Good morning, and a happy belated St. Paddy’s Day. In celebration of the green-centric holiday, we’ve put together a quick list of useful things the Irish are responsible for pioneering:

• Guinness and Irish whiskey
• Color photography
• The hypodermic needle, as well as the binaural stethoscope
• Our favorite way to say goodbye

What other things did we miss? Hit reply and let us know.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.74-minute read.

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“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.”

–Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Last week, a group of 16 female college athletes sued the NCAA, alleging that the organization violated their Title IX rights by allowing transgender women to compete in the category of their affirmed gender.

Background: The case centers around UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas, who swam on the school men’s team for two years before coming out as trans in the summer of 2019. She competed on the men’s team as a female the following season, but sparingly.

• After fulfilling an NCAA requirement that trans female athletes undergo hormone replacement therapy for at least 12 months, Thomas swam for Penn’s women’s team during the 2020-21 season.
• She qualified for the national championships in three events that season, ultimately becoming the first-ever trans athlete to win a D1 national championship with a victory in the women’s individual 500-yard freestyle.

But some competitors say Thomas shouldn’t have swam in the women’s division. The new lawsuit – filed by a group including swimmers who competed against Thomas – alleges the NCAA knowingly violated Title IX’s guarantee of equal opportunity for men and women in college athletics, since Thomas and other trans women have an inherent biological advantage over cisgender women in athletic competitions.

• On the flip side, many LGBTQ+ activists say there’s no evidence of any clear advantages for trans athletes who compete in women’s sports, and that it’s discriminatory to exclude them from participating in the category of their affirmed gender.

👀 Looking ahead… The lawsuit, which seeks a ruling to prevent the NCAA from allowing trans athletes to compete against cisgender women, will play out in a Georgia federal court over the next several months.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, should transgender athletes be allowed to compete in women’s sports?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

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🌋🇮🇸 Iceland is turning into Hotland. A volcanic eruption in southern Iceland on Saturday – the country’s fourth since December – caused molten lava to flow toward the evacuated town of Grindavik, prompting authorities to also evacuate the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. Initial assessments suggest this weekend’s eruption was the largest of the recent flare-ups on the Reykjanes Peninsula, which collectively represent the first period of volcanic activity in the area since the 13th century.

🇷🇺 Russian President Vladimir Putin was re-elected for six more years. The three-day election, which concluded yesterday, saw Putin win 88% of the vote, with record-high 74% voter turnout across the country, per preliminary results. The US and other Western nations say the vote in Russia was neither free nor fair, given that Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him. Thousands of supporters of the late Alexei Navalny, Putin's most prominent opponent who died in a Russian prison last month, gathered at polling sites at noon yesterday to show their dissent against Putin, who’s poised to become the longest-serving Russian leader in over two centuries.

🇳🇪🚫🇺🇸 Niger’s ruling junta canceled all military cooperation with the US. Niger has been ruled by a military council since July 2023, when troops captured the sitting president and declared their top general as the country's new ruler. Prior to Saturday’s announcement from Niger, which took immediate effect, the US military had for years used bases within the country to conduct airborne operations against jihadist groups in Western Africa. Niger’s latest move comes as its ruling junta has more closely aligned with Russia and Iran in recent months.

The process for buying and selling a home is about to be upended, much like a heel at the culmination of a WWE match🪑.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR), an organization representing 1.5+ million real estate agents that has set the guidelines for home sales for decades, agreed to settle a series of lawsuits by paying $418 million in damages and eliminating its rules on commissions.

• Currently, agents working with a buyer and seller typically split a commission of 5%–6% of the home purchase price, paid out by the seller.
• As part of the settlement, a broker advertising a home for sale on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is no longer required to offer any upfront compensation to a buyer’s agent. Buyers' brokers will also be required to enter into written agreements with their buyers.

The impact: Americans pay ~$100 billion in real estate commissions annually. NAR’s settlement could reduce that figure by 25%–50%, according to TD Cowen Insights.

And less commissions paid out should result in less real estate agents, who are almost exclusively paid via commission. Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman told Bloomberg in October that, should the existing real estate-commission structure be dismantled, “[h]alf the real estate agents in this country would be unemployed.”

👀 Looking ahead… A federal judge is expected to approve the settlement in the coming weeks, while sellers and buyers should see broker fees reduced by mid-July.

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💬 Quoted… “A very clear moment when the industry speaks to you.”

• Mark Lundstrom, a MIT-trained rocket scientist and Rhodes scholar with more degrees than a thermometer, launched his unicorn startup Radia back in 2016 after learning that transporting large wind turbine blades is one of the toughest logistics jobs in the energy industry. His solution to the problem? Building the world’s largest plane (☝️) – at 356 feet long and 79 feet tall – to open up land access for giant wind turbines with blades the length of football fields, which are currently only used on offshore projects due to transportation limitations over land.

🏙️ Stat of the Day: ~20% of office space around the US was unleased at the end of last year, the highest vacancy rate in over four decades, according to recent data from Moody's Analytics. As a result, several major US cities are tightening their purse strings in anticipation of lower revenue from commercial property taxes: New York City is predicting a worst-case scenario of $1+ billion less income over the coming years, while San Francisco’s mayor has paused hiring and is preparing to cut spending by 10%. Other cities – including Atlanta, Boston, and Dallas – are forecasting budget shortfalls in the near future.

🤔 Did You Know?... Some ancient empires in Mesopotamia had a “king for a day” ritual during certain solar eclipses, which involved temporarily replacing their ruler with a doppelganger – who was then executed to stave off negative omens.

📰 Worth a Read: Meet the Tech Company That Had a Better Year Than Nvidia → (WSJ)

• ☝️ St. Patrick’s Day celebrations took place this weekend in cities across the country, including New York City, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Savannah, Georgia.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Binoid

• 💰 US markets closed down across the board on Friday (S&P: -0.6%; Dow: -0.5%; Nasdaq: -1.0%).
• 💪 Reddit’s IPO is currently between four and five times oversubscribed, per a new report.
• 🚗 Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr is stepping down later this month after two years at the car-rental agency’s helm; he’ll be replaced by former Delta and GM exec Gil West.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏀 NCAA Selection Sunday: Both the men’s and women’s March Madness brackets were unveiled yesterday; see a breakdown of the men's field, and the top overall snubs; on the women's side, here's a breakdown of the bracket as well as the best games and players to watch.
• 🏈 Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a sixth-round pick that could convert into a fourth-rounder; the trade strongly indicates Chicago will take a QB (likely Caleb Williams) with the No. 1 overall pick in next month’s draft. | 🏈 Los Angeles Rams DT Aaron Donald, an eight-time All Pro defensive tackle who won three Defensive Player of the Year awards in 10 seasons, retired from the NFL at 32 years old.
• 🍿 Kung Fu Panda 4 ($30.0 million) edged out Dune Part Two ($29.1 million) at the domestic box office in their second and third weekends post-release, respectively.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Niphtio

• 🛰️🇺🇸 SpaceX has been building a network of hundreds of spy satellites since 2021 under a classified contract with a US intelligence agency, per a new Reuters report citing five internal sources.
• 🤖📰 OpenAI signed contracts with French newspaper Le Monde and Spanish publication Prisa Media to use news content to train ChatGPT and provide users with real-time updates.
• 🦠📅 An estimated 6.8% of US adults are currently experiencing long Covid symptoms, up from 5.3% last October, per new CDC survey results.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• ⛈️🌪️ Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency in 11 counties that were struck by severe weather late last week; the storms spawned at least nine tornadoes in Ohio and killed three local residents.
• 🚫♨️ Best Buy is recalling 287,000+ air fryers due to an overheating issue that can cause the products’ parts to melt or shatter.
• ⚖️ Fulton County DA Fani Willis will continue leading the criminal election interference case against former President Trump and his allies in Georgia after Willis’ former romantic partner – a lawyer who she hired to manage the case – withdrew from the proceedings, according to a judge’s ruling. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

• 🎓 The worst-paying college majors five years after graduation.

Monday: National Sloppy Joe Day

Tuesday: Five states hold presidential nominating contests; first day of spring

Wednesday: Federal Reserve announces interest rate decision; World Down Syndrome Day

Thursday: 3 Body Problem debuts on Netflix; Reddit debuts on the public market

Friday: Midnight deadline for Congress to avoid a partial government shutdown; Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire hits theaters

On Friday, we covered a long-shot congressional bill that would establish a standard four-day workweek in the US without any reduction in pay.

❓ Our question to you: Do you think a four-day workweek will ever become commonplace in America?

• 👍 Yes: 34%
• 👎 No: 47%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 19%

Click here to read some of the best longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 5,148 votes and 384 longform responses.

👆 This giant blueberry, weighing in at a whopping 20.4 grams (0.04 lbs), officially entered the record books this week.

• The record-setting berry was grown in New South Wales, Australia, by staff at blueberry grower Costa Group.
• “This really is a delightful piece of fruit,” said senior horticulturalist Brad Hocking. “While the fruit is large, there’s absolutely no compromise on quality or flavor as would be expected when developing a premium variety blueberry.”

Can you guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words?

1. Basi
2. Cand
3. Err
4. Germin
5. Meg

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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1. Basi = At the bottom (e.g., basic, basis)
2. Cand = Glowing (candle)
3. Err = Stray (errant)
4. Germin = Sprout (germination), megalodon
5. Meg = Great (megaphone, megalopolis)