]
18,000 cows killed in Texas explosion. Next: The massive, messy task of disposing of them
“The fire that killed 18,000 dairy cows in a West Texas farm has been extinguished and the staggering death count revealed.
Now, comes the messy, unprecedented task of disposing of them.
Typically, dead farm animals – even scores of them, such as those killed in the wake of hurricanes or blizzards – can be buried, hauled to landfills or even composted, said Saqib Mukhtar, an associate dean at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension and a cattle disposal expert.
But the sheer number of carcasses in this incident makes the task monumental, he said.
‘I really don’t know, if [the cows] were all intact, how in the world you can manage this even within a month,’ said Mukhtar, who previously worked at Texas A&M University and helped dispose of thousands of cattle drowned by Hurricane Ike in 2008.
More:18,000 cows killed in explosion, fire at Texas dairy farm may be largest cattle killing ever
Officials have not said what method of disposal they will use in the case of the South Fork farm disaster.
Video footage from local television stations showed front-loaders entering and exiting the pens where an estimated 18,000 cattle – a mix of Holstein and Jersey cows – perished during a fire Monday evening at the South Fork Dairy farm near Dimmitt, Texas, around 70 miles southwest of Amarillo.
A dairy worker was rescued from inside the facility and rushed to a hospital. She was in critical condition as of Tuesday.” [USA Today]
Missouri to Restrict Medical Care for Transgender Adults, Citing Consumer Protection Law
In his emergency regulation, the state attorney general said it was necessary to put up ‘substantial guardrails’ around gender-transitioning treatments, because they were considered ‘experimental.’
April 14, 2023
“The Missouri attorney general, citing a consumer protection law normally used to prosecute fraudulent business practices, issued a new state directive this week that would severely restrict gender-transitioning treatment for both adults and minors.
In the emergency regulation announced on Thursday, Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, said it was necessary to put up “substantial guardrails” around such medical treatments because they were considered “experimental.” Those guardrails include at least 18 months of therapy with a psychologist or psychiatrist before receiving puberty-blocking drugs or surgeries.
He invoked the state’s Merchandising Practices Act in issuing the directive, saying that the attorney general ‘is charged with protecting consumers, including minors, from harm.’
‘The regulation is necessary due to the skyrocketing number of gender-transition interventions, despite rising concerns in the medical community that these interventions lack clinical evidence of safety or success,’ said Mr. Bailey, who was appointed in November. He is running for a full four-year term in 2024….” Read more at New York Times
Facing Tough Senate Race, Montana G.O.P. Looks to Change the Rules
An election bill moving through the Republican-led Legislature would rewrite the rules for a single race: the looming battle against Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat.
April 14, 2023
“HELENA, Mont. — Republicans typically cry foul when accused of rewriting election laws to benefit their candidates. But as the Montana Legislature debates a new voting bill, even some G.O.P. lawmakers concede that this one appears designed to help them win elections — more precisely, one very important election.
The bill would rewrite the rules for the state’s next U.S. Senate race, and only that race, for 2024. The effort to oust Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat, is expected to be one of the tightest in the country.
The legislation would shift the contest from a traditional election into a ‘top two’ primary system, making it exceedingly difficult for third parties to reach a general election ballot. Some believe the system would keep the state’s vibrant Libertarian Party from siphoning votes from the Republican nominee.
While supporters of the bill say it makes elections fairer, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Helena have claimed that the bill reeks of political interference. Some have chafed at the involvement of Washington operatives, especially allies of Senator Steve Daines. A Montana Republican and head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Mr. Daines is leading the party’s campaign to win control of the Senate in 2024….” Read more at New York Times
DeSantis support grows on Hill
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tosses bags of Buc-ee's Beaver Nuggets in Ocala, Fla., on April 7 as he announces money for an interchange to serve a coming Buc-ee's convenience store. Photo: Doug Engle/Ocala Star-Banner via Reuters
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis heads to Washington on Tuesday for an event with at least nine conservative Republicans in Congress — a sign he's gaining support on Capitol Hill as a 20224 alternative to former President Trump, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports.
Why it matters: GOP lawmakers are getting less fearful of a Trump backlash if they don't fall in line with him. And it suggests DeSantis, viewed by Trump as his chief competition, could get a wave of endorsements when he officially enters the race.
Only two House Republicans, Chip Roy of Texas and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, have endorsed DeSantis. They and six more — plus Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) — have attached their names to the DeSantis event.
Sources close to DeSantis see the additional lawmakers' participation as ‘soft endorsements’ that will help DeSantis build momentum toward a campaign announcement, likely in the next few months.
The other House Republicans announced as taking part in the event are Bob Good (Virginia), Randy Feenstra (Iowa), Mike Gallagher (Wisconsin), Darin LaHood (Illinois), Laurel Lee (Florida), and Ken Buck (Colorado).
Massie, 52, of rural Kentucky — who was featured last month in the N.Y. Times Sunday Review as ‘the Man Republicans Can’t Get Enough Of’ — told Axios that he believes there will be ‘too many of us who endorse DeSantis for there to be backlash’ from Trump.
‘The people who have endorsed Ron so far, like Chip and I, we're not somebody who you would say has 'Trump derangement syndrome,’’ he said.
‘We'd be happy with Trump as president as well,’ Massie added. ‘We just think that Ron would be a better candidate to be president.’
‘I know what the national polls look like right now. I believe they're accurate, but I have an accurate poll from December where DeSantis was beating Trump in Kentucky.’
Massie said his decision to endorse DeSantis early was an effort to push him to throw his hat in the ring.” [Axios]
“IRS ‘Army’ Veterans Reveal Tax System Broken Beyond $80 Billion
The IRS has already started to spend the $80 billion Democrats approved to help catch more tax cheats. But as Ben Steverman reports, former employees say more than money will be required to restore a dysfunctional tax agency gutted by budget cuts, staff departures and lousy tech.” [Bloomberg]
Four Sons of El Chapo Face Sweeping New Charges in Fentanyl Indictments
The charges, in five related cases, offered a panoramic view of how the deadly drug was created, transported and ultimately sold by the Sinaloa cartel on American streets.
By Benjamin Weiser and Alan Feuer
“Federal officials announced a flurry of charges on Friday against the four sons of the notorious Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo, saying the men were leading their imprisoned father’s empire and were responsible for moving vast quantities of fentanyl into and throughout the United States.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said at a news conference in Washington that in addition to the four sons — collectively known as Los Chapitos — federal indictments in Manhattan, Chicago and Washington had charged more than two dozen other people in what he described as a global fentanyl manufacturing and distribution operation run by the Sinaloa drug cartel. El Chapo, whose real name is Joaquín Guzmán Loera, led the organization for years and after his conviction in Brooklyn in 2019 is serving life in prison in the United States.
Mr. Garland said the defendants named in the five separate indictments included suppliers in China who sold so-called precursor chemicals used in manufacturing fentanyl; a broker based in Guatemala who bought the chemicals on behalf of the Chapitos; operators of clandestine fentanyl labs in Mexico; and a weapons supplier who provided the cartel with weapons smuggled into Mexico from the United States.
The indictments, taken together, provided a panoramic view of how fentanyl was created, transported and ultimately sold on the street in cities from New York to Nashville to Los Angeles. The charges noted that the fentanyl business earned the cartel millions of dollars while causing as many as 200 deaths in the United States each day….” Read more at New York Time
“Brazil, China Can ‘Change World Governance’ Together, Lula Says
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defended stronger ties with Beijing to reorient the global political order. Simone Iglesias explains how that could boost Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans to counter decades of US preeminence in world affairs.” [Bloomberg]
“Macron Misstep Shows EU Can’t Sit on Fence in New World Order
The French president’s misstep on a state visit to China and the rush to reaffirm Western unity that followed were a clumsy reminder of the high stakes Europe faces as it wrestles to secure its place in a shifting world order. Alberto Nardelli, Arne Delfs and Alonso Soto explain.
Macron enacted his controversial pension reform today after clearing a constitutional hurdle, allowing him to try to move past the episode that’s sparked months of protests and dented his popularity.” [Bloomberg]
India’s Population Surpasses China’s, Shifting the World’s ‘Center of Gravity’
The new global order reflects deep changes in both countries, with economic and geopolitical consequences
Commuters in Mumbai. India’s population is expected to reach 1.429 billion by the end of the year. NIHARIKA KULKARNI/REUTERS
“NEW DELHI—China’s population has reigned as the largest in the world for more than two centuries. Now India is taking its place, heralding a major shift in the global order.
The United Nations has said India’s population is projected to surpass China’s sometime this year. Many demographers estimate it could happen this month, if it hasn’t already. India’s population is expected to reach 1.429 billion by the end of the year, according to the U.N. China will fall to second place, with 1.426 billion people. Both dwarf the U.S. at a projected 340 million.
India’s rising population means it’s likely to keep its economy growing, buy more of the world’s goods and play a bigger role in global affairs, even as it grapples with poverty and a lack of jobs.
China’s demographic headwinds will make it harder for the country to achieve its economic ambitions, or to supplant the U.S. as the world’s biggest economy, despite its rising wealth and military power.
India, as the world’s largest democracy, has been a natural partner and investment destination for the U.S. But it’s also an unpredictable one, with a tendency to assert its own interests and protect its companies over Western ones….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Israel Generals Give a Stark Warning: Its Enemies Smell Blood
Deadly violence scarred Israel’s Passover holiday and prompted a deeply divided society to agree on one thing: Its enemies smell blood. Amy Teibel and Ethan Bronner look at how a surprising number of security experts say Netanyahu is to blame.” [Bloomberg]
“Kim Jong Un’s ‘Respected Daughter’ Becomes Weapons-Test Fixture
While children across North Korea spent the day in school, the preteen daughter of leader Kim Jong Un watched a test of a nuclear missile. The world doesn’t officially know her age or name, yet since November she has been a staple of the state propaganda apparatus, Jon Herskovitz writes.” [Bloomberg]
Kim and his daughter attend a celebration of the test-launch of an ICBM on Nov. 27 Photographer: KCNA via KNS
“Milk May Become a Hurdle in Modi’s Inflation Fight in India
Milk is ubiquitous in India — from the morning glassful that most middle-class school kids drink to its use in Hindu religious rituals. Now it could become a headache for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government as prices soar, Adrija Chatterjee writes.” [Bloomberg]
“Kenyan Runner’s Murder Opens a Window on Violence Against Women
The western Kenyan town of Iten, a training ground for elite long-distance runners, is suffering from cases of alleged domestic abuse — and even murder — of female athletes. Simon Marks reports on how women are confronting violence that’s rising amid an influx of money tied to sports.” [Bloomberg]
“Argentina’s record drought is worsening inflation, undermining economic growth and sending the peso to new lows ahead of October presidential elections. Patrick Gillespie and Jonathan Gilbert explain how it could also portend a dramatic swing in the country’s political direction.” [Bloomberg]
A farmer holds a dried soybean plant in San Jose de la Esquina, Argentina, on April 6. Photographer: Natalia Favre/Bloomberg
Americans aren't ready to retire
Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
“After a tumultuous year in the markets, America's preparedness for retirement has gotten shakier, Axios' Erica Pandey writes.
By the numbers: More than half — 52% — of Americans are not on track to comfortably pay for their retirement, according to a new report from Fidelity, the nation's largest provider of 401(k) plans.
401(k) accounts lost 23% of their value last year, compared with 2021, per another recent Fidelity report.
And 55% of those between the ages of 18 and 35 have put retirement planning and saving on hold, Fidelity notes.
Between the lines: ‘Roughly half the workforce, we’re talking 50 plus million people, work for an employer that doesn’t offer a retirement plan,’ said David John, a senior policy adviser at AARP. That could mean a small business or gig work.
And millennials and Gen X-ers are far less likely to have traditional pensions than their Boomer counterparts, John said.
What to watch: Gen Z is more prepared for the future than previous generations, said Rita Assaf, vice president of retirement at Fidelity. Gen Z's creation of new IRA savings accounts was up 30% in 2022, compared to 2021.
The bottom line: Retirement preparedness among young people, especially millennials, isn't where it should be, Assaf notes. ‘The good news is they still have time.’” [Axios]
Montana Lawmakers Approve Statewide Ban on TikTok
Supporters of the bill expect legal challenges if the governor signs the legislation
“Montana lawmakers on Friday approved a first-of-its-kind bill to ban TikTok across the state, setting the stage for future court battles that could determine the fate of the popular, Chinese-owned social-media app in the U.S.
The Montana House voted 54-43 to send the bill to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s desk. The governor’s office declined to say whether he would sign the bill but noted Mr. Gianforte had previously banned TikTok on government-issued devices and urged the state university system to do the same….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Amid backlash over collab with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, head of Bud Light responds
“The head of Anheuser-Busch has responded to the uproar over the beer brand’s recent collaboration with a transgender social media influencer, noting that the company aims to bring ‘people together over a beer.’
‘We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,’ CEO Brendan Whitworth wrote in a statement released Friday afternoon. ‘Moving forward, I will continue to work tirelessly to bring great beers to consumers across our nation.’
The statement comes after the beer company received backlash for partnering with TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney to promote a contest.
In a video posted to Mulvaney's Instagram, the transgender influencer shows off a personalized Bud Light can with an image of her face printed on the front and discusses the company’s $15,000 giveaway tied to March Madness.
Some conservatives called for a boycott of Bud Light beer after the video was posted.
Musician Kid Rock posted to Twitter a video of him shooting at cans of Bud Light, and country artist Travis Tritt said he would ban Anheuser-Busch products from his tour.
The backlash comes amid a rise in anti-trans legislation.
Previously, Anheuser-Busch has received backlash for donating to legislators whose bills discriminate against transgender youths. The Stonewall Inn, New York City's landmark LGBTQ bar, in 2021 said it would not serve beer from Anheuser-Busch during NYC Pride.
'I'm an easy target'
Mulvaney has also faced backlash for a partnership with Nike. The athletic brand asked people on social media to be kind and inclusive while noting that messages with hate speech and bullying would be deleted.
Mulvaney didn't address the Bud Light backlash but discussed receiving criticism in an episode of iHeartRadio’s ‘Onward with Rosie O’Donnell’ podcast that aired earlier this week.
‘The reason that I think I'm so, I’m an easy target, is because I’m so new to this,’ she said in the podcast. ‘I think going after a trans woman that’s been doing this for like 20 years is a lot more difficult. So I think maybe they think that there’s some sort of chance with me.’” [USA Today]
GAME OF THE WEEKEND
The Knicks’ Josh Hart, left, and Jalen Brunson.Evan Yu/Getty Images
“New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, N.B.A. playoffs: Both squads are looking for their first playoff series win in five years. Keep an eye on the clash between Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell. In their last matchup, the pair combined for 90 points with 13 three-pointers. Once overlooked, Brunson has had by far the best year of his career, scoring 24 points per game and leading New York to its most regular-season wins in a decade. Mitchell, whom the Knicks sought but failed to acquire in the off-season, proved himself again this season to be a superstar, scoring 40 or more points in 13 games and earning his fourth consecutive All-Star nod. Game 1 is tonight at 6 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
The Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves picked up the final two playoff spots with wins last night.” [New York Times]
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
Prince Harry and King Charles III last year.Karwai Tang/WireImage
“Prince Harry will attend his father’s coronation next month. Here’s what you need to know.
Mary Quant, who died at 93, was one of the best-known designers of the Swinging Sixties and defined styles of the era, including the miniskirt and hot pants.
Taylor Swift fans were stunned by reports that the singer’s relationship with Joe Alwyn was over.
‘Harry Potter’ will become a television series, and J.K. Rowling will be an executive producer of the show.
Ariana Grande posted a video to her TikTok asking people to stop commenting on her weight. The video started a conversation about mental health, The Cut reports.
‘Shucked’ is the first Broadway show in which the breakout star is a vegetable.
Lady Gaga, Jon Batiste and Shonda Rhimes were among the luminaries named to the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ the longest-running Broadway show, will end its run this weekend. Its devoted followers are mourning.
The Cannes Film Festival announced that movies by Wes Anderson and Todd Haynes will compete for the festival’s top prize this year.
The white suit worn by Justin Jones, the Tennessee lawmaker expelled for a gun protest, has become a viral symbol, The Times’s fashion critic writes.
Fedoras and fascinators: At the Easter Parade in Manhattan, many people came for the hats.
Vivan Sundaram, an artist and activist widely credited with spearheading a transition in modern and contemporary Indian art, died at 79.
Designers have reimagined chairs for Milan Design Week, a furniture fair. See some of the designs.” [New York Times]