Reading archive 2025-03-13

Why Europe is going ‘car-free’: While New York City and the Trump administration battle over a congestion pricing program, vehicle restrictions in Europe are fast becoming the norm.

E.U., Canada retaliate against Trump’s tariffs as trade war escalates: As President Donald Trump’s global steel and aluminum tariffs took effect, the E.U. and Canada responded with their own levies, including on bourbon and motorcycles.

Elon Musk Looks Desperate How to lose $148 billion in less than two months

N.B.A. Stars Find a Shortcut to Success in China: Companies like East Goes Global serve as social media surrogates for players, expanding their reach, creating business opportunities and pushing for All-Star votes.

How BYD undercuts Tesla around the world, by the numbers: BYD is more affordable than Tesla in at least 10 places outside the West.

American brushes aside Navy, earns first NCAA berth since 2014: Matt Rogers scores 25 as the Eagles roll past Mids in the Patriot League championship game, 74-52, at Bender Arena.

American brushes aside Navy, earns first NCAA berth since 2014: Matt Rogers scores 25 as the Eagles roll past Mids in the Patriot League championship game, 74-52, at Bender Arena.

D.C.’s hopes lie in Senate as residents, officials push to avert $1B hit: A possible Democratic proposal boosted D.C.’s hopes of avoiding potential layoffs but also inched the nation closer to a potential government shutdown. - "The panic erupted in D.C. after House Republicans released a spending bill over the weekend that, without any advance notice, omitted a long-standing D.C. provision that historically has allowed the city to move forward with its active local budget. The provision has been a part of every continuing resolution for over 20 years, making its omission by House Republicans this time highly unexpected and perplexing for D.C. officials. 

"The omission would force D.C. to revert back to 2024 spending levels, effectively canceling the city’s active 2025 budget halfway through the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Most astonishing for D.C. officials is that House Republicans decided to do this even though Congress, in its last two temporary spending bills, authorized D.C. to move forward with its 2025 budget — a sudden turnaround that House GOP leadership and top appropriators have not clearly explained."

How microplastics could be affecting our food supply: A first-of-its-kind study estimates how tiny plastic particles are cutting into crop yields. - "Small-scale studies have found that plants change when exposed to the tiny shards of plastic. In one of Kirkham’s studies, she compared wheat plants exposed to cadmium — a toxic heavy metal — and those exposed to both cadmium and microplastics. The plants exposed to microplastics took up 1.5 times the cadmium as those without, indicating that the microplastics were probably absorbing the cadmium and carrying it into the wheat."