Plus: Thousands of MLK Assassination Files Declassified — Did We Learn Anything New?

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Good afternoon,

Uber is launching a new feature that lets women riders and drivers opt to pair with each other, starting next month in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit.

“It’s about giving women more choice, more control, and more comfort when they ride and drive,” Camiel Irving, Uber’s vice president of U.S. and Canada operations, stated in a release.
- The company says the tool increases the chances women will be paired up, though matches aren’t guaranteed. The move follows ride-share companies facing safety concerns over sexual assault cases and how platforms handle them.
While on his trip to Japan this summer, Mosheh noted the women-only subway cars in response to a rise in harassment on public transit, which dates back to 1912.
- In 2019, Uber introduced a women rider and driver preference feature in Saudi Arabia, after women gained the right to drive in 2018. It’s expanded to about 40 countries.

The next time I order an Uber, this feature will give me more comfort going home at night. Supporting women and feeling safer = win-win.

Juliet
Intern

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🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Pete Buttigieg To Mo News: Democrats Get An ‘Incomplete’ As GOP Unites Around Trump

Former Transportation Secretary and potential 2028 presidential nominee Pete Buttigieg says he is concerned about the state of the U.S. democracy.

In an interview Wednesday with Mo News, Buttigieg warned that American democracy is “north of a five” on a 10-point worry scale (something we talk about on the Mo News Premium account) — where 10 equals authoritarianism. “I think that both parties should examine the chances of their survival,” he said.
- Buttigieg pointed to existing issues in US democracy pre-Trump, including the lack of recent amendments to the Constitution and the Electoral College, which allows presidents to potentially win the presidency even if they didn’t win the most actual votes. And then Trump’s recent attacks on courts, media, law firms, and universities.
  - Republican George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000 even though Vice President Al Gore won the popular vote. The same happened in 2016, when Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote — although Trump did win the popular vote in the most recent election.

His comments come as the Democratic Party struggles to maintain a united message against Trump. Leaders like Sen. Elissa Slotkin (MI) and Gov. Gavin Newsom (CA) are pushing for a more moderate, pragmatic approach, while progressives such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) and NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, have galvanized support around the issue of affordability.

Buttigieg aligns more with the former camp. As he considers a potential 2028 presidential run (more on that in a bit), he will need to contend with the GOP’s unified messaging; the party remains firmly behind Trump, who is polling above 80% approval among Republicans.

“IF” DEMS WIN AGAIN
Buttigieg didn’t mince words about the Democratic party’s current standing: He gives them an “incomplete” grade ahead of midterm elections.

When asked about Democrats’ chances of regaining power, he said, “We're past the point of believing that there's some pendulum that comes back and forth or some cycle that one party's up or one party's down.”
- It comes as Republicans move to maintain their House majority with redistricting efforts in Texas and Ohio — if successful, it could help them keep control of the House in the midterm elections and beyond.

What Democrats are failing at: Messaging, says Buttigieg. “If and when Democrats come back to power, the project can’t be to go back and tape together the shards of everything that Trump [has broken],” he said. He added that Democrats cannot simply act as defenders of a failing status quo while MAGA Republicans position themselves as disruptors.

ON BIDEN AND PETE’S RECORD
Looking back at the Biden administration, which positioned itself as an antidote to Trump, Buttigieg noted mistakes not doing more to crack down on immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border and waiting too long to reopen schools during the COVID pandemic. His comments mark a departure from what then-Democratic candidate Kamala Harris said when asked if she would have done anything differently from Biden. She said on The View: “not a thing.”

Buttigieg, however, defended his work at the Department of Transportation, emphasizing that he was the “toughest airline regulator to have that job” in recent history. He highlighted his efforts to boost the number of air traffic controllers after decades of decline.
- His comments come as massive delays at Newark Airport in May — caused by an aging system and a shortage of controllers — have become a major issue for his successor, Sean Duffy, whom Buttigieg says is not doing a good job.

CRITICISM OF TRUMP
Buttigieg highlighted Biden-era policies designed to help consumers, like the DoT’s wheelchair protections rule and the FTC’s “click-to-cancel” regulation (which has origins from Trump’s first term), that the Trump administration is not enforcing or pushing. Instead, Buttigieg argues that Trump prioritizes the wealthy, and his approach to cutting bureaucratic bloat goes beyond even private-sector logic.

The administration, he argues, is “always siding with the wealthiest and with corporations against people — in the big blockbuster stuff, like the bill to cut Medicaid and give tax breaks to the wealthy.”
And for the work in cutting federal bloat, he says, “They didn’t check which jobs were more important and which ones were less important. They just found the categories that had the least legal protections and got rid of them all… No business would do it that way.”
- He contrasted this with his own experience in government: “Yes, we need more efficient government. No, you don't just come in with a sledgehammer.”

2028 AMBITIONS?
On a potential 2028 presidential run, Buttigieg said he hasn’t made any decisions. We asked him whether the U.S. is ready for an LGBTQ president. Buttigieg said, “I think the best way to think about that is not to — because there’s only one way to actually find out.” Buttigieg married his husband, Chasten, in 2018 and adopted their twins in 2021.

Betting markets already place him among the top Democratic contenders, behind Newsom and AOC.

If he runs, one key issue Buttigieg is expected to focus on is AI, which he says will be a major challenge in the 2028 race and likely the defining issue of the next decade.

He warned that Americans are underreacting to its threats, pointing to the concentration of wealth among an elite few and the potential for massive workforce shrinkage.
- He recently wrote about the issue in his Substack newsletter.

Catch our full conversation with Pete Buttigieg on the Mo News podcast — available first to the Mo News Premium community on Thursday. Join today!

⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

Judge calls Bryan Kohberger a “faceless coward” as he only utters 3 words at sentencing (MO NEWS)
House Oversight Committee issues subpoena for Ghislaine Maxwell ABC NEWS; Judge in Florida denies Justice Dept. request to release Epstein transcripts WASHINGTON POST
Masked ICE agents detain former Afghan interpreter who helped U.S. military (NBC)
Florida police under scrutiny as video of Black man punched, dragged by deputies during traffic stop goes viral (CNN)
Columbia University disciplines students involved in Butler Library takeover (CBS)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

Zelensky faces major anti-corruption protests across Ukraine (MO NEWS)
A baby boy dies as starvation spreads across Gaza (NBC) AFP says its Gaza journalists suffering health issues as union warns they will die without intervention (FOX)
Protest against Gaza war prevents Israeli visitors from touring Greek island (AP)
New entrance fee to visit Europe set to triple, says European Commission (CNBC)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

White House unveils America’s ‘AI Action Plan’ (NPR)
World’s top court says major polluters may need to pay reparations for climate harm (CNN)
U.S. home sales fade in June as prices soar to record levels (CNBC)
Patient dies of brain-eating amoeba in South Carolina, hospital confirms (CBS)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

U.S. Olympic officials ban transgender women from women's events (AP)
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham to rerelease their rare debut record ‘Buckingham Nicks (CNN)
‘South Park’ to get 50 new episodes as Trey Parker, Matt Stone reach five-year deal with Paramount (VARIETY)
Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson reuniting for film trilogy about 'pursuit of love' 22 years after Dawson's Creek (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams won her first singles match Tuesday in nearly two years, making the 45-year-old the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in the sport’s history, behind only Martina Navratilova’s 2004 win at age 47.

Williams also revealed she is engaged to Danish-Italian actor Andrea Preti, who had never seen her play professionally. She joked that part of her comeback was motivated by health insurance.
- “I had to come back because they informed me earlier this year I’m on COBRA,” Williams said. “So I was like, ‘I gotta get my benefits!’ You guys know what it’s like. I’m always at the doctor, so I need this insurance.”

This was Williams’ first singles match since March 2024 and her first win since August 2023. She defeated 23-year-old Peyton Stearns in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, and will face No. 5 seed Magdalena Frech in the second round tomorrow.