Trump’s New FAA Pick; Disney Buys 21st Century Fox; Donald Trump Jr.’s Brexit Op-Ed

Plus, how did Spider-Man, Batman and Captain America wind up in the White House Economic Report? [NPR] by Korva Coleman and Jill Hudson First Up [Donald Trump Jr. at a photo session after visiting Trump Tower Kolkata, a Trump Organization apartment building in India.]( Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto via Getty Images Here’s what we’re following today. With the deadline looming for the U.K. to leave the EU, Donald Trump Jr. says British Prime Minister Theresa May should have listened to his father about Brexit. In an op-ed in The Telegraph, Trump Jr. writes that [European “elites” have tried to sabotage Brexit]( and compared the political landscape of the U.K. and the U.S., where Democrats and "deep-state operatives" have been "colluding to subvert the will of the American people." The White House has nominated a former airline president to be the Federal Aviation Administration chief. Stephen Dickson has been nominated to lead the FAA, at a time when [the agency faces criticism]( for its response to crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max. It’s official: Disney owns 21st Century Fox. [The $71 billion deal strengthens Disney's portfolio]( and gives it even more leverage to compete against other streaming powerhouses. Disney already owns the Pixar and Star Wars brands, and now it picks up FX Networks and National Geographic Partners and a controlling share of the online streaming service Hulu. Fox and Disney are financial supporters of NPR. Humanitarian aid groups are rescuing survivors of Cyclone Idai, which swept through Mozambique and Malawi before hitting Zimbabwe. The storm inundated parts of those countries with massive floods that have created “inland oceans.” Hundreds are reported dead and [the death toll is expected to rise](. University of Southern California students allegedly linked to the college admissions scandal won't be allowed to register for classes. The move by USC follows [similar statements by Yale University]( another college that has been rocked by the bribery scam. A San Francisco federal jury has ruled that the weedkiller, Roundup, is to blame for a man’s cancer. They’ll now decide [how much Bayer should pay in damages](. In a similar case, a different jury awarded another plaintiff $289 million, although a judge cut that to $78 million. Japan's Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda will step down in June. French authorities are probing his involvement in payments made before Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Summer Games. Takeda, 71, a former equestrian jumper who competed at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics, [maintains his innocence](. The U.K.'s National Portrait Gallery won’t accept a $1.3 million donation from the Sackler family — owners of the company that makes OxyContin. Both sides say they're concerned that [allegations of opioid profiteering]( against the family could become a distraction. --------------------------------------------------------------- Digging Deeper The rise of white nationalist groups in the West. [Mohan Sudabattula, a senior at the University of Utah, shows posters he found on campus from the white nationalist group Patriot Front.]( Nate Hegyi/KUER Racist groups may be ramping up efforts in the U.S. West to gain new members. Authorities are looking into whether the groups are using propaganda to attract recruits — and attention. "The posters are pretty clever with their wording," said University of Utah senior Mohan Sudabattula, who pulled some racist flyers off campus walls. "But then you go online and the manifesto is a direct call to action against people of color." Racist groups have plastered posters across campuses in California, Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming — states that have burgeoning Latino and immigrant populations. University of Utah geography professor Richard Medina suspects hate groups are sprouting in the West but isn’t sure if — or how — they'll succeed. "I think they've come here because they see some opportunity," Medina says. [Some of the racist groups espouse an emerging European-based white nationalism]( that may also have influenced the alleged gunman in the New Zealand mosque attacks. The identitarian movement, formed in France in 2016, broadly believes that white people in Europe and North America are being displaced by non-European immigrants. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today's Listen Welcome to Kashmir, extreme skiers’ paradise. [Altaf Khanday, 30, works as a back-country ski guide in Gulmarg for two months a year. His earnings allow him to support seven members of his family all year.]( Furkan Latif Khan/NPR Kashmir, the valley high in the Himalayas that is one of the world's longest-running conflict zones, has also become a winter sports haven. Each year, a devoted group of extreme sports enthusiasts make their way nearly 15,000 feet up into the mountains by helicopter to "shred lines," as boarders and ski bums put it — just a few hundred yards from Pakistani troops on the other side. (Listening time, 4:11) [▶ LISTEN]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Before You Go Bryan Steffy/WireImage - [Spider-Man, Batman and Captain America]( are claiming they helped write the 2019 White House Economic Report. Seems a few pranksters inserted their names among the real interns who contributed to the 705-page report. - A U.S. mathematician has become the first woman to win the prestigious Abel Prize — often called [the Nobel Prize of math](. - Conservationists say a market preference for [plate-size whole fillets]( is driving fishermen to catch and sell wild juvenile fish that haven’t had a chance to reproduce. - [Former House Speaker Paul Ryan]( has joined the Fox Corporation's board of directors. --------------------------------------------------------------- We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [dailynewsletter@npr.org](mailto:dailynewsletter@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Health and more! 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