Good afternoon,

TGIF 🎉 

Before we get to the news, here’s a taste of what’s ahead for all of us this weekend from our weekly ‘Cheers to the Freakin’ Weekend’ section:

What We’re Watching: 

• Mosh: The Studio ~ Apple TV+

• Sari: Sinners 

• Sam: Friendship ~ A24

What We’re Reading:

• Mosh: The Art of Winning ~ Bill Belichick

• Jill: Mississippi Schools Are Better Than Yours ~ Tim Daly for The Free Press

• Lauren: The Conclave Just Did the Unthinkable ~ Francis X. Rocca for The Atlantic

What We’re Eating:

• Mosh: Stocked By Three Owls (Food Delivery) Code: MONEWS (15% off first order)

• Sari: Dorie Greenspan’s Carrot Cake

• Lauren: Republic Cantina in DC

The Mo News Team

Industrious is where you want to work

Industrious is the elevated office experience any kind of worker deserves — from the solo'preneurs with WFH fatigue, to the small business looking to expand into their first private suite, to the enterprise-level darling with a worldwide network. Industrious is the best coworking and member experience, period.

Alongside our pals at Mo News, we’re offering listeners (that’s you) 30% off your first Day Pass! Bookable at any location, Day Passes get you access to all Coworking amenities so you can utilize Industrious as a place to focus, a place to gather, or a place to get your best work done.

Use code MONEWS30 when booking a Day Pass or Meeting Room

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Radar Screens Go Black At Newark Again Friday Morning

Radar screens at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport went dark again early Friday morning — the second outage in two weeks.

• The brief failure, described as a “telecommunications outage that impacted communications and radar display,” happened at 3:55 a.m. ET and lasted about 90 seconds, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Last week, a similar outage caused air traffic control (ATC) computer screens at Newark to go dark for 60 to 90 seconds, cutting off communication between controllers and aircraft. Below is an animation the New York Times put together, showing multiple planes circling the airspace, awaiting a safe opportunity to land during the April 28 outage.

WHERE WE’RE AT
Following the April incident, several controllers went on a 45-day medical leave as a result of the trauma, resulting in staffing shortages that caused hundreds of flight delays and cancellations. Federal rules require they get cleared by a doctor before returning. United Airlines pulled flights, and the FAA slowed traffic at the airport.

• Since then, there have been reports of potentially a half dozen similar incidents in recent years.

• On Thursday, the Department of Transportation announced plans for a new, “state-of-the-art” air traffic control system to replace the current “outdated” one. The plan includes building six new air traffic control centers for the first time since the 1960s and replacing its current decades-old telecommunications network to an internet protocol by 2028. Once approved and funded by Congress, the goal is to upgrade the systems over the next four years.

🚨 ONE THING WE’RE TRACKING

U.S. And China To Begin Tariff De-Escalation Talks As West Coast Port Traffic Slows

All eyes are on Switzerland this weekend as Chinese officials join U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for what he called talks aimed at “de-escalation” ahead of tariff negotiations.

• State of play: A month ago, President Trump imposed a 145% tariff on most Chinese goods; Beijing hit back by raising tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%. These are the first direct talks about trade between the two countries.

Ahead of the trade talks, Trump posted on Truth Social that an 80% tariff on Chinese goods “seems right.” It’s not clear if Trump is suggesting that number should be the long-term tariff rate on China or a first step in negotiations. Nonetheless, most businesses still see the 80% figure as prohibitive to doing any business with China.

Trump’s post indicated a change would be up to Bessent, who will lead the talks in Switzerland alongside U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and their Chinese counterparts.

PUSH AND PULL
Trump previously said he would not lower the tariff rate on China, but seemed to soften his stance earlier this week. On Thursday, when asked if he would raise the levies on China even further, Trump said, “Right now, you can’t get any higher” than 145%.

• That same day, he dismissed concerns about slowing cargo volume at U.S. ports as a “good thing.”

  • “That means we lose less money,” he said, citing the U.S. trade deficit with China.

DOWN THE PIPELINE
Trump’s comments come amid warnings of looming economic consequences — like job losses and product shortages — as American companies import fewer goods from China.

• This week, the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest port in the Western Hemisphere, announced a 35% drop in cargo compared to the same week last year.

• “The impact the Port of Los Angeles has on the city, the region, and the country cannot be understated,” Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, told NPR. “The cargo that moves through this port reaches not only all 50 states, but each one of our 435 congressional districts.”

ONE THING THAT MAKES US 😊

Pope Leo XIV’s Brothers React To Conclave News As He Delivers First Homily

Pope Leo XIV’s two older brothers are reacting to the news that their youngest sibling, born Robert Prevost, was elected the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

John and Louis Prevost have been speaking to media outlets about how they found out about the conclave’s decision (both watching tv) and if they expected it (they were surprised, but it wasn’t totally unexpected).

• John, a former Catholic school educator who still lives in the Chicago area, said he spoke to his brother before the conclave — the two had chatted while playing Wordle and Words With Friends. John joked that his brother had recently watched the movie Conclave, “so he knew how to behave.”

• He also shared that his younger brother had always wanted to be a priest. But when neighborhood kids in his South Chicago suburb and his siblings teased him about becoming pope one day, the future pontiff would brush it off and call it “nonsense.”

• As for the debate over the Pope’s preferred baseball team — White Sox vs. Cubs — John cleared it up: Pope Leo XIV is all in on the White Sox.

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
"I'm concerned," John told "GMA" on Friday. "It is quite a responsibility that he's going to face now because he's got the task of trying to bring the world's Catholics together. I think we're splitting apart quickly. Maybe he can do something to bring it back.”

• In his first homily with the new title, Pope Leo XIV spoke in English to thank his fellow cardinals and the global Catholic community. “You have called me to carry that cross… and I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me,” he said in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, the day after being elected pope.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter dies at 85 (CNBC)

📌 Trump names Jeanine Pirro interim U.S. attorney for DC (CNN)

📌 Judge orders immediate release of Rumeysa Ozturk, Tufts student detained by ICE (POLITICO)

📌 Trump fires Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden (MO NEWS)

📌 U.S. plans to receive and aid White South African refugees as soon as next week, document shows (CBS)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Pope Leo XIV begins first papal homily in English: "You have called me to carry that cross” (MO NEWS)

📌 Victory Day parade in Russia celebrates the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany (AP)

📌 Two men found guilty of cutting down UK’s famous Sycamore Gap tree (SKY NEWS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 FDA approves first at-home test for cervical cancer screening (US NEWS)

📌 FedEx board member David Steiner to lead US Postal Service (POLITICO)

📌 FDA approves 3 color additives as part of RFK Jr. dye ban effort (AXIOS)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Academy of Country Music Awards announces winners (USA TODAY)

📌 UNC bans Jordon Hudson from the football facility (NBC)

📌 Final phase of jury selection in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s sex-trafficking trial postponed (GUARDIAN)

📌 Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez slash $8 million from Beverly Hills mansion (US)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… One member of the Mo News community messaged us: “As I’m watching the Papal coverage, I cannot help but think that Mosh and the new pope are doppelgängers! Do you see it or am I nuts? The Chicago connection plus the facial features…omg.”

We got several similar messages on Instagram in the last 24 hours. Mosh doesn’t see it. Our team remains divided, but Mo News Podcast Producer Aaryan had some fun with it ⬆️ 🤣