Good morning, and Happy Valentine's Day. In today’s edition:

• 📝 DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts are gaining steam
• 🥇 Planes loaded with gold
• 🤔 How would you spend $354 billion?

… and more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.15-minute read (1,104 words).

P.S. We’ll be off on Monday for Presidents’ Day. See you back here Tuesday.

Today is your last chance to enter the Picture This Giveaway for a free chance to win a $1,500 Gift Card to Scott Kemper Imagery, a $1,000 Visa Gift Card, and a copy of the book Buy What You Love Without Going Broke.

How to enter: Click this link + enter your email. Then picture yourself with some free dope wall art and a cool G to blow😎.

“If you get up one more time than you fall, you will make it through.”

–Chinese proverb

On Tuesday, President Trump signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to directly consult with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on best practices for hiring approval, as well as plans for a large-scale reduction of the federal workforce.

Let’s break it down: The order calls for all federal agency heads to work with a DOGE staffer in developing a “data-driven plan” for hiring government employees only in critical areas, with agencies ordered not to fill vacancies for career appointments without receiving DOGE approval.

• Other provisions include requiring each agency to hire just one employee for every four employees that leave, and ordering all agency heads to submit a report aimed at determining whether their agencies or subagencies could be eliminated or consolidated.
• The order doesn’t apply to military personnel or law enforcement.

DOGE has been busy

In the weeks since Trump took office, DOGE staffers have been embedded at several federal agencies to review government systems for excessive spending, including the Treasury Department. In particular, DOGE has targeted the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as areas where major budget cuts and headcount reductions are warranted.

But it’s also faced major pushback. House Democratic leaders have launched a federal taskforce to investigate whether the Trump administration and DOGE’s efforts to reshape the government are legal, as well as support ongoing lawsuits seeking to limit Trump and DOGE’s agenda.

• Overall, there are a combined 50+ ongoing legal challenges against the Trump administration’s recent actions, according to Axios’ latest tally.

Looking ahead…DOGE and the Trump administration’s next targets for widespread cuts could include the Education Department, the military, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

📊 Flash poll: In general, how do you feel about DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts across the federal government thus far?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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Invest at the current $2.70/share by 2/27.**

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Tony Soprano has been fielding panicked calls from overseas relatives all week, after Italian authorities in Palermo on Tuesday executed a large-scale sting against the Sicilian Mafia. ~150 suspects were arrested in the series of raids, marking the biggest such crackdown on the organized crime group since 1984.

• The suspects are part of “Cosa Nostra,” the Mafia syndicate based in and around Palermo that controlled organized crime across Europe during the 1980s and ‘90s.
• They were charged Tuesday with various crimes, including drug trafficking, attempted murder, extortion, illegal online gambling, and illegal firearms possession.

How Cosa Nostra operates: Investigations revealed the Mafia families coordinate their illicit activities across Palermo, including drug trafficking, collecting “pizzo” (or protection money) from businesses, and forcing traders to use Mafia-sourced products at inflated prices.

• Officials also found a wide network of informants – including a clerk in the Palermo prosecutors office – and discovered how encrypted mobile phones are smuggled into prisons to allow jailed Cosa Nostra bosses to continue exercising their command.

🌍 Big picture: Cosa Nostra has decreased in power due to Italian authorities' efforts in recent decades, ceding its place as Europe’s most powerful mob to the ‘Ndrangheta (from Italy’s southern Calabria region).

‘Ndrangheta controlled 80+% of Europe’s cocaine trade and earned ~$55 billion/year as of 2023, making it one of the world’s richest and most powerful organized crime groups.

Much like Harry and Ron in The Chamber of Secrets, Airbus is aiming to take a classic English vehicle into the sky. The European aviation giant this week announced a partnership with startup Chaise Lounge to explore early-stage concepts for outfitting some of its planes with double-decker seating.

A breakdown: The seats would essentially have passengers sitting directly on top or below the rows in front or behind them – the airplane version of bunk beds.

• While this arrangement would require the removal of the overhead bin, it would provide passengers with more legroom and reclining space than current standard economy seats.
• Travelers would have the option to choose their row preference upon ticket purchase, with the bottom-row seats offering passengers more space to stretch their legs.

The design, coined by Chaise Lounge CEO Alejandro Núñez Vicente, has gone viral multiple times since its first pitch. Opinions have poured in from all sides of the spectrum, but Alejandro believes that no press is bad press – and more people will get more on board as they’re exposed to the concept.

👀 Looking ahead…While it’s unlikely that double-decker seating will catch on in the near future, Airbus’ new partnership signals wider industry interest in the concept.

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 US markets rose across the board (S&P: +1.0%; Dow: +0.8%; Nasdaq: +1.5%). | 🏡 ~73,000 houses were pulled from sale after they failed to find a buyer in December, per CoreLogic data; that figure represents ~1 in 10 properties on the market; it's also a 64% increase from the same month in 2023. | 🤠 The NYSE is moving its Chicago branch to Texas; will call it "NYSE Texas."
• ✌️ Joann, the fabric and crafts chain, is closing 500 stores, or ~60% of its locations. | 🥚 Some retailers, including Trader Joe's and Kroger, have started limiting egg purchases.
• 📝 President Trump ordered federal agencies to explore how to adjust US tariffs to match those of other countries (“reciprocal tariffs”).

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Kalshi

• ⚾️ Free agent Alex Bregman reportedly agreed to a three-year, $120 million deal with the Boston Red Sox; he’s played for the Houston Astros since 2020.
• ⚖️ Sean "Diddy" Combs filed a $100M defamation lawsuit over claims made in Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy, a documentary that premiered on Peacock in January.
• 🧝‍♀️ The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was renewed for a third season by Amazon. | 📺 Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special is set to air...live from New York on Sunday night.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🤢 24+ million influenza cases have been recorded in the US so far this season; it's the most active flu season in more than a decade.
• 🌃 The northern lights (aurora borealis) could be visible as far south as northern Michigan and Maine over the coming days; it depends on solar winds. | 🖥️ Frontier, the second fastest supercomputer in the world, ran the largest and most complicated simulation of the universe on record.
• 🐊 Alligators and nearly three dozen other species use storm water sewer systems to traverse an urban area in Florida, per a new study. | ☠️ 6,000-year-old human remains were found in England’s River Thames.

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with Autio

• 🤝 Israel and Hamas agreed to resolve a dispute that threatened to derail their ongoing cease-fire agreement; Hamas says it will release Israeli hostages this weekend as planned.
• ⚖️ Six senior DOJ officials resigned after refusing to comply with orders from the Trump administration to dismiss the corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams.
• 🏛️🏥 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as Health Secretary in a 52-48 Senate vote mostly along party lines.

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Banks are currently working to load as much gold as they can onto planes traveling from London to New York, in order to pare losses and take advantage of existing arbitrage between the markets. JPMorgan alone plans to deliver $4 billion of gold from across the pond this month, according to filings.

The driver of this modern-day prospecting rush?

The price difference between London and New York markets, which are typically in lockstep. Physical gold is stored in London (which holds more bars than Kendrick Lamar’s notebook), but futures contracts are swapped in New York. The two markets usually trade within a few dollars of each other.

However, since early December, the parents have been sleeping in separate rooms – the price difference between the two markets has hovered between ~$20–$30 per troy ounce (~31 grams). And demand remained high. Cue: the finance version of dropshippers rushing to cash in.

Analysts say the gap between London (lower) and New York (higher) is being driven by the markets pricing in potential tariffs on US imports of precious metals.

☝️ You’re looking at the winner of the Event Photography Awards’ special ‘Best Ever’ contest, held in celebration of its 10th anniversary.

🤔 Did You Know? Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was so good at Tetris that Nintendo Power magazine eventually stopped publishing his high scores, since he dominated the leaderboard.

📰 Worth a Read: The woman who built a business around music for pets

🖱 Clickbait: America's most popular pizza toppings

🤪 When employees at The Elm Tree Inn discovered the historic pub was at risk of shutting down, the owners' Gen Z daughter wasted no time in creating a desperate (and hilarious) plea for donations. Check out the Instagram account here.

🐢 ~4,900 yellow-spotted river turtles have been released into Brazil's Igapó-Açu River in an effort to protect the vulnerable species.

👵🏻 A 104-year-old New York woman had one wish for her birthday: to spend it in jail.

🌌 That’s cool: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a solar system simulator.

🤔 Very important: How would you spend $354 billion?

🧮 If calculators had a human form: They would look something like this.

🧠 Inquisitive minds only: The Signal covers current events with a spirit of curiosity – ideology-free, and with a diverse slate of global contributors. Sign up for the free newsletter, delivered 2x/week.*

😵 Overwhelmed? Meet the Mindfulness Emergency Kit – a free guide with 11 proven practices to ease stress and anxiety fast.*

*A message from our partners.

Our weekly news quiz is live. How well did you pay attention this week? Let’s find out.

Below are three lists of ingredients. Your job is give us the completed dish they make.

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Olive oil
• Vegetables
• Broth
• Rice
• Wine
• Honey
• Butter
• Cream
• Seasonings
• Lobster

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Sugar
• Butter
• Cocoa powder
• Food coloring
• Vanilla
• Vinegar
• Salt
• Eggs
• Flour
• Cream cheese

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Shrimp
• Pasta
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Shallots and garlic
• White wine
• Salt & pepper
• Red pepper flakes
• Parsley

☝️ Recipe #1: Lobster risotto

✌️ Recipe #2: Red velvet cheesecake brownies

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Shrimp scampi with pasta