FBI Chasing Olympian Turned Drug Lord

Good Friday morning. Daylight savings time starts on Sunday. Have a great weekend!

In Today’s Brief

• South Dakota: Pipeline ban

• Pope Francis: Brief message

• House: Green censured

• Walgreens: Going private

• World Cup: Expansion pitch

... and more

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Top Tips

1) The fugitive

A former Canadian Olympian is now on the lam.

• The news: Ryan Wedding, 43, was added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list yesterday. The State Department is offering a $10M reward for information leading to his arrest. He is believed to be somewhere in Mexico; he is said to be a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel.

• The reason: Wedding is allegedly the head of a multinational drug trafficking operation, specifically cocaine. He is accused of orchestrating several murders with connections to the drug ring. Wedding, nicknamed "El Jefe," was charged last summer. 

• Prior life: Wedding competed for Canada as a snowboarder at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. He finished 24th in the parallel giant slalom event. He was convicted of drug trafficking offenses in 2010.

2) Flip flop

The regional trade war is on pause again.

• The news: President Donald Trump again slammed the brakes on hefty North American tariffs. He postponed most 25% duties on Canada and Mexico yesterday, granting the second month-long reprieve since returning to office. The break ends on April 2 to coincide with Trump's plan to apply reciprocal tariffs to all global trading partners.

• The markets: Trump's move did not prevent another sell-off. Major indexes still closed lower yesterday with the Dow Jones and Nasdaq dropping over 400 points (Dow -0.99%, Nasdaq -2.61%, S&P 500 -1.78%). Trump notably did not retroactively pause the tariffs, so some goods will be impacted from the short period this week the duties were in place.

• Big picture: Trump's tariff policies are constantly changing and have been all over the place. The chaos is beginning to wear on businesses and the economy, even as precedent suggests any steep duty will inevitably disappear one way or another. And there is still the prospect of a trade war with China looming.

3) Lucky break

Disaster may have been averted in the South Atlantic.

• What happened: The world's largest iceberg appears to have run aground in shallow waters. A23a, about the size of Rhode Island, has stopped near a remote island in Antarctica after months of floating freely. 

• The significance: Scientists feared the iceberg could directly impact South Georgia Island, a remote British territory and critical haven for breeding birds, penguins and seals. But it stopped about 50 miles short.

• Big picture: The iceberg could have wreaked havoc on wildlife had it hit the island. While there is no guarantee it has stopped moving for good, there is a good chance the iceberg will now begin to break up and disperse. That could then boost the ecosystem, as the melt will be nutrient-dense and lead to more available food for the creatures.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

• A new South Dakota law threatens a proposed Midwest ethanol pipeline network. Gov. Larry Rhoden signed a bill preventing eminent domain seizures for building carbon dioxide pipelines; the plan calls for infrastructure connecting plants in several states to move emissions to North Dakota for deep-ground burial (More)

• A New Mexico resident tested positive for measles after dying, but his cause of death remains under investigation. Officials said the man was unvaccinated and lived in the border county near the Texas outbreak, but did not seek medical attention before passing away (More)

• South Carolina will conduct a firing squad execution today, the nation's first in 15 years. Death row inmate Brad Sigmon, who killed his ex-girlfriend's parents in 2001, opted for the method over lethal injection and electrocution (More)

World News

• Pope Francis released a brief recorded message during a Vatican City prayer service. The pontiff's voice was said to be hoarse and out of breath in his first public comments since entering a Rome hospital for respiratory issues (More)

• Europe's busiest train station has ground to a halt. An unexploded World War II-era bomb was discovered near the tracks at Paris' Gare du Nord, pausing all Eurostar and local services and causing gridlock on the continent (More)

• The U.S. has had direct talks with Hamas, a reversal of longstanding policy to refuse negotiations with terrorist organizations. The contacts have reportedly angered Israel; President Trump again threatened "hell to pay" if the group does not release all hostages (More)

Political News

• Texas Rep. Al Green was censured by the House after heckling President Trump during the joint address to Congress.Ten Democrats voted in favor of the motion with Republicans; Green and allies sang We Shall Overcome in protest while the censure was read (More)

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom said allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports is "deeply unfair." He is considered one of the top contenders to be the Democratic Party's presidential candidates in 2028 (More)

• Trump has reportedly reined in Elon Musk's DOGE activities. Cabinet secretaries were told they are in charge of their agencies, not the controversial billionaire adviser, but he will make cuts if they do not (More)

Business & Markets

• Walgreens is going private. The struggling pharmacy chain struck a $10B buyout deal with private equity firm Sycamore Partners; the pact could be worth $24B in total when including debt and potential payouts (More)

• President Trump said he would "probably" extend the TikTok sale deadline if needed. The popular social media platform's Chinese parent company currently has until April 5 to divest its U.S. business to avoid a national ban; there has been no signal of serious talks (More)

• A test of SpaceX's Starship exploded for the second consecutive time. The spacecraft, the largest rocket in history, took off from Texas before "a rapid unscheduled disassembly" that was visible from Caribbean nations and briefly grounded some flights at Florida airports (More)

Entertainment & Sports

• FIFA will consider expanding the men's World Cup to 64 nations in 2030. The tournament will feature 48 countries for the first time when the U.S., Canada and Mexico host the event next year after decades of a 32-team field (More)

• Actress Pamela Bach died of suicide at 62. She was known for roles on Baywatch and The Young and the Restless; her contentious divorce from ex-husband David Hasselhoff made national headlines in 2006 (More)

• Tom Llamas is the next NBC Nightly News lead anchor. The 45-year-old reporter is expected to replace the departing Lester Holt this summer; he will also be the program's managing editor (More)

Quick Hitters

• Feel Good: Time has marched on and the last remaining video store in Pocatello, Idaho, has closed. Except for one special patron.

• New Idea: An experimental norovirus vaccine -- delivered in pill form -- is showing promise. An early clinical study suggests the treatment effectively triggers defense mechanisms against the serious stomach bug in older, more vulnerable people.

• Go Deep: Electrical vehicle chargers may be one of the biggest things holding EV adoption back. Why? The U.S. charging infrastructure is a mess.

• Fun Stuff: Many people love perusing the Zillow Gone Wild account. But viral real estate listings are far more nuanced for those trying to sell a home.

• Life Hack: You can still clean your home without using conventional products. Here are some green and natural tips to do so.

Watch This

A look at a controversial project that would connect Asia and Europe.

Links

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• Looking back on the nations that never locked down in 2020 😷

• Butterfly populations have collapsed across America 🦋

• AI can solve math problems with 1M steps 🤖

• Why people smell things differently 👃

• Television commercials are still too damn loud 📺

• Someone paid $87K for a Pokemon-shaped cheese curl 🧀

• Humpback whales have begun singing more 🐳

Looking Ahead …

Eight unpublished short stories written by late To Kill A Mockingbird author Harper Lee will be released in October. The works were discovered in her New York City apartment after she died in 2016.

Question of the Day — Friday Trivia

Yesterday’s results:

Should Pete Rose receive a posthumous induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

• Yes (67%)

• No (33%)