Fresh out of Barnard College with a degree in political science, Riley is a writer and reporter for GZERO. When she isn’t writing about global politics, you can find her making GZERO’s crossword puzzles, conducting research on American politics, or persisting in her lifelong quest to learn French. Riley spends her time outside of work grilling, dancing, and wearing many hats (both literally and figuratively).
600 million: The Trump administration canceled a $600 million Moderna contract to develop a bird-flu vaccine, and simultaneously ended a Biden-era deal with the pharmaceutical giant aimed at pandemic preparedness. The move also forfeited priority access to doses, and follows ongoing scrutiny of mRNA technology by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-0.2: US GDP contracted by an annualized rate of 0.2% in Q1 of 2025, marking the first decline since 2022. The drop followed 2.4% annualized growth in Q4 2024. Q1 stats were skewed, though, by a spike in imports from incoming tariff fears, without matching increases in inventories or consumer spending.
3: The US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation opened a third aid site Thursday, with more planned as crowds of Palestinians seeking assistance strain the system.
26,000: Chinese paraglider Peng Yujiang was testing his equipment on the ground when a gust of wind swept him over 26,000 feet in the air — nearly the height of Mount Everest and in line with airplane flight paths. There, he endured -31°F temperatures and briefly lost consciousness. Since his accidental flight was unregistered, China will not record any breaking of world records and has banned him from flying for six months.
