Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🤔 What’s going on with the US economy?
• 🏖️ Miami Beach’s “worst spring break ever”
• 🤢 Super Sick Monday is here

… and more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.37-minute read (1,163 words).

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"An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered."

–G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

On Friday, the weekly news quiz section was mistakenly left out of the newsletter. Seeking a challenge? Take the quiz here.

In recent weeks, economists and federal agencies have published a flurry of data indicating the US economy is experiencing strong economic growth, a solid labor market, and relatively low inflation – but at the same time, the mood of the US consumer is souring.

A rundown

GDP: US gross domestic product grew at an inflation-adjusted rate of 2.5% in 2024, per federal data published late last month. That’s down from 3.2% GDP growth in 2023, but far higher than the 1.0% growth forecast by economists at the start of 2024.

Jobs: The US unemployment rate ticked down to 4.0% in January, from 4.1% in December, despite a slowdown in job growth, per the latest federal jobs report published Friday. Average hourly wages rose by 4.1% year-over-year in January – down from recent highs seen in 2022 (+6.7%/year), but above pre-pandemic averages.

Inflation: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 2.9% in December, up from a recent low of 2.4% in September. Core inflation, which excludes often-volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.1%, tied for its lowest figure since March 2021.

Stocks: After closing out a blockbuster 2024, all three major US indexes have turned in a positive start year-to-date (S&P: +2.7%; Dow: +4.5%; Nasdaq: +1.3%).

Consumer confidence: Consumer sentiment fell ~5% in the University of Michigan’s February survey of consumers, reaching its lowest reading since July. US consumers’ expectations of inflation over the next 12 months rose from 3.3% in January to 4.3% this month, marking the highest reading since November 2023.

Looking ahead…We’ll get more clarity into America’s economic situation this week, when federal agencies publish the CPI for January, monthly retail sales data, and quarterly US household debt/credit balances.

📊 Flash poll: To all working professionals: would you consider the growth outlook in your industry/sector of the economy to be positive or negative over the next 12 months?

• Positive
• Negative

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St. Paddy’s Day must be around the corner: The Shamrock Shake is back. The minty green shake, a seasonal staple for 50+ years, is now available at McDonald’s locations nationwide (through at least March 23), with $0.25 donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities for each shake sold.

Fun fact: Proceeds from Shamrock Shake sales helped fund the very first Ronald McDonald House, which was built in Philadelphia in 1974.

Green promoting green to make green

The Shamrock Shake isn’t the only green face making a McDonald’s reappearance. Grimace’s Irish uncle from Sham Rock, Uncle O’Grimacey, is back to help out with marketing the green drink after decades out of the spotlight.

• McDonald’s originally created Uncle O’Grimacey in 1975 to promote the Shamrock Shake.
• But he hasn’t been seen since the mid-1980s, after being phased out due to having "controversial ties to the [Irish Republican Army]," according to a 2017 PhillyVoice article (though no other evidence of this exists).

With the resurrection move, the fast-food chain is trying to recapture some of the magic Grimace brought to TikTok, the New York Mets, and its bottom line. The purple monster’s birthday meal helped McDonald’s quarterly US same-store sales climb 10+% in the spring of 2023, and sparked the company’s increasing use of retro mascots in its marketing promotions.

📅 Mark the cal: McDonald’s is scheduled to report quarterly earnings today – its first since the CDC linked its Quarter Pounders to a fatal E. coli outbreak in October.

Those with spring break trips planned to Miami Beach may have to reset their Project X expectations. In a bid to promote new rules implemented to curb unruly partiers, the city last week released a trailer of a mock reality show in which the characters have the “worst spring break ever.”

Anti-spring break

The city, one of the premier destinations for college students with a week off from school and an urge to pick up a beer bong, has for years dealt with rowdy crowds, property damage, and fights during spring break. Major crackdowns started after a series of shootings took place in 2021 that prompted a state of emergency.

It’s not me, it’s you: The city’s new spring break-is-no-bueno marketing video – which advertises some of these crackdowns, including $100 parking, curfews, and security and DUI checkpoints – isn’t its first.

Miami Beach last year released a video of it “breaking up” with spring break; it was viewed on social media ~220 million times. Two billboards also blasted this message to drivers coming in and out of the barrier island.

The campaign seems to be working. In March 2024, there were no shootings related to spring break. Citywide arrest numbers were down 8%, and police said they seized fewer than 70 guns after seizing 100+ in 2023.

👀 Looking ahead…Miami Beach’s spring break restrictions will begin February 27 and last through March 31.

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📉 US markets fell last week (S&P: -0.2%; Dow: -0.5%; Nasdaq: -0.5%).
• 🚀 Boeing plans to lay off ~400 workers in its SLS moon rocket program amid delays with NASA’s Artemis program.
• 🏭 Nippon Steel will invest in – but not take over – US Steel, President Trump and Japan’s prime minister said; President Biden blocked a takeover while in office. | 📦 President Trump signed an executive order delaying his cancellation of the de minimis trade exception, commonly used by Chinese e-commerce companies Temu and Shein to ship products to the US duty-free. | 🚫 The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was instructed to suspend virtually all activities by its new leader, Russell Vought.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with NoNetz

• 🏆🏈 Super Bowl LIX: The Philadelphia Eagles stomped the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22; Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was named Super Bowl MVP. | 📺 Watch the commercials. | 🎤🎶 Relive Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance.
• 🏈 Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen was named the 2024-25 NFL MVP, narrowly beating out Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson; see the other NFL awards.
• 🎮 PlayStation Network services were restored Saturday night after a nearly 24-hour outage left many users offline.

*From our partners: 🫶 NoNetz hats and fingerless gloves are crafted with comfort in mind… 3D-knitted on demand in NYC using no-itch, 100% merino wool – sustainably and ethically sourced. Feel the difference of consciously designed warmth. Save 15% with code DONUT15.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🐋🗣️ Humpback whale songs follow the same basic structure as human language, including a pattern known as Zipf's law: the most frequent word in a language appears 2x as often as the second most frequent, 3x as often as the third, and so on.
• 🏥🐷 Boston surgeons successfully transplanted a modified pig kidney into a 66-year-old man with kidney failure last month; it’s the fourth pig kidney transplant ever in the US, and the first of three to be done as part of a new FDA-sanctioned clinical trial. | 🚫🍩 The FDA recalled ~2 million donuts and other pastries due to potential listeria contamination.
• 🌎☄️ Why the odds of an asteroid striking Earth in 2032 keep going up and down.

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with Niphtio

• ✈️ A small passenger plane crashed over the Bering Sea off Alaska's western coast on Thursday, killing all 10 people on board, per authorities who recovered the wreckage.
• 🧑‍⚖️🏛️ A federal judge temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s DOGE from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data, like Americans’ Social Security and bank account numbers. | 🧑‍⚖️🏛️ A separate federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan to place thousands of USAID employees on leave starting Saturday. | 🏛️ A DOGE staffer who resigned over racist tweets "will be brought back. To err is human, to forgive divine," per a post from department head Elon Musk.
• 👍 President Trump’s approval rating currently stands at 53%, higher than any point during his first term, per a new CBS News/YouGov poll.

*From our partners: 🙌📲 Save your favorite Bluesky posts with Niphtio… Our favorite extension for bookmarks and organization released a beta integration with Bluesky. Save posts from your feed, add them to collections, add notes, and retrieve them later with smart search. Learn more about Niphtio’s Bluesky integration here.

Cooper DeJean’s sick pick-six last night must have been contagious. An estimated 22.6 million employed Americans are expected to miss work today, according to a new survey from the UKG/Harris Poll, which have been tracking data regarding the Super Bowl and employee workplace attendance for decades.

• That’s up from 16.1 million call-outs last year, and breaks the previous record of 18.8 million set in 2023 – coincidentally the last time the Chiefs and Eagles faced off in the big game.

PTO, without taking PTO: Per the survey, 43% of employed Americans think the Monday after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday, up from 37% who said so in 2024.

Could it be? While there’s been no congressional movement on the holiday front, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently floated the idea of adding an 18th regular season game, which would mean the Super Bowl falls on the day before Presidents’ Day, a Monday that America has off. But maybe don’t hold your breath – the NFL Players’ Union isn’t stoked about adding more regular season games.

☝️ A Stradivarius violin – one of ~600 in existence built by famed Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari three centuries ago – sold for $11.3 million at auction on Friday, falling ~$5 million shy of the all-time record for a musical instrument.

🤔 Did You Know? The highest number a person has counted to out loud is 1 million by American Jeremy Harper, who livestreamed the attempt in 2007. It took him an average of ~16 hours/day across 89 straight days, averaging 11,200+ numbers/day.

📰 Worth a Read: How the brain's little blue dot regulates your sleep

🖱 Clickbait: Almost 1 in 10 people use the same four-digit PIN

Monday: VP JD Vance attends a global AI summit in Paris

Tuesday: Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivers semiannual report to Congress

Wednesday: January CPI

Thursday: Galentine’s Day

Friday: Valentine’s Day; Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters nationwide

On Friday, we covered how the US is spending more time at home than ever before, according to new data from across the country.

❓ Our question to you (long-form): In your opinion, what’s the main reason why Americans are spending more time alone today than ever before?

• “I feel that technology has played a powerful role in Americans’ newfound alone time. Technology is becoming more addicting as it finds better ways to keep us engaged. The joy we once got from socializing and being outside is given to us through our phones via addictive small dopamine hits.”
• “I believe the main reason is the price of hanging out. There aren’t as many free places to visit anymore. It feels like people need to spend money to hang out with anyone these days, whether on food, drinks, movies, etc, and not as many people can do those activities often.”
• “To me, it’s a combination of factors. Lingering effects of the pandemic like WFH, inflation, etc, but mostly the negative effects of social media. Sadly, It’s just easier and safer to stay home and scroll content. While I love the benefits of having the world at my fingertips, anytime you look around, everyone has their face in a phone.”

Click here to read more of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note: Some responses may be edited for clarity/length; We received 213 longform responses.

🐾 Cheryl Gaw never planned to spend her retirement rescuing thousands of pugs, but sometimes life has other plans. The South African woman now runs Pug Rescue South Africa; in the 15 years since its founding, the org has rescued 2,500+ pups.

⚡️ Tiny pulses of electricity being surged through a person’s vagus nerve is showing positive effects against the symptoms of rheumatoid arthrits, Crohn's disease, and multiple sclerosis.

💖 2025 is the year of romanticizing our lives. The trend, which encourages people to find magic and beauty in the mundane, has surged in popularity online. Read more about why and how you should jump on the bandwagon here.

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

1. Ambi
2. Caud
3. Cine
4. Dorm
5. Frat

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1. Ambi = Both (e.g., ambidextrous)
2. Caud = Tail (caudal)
3. Cine = Motion (cinema)
4. Dorm = Sleep (dormitory)
5. Frat = Brother (fraternity)