Trump's Tuesday 8pm ET deadline is tonight. Iran rejected the 45-day ceasefire proposal, and instead responded with its own 10-point counterproposal. Trump said the Iranian offer was a very significant proposal but not good enough. He said there will be no more deadline extensions: "I gave them a chance. If they don't take it, it's trouble." When asked if he was winding down or escalating, Trump responded by saying the ball is in their court. Iran says they want a permanent end to the war, because they do not trust a ceasefire after the US struck during previous negotiations in June 2025.
This week marks the one-year anniversary of Liberation DayLiberation DayApril 2, 2025 — the day President Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on imports from nearly every US trading partner. The announcement triggered the largest single-day stock market selloff since 2020., in which Trump announced a baseline 10% tariff on most imports, saying it would bring back manufacturing and make foreign exporters pay. But one year in, the market is not doing as Trump projected. The S&P has underperformed most major international markets, and manufacturing activity has contracted for 10 consecutive months, following the ISM Manufacturing IndexISM Manufacturing IndexThe Institute for Supply Management's monthly survey of US manufacturing activity. A reading above 50 signals expansion; below 50 signals contraction. One of the most closely watched leading economic indicators..
The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the path for Trump's DOJDOJThe Department of Justice — the federal executive agency responsible for enforcing federal law. The Attorney General leads the DOJ. It decides which criminal cases the federal government pursues or drops. to dismiss Steve Bannon's criminal conviction for contempt of Congress. Bannon was convicted in 2022 for defying a subpoenaSubpoenaA legal order requiring a person to testify or produce documents for a court or legislative body. Defying a congressional subpoena is a federal crime — contempt of Congress. Enforcement depends on the DOJ prosecuting the case. from the January 6 House Select Committee. He served four months in prison. The DOJDOJThe Department of Justice — the federal executive agency responsible for enforcing federal law and administering the US justice system. The Attorney General leads the DOJ. It decides which criminal cases the federal government pursues or drops.See full definition ↓ told the Supreme Court that dismissing the case is "in the interest of justice." The court vacatedVacatedWhen a court formally sets aside a lower court's ruling. The case is sent back for further proceedings. Here, the Supreme Court vacated the appeals court ruling, clearing the path for the DOJ's dismissal motion in the trial court. the appeals court ruling and sent it back down, where a dismissal motion is already pending. This matters because it shows Congress has no real enforcement mechanisms for subpoenasubpoenaA legal order requiring a person to testify or produce documents for a court or legislative body. Defying a congressional subpoena is a federal crime — contempt of Congress. Enforcement depends on the DOJ prosecuting the case.See full definition ↓ violations when the president's allies are involved. With this case, it may now be clear that Congress can only enforce if the DOJDOJThe Department of Justice — the federal executive agency responsible for enforcing federal law and administering the US justice system. The Attorney General leads the DOJ. It decides which criminal cases the federal government pursues or drops.See full definition ↓ cooperates.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service director said it is now "fair" to view Kim Jong Un's teenage daughter, Kim Ju-aeKim Ju-aeDaughter of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, believed to be approximately 12-13 years old. Has appeared alongside her father at major military events since late 2022. South Korean intelligence now considers her the likely designated heir., as his designated heir. She is estimated to be around 12-13 years old. This will be the first time North Korea will ever have a female leader. The succession question is significant because Kim Jong Un's health has been subject to speculation for years, and whoever follows him will inherit one of the world's only nuclear arsenals with no democratic check on its use.
Michigan defeated UConn 69-63 Monday night in Indianapolis to win its first national title since 1989. It's only the second championship in program history. What's interesting: Michigan's five starters transferred in from other programs — the team was built almost entirely through the transfer portalTransfer PortalThe NCAA's system allowing college athletes to transfer to another school without sitting out a season. Since its 2018 launch, it has transformed college sports — teams can now recruit experienced players from other programs as freely as high school prospects.. This makes the team an instant model for what transfer portaltransfer portalThe NCAA's system allowing college athletes to transfer to another school without sitting out a season. Since its 2018 launch and subsequent rule changes, it has transformed college sports roster-building — teams can now recruit experienced players from other programs as freely as high school prospects.See full definition ↓ team-building can accomplish, and may shift how college basketball works.
One section unlocks each morning. Day 2 is live now.
The Disagreement
The surface argument about Mamdani is whether or not his promises he made as he was running a campaign is feasible, but the deeper argument is one that has sustained for much longer.
New York has been governed for and by the wealthy for decades. The cost of living keeps rising: rent, childcare, transit systems, etc., but the people deciding the policy changes that affect these things are comfortable with the outcomes. Mamdani is the first mayor in a generation to govern from a different set of priorities, rather than protecting the wealthy.
Mamdani has naive plans, but the math just simply doesn't work. Free buses would cost $800M a year. Universal childcare costs $6B. The city already has a $5.4B spending deficit. He cannot promise everything, then tax the wealthy enough to where they simply just leave.
Naive idealists handing out free things by taking from the wealthy, until the wealthy decide to leave.
A wealthy class defending their real-estate portfolio dressed up in fiscal responsibility language.
Both caricatures contain a grain of truth, but neither is an argument.
New York's prosperity depends on maintaining conditions attractive to capital gain and investors. If taxes are too aggressive, and regulations on business owners too heavy, high-income residents leave and take the tax baseTax BaseThe total pool of taxable income, property, and economic activity in a jurisdiction. In NYC, the top 1% of earners pay roughly 40% of all income taxes. If high earners leave, the tax base shrinks — reducing revenue available for public services. with them. This was the operating framework of BloombergBloombergMichael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013. His tenure was defined by pro-business governance and the belief that attracting wealthy residents was the key to a healthy city budget. Critics argue his policies accelerated the affordability crisis Mamdani inherited., and it is not a purely right-wing position. It is the consensus that rebuilt New York after the 1975 fiscal crisis1975 Fiscal CrisisIn 1975, New York City nearly went bankrupt after decades of overspending and a shrinking tax base. The federal government refused a bailout. The crisis was resolved through severe austerity — layoffs, service cuts, and a shift toward fiscal conservatism that defined NYC governance for a generation..
This theory conflates two separate things: the empirical claim (capital flightCapital FlightThe movement of wealthy individuals or businesses out of a jurisdiction in response to higher taxes or regulations. The empirical evidence on how much this actually happens is genuinely contested. happens when you tax the wealthy), and the normative claim (therefore we shouldn't). The empirical claim is genuinely contested. Capital flightcapital flightThe movement of wealthy individuals or businesses out of a jurisdiction in response to higher taxes or regulations. Critics of Mamdani argue that taxing the wealthy aggressively will cause them to relocate to low-tax states, shrinking the city's revenue base. The empirical evidence on how much this actually happens is genuinely contested.See full definition ↓ is mixed, and precedent like de BlasioDe BlasioBill de Blasio, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. He raised taxes on the wealthy and implemented universal pre-K. Critics predicted capital flight and fiscal collapse — neither materialized at the scale predicted. didn't produce the exodus critics predicted.
Housing, transit, and childcare should not be viewed as markets. They are the necessary infrastructure that is needed for a city to be built on. Leaving them to market forces produces predictably bad outcomes because market incentives push for profits, not affordability. The current state of New York City is proof of that: the cost of living for those who are not in the wealthy class is far too high.
This theory omits the actual political theory question of why markets fail in these specific sectors. The answer matters because it determines what the correct intervention would be: and it might not be government every time. The specific markets of housing, childcare, and transit fail for specific structural reasons, and the intervention should be calibrated to the failure. Mamdani's proposals (rent freeze, free buses, public childcare) are high-level responses to three potential types of failures that may occur in the market, but the problems with each market might need further analysis to be solved.
Ultimately neither theory is obviously wrong, but the things they are arguing for are ultimately between two traditions, Liberal PluralismLiberal PluralismA political theory that treats government as a neutral arena for competing interests. Good governance means fair rules and procedures — not picking economic winners. The city's role is to maintain conditions where all groups can pursue their own goals, not to direct outcomes., which far predates Theory 1, and Social DemocracySocial DemocracyA political tradition that accepts market economies but believes governments must actively correct market failures through public provision of key goods. Social democrats argue that housing, transit, and healthcare are too important to leave entirely to markets., which predates Theory 2. Both sides support a version of each theory, and Mamdani is in the crossfire as he is spearheading the realization of Theory 2.