Trump's Deal-or-No-Deal Diplomacy

What's Happening

International

Trump's Deal-or-No-Deal Diplomacy

What’s going on: President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with India Wednesday, signing an executive order that doubles tariffs on Indian goods to 50% unless the country stops buying oil from Russia by the end of the month. The White House also warned that other major importers of Russian oil, including China and Turkey, could be next. India called Trump’s tariff threat “unfair” and said they only do business with Russia out of national interest, not to fund the war against Ukraine. Trump’s pressure comes as a separate set of tariffs on dozens of countries went into effect today, and ahead of his self-imposed Friday deadline for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire deal. He announced plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as Monday, their first face-to-face meeting in over four years. 

What it means: Trump’s desperately looking for a diplomatic win in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. After he campaigned to end the war on “day one” of his presidency, nothing he’s tried has worked. The tariff hike on India signals that talks with Russia aren’t going as planned, and time (at least, according to Trump's schedule) is running out. Meanwhile, Putin doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo: Russian officials said peace will only come through “quiet negotiations.” If the art of the deal doesn’t work, Trump is expected to widen penalties — a move that could shake global energy markets and strain US ties with key partners. 

Related: US Auctions a Seized $325M Russian Yacht, Complete With Spa and Helipad (AP)

Tech

Uber Has a Sexual Assault Problem That It's Not Solving

Disclaimer: This story mentions sexual assault.

What's going on: Women know the rideshare safety rules: Check the plate, confirm the driver, and match the car. But that’s not always enough. Between 2017 and 2022, Uber received a report of sexual assault or misconduct every eight minutes — averaging 180 per day, according to court documents tied to a massive class-action lawsuit. The documents, obtained by The New York Times, allege Uber repeatedly failed to act on safety concerns. The company tested a number of tools, including video recordings of rides and optional same-gender driver pairings. But Uber delayed their rollout or just didn’t enforce drivers to implement the safety measures — prioritizing its profits and reputation instead, according to the NYT. Part of the problem is that Uber drivers are considered independent contractors, which limits what the company can require or enforce. In one case, a woman was assaulted after some of these tools were introduced, and Uber’s safety notification system failed to help, per the NYT.  

What it means: Uber isn’t the only rideshare company with a sexual assault problem — but it’s one of the biggest. Reports of assault have increased alongside ridership, and some Uber employees say the real numbers could be higher, as riders may be too afraid to speak out if the driver knows their address. There’s a pattern to these incidents: Most victims are women. Most attacks happen late at night, often near bars. And the accused offenders are often men with prior complaints and low ratings. Still, the company says there’s no single feature that could “prevent unpredictable incidents.” But a good starting point might be obvious: Stop letting people with a record of misconduct drive in the first place.

Related: Apple’s CEO Gifts Trump 24K Gold and Announces $100B in New US Investments (CBS News)

Sports

The Real Fouls Are Coming From the WNBA Stands

What's going on: For the third time in 10 days, a rogue, green sex toy crashed onto a WNBA court Tuesday night, this time seemingly striking Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s leg. After a (presumably) different green dildo landed on the court earlier this month, Cunningham warned fans on social media that players could get hurt. “That tweet did NOT age well,” she said after the latest incident. This season, dildos have been thrown at WNBA games in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta. Separately, one was hurdled at a New York Liberty game (but didn’t make it to the court). Ellie the Elephant wouldn’t approve. One man was arrested after the first incident, apparently calling it a “joke” in a police affidavit. But players and fans aren’t laughing — they see it as a sexist stunt hiding behind middle-school humor.

Tell me more: In this case, novelty items represent a much less novel problem: sexism. Gender bias has shadowed women’s sports forever, but now, as the WNBA and women athletes in general draw more attention, the misogyny is getting physical. A recent NCAA study found women basketball players face three times more threats than their male counterparts, with sexual harassment topping the list. Analysts say the dildo stunts send the message that women athletes’ skills matter less than their sexuality. Some fans are now calling on the WNBA — and also NBA players — to take a louder stand. Because evidently, stopping airborne sex toys requires a full-court press.

Related: It Only Took MLB 28 Years To Hire Its First Woman Umpire (NBC News)

Settle This

Your favorite 2000s mall staple is filing for bankruptcy (again). Which is it?

Game Time

Brick Breaker meets word search in Spelltower, your new favorite game. For every word you find, letter tiles disappear. The fewer tiles left when you run out of words, the better your score. Try it.