What Michigan tells us about 2024

Plus NATO is cool to Macron's big Ukraine idea and Apple switches gears [View this email in your browser]( [Brand Logo]( Michigan votes, NATO balks and Apple kills its electric car   Good morning, Barring a miracle (or disaster), Joe Biden and Donald Trump will face each other again in November. And at this point in the primary campaign, the opinionati are trying to game out which elderly gentleman is the weaker general election candidate. How bad is Biden's base problem? Why does Trump keep doing worse than his poll numbers? Michigan's primary results provide some clues. And we can now argue what they tell us until we get a fresh batch on next week's Super Tuesday. Peter Weber The Week Digital     Today's POLITICS story Biden, Trump win Michigan primaries, with caveats What happened? President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won their respective Michigan primaries on Tuesday. Trump beat Nikki Haley 68% to 27%. Biden won 81% of the Democratic vote, but 13% of Democratic voters chose "uncommitted" amid an Arab American–led protest against his support for Israel in Gaza. Who said what? "This fight for our freedoms, for working families and for democracy is going to take all of us coming together," Biden said. "I know that we will." The Trump vote was "far greater than anticipated," Trump said. When "we win Michigan" in November, "we win the whole thing." Michigan's results are a "flashing warning sign for Trump" and Republicans, Haley's campaign said. You may resent my "audacity to challenge Joe Biden," said Dean Phillips, who got 3%, but "at least you’ll appreciate how relatively strong I'm making him look among primary voters!" The commentary Biden "scored a decisive win," Politico said, but "not necessarily" big enough to "calm Democratic jitters." Biden's campaign "should probably be worried" by the "uncommitted" votes in must-win Michigan, Michelle Goldberg said at The New York Times. At least "Biden's challenges are widely understood," Matt Lewis said at The Daily Beast. "Trump's supporters seem convinced he's invincible. They shouldn't be" — if "Haley-style Republicans stay home" in November, Trump loses. What next? Haley has pledged to stay in the race through Super Tuesday on March 5.     Today's INTERNATIONAL story NATO allies say no to Macron's idea of troops in Ukraine What happened?French President Emmanuel Macron faced pushback from NATO allies after suggesting the alliance consider deploying soldiers to Ukraine. Who said what? Boots on the ground in Ukraine should "not be ruled out" as the West does "everything needed so Russia cannot win the war," Macron said Monday after a meeting of Kyiv allies in Paris. The Kremlin warned that any deployment would "inevitably" lead to direct confrontation between Russia and NATO. The commentary Macron's "previous lofty rhetoric on Ukraine" has "not been matched by action," Clea Caulcutt said at Politico. But even if he's serious this time, "his ambition appears out of sync with the prevailing French mood on Ukraine." If Macron wants to show he's a credible ally, he should provide "steady massive military support for Ukraine," which France hasn't done, foreign policy analyst Ulrich Speck said. What next? The U.S., Britain, Germany and other NATO allies quickly scotched the idea of troops in Ukraine. But U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday backed the "necessary and urgent" task of liquidating $300 billion in frozen Russian Central Bank assets "to support Ukraine's continued resistance and long-term reconstruction."   Advertisement by Betterment [Betterment is the automated investing app that puts your money to work](   Today's TECH Story Apple kills its secret electric car project What happened? Apple told employees on Tuesday it's ending its secretive electric vehicle project, Bloomberg reported. Many of the people working on the decadelong, multibillion-dollar Project Titan are being reassigned to Apple's generative AI unit. Who said what? "Apple had such an aura of being able to create really innovative, easy-to-use stuff," automakers feared an Apple Car "would be tough to compete with," retired General Motors executive Phil Abram told The Wall Street Journal. But that threat was distant "because everybody knew how hard it was to build cars." The commentaryThe now defunct Apple Car project was "one of Silicon Valley's worst-kept secrets because it was being tested on public roads," The New York Times said. An "all-electric sedan emblazoned with the Apple logo may never pass you on the expressway," Matteo Wong said at The Atlantic, but with Apple's iPhone-connecting CarPlay software standard in nearly every new vehicle, "the Apple Car already exists, and you've almost certainly ridden in one." What next? Apple "continues to invest heavily in other areas," Bloomberg said, and "ultimately, focusing on AI may be a better bet."     On this day February 28, 1953 Francis Crick and James Watson discover the double helix structure of DNA. The pair make the key scientific breakthrough using techniques developed by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. Crick, Watson and Wilkins won the Nobel Prize for the discovery in 1962, by which point Franklin had passed away.     TODAY’S newspaperS ['Geography of abortion']( President Joe Biden hosted congressional leaders on Tuesday, and they appeared "'optimistic' on averting" a government shutdown starting Friday night, The Washington Post says on Wednesday's front page. Tuesday's meeting fell short of a deal to avoid the shutdown, The New York Times says. The Wall Street Journal says that as "shutdown worries recede," odd-leader-out House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is feeling the "heat." The Post also runs a front-page article on "the geography of abortion," focused on Latin America. ► [See the newspaper front pages](     It's not all bad A new drug is being hailed as the first breakthrough in treating mesothelioma in two decades. Mesothelioma is an aggressive form of cancer primarily caused by exposure to asbestos at work, and it has a low survival rate. A team from Queen Mary University of London led a global trial of the new drug, ADI-PEG20, and found that when given in conjunction with chemotherapy, the drug "cuts off the tumor's food supply" and "quadrupled three-year survival rates," The Guardian said.   Advertisement by Betterment [Betterment is the automated investing app that puts your money to work](   Under the radar [California's new proposal to address homelessness]( California continues to struggle with its homeless population. Politicians agree the epidemic is perhaps the state's most pressing crisis, and some argue that the way to fix it is a proposed bill to ban homeless encampments. California Senate Bill 1011 would prohibit homeless encampments near most public spaces and bar people from "sitting, lying, sleeping or storing, using, maintaining or placing personal property upon a street" if there is an available homeless shelter they can go to instead. Violating the law could result in a misdemeanor criminal charge. The reaction to SB 1011 has been mostly positive. California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R) said Californians "should not have to tolerate the encampments that now fill our open spaces with trash, needles and human waste." "We know that clearing encampments is possible when there is the political will to do so," Jones said in a statement. "It is dangerous, inhumane and unhealthy for homeless individuals to live on sidewalks, near our schools and transit stops and in our open spaces.” He added that SB 1011 will "clean up California and protect public safety and health.” “The public deserves to use their parks, sidewalks and streets as they were designed. This bill is a step toward creating that reality," State Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D) said. While support for the bill is high, its prospects for passage "likely hinge on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case that could determine whether cities can legally ban or restrict people sleeping on the streets," the Los Angeles Times said.     Tall tale Costly picture A woman in Ireland named Kamila Grabska filed a $820,000 insurance claim for past and future loss of earnings, saying she suffered "debilitating pain" after a 2017 accident. But a photo later surfaced showing her participating in a 2018 Christmas tree-throwing competition (which she won). After reviewing the "very graphic picture," Judge Carmel Stewart tossed the suit.     Later today This afternoon's Evening Review will explore the latest tool gun control advocates are using to remind Americans about school shootings — or, if you prefer, the latest controversial use for AI. On a lighter note, we explain what sheet masks are and why you might want to use them after traveling. Thanks for reading, Peter     Morning Report was written and edited by Catherine Garcia, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek. Image credits, from top: Nic Antaya / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Thibault Camus / Pool / AFP via Getty Images; Josh Edelson / AFP via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images   © Future US, Inc • [theweek.com]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Privacy Policy]( The Week is published by Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036.