Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 👀 The US and Europe aren’t seeing eye to eye
• 🤝 Nike + Skims
• 🧠 How to understand things

… and more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.19-minute read (1,114 words).

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America’s relationship with Europe has come under focus in recent days, following a series of statements and actions by the Trump administration.

Catch up quick: Last week, the Trump admin initiated direct peace talks with Russia regarding its ongoing war in Ukraine.

The talks, which kicked off yesterday in Saudi Arabia, come after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said NATO membership for Ukraine is unrealistic in any negotiations with Russia, and also called the prospect of Ukraine returning to its pre-2014 borders an “unrealistic objective.”

Other examples from last week:

• Trump announced imminent "reciprocal" tariffs on every country that imposes import duties on the US, which are projected to hit ~$600 billion worth of goods from the EU.
• Vice President JD Vance delivered a speech criticizing Europe’s culture, commitment to democracy, and migration policies. He claimed the true threat to Europe’s democracy was “from within,” referring to a retreat from their fundamental values, as well as a failure to listen to the concerns of voters.

Leaders across the pond aren’t too happy. In an emergency meeting called in response to the Trump admin’s statements, European leaders insisted they should be involved in any Russia-Ukraine peace talks, and disagreed with Secretary Hegseth’s statements regarding Ukraine’s induction into NATO.

Leaders from France, Germany, the UK, and other European nations have also criticized VP Vance’s recent remarks about Europe.

Looking ahead…Early indications signal the second Trump term could reshape how America and Europe interact. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Vance’s speech a sign that “decades of the old relationship between Europe and America are ending.”

📊 Flash poll: In general, how do you feel about the US government’s recent statements and actions regarding Europe?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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Nike and Kim Kardashian’s Skims are partnering to launch a new brand called NikeSKIMS, in a move the checkmark company’s execs say is poised to crown their Michael Jordan of activewear.

The new brand will include a collection of women’s apparel, footwear, and accessories set to debut this spring, with a global rollout planned for 2026.

Nike’s future is female

The checkmark company is pushing for its products to be like a male sloth in heat – hanging on more women – as indicated by its first Super Bowl commercial in nearly 30 years, a female-centric spot featuring star athletes like Jordan Chiles, Caitlin Clark, and Sha'Carri Richardson.

• Nike recorded ~$8.5 billion in revenue from female apparel last year, compared to ~$21 billion from male apparel. It estimates 40% of its customers are women.
• A partnership with Skims will help it pump those numbers up, checkmark execs hope – as well as bring some much-needed buzz to a company that’s fallen behind activewear competitors like Lululemon, Alo, and Vuori. The six-year-old Skims was ranked #11 last quarter on the Lyst Index, a list of the top-twenty hottest brands in fashion. Nike fell off the list in 2023.

📈 As for Skims…The Nike pairing provides the brand, valued at $4 billion in 2023, another avenue for R&D and growth as it lays the groundwork for an IPO or strategic acquisition.

Captain America: Brave New World soared into theaters this past weekend, earning a higher-than-expected $100 million in North America.

It marks the fourth-largest Presidents’ Day weekend debut at the domestic box office, trailing fellow Marvel titles Black Panther ($242 million), Deadpool ($152 million), and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($120 million).

But Cap and Falcon aren’t celebrating just yet. Despite the film’s high box-office numbers, critics and audiences liked it about as much as Cap liked Iron Man in Civil War (not at all).

• Brave New World currently has a 49% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the third-lowest score for any Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
• Opening-day audiences also appeared unimpressed, awarding the movie a B- on CinemaScore – tied for the worst score in MCU history.

A potential explanation: Many fans on both sides of the political spectrum are reportedly choosing to boycott the film, following multiple controversies over casting choices and the inclusion of certain characters ahead of its release.

📸 Big picture: The MCU has struggled to find its footing at the box office ever since the record-breaking success of Avengers: Endgame in 2019, with many analysts blaming an oversaturation of content. Last year, CEO Bob Iger announced a renewed focus on “quality over quantity” when it comes to Marvel – though there are a record-tying nine projects set for release this year (three movies, three live-action shows, three animated shows).

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 US markets rose across the board (S&P: +0.2%; Dow: +0.02%; Nasdaq: +0.1%).
• 🤔🤝 Intel is reportedly an acquisition target for both TSMC and Broadcom, who are each weighing independent deals that would break Intel up into two parts. | 🏘️ The Federal Housing Administration, which provides mortgage insurance on loans for people who otherwise wouldn’t qualify for one, is reportedly facing a ~40% headcount reduction.
• 🥤 Coca-Cola launched “Simply Pop,” its own prebiotic soda brand to compete with Olipop and Poppi. | 🍗 KFC is moving its US headquarters from Kentucky to Texas and changing its name to “TFC”.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Live It Up

• ⚾️ MLB Spring Training is officially underway; here’s everything you need to know.
• 📰 The NY Times greenlit the use of AI for its product and editorial staff; future use cases include writing social copy, SEO headlines, and code. | 😃 Buzzfeed is releasing its own social platform “to spread joy and enable playful creative expression.”
• 📺 SNL’s 50th anniversary special drew 15+ million viewers, marking NBC's biggest audience for a nighttime entertainment show since the 2020 Golden Globes. | 🎥 Matt Damon has been tapped as the star of Christopher Nolan's upcoming film The Odyssey; it's slated for a July 2026 release. | ⚖️ A$AP Rocky was found not guilty of firing a handgun at a former friend in 2021; if found guilty, he would have faced up to 24 years in prison.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🤖 xAI unveiled Grok-3, a new AI reasoning model the Elon Musk-led company says has more than 10x the compute power of the previous version.
• 🎗️ Pancreatic cancer tumors connect to animals’ nervous systems and reprogram some of the neurons for their own benefit, per a new study; the finding could lead to new treatments for the disease, which has a five-year survival rate of ~10%.
• 🗣️ The origin of spoken language in humans has been linked to a protein variant found only in early members of Homo sapiens (our species); scientists say speech provided early humans with an edge over now-extinct cousins like Neanderthals and Denisovans.

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with Asutra

• 🗽 NYC Mayor Eric Adams is set to appear in court today; a federal judge will decide whether to grant the DOJ’s request to dismiss corruption charges against him.
• 🚨 Border patrol arrested ~29,000 migrants entering the US illegally in January; that’s down from ~47,000 in December, and continues a months-long downward trend.
• 🧑‍⚖️ A federal judge declined a request from 14 Democratic state AGs seeking to temporarily block Elon Musk and DOGE from accessing data systems at seven federal agencies and firing workers there. | ⚖️ A US appeals court blocked the Biden administration’s SAVE student loan relief program, ruling the former President lacked the authority to establish the program.

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As you’ve probably heard by now, egg prices are higher than anyone within a 10-foot vicinity of Snoop Dogg. And those seeking a more quantitative idea of the supply-demand mismatch driving prices through the roof of the carton need look no further than at data from the Egg Clearinghouse, or ECI, which operates an online auction marketplace that connects volume sellers (farmers) with volume buyers (grocery stores, restaurants, etc.). Billions of eggs are bought and sold on the platform annually.

According to ECI president Alan Munroe, as documented in the Wall Street Journal, on any given day three years ago there would be ~50 farmers offering eggs and ~60 bids for them on the marketplace. One day earlier this month, there were ~10 suppliers offering eggs and ~200 bids for them.

☝️ Loggerhead sea turtles appear able to discern and remember magnetic field signatures, and perform a happy “food dance” when exposed to magnetic fields associated with food.

🤔 Did You Know? Aristotle, Euclid, and other ancient Greek thinkers believed “1” wasn’t a number, but rather the essential building block from which all other numbers flowed.

📰 Worth a Read: How to understand things

🖱 Clickbait: America's best (and worst) state capitals to live in

💐 Southside Blooms is a Chicago-based floral company providing beautiful arrangements to its customers – and hope for a better future for its employees.

🧁 A sweet-toothed opossum has become an online sensation after helping herself to an entire Costco chocolate mousse cake on a Nebraska resident’s back porch.

🚊🍼 New Yorkers sprang into action last week when a woman went into labor on the subway. The baby, born just before arriving at the Herald Square station, is being hailed as a “little miracle on 34th street.”

🍪 Trivia: From which language did the word “cookie” originate?

📆 True or False? July is named after Julius Caesar.

🤔 Riddle Me This: What five-letter word typed in all capital letters can be read the same upside down?

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🍪 Trivia: Dutch

📆 T/F: True

🤔 Riddle: SWIMS