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Four years ago, the pandemic sent the world economy into disarray. Panic buying led to widespread backlogs, with shipping gridlocks so bad you could see them in satellite images. It all revealed a troubling reality: Our global supply chain is incredibly fragile. Where did things go wrong? We discuss. Also, Tesla shareholders voted to restore CEO Elon Musk’s pay package valued at $44.9 billion, so let’s talk about how CEO pay gets determined.

Israel is withholding $35 million in tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority, which provides limited self-governance for the Palestinian people in the West Bank. The move threatens to worsen an already dire financial situation there, even as a war devastates Gaza, the other Palestinian enclave. Plus, big questions linger following the end of a strike at University of California campuses. And Wells Fargo fired some employees for “fake working.”

From the BBC World Service: Every year, more than a million Muslims from around the globe make a pilgrimage in Mecca. But there’s a lucrative trade in fake permits, and the number of scams has caused raised concerns for Saudi authorities. Then, Thailand scraps a planned $8 tourism fee for visitors arriving by air. And Virgin Australia is set to allow dogs and cats to fly in the main cabin of its planes.

Federal campaigns get much of the spotlight, but state and local races can be as consequential for residents’ lives. Funders know that. Today, we’ll trace some of this year’s campaign spending behind state elections, local elections and ballot initiatives. We’ll also hear about a G7 plan to use seized Russian assets to help Ukraine. Plus, inflation for wholesalers was negative last month. What’s a central bank to do with that?

Gay bars are often a fixture of queer nightlife and can help foster a sense of community. Yet across the country, gay bars have shuttered at an alarming pace, down around 45% between 2002 and 2023. But queer nightlife isn’t disappearing — it may just be evolving. We’ll hear more. But first: Interest rates are staying where they are, so where do we go from here?

From the BBC World Service: Demonstrators argued that the measures, which include cutting state spending and watering down workers’ rights, will hurt millions of working Argentinians. Meanwhile, leaders of the G7 are meeting in Italy to discuss increasing economic pressure on Russia in response to its war against Ukraine. And around the world, hundreds of thousands of tons of nuclear waste are piling up in temporary storage, but Finland thinks it has a solution.