The Show Notes: Putin's Critics, Reedy Creek, & Mask Madness
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NEW: The median price of an existing home sold in March jumped 15% year over year to $375,300. - CNBC
Clip of the day:
The Mask Return?
The Department of Justice is working with the CDC to determine if masks are still necessary for public transportation. If the CDC determines that masks are in the public’s best interest, the DOJ will appeal the ruling of a Trump-appointed judge yesterday that ended the federal mask mandate. Here’s more from CNN.
Putin’s Critics
A growing number of Kremlin insiders are raising concerns about the mounting losses Russia is taking in its invasion of Ukraine. While Vladimir Putin remains undeterred, this growing base of influential Russians spread across public and private sectors point to mounting military losses and unprecedented international isolation. This is from Bloomberg:
They believe the invasion was a catastrophic mistake that will set the country back for years, according to ten people with direct knowledge of the situation. All spoke on condition of anonymity, too fearful of retribution to comment publicly.
So far, these people see no chance the Russian president will change course and no prospect of any challenge to him at home. More and more reliant on a narrowing circle of hardline advisers, Putin has dismissed attempts by other officials to warn him of the crippling economic and political cost, they said.
Here are more Ukraine headlines:
Russia regroups and makes gains in Donbas region of Ukraine. - WSJ
U.S. to send $800 million more in weapons to Ukraine. - Bloomberg
Ukrainian commander in Mariupol says his men only have hours remaining. - NY Post
Russia’s Chornobyl seizure seen as a nuclear nightmare. - AP News
Ukraine war refugees top 5 million. - AP News
An abandoned Russian military camp in a forest near Kyiv reveals horrors of the invasion. - CNN
Netflix Falls 35%
For the second time this year, Netflix stock has plunged on news of disappointing growth numbers. For the first time in a decade, Netflix lost subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 with 200,000 fewer subscribers at the end of Q1 than at the beginning. The drop in value equates to over $50 billion in market cap wiped off the table. The stock was down 40% this year before today’s plunge. Here’s more from The Wall Street Journal.
DeSantis Swings At Disney
Ron DeSantis called a special session in Florida’s Republican-controlled state legislature to pass newly minted congressional districts drawn by the DeSantis team. The other issue on the table is eliminating a special status that Disney has benefited from for decades known as The Reedy Creek Improvement District. This designation around all 25,000 acres of Disney’s land has allowed Disney to operate its own local government and have significant tax advantages. This is likely coming to an end. Go deeper with Politico.
The rest of the news:
Mortgage demand falls to half of what it was a year ago, as interest rates continue to rise. - CNBC
11 House races moved in favor of Republicans. - Center for Politics
Backlash against Biden’s limits on charter schools. - WSJ
Revolve ‘sincerely’ apologizes for Fyre Festival-like Coachella event. - Page Six
Elon Musk needs help buying Twitter. - NY Post
The rise of solo judges nixing nationwide policies. - The Washington Post
Renters are growing pessimistic they will ever own a home as prices keep rising. - CNN
Arizona fire grows prompting more evaluations. - WSJ
‘Girls Gone Wild Exposed’: Shocking rape and abuse claims in new Joe Francis doc. - NY Post
Secret Service fatally shoots intruder at Peruvian embassy in Washington, police say. - Yahoo