🐫 Jump the Hump

🇺🇸🇷🇺 U.S. Sanctions Russia Over Navalny

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia yesterday in response to the poisoning and subsequent imprisonment of Alexei Navalny, the country’s opposition leader.

• The sanctions apply to seven senior Russian officials - including the head of the Federal Security Service - along with 14 entities mostly tied to the production of chemical and/or biological agents.

More: The sanctions came days after news broke that Navalny had been transported to a penal colony outside Moscow.

⚖️ SCOTUS Hears Voting Arguments

The Supreme Court heard nearly two hours of oral arguments by teleconference yesterday in a case challenging two GOP-backed voting restrictions in Arizona.

• One disqualifies ballots that were cast in the wrong precinct, while the other prohibits a voter’s absentee ballot from being delivered by anyone other than a family member or caregiver.

Democrats argued the laws violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race. Republicans argued the laws are meant to prevent voter fraud.

🔓 Texas & Mississippi Reopen

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) announced yesterday their states’ will lift mask mandates and allow businesses to operate at 100% capacity.

• Both governors cited a decline in new COVID-19 infections and the increasing distribution of vaccines as motivations behind their decisions.

More: Mississippi’s order takes effect today, while Texas’ order will be implemented next Wednesday (March 10).

Even More: North Dakota, Montana, and Iowa have also lifted mask mandates in recent weeks.

⏰ Catch Up Quick:

🏛️ The Senate confirmed Miguel Cardona as education secretary in a 64-33 vote on Monday. (Left-Center | Right-Center) | The Senate also confirmed Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo as commerce secretary in a 84-15 vote. (Left-Center | Right-Center) | President Biden withdrew the nomination of Neera Tanden for Director of the Office of Management and Budget yesterday evening. (Left-Center | Right-Center) 

🏆 The Golden Globes were watched by a record-low 6.9M people this year, according to final ratings from Nielsen – down from 18.3M in 2020.

☝️ 1 Last Thing…

Image: BBC

Properties in Exeter, England, are being assessed for structural damage after the controlled detonation of a World War II bomb last Friday.

• Hundreds of people were evacuated from the area prior to the blast, which blew out the doors and windows of nearby houses.

💉 Shot in the Arm

Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. agreed to assist rival Johnson & Johnson in producing its newly approved, single-shot COVID-19 vaccine as part of a White House-brokered deal, President Biden revealed yesterday.

• In the same announcement, Biden said the U.S. would have enough COVID-19 vaccines for all American adults by the end of May – two months earlier than the previous White House timeline.

More: Johnson & Johnson plans to deliver 100M doses of its vaccine to the U.S. in the first half of 2021.

🚀🌕 To the Moon

Shares of online mortgage provider Rocket Companies rose more than 70% yesterday, though no apparent news was made public regarding the company.

• Nearly 40% of its shares are sold short, according to FactSet, leading some reports to speculate the company is a target for ‘meme-obsessed investors’ from r/WallStreetBets – the same group that caused GameStop’s stock to skyrocket (and subsequently come back down to Earth).

More: The increase represents Rocket Companies’ biggest one-day gain since it went public last August.

👂 Hear, Hear

Apple released results from its ongoing public hearing study with the University of Michigan, which uses data from Apple’s “Research” app.

• Out of the “thousands” of participants, 25% experienced an average daily exposure to environmental sounds exceeding the WHO’s recommended limit.
• Twenty-five percent experience ringing in their ears a few times a week or more, which could be a sign of hearing damage.
• Ten percent of participants had an average headphone sound exposure above the WHO limit.

More: Read all the preliminary results.

Even More: Today is World Hearing Day, which is dedicated to raising awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss while promoting ear and hearing care across the world.

❤️‍🔥 Warm Your Heart

Last month’s sweeping winter storm caused tens of millions of homes across America to lose power in record-breaking cold temperatures.

• Cold, dark, and without heat, 14-year-old Eric Edwards of Dinwiddie, VA, resorted to chopping wood in his backyard to keep his family’s fireplace going.

Images: NBC12News

As the days went by, Eric and his family began taking drives around town, searching for more logs to split and bring home.

• In doing so, they discovered many of their neighbors were in the same predicament and struggling to stay warm.

Eric immediately volunteered to collect, split, load up, and deliver wood to anyone in the town who needed it – free of charge.

• “Not many people do it,” Eric said, referring to people going out of their way to help others. “If you help, maybe you will get helped later on in life.”

Snacks, Smiles, and Trees… yes, please!

Not only can you munch on some delicious plant based cookies and crackers with Back to Nature, but you can help the environment while doing it (#multitasking). Back to Nature is partnered with The Nature Conservancy in their quest to plant a BILLION trees. 🤯

One Billion 🌳🌳🌳
The Nature Conservancy has a global mission to restore our world’s forests. Their goal is a billion trees and they are already well underway. These new trees can help curb the effects of climate change, provide clean air and fresh drinking water, and secure homes for thousands of species of plants and animals

• So get snacking!