DON SURBER: Did Katy Perry just kill feminism? “The 6 celebrities followed Freedom 7’s course? So what? You can retrace the route of the Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria but that doesn’t make you Christopher Columbus.”

The Internet mockery has been extreme:

But efforts at stolen astronaut glamour notwithstanding, the real achievement is in fact that space travel has progressed to the point where you don’t have to be Alan Shepherd or John Glenn to fly in space: You can just be a passenger. Kind of like it’s a sign that air travel has advanced that you don’t have to be Charles Lindbergh to fly across the Atlantic.

These women flew in space because they’re famous. Alan Shepherd was famous because he flew in space. It’s not the same, but that’s okay.

OPEN THREAD: Ring in the weekend.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Texas Space Commission awards $26 million to five companies.

HILARIOUSLY PERFECT: COVID.gov Now Goes to Page Debunking ‘Proximal Origins’ Paper, Trashing Fauci.

IT’S ALWAYS IN THE LAST PLACE YOU LOOK: Half The Universe’s Matter Was Missing. Astronomers Just Found It.

TIM WALZ’S STATE GOVERNMENT AT WORK: Minnesota State Government Analyst Arrested for Vandalizing Teslas.

CHANGE: Mounjaro Mania: New Diabetes Drug Takes Over As Old Treatments Fade.

WELL, GOOD: Hyaluronic acid eyedrops may help dogs fight infections more effectively.

OF COURSE THEY DID: A Biden Administration Secret Report Designated Gun Ownership as Fuel for Domestic Terrorism.

YOU CAN’T HAVE A TRADE WAR WITHOUT AT LEAST SHORT-TERM DAMAGE TO TRADE: A market on the precipice: 5 takeaways from the April state of freight: Ocean import levels are signaling a big market downturn, even as trucking indicators are not collapsing…yet.

Related: Analyst warns of ‘carnage’ on shifts in container shipping.

But you can’t have any kind of war without collateral damage. Meanwhile, James Freeman thinks Trump’s strategy may be working.

DOUBLING DOWN ON FAILURE: Despite Strict Gun Laws, Massachusetts Pushes for Even More Gun Control.

IT’S RUDE TO ASK SUCH QUESTIONS:

Who did the attacking, Senator https://t.co/yUieYSEZtl

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) April 18, 2025

THIS IS BASICALLY WHY PEOPLE BUY METAL DETECTORS: Huge gold nugget found by metal detector enthusiasts set for auction.

WELL, GOOD: Modulating the brain’s immune system may curb damage in Alzheimer’s.

STANDING UP FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: US Interior secretary orders offshore wind project shut down.

EH? SPEAK UP, YOUNGSTER: New study reaffirms strong link between hearing loss, dementia in seniors.

YEP: Jacob Shell: academia must diversify or die. “Shell points out that US academia has become an ideological monoculture, with an overwhelming dominance of left-leaning faculty, especially at elite institutions. This imbalance, driven by extreme partisan ratios in fields like anthropology, leaves universities politically vulnerable and out of step with the broader public. He challenges the common view that this trend is due to self-selection, or the “pipeline problem,” suggesting instead that informal screening mechanisms discourage or exclude conservative scholars. Shell also argues that the grant system encourages conformity and limits academic freedom. More audaciously, he argues that some academics should be singled out by their peers, whether through their institution or professional organizations, when they engage in politically motivated misrepresentation of their scholarship. Ultimately, Shell insists that academia’s unique role in public life is to observe and understand the world, not to risk co-option as an arm of any political movement.”

I’m not sure that’s possible. Full essay is here.

THIS IS NOT NEW: Social work doctoral student who refused to tout social justice flees academia.

THAT WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN TO REDNECK CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS LIKE BOB JONES UNIVERSITY: Harvard finds wingtip on the other foot as Trump moves to revoke its tax-exempt status.

WHILE EVERYONE IS FOCUSING ON MARGARITAS IN EL SALVADOR: US strikes on Yemen oil terminal kill at least 74, Houthis say. They’re probably exaggerating the number of deaths, but we can hope not.

JUDGE HO ON “A Recipe for District Judge Supremacy.”

By the way, how are Trump’s judicial nominations going? I’m not hearing much of anything.

THE PUBLIC HAS A BIGGER APPETITE FOR “FUNDAMENTAL TRANSFORMATION” THAN THE POLITICAL CLASS, THIS TIME AROUND: Americans’ ‘Appetite’ for Reforming Medicare May Be Bigger Than Pollsters – and Politicians – Insist.

THAT’S NOT THE NARRATIVE: Hanging in There: Trump Hits Record High Approval Rating Amid Tariff Turmoil.

THE TRUTH HURTS: Leftists Demanded Police Body Cams. Now They Regret It.

THEY’VE DESCENDED INTO SELF-PARODY: Bernie Sanders Spent $221K on Private Jets Amid ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ Tour: Vermont socialist has spent millions on private jet travel over the years.

Well, not really “descended.” They’re pretty much in the same place they’ve always been.