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Saudi and US close to security deal

Saudi Arabia and the US are close to securing a pact that could normalize ties between Riyadh and Israel and reshape regional power dynamics. The defense and security agreement would bolster Washington’s clout in the Middle East by giving Saudi Arabia access to advanced US weapons, while the Gulf nation would limit use of some Chinese tech in exchange for US investments, Bloomberg reported. Diplomatic ties with Israel could also be solidified as part of the deal, but that would likely require Israel agreeing to a Gaza ceasefire and a pathway for Palestinian statehood. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has opposed those terms before, so “the Saudis are pushing for a more modest plan B, which excludes the Israelis,” The Guardian wrote.

Biden’s campus protest dilemma

Democrats fear that pro-Palestinian protests escalating across US college campuses will be “political poison” for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, Politico reported. Biden has largely avoided remarking on the unrest, but will likely have to confront disruptions when he gives two college commencement speeches in the weeks ahead. For Biden, condemning the protests risks alienating young voters and his party’s left wing. But letting them persist would feed into his rival Donald Trump’s narrative that Biden is presiding over domestic and global turmoil, The New York Times’ Peter Baker wrote. The White House’s only hope to turn down the temperature on campuses is to successfully broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, but a breakthrough has been just out of reach.

US sanctions Chinese firms

The US sanctioned hundreds of companies, including more than a dozen in China and Hong Kong, accused of aiding Russia’s war in Ukraine and helping Moscow circumvent Western sanctions. The new measures — which are more far-reaching than past efforts to impair Russia — follow in-person warnings from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing officials over Chinese firms’ supply of military tech to Russia. But even smaller Chinese e-commerce sellers have aided the Kremlin: After Western institutions pulled out of Russia over its Ukraine invasion, these vendors registered on Russian online marketplaces, selling goods like computer hardware that can be used to make weapons. One told Nikkei that he netted more profit from Russian platforms than domestic sites, “so we were very motivated.”

Fed keeps interest rates steady

The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged Wednesday, a move that was expected but nevertheless closely watched by investors for hints about the central bank’s next steps. There’s been a “lack of further progress” toward bringing inflation down to the bank’s 2% target, the Fed said, raising the possibility that cuts may not happen until the fall, if at all this year — and could even rise, although Chair Jerome Powell said that’s “unlikely.” While the European Central Bank appears poised for a June rate cut, the Fed’s monetary policy approach can be summed up by the Chinese proverb, “do nothing, and everything will be done,” The Wall Street Journal wrote.

Denmark restricts Ozempic access

Denmark is limiting access to its famous homegrown drug, Ozempic. Danish regulators said they would only subsidize the diabetes drug for patients who can’t be treated with cheaper alternatives; last year, half of Type 2 diabetes patients were prescribed GLP-1 semaglutide drugs without trying other affordable medications. Ozempic’s global surge in demand for its weight loss effects has transformed its Danish company Novo Nordisk’s balance sheet, along with Denmark’s economy. Novo Nordisk recently slashed Ozempic prices by almost one third in Denmark, while American lawmakers are probing Ozempic’s high prices in the US.

NY author Paul Auster dies

Novelist Paul Auster, a pillar of the New York — specifically Brooklyn — literary scene in the late 20th century, died Tuesday at age 77. Auster rose to prominence with his 1982 memoir The Invention of Solitude, which mused on fate and coincidence after the death of his father. His signature work, The New York Trilogy, was “a postmodern reanimation of the noir novel” and the detective genre, The New York Times wrote. Auster was “the Brooklyn novelist back in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” author Meghan O’Rourke said, but he had global reach, amassing fans in the UK and France. He once faced criticism, though, from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, after Auster said he wouldn’t visit Turkey over its treatment of journalists.

Getting oceans to store more CO2

Scientists are experimenting with new ways of helping the ocean store more carbon. As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels increase, it is becoming more challenging to slow emissions enough to meet the 1.5°C warming target. Oceans absorb huge amounts of carbon naturally, and researchers are experimenting with dumping waste wood chips or ground-up rock into them to increase the amount they can store. “Geoengineering” like this is controversial, Yale Environment 360 reported, and some scientists think it is a distraction from reducing emissions, but the UN’s climate body said it may be necessary to remove as much as 15 billion tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year.

Drama at K-pop label tanks stock

An internal feud at the largest K-pop entertainment company, centering around a buzzy new girl group, caused its stock to plunge by more than 10%. HYBE Corporation, which has fast-growing American and Japanese divisions, is known for its “multilabel” model, in which it oversees several smaller record labels that manage major K-pop acts including BTS and Seventeen. The turmoil began last week when HYBE accused the head of one of its labels of trying to go independent after she created NewJeans, a quintet that’s gained worldwide popularity and critical acclaim. The executive, Min Hee Jin, then held a tearful, two-hour news conference denying the allegations. K-pop is a multibillion global industry that has attracted increasing investor interest, but the drama has raised questions over HYBE’s multilabel strategy.

Greek taxis to accept card payments

Greek cab drivers will now have to accept electronic payments. Greece has long had one of the most tax-averse populations in Europe, “notorious for the number of undeclared business transactions and the size of its cash economy,” the Financial Times reported. An economic crisis in the 2010s increased the scrutiny on tax evasion; in 2017 authorities found that VAT was uncollected in 30% of transactions, compared to a European Union average of 9%. That VAT compliance gap has since dropped, but to a still-third-worst-in-the-EU 18%, prompting the government to increase the share of digital transactions, which are harder to hide. The move, the Greek finance minister said, is about “positioning Greece as a modern, transparent country conducive to investment.”

Most expensive Titanic item sold

A watch belonging to the Titanic’s richest passenger sold for $1.47 million. John Jacob Astor, a fur trade businessman, was worth the equivalent of several billion dollars today. As the Titanic sank, men were told not to board lifeboats, even if seats were unfilled: Around 20% of men survived, compared to more than 70% of women. Astor, 47, helped his wife to board one, and “was last seen smoking a cigarette and talking with another passenger,” ARTnews reported. His wife survived, but Astor’s body was recovered a week later, along with his 14-carat gold Waltham pocket watch that was passed on to his son. Its sale at an English auction house makes it the most expensive item of Titanic memorabilia.

May 2:

• England’s local council and mayoral elections begin, with polls predicting Conservative party losses to Labour.
• French President Emmanuel Macron meets Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Elysee Palace to begin negotiations on a security pact.
• The International Olympic Committee announces its selection of athletes on the Refugee Olympic Team for the Paris Games.

A Korean food brand is winning over US golf fans. In 2022, thousands lined up for a taste of Bibigo’s fried chicken and dumplings at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in South Carolina, one of the stops on the PGA Tour, and the company is setting up its kitchen at this year’s tournament that begins this week, The Korea Times wrote. The frozen food brand’s popularity at the golf tournament has boosted its US sales. Its ties to the PGA Tour stem from the tournament’s history: The CJ Cup began on Jeju Island in South Korea in 2017, before moving to Las Vegas and later South Carolina.

• Does Ukraine aid actually move Republican voters? We’re about to find out.
• Greene signals she’ll force a vote on Johnson’s speakership.
• The bill comes due for money-losing tech companies that borrowed billions.