Good morning! Happy Wednesday to all who celebrate. Tomorrow, April 25th, is the perfect date — Miss Congeniality Day. “It's not too hot, not too cold. All you need is a light jacket.”

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ECONOMY

💼 The FTC drops the ban hammer on noncompetes

Let the quitting begin. Noncompete agreements could soon be as dead as the paper they're printed on.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 yesterday to ban them. The FTC estimates that 18% of America's workforce (30 million people) is currently covered by noncompete agreements that prevent them from going to work for the competition or starting the competition.

• The FTC says the ban could boost total worker pay by $300 billion and result in the launch of 8,500 new businesses each year.

Opponents, of course, disagree. They doubt those numbers and say the ban is an illegal “power grab” that will put businesses’ trade secrets at risk. Congress or individual states should make this call, they say.

• Pro-business lobby groups like the Chamber of Commerce say they’ll sue to block the rule (as soon as today).

• Unless a court intervenes, the rule will kick in in about four months.

Not everyone is out of the woods, though. The ban forbids any new noncompete agreements but allows current contracts for certain executives to remain in place. For everyone else? It’s open season. Businesses will have to notify employees that they’re no longer bound by the dead contracts. That’s going to be a fun email to draft.

Over in Congress: The Senate passed the House's $95 billion foreign aid package. The deal covers military assistance to Ukraine and Israel along with humanitarian aid for war zones (including Gaza). It also tosses $8 billion to America's Indo-Pacific allies (like Taiwan and the Philippines) to help counter Chinese hostility.

• Oh, the bill also gives TikTok’s Chinese parent company up to twelve months to sell the app or see it banned in the U.S.

• The $7 million TikTok spent lobbying Congress against this went up in smoke.

• Expect the TikTok piece of this to be challenged in court ASAP.

Now that it’s passed both houses of Congress, President Biden says he’ll sign it into law later today.

GOVERNMENT

🚀 You’ll need a permit to return from orbit, says the FAA

Don’t you dare launch — or land — that rocket. Not without your reentry permit. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), now requires a reentry permit for every spacecraft that plans to, well, reenter the atmosphere.

If your spacecraft is coming back down at some point, it’ll need a return authorization before it goes up in the first place.

• Unlike a payload designed to stay in space, a reentry vehicle has a “near-guaranteed ground impact.” So bring on the landing approvals.

This is a new problem with a new solution. The first U.S. commercial spaceflight landing took place in February. That company, Varda Space Industries, plans to manufacture complex medicines in zero gravity. They got approval for launch last year but faced hurdles trying to return.

The FAA is an agency of the Department of Transportation. They typically deal with aviation, air traffic control, and airport regulations. But the final frontier is upon us. And, like anything, is going to be regulated.

• Congress has given the FAA power to license spaceflight, complete safety inspections, and more.

Commercial spaceflight is brand new. And growing like wildfire. Expect the regulations on this stuff to change rapidly in the coming years. The Galactic Republic wasn’t built in a day.

In other news, some campus protest updates:

• Wealthy donors are ditching Columbia as it wrestles with alleged antisemitism. President Biden condemned the “antisemitic protests.”

• Police arrested more than 100 student protestors who were occupying the campus.

• Schools nationwide are experiencing similar events, all related to the Israel-Hamas war. Some have gone remote for the semester as a result.

• Four Jewish members of Congress visited Columbia yesterday. House Speaker Mike Johnson will do the same today.

POLITICS

🔴 David Pecker, who surely endured great pain in middle school, testified during Day 6 of Donald Trump’s criminal trial. The ex-publisher of the “National Enquirer” said he agreed in 2015 to publish good stories about Trump and negative stories about his opponents.

• Prosecutors say Trump has violated the gag order that forbids him from talking about certain aspects of the trial. If the judge agrees, Trump could be jailed for contempt. The Secret Service is discussing that possibility.

• Due to the high price of Trump Media stock, Trump qualified for a bonus of 36 million shares (currently) worth ~$1.15 billion.

🔵 Joe Biden campaigned in Florida yesterday with supporters of abortion rights. Meanwhile, his allies attended the opening of another campaign field office in New Hampshire.

🔵 A Minnesota state senator was arrested for felony burglary at a relative’s house. Republicans want her, a Democrat, to resign as a result. Democrats are less enthusiastic about that: They control the chamber by just one vote.

🔴 That was awkward. Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde (R) very obviously forgot the words to the Pledge of Allegiance at a recent event. We’re betting he won’t make that mistake again. Polls have Hovde trailing Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) by ~4%.

⚪ Expelled former Rep. Frank Abagnale, Jr. George Santos (R-NY) dropped his independent bid to return to Congress after raising $0 in March.

⚪ Progressive Rep. Summer Lee (D) easily beat back a strong center-left primary challenge yesterday. Her Pittsburgh-area seat is the most moderate district represented by a member of Congress’ progressive so-called Squad.

TRIVIA

David Pryor, a former Arkansas governor and U.S. senator, passed away this week. His decision to retire as governor and run for Senate provided an opportunity for a young Bill Clinton, then Arkansas attorney general, to run for governor in 1978. How old was Bill Clinton when he first became governor of Arkansas?

Hint: His nickname at the time was the “Boy Governor.”

WORLD

🇩🇪 Germany: The vice-chancellor of Germany sees opportunity in the rubble. He wants to help rebuild Ukraine after the war. This poses a humanitarian-economic win-win for Germany and Ukraine. German industrial giants could fill a void, particularly on renewable energy projects.

🇰🇵 North Korea: North Koreans might be animating Amazon’s superhero show “Invincible" and others from Amazon and Max. Researchers uncovered animation files tied to North Korea’s tiny internet. The studios denied the story. Such work would be an illegal evasion of U.S. sanctions.

🇷🇺 Russia: Russia's foreign ministry claims American military aid to Ukraine will become "a loud and humiliating fiasco." In unrelated news, Russia accidentally bombed itself at least 21 times in the past two months. Which isn’t exactly a new phenomenon for them.

🇪🇸 Spain: Oops. Spain picked up an international drug kingpin last year after a five-year investigation. And accidentally released him last month. Classic mixup. The Dutch aren’t thrilled with this development, though. In 2022, this guy threatened to murder their Crown Princess.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the Brits will hike defense spending by more than $90 billion, to 2.5% of the U.K.’s economy, by 2030 amid pressure from Germany and other allies. He called it the biggest “boost in a generation.”

BRIEFS

• NASA formally approved a $3.35 billion unmanned mission to Titan, one of Saturn’s moons — the one-way trip will take six years

• Tennessee passed a bill to let teachers carry concealed guns with training, background checks, and permission from districts and cops

• The city of Baltimore is suing the corporate owner of the ship that crashed into the Key Bridge last month, claiming it was "unseaworthy"

• Roaring Chinese tech giant Huawei will soon overtake a sinking Apple in China, the world's largest smartphone market

• Despite slumping sales and layoffs, Tesla stock spiked overnight on news the company would focus on cheaper models next year

• The Justice Dept. will pay $139 million to survivors of abuse by Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar for mishandling the case

• Oracle will move its HQ to Nashville to be nearer the healthcare industry, says Chairman Larry Ellison (the world's fifth-richest person)

QUOTE

SNACKS

🚚 On Brand: Post Malone is writing a graphic novel about an 18-wheeler fighting demons in medieval Europe. The movie will be developed by, of course, Michael Bay.

📸 Photography: "Nature" holds a Working Scientist photography contest each year. Check out this year’s winners here.

🪦 RIP: RIP Karen. The doctors did their best. But the Topeka Zoo’s beloved ostrich passed away after swallowing a zookeeper's keys.

ANSWER

When he first became governor, Bill Clinton was a cool 32 years old, aka the same age Miley Cyrus would be if she ran for office this year.

Arkansas had two-year terms back then and Bill quickly lost his first reelection bid in 1980 before winning again in 1982. For a while there, he was a 34-year-old ex-governor.