Your weekly recap for Politics, Entertainment, Business, Sports and Global Events.
Politics
- Jimmy Carter
Trouble for our nation’s oldest surviving President. Mr. Carter fell and broke his hip. The former leader beat cancer about a year ago. Let’s pray for a speedy recovery.
- Three Junior Congresswomen
They always seem to find themselves in the headlines. They are AOC, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib. This week, Tlaib took center stage. Take a look at this quote. Tlaib says the Holocaust brings her a calming feeling.
- Google & Political Bias
No surprise here. A study conducted by Northwestern University broke down the top sites most often seen when searches are conducted. You’ll notice CNN commands a huge share of impressions. When combined, CNN, New York Times, and Washington Post equal 23% of the results.
- Student Loan Debt
Two big stories. First, Democrat politicians are continuing their attempts at changing the way the debt is looked at. New legislation is being introduced to allow for a bankruptcy filing to permit student loan debt. As of now, the debt is restricted from a filing. 
Story two is the US Government is going after default debtors in some aggressive ways. Take a look at this. Not sure if Trump wants to be on this side of the argument.
- Another One
We’re up to 22 now.
And Another One
- Wiener Is Out
Disgraced politician Anthony Weiner is officially out of his halfway house. Hide the kids.
- Florida and 2016
The election that will never die. Take a look at this info that Florida’s new governor divulged this week.
- Alabama Abortion
An incredibly strict abortion law was enacted this week in Alabama. Expect this fight to escalate in the higher courts.
This is America. We are Republic and acknowledge State’s rights. However, this is quite the reach, and that’s being polite. Abortion, when it pertains to America’s laws, should be treated with a libertarian philosophy. Leave the government out of the choice. Permit the abortion. It is a personal decision. Leave it at that.
Entertainment
- Batman
It feels like Hollywood has officially given up on Batman. First, Christopher Nolan leaves the franchise. Then, Affleck nearly destroyed it. Now, this?
- Pokemon
Detective Pikachu did not dethrone Avengers However, it did amass a sizable victory in its first weekend at the box office.
- Top Box Office Franchises
Speaking of movies. A fantastic piece was put together here if you want to see which franchise has earned more money over time. 
- Avengers: Endgame
Of course, we have to mention that Endgame remains number one at the box office for the third week in a row. Endgame will ultimately pass Avatar for the highest grossing film ever. Then, someone will quickly pen the piece that says, “Well, when you adjust against inflation it actually isn’t even close to Gone With The Wind.”
- College Cheating Scandal
Aunt Becky still thinks she did nothing wrong, but former Desperate Housewife Felicity Huffman pleaded out and is looking at four months in jail. Expect that to be reduced as well.
- YouTube Drama
Here’s the story. A successful YouTube star befriended an aspiring makeup artist a few years back. She, along with her husband, confided in the young man and worked hard to build up his brand. It was a great story of paying it forward. Well, until a few weeks ago.
The aspiring makeup artist is hardly aspiring anymore. With over 14,000,000 followers, he has become a behemoth in the space. He ultimately decided to receive payment from a competing company of his mentors and that’s when all hell broke lose. His mentor posted a 46-minute video explaining the situation. He lost over one million subscribers in less than a day. Welcome to capitalism!
- Funny Stuff
Take a look at this exchange. The guy who sings Old Town Road took a picture with Kanye via Kim’s phone. First, notice how North is not feeling it. Lil Nas X reached out to Kim via Twitter for the pic. She answered his request and posted the picture. Also, this video of North dancing to the song is hilarious. Check it out here.
- Couch Potato Sunday
Did anyone leave their seats Sunday besides hugging Mom?
- This Is US
The hit NBC drama has been renewed through Season 6. The ending has allegedly already been filmed.
- Gay Cartoon Character
Season 22 of Arthur brought out a gay character. Also, did anyone know Arthur was actually still creating new episodes?
- Hulu
Disney officially owns all of Hulu as an amazing stretch of media consolidation concludes. It appears that Disney not only weathered any apparent storm, but came out better than before. CEO Bob Iger is worth every dollar.
- Game Of Thrones
Fans are not entertained. 
- BTS
Ever hear of them? Probably not. They are the Korean Pop Boy Band taking America by storm. The group is immensely famous outside of the US. They are in the midst of their American tour and graced NYC with their presence in recent days. The band played Central Park for free for Good Morning America. They also performed on SNL and other shows such as Colbert. Finally, they sold out Met Life Stadium.
- The Big Bang Theory
Twelve seasons. 278 episodes. The CBS staple came to an end Thursday night.
- Grumpy Cat
One of the first (animal) viral sensations has passed away. 
Business
- Weed Killer Cancer
Fallout from Roundup continues. The weed killer, now proven to cause Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, is in a heap of trouble. German conglomerate Bayer acquired Monsanto before the first judgment. Two bad headlines dropped on Monday.
First – Another ruling against Bayer brought the damages to over $2 billion.
Second – French authorities are investigating Bayer for allegedly trying to bribe journalists and lawmakers. 
- 401(k) Balances
Take a look at the results from Fidelity regarding the average balance of retirement accounts in Q1 of 2019. How do you stack up?
- Federal Reserve Governors
Trump has struggled mightily to get his picks through confirmation and on the Federal Reserve. This week, he announced his new candidate. Ms. Shelton is a proponent of free trade and the gold standard. Seems counterintuitive to a president isolating the American economy with tariffs, and running up tremendous deficits. 
- Trade War
What do you get when you have an incredibly prideful China fighting against an egotistical America First leader? A trade war. Here we go.
The first area of concern is Caterpillar and Boeing. Two of America’s industrial giants came under heavy fire this week. Caterpillar does a lot of business in China, and these tariffs will undoubtedly hurt them. CAT lost 6.5% on the week. Boeing was a different reason. The fear is China will directly target the already battered jet maker to force Trump’s hand.
Wednesday and Thursday brought much needed relief. Tariff Man announced he will delay tariffs on automobiles for six months. The market finished the week down about 1%.
- Apple & Monopoloy
The Supreme Court ruled against Apple earlier this week in a case that likely spurs antitrust legislation. You know, those cases where you get $2 back in three years and lawyers get incredibly rich. Apple lost 4% on the week.
- Boeing … Week Nine
Speaking of Boeing, Bloomberg put together a tremendous piece you can read here. The piece highlights the pending litigation the company faces from both crashes. Also, shareholders are suing the company for artificially pumping up the stock price. It’s becoming tough to see Boeing become an attractive buy again until their legal battles conclude and the trade war with China tempers.
The news worsens for the company. Check out what happened between the Pilots Union and Boeing between the first and second crash. This quote from the meeting courtesy of American Airlines pilot Michael Michaelis is quite damning.
These guys didn’t even know the damn system was on the airplane — nor did anybody else
A little bit of good news for Boeing to wrap up the week. Boeing finished the week unchanged. They are down 15% since the second crash on March 10. 
- Cigarette Advertising
Americans may be turning their backs on the cancer sticks, but the rest of the world has no problem sucking down the cancerous agents. Tobacco conglomerate, Philip Morris found itself in hot water for the umpteenth time. Why? They were covertly paying Instagram ‘Influencers’ in Russia to indirectly ‘market’ their products to young individuals. Disgusting.
- Ride Share Disaster … Week 2
Both companies started the week off with big loses, but gradually rose each day. Lyft finished the week up 5%, and Uber eked out a 1% gain. Don’t you feel bad for all the executives and IPO recipients who are losing money while Uber and Lyft drivers barely make a buck?
- Is Bitcoin Back?
Cryptos are so 2017. It’s all about Pot stocks and ride shares now. Anyway, Bitcoin has been on a tear as of late. Check it out.
- WhatsApp Hack
Shocker. Another Facebook owned company is the subject of a hack. #TooBigToFail
- EU Arbitrage Fine
Take a look at this headline. Five major banks were slapped on the wrist by the regulatory body of the EU. Why? The companies were finding ways to manipulate foreign currency markets. The tactics would enable the banks to create a market that they could essentially control. How? They were the buyers and sellers. This would enable the banks to increase profits in a rapid and relatively efficient way. 
- Huawei & China
The US continues its assault against the Chinese telecom giant. This week, the Department of Commerce added the company to a list restricting US companies from buying and selling their products. 
Also, The Netherlands has now accused China of spying on Dutch citizens through Huawei. Take a look at this report. 
It is important to note that this is not America’s first rodeo with Chinese telecom makers. America blacklisted ZTE In 2017 and nearly bankrupted the company in the process.
- China Retaliates
Canada was the nation who arrested and detained Huawei’s CFO a few months back to begin this mess. China quickly rounded up two Canadians and charged them with espionage. The men now face the death penalty in China. China hopes the world will “respect their justice system.” You know, the justice system where an autocratic communist government retaliates because they got caught cheating and then decide to kill two people to make a statement. But, tariffs aren’t the answer? What the hell is then?
Sports
- Premier League
Soccer leads the Sports section for the second week in a row. Manchester City won their second straight Premier League Championship, and third title in six seasons. Dynasty Alert!
Only one day after they celebrated their title, this headline was published by the New York Times. Uh Oh.
- NBA Playoffs
The Raptors beat Philly with a game-winning shot of epic proportions in Game 7 as time expired. Unbelievable. They will play Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Blazers outlasted Denver to get the rights to lose to Golden State. The storyline from the Portland v Warriors series is Durant. He was expected to be out for only Game 1, and possibly Game 2. Now, he is out for Game 3 and Game 4. Also, the Curry brothers are playing against one another in the Western Conference Final.
- Cleveland Cavaliers
Good hire for Cleveland. Now, if they only had players.
- Los Angeles Lakers
GREAT combination of coaches added to the Lakers staff. This is a fantastic move in the right direction. Now, let’s see if they can add some marquee talent to work alongside LeBron next season. Good start.
- Twitter Snafu
The Padres changed their Twitter name to the Madres in honor of Mother’s Day. Great, feel good story, right? Wrong. Some teenager across the country snatched up Padres and made the handle his own. Well, MLB and Twitter stepped in and awarded Padres back to San Diego by the end of the day. All in good fun.
- The Unicorn
Kristaps was involved in a bad fight it Latvia over the weekend. The video was bad as he walked out of the club, bloodied face, and proceeded to shove a woman out of his way. Allegedly, he was jumped by Russians who were angry he left NY. ALWAYS the RUSSIANS.
- Aaron Rodgers
The Packers QB actually acted in the most recent episode of Game of Thrones.
- NBA Draft Lottery
The biggest day ever for Knicks fans since Patrick Ewing. Here, the odds before the ping pong balls were drawn. 
What happened once the ping pong balls were drawn? The PELICANS of New Orleans landed the number one pick! Absolute stunner. They had a 6% chance. This drastically changes NBA free agency. Will Anthony Davis remain a Pelican now that he has top tier talent coming his way? What does that mean for the Lakers and Knicks?
- Chris Sale
The Boston Red Sox pitcher who struggled to start the season appears to have found his mojo. Sale had SEVENTEEN strike outs in SEVEN innings. A record for MLB. What did the Sox do? They took him out of the game. Baseball makes no sense.
- The Dysfunctional Jets
It rings off the tongue, right? Look at this excellent breakdown of their never ending problems.
National Events
- Baltimore Cyber Attack
Last week, the city of Baltimore was affected by a ransomware cyber attack. The hackers requested Bitcoin, or they’d restrict access to government systems. Eight days later, and the attack remains ongoing. It has become so bad that real estate transactions cannot take place due to the inability to pull titles and deeds. Take a look at some additional information. 
- Cruise Ship Roller Coaster
Take a look at the renderings from Carnival. They intend to put a roller coaster on a cruise ship. The first of its kind.
- Cruise Ship Air Disaster
Bad news out of Alaska with regard to cruise ships. We lost five individuals when two seaplanes collided. 
- Domestic Terrorism
Scary stuff out of Alabama. Check out the news regarding the FBI uncovering a terror camp in the state.
- Top Baby Names of 2018
- Salvador Dali
You have to watch the amazing/creepy video out of the Salvador Dali museum in Florida where a holographic Dali literally takes an actual selfie with you. It is amazing! The surrealist painter would have loved this.
- Retiree Migration Trends
Take a look at what cities and states are stockpiling retirees in droves.
- US Teacher Compensation
No surprise here. America does not pay their teachers well, but take a look at how bad it really is.
- Helicopter Crash
Terrifying footage from NYC. Luckily, everyone survived. Check out the crash here.
Global Events
- Saudi Arabia Attack?
The Americans believe this was Iran. That is problematic. Do not expect this story to fade away. Also, America have removed diplomats from their embassy in Baghdad. Is Trump going to stop John Bolton’s path to war?
The Saudis officially blamed Iran on Thursday. The possibility of war appears to be escalating fast. 
- Air Landing Disaster Averted
Good news when a Myanmar jet landed safely without its front landing gear.
- Catholic Church Targeted Shooting
Bad news out of Burkina Faso. A Catholic Church was the target of a gruesome murder. Catholics are unquestionably under attack in this region. Take a look for yourself.
‘Entirely Scientific’ Prediction Meter
Because, why not?
1. Chance of Impeachment = 1%
Unchanged
2. Chance Trump wins reelection in 2020 = 55%
Up 5% From Last Week
3. Most likely Democrat contender = Joe Biden
Unchanged
4. Chance Howard Schultz runs as an Independent? = 90%
Unchanged
5. Chance of a US Recession in 2019 = 10%
Up 5% From Last Week
There are no happy endings. Endings are the saddest part, So just give me a happy middle. And a very happy start
-Shel Silverstein
Phil Your Day 