Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I’m Nicole Fallert. Everyone is turning themselves into AI action figures.
Get ready for Wednesday’s news:
IRS shrinks as tax season picks up steam
It’s April 16 — Many Americans are breathing a sigh of relief that Tax Day has come and gone (and if that isn’t you, here’s how to file for an extension). Now, Americans wait for tax refunds, those extra dollars that could help close the gap amid high everyday prices and stock market turmoil.
But the Internal Revenue Service is facing a tough reality: The federal agency tasked with processing Americans’ taxes has a major exodus of employees happening during the heart of tax season.
Can Harvard afford to lose federal research funds?
Hours after Harvard University signaled its refusal to bow to the Trump administration’s pressure, a federal task force said it would freeze more than $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and contracts to the school. The decision was made, the task force said, in an effort to force elite universities, including Harvard, to take antisemitism more seriously. But whether Harvard is rich enough to get through the next four years unscathed isn’t certain. Unlike many private colleges, Harvard has a massive endowment: roughly $53 billion, to be exact. But that money isn’t like a checking account.
More news to know now
What’s the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
Dems plan El Salvador trip seeking Kilmar Abrego Garcia release
Democratic lawmakers say if a wrongly deported man sent to a supermax prison in El Salvador isn’t brought back to the United States, they will visit the Central American country, adding further pressure on the Trump administration for his release. Abrego Garcia, a father of three, has become a centerpiece of the Trump administration’s clampdown on illegal immigration after Department of Justice officials acknowledged that he should not have been sent to El Salvador. The Trump administration — for the moment — appears resolute that despite the mistake that deported Abrego Garcia to the notorious prison, he should not be in the United States.
We all love Instagram for the camera
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a key concession at a U.S. antitrust trial Tuesday, saying he bought Instagram because it had a “better” camera than the one his company was trying to build for flagship app Facebook at the time. The acknowledgement appeared to bolster allegations by U.S. antitrust enforcers that Meta had used a “buy or bury” strategy to snap up potential rivals, keep smaller competitors at bay and maintain an illegal monopoly. Zuckerberg is set to continue his testimony Wednesday in the high-stakes trial in Washington.
Today’s talkers
Stars in space, critics on Earth
“Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space for what?”
~ Writer and model Emily Ratajkowski joined other notable women who spoke out against a Blue Origin mission Monday that sent stars like Gayle King and Katy Perry into space. Critics lambasted the spaceflight as a ploy to promote Blue Origin’s pricey tickets to space and called out the contradiction of touting environmental concern despite contributing to pollution.
Photo of the day:Â And just like that, Carrie is back!
If you couldn’t help but wonder when “And Just Like That…” would be coming back, then you’re in luck. The “Sex and the City” spinoff has announced its long-anticipated Season 3 premieres Thursday, May 29. Here are 10 other must-watch TV shows this spring.
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at [email protected].