Good morning. May the 4th be with you. At least that’s what everyone is saying. But CAN the 4th be with you? And if so, WILL the 4th be with you?

Perhaps it’s time for us to start asking a little bit more of the 4th and whether it plans on being with us on this historic day.

No matter what, though, we can tell you one thing:

THE NEWS IS WITH YOU.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 4.77 minutes to read.

"Please do not take life quite so seriously – you surely will never get out of it alive."

–Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve’s policy-making committee voted to raise interest rates by 0.25%. And if it feels like you’ve read that sentence before… it’s because you probably have.

This marks the tenth consecutive time the Fed has voted to raise baseline interest rates, marking its most aggressive pace of monetary policy tightening since the early 1980s (the last time inflation was this high). Interest rates are now set at a range between 5.0% and 5.25%, up from near-zero as recently as last March.

And much like the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, higher interest rates have a far-reaching impact.

• Average credit card interest rates are currently sitting at 23.7% – the highest level on record and up from 16.3% a year ago.
• The yield on a two-year US Treasury bond increased from 2.1% in March of last year to 3.8% this week.
• The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has more than doubled since last January (3.29% → 6.58%).

Plus, the recent historic collapses of First Republic Bank and Silicon Valley Bank both occurred in part because the Fed’s rate hikes over the past 14 months had devalued each bank’s long-term assets.

👀 Looking ahead… In a press conference yesterday afternoon, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank hasn’t yet decided whether to raise interest rates again following its next meeting in mid-June, or whether to leave rates untouched. Powell also reiterated the Fed’s focus on returning annual US inflation to its long-term target of 2% (it was 5.0% in March).

🇲🇽🌧️ Mexico has begun “cloud seeding” in an attempt to artificially create more rain. In late March, Mexico’s air force began a cloud seeding program where airplanes release silver iodide particles into clouds, thereby improving their ability to create raindrops. And while the Mexican government says it’s already seen some success from the new program, many scientists have warned there’s little evidence cloud seeding actually works. The country is currently in the midst of its second-worst drought in over a decade, with nearly half of all municipalities reporting a lack of water.

🇷🇺 Russia said it shot down two drones attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. Russian officials accused Ukraine of being behind the attack and warned of possible retaliation; they also said Putin wasn’t in the building at the time the drones were shot down. Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, denied Moscow’s claims, saying the attack could have come from resistance forces inside Russia. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington couldn’t independently verify the attack, adding that Russia’s claims should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism.

🇮🇹 Police across Europe and South America executed raids targeting Italy’s most-powerful mafia group. The raids, which involved 2,770 officers across 10 countries, resulted in the arrests of 132 suspected members and associates of the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate. According to Europol, the operation marked the largest-ever coordinated hit against the 'Ndrangheta, which is arguably the world’s richest organized crime group.

🍿🎬 The man can do it all on the screen, and unsurprisingly, he’s journeyed into many other fields as well. Art collecting, magic, stand-up, music… so much in fact that he and his good friend, New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik, started a audiobook giving a candid look into his creative life.

🎭 So Many Steves: Afternoons with Steve Martin pulls back the curtain on the actor’s illustrious career. Taking place in Steve’s apartment, this audio-biography shares behind-the-scenes anecdotes from his films―L.A. Story, The Jerk, Three Amigos, and more―giving listeners a taste of life on set.

More than a history, this series of intimate conversations between old colleagues reveals Martin’s thoughtful approach to both art and life, and shares a new perspective on the comedy legend.

Listen to So Many Steves today wherever you get podcasts.

And yes, that would include those pesky 6-digit authentication codes on your phone.

That dream may soon become a reality, at least according to Google, which yesterday announced that its 1.88 billion users can log onto their Google accounts using “passkeys” instead.

🗝️ What’s a Passkey?... While not exactly like one of those red laser eye scanners from every heist movie ever, it’s close.

Passkeys let you sign into your Google Account using a local pin or biometric authentication that’s already on the device, like the iPhone’s fingerprint or Face ID. The passkey can then be saved and transferred between devices via iCloud or a password manager like Dashlane and 1Password.

• Security wise, passkeys will make it much harder for bad actors to hack or steal your information. Without a password to steal, they’d need to have your phone or computer and access to your passkey / finger / eye.

🔍 Zoom out: Google’s not the only company that’s pro-passkey. The tech giant is part of the FIDO Alliance, which sounds like what a group of hobbits in LOTR might call themselves, but is actually an association dedicated to create a password-less future that also includes Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon.

Every few years since the mid-1990s, the federal government has tested thousands of eighth-graders from all 50 states across several subjects. And yesterday, the Education Department published its 2022 results for US history and civics.

This was an especially big release. The results represent the first such data available to the public since the start of the Covid pandemic. And to be a hot dog frank – it doesn’t look too good.

• US History: Average US history scores came in at 258 out of a possible 500, or five points lower than in 2018. Overall, just 13% of eighth-graders met standards the Education Department considered to be “proficient,” down from a historical peak of 18% in 2014.
• Civics: On the civics side, the average score last year was 150 out of a possible 300. That’s down two points from 2018, marking the first-ever drop since testing began in 1998. Some 22% of eighth-graders scored at or above the level considered “proficient,” down from a record-high 24% four years prior.

📉 Big picture: The decline in test scores since the pandemic started isn’t just limited to US history and civics. In October, the Education Department published data showing the largest-ever decline in math scores among fourth- and eighth-graders in the US, along with a nationwide drop in reading scores that wiped out the previous three decades of gains.

+Bonus: Take a sample test in eighth-grade US history and civics here.

📊 Flash poll: The DONUT is being used across more than 20,000 classrooms on a consistent basis, so we wanted to include a question alongside this Speed Round:

What do YOU think is needed to get America’s children back on track in the classroom?

To respond, just click here. Please include your first name, last initial, and state of residence with your submission. The best responses will be published in tomorrow’s newsletter.

💬 Quoted… “We're responding to the concerns and the feedback we've seen."

This week, Airbnb is debuting more than 50 new features meant to improve affordability, boost price transparency, and improve its overall reputation compared with hotels, ahead of what’s projected to be a record summer travel season in the US.

• The main update, called Airbnb Rooms, is a new category that shows individual rooms available in a given area, including relevant info like whether the bedroom door locks or if the bathroom is private.

🙏 Fact of the Day: The number of Americans who died of an overdose involving fentanyl nearly quadrupled between 2016 and 2021, per a CDC study published yesterday.

🤯 Did You Know?... On average, 100 Americans choke to death on pen caps each year – and that number actually used to be higher, before BIC made a change to their design in 1991.

📖 Worth a Read: Who gets to make the rules in space? → (Bloomberg)

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• ☝️ The Mississippi River flooded a section of downtown Davenport, Iowa, this week, as a spring surge from melting snow pushed river levels to a near-record high.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💰 US markets closed down across the board yesterday (S&P: -0.7%; Dow: -0.8%; Nasdaq: -0.5%).
• 🥩🥖 Olive Garden parent company Darden Restaurants is buying Ruth’s Chris Steak House in an all-cash deal worth around $715 million.
• ❌ Jenny Craig is going out of business, the company told its ~1,000 employees on Tuesday per NBC News; executives cited an inability to secure additional funding as the cause.

*From our partners: 🦴👍 All natural ingredients and splinter-resistant material make BetterBone the safer choice for your furry friend. They promote dental health, are sustainably manufactured, and DONUT readers get a whopping 35% off BetterBone products sitewide for a limited time (use code DONUT35)! Shop BetterBone today.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 📽️🎭 Hollywood unions including the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Director’s Guild of America (DGA) have joined the WGA in solidarity; the writer’s strike is heading into its third day. (Background)
• 🏇 Four horses have reportedly died within the past week at Churchill Downs, where the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday.
• 🎤🎸 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2023 inductees yesterday; they include Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, George Michael, and Missy Elliott.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 💉 The FDA yesterday approved the world’s first vaccine against RSV, a common respiratory virus; the vaccine was okayed for all Americans aged 60+, but still needs CDC approval before it becomes publicly available. | 💉 The world’s first contraceptive vaccine, which its creators say doesn’t mess with women’s menstrual cycles, recently began human clinical trials.
• ☀️🪐 Astronomers have witnessed a star in the act of gobbling up a planet that was drawn in too close by gravity for the first time.
• 🦷🧬 Archaeologists have identified the owner of a 20,000-year-old elk tooth pendant that was recently discovered inside Denisova Cave; the brand-new method of extracting ancient DNA was detailed in a peer-reviewed study published yesterday in Nature.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 📰 Schedules and emails belonging to deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein have revealed previously undisclosed meetings with a range of high-profile individuals – including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and filmmaker Woody Allen – held long after Epstein became a convicted sex offender, per a WSJ report published yesterday.
• 🏛️ The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission voted to suspend Inspector General A. Roy Lavik after a watchdog said he disclosed whistleblower identities and wasted government funds, sources told the WSJ.
• 📑 House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) subpoenaed the FBI yesterday, demanding the agency turn over a 2020 document that Comer, along with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), is claiming outlines an unverified “alleged criminal scheme" involving the exchange of money for policy decisions between then-VP Joe Biden and a foreign agent. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🍔🍟🥤 McDonald's new takeout boxes can unfold into a table.

*Sponsored post

Yesterday we covered the Biden admin’s plan to replace Title 42, which would prohibit a large majority of migrants from being able to seek asylum at the US southern border once Title 42 expires on May 11.

❓ Our question to you: How do you feel about the Biden administration’s new immigration laws to replace Title 42?

• 👍 Strongly agree: 19%
• 📈 Agree/Somewhat agree: 30%
• 🤷 Neutral: 12%
• 📉 Disagree/Somewhat disagree: 17%
• 👎 Strongly disagree: 22%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 8,992 votes and 808 longform responses.

We bring you the most unusual, off-the-wall and occasionally laugh-out-loud headlines from this week.

• Police arrest drunk driver with fake ‘Boris Johnson’ driving licence that expired in the year 3000 → (DutchNews.nl)
• Snake flips switch, stops traffic at Virginia intersection → (APNews)
• Numbers came to her in dream. So she played them in Australian lottery – and won big → (Miami Herald)
• Billiards ball spins for 47.13 seconds to break world record → (UPI)
• Fast & Furious Binge Watch: Get Paid $1,000 to Watch the Entire Franchise → (FinanceBuzz)

Meet Dennis "Maliq" Barnes, a high school senior who's celebrating his numerous college acceptances – and smashing a world record on the way.

😮 Now that's dedication... Maliq applied to 200 universities back in August of last year; the impressive student was accepted to 170 of them.

• Along with his dozens of acceptances, Maliq was awarded over $9 million in scholarships, setting a world record for the largest amount ever received. 

🗯 What he's saying... "I think that doing well in school and understanding the importance of education is something that could break the stigma [against African American students]," Maliq shared. “The road to a successful future is to plan ahead, network with the collegiate partners, and know that If you can see your vision, you can achieve your goal."

Which country, pictured above, is the largest whisky producer in the world?

(keep scrolling for the answer)

👆 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.)

Start referring.👇

Scotland