Good morning and welcome to April Fool's Day. On the docket:

• 💡 The future of energy
• 🏎 F1 is headed to Sin City
• 🎭 What do Dyson and Bane have in common?

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: You're 4.77 minutes and a work/school day away from the weekend.

"Happiness is not a goal... it's a by-product of a life well lived."

–Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

🇺🇦 After recapturing the city of Irpin to the northwest of Kyiv this week, Ukrainian forces are now engaged in heavy fighting in the neighboring towns of Bucha and Hostomel, officials said.

• In the Chernihiv region to the north of the capital, Ukrainian forces reportedly retook two villages and were pushing for further gains.
• Ukraine sent a convoy of 45 buses to the besieged southern city of Mariupol to evacuate citizens after Russia agreed to create a humanitarian corridor.
• Russia added 134,500 new conscripts between the ages of 18 and 27 to its army yesterday as part of the country’s annual spring draft.
• The International Atomic Energy Agency said Russia has handed over control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant back to Ukraine.

How the invasion is impacting…

🛢️⛽ Oil & Gas: President Biden ordered the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to release an average of 1 million barrels each day for the next six months in an attempt to bring down US gas prices. For context, the US consumed ~20 million barrels of oil per day last year.

• US crude prices closed down nearly 7% yesterday, but the effect on prices at the pump – which lag the crude market – remains to be seen. The average price for a gallon of gas in the US has held steady at just under $4.25 for over a week (it was $2.87 last year).

📈📉 Markets: US stocks fell across the board, finishing off their worst quarter in two years despite a strong March. (Dow: -1.6% | S&P: -1.5% | Nasdaq: -1.6%)

• The Russian ruble has nearly recovered to where it was before the war (and Western sanctions) began on February 24.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate home loan hit 4.67% yesterday, according to mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac, the weekly figure’s highest reading since December 2018.

🏠 By the numbers…

• The average 30-year fixed rate was 4.42% to start the week. At the beginning of the year, it was 3.22%.
• Rising rates are reducing home-loan refinancings, which drove a lot of the mortgage market’s boom the past two years. Refinancings are expected to make up 33% of mortgage originations this year, down from 59% in 2021.
• About four million Americans could lower their monthly mortgage payments through a refinancing this past February, down from around 16 million a year ago, according to mortgage-data firm Black Knight.

👀 Looking ahead… Expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates several more times this year to control inflation should continue to drive up mortgage rates, the WSJ reports.

+One interesting thing: Higher mortgage rates typically slow home-buying activity. But the number of applications submitted by potential home buyers has risen for three of the past four weeks, per the Mortgage Bankers Association.

It's been 40 years since Formula One last ventured into Sin City for back-to-back races staged in the parking lot of Caesars Palace.

But come November 2023, the clock will reset to zero because the sport is officially headed back to Las Vegas, according to an announcement published late Wednesday, making the US the only country to host three F1 races in a single season.

🏎🎰 The deets… The Las Vegas Grand Prix will be run on a temporary 3.8 mile circuit encompassing the Strip and some of the city’s most famous landmarks (pictured above).

• According to the press release, the track is “a spectacular 14-turn high-speed design that will have a high average speed… It’s going to be fast and furious.”
• Cars are expected to reach 212 mph, similar to F1's current fastest race, the Italian Grand Prix.

🇺🇸 Elsewhere: Miami will host its first F1 race in a couple of months. Prior to this year, the Austin Grand Prix was the only US race on the schedule since 2012.

📸 The big picture: New ownership, slick marketing, a Netflix docuseries and a historic championship battle all helped F1 explode in popularity throughout the US.

A prime example – the race in our backyard (Austin, TX) could barely draw 100,000 spectators over a three-day weekend five years ago, according to Bobby Epstein, president of the track. Last year’s race had an attendance of ~400,000, and October’s race is already sold out.

• On that same note, F1's first race in Miami sold out in a day.

+What the drivers are saying: They seem pretty stoked about the news… except for maybe Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo. "I've been once to Vegas. When I left, I said, 'Never again.' But, I'm coming back."

🏘️ Most agents charge a 3-6% commission. That’s a lot of money.

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Wind turbines and solar panels produced over 10% of global electricity last year for the first time in history, according to new research published this week by climate think tank Ember.

⚡ The deets... As global economies rebounded from the pandemic in 2021, demand for electricity grew at a record pace, totaling roughly the equivalent of adding a new India to the world’s needs.

• Renewable energy sources generated 38% of the world's electricity – more than coal (36%), which saw its largest annual growth since at least 1985.
• The researchers said solar and wind power can expand enough to limit global warming to 1.5ºC (2.7ºF), if its ten-year average compound growth rate of 20% can be maintained until 2030.

🌍 Zoom out: Russia, one of the largest producers of fossil fuels in the world, is currently facing Western sanctions limiting oil and gas exports, causing global oil prices to soar. As a result, some nations are accelerating their transition away from fossil fuels.

• The EU, which relies on Moscow for 38% of its imported natural gas, has vowed to slash Russian imports by two-thirds before next winter, and to cut them out entirely over the next five years.
• The new plans come on top of climate change policies the EU is currently negotiating, which would speed up emissions cuts and drop bloc-wide gas use 30% by 2030.

• ☝️ Dyson is entering the wireless headphones space with the Dyson Zone – a listening device that doubles as an air purifier.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💵 The 2-year and 10-year Treasury yields inverted for the first time since 2019, a sign of a potential recession on the horizon.
• 🗳️ The union election at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, AL, is going into overtime; the final vote was 993 against and 875 in favor, with 59 ballots counted as void and 416 counted as challenged (it'll be played out in court).
• 🛍️ Thousands of Etsy sellers are planning to shut down their storefronts for a week starting April 11 to protest the site’s transaction fees, which were just increased from 5% to 6.5%.
• 📈 GameStop's stock popped 17% after-hours – nearing $200 per share – following news the company is seeking a stock split; it was priced at under $80 roughly two-and-a-half weeks ago.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• ⚽ US Men’s Soccer officially qualified for the World Cup in Qatar this November.
• 🇨🇳🏀 China resumed airing NBA basketball this week after a two-year hiatus following then-Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of protests in Hong Kong.
• 🏈 Bruce Arians is stepping down as Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach to move into a front office role; defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will replace Arians as head coach; the Bucs are an early Super Bowl favorite with the return of QB Tom Brady.
• 🏆🤦 TMZ reported that the Academy lied about asking Will Smith to leave the Oscars – and Smith refusing – after he slapped Chris Rock on stage.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🧬 A group of 100+ scientists around the world unveiled the most complete human genome of all time yesterday; 92% had been sequenced previously but this is believed to fill in the 8% gap.
• 🪐 Findings from the Mars Perseverance rover suggest that the speed of sound on the red planet varies depending on pitch – the higher, the faster.

EVERYTHING ELSE

• 📊 Americans are more worried about inflation than at any time since the ’80s, per a new Gallup poll; they’re also less concerned about Covid than at any other point during the pandemic.
• 🔎 Google unveiled a “highly cited” label that’ll be added to links in its search results that are widely sourced by other publications.
• 📺 Caitlyn Jenner was hired as a contributor by Fox News. (From the Left | From the Right)

💬 Quoted… "For far too long, transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming Americans have faced significant barriers to travelling safely and many have not had their gender identity respected as they travel within the United States and around the world."

• The Biden administration announced new federal policies in recognition of Trans Day of Visibility, including the introduction of passports with the gender marker "X" for non-binary citizens.

+Dig deeper: From the Left | From the Right

📱 Stats of the Day: Corporate profits rose 25% to reach a record $2.81 trillion in 2021, according to data released this week by the Commerce Department.

🤯 Did You Know?... The all-time record for most NFL receiving yards for a player in their 40s belongs to Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, who racked up 161 catches for 2,169 yards and 10 TDs.

• In second and third place? Quarterbacks Tom Brady (1 catch, 6 yards) and Brett Favre (1 catch, -2 yards). There is no fourth place.

📖 Worth a Read: The Popular Electronics Chain that Scammed America → (The Hustle)

DONUT HQ is located in the city of Austin, which has a motto: “Keep Austin Weird.” In celebration of that sentiment, we bring you the most unusual, off-the-wall and sometimes laugh-out-loud headlines from this week… 

• Sweet justice: Ringleader of Canada's notorious maple syrup heist must pay more than $9M in fines, top court rules → (CTV News Montreal)
• 4 Chinese badminton players found guilty of not playing seriously → (FOX13 Tampa Bay)
• Michael Bay Says Steven Spielberg Told Him to Quit Making 'Transformers' Movies: 'I Should Have Stopped' → (IndieWire)
• Woman arrested for car theft drove another stolen car to court appearance: Dublin police → (KRON4)

A group of second-graders helped facilitate the adoption of eight shelter dogs (and counting), thanks to a clever lesson idea by their teacher. 

Kensey Jones paired each student with a shelter animal waiting to be adopted, and then asked the class to write a short persuasive paragraph "as if they were speaking on behalf of the shelter dog trying to get adopted." 

• Once completed, the kids' assignments were proudly hung on the cages at the animal shelter for potential adopters. 

🖼️🐶 Finding furever homes... The kids committed to the task at hand, creating posters that are just downright adorable. 

• "All dogs deserve a loving home," said one second-grader, Danielle. "I am so very happy to be able to help neglected animals find great forever families." 

🤔 Riddle Me This… Walk on the living, they don't even mumble. Walk on the dead, they mutter and grumble. What are they?

🎓 True or False?... The University of Oxford is nearly 700 years older than the United States.

❓ Trivia: How many US presidents fought in the Civil War?

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:

Riddle: Leaves

T/F: True

Trivia: Seven