Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🎓 Higher education is facing an uncertain future
• 📊 More restaurants are adopting surge pricing
• 🤔 The most popular workout of 2023

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.68-minute read.

P.S. First time reading? Subscribe here for free.

“Words are the clothing of our thoughts.”

–Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

Decades ago, college was widely seen as the best pathway to financial success in the US – but today, many schools are facing an uncertain future. Overall enrollment is on the decline, the cost to attend is higher than ever, and a growing number of institutions are closing their doors for good.

• The number of full-time US undergraduate students fell from 11.5 million to 9.5 million between 2010 and 2021, per federal data.
• Average tuition and fees at US universities have increased 73% since 2008, per US News & World Report. (For comparison: US inflation was ~43% over the same period.)
• Around two dozen four-year colleges are expected to shut down each year on average moving forward, which is double the annual average over the past decade.

Driving the trend… Much of the recent decline in college enrollment can be tied to a downturn in US birth rates. From the late 1970s through 1993, birth rates remained largely stable. But they fell nearly 30% over the following three decades, eventually resulting in a smaller pool of young adults applying to college.

• Americans are also increasingly deciding a college degree isn’t worth the cost to obtain it, especially since about two-thirds of undergrad students graduate within six years.

Yes, but: Despite the overall enrollment decline, America’s elite universities – like Ivy League schools or flagship state universities – have continued to attract an overflow of applicants in recent years, driving their acceptance rates to all-time lows.

👀 Looking ahead… America’s ongoing demographics trend is like an Uno deck containing no cards with arrows – not expected to reverse anytime soon. By the year 2038, the pool of potential US college students is projected to be ~25% smaller than it is today.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, what’s the No. 1 reason behind the recent decline in US college enrollment?

• It costs too much
• There are better post-grad education options (ex: trade school, coding boot camps)
• More teens are choosing (or are forced) to enter the workforce
• All of the above
• Other/unsure

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🇮🇱 President Biden warned Israel that invading the Gazan city of Rafah would cross a “red line.” In an MSNBC interview on Saturday, Biden said US officials are cautioning Israel against a direct attack on Rafah, since they doubt Israel’s ability to move the civilian population out of harm’s way ahead of the assault. Biden also warned that the US might withhold some types of military assistance to Israel if their operation in Rafah caused extensive civilian casualties, but added that a complete shutoff of weapons isn’t being considered. In response, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans to defy the Biden administration and push forward with invading Rafah.

🇮🇳🤝🌍 India signed a $100 billion free trade agreement with four European countries. The investment by the European Free Trade Association – comprised of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein – will create 1 million jobs in India over the next 15 years, mainly in the automotive, railway, and financial sectors. In exchange, India will lift or partially remove 95+% of all import tariffs on EFTA industrial products starting next year.

🇨🇳 China is poised to start work on the world’s longest hydrogen pipeline. The $845 million project, set to be completed by 2027, involves constructing a 460-mile pipeline that will transport hydrogen gas produced from renewable sources to a port near Beijing. It’s part of China’s wider plan to construct a combined 4,000-mile pipe network for its green hydrogen industry, which is mainly used to support clean trucking and steel production.

That BLT-with-chips combo from your local bistro could soon cost $17 – or $8. It all depends on when you go.

Restaurants across the US are increasingly adopting dynamic pricing – where prices fluctuate based on demand and sales patterns – to boost sales and increase profits, according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal.

• Bartaco, a mostly East Coast-located restaurant chain, first started testing dynamic pricing for its app delivery orders last year, increasing to-go prices on its taco packs by 5%–10% during weekend peak hours and discounting them during slower weekday afternoons.
• Dave & Buster’s (and other chains) are experimenting with dynamic pricing to help spread out customer visits over a broader part of the day and better capitalize on rush periods.

This dynamic-pricing approach can have a positive impact on business… Shawn Walchef, owner of San Diego-based restaurant Cali BBQ, told the WSJ that implementing online dynamic pricing for its pulled-pork sandwich has boosted the restaurant’s $30,000 in monthly delivery sales by $1,500 – which is “very meaningful for a small business,” Walchef said.

… but it can have a negative impact, too. Just ask Wendy’s, which was recently forced to walk back clarify its planned dynamic-pricing approach following consumer backlash.

⚖️ The tightrope: According to a survey of 1,000 people by the National Restaurant Association, ~61% of adults support restaurants implementing variable pricing (meaning ~40% do not, and are already making a horror movie franchise called The Surge).

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💬 Quoted… "Admittedly, this is an intimidating room but this is your room. So if you win, get up on this stage... speak from the heart... don't shut [up]."

• The 96th Academy Awards took place in Los Angeles last night, with Hollywood’s biggest stars gathering to celebrate the best films of 2023. Oppenheimer led the way with seven Oscar wins – including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor – while Barbie took home the Oscar for Best Original Song for Billie Eilish and FINNEAS’ “What Was I Made For?” See the full list of winners + highlights from the night.

🧘📈 Stat of the Day: The most popular workout of 2023 was Pilates, with bookings up 92% from 2022, according to ClassPass. It marks the first time Pilates has held the top spot since the company began a decade ago. (CrossFitters have been reallll quiet since this news dropped😉.)

🤔 Did You Know?... The term horsepower was first adopted in the late 18th century as a way to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses. One horsepower was defined as the average amount of work a horse outputs over the course of an entire day – though a single horse can produce up to 15 horsepower in short bursts. (Fun fact: a healthy human can produce up to 1.2 horsepower.)

📰 Worth a Read: How Apple Sank About $1 Billion a Year Into a Car It Never Built → (Bloomberg)

• ☝️ An estimated 40,000 people waited in line at San Francisco’s annual Tulip Day – a tradition adopted from the Netherlands in 2018 – during which a combined 80,000 flowers were handed out for free.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Incogni

• 💰 US markets closed down across the board on Friday (S&P: -0.7%; Dow: -0.2%; Nasdaq: -1.2%). | 💼 The US economy added 275,000 jobs in February – higher than economists expected – while the unemployment rate rose from 3.7% to 3.9%, per new federal data.
• 🇸🇦🛢️ Saudi Aramco earned $121 billion in profit last year, down from a record $161 billion the year before.
• 🤖 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman rejoined the company’s board of directors following an investigation into his temporary ouster last year.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 📺 X, formerly known as Twitter, is reportedly planning to launch an app next week allowing users to watch videos on smart TVs.
• 🎮🪧 ~600 Activision Blizzard QA testers formed the US video game industry’s largest union on Friday; Microsoft, which bought Activision for $69 billion last October, remained neutral throughout the process as part of its acquisition.
• 🥊 “Sugar” Sean O’Malley beat Marlon "Chito" Vera by unanimous decision to retain his UFC bantamweight world title (and avenge his only loss).

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Niphtio

• 💉 Weight-loss drug Wegovy was approved by the FDA for use as a heart disease prevention treatment, following a request by drugmaker Novo Nordisk. | 💊 An LSD-based treatment for generalized anxiety disorder received breakthrough therapy status from the FDA.
• 🙈🚁 Chinese scientists have created an intelligent invisibility cloak for drones, per a new study published in ​​​​Advanced Photonics.
• 🏛️🛸 The Pentagon said it found “no evidence” that any UAP sighting between 1945 and 2023 represented extraterrestrial technology, in a new report published Friday.

*From our partners: 👋 Meet your new study buddy… Niphtio lets you conveniently save articles/videos with just one click. Keep everything organized and easily searchable for future referencing/studying. Niphtio is available FREE for Chrome & Firefox.

MISCELLANEOUS

• ✈️ United Airlines experienced three different safety incidents last week involving Boeing passenger aircraft; no people were injured, though two incidents caused flight delays. | 🔎 The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the January 5 door blowout midair on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 jet.
• 🧬 A DNA scientist for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is under criminal investigation after state officials found she purposefully altered DNA testing results for at least 652 criminal cases between 2008 and 2023.
• 🏛️📵 The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 50-0 to advance a bill that would ban TikTok if Chinese owner ByteDance doesn’t sell the platform within ~6 months; the bill now heads to the full House for a vote later this week. (Background)

CLICKBAIT

• 🛍️👀 Take a peek inside the ~$180,000 Oscars gift bag given to nominees.

Monday: The first day of fasting for Ramadan (ends April 9)

Tuesday: A half-dozen states and territories hold presidential primaries

Wednesday: National Good Samaritan Day

Thursday: Pi Day; SpaceX’s third attempt at successfully launching its Starship rocket

Friday: The Ides of March

On Friday, we covered how No Labels, a group aiming to run a 3rd-party presidential candidate, is expected to move forward with a 2024 campaign following an internal vote later today.

❓ Our question to you: Depending on the individual, would you be open to supporting a No Labels candidate in the 2024 presidential election?

• 👍 Yes: 60%
• 👎 No: 26%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 14%

Click here to read some of the best longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 5,376 votes and 526 longform responses.

😮 No ordinary Lego... You're looking at the golden Kanohi Hau mask from Lego’s Bionicle line. 

• The rare piece is one of only a couple dozen golden pieces, which were reportedly given away during special Lego promotions in the early 2000s.

💰 Cha-ching. The mask was recently put up for auction by Goodwill and sold for a mind-blowing $18,101. According to Polygon, it's most likely the most expensive Lego piece ever sold. 

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words:

1. Botan
2. Carp
3. Funct
4. Hospit
5. Mal

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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Start referring.👇

1. Botan = Plant (e.g., botany)
2. Carp = Relating to the wrist (carpal)
3. Funct = Do (function)
4. Hospit = Host (hospitality)
5. Mal = Bad (malicious)