Good morning. In this edition:

• ⚖️ Legal pushback to the Trump admin’s agenda
• 🐁 Company designs new type of mouse
• 📜 An epic flea market flip

… and more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.23-minute read (1,124 words).

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

“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.”

–Lao Tzu (6th century B.C.)

The Trump administration has issued 75+ executive orders and made other moves to overhaul the federal government over the past month and a half.

These sweeping changes have prompted 100+ lawsuits seeking to limit the Trump admin’s actions, which are currently working their way through US courts.

A three-section breakdown

Shrinking government: The Trump admin is facing several lawsuits relating to a wide range of executive actions, including its cuts to the federal workforce, increased oversight of independent agencies, and DOGE’s access to sensitive government data.

• Several of Trump’s orders have been paused due to ongoing legal challenges, including the firing of the head of the Office of Special Counsel and cuts to the CFPB.

Diversity and gender: The administration has also faced legal pushback for its executive orders seeking to end programs that promote DEI, along with its orders limiting certain medical treatments for transgender youth and banning transgender servicemembers from the US military.

• The Trump admin’s DEI policies have been temporarily blocked by a federal judge pending appeal, while its order limiting transgender youth treatments is also temporarily on hold.

Immigration: The Trump administration is facing several ongoing lawsuits over its efforts to combat illegal immigration, including an order seeking to end birthright citizenship, and an order suspending America’s asylum program.

• In particular, the President’s push to eliminate automatic citizenship for all children born in the US has lost several recent court rulings, and is currently on hold pending appeals from the Trump admin.

Looking ahead…Many of the legal challenges to the Trump admin’s agenda are expected to end up at the Supreme Court in the coming months.

📊 Flash poll: Putting aside any opinions of Trump’s agenda, do you think his administration has generally operated within the law while enacting the President’s wishes?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

It’s simple – Kanguro is pet insurance designed by pet lovers, for pet lovers. With 24/7 vet access via web chat/video call, multi-pet discounts, and an easy-to-use app, Kanguro makes protecting your pet stress-free.

• 🐾 100% bilingual service (English & Spanish)
• 📲 Quickly file claims and unlock exclusive savings with their app
• 🏆 4.8 stars on Trustpilot and 4.7 stars on Google Play

Plus, a portion of your unused premium goes to a cause of your choosing.

Protect your furry friends with Kanguro today.

Colossal Biosciences has taken a significant step in its journey to eventually resurrect the woolly mammoth and play out Ice Age irl.

The de-extinction company yesterday announced the creation of a brand-new species: the “woolly mouse,” or mice genetically modified to have mammoth-like traits geared towards cold tolerance.

How they did it: Colossal researchers started by trying to identify the genes responsible for making mammoths distinctive, comparing ancient samples of mammoths’ genetic material to those from African and Asian elephants (their closest living relative).

• The scientists then tried to activate some of those unique mammoth genes in mice. In particular, they targeted the genes responsible for mammoths’ woolly hair, as well as their way of metabolizing fat that helped them survive in the cold.
• The researchers were able to create healthy mice with the desired woolly hair – though they found no evidence that the fat-increasing gene had any effect.

But…While many outside scientists praised Colossal’s new study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, they also caution that the company still has a long way to go before they can successfully edit the embryos of Asian elephants to produce woolly mammoths.

• It’s currently unclear whether genetic modifications will be required – or are currently possible – to ensure the animals not only look like mammoths, but behave like them too.

🦣 Zoom out: In addition to its goal of producing the first mammoth-like Asian elephant calves by 2028, Colossal is also working to bring back the dodo bird and the Tasmanian tiger.

The direct-to-consumer craze (think: Casper, Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker) has made it to Hollywood, thanks to streaming site Olyn.

A quick streaming 101: Rather than paying based on the number of views a film acquires, streaming platforms typically pay a singular lump sum for a title.

But on the plus side, once a platform like Netflix buys a film, the site does almost all of the marketing work for it – though this work often involves leaving the content in the fickle hands of the algorithm gods, who giveth and taketh away in unpredictable fashion.

• The one constant, however: Most films on streamers end up getting little-to-no engagement. On average, a film on Amazon in the UK only gets ~2,000 views/year.

Promotional help vs. potential upside

Olyn, a startup billed as a "Shopify for filmmakers," provides indie filmmakers with a way to bypass this studio/streamer system and sell directly to consumers, with the ability to retain up to 90% of their revenue from viewership. But there’s one catch – filmmakers are completely in charge of their own marketing.

📸 Big picture: While the juice isn’t worth the squeeze for some who just post to YouTube and let the algorithm gods work, other filmmakers are happy with the tradeoff. Brian Epstein’s new biopic Midas Man, about the manager of The Beatles, debuted using Olyn earlier this year.

Autio offers 23,000+ location-based audio stories narrated by famous voices like Kevin Costner, John Lithgow, and Phil Jackson. Explore different subjects including history, sports, culture, music, geology, and more.

• 🙌 “It’s truly a unique innovation of the great American roadtrip.”- Dr. Mills

Uncover the stories that surround you every day and powerful new narratives you never knew existed.

Download Autio here and begin with five free stories.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📉 US markets fell across the board (S&P: -1.2%; Dow: -1.6%; Nasdaq: -0.4%). | 🌎🚚 Canada, Mexico, and China announced retaliatory tariffs against the US in response to the Trump administration’s new tariffs that took effect yesterday; Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump will “probably” announce a compromise with Canada and Mexico as early as today that involves scaling back tariffs.
• ✈️ Southwest Airlines is closing two more crew bases as it continues a cost-cutting push; the airline recently announced its first mass layoffs in company history.
• 🏦 The CFPB dropped its lawsuit against JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo over Zelle fraud.| 🚢 A BlackRock-backed investor group agreed to a ~$23 billion deal to purchase a majority stake in CK Hutchison, the Hong Kong-based company that runs ports on either side of the Panama Canal.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Dyce Games

• 🏁 Driver Katherine Legge will make her NASCAR Cup Series debut this weekend; when she does, she'll be the first woman to compete in a Cup Series race since Danica Patrick in 2018. | 🏀 Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving is out for the rest of the season due to an ACL tear.
• 🏆 Sunday night’s Oscars drew ~19.7 million viewers; slightly above last year's four-year audience high of 19.5 million.
• 🙏Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s husband of almost 60 years, died at 82.

*From our partners: ❓🏰 The trivia game history buffs can’t get enough of… The official HISTORY Channel Trivia Game features 2,400+ questions across 6 diverse categories. From Sports & Recreation to the all-new 80s & 90s category. Save 25% on the official HISTORY Channel Trivia Game from Dyce Games.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚘 Waymo’s driverless vehicles are now available in Austin, TX, via the Uber app; it’s the fourth major city to feature Waymo’s services.
• 🙏🩸 An Australian man who donated blood plasma every three weeks for the past 70 years passed away at the age of 88; James Harrison had unique antibodies in his blood that saved the lives of 2+ million babies vulnerable to rhesus disease.
• 🚁🚘 Chinese EV-maker BYD unveiled a roof-mounted drone launchpad available for all models; the drone can follow a car at speeds up to ~34 mph.

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with Asutra

• 🏛️🗣️ President Trump delivered a ~1.5-hour-long State-of-the-Union-style address to a joint session of Congress last night. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)
• 🧑‍⚖️💧 The Supreme Court struck down EPA rules regulating the discharge of water pollution; the 5-4 decision could affect cities that sit on bodies of water, including New York, San Francisco, and Boston. | 🧑‍⚖️ SCOTUS also appears poised to reject the Mexican government’s $10 billion lawsuit seeking to hold US gun makers accountable for local violence, which was argued before the court yesterday.
• 🇺🇦🇺🇸 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called last week’s White House meeting with Trump “regrettable” and proposed mutual steps with Russia towards ending their war; Zelensky also said Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals deal with the US.

*From our partners: 🗝️ The key ingredient that helps energy, muscle pain, and mental health… 66% of the population has a magnesium deficiency – improve your life today with Asutra’s magnesium healing products. Spend $45+ with Asutra and get a FREE gift here.

Target, the bullseye-logo’d retailer, has a new bullseye in its sights.

Yesterday, the company revealed a plan it says will drive $15+ billion in revenue growth over the next five years. It involves doubling down on its media network, same-day delivery services, and third-party online marketplace.

One interesting thing: Target’s stated approach to building out its marketplace is slightly different than competitors Amazon and Walmart, which have also turned to digital sales to increase revenue. Rather than stuffing its site with a plethora of small third-party resellers, the bullseye retailer instead plans to stock its platform with big-name brands like Peloton, Daily Harvest, and Honest Baby Clothing.

Between the lines: Target has historically generated a majority of its revenue from the sale of high-margin discretionary items, including clothing, electronics, or impulse buys of that flower vase that would just look so good on the kitchen counter.

But high grocery prices have led shoppers to pull back on discretionary spending and look elsewhere for deals – like Walmart, which has snaked many higher-income shoppers who used to prefer Target.

☝️ British residents celebrated Pancake Day – the day before the beginning of Lent – with their annual tradition of dressing up in unusual costumes and running races while tossing pancakes.

🤔 Did You Know? In 1989, a collector spent $4 on a painting at a flea market and discovered a folded-up copy of the first printing of the Declaration of Independence sitting behind it. He auctioned off the copy two years later for $2.2 million (then taught Gary Vee all he knows).

📰 Worth a Read: Was this little-known standoff between British soldiers and Colonists the real start of the American Revolution?

🖱️ Clickbait: Eight masterpieces with hidden ghostly portraits

🏠 Wholistic Transformation, a nonprofit organization in Tucson, Arizona, is repurposing old shipping containers to build fully functional and furnished homes for young adults who age out of foster care.

😋 There's one final award show to catch up on this season: “The Completely Unauthorized Eater Oscars for Food Excellence in Film.”

🍩 A toddler in Oklahoma placed two 911 calls for “emergency" donuts. The next day, local authorities hand-delivered a dozen pastries to his front door.

How it works: We provide an incorrect stat. Then you guess whether the actual number is over or under the given value.

1. 💓 2 billion: Number of heartbeats in the average person's lifespan
2. ⬆️ 600 feet: Height of India's Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue
3. 🐈 75%: Percentage of orange cats that are male

👖 Fashion police: This top fashion designer thinks men’s pants are too tight.

😺 Feeling down? Here are memes that’ll make you feel like you got a nice hug.

🐭 The noise of joy: Listen to all the sounds found at Disneyland.

🚨Don't forget: Enter our latest giveaway for free for a chance to win up to $1,100 in prizes. Prizes range from a Dyce Games prize pack, to a NoNetz gift card, to straight cash homie. Enter today.

📈🥳 Invest: Get market trends and insights anyone can understand with The Average Joe investing newsletter – and stick around for the humor and memes. Join 250,000+ readers and subscribe free.*

*A message from our partners

1. 💓 Over; ~3 billion heartbeats
2. ⬆️ Under; 597 feet tall
3. 🐈 Over; ~80% are males