• ☝️ You’re looking at the winner of the Event Photography Awards’ special ‘Best Ever’ contest, held in celebration of its 10th anniversary.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 US markets rose across the board (S&P: +1.0%; Dow: +0.8%; Nasdaq: +1.5%). | 🏡 ~73,000 houses were pulled from sale after they failed to find a buyer in December, per CoreLogic data; that figure represents ~1 in 10 properties on the market; is also a 64% increase from the same month in 2023. | 🤠 The NYSE is moving its Chicago branch to Texas; will call it "NYSE Texas."
• ✌️ Joann, the fabric and crafts chain, is closing 500 stores, or ~60% of its locations. | 🥚 Some retailers, including Trader Joe's and Kroger, have started limiting egg purchases.
• 📝 President Trump ordered federal agencies to explore how to adjust US tariffs to match those of other countries (“reciprocal tariffs”).

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Kalshi

• ⚾️ Free agent Alex Bregman agreed to a three-year, $120 million deal with the Boston Red Sox; he’s played for the Houston Astros since 2020.
• ⚖️ Sean "Diddy" Combs filed a $100M defamation lawsuit against NBCUniversal over claims made in Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy, a documentary that premiered on Peacock in January.
• 🧝‍♀️ The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been renewed for a third season by Amazon. | 📺 Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special is set to air…live from New York on Sunday night.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🤢 24+ million influenza cases have been recorded in the US so far this season; it's the most active flu season in more than a decade.
• 🌃 The northern lights (aurora borealis) could be visible as far south as northern Michigan and Maine over the coming days; visibility depends on solar winds. | 🖥️ Frontier, the second fastest supercomputer in the world, ran the largest and most complicated simulation of the universe on record.
• 🐊 Alligators and nearly three dozen other species use storm water sewer systems to traverse an urban area in Florida, per a new study. | ☠️ 6,000-year-old human remains were found in England’s River Thames, per a new study.

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with Autio

• 🤝 Israel and Hamas agreed to resolve a dispute that threatened to derail their ongoing cease-fire agreement; Hamas says it will release Israeli hostages this weekend as planned.
• ⚖️ Six senior DOJ officials resigned after refusing to comply with orders from the Trump administration to dismiss the corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams.
• 🏛️🏥 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as Health Secretary in a 52-48 Senate vote mostly along party lines.

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CLICKBAIT

• 😋🍕 America's most popular pizza toppings.