17 April 2025
good morning.
BOO
after pressure from Trump, the IRS is considering revoking Harvard’s nonprofit status. there is a federal law prohibiting presidents from directing the IRS to audit specific entities which seems to have here gone unconsidered :/ Harvard losing its nonprofit status is potentially more financially harmful to the institution than the freezing of $2bn in federal funding (I explain why in the first sub-bullet point). it seems it’s time for the university to bite the bullet, where “biting” is spending and “the bullet” is your $53bn endowment.
something I found interesting as I researched this is that those against the funding freeze point to the fact that the money Harvard receives doesn’t all go to the school, but to its associated hospitals. to clarify: Harvard receives about $9bn annually from the federal government. of that, $7bn goes to the hospitals and medical facilities, and the remaining $2bn funds research projects at the school.
Harvard has gotten out of dipping into its endowment in the past because it’s shrouded in specific stipulations about where withdrawals can go. the university is doing something unprecedented now.. doesn’t it track that you should rework the regulations to fund your good fight ?
recent research suggests that artificial sweeteners can make you three times hungrier than natural sugar. all the more reason to return to a gut microbiome-friendly diet.
YESS
Demi Moore, the most gracious loser, reflected on her best actress loss to Mikey Madison in a Time interview. she said her ego was disappointed, but she’ll use the loss to fuel future growth.
my my, hey hey. Neil Young is here to stay. even though they tried every trick in the book in an effort to revoke his US citizenship.
MONEY
the European Central Bank is making a decision on interest rates today. investors are on edge as they wait to hear, so European markets are sliding a little this morning. markets in Asia, meanwhile, rose overnight.
Fed chairman Jerome Powell cautioned against the dangers of a continued trade war yesterday, explaining it could diminish the central bank’s ability to manage inflation in America. you guessed it- stocks fell.
update to this one: this morning, Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with Powell’s decision not to cut interest rates as the ECB has done and is expected to do today. the president said “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough,” a political pressure that has been applied to the Fed by previous administrations, but should not be.
LIT & SCREENS (in one today !)
some faraway paparazzi shots have captured our first look at the wily windy moors according to Emerald Fennell. I stand by my initial assertion when I found out Jacob Elordi was to portray Heathcliff: he’s too boringly handsome to be as hot as a Byronic hero is supposed to be. look me in my eyes and tell me Jacob Elordi inspires such passion a beautiful beautiful woman would say “My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary."
SPORTS
some Rangers are vowing to learn from their flop of a season. yes !! some ownership from a blueshirt. love to see it.
have a good day.
