Good morning and happy Friday. There’s a big weekend ahead of us so let’s just dive right in. 🏈💘

⏰🚀 Ready, Set, Go: Today's news takes 4.35 minutes to read. Then it's the fun stuff.

"They say love is the best investment; the more you give, the more you get in return."

–Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993)

🔌🔋 Nearly $7.5 billion of the bipartisan infrastructure plan will go toward developing a nationwide network of half a million fast-charging EV stations by the end of the decade, the Biden administration announced yesterday. The US currently has ~114,000 EV charging stations, with 36% of those in the state of California.

The deployment of funds will be overseen by the new Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, a very creatively-named combination of the Departments of Energy and Transportation.

📋 According to the guidance…

• States should use their interstate networks like a spine, and install EV charging infrastructure every 50 miles along highways and not more than one mile away from an exit (The JOET will oversee future expansion into remote rural and crowded urban areas)
• States should fund chargers with a minimum of 150 KW at each port (30-45 minutes of charging to top up), and stations should have at least four ports capable of simultaneous charging
• Federal money will cover 80% of the cost

+The big picture: "Even with the newer higher range EVs going 200, 300, 400 miles, range anxiety is… sometimes the top barrier to somebody acquiring an electric vehicle that could already stand to save them and their family a lot of gas money," DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Car and Driver.

One-in-five EV owners have made the switch back to gas due to a lack of charging access, according to a recent survey.  

🏛️ Congress this week approved a bipartisan bill that would ban companies from forcing employees into arbitration to address complaints of sexual assault and harassment.

• The measure passed in the House by a 335-97 margin and was carried in the Senate by unanimous consent. It’ll now go to President Biden’s desk for his signature.
• Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson (☝️) is widely credited with bringing together lawmakers from both parties to support the bill following a years-long campaign.
• In 2016, she became one of the first high-profile cases of the #MeToo movement by suing now-deceased Fox News CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment.
• Carlson was initially told she didn’t have a case due to a forced arbitration clause in her contract, so she ended up suing Ailes personally under New York civil rights law and later settled with Fox for $20 million.
• An estimated 60 million American workers have similar clauses forcing them to settle any allegations of sexual misconduct in private arbitration, rather than in court.
• Many companies defend the practice by saying it’s faster, more efficient, and ensures a greater level of privacy for employees with harassment claims.

+More: Some progressive lawmakers are also pushing to ban forced arbitration for other employee complaints, including those regarding racial discrimination, wage disputes, or labor practices.

+Go deeper: From the Left | From the Right

📺 The streaming platform ran its first-ever test of live streaming capabilities in the US this week, broadcasting the Oscar nomination ceremony on Disney+. It was also streamed simultaneously on Disney-owned Hulu and ABC.

• The company hasn’t shared any specific livestreaming plans, but internet sleuths have allegedly uncovered clues – for instance, the link https://www.disneyplus.com/espn/details/sport-event/ was added to the DisneyPlus.com sitemap.
• Per TechCrunch, the Disney+ Hotstar service in India already offers live sports to consumers, so it wouldn’t be a stretch for the company to consider doing something similar in the US. Disney also owns ESPN.
• In addition to sports, some speculate the platform could eventually play host to marquee events, like awards shows and live TV musicals, or live streams associated with existing Disney events like the D23 Expo.
• Others speculate the company will create its own channels for the platform, or make existing channels exclusive to Disney+. Last year, CEO Bob Chapek announced plans to close 100 TV networks around the globe in response to audiences transitioning to streaming.

+Zoom out: In December, Viacom added 18 “live” channels to its streaming service, Paramount+. The themed channels run 24 hours a day and include a curated list of shows and movies from the brands it owns, like CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, and the Smithsonian Channel.

🤔 Did you know?... As early as age 5, many girls have developed self-limiting beliefs and think they aren’t as smart or capable as boys – and 1 in 8 boys believe it is important to be “tough.” Kids’ clothes and products often contribute to this problem by pushing gender stereotypes and limiting children's interests from the time they’re learning to crawl.

🌎🚀 A brand making a difference: Piccolina is a lifestyle brand on a mission to empower all children to be brave, kind, and curious, based on the belief that today’s children are tomorrow’s changemakers.

🎨🚺 Piccolina’s clothes are not only high quality, comfy, and play friendly … they also spark important conversations! All of Piccolina’s products are designed around enriching themes that build a foundation for interests in science, engineering, art, math, civil rights and more.

🏆 Don’t take our word for it… Piccolina was recognized as one of Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2021” and featured in Oprah’s Favorite Things!

🙌 A brand that gives back… Piccolina’s values of social justice, equality and inclusion are woven into all aspects of the women-owned-and-operated business – from design and manufacturing, to giving back 1% of their sales to non-profit partners supporting children in need. This February, Piccolina will be donating $1 for every order to Black Mamas Matter Alliance in commemoration of Black History Month.

Empower your kids today and check out Piccolina!

🏈 The Rams will face off against the Bengals in LA on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET. What you need to know ahead of gametime:

• The Bengals are seeking their first championship in franchise history after starting the season with the second-worst odds to win out of all 32 teams (150-to-1).
• The Rams are going for their second title overall, and first since moving to LA from St. Louis in 2016.
• The American Gaming Association estimates a record $7.6+ billion will be gambled on Sunday's game by 31.4 million US adults.
• That’s a 35% increase over last year, with 45 million more Americans now able to legally wager on sports thanks to new state laws.
• Popular prop bets include how many commercials will have a dog in them, which color Gatorade will be poured on the winning head coach, and whether Snoop Dogg will smoke weed during his halftime performance (which will also feature Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige).

+Fortune favors the bold: This year’s commercials are expected to be crypto-heavy, with Coinbase, FTX, Binance, and Crypto.com all planning to air ads (which cost an estimated $6.5 million per 30-second slot).

+Commish talk: In his annual state-of-the-league conference this week, Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL won’t “take anything off the table” as it seeks to address diversity issues raised in a recent lawsuit from ex-Dolphins head coach Brian Flores.

+Fun fact: Only two quarterbacks in history have won a college football national championship and a Super Bowl, and both of them were named Joe – Montana and Namath. On Sunday, Bengals QB Joe Burrow has a chance to become the third.

💬 Quoted… “They have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep.”

• Authorities believe actor and comedian Bob Saget died from head trauma in a Florida hotel room early last month.

🔢 Number of the Day… There are now 1,000 unicorns in the world. Not the mythical creature – the amount of private startups worth at least $1 billion.

🤯 Did you know?… During the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russians drilled a small "mouse hole” in a secure anti-doping lab and, in the dead of night, used it to switch out over 100 samples showing their athletes' PED use.

• The Russians went on to clean up in the Sochi Games, but their doping actions later resulted in a four-year Olympic ban.
• The saga was inadvertently captured by a documentary crew working on an entirely different project. They decided to pivot mid-production and focus on Russia, eventually releasing the Oscar-winning documentary Icarus.

📖 Worth a read… The vicious cycle of food and sleep → (Knowable)

• 👆 All three major US indexes fell more than 1% yesterday following the release of new data showing US consumer prices rose 7.5% over the past year – the most since February 1982.
• 🏀 The Brooklyn Nets agreed to trade James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks; the 76ers will also receive Paul Millsap.
• 👃 Scientists in Japan have developed an "antimicrobial textile coating" made out of chemicals in wine and chocolate that can neutralize body odor; the tech could be used to make clothing that won't smell even after several uses.
• 🎤 Snoop Dogg acquired Death Row Records, the rap label founded by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight. | He’s also been accused of sexual assault and battery in a new lawsuit referencing an incident that allegedly occurred in 2013.
• 🎓 Dollywood, the theme park founded by Dolly Parton, announced it will cover 100% of all tuition, fees, and books for any employee pursuing their education.

+Clickbait: The life expectancy for each of the 50 states, according to the CDC.

Facial recognition technology is increasingly common throughout society. We can unlock our phones with our faces, smart doorbells let us know who’s outside our home, and services like Clear let us attend events or fly on airplanes using our face as an ID.

But everyone isn’t on board with this new trend – just ask the IRS, which came to that conclusion this week after announcing a program that would’ve required taxpayers to verify their identity using facial recognition software from ID.me.

• The agency reversed course in the face of backlash from lawmakers and privacy groups, some of whom cited research showing the technology is less accurate when identifying people of color.

🤿 A deeper dive… Proponents of facial recognition argue it would significantly increase cybersecurity, keeping out fraudsters who’ve become adept at stealing other information like common passwords.

• The technology has been shown to work with a 99.8% accuracy rate under good conditions – and even that requirement is slipping away. Apple’s next iOS update will allow you to unlock your iPhone even while wearing a mask.

✋ Yes, but: Many critics warn that there’s no guarantee hackers won’t become just as proficient at stealing facial images. And faces can’t be changed like passwords once they’ve been compromised.

• What’s more, the federal government has yet to impose any regulations governing how facial recognition companies should store and use their data.

🇺🇸 Zoom out: Nine other federal agencies besides the IRS are already using ID.me services, along with 30 states’ unemployment offices.

For its part, ID.me this week announced it would no longer require facial recognition, instead offering the option for users to verify their identity in a video call with a human agent.

☝️ You're looking at Benny, a five-year-old lab who possesses a unique talent: ice skating.

• "We had no idea that he would be able to skate the first try or that he would love being on the ice,” his owner Cheryl DelSangro shared with the American Kennel Club. “It was almost like he was copying me.”

⛸️ A generous pup... Benny doesn't just skate for his own enjoyment. The pooch works with multiple charities and non-profit organizations to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.   

• He was even honored with one of the American Kennel Club’s coveted Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence this past year. 

Watch Benny in action.

DONUT HQ is located in the city of Austin, which has a motto: “Keep Austin Weird.”

Today’s headlines represent the most unusual, off-the-wall, and occasionally laugh-out-loud stories from this week – but there’s a catch. One of the options is 100% fake. Can you pick out which one?

Department store tempts shoppers with sex therapy and 'psychedelic trips'

‘Bored’ security guard fired on first day after ruining $1 million painting by drawing on it

Giant cube made out of Jell-O mysteriously appears in Central Park 

Olympian defends China’s internet freedom, message is censored

A Florida home is being auctioned off as an NFT

(answer at the bottom of the email)

How many total dots are on a single six-sided die?

(keep scrolling for the answer)

Check out our referral prizes you can get just for introducing people you know to this newsletter. 👇

Here’s your unique link to copy & send to anyone you think would like the DONUT:

Dose of Knowledge:

21 (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6)

Keep Earth Weird:

Sadly, there isn't a mysterious giant cube of Jell-O in Central Park... yet. 😉