Good morning. In this edition:

• 📅 Tariffs go into effect today
• 📝 Europe’s peace plan for Ukraine
• 🥶 The coldest inhabited area on Earth

… and more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.13-minute read (1,098 words).

Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here for free.

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

–Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

The Trump administration’s 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, and additional 10% tariff on Chinese products, officially took effect this morning, after President Trump declared there’s “no room left” for negotiations.

How we got here: The tariffs were first announced in early February, with Trump framing them as a way of forcing Canada, China, and Mexico to prevent “the major threat of illegal aliens and deadly drugs killing our Citizens, including fentanyl.”

• The Canada and Mexico tariffs soon received a 30-day pause after the two countries agreed to help address fentanyl-smuggling and migration.
• However, the Trump administration has reportedly been dissatisfied with progress regarding drug-smuggling in recent weeks.

The impact

Canada, Mexico, and China are America's top-three largest trading partners, accounting for 42% of total US imports last year ($1.2+ trillion combined). They also serve as essential suppliers for many domestic industries.

A few examples:

• Food: Mexico is the largest supplier of fruit and vegetables to the US, while Canada leads in exports of grain, livestock/meats, poultry and more. In particular, the tariffs are projected to raise US avocado prices by ~20%.
• Automotive: 20+% of all cars and light trucks sold in the US were built in Canada or Mexico. The new tariffs on those countries are projected to drive up US car prices by as much as $12,000.
• Consumer electronics: An additional 10% tariff on China – the largest importer of electronics into the US – is expected to increase domestic prices for smartphones (+7%), laptops (+7%), and video game consoles (+10%).

Overall, the tariffs are projected to raise US prices by 1.0%-1.2%, resulting in consumers losing $1,600-$2,000 per household, per The Budget Lab at Yale.

👀 Looking ahead…It’s unclear how long the Trump administration’s tariffs will remain in effect as negotiations with Canada, Mexico, and China continue. And more tariffs are on the docket: President Trump confirmed yesterday that reciprocal US tariffs will start April 2 and apply to every country that taxes imports from America (including a 25% tariff on European countries).

Weeding through the greenwashing is hard, so Commons team of experts performs due diligence to rate brands so you don’t have to. They help you find brands that align with your values, and boycott the ones that don’t.

Plus, Commons rewards you for sustainable choices like taking public transit, supporting your local farmer’s market, thrifting, tailoring, and more.

Get the Commons app FREE here.

Over a dozen European leaders met in London on Sunday for a summit aimed at showing the continent’s united support for Ukraine, as well as Europe’s commitment to participating in future Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

After the summit, UK PM Keir Starmer said his country, France, and other allies are working with Ukraine on a peace deal, and will also seek the US’ support for its proposals.

• Starmer also said a “number” of allies had signed up to a “coalition of the willing” that would commit military assets, including troops on the ground, to secure peace for Ukraine in the event of a deal with Russia.

These commitments are a major sticking point. One of the main disagreements in Friday’s contentious White House meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was Ukraine’s insistence that any peace deal carries strong security guarantees from Western allies, in order to deter Russia from invading again in the future.

While European allies are working to meet Ukraine’s request for guarantees, Trump so far has been reluctant to commit the US to playing any kind of military role in securing the peace.

📰 In other news: Last night, the White House announced a pause in all US aid to Ukraine until Trump determines Zelensky is making a good-faith effort toward peace negotiations with Russia.

Domino’s yesterday added a parmesan cheese stuffed crust to US menus, marking the first time it’s ever sold a stuffed-crust item in its ~65 years of slingin’ ‘za.

Why now? America’s top pizza chain by sales wants to better compete with rivals like Pizza Hut and Papa John’s, which regularly steal its customers with their stuffed crust offerings.

• “Nearly 13 million Domino’s customers each year [mostly young people] are buying stuffed crust from our competitors…these are our customers who have to leave our brand because we’re the only national pizza brand that doesn’t offer it,” Domino’s CMO Kate Trumbull told CNBC.
• Domino’s has taken so long to release stuffed crust that a survey of its customers found 73% already believed the chain offered it on the menu, per Trumbull.

The origin story: A Brooklyn construction supervisor secured a patent for stuffed crust pizza back in 1987, and (unsuccessfully) tried to sue Pizza Hut for $1 billion following its rollout of the offering in 1995. At the time, Domino’s leadership believed stuffed crusts were just going to be a fad and would slow down the kitchen’s speed.

📸 Big picture: The Ann Arbor-based pizza chain is hoping its new stuffed crust offering will provide a shot-in-the-arm to sales, like it’s done for rivals. Domino's missed estimates for quarterly same-store sales in Q4, and said the consumer environment for fast food would remain pressured in 2025.

Tuft & Needle’s mattress protectors shields your investment from morning coffee enthusiasm, midnight snack adventures, and whatever your pets consider "helping."

• 💧 100% waterproof barrier (because gravity always wins)
• ❄️ Breathable material maintains cooling properties
• 🧼 Machine washable (for when life happens... repeatedly)
• ✅ Includes 100-night trial and worry-free warranty

Use code 50PROTECTOR for 50% off T&N’s mattress protector with purchase of a mattress.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📊 US markets fell across the board (S&P: -1.8%; Dow: -1.5%; Nasdaq: -2.6%).
• 📝 Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen resigned following a board investigation into his personal conduct; it ends his more than four-decade career at the grocery chain.
• 💰 TSMC, one of the world's largest chip manufacturers, will invest $100 billion in the US to boost its production.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Live It Up

• 🏈 ✌️ Jimmy Johnson, who won two Super Bowls and a national championship as a coach, announced his retirement from Fox Sports; he was a part of the network’s NFL coverage for 31 years.
• 🏀 Serena Williams joined the ownership group of the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo, the league’s first expansion team in Canada.
• 🙏 Angie Stone, Grammy-nominated R&B legend, 63, died in a vehicle accident. | 🎤 Alanis Morissette announced an eight-show residency for later this year at the Colosseum at Caesars in Vegas.
• 🎥 The first Shrek 5 trailer is here.

*From our partners: 🌱🏆 20+ superfoods, zero sugar, one scoop…Super Greens from Live It Up costs just $1.33 per serving, contains all-natural ingredients, and was voted best tasting out of 39 greens powders. Save 10% on Super Greens with code DONUT10.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🤖 Anthropic raised $3.5 billion at a $61.5 billion valuation.
• 🚀 SpaceX scrubbed the eighth test flight of Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built.
• 🌊 New research suggests the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the world’s strongest ocean current, will be 20% slower by 2050; could impact biodiversity and decrease the productivity of fisheries, among other things. | 💧 Water may have first formed 100–200 million years after the Big Bang, earlier than previously thought, per a new modeling paper.

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with Going

• 🥶 The US experienced its coldest meteorological winter (from December-February) since 2013-14, though 67% of the country experienced below-average snowfall. | 🔥 Firefighter crews were battling ~170 wildfires across North and South Carolina as of yesterday; the blazes have prompted some evacuations and a state of emergency in SC.
• ⚖️ The Highland Park parade shooter pleaded guilty to all charges related to the 2022 mass shooting in Illinois that killed seven people and wounded 48 others.
• 🇺🇸🇷🇺 US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly suspended offensive cyber operations against Russia by US Cyber Command; other agencies’ operations aren’t affected.

*From our partners: ✈️🧐 Spending too much time searching for flights?... Let the best deals come to you with Going – they notify you as soon as they become available. Great itineraries with the best airlines. Users save on average $550 for economy flights. Get started with Going.

After years in the #1 spot, the Golden Arches are now staring down a silver medal.

Chinese fast-food chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea has surpassed McDonald’s to become the world’s largest food-and-beverage chain by number of locations, ending last year with 45,000+ stores compared to ~43,500 for the hamburger chain, according to research firm Technomic.

• Mixue is best known for its bubble tea and ice cream priced below $1, which analysts say has resonated in China amidst a recent economic downturn.
• The chain is also famous for its marketing and in-store vibes. The roly-poly mascot Snow King is a national icon on par with Ronald McDonald, and patrons seem to love the catchy theme song that plays constantly in stores (to the tune of “Oh! Susanna”): “I love you. You love me. Mixue Ice Cream and Tea.”

Mixue has been capitalizing on its popularity. The chain raised $400+ million in a Hong Kong IPO yesterday. The stock closed its first day of trading at 43% above the IPO price, giving Mixue a valuation of $10+ billion.

☝️ You’re looking at some of the best science images of February, as selected by the journal Nature’s visuals team.

🤔 Did You Know? Oymyakon, a remote village in northeastern Russia, is generally considered the coldest inhabited area on Earth, with average winter temperatures of -58°F.

📰 Worth a Read: They Crashed the Economy in 2008. Now They’re Back and Bigger Than Ever

🖱️ Clickbait: Extraordinary Drone Footage Reveals What Narwals Use Tusks For

Yesterday we covered how the Israel-Hamas ceasefire is facing an uncertain future, after Phase 1 of the deal expired on Saturday without signs of progress towards the second phase.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, will the Israel-Hamas ceasefire remain in effect until a more permanent peace deal is reached?

• 👍 Yes: 18%
• 👎 No: 58%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 24%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 1,617 votes and 158 longform responses.

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

• 🤖👶 ~30% of parents of kids aged 0-8 say their children have used AI for learning, per new research from Common Sense Media.
• 🏡 A quarter of Americans (24%) say keeping their home clean is more difficult than their full-time job.
• 🧠⛓️ Nearly half of Americans (46%) who are incarcerated, on parole, or on probation have suffered a traumatic brain injury.
• 🏆🍿 Anora is the lowest-grossing film of the last 45 years to win Best Picture at the Oscars, earning just shy of $41 million globally on a $6 million budget.
• 💼 An estimated 4.6% of America’s employed labor force are undocumented immigrants, including ~42% of farmworkers and ~25% of construction workers.

💧 The 35th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting took place on Saturday, with people traveling from all around to judge the world's best tap waters.

🚀 Two hard-of-hearing siblings were taken to infinity and beyond when Buzz Lightyear began to sign with them at Disneyland.

👖 Fed up with a large pothole on his daily commute, UK man James Coxall got a little crafty to catch the authorities' attention.

🦦 True or false? Otters can often be found on couches.

🧌 Riddle me this: Which word in the dictionary is always spelled incorrectly?

As you may have noticed, we’re no strangers to bargains around these parts.

If there's a past sponsor of ours that caught your eye but you let it slip by, it’s probably on our DONUT Dealz page. And we’re updating it all the time with new deals and partners, partner.

Shop DONUT Dealz by clicking below.👇

🦦 T/F: True; couch is a term for otters' resting sites, which are often found in dense vegetation by the side of water

🧌 Riddle: "Incorrectly"