Good morning. Do you know when they released the first English dictionary?

1604. Table Alphabeticall by Robert Cawdry, which contained 2,543 words. Imagine suggesting a word be added to that and they said yes? What a huge honor, to have recommended the 2,544th word.

Wonder if “news” was in there… or “DONUT”?

Enough wondering, let’s NEWS!

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 4.75 minutes to read.

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

–Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

Jury selection and opening statements in the defamation case between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News are scheduled to start later this morning.

They were scheduled to begin on Monday, but then late on Sunday the judge overseeing the case postponed the proceedings for 24 hours without giving a reason. Multiple sources reported it was to give more time for a last-minute settlement.

🤔 What’s going on?... Dominion sued Fox News for defamation in 2021, alleging the news org knowingly promoted false claims about its voting machines, including that they were connected to a plot to fraudulently steal the 2020 presidential election.

• The Delaware judge has already ruled Fox is unable to contest that statements it aired about Dominion were false and harmful to the company.
• Instead, the trial will focus on whether Fox aired those falsehoods with “actual malice” – which means Fox either knowingly made false statements, or showed a reckless disregard for the truth by failing to perform simple fact-check inquiries.

🗣️ The arguments: Fox News says it should be protected under the First Amendment, since it was simply commenting on claims of election fraud made by former President Trump and his associates that were newsworthy.

Dominion is arguing Fox illegally violated journalistic norms by broadcasting segments dedicated to election fraud claims they knew – or should have known – were false.

📑 Is there any evidence?... The release of Fox internal communications as part of the litigation process revealed company execs and network hosts were privately skeptical of the election fraud claims they were covering on-air.

• Tucker Carlson texted one of his producers in mid-November saying "there wasn't enough fraud to change the outcome."
• A separate text from Carlson to fellow Fox host Laura Ingraham read “Sidney Powell is lying by the way. I caught her. It’s insane.”
• Co-host Dana Perino privately called allegations of voter fraud against Dominion "total bs," "insane," and "nonsense," while chief political anchor Brett Baier said “There is NO evidence of fraud. None.”

📸 Big picture: Dominion had been seeking $1.6 billion in total damages, but per a legal filing published Sunday it appears the company recently softened its claims to exclude $600 million worth of alleged lost profits.

Fox News reported a net income of $1.0 billion in 2020, $2.2 billion in 2021, and $1.2 billion last year.

🌏🪸 The Great Pacific Garbage Patch contains a thriving marine ecosystem. That’s according to a new peer-reviewed study published yesterday in Nature Ecology & Evolution, which examined over 100 items of debris collected from the 610,000-square-mile garbage patch – and discovered living specimens on 70% of the items. Though much like in Homeward Bound, many of these animals are far from home. 46 different marine animal species were identified in total, with most of them typically found in coastal regions rather than in the middle of the ocean.

🇮🇳🇨🇳 India is projected to pass China as the world’s most-populous country sometime this month. China has held the title ever since the UN began tracking data in 1950, but by the end of the year, it’s projected to have ~3 million fewer residents than India (which the UN estimates will contain 1.429 billion people). India is expected to remain on a population upswing, before peaking around 1.7 billion people in the early 2060s. On the flip side, China’s population fell last year for the first time since the famine-struck 1960s, and is projected to keep shrinking slowly over the next several decades.

🇫🇷 French President Emmanuel Macron signed into law a controversial pension reform plan. The new law, which has been the subject of mass protests by citizens since mid-January, raises the country’s minimum retirement age for full pension benefits from 62 to 64 (background). Macron’s signature on Saturday came hours after France’s constitutional court officially approved the plan, while also rejecting a request for a citizens’ referendum on the issue. The court is scheduled to rule in another case requesting a national referendum sometime next month.

🙉 If you ever wonder why you get so many robocalls, it’s because they work. Collectively, Americans are shelling out almost $40 billion per year thanks to over 50 billion robocalls… and even more when you add in scam texts. But those numbers would be much smaller if people protected their data with Incogni!

When we visit websites or use apps, our personal info is collected and sold to data brokers, who then sell it to marketers, institutions, and cybercriminals. The result? Spam, robocalls, increased rates, denied loans, and identity theft.

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DONUT readers can save 55% on a 1-year Incogni subscription with code DONUT55. Incogni doesn’t just protect people’s data, they also educate and empower people to protect themselves digitally. And they have a ton of resources to help you get started.

Protect your data and your peace of mind today with Incogni.

Big day for all the Apple Podcasts users out there. Spotify is removing its exclusivity on many of the Gimlet Media-produced podcasts, like Science Vs, that were previously only available to access by those with a Spotify account.

According to a statement released by Spotify yesterday, the move is meant to increase the audience and ad-sales potential of its shows. But the move appears to be a strange conclusion for the company’s previous podcast strategy, which focused on acquiring and retaining content to host exclusively on its platform.

⏪ Let’s rewind: In 2019, Spotify acquired Gimlet Media, the podcast studio behind shows like Reply All, StartUp, and Crimetown, for $230 million. Bringing Gimlet on board was one piece of Spotify’s expansion into podcasting that also included an almost $200 million acquisition of Bill Simmons’ podcast network, The Ringer, as well as a roughly $200 million licensing deal for the exclusive rights to The Joe Rogan Experience through 2023.

• Interestingly, Bill Simmons convinced Spotify to keep The Ringer’s podcasts available across platforms, citing a large audience on Apple and massive ad gains from the rise of sports betting.

📸 Big picture: On an earnings call in January, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said he probably “got a little carried away and overinvested relative to the uncertainty we saw shaping up in the market.” The audio giant made $215 million in podcast revenue in 2021, compared to the $1 billion it had spent on podcasts.

If you procrastinated on filing your taxes, it’s time to turn into Tracy Chapman’s fast car and get yourself into gear – or a Delorean and file an extension to give yourself more time – because today, the Taxman cometh. The IRS’ deadline to file a 2022 tax return without penalty expires at the end of the day.

Some tax facts:

• The average US taxpayer will spend around 13 hours and $250 completing their 1040s this year.
• Americans paid a combined $4.9 trillion in federal taxes last year, an amount equal to 96% of all federal revenue. An estimated 168 million people filed tax returns in 2022.
• On average, less than 0.5% of all federal tax returns are audited each year (~739,000 in 2022).

🗣️ Worth mentioning: Using data from the 69.1 million tax refunds processed thus far, Americans are receiving a lower refund on average than in previous years, due to the expiration of pandemic-era policies and tax credits. The average tax refund for 2022 is currently $2,878, down 9.3% from last year, per the latest IRS data.

💬 Quoted… “More flavorful than ever.”

Yesterday, McDonald’s announced plans to make four subtle tweaks to its burger recipe in all restaurants across America by early 2024. The changes, which have already been rolled out in nearly a dozen major metro areas, are as follows:

1. New buns, which the fast-food chain says are “softer” and more “pillowy” than before
2. More Big Mac sauce slathered on said new buns
3. Adding onions to patties while they’re still on the grill, giving them a sweeter flavor
4. Hotter, meltier cheese

💻👓 Stat of the Day: Gen Z-ers in the workforce spend an average of 8 hours per week – or the equivalent of one full work day – helping older colleagues locate computer files, per data from OSlash (via Harper's).

🤯 Did You Know?... In 2015, a Canadian Soccer League game was abandoned at the 65th minute after one team’s attempts to score an own-goal were thwarted by the other team. And in what may come as a big surprise after hearing that news, match-fixing ended up being a huge issue in the CSL (which lost its membership in the Canadian Soccer Association).

📖 Worth a Read: How a shipping error 100 years ago launched the $30 billion chicken industry → (Vox)

• ☝️ A glowing spiral appeared in the night sky above Alaska during the Northern Lights on Saturday morning; while there’s no official explanation, sky spirals have appeared in conjunction with rocket launches for years – and this one was no different, occurring hours after SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 rocket into space.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💰 US markets closed up yesterday (S&P: +0.3%; Dow: +0.3%; Nasdaq: +0.3%).
• 💳🍎 Apple launched its Apple Card savings account yesterday; it comes with a 4.15% annual percentage yield and has no minimums; the national average APY on savings accounts is currently 0.37%, per the FDIC.
• 🚗 The IRS released a list of six EVs that still qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax rebate: the Cadillac Lyriq, two types of Chevy Bolts, two types of Teslas, and the Ford F-150 Lightning.

*From our partners: 🗣️👎 Malcolm Gladwell lost a Munk Debate on mainstream media's trustworthiness by the largest margin of all time. In the latest episode of Revisionist History, he seeks redemption by going back to school to learn the art of argument. Listen wherever you get podcasts.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🗳✌️ The Writers Guild of America nearly unanimously voted to authorize a strike if a new contract with film and TV producers isn't reached by May 1. (Background)
• 🦅🏈 The Philadelphia Eagles and QB Jalen Hurts have agreed to a five-year, $255 million extension that would make him the highest-paid player in NFL history in terms of annual value, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter yesterday.
• 🏃🏿‍♂️🏆🏃🏿‍♀️ Evans Chebet from Kenya won his second straight Men’s Boston Marathon yesterday; fellow Kenyan Hellen Obiri took first place on the Women’s side.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚀 SpaceX postponed the launch of its Starship rocket for at least 48 hours this morning due to a technical issue with a pressure valve.
• 〰️➡️💡 Gravity waves may be able to transform into light under certain space-time conditions that occurred billions of years ago in the early universe, a new peer-reviewed study suggests.
• 🤖🐶 A startup called Companion has started taking reservations for a $49/month AI companion device for dogs; it’s billed as an all-in-one nanny and tutor.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 🇨🇳 Federal prosecutors in NYC unsealed charges yesterday against two men accused of helping run an unauthorized Chinese police outpost in the city; US officials say it’s one of 100+ such stations around the globe that Beijing uses to intimidate and control its citizens abroad.
• 🌐 A Tennessee Air National Guardsman was arrested late last week and charged with applying to be a contract killer on a parody website called “www.rentahitman.com.”
• 🏛️ Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who admitted lying about his resume, announced yesterday that he will run for reelection in 2024. (Background | From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🌳🐻 The National Park Service’s funniest nature tips that will actually save you out in the wild.

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Yesterday we covered a series of reported errors and omissions regarding the financial status of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

❓ Our question to you (long-form): What measures, if any, do you think should be taken to maintain the integrity of the Supreme Court?

• “Laws have to be written to shore up the "loopholes" that exist for the Supreme Court. Otherwise, the Supreme Court will slowly but surely lose credibility with the nation that they are supposed to protect.”
• “This seems to fall under the personal hospitality item, and Thomas’s opinions have always been straight-forward and consistent. There are few justices who I’ve ever read and thought were influenced, and he’s certainly not one of them.”
• “I think they should be required to disclose anything over $25,000 that comes from a "friend" or outside source. There's no reason a person would take a judge on a free lavish vacation if they weren't expecting something in return."
• “I am not really sure. Heck, I'm not even sure if you could make a full case against Justice Thomas. All I know is when I'm doing taxes and make a slight mistake, the IRS would hound me; if a person in one of the most important jobs in the US can get away with stuff like that, that doesn't seem fair.”

Click here to read more of the best responses from yesterday’s poll.

+Note on sample size: We received 504 longform responses.

Anyone who takes public transportation knows that it's frustrating to walk to the bus stop after a long day – and then not have anywhere to sit.

James Warren witnessed this firsthand, when he noticed a woman sitting in the dirt while she waited for her bus. "I thought, oh, that's simply undignified," he shared about the situation. 

• So the Denver man took matters into his own hands, and started to build the benches himself. 

❤️ Spreading kindness... James' benches have been popping up around Denver ever since. He builds them using scrap wood found throughout the city, carving "Be Kind" into every one. 

• "It's a good message. It's a message anyone can do," said James. "Spread a little bit more kindness in the world and be a little kinder to your neighbour and just try to be a little bit more thoughtful and cognizant of the needs of others."

❓ Trivia: What's the one bird species that can fly backward?

🩸 True or False?... The femoral artery is the largest artery in the human body.

🤔 Riddle Me This: What wears a crown but is no Prince, is good at standing but cannot sit, and digs for years but leaves no pit?

(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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❓ Trivia: Hummingbird

🩸 T/F: False, it's the aorta

🤔 Riddle: A tree