Good morning. Weird question but trust us: what color eyes do you have?

If you said “green,” you’re either a) lying or b) part of the 2% of the population with broccoli eyes.

Now if you said “brown,” we trust you – 70-80% of the world have bagel eyes.

Blue? Makes sense: 8-10% of all people have sky eyes, aka skyes.

5% have hazel, probably including Kelly Clarkson given her 2004 hit “Behind These Hazel Eyes.”

Rounding us out are 5% of people with amber eyes, and 3% with grey eyes, or gray eyes, depending on where you live.

Now, do you know who has black and white eyes and is read all over?

THE NEWS (ok the joke doesn’t work written down who cares it’s Friday!).

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 4.13 minutes to read.

“Happiness must be grown in one's own garden.”

–Mary Engelbreit (b. 1952)

On Tuesday, the Biden administration proposed a new immigration law that would prohibit the vast majority of migrants from being able to seek asylum at the US southern border. It now enters a 30-day public comment period, before likely taking effect in early May.

🤔 Why it’s a big deal: The proposal is intended to replace a Trump-era Covid immigration policy called Title 42, which allows the US to rapidly deport most migrants who seek asylum. The old law is set to expire on May 11, alongside the federal Covid public health emergency.

📝 So, what would the new law entail?... For the next two years, US officials would presume that all migrants who illegally cross the southern border are ineligible for asylum – meaning they’d be deported upon capture (though exceptions would be made for unaccompanied minors and those dealing with medical emergencies or imminent threats to their safety).

The Biden admin’s measure would also establish several new requirements that asylum-seekers would need to follow in order to legally immigrate into the US.

• Migrants passing through other countries on their way to the US would have to first seek protection in those nations before attempting to claim asylum in the US.
• People who try to enter the US without utilizing “lawful, safe and orderly pathways” – such as applying for an asylum appointment through a smartphone app, or enrolling in a country-specific humanitarian parole program – would also be deported.

📸 Big picture: The US Border Patrol made 2.4 million migrant arrests on the southern border last fiscal year – a 37% increase from the previous year as well as the highest number ever recorded, per federal data published in November.

• But officials have consistently said arrest numbers over the past few years overstate the amount of unique individuals trying to illegally cross the border, since many migrants are released back into Mexico under Title 42 and then try to cross again.

📊 Flash poll: How do you feel about the Biden administration’s proposed immigration law?

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🇰🇷 Korean food is the most popular cuisine in the world, per a recent analysis from The Bucket List Company. The travel firm examined the level of engagement on various social media posts featuring different cuisines from around the world, with an emphasis on the rates of positive interaction for each dish. Second place was awarded to Italian food, with Mexican, Japanese, and Indian food rounding out the top-five.

🇹🇼 The US is planning to increase its troop presence on Taiwan in the coming months, sources told the WSJ. The US military reportedly plans to deploy between 100 and 200 troops to Taiwan, up from ~30 American troops stationed there a year ago. The larger force, which represents the biggest US deployment to the self-governing island in decades, will expand an ongoing training program that’s working to provide Taiwan with the capabilities it needs to defend itself from a potential Chinese invasion, per the Journal.

🇴🇲🤝🇮🇱 Oman agreed to open its airspace to Israeli planes yesterday, ending a decades-long ban. The move comes on the heels of a similar step by Saudi Arabia last July. While Oman wasn’t among the four Middle Eastern countries to sign historic normalization deals with Israel in 2020 (known as the Abraham Accords), the two countries have had secretive ties for years under Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Separately, Israel and Palestine exchanged airstrikes yesterday following an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday in which 11 Palestinians were killed, including at least four gunmen and four civilians.

+Update: Former Mastercard CEO Ajay Benga is President Biden's nominee to be the next president of the World Bank.

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Yesterday, Ozy Media founder and CEO Carlos Watson – aka the Wizard of Ozy – was arrested and charged with federal securities fraud and wire fraud. Prosecutors allege he schemed to defraud investors out of ~$50 million by misrepresenting the company's debts, financial performance, and audience size.

🗣📰 Background: This isn’t the first time the digitally-forward news brand, which bills itself as covering “the New and the Next,” was the news instead of reporting it. In September 2021, a NY Times report revealed that Ozy co-founder Samir Rao had impersonated a YouTube exec on a conference call with Goldman Sachs earlier that year – voice modulator and all – in an attempt to secure a $40 million investment from the bank.

And here’s where it comes full circle: yesterday’s arrest of Watson comes in the same week that Rao pled guilty to fraud charges, prosecutors say in court documents – and like a jilted lover confronting a soon-to-be ex, they brought all the receipts.

Some other alleged details included in the docs (which cite emails and text messages as evidence):

• That Watson, who had previously denied knowledge of Rao’s impersonation actions with Goldman, actually knew about it all along – and even texted Rao what to say while on the call.
• In a bid to secure funding (and with Watson’s knowledge), Rao sent an email to a venture capital lender saying Ozy was on track to make $52 million in revenue in 2020. In reality, the company was projected to make $8.3 million.
• Watson and Rao allegedly forged a contract and impersonated a cable network exec to secure a bank loan in 2019.

🤔 The question: Ozy, which to-date has raised $70.3 million from investors including Axel Springer and Laurene Powell Jobs, closed up shop in October 2021 following the NY Times report – only to reverse course three days later.

What happens to the company this time?

💬 Quoted…​​ “This was 100% preventable.”

Yesterday, the National Transportation Safety Board published its preliminary report into the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, OH, earlier this month.

The NTSB found that minutes before the crash occurred, an on-track sensor had warned the train’s crew to stop immediately and inspect an overheated wheel bearing that was in danger of failing – but before the train could come to a complete stop, the derailment occurred.

• Separately, local environmental officials said nearly 45,000 animals have died so far as a result of the crash, which occurred near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

🚘 Stats of the Day: About 60% of American 18-year-olds had a driver’s license in 2021, compared with 80% in 1983, per the most recent data from the Federal Highway Administration. For 16-year-olds, that number has fallen from 46% to 25% over the same period.

🤯 Did You Know?... The average daily rate to stay in an Airbnb has risen 36% since 2019.

📖 Worth a Read: The Legend Behind ‘Cocaine Bear’ Is Even Wackier Than the Movie → (WSJ)

• ☝️ This week, National Geographic published the finalists and winner of its “Pictures of the Year” photo contest.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 US stock markets close higher; S&P 500 snaps a four-day losing streak. (S&P: +0.5%; Dow: +0.3%; Nasdaq: +0.7%)
• ⚖️ Sam Bankman-Fried has been charged with four additional criminal counts, per an indictment unsealed yesterday; he’s now facing a total of 12 federal charges.
• 🕵️ The DOJ accused Google yesterday of destroying evidence related to its ongoing antitrust lawsuit; the tech giant allegedly had a past practice of setting employee chats to auto-delete, despite having told the court it would preserve records required for litigation.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 💸 Succession will end after Season 4, the show’s creator said yesterday; Season 4 premieres March 26 on HBO Max.
• 🍿🥋 Warner Bros. Discovery will produce multiple new Lord of the Rings movies, the studio’s CEO announced on yesterday’s earnings call. | The studio also confirmed a 2023 release for the videogame Mortal Kombat 12. | Netflix has decreased its monthly subscription fee in over 30 countries around the world, including Kenya, Croatia, Thailand, and Venezuela.
• ⚖️ Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison in his Los Angeles sexual assault trial; the sentence will be served after the conclusion of a 23-year prison sentence he’s currently serving in NY for criminal sexual assault and third-degree rape.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🧬 California startup Rejuvenate Bio is claiming that its gene-reprogramming technology can effectively double the remaining lifespan of elderly mice, per a new study that has yet to be peer-reviewed.
• 🍄 A species of wood-eating fungus that’s been used as a fire-starter for centuries could provide a natural and biodegradable alternative to plastic, per a peer-reviewed study published Wednesday in Science Advances.
• 🇷🇺🚀 Moscow successfully launched a rescue ship into space early this morning that’ll carry two Russian cosmonauts and a US astronaut from the ISS back to Earth; their original return capsule sprung a coolant leak in December.

EVERYTHING ELSE

• 🍳 US officials ordered the recall of two million Cosori brand air fryers yesterday, due to fire and burn hazards.
• ❣️ Nearly half of all US adults between the ages of 18 and 29 were single in July 2022, per new data from Pew Research, which found 34% of young women were single compared to 63% of young men.
• ⚖️ Former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh took the stand in his own defense yesterday; he's currently facing charges of killing his wife and son; Murdagh denied the murder charges in cross-examination from prosecutors but admitted he lied about when he last saw the two alive.

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CLICKBAIT

• 🏛️ Every US president recreated as a Pixar character.

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It’s time to find out – our weekly news quiz is live.

• Test your mettle against the team.

🐄 Let's set the scene: A curious Italian cow was enjoying its daily grazing when it fell into a nearby lake, quickly ending up in an inaccessible area of the ravine. 

• After tracking down the distressed animal, local authorities had to think and act quickly to save the cow. 
• The best way to rescue the bovine? By helicopter.😳

🚁 Up, up, and away... The cow was airlifted out of the ravine using a harness attached to a helicopter, then returned safely to its own side of the lake with one heckuva story.

Below are three lists of ingredients. All you have to do is give us the completed dish they make.

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Olive oil
• Yellow onion
• Garlic
• Tomato paste
• Sweet paprika
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Bay leaf
• Vegetable broth
• Crushed tomato
• Apple cider vinegar
• Brown sugar
• Lemon juice
• Salt & pepper
• Fresh chopped parsley

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Large eggs
• Fish sauce
• Brown sugar
• Scallion
• Thai chili
• Black pepper
• Vegetable oil
• Jasmine rice
• Cucumber
• Romaine lettuce
• Sirirachi

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Butter
• Onion
• Green pepper
• Lean beef
• Beef stock
• Ketchup
• Worcestershire sauce
• Garlic powder
• Salt & pepper
• Provolone cheese
• Brioche buns

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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What to do: Copy your unique link below, then send it to anyone who you think would like the DONUT. Once you hit each milestone, you'll get an email with a link to claim your prize. (Pro tip: there's no need to ration points, you're entitled to a prize at each tier.)

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☝️ Recipe #1: Sweet and sour cabbage soup

✌️ Recipe #2: Kai jeow (Thai omelet)

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Philly cheesesteak Sloppy Joes