Ahoy there! Did you know that Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, suggested we answer calls with "ahoy" instead of "hello?” Though Edison would soon crush Bell’s dreams, suggesting we all say “hello” to start our calls.

Though how did everyone know to say it? Simple: early phone books came with How To sections that included the officially sanctioned greeting of “hello.” Aka the olden days version of How to Answer a Phone Call for Dummies.

But to think… in an alternate reality, we could have all been pirates.

Ahoy there, THE NEWS!

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 4.39 minutes to read.

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

–Lao Tzu (6th-century B.C.)

Former President Donald Trump is expected to turn himself in to the NYPD tomorrow, at which point he’ll become the first former president in US history to be formally charged with a crime.

⚖️ Let’s dive right in… The charges against Trump are currently sealed, and likely won’t be made public until he appears in court tomorrow afternoon. But here’s what we do know so far:

• Before voting to indict Trump, the Manhattan grand jury had been hearing testimony since late January about his role in a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final days of the 2016 presidential election.
• Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations over hush money payments he facilitated to Daniels and another woman, both of whom allegedly had extramarital affairs with Trump.
• Cohen is currently a witness in NY prosecutors’ ongoing case against Trump.
• Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels or the other woman, and accused them both of extortion.
• In multiple interviews on Friday, Trump’s current lawyer said there’s “zero” chance his client takes a plea deal from NY prosecutors, since “there’s no crime.”

👀 Looking ahead… Since the charges against Trump are coming from state prosecutors, experts say they won’t have any legal impact on his 2024 presidential campaign — even if Trump is ultimately convicted. But whether the charges will impact Trump politically is still unclear.

• On Friday, the former president’s 2024 campaign said it raised over $4 million in the first 24 hours after Trump’s indictment was made public, with 25% of the total coming from first-time donors.
• The first public opinion poll conducted after Trump’s indictment, published Saturday by Yahoo News/YouGov, found his lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a hypothetical GOP primary stood at 26% – up from 8% in the same poll two weeks ago.

💬 Flash poll (long-form): On a topic as charged as this (no pun intended), we wanted to give you the mic: Based on what we know so far about the indictment against former President Trump, what are your thoughts? The best and most thoughtful responses will be featured in tomorrow’s newsletter.

Click here to leave a response.

🇷🇺 Russia unveiled new foreign policy guidelines aimed at boosting ties with China and India. Moscow has sought to strengthen trade ties with China and India since the start of its invasion of Ukraine a little over a year ago; the two countries are now the two biggest purchasers of Russian oil. Russia’s new 42-page foreign policy document specifically identifies the US as "the main instigator, organizer, and executor of the aggressive anti-Russian policy of the collective West."

🇮🇹 Italy banned ChatGPT. Italy’s data protection agency accused the chatbot’s creator, OpenAI, of unlawfully collecting personal user data and failing to verify the age of its users, who are supposed to be 13 or older. The agency gave OpenAI 20 days to say how it would address the concerns – at which point it could become unbanned, or face a fine of up to 4% of the company’s annual revenue (~$22 million). The move also prompted Irish🇮🇪 regulators to open an investigation into potential violations of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

🛢️ In a surprise move, OPEC+ announced plans to cut oil production late Sunday. The move to cut 1.2 million barrels per day by Saudi Arabia, Russia, and their oil-producing allies will reduce the world’s overall supply by more than 1%. It’s also projected to increase gas prices at the pump in the US by at least 26 cents per gallon over the next several weeks.

+Update: Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were released from a Romanian jail on Friday and moved to house arrest.

🧟‍♀️🌞 Are you not quite yourself in the morning? Besides that concerningly-large first dose of caffeine (or cold plunge, if that floats your boat), there’s something else that can help pull you out of your zombified state. Perhaps a little… inspiration!

😊 The Daily Good is a 30-second newsletter delivered each weekday, featuring soothing playlists, sustainable recipes, inspiring articles, and more positive content. Each edition feels like you’re hearing from a trusted friend — and includes self-care tips, encouragement, good news, sustainable shopping recs, and nourishing recipes.

While we inevitably have to leave our warm, cozy beds every morning, we can still do things to relax our minds, improve our moods, and get our day started right – especially with The Daily Good.

Join 225,000 readers and start your day with something good.

If you scrolled through Netflix this weekend, you might have seen the new Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn movie Dragged Through Concrete at #4 on its most-watched list, leading you to ask, “how have I not heard about this new film?”

Simple: because it isn’t actually new. The film, which bombed at the box office with about $660,000 in ticket sales in 2018, is the latest in Netflix’s “what’s old is new” approach – which basically boils down to promoting older titles as if they were new.

• The platform’s 10 most-viewed films on August 4, 2022, included Tower Heist (2011), The Age of Adaline (2015), Men in Black III (2012) and Spider-Man 2 (2004).

🎞️ So, how does Netflix do it?... For starters, Netflix simply refuses to describe the titles as “old.” Much like if Madewell snuck a bunch of 1967 vintage bell-bottoms into the store and started calling them “the latest new trend!”

This, coupled with the platform’s massive reach to over 230 million subscribers, creates what Puck reporter Julia Alexander recently described as “the most valuable real estate in Hollywood.”

🤖 Big picture: There is one more thing that helps Netflix: data. Meaning, the company’s algorithm could see a film like Dragged Through Concrete rising up the charts, then amplify its reach to audiences who – based on search history, watch history, etc. – are most likely to be interested.

• In 2013, when Netflix had 33 million subscribers worldwide, an executive at the company was quoted as saying: “There are 33 million different versions of Netflix.”

💬 Quoted… “It was a surreal moment.”

Louisiana State University won its first women’s NCAA basketball championship in program history last night, defeating Iowa 102-85 in the highest-scoring women’s title game ever. The LSU Tigers became just the third No. 3-seed to win the women’s championship, and the first since 1997.

• More than 350,000 fans attended this year’s women’s March Madness, setting a new all-time record.

🏀 Stat(s) of the Day: This year’s March Madness has indeed been mad – both on the men’s and women’s side. Quick! Prepare thyself for an eye-popping number: 191; which is the amount of points scored in this year’s NCAA Tournament by Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (31.8 PPG), setting a new all-time March Madness record for both men and women. And on the men’s side: San Diego State guard Lamont Butler made history in his team’s 72-71 victory over Florida Atlantic on Saturday by hitting the first true buzzer beater – aka a last-second shot that turned a loss into a come-from-behind victory. Watch it here.

🤯 Did You Know?... Since 1967, the official measurement of a second has been defined in terms of the radiation frequency at which atoms of the element cesium change from one state to another. Cue George Carlin on the concept of time.

📖 Worth a Read: It’s a Really Weird Time to Be an Umpire → (NY Times Magazine)

• ☝️ You’re looking at some of the 20 most-beautiful libraries in the world, as rated by Travel + Leisure.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💰 US markets closed up across the board for the first quarter of 2023 (S&P: +7.0%; Dow: +0.4%; Nasdaq: +16.8%).
• 🍔 McDonald’s will reportedly close its US offices until Wednesday this week, as the company virtually conducts an unspecified amount of layoffs.
• 🚀💥 How Virgin Orbit fell apart.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🤼 WWE is close to finalizing a deal to be sold to UFC’s parent company, Endeavor Group.
• 🐉 Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves opened across the US this weekend to $38.5 million, outpacing the $30 million analysts expected.
• 🏀 The NCAA Men’s Championship game will be played tonight; UConn faces off against San Diego St. at 9:20 pm ET.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🌵 The fruit of the cocklebur plant, which grows worldwide and is often considered an invasive weed, can protect human skin, accelerate wound healing, and combat wrinkles due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties; that’s according to new research presented last week at Discover BMB.
• 🧑‍🚀 The four astronauts who’ll participate in NASA’s Artemis II mission in late 2024, which involves a crewed flyby of the Moon, will be announced at a press conference this morning.
• 🌏 The world’s population, currently just shy of 8 billion, will peak at around 8.6 billion before falling to 6 billion by the end of this century; that’s per a new study commissioned by nonprofit The Club of Rome, which was a follow-up to its 1972 study that warned of an imminent “population bomb” devastating Earth.

EVERYTHING ELSE

• 🌪️ At least 32 people were killed after a powerful storm system swept across the central US on Friday, spawning a reported 69 tornadoes across at least 10 states.
• ⚖️🚂 The Justice Department and EPA sued rail company Norfolk Southern over the East Palestine train derailment, seeking financial penalties and injunctive relief; the agencies are alleging that the company’s actions led to the release of toxic contaminants in violation of the Clean Water Act.
• 🗳️ Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson will run for president in 2024, becoming the fourth Republican to announce a campaign. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🤖 Watch us try to break Google Bard and Bing AI.

Flash Poll #1

On Friday, we covered a new federal judge ruling that struck down a provision of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) requiring US insurance companies to cover preventative treatments like mammograms, colonoscopies, and cancer screenings for free.

❓ Our first question to you: Do you think the ruling will have a material impact on Americans’ health?

• 👍 Yes: 63%
• 👎 No: 19%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 18%

Click here to read some of the best responses from Friday’s poll.

+Note on sample size: We received 7,478 votes and 642 longform responses.

Flash Poll #2

On Friday, we also covered NY prosecutors’ recent indictment of Donald Trump, who became the first former president in American history to be charged for a crime

❓ Our second question to you: Do you think former President Trump should be indicted?

• 👍 Yes: 58%
• 👎 No: 30%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 12%

+Note on sample size: We received 10,536 votes.

Monday: NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship

Tuesday: Runoff election for mayor of Chicago; Wisconsin Supreme Court election

Wednesday: Passover begins at sundown

Thursday: Holy Thursday; weekly unemployment claims; The Masters tees off in Augusta, GA

Friday: Good Friday; US jobs report for March

You're looking at Crash, aka Cadbury's newest bunny. 

🧐 Wait a minute... The first cat to ever win the Cadbury Bunny contest, Crash is now the brand's official “spokesbunny” for the next year.

• The lucky winner will star in the 2023 Cadbury “Clucking Bunny” commercial. He’ll also receive a prize of $5,000 for himself, as well as $5,000 donated to an animal shelter "of his choice.”

🐱 More than meets the eye: Crash lost his eye in a car crash, but held onto his “quirky, outgoing personality," according to shelter emplotees who cared for him during recovery. 

Guess the definitions of these Greek/Latin root words.

1. Eso
2. Heli
3. Magn
4. Narc
5. Nov

(keep scrolling for the answers)

👆 Check out the referral prizes you can get, just for introducing people you know to little old us. 

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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1. Eso = Within (e.g., esoteric)
2. Heli = Sun (heliocentric, helium)
3. Magn = Great (magnificent, magnitude)
4. Narc = Numb (narcotic, narcosis)
5. Nov = New (innovation, nova)