Good morning — and get ready for a busy week. This morning, I’m tracking several explosive developments. The Disney boycott is snowballing so fast that Disney’s own performers boycotted their documentary premiere last night — canceling both the red carpet and the expected performance. Adding fuel to the fire, John Oliver torched CEO Bob Iger on national television, calling him a coward and daring him to stand up to Trump using the blunt words: “Fuck you. Make me.”
Meanwhile, President Trump is preparing to announce a highly controversial claim linking Tylenol use during pregnancy to autism — a move certain to ignite outrage from the medical community. And at Charlie Kirk’s memorial, Trump dropped any pretense of civility, declaring outright that he “hates” his opponents — a chilling escalation in rhetoric at a time of already raw division.
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With that, here’s what you missed:
Musicians including Sarah McLachlan and Jewel pulled out of the Lilith Fair documentary premiere and canceled planned performances in protest after Disney scrapped the red carpet amid the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel—a public act of solidarity for free speech that fed a wider celebrity backlash and calls to boycott Disney/Hulu.
On Last Week Tonight John Oliver blasted Disney/ABC for suspending Jimmy Kimmel amid government pressure, urged CEO Bob Iger not to appease Trump (calling out corporate “cowards”), and challenged him to refuse with the four words: “Fuck you. Make me.”
Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham canceled his Disney+ subscription in protest of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, joining a growing celebrity-and-consumer boycott that accuses Disney of capitulating to political pressure — a backlash analysts say could dent subscriber retention and highlights rising tensions between tech influencers, media ethics, and corporate strategy.
At Charlie Kirk’s memorial, Donald Trump met and shook hands with Elon Musk — his former adviser turned public critic — sparking speculation the two may be reconciling after a high-profile falling-out and Musk’s brief leadership of Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Trump said he disagreed with Charlie Kirk’s view that he didn’t hate his opponents, declaring “I hate my opponent and I don't want the best for them,” and added, “I'm sorry.”
After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, big donors and Trump allies (including a $1M pledge from Lynn Friess, appeals from Tucker Carlson, and increased backing from figures like Doug Deason) rushed to fund Turning Point USA—which raised about $85M in 2024 and runs hundreds of college and high-school chapters—boosting the group’s coffers as Erika Kirk takes over and likely cementing TPUSA’s outsized influence on the right via deep MAGA ties and dark-money channels.
Trump questioned vaccine safety, saying they “can be great” but warning that if the “wrong stuff” is used children get “massive vaccines” — comparing doses to those you’d give a horse.
The Trump administration is expected today to link prenatal Tylenol (acetaminophen/paracetamol) use to autism risk—contradicting medical guidance—and to announce plans to explore the drug leucovorin as a potential autism treatment, per Washington Post sources.
Sen. Ted Cruz, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, urged President Trump in a Reuters-reported letter to back an international push (ahead of a U.N. aviation meeting in Montreal) to raise — or even abolish — the mandatory airline pilot retirement age to 67, despite pilots’ groups warning it could raise safety risks; Congress rejected a similar 2024 proposal after the FAA called for a scientific safety analysis, and current international rules bar pilots older than 65 from flying international routes.
The U.S. labeled recent British, Australian and Canadian recognition of a Palestinian state “performative,” saying (via an anonymous State Department spokesperson) its priorities remain hostage release, Israel’s security, and a Hamas-free pathway to regional peace.
President Trump said Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch will likely play a role in efforts to bring TikTok under U.S. control, telling Fox News the Murdochs “probably” will be involved in the deal.
Trump’s new $100,000 H-1B fee (about 60× the current cost) risks choking off foreign tech talent, prompting economists to warn it could shave U.S. growth (Berenberg cut its 2025 forecast to 1.5% and says that may still be optimistic), rattling Big Tech and Indian firms (Amazon/Microsoft/Meta have thousands of H-1Bs; Infosys and TCS shares fell ~3%), drawing sharp rebukes from India and warnings about “brain drain,” while the White House said the fee applies only to new applicants as a one-off payment.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he’s open to talks with the U.S., citing “fond memories” of meeting Trump but demanding Washington abandon its denuclearization obsession and accept peaceful coexistence; South Korea’s president Lee Jae-Myung signaled he could accept a deal that freezes further weapons production (rather than full disarmament), as analysts note North Korea is still expanding its arsenal.
Dominican authorities said they recovered 377 packages of cocaine (part of an alleged ~1,000 kg stash) from a speedboat that the U.S. Navy destroyed about 80 nautical miles south of Isla Beata, calling it a joint U.S.–Dominican anti-narcotics operation in the southern Caribbean amid the Trump administration’s controversial campaign that has sunk multiple drug boats and drawn human-rights concerns and congressional pushback.
Good news:
Six cheetah cubs were born in April at the Metro Richmond Zoo to mother Zuri (father Ramses); now three months old and named after African capitals, they’re part of the zoo’s prolific conservation breeding program — bringing its total captive-born cheetahs to 167 since 2013 — helping protect the vulnerable species.
Researchers at Leipzig University report in Nature that activating the GPR133 receptor with a compound called AP503 significantly strengthened bone (and skeletal muscle) in mice—GPR133 stimulates osteoblasts and suppresses osteoclasts—raising hope for a new treatment to prevent or reverse osteoporosis in ageing humans.
At the Denver Zoo, a 6-year-old capybara named Rebecca and 16-year-old howler monkey Baya formed an unlikely friendship — cuddling, piggybacking and comforting each other in a mixed exhibit, with viral photos delighting visitors and sparking online joy.
