Noem Unknown
Plus: Police and Cahoots no longer in cahoots, Trump is close to getting his paws on rare earths, and economic shrinkage.
How many Tren de Aragua deportés does Kristi Noem have to pose in front of to get a little recognition? According to Politico, police have a suspect in custody for Noem's purse snatching. When questioned, the suspect, Mario Bustamante Leiva, said he didn't recognize her—which isn't surprising, since, allegedly being in the country illegally, he likely would have chosen a different mark had he known her identity.
Lucky for Noem, the only things to take a hit are her wallet, ego and Q-score. Chris Van Hollen has no plans to visit Bustamante Leiva in jail.
Welcome to the Gist List — a news roundup, interesting things you should know, and my thoughts leading up to today’s podcast episode.
Here’s what’s on my mind:
🚓 Cahoots is no longer in cahoots with the police.
🪨 Finally, Trump is getting his RARE EARTHS.
☕ Starbucks gets one step closer to just injecting coffee straight into your heart.
💻 How ICE is getting near-Minority Report levels of details on migrants.
The Gist List
A Cop/Hippie Alliance Reformed Crisis Response. ‘Defund the Police’ Brought It Down (WSJ)
You aren’t the only person whose friendships soured during the chaos of 2020. The longstanding partnership between Eugene, Oregon's finest, and Cahoots, their go-to mobile crisis unit, has broken down.
It all started as an unlikely alliance in 1989 when an anarchist-leaning collective began helping people having mental breakdowns on the streets. The police, grateful for the help, funded them at the tune of $1 million per year. By 2017, these street-level guardian angels were handling a fifth of all police calls. But then 2020 happened, and like that friend who got really into cryptocurrency and conspiracy theories during lockdown, the younger staffers started taking a confrontational stance towards the police. Plus, after the state decriminalized hard drugs, there was a general fracturing of the bonds of civic trust, and eventually, the police passed them off to the fire department until that arrangement went up in smoke, and so did the funding.
Ukraine Ready to Sign US Resources Deal in a Matter of Hours (Bloomberg)
RARE EARTHS (which aren’t actually rare, though they ARE in the earth) are back in the news. Within the next 24-ish hours, depending on when you’re reading this, the U.S. and Ukraine are set to finalize an agreement that would give the U.S. privileged access to Ukraine's natural resources, including aluminum, graphite, oil, and natural gas.
Now, with Putin's hardware store of destruction raining down on their heads, Ukraine is understandably eager to ink this deal. But so far, they've gotten nothing but bureaucratic hand-waving when it comes to actual guarantees of protection. The Trump administration has argued that our investment in Ukrainian mines implies protection from Russian attacks, although it doesn’t go as far as to explicitly state it.
Starbucks Says It’s Making Progress on Quest to Fulfill Orders Faster (WSJ)
Starbucks has just shaved a trenta-ith of an hour off your wait time—a quantum leap forward in the field of caffeine delivery systems.. The coffee giant is now fiddling with new technology and sequencing algorithms to reduce order wait times by two whole minutes—which might not seem like much but is certainly welcome news to the jittery coffee addicts waiting in line. They’re also looking at testing scheduled pickup times for mobile orders and optimizing staff levels. What's next—a direct-to-bloodstream delivery system? Maybe they could install a series of pneumatic tubes throughout major metropolitan areas, plumbing it directly into your kitchen.
ICE Is Paying Palantir $30 Million to Build ‘ImmigrationOS’ Surveillance Platform (Wired)
In the flurry of reports of mass deportations, detention of green-card holders, etc. ICE wants to develop a database that will give it near-Minority Report levels of information on immigrants. The system would allow detailed searches based on personal characteristics, legal status, and location data through license plate tracking.
According to 404 Media:
404 Media saw a recent version of the database, which allows filtering according to hundreds of different categories, which include things like resident status and entry status (“refugee,” “border crossing card,” “nonimmigrant alien refused admission,” “temporary protective status alien,” “nonimmigrant alien transiting without visa,” “undocumented alien,”); “unique physical characteristics (e.g. scars, marks, tattoos)”; “criminal affiliation”; location data; license plate reader data; country of origin; hair and eye color; race; social security number; birthplace; place of employment; driver’s license status; bankruptcy filings, and hundreds more. A source familiar with the database told 404 Media that it is made up of “tables upon tables” of data and that it can build reports that show, for example, people who are on a specific type of visa who came into the country at a specific port of entry, who came from a specific country, and who have a specific hair color (or any number of hundreds of data points).
The U.S. economy shrinks as Trump's tariffs spark recession fears (NPR)
Just a mere 100 days (have you heard? It’s been 100 days) into Trump’s presidency, worries over the economy are as high as people’s blood pressure. Today’s reading shows that the U.S. GDP shrank by 0.3% in Q1 2025, which, although it may not seem like much, is the first time it has contracted for 11 consecutive quarters. But that’s not the only story—here’s a roundup of what’s happening:
CNBC: Private payroll growth fell from 147,000 in March to 62,000 in April, showing a major slowdown in hiring.
CBS News: The Trump administration spent about $220 billion more in the first 100 days compared to the same period last year. DOGE—an acronym that’s definitely not seeking validation—has apparently saved $160 billion… or about 0.5% of the debt.
The Economist: Despite their chumminess at President Trump’s inauguration, tech leaders have little to show for it. The combined market value of major tech companies is down $2.3 trillion (16%) since Trump took office.
Newsweek: China is buying more gold to hedge against financial turbulence.
Meanwhile, just a mere 1,562 days into Biden’s presidency…
Yesterday on the show: Elon Musk's Triumphs & Tragedies with Faiz Siddiqui
Faiz Siddiqui discusses Hubris Maximus, his sharp chronicle of Elon Musk’s maximalist vision, self-driving delusions, and the rule-breaking impulses that fuel both triumph and tragedy.
There’s more where that came from. Listen to The Gist, and upgrade to Pesca Plus for the ad-free version.
Have a story you want us to talk about or an opinion you want to share? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com or share your thoughts in the comments. We might give you a shoutout in our next newsletter or on the air.