Morning! We’re The Neutral, your one stop shop for news without an agenda. Today we’re covering Skittles gets banned, Capitol rioter sentencing, and much more. First time reader? Sign up here!

Business & Economy

*The End of the Rainbow. California already gets a bad rap for being overcrowded and its yearly struggle with climate disasters, now a state backed bill is poised to do the unforgivable — ban Skittles. If the proposed bill passes, Skittles won’t be the only victim of the ban, sales and manufacturing of any foods (think gummy candy, snack cakes, and soda) containing titanium dioxide, red dye 3, potassium bromate propylparaben, and brominated vegetable oil will also be disallowed .

Why the ban? The five chemicals mentioned above have been linked to various health issues, including intestinal inflammation, immune system damage, and cancer.

The big picture: Assemblyman Jessie Gabriel says, “Our intention is that companies will change their recipes rather than ceasing operations in the state. Californians shouldn’t have to worry that food choices in their neighborhoods contain toxic chemicals”.

*Ford’s EV venture is proving costly. Two years and $3 billion dollar loss is all Ford has to show for its electric vehicle operations thus far. It’s expected to lose the same amount this year as it continues to pour money into research and development. Company officials expect its electric vehicle unit “Ford Model E” to begin turning a profit by the end of 2026.

Politics

*No resolution for Trump…yet. The grand jury presiding over the Trump hush money case had other matters to attend to and will vote on whether to indict Donald Trump. Hearings are expected to continue Monday.

Mess around and find out. Riley Williams, a Capitol rioter, was sentenced to three years in prison for her participation in the Capitol riots in 2021. She was caught on camera shoving past riot police — and ultimately into Nancy Pelosi’s office. Wildly, part of her defense was that she “was addicted to the internet and got caught up listening to powerful and influential men — she wanted to be somebody.” Someone get her defense lawyer a medal, pure genius…

Sports

*March Madness: Kansas State and Uconn are the first two teams to advance to the Elite Eight. | Gonzaga and FAU also advance. (Stay up to date on all the scores here.)

World

*France protests against work reform. Hundreds of thousands of French citizens have taken to the streets to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the pension age from 62 to 64. The protests have been mostly peaceful, however, “Black Bloc” (more info here) anarchists have smashed shop windows and destroyed public property causing police to push them back with tear gas and stun grenades.

*California can’t catch a break. A second tornado ripped through the Los Angeles metro area this week injuring two people while ripping the roofs off several buildings and destroying cars. The 110 mile an hour cyclone is the strongest to hit the are since 1983. (Check out a video of storm here)

Extras

*Zebra on the loose. A zebra ran around Seoul, South Korea for three hours before being captured.

*Passenger to the rescue. An off duty pilot on a Southwest flight helped land the plane when the on duty pilot suffered a medical emergency.