Bay Area Cities Have Legal Beef

Good Friday morning. Israel carried out a counterattack inside Iran late last night. The White House was given advance notice, but said it did not endorse the airstrikes. Iranian media reports claimed sites associated with its nuclear program were not hit. Have a good weekend.

In Today’s Brief

• NYPD: Shuts down campus protest

• Poland: Zelensky plot bust

• Biden: Formal Kennedy nod

• 23andMe: May go private

• Taylor Swift: Surprise double album

... and more

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Top Tips

1) Brouhaha by the Bay

Talk about a bridge over troubled waters -- and under stormy skies.

• The news: The city of San Francisco has filed a lawsuit against the city of Oakland in U.S. District Court, alleging trademark infringement. At issue: Oakland's plans to rename its international airport. Port of Oakland commissioners recently approved a proposal to rechristen Metropolitan Oakland International Airport as San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport.

• The claim: San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu argues the proposed name change would infringe on San Francisco International Airport's brand. He also said it would confuse passengers and damage the region's travel economy and his city's economy.

Big picture: San Francisco said it offered to help Oakland with its name change but was rebuffed. In terms of airport codes, there is really no way to confuse the two. San Francisco is "SFO," while Oakland is "OAK."

2) Emergency texts

Four U.S. states dealt with significant, but since addressed, 911 call outages after a work accident.

• What happened: Millions in Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota and Texas lost 911 access late Wednesday night into Thursday morning. South Dakota had what appeared to be a statewide outage. Law enforcement agencies scrambled while service was being restored, telling people to text them in the event of an emergency. Some dispatchers were able to see failed calls to 911, allowing them to reach out with support.

• The cause: Most of the outages in Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota were connected to Lumen Technologies. The telecommunications company said an unrelated third party caused the outage by cutting Lumen fiber while installing a light pole. Lumen said it does not provide service in Texas.

• Big picture: The FCC said it was investigating the incidents, but there did not appear to be any signs of malicious activity. Police in Honolulu also reported a brief 911 outage yesterday, but it appears to be unrelated to the mainland issue. 

3) Put it out

The United Kingdom is on the verge of attempting what another Commonwealth member achieved -- and then bailed on.

• The news: A generational smoking ban supported by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has passed a pair of readings in the House of Commons despite heavy opposition inside his Conservative Party. Labour Party support for the bill will likely ensure it eventually becomes law, although Tories could win some changes.

• The mechanism: The law is designed to take full effect by 2027. It targets cigarette sales rather than the act of smoking. The minimum age to buy cigarettes would increase annually each year, making it so no one born in or after 2009 could even legally purchase cigarettes. Anyone who can currently buy cigarettes would be able to.

• Big picture: New Zealand passed a similar law, but scrapped it last year in favor of tax cuts. No other nation has attempted a generational ban, but countries like Mexico have significantly curtailed smoking. A U.S effort seems like a non-starter for political reasons on both sides of the aisle.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

• The NYPD broke up a pro-Palestinian protest on Columbia University's campus after the school requested assistance. Over 100 students were reportedly arrested; Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar's daughter, a Barnard College student, has reportedly been suspended for her involvement (More)

• Bryan Kohlberger's attorneys plan to use cellphone tower data to prove he did not commit the 2022 Idaho student murders. They say the criminology doctoral student was nowhere near the house where four people were killed (More)

• Speaker of the House Mike Johnson will not raise the motion to vacate threshold by changing House rules. His speakership remains under threat from Republican rebels ahead of tomorrow's foreign aid bill votes (More)  

World News

• A Polish man was allegedly involved in a Russian plot to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The man was trying to pass information about a U.S.-controlled airport near the Polish border with Ukraine to the Kremlin (More)

• Gen. Francis Omondi Ogolla, Kenya's top defense official, was killed in a military helicopter accident. Nine other senior offices died in the crash; two people survived (More)

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reportedly sat on State Department assessments of Israeli human rights abuses in Gaza. ProPublica reported a panel recommended aid be withheld from offending military and police units (More)

Campaign News

• Members of the Kennedy family formally endorsed President Biden at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Democrats are fearful Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent candidacy will endanger Biden's re-election hopes (More)

• All 12 jurors have been seated in former President Donald Trump's New York hush money trial. One of six alternates was also appointed; opening arguments could start Monday (More)

• Kansas Rep. Jake LaTurner will not seek re-election. The Republican, 36, said he wants to spend more time with his young family after two terms; his district is a solid GOP stronghold (More)

Business & Markets

• Major indexes closed mixed yesterday. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were down for a fifth straight day (Dow +0.06%, Nasdaq -0.52%, S&P 500 -0.22%).

• 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki wants to take the struggling company private. The at-home DNA testing firm has lost 90% of its value since its IPO; its stock has traded well under $1 for some time (More)

• Google fired 28 employees after protests against the tech giant's $1.2B contract with the Israeli government and military. The deal is a joint pact with Amazon; the fired workers also demonstrated against labor practices (More)

Entertainment & Sports

• Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department is a double album. The pop star unexpectedly released the second half at 2 a.m. ET after weeks of dropping hints (More)

• Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dickey Betts died of cancer at 80. He was a cofounder of the Allman Brothers Band, serving as lead guitarist and vocalist (More)

• Quentin Tarantino has scrapped plans to make The Movie Critic. The Academy Award-winning director plans to stop making films after his next, which will be his 10th (More)

Quick Hitters

• Fun Stuff: These AI-generated images depict Star Wars characters attending Burning Man. Imagine Tatooine, but with DJs and glowsticks.

• Weird Science: Researchers studying the effects of pesticides on bumblebees made a stunning discovery after a lab accident. Hibernating queens appear to be able to survive underwater for multiple days.

• Deep Dive: Can we connect the last two items? You bet! Here is a fascinating look at why the future of musical festivals may be in doubt.

• Good Question: Can you ever swear in front of children? A philosopher tackled that pressing inquiry.

• Travel Hack: Packing can be a massive pain. This spreadsheet system has gone viral as an effective way to manage a difficult process.

• OPTIMIZE ME: Researchers “found convincing evidence that higher intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with 50% increased risk of cardiovascular disease-related death, a 48% to 53% higher risk of anxiety and common mental disorders, and a 12% greater risk of type 2 diabetes”

Want more health and wellness news? Subscribe to our brand new newsletter, Optimize Me, and start living a healthier life through diet, exercise, sleep, and mindfulness:

Watch This

This stuff can only happen in New York.

Links

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Looking Ahead …

Another rare cosmic event is expected this year. A nova -- two stars, one bigger than sun, one about the size of Earth -- will explode 3K light years away, and astronomers expect it will be visible in the sky. But scientists have no clue when it will happen.

Question of the Day — Friday Trivia Edition

Yesterday’s results:

Are you staying up for Taylor Swift's new album?

• No (98%)

• Yes (2%)