Vox Sentences: The coming Democratic war over Obama’s trade deal

Welcome to Vox Sentences, our news bulletin breaking down the day's biggest stories.

1. TPP gets on the fast track

Protestors outside a March speech by Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images News)

• Key congressional committees reached a deal to give Obama authority to negotiate the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bill, and Congress won't be able to amend it.

  [New York Times / Jonathan Weisman]

• The TPP would remove tariffs and other trade barriers between the US and 11 Asian and Pacific countries — sort of like the region's NAFTA.

  [Vox / Danielle Kurtzleben]

• WikiLeaks has disclosed one of the most controversial chapters of the agreement, on how companies can challenge foreign countries' laws.

  [Vox / Danielle Kurtzleben]

• Some Democrats are furious, and top Senate leaders, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, already say they oppose the trade agreement.

  [Dow Jones / William Mauldin]

• Here's why the Obama administration is pursuing the deal, even though unions and other liberal allies hate it.

  [Vox / Ezra Klein]

• The TPP debate is incredibly frustrating, because the argument doesn't usually focus on the key issue at hand.

  [Vox / Matt Yglesias]

2. Why everyone is freaking out about the new Star Wars teaser

(Star Wars)

• The new Star Wars teaser trailer is out, and Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon and Chewbacca are all there!

  [Vox / Todd VanDerWerff]

• The trailer raises a lot of questions, including "What happened to Luke Skywalker's synthetic flesh?"

  [HitFix / Donna Dickens]

• The Battle of Hoth was the Galactic Empire's most spectacular military fiasco.

  [Wired / Spencer Ackerman]

• Okay, but how would the physics of space combat actually work?

• The first trailer for Star Wars: A New Hope didn't have John Williams's music — and it was terrible.

  [Vox / Todd VanDerWerff]

• Vox has a house style for Chewbacca's roar, in case you were wondering; it's EWUUUAUUUGHHHH.

  [Vox / Tanya Pai]

3. Only 576 days until Election Day

• The debate about whether Hillary Clinton is the 2016 favorite isn't really about Hillary.

  [Vox / Andrew Prokop]

• Maya Harris is Clinton's most interesting hire, because the decision hints at how she would hold the Obama coalition together.

  [Vox / Ezra Klein]

• Teachers unions are excited about the prospect of Clinton replacing Obama.

  [Vox / Libby Nelson]

• Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton wrote a love letter to Elizabeth Warren in Time magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people.

  [Vox / German Lopez]

• Clinton has taken a firm stance on gay marriage as a constitutional right.

  [Mother Jones / Patrick Caldwell]

4. Misc.

• Dr. Oz was once an award-winning surgeon — and then he decided to embrace fame over science.

  [Vox / Julia Belluz]

• The number of middle and high school students using e-cigarettes tripled in the past year.

  [Vox / German Lopez]

• Now that Etsy has IPO'd, can it balance its social objectives with its obligations to shareholders?

  [BBC / Kim Gittleson]

• Dogs get an oxytocin boost when staring into their owners' eyes, just like the people do.

  [NPR / Geoff Brumfiel]

• Pope Francis has ended the Vatican's takeover of the main American nuns' group, ending a standoff that's lasted years.

  [Washington Post / Abby Ohlheiser]

5. Verbatim

• "Or would it all be staged, a Potemkin race in an authoritarian capital for the elite and loyal, our perceptions influenced by stories in the West, true or not, that Kim Jong-il scored a perfect 300 in his first bowling match and five holes in one on his maiden round of golf?"

  [New York Times / Jeré Longman]

• "The message is clear—enter Florida at your own risk (the risk is death by nude drug murderer, and the chance is 100 percent)."

  [Gawker / Sam Biddle]

• "I think about this, too, when I run. I think about Janet’s kind brown eyes and Melissa’s fearlessness and Todd’s craziness and Dr. Koufos’ dedication and love and warmth. And then I ask myself, How have you kept them alive?"

  [SB Nation / Matt Tullis]

• "It is possible that managers of corporations don’t need to be told explicitly to overcharge passengers because they already know that it’s in their bosses’ interest, and hence their own."

  [Slate / Eric Posner and E. Glen Weyl]

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