Dining Guide: Four NYC Restaurants You Can’t Miss.

States Step Up.

While Congress Stalls on Federal Gun Safety Legislation, States Push Their Own Rules

Some states are taking meaningful action to save lives from gun violence in America.

‌Just this week, the Democratic-led Michigan House approved legislation that would implement safe storage requirements in order to prevent youth from accessing guns, a long-sought change to Michigan’s gun laws that lawmakers weren’t able to bring to a vote until Democrats recently won control of the legislature.

‌Since President Biden signed the historic bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law last summer, which was the most significant federal legislation on gun safety in decades, most of the action we’ve seen on gun violence has been at the state level, Lisa Geller of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions said in a recent interview with PBS.

‌This legislative session, there is a lot happening on gun violence prevention: Minnesota is considering a red flag law, while 19 states and the District of Columbia have already implemented similar laws to prevent the purchase and possession of firearms by dangerous individuals.

‌Gun safety policies save lives. In states where elected officials have taken action to pass gun safety laws, fewer people die by gun violence, based on research by the Mike Bloomberg-founded Everytown for Gun Safety.

‌“We looked at every state across 50 policies and what we found is the states that had the strongest suite of policies had the least amount of gun violence,” Rob Wilcox, Everytown for Gun Safety’s Federal Legal Director, said Thursday in a hearing at the US House of Representatives. Click here to see how each state stacks up, and here to learn how you can get involved to prevent gun violence.

What I’m Reading.

UK Economy Watch: Bank of England Predicts UK Economy Will Avoid Recession for Now

Hope for falling prices: The Bank of England raised rates by a quarter point to 4.25% Thursday and expects price growth to cool sharply in the coming months, with the extension of more generous government energy support and continued falls in gas prices that will drag down inflation from double digits.

‌Repeat of Bank Crisis Unlikely: British Central Bank Chief Andrew Bailey Says Global Banks More Robust Than 2008

Power Play: Consumers Foot the Bill for Traders ‘Manipulating’ UK Energy Market

Some of the UK’s biggest energy companies have received £525 million/$641 million from a practice that regulators say drives prices higher. Traders have frequently announced they would cut off electricity capacity ahead of the busiest evening periods while at the same time offering power from their plants in a special side market, where they charged higher prices to meet the shortfalls they helped create.

‌Bolstering Ukraine’s Defenses: Ukrainian Soldiers Studying in Oklahoma Master Patriot Air Defense System Faster Than Expected

The Ukrainian trainees at an Oklahoma army base, who range in age from 19 to 67, are combat veterans with experience using their own air defense systems against Russian threats. After a certain point, the trainees had mastered the training so well they were even were able to design their own scenarios based on the tactics they know the Russians use in combat.

‌Officials at the Fort Sill, Oklahoma US Army base said they were impressed with the Ukrainians’ hard work and dedication. And added the Ukrainians only had one special request after they arrived: more soup options on the base’s menus.

If Only They Cared This Much About Gun Violence: US Lawmakers Grill TikTok CEO on Safety of App

During a heated hearing on Capitol Hill on Thursday, one Republican Congressman who has an A rating from the National Rifle Association told the TikTok CEO that “Your technology is literally leading to death.” Another Florida Republican representative who has been endorsed by the NRA played a TikTok video showing a gun that threatened the Energy & Commerce Committee. (It’s now been taken down.) Don’t they see the hypocrisy?

‌Colorado Moms Mobilize: After Third Shooting at a Denver High School in a Year, Gun Safety Advocates Demand Change

Protecting Women’s Rights: Maryland Governor Wes Moore Says Abortion Access is Economic Issue

In an interview this week with Bloomberg News, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said, “Reproductive freedom and family planning is actually an important component to economic growth and an economic agenda as well.”

Historic Step: Australia to Hold National Vote on Adding Indigenous Advisory Group to Parliament

Reminder for UK and Europe: Clocks Move Forward One Hour Sunday with Brighter, Longer Days Coming Soon

‌Pickleball Mania Coming to Central Park: NYC’s Wollman Rink Opens April 7 with 14 Pickleball Courts

The Central Park complex is installing 14 pickleball courts for six months starting April 7, with play costing $120 an hour during peak times and $80 off-peak. 

‌While the Wollman courts will be mostly for amateur play – including free access for several nonprofits like the Boys’ Club of New York – there are plans to showcase Major League Pickleball. Over the summer, there will be exhibition matches featuring top players in the league, likely featuring athletes from New York area teams such as the Brooklyn Aces and the New York Hustlers. Click here to read about more details of the new rinks on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Weekend Streaming Guide.

What Sam and Dillon Sheekey Are Watching: ‘She Said’ (Peacock)

‌In this documentary, New York Times journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor detail their report exposing sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein and the ensuing #MeToo movement that was launched. Click here to stream.

‌What Robin Caiola is Watching: ‘Dear Edward’ (Apple TV+)

‌The final episode of season 1 is out now: In this AppleTV series, Edward Adler survives a plane crash that kills every other passenger, including his family members, and as he tries to make sense of life after the crash, unexpected friendships, romances and communities are formed. Click here to stream.

‌‘Ted Lasso: Season 3’ (Apple TV+)

‌The much-loved soccer comedy starring Jason Sudeikis is back for season 3, continuing the story of the American football coach, Ted Lasso, who is hired to manage a British soccer team. Click here to stream.

Best of Late Night.

On the DC Court of Appeals upholding a ruling that found compelling evidence Donald Trump misled his attorneys about having classified documents at Mar-a-Lago:

‌”So Trump’s original crimes are now having their own little baby crimes. You know, they grow up and implicate you so fast, don’t they?”
— Al Franken, guest hosting ‘The Daily Show’

‌”So look, I know there are a lot of different cases going on, and this all seems very complicated, but there is a simple explanation: Trump is a criminal. I hope that clears that up.”
— Al Franken, guest hosting ‘The Daily Show’

‌”Six years after shutting down, a re-imagined Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is going on tour without animals. But don’t worry, they’ll still pipe in that old elephant smell.”
— Jimmy Fallon

“A circus without animals, it’s called ‘Trump’s Trial.’”
— Jimmy Fallon

About the Sheekey Daily Read

I’m always searching for the stories that shine a light on – and offer solutions to – some of the most pressing issues of our time. I started my daily email to capture and share the stories I think are important. Thanks for reading!
– Kevin Sheekey