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Today’s Big Story

US-Mexico Border Issues Continue

Two bipartisan senators are working on a law that will give border authorities power to expel migrants similar to the COVID era Title 42 that is set to expire May 11. Officials hope the bill will buy time for lawmakers to improve immigration policies.

Why it matters: Title 42 allowed the US to turn back hundreds of thousands of people for public health reasons without giving them a chance for asylum. Now, tens of thousands of migrants are preparing to cross the border and the US doesn’t have the legal means to turn them away.

What’s next? House Republicans are working on an immigration bill that will severely restrict asylum and require employees to prove they are legally able to work via E-Verify. However, detractors of the proposal say there needs to be reform instead of more restrictions. The group wants to fix the asylum system, improve the visa-granting process, and find better ways to approve immigrants for American jobs.

Big picture: It has been 37 years since Congress passed serious immigration reform, however the increased inflow of migrants have sparked lawmakers to take action. Both sides will need to compromise, which has proven difficult for nearly 4 decades.

Little Stories

Business & Economy

*Johnson and Johnson spun off its consumer brand segment into a new company called Kenvue (KVUE) on Thursday and it debuted at $25.53 a share. Brands like Tylenol, Band-Aid, Sudafed, Motrin, and Neutrogena now reside under Kenvue’s roof.

*Paramount Global shares fell 28% on Thursday after a poor first quarter earnings report. The company cut its dividends from 24 cents a share to 5 cents in a move they say will help “deliver long term value for their stakeholders.”

World

*Russia is now claiming that Ukraine acted on behalf of the US by allegedly carrying out a drone strike on the Kremlin in Moscow. The US responded quickly saying Russia is “just lying.”

*Police across Europe arrested dozens and seized millions of euros in assets on Wednesday as part of a crackdown on Italy’s largest mafia organization. Police have seized 23 tons of cocaine worth $2.5 billion from the ’Ndrangheta crime syndicate over the course of the investigation.

US New, Politics, & Government

*Four members of the alt-right Proud Boys organization were found guilty of seditious conspiracy — the act of inciting revolt or violence against a lawful authority — on Thursday in connection with the Jan 6. Capitol attacks. The Judge hasn’t sentenced the group yet.

*An autopsy report showed that Tyrese Nichols died of blunt force trauma to the head after he was beaten by Memphis police officers during a January arrest. The five officers responsible for the beating have been fired and pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges on Feb. 17.

Sports & Entertainment

*The Milwaukee Bucks fired head coach Mike Budenholzer on Thursday after the team got knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the 8th seeded Miami heat.

*A federal jury decided Ed Sheeran did not copy key parts of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” when he recorded his song “Thinking Out Loud.”

Science, Health, & Tech

*Google will unveil its first foldable phone, the Pixel Fold, next week at its Google IO 2023 event. The device will be 5.8 inches and fold out in a 7.6 inch tablet. It will cost $1,700.

*COVID dropped to the fourth leading cause of death in the US last year according to the CDC. It killed 187,000 people in 2022 or 6% of total deaths nationwide.

Extras

*This chart breaks down the urbanization of each state.

*A rescue dog escaped his new owner and walked 40 miles to his old home.

*Watch a guy use 2,048 yolks to make a massive batch of homemade pasta.