Good morning and welcome to Thursday. Many of you have written to us in the past requesting that we provide y’all with the ability to share stories directly via email, not just by copying + pasting a web link.

Well, that day is here. In fact, it’s been here for a few days... and no one on our editorial team has noticed.

Since people on our own team haven’t even realized, we wanted to quickly bring it to your attention. Look close and you’ll see that we subtly switched out the previous LinkedIn share icon with an email icon. Easy to miss. (Or so we’re telling ourselves.)

📝 Tl;dr: You previously couldn’t share our stories directly via email – but now you can.

🍩 Another shameless plug: If you want to share this entire newsletter with a friend or two, we have a pretty cool referral program. You can check it out at the bottom.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 3.95 minutes to read.

🇺🇦 The Ukrainian government voted to introduce a 30-day state of emergency yesterday and recommended that millions of citizens living in Russia leave immediately due to a growing threat of war.

• The country also called up military reservists between the ages of 18 and 60 and enacted a measure allowing all citizens to carry firearms. 
• President Volodymyr Zelensky (☝️) has said he’ll invoke martial law if Russian troops advance any further into the country.
• The EU announced more sanctions against Russia’s defense minister and the country’s Internet Research Agency; they’re still being referred to as the ‘first wave’ of sanctions, with more to come should Russia further escalate the conflict.
• A cyberattack on Wednesday took down Ukrainian government websites and banks, the country's digital minister confirmed on Telegram; the US has repeatedly said it believes Russia is behind recent cyberattacks against Ukraine.

🇺🇸 Closer to home: The US stock market continued to slide, with all three major indexes closing down more than 1% for the second straight day. (Dow: -1.4% | S&P: -1.8% | Nasdaq: -2.6%)

🚨 Breaking news: Earlier this morning, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including on the country's capital of Kyiv. The situation is still unfolding.

+The latest coverage: From the Left | From the Right

The activity of a dying human brain was recorded for the first time ever, according to a study published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.

🧠 The setup... Scientists didn’t set out to study such activity – it just happened by chance. They were continuously monitoring the brain of an 87-year-old patient with epilepsy for seizures, inadvertently capturing the data when the patient died suddenly of a heart attack.

• As such, the researchers managed to record 15 minutes of brain activity around the time of death. The study focused on the 30 seconds on either side of when the patient’s heart stopped beating.

📋 The results: During that time, researchers detected increased activity in the types of brain waves known as gamma oscillations, which are involved in processes like dreaming, meditation and memory retrieval. Similar changes have previously been detected in rats, but never before in humans.

The study’s authors concluded that the human brain “may be playing a last recall of important life events just before we die, similar to the ones reported in near-death experiences.”

✋ Yes, but… They also stressed the results should be taken with a grain of salt, since the data comes from a single case study of a patient whose brain was already experiencing unusual activity related to epilepsy.

💉 French drugmaker Sanofi and its British partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are seeking FDA and EU approval for a co-developed Covid vaccine, which has shown to be 100% effective at preventing hospitalizations and severe cases of Covid according to early data from its Phase 3 trial.

• The data also show a 57.9% efficacy at preventing any symptomatic disease. Sanofi and GSK are looking to have their shot approved both as a booster and an original two-dose regimen.
• “No other global Phase 3 efficacy study has been undertaken during this period with so many variants of concern, including Omicron,” said Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president of Sanofi Vaccines.

🌎 Other news:

• New York state suspended its booster-shot mandate for health care workers since not enough of them had received one yet (~61%), though its original vaccine mandate is still in effect.
• Australia reopened its borders to all foreigners this week for the first time in two years.
• Hong Kong is requiring its seven-and-a-half million citizens to undergo three mandatory tests apiece next month; the country has seen its total cases over the past 2+ years increase five-fold since January.

There are few things cozier than curling up with a hot beverage, especially during these cold winter months. 🥶

But what makes them so comforting?

🤯 Did you know?… When we drink hot beverages, circulation actually improves due to expanding blood vessels. This increases blood flow, which is associated with muscle relaxation.

The soothing ritual of preparing the beverage and allowing it to cool also helps us slow down and relax the mind.

🍵Off to dreamland… If you’re looking for the ultimate warm beverage to help unwind before bed, make sure to check out Dream Powder from our friends at Beam.

Dream Powder is a delicious easy-to-prepare hot beverage. It’s available in Cinnamon Cocoa or White Chocolate Peppermint (for a limited time).

Like all Beam products, Dream Powder uses only the highest quality ingredients, including magnesium, reishi, L-theanine, and CBD. with 0 added sugar and only 15 calories, it’s the perfect night-time treat 😴

🤤 And while you’re there… make sure to check out the entire Beam store. They sell a lot of other cool stuff that will help you hydrate, energize, recover, and focus.

Use the code DONUT for 15% off any purchase or 35% off the first month of a subscription!

Google is dropping some Covid-related employee mandates and restoring perks to its headquarters as it prepares to bring workers back to the office, according to an internal email obtained by CNBC. 

🏢 It’s not alone…

• Microsoft and Expedia told workers last week to prepare to come back to the office.
• American Express and BNY Mellon plan to call workers back in March.
• Wells Fargo has announced a flexible hybrid model starting March 14, with most employees coming in three days a week.

📸 The big picture: According to a Gallup survey, 26% of full-time workers were still working exclusively from home as of December 2021.

74% of U.S. companies are using or plan to implement a permanent hybrid work model, per Zippia research.

+ Dig deeper: How the pandemic continues to reshape work in America → (Pew Research)

• ☝️ The Three Pietàs of Michelangelo are on display together for the first time ever at the Opera del Duomo Museum in Italy.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🎙️ LinkedIn is launching its own podcast network.
• 🎯 Target shoppers using the company’s curbside pickup option will be able to return items and pick up Starbucks without leaving their car; it'll launch this fall at select stores. | The bulls-eye retailer also lifted its mask requirement for staff and shoppers.
• 🍺 Molson Coors reported annual revenue growth for the first time in more than a decade.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎤 BTS announced an upcoming four-night residency in Las Vegas.
• 🎭 Tom Brady will produce and act in an upcoming road trip comedy from Paramount called 80 for Brady, per the Hollywood Reporter; it’ll also include iconic actresses Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field.
• 🎥 A new documentary and exposé published by Vanity Fair accuses legendary comedian Jerry Lewis of sexual harassment and assault.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🐦 Magpies outwitted scientists in a recent study by helping each other remove tracking harnesses, sometimes within minutes of the researchers putting them on; it’s one of the first documented instances of such behavior.
• 👃 Canadian startup Sniffly created a research-based training program to help those with long Covid regain their sense of smell.
• 🎧 We're more trusting of and persuaded by things we hear through our headphones, according to a new study from UC San Diego, UCLA and UC Berkeley.

BEST OF THE REST (SHOULD BE CALLED "POLITICS" TODAY)

• ⚖️ Two prosecutors leading the Manhattan DA’s investigation into former President Trump and his business resigned yesterday; a parallel civil and criminal investigation by the NY AG is still ongoing; Trump himself has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing. (From the Left | From the Right)
• 🏛️ The Pentagon is deploying 700 National Guard troops to patrol DC in preparation for the arrival of a trucker convoy protesting pandemic restrictions. (From the Left | From the Right)
• ​​​​🇨🇦 Canadian PM Justin Trudeau revoked his government’s use of emergency powers to deal with trucker-inspired protests; the government also instructed banks to unlock financial accounts belonging to individuals involved in the Ottawa ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest. (From the Left | From the Right)

+Feel Good Clickbait... When your mom visits you at work.

💬 Quoted… “​​I am greatly encouraged by the Justice Department investigating short sellers… This is something the SEC should have done, but, curiously, did not.”

Elon Musk cheered on the DOJ’s decision to investigate well-known short sellers for alleged instances of “spoofing”, or illegally using fake orders to pump or crash a stock's price. Dig deeper.

🔢 Stat of the day: Based on last year’s base salaries of $3.8 billion, MLB players would lose a combined ~$20.5 million for each day wiped off the schedule should the ongoing lockout continue into the regular-season.

🤯 Did you know?… Many countries have unique calendars that stand apart from the rest of the world. For example, in Ethiopia the current year is 2014. In Taiwan, it’s the year 111, and in Nepal it's either 2078, 2148 or 1142, depending on who you ask.

• These discrepancies exist because the calendars either use significant historical events other than the birth of Jesus as ‘Year 0’ – like the founding of the Republic of China – or attribute the year of his birth to a different date.

📖 Worth a read… The Man Who Got Fired by His DAO → (Platformer)

📝 QUICK NOTE: These responses were captured before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Deploy troops/equipment to Ukraine – “We need to put our foot down forcefully, now, or Putin will try to reestablish the entire Soviet Union. He has stated his desire to do so for years.”

Stay out of any military conflict, but impose sanctions – “On one hand, it's not our fight. But on the other hand, Russia is a playground bully who’ll continue to push boundaries until somebody puts them in their place. The US and other nations need to give them a very stern and unified warning.”

Nothing, it’s not our problem – “We're contributing to the destabilization of this region in pursuit of setting up democracies. That should sound familiar, and it shouldn't sound like something that’s going to work out well.”

Unsure/Other – “Sending troops only further entrenches the American military industrial complex. Meanwhile, as much as they say they’re targeting Russian oligarchs, the burden of economic sanctions will always fall on the people.”

+Sample size: We received 4,873 responses. 👏🥳 Some may have been lightly edited for grammar or clarity.

Who doesn't love a good Starbucks on a busy day?

One Texas teenager feels especially grateful after her baristas cleverly intervened when she was approached by an unknown man while studying in their shop.

☕️ Talk about customer service... Sensing trouble, the barista brought her an “extra hot chocolate” on the house, writing a note on the back of the cup:

• “Are you okay?" read the message, “Do you want us to intervene? If you do, take the lid off the cup.”
• Thankfully the teen felt safe enough not to need intervention, but she was grateful for the gesture either way.

❤️ Bottom line: “This reaffirms my faith in humanity,” shared the teen’s mom. “Maybe just seeing this story, others… if given the opportunity to say something or turn away, they would say something.”

Here’s the First Activity: We give you a string of emojis. You give us the title of the movie they represent. Ready? (Hint: it was released in the past decade.)

🌴🕺💞💃🎥🎬🎷🎹

Most Valuable Binge… Bloomberg recently uncovered a ranking of the 10 biggest streaming deals for old TV shows.

Rank the following shows from least to most valuable.

A) Friends

B) The Office

C) South Park

D) Seinfeld

Daily Trivia: Who is the world’s highest-grossing female movie star ever?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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:

Emojis → Movie: La La Land

Shows: South Park ($348k/episode per year), Friends ($360k), Seinfeld ($361k – that has to be by design), The Office ($498k)

Trivia: Scarlett Johansson; since her film debut at age 10, she’s appeared in 40 movies that brought in a collective $14.3 billion at the box office as of March 2021.