The Two-Child Policy, ICE Quotas, New Boat Names, & Video Games
June 5, 2025
Hello, readers – happy Thursday! Today, we’ll be talking about the budget, Russia & Ukraine, Iran’s nuclear deal, Vietnam’s two-child policy, ICE quotas, new boat names, and the Nintendo Switch.
Here’s some good news: This week, Tulsa’s new mayor proposed a $100 million private trust as part of a reparations plan to give descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre scholarships and housing help. Also, scientists in Japan have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours.
“Love one another and help others to rise to the higher levels, simply by pouring out love. Love is infectious and the greatest healing energy.” – Sai Baba of Shirdi
One Big Beautiful Pork-Filled Bill
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” has moved on to the Senate this week, where it’s expected to undergo some changes before it’s passed. While the GOP holds a 53-seat majority in the upper legislature, several Republicans are reportedly wary of signing off on the bill given their conservative stances on government spending. Despite Trump’s promises to cut down on federal deficits, analysis from the non-partisan Congressional Budgeting Office suggests that the bill could add $2.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
When a bill adds trillions of dollars to the national debt, you might do some good. Unfortunately, most of this bill’s spending comes in the form of tax cuts – which deprive the government of income – and the CBO projects that it will actually leave 10.9 million Americans without health insurance over the next ten years.
Trump is hoping to get the bill through the Senate by July 4, but he might have a bit of an Elon Musk-shaped hurdle. After leaving the White House last week, Trump backer Elon Musk lashed out against the bill on X. Speaker Mike Johnson said that Musk is “flat wrong” about the legislative proposal. Musk has his own problems, though – Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office issued a report Tuesday chronicling his “130 days” with Trump, accusing him of using his position to make himself richer (even though he’s, like, so rich already).
Negotiate With Me Thru The Phone
Trump hopped on a call with his biggest frenemy Vladimir Putin yesterday in another attempt to hammer out a Russia-Ukraine peace deal. While the two sides were yet again unable to come even close to a temporary pause in the war in Ukraine, Trump and Putin were at least able to come to a few understandings.
First, Trump assured Putin that the U.S. had received no warning from Ukraine prior to Kyiv’s major drone attack on Russia earlier this week, which (according to Ukraine) destroyed a number of Russian bombers. Putin seemed to accept that, though Trump told the press that “President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields,” – it’s not clear how Moscow would carry out its response.
On Tuesday, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report claiming that Russia has faced almost 1 million casualties – people killed and wounded – in its war with Ukraine, with up to a quarter of those casualties killed in the war. Ukraine, according to CSIS, has suffered about 400,000 casualties so far, with up to 100,000 of them soldiers.
Iran-na Keep Enriching Uranium
- Iran-U.S. nuclear deal talks turned sour yesterday after Iran issued a scathing response to the White House’s latest deal terms. On Monday, U.S. diplomats sent Iran a proposal which would see its current uranium enrichment facilities dismantled, bar it from enriching any more nuclear fuel, and halt enrichment research in exchange for the U.S. lifting its back-breaking sanctions on Iran. The proposal would still allow some low-level uranium enrichment to take place, but that process would be conducted by a non-Iranian agency overseen by an international consortium.
- “There is one point that is a key element in the nuclear industry, and that is uranium enrichment. A nuclear industry without enrichment capabilities is useless because we would then be dependent on others to obtain fuel for our power plants,” said Khamenei in response to the Trump deal. “Thousands of nuclear scientists and researchers have been trained in Iran. Should we disappoint them, make them unemployed and take away their hope in our country’s future? The rude, insolent U.S. leaders want this.”
- The U.S.’s supreme leader – err, president – responded on his Truth Social platform, writing, “Time is running out on Iran’s decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly! It is my opinion that Iran has been slow-walking their decision on this very important matter, and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time.” Trump set a two-month deadline that will expire next week if neither party gives in soon, though the president has been unclear on the consequences of missing the deadline.
2 Kids, Not 2 Late
- Since 2009, Vietnam has had a 2-child policy, restricting families from having more than two kids in order to prevent overpopulation. That policy was lifted on Tuesday as the country is now staring down the barrel of the opposite problem: an aging population. In 2024, Vietnam’s birthrate dipped to 1.91 children per woman, marking its lowest point in the country’s history. While the Vietnamese population still has a median age of roughly 33 and almost 70% of the country is working-age, the government wants to get a handle on the aging issue before it becomes a more pressing issue.
- “Vietnam is facing a fundamental challenge that no country in East Asia has yet succeeded in significantly addressing: population aging,” said a U.N. senior economic advisor to Vietnam. “This measure needs to be accompanied by other supports for children and families, and especially women. Such policies can have a significant impact, but it will require a high level of determination, consistency and scale to truly have breakthrough impacts.”
More Mixed Nuts
- At least 10 die in crush at India cricket stadium (BBC)
- UK temporarily spared from Trump’s 50% steel tariffs (BBC)
- Israel strikes southern Syria after projectiles fired into Golan (BBC)
- Rachel Reeves admits some will lose out in spending review (BBC)
Middle East Mixed Nuts
- US- and Israeli-backed group pauses food delivery in Gaza after deadly shootings (AP)
- Gaza worse than hell on Earth, International Red Cross chief tells BBC as aid centres close for day (BBC)
Is That The Creative Knob Or The Cruelty Knob?
- The Guardian obtained internal emails from ICE in which the agency instructs immigration officers to “turn the creative knob up to 11” when it comes to enforcement, including by interviewing and potentially arresting people they called “collaterals.” The email, which was sent over the weekend, comes after DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller urged immigration officials to increase immigration-related arrests to at least 3,000 people a day.
- In the emails, officers were also encouraged to increase apprehensions and think up tactics to “push the envelope” – “If it involves handcuffs on wrists, it’s probably worth pursuing,” another message said. “All collaterals encounters [sic] need to be interviewed and anyone that is found to be amenable to removal needs to be arrested,” Marcos Charles, the acting executive associate director of ICE’s enforcement and removal operations, wrote. “We complained for the last four years about not being allowed to do our job, and now the time has come for us to step up!”
A Boat By Any Other Name Might Not Smell As Sweet
- For a political party that doesn’t believe in people having preferred names and pronouns, they sure like to change the names of things a lot. The Department of Defense is looking into changing the names of quite a few of their ships, including the USNS Harvey Milk, named after the late gay rights leader, a particular slight considering it’s literally Pride Month right now.
- The names of the John Lewis-class of ships, named after Black and Hispanic civil rights leaders and prominent women, are also under review. The USNS Thurgood Marshall, the USNS Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the USNS Harriet Tubman, the USNS Dolores Huerta, the USNS Cesar Chavez, the USNS Lucy Stone, and, finally, the USNS Medgar Evers are all on the chopping block.
More Nuts In America
- Washington man supplied chemicals used in California fertility clinic bombing, authorities say (AP)
- College board reverses decision on hiring University of Florida president over DEI concerns (Guardian)
- 4-year-old girl with life-threatening illness and her mom granted humanitarian parole for one year (NBC)
- Kennedy grills Lutnick over Trump’s tariff goals (Politico)
- Trump administration rescinds Biden-era guidance requiring hospitals to perform emergency abortions (ABC)
The Switch 2 Gets Switched On
- The third-best-selling video game console of all time has finally received its long-awaited successor. The Nintendo Switch 2 went live today, almost a decade after the first Switch was released in 2016. The hybrid console – which can be used as a handheld device or connect to your TV – will cost consumers $449 at launch, though it’s unlikely that you’ll even be able to pay that price, given the massive demand and lack of inventory.
- The new Switch will come with stronger processing power and internal storage, allowing users to play games in 1080p resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate in handheld mode, or in 4K / 60Hz when it’s hooked up to a TV. The console is launching with a focus on back-compatibility with the first Switch’s game library, meaning you won’t have to re-buy your favorite games for the new console. The biggest draw of the Switch 2 —besides playing better-looking versions of older Switch games —is probably Mario Kart World, an open-world version of everyone’s favorite racing game.
More Loose Nuts
- Massive planet discovered orbiting tiny star, leaving scientists stumped (CBS)
- Cockatoos start sipping from Sydney’s drinking fountains after mastering series of complex moves (Guardian)
- Many of Dead Sea scrolls may be older than thought, experts say (Guardian)
- A hungry wild elephant raids a grocery store for snacks in Thailand (ABC)
