HERE ARE THE TOP STORIES
President Trump’s $1.1 trillion budget proposal would drastically increase military spending but slash funding for museums, public broadcasting, and libraries.
The plan includes an increase in military and border security spending and leaves entitlement programs like Social Security untouched, according to the New York Times.
The budget proposal also includes big cuts to foreign aid, poverty programs, and the environment. And billions in proposed cuts to the Department of Agriculture would slash or eliminate several key food and nutrition services, and potentially jeopardize food safety. Get the full budget proposal rundown here.
And a little extra
Trump and surveillance. Telephone eavesdropping and video surveillance have long taken place at Trump properties — it’s just that they were conducted by Trump’s own team. At his private club at Mar-a Lago, as BuzzFeed News revealed last June, Trump listened in on employee phone calls.
Meanwhile, there’s no proof of former president Barack Obama wiretapping Trump, according to leaders of the Senate intelligence committee. Trump alleged on Twitter — without any evidence — that Obama tapped his phones. And here’s why it’s a big deal for GCHQ — the UK’s signal intelligence agency — to publicly deny the White House’s “wiretapping” claims.
Trump supporters say they’re boycotting Hawaii after one of its judges blocked the travel ban — cue Twitter trolling. And under Trump, undocumented immigrants suffering from domestic violence are worried they’ll get deported if they seek help.
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?
Internal metrics show how often Uber’s self-driving cars need human help.
Human drivers take manual control of autonomous vehicles during testing for a number of reasons — for example, to address a technical issue or avoid a traffic violation or collision. The self-driving car industry refers to such events as “disengagements,” though Uber uses the term “intervention” in the performance report reviewed by BuzzFeed News.
The report reveals for the first time how Uber’s self-driving car program is performing, using a key metric for evaluating progress toward fully autonomous vehicles.
QUICK THINGS TO KNOW
World: People are trolling this South African politician after she said colonialism wasn’t all bad. And German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Trump are meeting in Washington, DC, today. They’re expected to cover topics such as NATO ties and transatlantic trade, Politico reports.
In the UK: Prime Minister Theresa May has rejected Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s demand for another Scottish independence referendum, saying “now is not the time.” Meet the Syrians in hiding because they’re afraid of being sent back to mainland Europe. And vulnerable women, including victims of sexual violence, were illegally strip-searched in a private prison.
Security breach: A security expert warned US Congress that T-Mobile’s DC cell network has been hacked.
RIP, Grizz: An airport security dog was shot dead after breaking loose and running onto the runway.
Entertainment: Tyra Banks is officially back as the host of America’s Next Top Model. And Saturday Night Live will ~actually~ be live across the entire US for the first time ever. Oh, and Melissa McCarthy is going to host.
WEEKEND READS
Trans Women Shouldn’t Have To Constantly Defend Their Own Womanhood: Claiming trans women have all been accorded male privilege has long been a way to deny their womanhood and their humanity.
The Show That’s Finally Getting The Rise Of Hip-Hop Right: “I realized just how long it took the rest of the world to recognize that this music, and this art, and this culture wasn’t going anywhere,” The Breaks showrunner Seith Mann told BuzzFeed News.
The Real Peril Of Crowdfunding Health Care: On who gets funded — and who gets left behind.
It’s Time To Stop Typecasting Timothy Olyphant: After years of playing lawmen and criminals, Timothy Olyphant’s work in Santa Clarita Diet makes a great case for his second act as a comedy star.
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