The Week Evening Review
Trump's plans for EVs, The Onion's purchase of Infowars, and a women's baseball league

 
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION

What's next for electric vehicles under Trump? 

The electric vehicle industry has relied on government subsidies to get a jump-start in America. And Wall Street observers have a "widespread belief" that Donald Trump will target the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles, said Barron's. However, he's expected to leave other parts of Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act intact, as the law has enabled a manufacturing surge that has benefited red states. 

If Trump ends the EV tax credit, Elon Musk and Tesla "would reap the rewards," said CNN. That might seem counterintuitive, as Tesla only makes electric vehicles, but Musk's company is currently the "only automaker making a profit on its U.S. EV sales." Ending the credit might reduce Tesla's profits, but other automakers could see their losses increase. They might even leave the EV market.

What did the commentators say?
Electric vehicles "won't tank under Trump," said Emily Dreibelbis Forlini at PCMag. That's because EVs have a "strong base of suburban drivers who love them" for their ability to accelerate quickly. The tax credit requires automakers to source their batteries domestically. Erasing the credit could prompt American automakers to seek cheaper Chinese batteries, which would "lower the vehicle cost and put more zero-emission vehicles on the road."

Ending the EV tax credit would result in an "earnings bloodbath" for companies like Ford and GM, said Liam Denning at Bloomberg. They have already spent billions on the infrastructure to build electric vehicles. 

Now, they just need to "sell more EVs in order to reap economies of scale on existing investment." That's less likely to happen if the credit goes away. Those companies have to hope that Trump "won't make good on everything he says."

What next?
Trump has also threatened ultra-high tariffs on auto imports from Mexico, which "could be a problem" for Tesla and other automakers that have plants in the country, said Business Insider. However, EVs could get a "Trump bump" before the inauguration, said Axios. Consumers could race to take advantage of the tax credit before the new president has a chance to get rid of it. Trump's election victory "could kick fence-sitters into action," said Edmunds analyst Jessica Caldwell. 

 
 
QUOTE OF THE DAY

'We accept working in conditions of insecurity, but when even law enforcement becomes a direct threat, we have no choice but to suspend admissions of patients.'

Christophe Garnier, the head of mission for Doctors Without Borders in Haiti, on why the organization has suspended operations in Port-au-Prince after a "series of threats" by local police

 
 
THE EXPLAINER

The Onion is having a laugh with Infowars

One of the most controversial platforms on the internet might have a new owner, as the satirical news publication The Onion is trying to purchase the far-right website Infowars. Infowars was sold at auction out of bankruptcy, and the transaction would end control of the website by its longtime owner and founder, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Why does The Onion want Infowars?
The outlet wants to help pay the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, most of whom are Jones' estate creditors. Jones was sued for defamation by the families for claiming on his show that the massacre was "performed by actors following a script written by government officials to bolster the push for gun control," said ABC News. A $1.4 billion verdict was handed down against Jones in 2022. However, the Sandy Hook families have not seen any of this money, because Jones filed for bankruptcy and moved to liquidate his assets.

The Onion's bid for the site was reportedly $1.75 million, and the Sandy Hook families "agreed to forgo a portion of their recovery to increase the overall value of The Onion's bid, enabling its success," said ABC News. But Jones is not going down without a fight. After The Onion moved to purchase Infowars, the judge for Jones' bankruptcy case paused the sale and "ordered an evidentiary hearing" to "determine if the auction was conducted fairly, which could delay the process" of the deal, said The Guardian. 

What happens to Infowars?
The Onion will "shutter Jones' Infowars and rebuild the website, featuring well-known internet humor writers and content creators," said NBC News. It's expected to launch the new site this January.

The Onion also set up a partnership with gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety, which was established in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting and is now the largest gun control group in the U.S. The group will have an "exclusive advertising deal" with The Onion for gun safety promotions, said CNN. 

 
 

Statistic of the day

108M: The number of viewers worldwide of last week's Jake Paul-Mike Tyson boxing match, according to Netflix, making it the most-streamed global sporting event ever. The bout before this, between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor, became the most-watched women's sporting event in U.S. history, with 47 million viewers.

 
 
IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Women are getting a baseball league again

A vacancy in America's pastime could soon be filled, as a new baseball league for women is on the horizon. The Women's Professional Baseball League aims to debut in 2026. 

There has not been a professional women's baseball league in the U.S. since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Made famous in the film "A League of Their Own," the league was dissolved in 1954. So current efforts to revitalize women's baseball mark a high point for the rise of professional women's sports in the U.S.

What are the details of the league?
The WPBL will be a "national league with teams based across the U.S.," launching for the 2026 season with "six teams in the Northeast," said a press release. Cities, team names and branding have not yet been revealed, though the league's website has a page set up for team ownership opportunities.

The league was started by Justine Siegal and Keith Stein. Siegal is the "first woman to coach a professional men's baseball team," said the press release, and is the founder of the nonprofit women's group Baseball for All. 

How could the WPBL grow women's sports?
An increasing interest in women's sports "made this an ideal time" to launch a league, Siegal said to The Associated Press. Basketball, in particular, has seen a massive popularity boost thanks to WNBA stars like Caitlin Clark. 

The women's professional sports industry will "generate global revenues of $1.28 billion in 2024," said consultancy group Deloitte, marking the "first time that annual global revenues for women's sports will have surpassed $1 billion."

But women's baseball faces an uphill battle, as it may be hard to secure the league's "most basic need: players with experience," said NBC News. There are no states currently offering girls' high school baseball, although there were "1,372 high school girls who played on boys baseball teams across America," said the National Federation of State High School Associations. 

Still, there are girls "playing baseball and local leagues around the country right now," Siegal said to NBC. She hopes to capture this market.

 
 

Good day 🐮

… for the climate. Amazon owner Jeff Bezos has invested more than $8 million in a project to develop a vaccine to reduce methane-making microbes. Researchers at the U.K.'s Pirbright Institute are leading the push to stop cows from producing so much methane, which is estimated to be more than 80 times more potent for global warming than carbon dioxide.

 
 

Bad day 🏭

… for Shanghai. China's largest city has been named the most polluting city at Cop29. Six of the seven states that emit more than 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases are in China, with Texas in sixth place, according to new data from Climate Trace, a nonprofit organization co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore.

 
 
Picture of the day

Closing time

A man sits in a deserted shopping arcade beside a historic citadel in the Iraqi city of Erbil. Iraq is holding its first census in 37 years, and shops have been closed as part of a nationwide two-day curfew to help 120,000 census workers complete the mammoth task.
Ahsan Mohammed Ahmed Ahmed / Anadolu / Getty Images

 
 
Puzzles

Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section, which also includes sudoku and codewords

 
 
The Week recommends

The holidays are high season for theater-going. It's the prime time for getting primped, gathering some friends or family and spending an evening watching talented performers do what they do best. This season, you can escape into frothy takes on affable movies or experience a musicalization of a dark chapter in American history. The theater can do it all.

'Annie'
Every few years, it seems, a certain red-headed orphan reappears to belt out some ditty about tomorrow and the sun coming out. Well, Annie, both the character and the show, are back, with tour dates running through the middle of next year. Bonus: Whoopi Goldberg will step into the role of Ms. Hannigan for part of the tour's stop at Madison Square Garden next month and in January.

'Elf the Musical'
A holiday romp is always welcome, and this stage adaptation of the 2003 movie delivers. Buddy, the titular human-wannabe-elf, is always a charmer, and the show's humor and tunes are crowd-pleasers for adults and little ones.

'Parade'
The winner of the 2023 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, "Parade" tells the story of a Jewish American couple, Leo and Lucille Frank, and Leo's arrest for an "unspeakable crime" at the start of the 20th century. It's a dark and very American tale but one filled with hope. It also features a lush score by composer Jason Robert Brown.

 
 

Poll watch

Over half of Americans, 54%, were surprised by Donald Trump's election victory, according to a Prolific/Independent poll. Among 1,941 surveyed adults, many Republicans were surprised by Trump's win, including 15% of GOP respondents who said they were "quite surprised" and 19% who said they were "somewhat surprised."

 
 
INSTANT OPINION

Today's best commentary

'Rahm Emanuel leading the Democrats is a nonstarter'
Laura Washington at the Chicago Tribune
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel is "despised by progressives everywhere," says Laura Washington, and his "trial balloon has the party's left flank flabbergasted and furious." Emanuel running the DNC is a "nonstarter based on his mayoral track record alone" and his "decision to close nearly 50 Chicago public schools, as well as half of the city’s mental health clinics, most serving African American and Latino communities." A "DNC perch for Emanuel should be dead on arrival."

'Reviving the Fourth Estate — the promising future of journalism in a digital age'
Lisa Gordon-Miller at Newsweek
People "argue that the future of journalism is bleak, but I contend that it has never been more promising," says Lisa Gordon-Miller. Journalism has "shown a remarkable ability to evolve with each technological advance, from the printing press to the internet." This "perspective suggests not a decline but a continuous evolution." The "digital era has reshaped, but not replaced, traditional journalism." By "understanding these dynamics, we can better support an industry crucial to democracy and informed societies."

'He has already fathered many children. Now Musk wants all of the US to embrace extreme breeding.'
Arwa Mahdawi at The Guardian
Elon Musk is "desperate for people in developed countries to have more children" and has "become one of the most famous faces of a growing pronatalist movement," says Arwa Mahdawi. Musk's "parenting skills aren't the real issue here." The "real issue is that the billionaire, and his breeding obsession, are part of an incoming administration that wants to roll back reproductive rights and usher in a world where women are forced to give birth."

 
 
WORD OF THE DAY

keratopigmentation

A permanent eye color change procedure, also known as corneal tattooing, that an increasing number of people in the U.S. and Europe are undergoing. Keratopigmentation is generally used by doctors to treat patients with "diseased or injured eyes," said The Wall Street Journal. But some medical practitioners are offering the treatment for aesthetic purposes, to the concern of many eye specialists.

 
 

Evening Review was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes,  Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Joel Mathis, Summer Meza and Anahi Valenzuela, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images; AP Photo / Jill Bleed; Norm Hall / Getty Images; Theo Wargo / Getty Images