Morning! We’re the Neutral, your one stop shop for news without an agenda. Today we’re covering a cartel kidnapping, an airline merger stalemate, and much more.

World Headlines

Cartel Kidnapping

Four Americans traveling to Mexico to receive healthcare were kidnapped by armed men on Friday according to officials from both countries. After crossing the border near McAllen, Texas into the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, the party was caught in the crossfire of two rival cartels. They were then held at gunpoint and forced into the back of a pickup truck before being taken to an unknown location.

During a phone conference held by Mexican President Andrès Manuel Lopèz Obrador; Tampaulipas Gov. Amèrico Villarreal confirmed that two of the four Americans were killed in the initial shootout. The other two are alive but one is wounded. Mexican officials said a local woman was also killed during the shooting.

No official word on how the victims were located has been revealed. This tragedy shines a light on the incredible violence that is a part of everyday life for citizens in Matamoros, a city that is controlled by the lethal Gulf drug cartel. Thousands have gone missing in Tamaulipas as a result of these drug turfs wars.

China Claps Back

It sounds as if China has grown tired of feeling bullied. Just as the dust from the weather balloon incident was finally beginning to settle, China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang upped the ante by saying the United States should change its “distorted” attitude towards China or “conflict and confrontation” will follow.

During a two hour news conference, Qin accused the United States of trying to control China rather than allowing fair, rules-based competition between the two countries. He went on to state that a certain “invisible hand” was pushing for the escalation of the war in Ukraine without identifying who he was referring to.

Tensions between the United States and China have been high for several years over issues like Taiwan, trade, and the war in Ukraine. For now, it seems like deescalation efforts are having little impact.

Business & Economy

DOJ Sues to Block Major Airline Merger

On Tuesday, the Justice Department sued to halt JetBlue’s 3.8 billion dollar acquisition of Spirit Airlines. This is the latest effort from the Biden administration to prevent industry consolidation. JetBlue argued that the acquisition would help it compete with larger airline providers while opponents of the merger pointed out that combining the two budget airlines would decrease flight options available to consumers.

Fed Likely To Increase Inflation Rates

In response to signs that the economy is performing strong, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank is prepared to raise interest rates higher than previously expected. Additionally, if the incoming data remains hot they will also return to a quicker pace of rate hikes.

Tech

White House Makes A Stand Against TikTok

A bipartisan bill sponsored by 12 senators that gives the Biden administration new powers to ban Chinese-owned video sharing app TikTok and other foreign technologies viewed as potential threats to national security has been backed by the White House.

Meta Slashes More Jobs

Thousands more Meta employees could face the axe adding to the 13% that have already been let go since November. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has deemed 2023 the “Year of Efficiency” as he continues to cut projects and jobs in hopes of off setting losses stemmed by Apple’s 2021 iOS privacy update that limited the tracking and data sharing capabilities of digital advertisers. The update has cost 4 big tech firms upwards of $278-billion since its launch.

Extras

Alligators are terrifying. Watch this one go beast mode on a metal fence. (via Facebook)

Book a trip to Berlin to try cricket-flavored scoops of ice cream this summer.

New Easter Island Moai Statue found at the bottom of a dry lake bed.

Toblerone drops Matterhorn mountain from it’s packaging because regulatory board deemed the chocolate not “Swiss enough”.

In case you haven’t figured it out by now, water is important. (via Huberman Lab podcast)