Good morning and welcome to March. An art collective called MSCHF has announced the MSAT – a one-off, winner-takes-all multiplayer version of the SATs. The entry fee is $52, and the winner walks away with the entire pool of cash.

But there’s a catch: Cheating isn’t just allowed… it’s encouraged. Why? Because “college admissions are mostly about cheating – rich parents, legacies, and sports are much more likely to get you into Harvard than your test scores are,” according to the group’s founder.

To all of our teachers and students out there: Good take or nah?

In today’s email:

• The global impact of Russia/Ukraine
• TikTok is a’changing
• Do you know the world's most popular tourist destination?

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 3.67 minutes to read.

"Opportunities multiply as they are seized, but you need the first opportunity."

–Sun Tzu (544 BC – 496 BC)

🇺🇦 A delegation led by Ukraine’s defense minister held the first round of cease-fire talks with Russian officials in Belarus yesterday. The meeting concluded without any tangible results, though both sides agreed to a second round of talks as fighting continued throughout Ukraine.

• Moscow has deployed nearly 75% of its assembled troops into Ukraine and launched 380+ missiles, per a US defense official. 
• Satellite images show the Russian convoy headed to Kyiv has grown to about 40 miles in length.
• The head of the UN’s refugee agency said more than 500,000 Ukrainians have fled the country in the past four days, with the majority of them currently in Poland.
• President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a membership application formally requesting that Ukraine join the EU. Over the weekend, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc – which has no formal obligation to defend other members from attack – wants Ukraine as a member.
• Switzerland strayed from its famed doctrine of neutrality and pledged to abide by EU sanctions against Russia.
• On Monday, the Treasury Department imposed new sanctions effectively cutting off Russia’s central bank from transacting with the US dollar, both at home and abroad.
• This move came after the US and Western allies targeted ~$630 billion in Russian foreign currency reserves, which was described as Putin’s war chest to stave off sanctions. An estimated 50+% of those reserves are now off-limits to Moscow.

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

📊 The Economy: The Russian ruble fell nearly 30% against the US dollar yesterday, but recovered some ground after Russia’s central bank raised interest rates from 9.5% to 20%. One ruble is now worth less than $0.01, a record low. 

• JPMorgan estimates the Russian economy will contract by ~20% this quarter compared to last.

⛽️ Oil & Gas: Oil prices rose nearly 5% yesterday to reach ~$98.50 per barrel, less than one week after hitting $100 per barrel for the first time since 2014. The average US price for a gallon of gas has risen 10 cents over the past two weeks, currently clocking in at $3.64 per gallon.

⚽️🌏 Sports: FIFA and UEFA suspended Russia’s national and club teams from all international competition “until further notice” yesterday; if the suspension extends into Russia’s World Cup qualifier match against Poland on March 24, the team would be excluded from the tournament. 

• Separately, the IOC recommended that all international governing bodies “not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials.”

📉📈 Markets: The Moscow Exchange was closed on Monday – and it'll stay closed today, too. As of last Thursday, Russian billionaires had lost more than $126 billion over the preceding eight days. 

• US markets swung up and down several times yesterday, leaving the major indexes with mixed results. (Dow: -0.5% | S&P: -0.2% | Nasdaq: +0.4%)

⚖️ The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in West Virginia v. EPA, a case that asks whether the federal government can broadly regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants.

• Currently, no law exists that directly limits power plants from emitting CO2. The Republican attorneys general of 18 states are seeking to block potential climate initiatives that the Biden administration could propose in the future.
• Yesterday, they argued before the Court that the decision to regulate GHG emissions should be left to Congress rather than the executive branch.
• On the other side, many of the nation’s largest electric utilities – the companies that would be subject to such regulation – filed legal briefs in support of the government, along with 192 members of Congress and tech giants like Apple, Google and Netflix.
• They argued the executive branch is merely implementing laws that Congress already made. Specifically, they cite the 1970 Clean Air Act, which gives the EPA broad authority to regulate air pollution (including GHGs per a 5-4 SCOTUS decision in 2007, which may end up being overturned).
• Those EPA powers are considered essential to President Biden’s climate agenda, since Democrats have a limited ability to pass new legislation due to their razor-thin margin in the Senate.

👀⚖️ Looking ahead... The Court’s decision is expected before July.

+Dig deeper: From the Left | From the Right

🧐 What’s going on with this pic? Why do they both look so good? What is it that Beyonce and Mac from It’s Always Sunny have in common? So many questions!!!

💡The answer is they both have amazing taste in fashion brands and choose to rep the one and only Sub_Urban Riot!

Started at the beginning of the financial crisis by two friends who refused to settle for corporate life, Sub_Urban Riot offers affordable – yet sustainable – clothing with some attitude. (Read the full story here!)

Their clothes don’t cost an 💪 and a 🦵 , and they’re not gonna wear out after two washes (or contribute to an environmental crisis!).

👚 Fashion + flexibility… Whether it’s the gym, the office, or at home, Sub_Urban Riot has something for all occasions. And if it’s humor, edge or positivity your fit needs, you can add a bit of spice without becoming the dreaded tryhard! 😤

• Flaunt your style with the same Riot Tee as Mac or Kale Sweatshirt as Beyonce. Also available in different styles and colors!

PLUS – they offer free shipping on orders above $75 (US only).

Use code DONUT for 30% off your order today!

… ten-minute TikToks. The short-form social video platform confirmed yesterday that it’s extending the max length of videos on its platform from three minutes to ten minutes.

📱 This isn’t the first time…

• Musical.ly, which eventually turned into TikTok, started as a 15-second video platform.
• TikTok extended the max video length from 15 → 60 seconds.
• Then it was increased to three minutes last July.

📸 The big picture: Somewhat ironically, TikTok is creeping into Facebook Video/YouTube territory at the same time many of its competitors are leaning into shorter-form videos (Shorts, Spotlight, Reels).

UK and US users spend more time on TikTok than YouTube per month – but YouTube is still #1 in total time overall spent watching content, according to a recent report from App Annie. With this move, that could change soon.

+Flash poll for our fellow Tokkers: Are you a fan of TikTok’s move?

Yes

No

• ☝️ A cotton candy-colored lake in western Australia caused by a species of algae named Dunaliella salina; sandbars create the divided sections.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🎯 Target is establishing a starting minimum wage of $15 to $24, with the highest pay for new hires in the most competitive markets.
• 💻 Facebook and Twitter have removed multiple disinformation accounts tied to Russian and Belarusian networks, the companies announced Monday.
• 🌬️🌊 The federal government auctioned off more than 488,000 acres in New York Bight for offshore wind power projects, bringing in $4.37 billion.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚾ Derek Jeter is stepping down as CEO of the Miami Marlins and selling his 4% stake in the team; separately, the MLB extended the deadline for collective bargaining talks to 5 pm ET today, if it's missed then Opening Day (March 31) could be pushed back.
• 📱 Instagram is shutting down its standalone app for IGTV.
• 🎤 Neil Diamond sold his song catalog and recording rights to Universal for an undisclosed amount; the deal includes 110 unreleased tracks, an unreleased album and archival long-form videos.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🛰️ A shipment of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite-internet dishes arrived in Ukraine on Monday, less than 48 hours after CEO Elon Musk promised them on Twitter.
• 🏠 A new peer-reviewed study found that people with ADHD have a “significantly higher frequency” of hoarding symptoms than the general population.

BEST OF THE REST

• 🎬 Twitter users discovered that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was the voice of Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian versions of Paddington and Paddington 2.
• 👍 The 13 Ukrainian soldiers who were thought to have been killed in their defiant defense of Snake Island are actually alive, the Ukrainian Navy said.
• 🚫😷 California, Washington and Oregon will stop requiring masks in schools as of March 12; unvaccinated California residents can unmask indoors starting today; NYC will lift its vaccine mandate for indoor businesses and mask mandate for schools on March 7. (From the Left | From the Right)

💬 Quoted… “Donald Trump has shown he has neither the temperament nor persuasive powers to provide the kind of positive leadership that is needed.”

• Former AG William Barr, who served under Trump, said it’s time for Republicans to move on from the former president and focus on new leaders, per an excerpt from his upcoming book.

+Dig deeper: From the Left | From the Right

🔢 Stat of the day: A rare Pokémon card from 1998 featuring Pikachu sold for a record $900,000 at auction last week.

🤯 Did you know?… Treadmills were used in England in the 1800s as a torture device. The idea was to cause the incarcerated to suffer and learn from their sweat, though some prisons used their work to grind grain.

📖 Worth a read… They Spent $3 Million on a Dune Script Bible… Now What? → (The Verge)

When you're waiting for an organ transplant, that life-changing call to head into surgery can come at any time. For one Cleveland woman, her transplant match just so happened to become available on the very same day she said, "I do." 

• Kimberly Woods had been waiting for a healthy heart for years after being diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an ailment that causes her heart muscles to thicken. 

❤️ One for the ages... Kimberly finally got the news that she'd be receiving her new heart in September 2021. Making the most of the life-changing day, she and her husband Anthony tied the knot in the morning, then immediately drove four hours to her transplant surgery. 

• The organ took (thankfully), and Kimberly is hopeful she'll make a full recovery... she has a long happy life with her new husband to look forward to.

🔠 Back to the Roots… Find at least four words made up of five letters using the root listed below.

1. DU_ _ _
2. DU_ _ _
3. DU_ _ _
4. DU_ _ _

🤔 Daily Trivia: Which country is the most popular tourist destination in the world?

A) Spain

B) Italy

C) France

D) United States

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:

Roots possible answers: DUVET, DUMBO, DUCKS, DUETS, DUSTS, DUDES, DUTCH, DUKES, DUMPS, DUFUS, DUCES, DUNES, DUNCE, DUELS, DULLS

Trivia: C) France; 90 million tourists visited the country in 2019, beating out Spain (83.7 million) and the US (79.3 million).