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“Enthusiasm is a vital element toward the individual success of every person.”

–Conrad Hilton (1887-1979)

In Tuesday’s Speed Round about marijuana rescheduling, we incorrectly referred to methamphetamine as a Schedule I controlled substance. Meth is a Schedule II substance that’s actively prescribed for ADHD and weight loss under the name Desoxyn.

Note: This is the 46th correction out of the 503 newsletters we've published since January 2022.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a landmark case centered around whether (and how) to curb the legal authority of federal agencies.

The case focuses on a 1984 SCOTUS ruling known as the “Chevron doctrine” (or Chevron), which established a precedent requiring the US court system to defer to federal agencies when it comes to laws that are ambiguous or open to multiple interpretations.

The arguments: The Court’s more conservative Justices seemed to agree with right-leaning advocacy groups, who argue Chevron is unconstitutional because it requires judges to systematically defer to one powerful party – government agencies – without a congressional mandate. Critics also contend that over decades of gridlock in Congress, Chevron has essentially allowed the executive branch and federal agencies to circumvent proper lawmaking processes.

• The Court’s liberal justices appeared partial to the Biden admin’s concern that removing or scaling back Chevron would require unelected judges to make technical and scientific policy decisions, which federal agencies are better equipped to handle.
• Chevron proponents also note that Congress often writes broad laws to give agencies the added flexibility to address complex issues.

💥 The potential impact: Chevron has become one of the most-cited SCOTUS precedents over the past four decades, racking up 15,000+ citations in federal court cases – a significant portion of which could be revisited and possibly overturned if Chevron is scaled back or removed. These include existing precedents allowing US federal agencies to regulate health care, commerce, finance, workplace safety, and the environment.

👀 Looking ahead… The Supreme Court is expected to deliver its verdict sometime before the end of June.

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🇨🇳📈 China’s 2023 economy grew at one of the lowest levels in decades. The country’s GDP grew by 5.2% in 2023, marking the lowest rate since 1990 outside of previous pandemic-affected years, per government data published yesterday. Beijing also revealed that China’s population fell by 2+ million last year, up from a net loss of 850,000 people in 2022 (which marked the first such decline in six decades).

🇮🇷 Iran launched missile and drone strikes targeting Iraq, Syria, and Pakistan within a 24-hour period. On Monday, Iran struck the bases of what it claims were “anti-Iran terror groups” in Syria, who officials allege were involved in the recent deadly bombings at an Iranian general’s memorial service. Tehran launched the missiles in tandem with strikes on a supposed Israeli spy base in northern Iraq, which Iraqi officials said wasn’t there. The following day, Iran’s military hit the headquarters of what it said was an Iranian terrorist Sunni militant group in Pakistan.

🇧🇪 Belgian customs seized a record amount of cocaine in the port city of Antwerp last year. Authorities in Antwerp, the “cocaine capital” of Europe, seized 116 tons of cocaine in 2023, up 5% from the previous year. Analysts say only a small fraction of illegal cocaine shipments, possibly a tenth, are actually detected on arrival at the port. The EU seized a record 303 tons of cocaine in 2021, the most recent figure available, marking a nearly 100-ton increase from the previous year.

More and more graduates from some of the top business schools are having trouble finding a job after obtaining their degree, per a new WSJ report. Apparently these days, it's harder for an MBA grad to find a job than beat Will Hunting in a barroom debate.

• At Harvard Business School, 20% of job-seeking 2023 MBA graduates didn’t have one three months after graduation, up from 8% in 2021.
• At Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, 18% didn’t, compared with 9% in 2021.
• ~13% of 2023 grads of MIT’s Sloan School of Management didn’t have a job within three months, up from ~5% in 2021.

Big picture: Getting an MBA can be expensive – upwards of $200,000 at a top school – but typically pays off as a launchpad for a new, more lucrative career or the corporate leadership fast track, per the WSJ.

And those actually getting hired are having that experience. Median starting salaries for Stanford MBA grads increased to $182,500, up from $175,000 the year before, in addition to rising to $175,000 at several other schools.

But there are also limiting factors in play. New biz school grads are entering the jobs market at a time when three industries that heavily recruit them – consulting, tech, and finance – have run into trouble and put the brakes on hiring.

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Between 1969 and 1972, NASA landed a total of six crewed missions on the Moon. But in the 50+ years since, not a single astronaut has visited the lunar surface, while unmanned Moon missions have failed in nearly half of their attempts (including last week’s Peregrine mission).

So what has prevented most space agencies from making a successful return trip? According to industry experts, the question has three main answers:

1. While technologies like computers, phones, and navigation systems are far more advanced today than 50 years ago, the efficiency of rocket engines has only increased by 10%-20% over the same period.
2. After the US and Soviet Union’s Moon landing programs were shuttered in the mid-‘70s, the global space industry turned its focus to other areas for the next several decades, meaning previous infrastructure no longer exists.
3. In recent decades, NASA’s inflation-adjusted budget has shrunk by more than half compared to what the agency received during the height of the Apollo era.

👀 Looking ahead… NASA last week delayed its Artemis II lunar mission by an additional year to September 2025, while its Artemis III crewed Moon landing – the first since 1972 – is now scheduled for the following September.

💬 Quoted… “In the current environment, consumers are being offered and are probably looking for greater value to tempt them out during the week.”

• Instead of whacking a tub of golf balls and downing beers in a climate-controlled pod, Americans are increasingly opting to Netflix and chill more and more during the work/school week. Companies like Dave & Buster’s, Bowlero, and Topgolf have all seen recent drops in same-store sales from Mondays to Thursdays. And, after Jacques Cousteau-ing (diving) into the data, these “eatertainment” venues noticed store traffic on the days they ran promotions – for example, Topgolf ran a half-off golf deal one day each week – remained elevated. In response, these venues are starting to offer more discounts to lure consumers out mid-week – so if you start getting asked on more Dave & Buster’s dates by Tinder matches, that may be why.

😋📱 Stat of the Day: One single San Francisco restaurant appears to be operating under 70+ different business names on food delivery app DoorDash, a recent Reddit post alleged and subsequent research seems to have confirmed. The restaurant, known by its brick-and-mortar name Fresco Pizza - Shawarma & Ice Cream, reportedly offers various cuisines on the app under different brand names (including Daydream Breakfast Burritos, Celebrity Vegan Burger, and The Pasta Slut) – but all of these 70+ brand names point back to the same physical address. This obfuscatory practice isn’t unheard of, but it is frowned upon (like doing a certain thing on an airplane). In 2022, The Independent documented various major restaurant chains selling their food under different names on delivery apps – including Chili’s, which sold its chicken wings out of a digital storefront titled “It’s Just Wings.”

🤔 Did You Know?... Sumo wrestlers often lose 10-15 pounds in sweat alone (aka water weight) over the course of a several hour workout.

📰 Worth a Read: They’re the richest teams in sports. They can’t stop losing → (WSJ)

• ☝️ A genetically cloned rhesus monkey has survived into adulthood for the first time, according to new research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences published this week in Nature Communications.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Future Funders

• 💰 US markets closed down across the board (S&P: -0.6%; Dow: -0.3%; Nasdaq: -0.6%). | 🏷️ US retail sales rose 0.6% in December from the previous month, exceeding analysts’ expectations.
• 💳 Costco is testing new scanners geared towards eliminating membership sharing.
• 🚫⌚ Apple is once again banned from selling Apple Watches that include blood oxygen sensor tech at the center of an IP dispute; there had previously been an injunction in place allowing Apple to sell the watches while the legal process plays out. (Background)

*From our partners: 🗞️📈 The most important financial news of the week… summarized in a way you'll actually understand and enjoy, paired with a focus on your family. Join 50,000+ subscribers and sign up for Future Funders’ free newsletter.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏆👀 The 75th Emmy Awards drew an average of 4.5 million viewers, marking a 27% drop from the previous edition and its lowest TV rating ever.
• 🎤 Coachella announced its lineup of artists for this year’s music festival in mid-April; the list is headlined by Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat, Tyler, The Creator and No Doubt. | 🍿 The 40th Sundance Film Festival kicks off today in Park City, Utah.
• 🏀 Pascal Siakam, an All-Star NBA forward, has reportedly been traded from the Raptors to the Pacers in exchange for a package including three 1st-round picks.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Incogni

• 🧃 Drinking 100% fruit juice is correlated with weight gain in children, per a new peer-reviewed meta analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics.
• 🕳️🔭 NASA’s James Webb telescope recently discovered the oldest and most distant black hole ever observed.
• 🧊 The Greenland ice cap is losing an average of 33 tons of ice every hour due to rising temps, or 20% more than previously thought, per a new peer-reviewed study published in Nature.

*From our partners: 🤖📞 Get protected from robocalls, identity theft, and spam… Incogni scrubs your personal data (SSN, DOB, addresses, health info) from the web, protecting you from cybercrime, insurance rate hikes, and more. Save 50% on Incogni here.

MISCELLANEOUS

• 👑🏥 UK King Charles III will visit the hospital next week to be treated for a benign prostate condition, the British royal family announced.
• 🇨🇳🦠 Chinese researchers isolated and mapped the virus that causes Covid in late December 2019, at least two weeks before Beijing revealed details to the rest of the world, per a new WSJ report citing US government documents.
• ⚖️ Former President Trump appeared in court yesterday to hear testimony from writer E. Jean Carroll in her defamation lawsuit against him; Trump received multiple warnings from the judge over his vocal reaction to testimony. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 📆🤖 Holoportation, robot romances top futurist's predictions for what comes next.

Yesterday, we covered former President Trump’s clear victory in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus, which serves an important role in determining who has a realistic shot at becoming president.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, will former President Trump be the GOP nominee for the 2024 presidential election?

• 👍 Yes: 52%
• 👎 No: 25%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 23%

Click here to read some of the best longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 6,026 votes and 383 longform responses.

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

• ‘You are the father!’ Maury Povich declares to Denver Zoo orangutan → (Associated Press)
• Iowa man's snow shark sculpture becomes a local tourist attraction → (UPI)
• Man dupes university by dressing up as woman to appear for exam → (PTC News)
• Frankfurt Resident Achieves Guinness Record for Lightning-Fast Coffee Consumption → (Republic World)
• Anagapesis, blatteroon on Wayne State's list of words to revive → (Detroit Free Press)

One Tuesday evening, Laura Teale noticed her cat Jasmine hadn't eaten dinner. Jasmine is a curious outdoor kitty, however, so Laura wasn't too concerned – that is, until she didn't come back the next morning. 

• Laura and her husband posted flyers around the neighborhood the next day, distraught that Jasmine might be gone for good. 
• On Thursday morning, she received a phone call from a vet, who was located 80 miles away from their UK home, saying that Jasmine had been miraculously found. 

As it turns out, Jasmine had snuck under to hood of a neighboring van and proceeded to take an 800 mile road trip around most of the southwestern UK. She ended up in Dawlish, where Laura and her husband went to pick her up and bring her safely back home. 

🐱 Adventure kitty: Jasmine made it back slightly dehydrated but otherwise perfectly healthy – and a little more well-traveled.

Which country, pictured above, covers almost half of South America and comprises ~50% of its population?

Brazil