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The Great Unplugging: The Electric Vehicle Revolution May Be Heading for a Hard Stop (Washington Post)
Republicans are pushing to end tax credits for EV buyers, roll back tailpipe pollution rules, and slash funding for charging stations — moves that experts say could crater sales, shut down factories, and stall investment just as the industry gains momentum.
A
Princeton analysis warns these policies could slash U.S. EV sales
by 40% by 2030 and put up to two-thirds of battery plants at risk — many in GOP-led districts. Pulling the plug now doesn’t just risk the industry – it hands the future of auto manufacturing to China, according to the Washington Post.
Recession Signs: US Consumer Confidence Falls to Four Year Low – Six Month Expectations Plummet to 12 Year Low (Bloomberg)
More worrying: The measure of expectations
for the next six months dropped nearly 10 points to 65.2 – the lowest in 12 years. That’s below the threshold that usually signals a looming recession, according to Axios.
A New UK Austerity: Rachel Reeves to Cut Billions from UK Budget to Restore Budget Buffer(Bloomberg)
Diplomacy Today:
Trump to Name Right-Wing Media Critic Ambassador to South Africa
(New York Times)
President Trump plans to nominate L. Brent Bozell III, a conservative media critic and fierce defender of Israel, to be the U.S. ambassador to South Africa. He is the founder and president of the Media Research Center, a watchdog group that targets network television hosts and mainstream media outlets with accusations of liberal bias.
Bozell would be stepping into the role at a time when the relationship between South Africa and the United States is at its worst in recent memory. The Trump administration recently expelled South Africa’s ambassador to the United States after he criticized Mr. Trump during a webinar.
Once a critic of Trump, Bozell is now firmly in his corner.
His son was one of the nearly 1,600 people convicted and sentenced in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but was pardoned by Trump.
Latest Push: Vance to travel to Greenland on Friday (Politico)
Vice President JD Vance is heading to Greenland
later this week, becoming the highest-ranking American official to journey to the Arctic territory President Donald Trump wants to bring under U.S. control.
Outgoing prime minister Múte B. Egede on Sunday called the American posture toward Greenland “very aggressive” and “so serious that the level cannot be raised any further.”
Chilling Effect: Law Firms Refuse to Represent Trump Opponents in Wake of Attacks (Washington Post)
Baltimore Today:
One Year After the Key Bridge Collapse, a Long Road to Recovery is Ahead (Associated Press)
Consumer Alert: With 23andMe Bankruptcy, Here’s How to Delete Your Genetic Data (Washington Post – Gift Link)
Liquid Therapy:
Canadians Sign Up for 1,461-Pack of Beer to Endure Trump’s Term (Bloomberg)
April DC Planner: White House and Conservative Allies Exploring Ways to Counterprogram the April 26 WH Correspondents Dinner (Politico Playbook)
Arts Section – Elvis, ‘Cats’ and Babe Ruth: Chairman
Trump Reimagines the Kennedy Center (New York Times)
A
recording of President Trump’s private remarks at a Kennedy Center board meeting earlier this month shows that he mused about bestowing honors on dead celebrities and people from outside the arts.
He mused about how great it could be if he hosted the Kennedy Center Honors (“The king of ratings,” he called himself). And he floated the idea of giving awards to dead figures in culture and sports, including Luciano Pavarotti, Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth.
He recounted attending the Broadway premiere of “Cats”
decades ago, saying that he had gone to see the musical with “somebody I should not have been there with,” and that they were seated in the fourth row. (“They were treating me good because I was a young star, for whatever reason,” he said. “This is a crazy life I’ve had.”)
Trump said he was initially turned off by the sight of dozens of dancers lying onstage. (He recalled thinking: “You’ve got to be kidding. Let’s get out of here.”) But then he had a change of heart.
“I walked in, I saw all these bodies,
and then I noticed those bodies were gorgeous,” Trump said. “They had silk tights on, and they were all ballerinas, and women from Broadway. And men.” About the men, he added: “I didn’t find those particular bodies as attractive to be honest.”
Kennedy Center’s Twain Prize: Comics Roast Conan O’Brien, Torch New Kennedy Center Chair Trump (Washington Post)
Some of the United States’ best-known comedians
gathered at the Kennedy Center on Sunday to praise and jab this year’s recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Conan O’Brien, while reserving some of their haymakers for the man whose portrait now hangs on the venue’s wall: President Trump.
Will Ferrell said: “I’m supposed to be shutting down the Department of Education.” John Mulaney suggested the Kennedy Center would be renamed the “Roy Cohn Pavilion of Big Strong Men who Love ‘Cats.’”
Sunday’s ceremony was the first major event
at the Kennedy Center since Trump took over its board of trustees and overhauled its management, though the Twain Prize was mostly organized under the previous leadership. The next Kennedy Center Honors (usually held in December) could be significantly different from in previous years. So could the next Twain ceremony, which has allowed the country’s funniest people to take over the prestigious stage and let it rip since 1998. Multiple comedians joked that this would be the final one.
The Mark Twain Prize will stream on Netflix on May 4.
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