Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🏒 USA vs. Canada
• ☄️ An asteroid could hit Earth in 2032
• 🐟 Escaped Norwegian fish

… and more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.45-minute read (1,183 words).

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“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”

–Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

This season, the NHL replaced its All-Star game with a new 4 Nations tournament in a bid to boost fan interest and viewership. And, as the tournament heads into the final matchup, data indicates the league’s plan has been a resounding success.

How we got here: Teams from four nations – Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the US – each played each other once. The two teams with the highest points total after this round-robin play – the US and Canada – are scheduled to face off in the championship game.

How the rosters were chosen: ~85% of active NHL players hail from one of the four nations in the 4 Nations. Russia is the only other country present in the top five active-player nationalities (#4), but weren’t selected to compete for…obvious reasons. Each nation was responsible for fielding its own squad – but NHL players only, no college ringers like Mike Eruzione.

Prelim round highlights:

• Team USA earned a 3-1 win over Canada, in a politically charged grudge match that saw the Montreal crowd boo the US national anthem and three fights break out in the first nine seconds of gameplay (all of which were reportedly planned via group chat).
• Canada later defeated Finland in a do-or-die contest to set up a highly anticipated rematch against Team USA on Thursday, with the winner deciding whether Canada becomes the 51st state being crowned the inaugural 4 Nations champion.

📈 The league wanted the world to watch…and it got its wish. The 4.4 million average viewers for Saturday’s USA-Canada showdown was higher than all but Game 7 of last year’s Stanley Cup Finals, while Team USA’s 6-1 blowout of Finland on Thursday drew 1.55 million average viewers, outpacing each of the previous three NHL All-Star games.

+Dive deeper: How 4 Nations fits into the NHL’s growth strategy.

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New NASA data has Leo DiCaprio clearing his schedule for future talk show appearances.

There is a 2.6% (1-in-38) chance that an asteroid will hit Earth on December 22, 2032, according to America’s space agency. That’s up from an initial estimate of 1.2% in late January, shortly after it was discovered.

• The asteroid, dubbed 2024 YR4, measures an estimated 130–300 feet across, and is traveling through space at 30,000+ mph.
• Astronomers currently believe it would create an explosion upon impact equivalent to ~500x the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, affecting a ~30-mile radius around the impact site.

The great unknown

The odds of collision – while still low – are expected to keep fluctuating as astronomers gather more information. Current estimates about 2024 YR4’s size and trajectory are solely based on ground-telescope data, which paints a limited picture of both.

James Webb to the rescue: The James Webb Space Telescope (aka the GOAT of telescopes) will be used to observe 2024 YR4 in the coming months, with this information expected to alter the odds (potentially drastically), per experts.

☄️ It's happened before...Shortly after being discovered in 2004, the asteroid Apophis was given a 2.7% chance of hitting Earth.

However, after a few months and with better observations, scientists adjusted their calculations; Apophis’ chances of collision are now zero when it passes by Earth in 2029. Though in the unlikely event of a Don’t Look Up scenario, NASA can Hulk-smash it to pieces.

Southwest Airlines yesterday announced it’s cutting 1,750 jobs (~15% of its corporate workforce), as it works to trim costs. It marks the airline’s first mass layoffs in its 53-year history.

• The move is expected to generate net savings of ~$210 million this year and $300 million next year.

A turbulent time

The cuts follow a prolonged battle with activist investor Elliott Management (who now has six board seats), and come as Southwest is trying to boost its profitability.

This profit-push involves ditching its longstanding free-for-all seating method for assigned seating and adding redeye flights to squeeze more use out of its planes. The company also implemented a hiring freeze last month, and put an end to team-building “rallies,” a company tradition that dated back to 1985.

📸 Big picture: Southwest’s profit-push could also be referred to as a “premium-push.” Many of the company’s new initiatives are aimed at appealing to those willing to shell out cash for a more elevated flying experience, a segment of the market that’s boosted profits and revenues at other airlines such as American, Delta, and United.

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 US markets rose last week (S&P: +1.5%; Dow: +0.5%; Nasdaq: +2.6%).
• 🚫 OpenAI’s board unanimously rejected Elon Musk’s unsolicited $97.4 billion offer to buy the ChatGPT-maker, saying the “much-publicized ‘bid’ is in fact not a bid at all.”
• 🇯🇵 Japan's economy grew a better-than-expected 0.7% in October-December; it marks the country's third straight quarter of growth. | 🇦🇷 Argentina President Javier Milei is under investigation for fraud after promoting a cryptocurrency on his social media that later tanked.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with NoNetz

• 🏀 NBA All-Star Weekend: Steph Curry earned All-Star MVP after leading the Shaq OGs to victory in the new four-team mini tournament format (which drew controversy). | 🏁 NASCAR’s William Byron avoided a late wreck to win his second straight Daytona 500 and become the youngest driver ever to win the race twice (27 years old). | 🎾 Jannik Sinner, the world’s #1-ranked men’s tennis player, accepted a three-month ban to settle a World Anti-Doping Agency case over two positive doping tests; Sinner won’t miss any Grand Slam tournaments.
• 📲 TikTok has returned to Apple and Google’s app stores after nearly a month of being unavailable; the US government’s TikTok sale-or-ban law has been delayed until at least April 5.
• 📺 SNL aired its 50th anniversary special this weekend, with dozens of celebrities appearing across the three-hour show. | 🏆🍿 The British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) presented its 2025 awards in a ceremony Sunday; Conclave won best movie; see the full list of winners.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• ⚱️ Well-preserved Egyptian mummies up to 5,000 years old emit pleasant odors described as "woody," "spicy," and "sweet," per a new study; the scents are attributed to the oils, waxes, and balms used during mummification.
• 🌬️⛽ University of Cambridge researchers developed a solar-powered reactor that pulls carbon dioxide directly from the air and converts it into sustainable fuel.
• 💉🐔 A bird flu vaccine was given conditional USDA approval for use in chickens last week, amid an ongoing outbreak driving up egg prices across the US. | 🐦 The fossil of a newly discovered bird from the Jurassic Era is reshaping what scientists know about avian evolution.

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with Pique Life

• 🌧️ A major storm struck the Southern and Eastern US this weekend, causing massive flooding across several states; at least 14 deaths were reported, including 12 in Kentucky. | 🥶 Nearly a dozen Central US states – from the Canadian border to Oklahoma and central Texas – are facing extreme cold warnings that started yesterday and extend through Thursday.
• 🛬 A Delta Airlines plane crash-landed yesterday at Toronto Pearson International Airport; all 80 passengers and crew onboard were safely evacuated, with at least 17 injured. | 🇻🇦 Pope Francis was hospitalized on Friday for a respiratory infection; his hospital stay was later extended following the diagnosis of “a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract," the Vatican said.
• 🇺🇸🇷🇺 Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top US officials will meet their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia today to begin discussing an end to the war in Ukraine; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he hasn’t yet been invited to participate. | 🏛️ A DOGE-affiliated government employee is seeking broad access to IRS data systems that contain private tax data for individuals and businesses, per multiple reports.

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Wanted Dead or Alive: some 27,000 salmon who escaped from a fish farm off the coast of Norway.

Farm owner Mowi, the world's largest producer of farmed salmon, has issued a ~$45/head bounty (~$1.2 million total) for the capture and return of its fish, who escaped just over a week ago when a storm damaged the fence separating them from open waters.

Experts say the escaped fish pose a major risk to wild salmon in the area, as they compete for the same breeding grounds, often spread infections like sea lice, and produce offspring with lower survival rates when mating with their wild counterparts.

☝️ The Philadelphia Eagles held their Super Bowl Championship parade on Friday, drawing 1+ million attendees despite freezing temperatures.

🤔 Did You Know? 55% of the world's population aged 15 and older can't swim, according to Gallup.

📰 Worth a Read: Are the Internet and AI affecting our memory?   

🖱 Clickbait: A humpback whale briefly swallows a kayaker in Chile (video included)

Here are five stats from this past week that made our team go “whoa.” Hopefully you will, too.

💼 The share of people who work mostly in-person doubled in 2024 compared to the previous year, from 34% to 68% of all workers.

🤖🌏 Trust in AI is more than 2x higher in India (77% of residents) and China (72%) compared to the US (32%).

💐 70+% of all fresh-cut flowers sold in the US are imported through Miami International Airport.

🏠🇺🇸 The median age of a renter in the US stood at 42 years old in 2024, up from 33 in 2021.

🎮 Sony sold 20.2 million PlayStation 5’s last year – more than the combined sales of both the Nintendo Switch (11.5 million units) and Microsoft’s Xbox consoles (~5 million units).

On Friday, we covered President Trump’s new 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.

❓ Our question to you: In general, how do you feel about DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts across the federal government thus far?

• 👍 Support: 41%
• 👎 Oppose: 51%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 8%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 2,674 votes and 255 longform responses.

🥩 Meat raffles are gaining popularity throughout the Midwest. And the community events are exactly what they sound like: a raffle for nice cuts of meat. They're typically held as fundraisers for schools or youth sports teams.

🐒 The Bronx Zoo kicked off 2025 with the debut of a silvered langur baby with a striking orange coat. The bright-colored monkey will only have its hue for the next month or two before gradually shifting to a grey and silver coat.

🏠 Northern California company Emergent Construction has made it their mission to help those who lost their homes in last month’s wildfires. The company is the first to break ground on 3D-printed fireproof homes for families displaced by the disaster.

...and guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words.

1. Agri
2. Don
3. Funct
4. Hex
5. Lamin

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1. Agri = Field (e.g, agriculture)
2. Don = Give (donate)
3. Funct = Do (function)
4. Hex = Six (hexagon)
5. Lamin = Layer (laminate)

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