Good morning. In this edition:

• 🤔 What Americans think of Trump’s presidency
• 🏀 March Madness is back
• 🐋 The importance of whale urine

… and more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.66-minute read (1,239 words).

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“A person sees in the world what they carry in their heart.”

–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

We’re approaching two months since President Trump was inaugurated for his second term. And for many Americans, the White House has been doing a historically good job, while the modern Democratic Party has never been in a worse state.

• More registered voters say the US is currently heading in the right direction (44%) than at any point since early 2004, according to an NBC News poll published yesterday. President Trump’s job approval rating also currently equals the best-ever mark of his political career (47%).
• At the same time, a majority of Americans still believe the country is currently on the wrong track (54%), while disapprove of Trump’s job performance thus far (51%).

Some individual policies aren’t as popular. Approval for Trump’s early job performance on the economy (44% approve; 54% disapprove), cost of living (42% approve; 55% disapprove), and Department of Government Efficiency (41% approve; 47 disapprove) are below his overall average. It also marks the first time in NBC News polling that Trump has ever had a majority of Americans against his handling of the economy.

The elephant donkey in the room

Opinions regarding the Democratic Party reached an all-time low in NBC News polling dating back to 1990. The data echoes results from CNN's latest polling, in which the Democratic Party also held its lowest-ever favorability rating.

• 27% of Americans have positive views of the Democratic Party – down from 39% positive as recently as September – while 55% have negative views, per NBC News.
• Those figures are noticeably worse than the Republican Party (39% positive; 49% negative).
• The recent drop in the Democratic Party’s image has largely been driven by independent voters, where 11% currently have positive views and 56% have negative views.

Looking ahead…Despite the overall trends in popularity, NBC News data shows the 2026 midterms are a closely divided battle: 48% of voters say they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress, 47% back Republicans, and 5% aren’t sure.

📊 Flash poll: In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job Donald Trump is doing as president?

• Approve
• Disapprove
• Unsure/other

As well as you think you know each other, there’s always more to discover about your partner. First To Worst: Couples Connection helps you do just that:

• 👉 Step 1: The ranker secretly ranks five random topics from first to worst
• 👀 Step 2: The other players attempts to match their exact ranking
• 🎯 Step 3: Score points for correct matches, lose points for misses
• ❤️ Step 4: Switch roles and discover how well you truly understand each other

Spotify is banking on its audiobook arm getting bigger by going smaller. The company late last week announced a new short story publishing program targeted at independent authors who may not be able to afford to record and produce audiobooks on their own.

How it works: After Spotify selects a story for audiobook publishing from its new online submission form, the company will handle the production and distribution of the work to other major audiobook retailers. Authors are paid both an advance and royalties based on the success of the title.

But not just any story will do. The platform is specifically looking for short stories across three genres: romance, mystery or thriller, and sci-fi or fantasy (or a combination of the three). The audiobooks have to be in English, and authors should have the rights for the stories they submit for consideration.

• The requests come after witnessing the overwhelming success of titles like fantasy romance A Court of Thorns & Roses, 2024’s top audiobook on Spotify.

Big picture: Last year was Spotify’s first full year with audiobooks on the platform, and 25% of its 263 million premium subscribers interacted with the new feature, per the company. With the launch of the new publishing program, Spotify hopes to better compete with Audible, America’s largest audiobook producer and retailer. The Amazon-owned platform offers its subscribers access to Audible Originals and exclusives, which tend to be shorter books and stories.

Get ready for buzzer beaters, Cinderella stories, and Gus Johnson screaming through the TV – March Madness is officially back. Brackets for the angrily named biggest tournament in college basketball were revealed yesterday.

On the men’s side: Auburn edged out Duke to capture the #1 overall seed. And from there, the SEC kept on winning. The conference, which has 16 total teams, secured 14 bids – an NCAA all-time record.

On the women’s side: Lauren Betts and UCLA snagged the #1 overall seed – a school first – over the top of defending-champ South Carolina. Snubs include Stanford, which failed to make the tournament for the first time since 1987.

Filling out a bracket?

A fun fact to help properly set expectations: The odds of filling out a perfect March Madness bracket are 1 in ~9.2 quintillion (for context, it’s easier to win back-to-back Powerball lotteries). But if you know a little something about basketball, the odds improve to 1 in ~120 billion.

Speaking of odds…~$3.1 billion is expected to be legally wagered on this year’s men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments, according to the American Gaming Association. That’s a 12% year-over-year increase and more than double the $1.39 billion bet on this year’s Super Bowl.

Looking ahead: The men’s tourney tips off with the First Four tomorrow, while the women’s begins on Wednesday.

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Plus, earn rewards for your everyday sustainable choices – from public transit and farmers markets to thrifting and tailoring.

Leprechauns marching through the streets, Guinness pouring freely, and the Chicago River dyed fluorescent green: it's Saint Patrick's Day in the Windy City.

The annual river dyeing started more than 60 years ago, and takes place every Saturday before the March 17th holiday to kick off the festivities. The Chicago Plumbers’ Union sends out ~130 boats to do the deed, releasing ~40 lbs of a secret, nontoxic powdered dye into the river. The color can last from a few hours to a few days, depending on the weather.

Zoom out: Cook County, where Chicago is located, has the largest Irish American population in the country, according to 2023 Census Data.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📉 US markets fell last week (S&P: -2.3%; Dow: -3.1%; Nasdaq: -2.4%).
• 🇨🇳 China released a 30-point economic plan designed to boost consumption.
• 🥤 Pepsi is reportedly close to acquiring soda brand Poppi for ~$1.5 billion.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Four Leaf Rover

• 🏎️ McLaren’s Lando Norris won the rainy and slick Australian Grand Prix; seven-time champion and new Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton finished in 10th place. | 🛷 Former reality TV star Jessie Holmes won the longest-ever Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race after 10 ½ days on the trail.
• 🎥 Novocaine topped this weekend’s domestic box office at $8.7 million; overall, it was estimated to be the slowest domestic box office weekend of 2025.
• ⚽ Ted Lasso is officially returning for a fourth season on Apple TV+.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚀 A SpaceX capsule with crew to replace astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore docked with the ISS yesterday; Williams and Wilmore, who’ve been at the ISS since June in what was supposed to be an eight-day mission, could return to Earth as early as Wednesday.
• 🫀 An Australian man in his 40s lived with a titanium heart for a record 105 days before receiving a donor heart transplant this month.
• 🐋 Whale urine plays a major role in distributing nutrients thousands of miles to less resourced parts of the ocean, according to a new study.

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with Asutra

• ⛈️ A massive storm system produced wildfires, tornadoes, and dust storms across the central and southern US, leaving at least 35 people dead.
• 🧑‍⚖️ President Trump’s attempt to invoke a centuries-old wartime law known as the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members was blocked by a federal judge; despite the court order, the Trump admin moved forward with two deportation flights. | 🏛️ Trump issued an executive order to dismantle seven government offices, including the parent of Voice of America. | 🌍 Trump ordered US military strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels after the group vowed to resume attacks on ships in and around the Red Sea.
• 🏛️ The Senate approved a stopgap funding bill to avoid a government shutdown, with 10 Democrats joining Republicans in clearing the filibuster; Trump signed the bill into law ahead of Friday’s midnight deadline. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

*From our partners: 👶💤 Sleep like a baby with this 100% silk sleep mask… Luxurious yet affordable, Asutra’s Eye Pillows are weighted with lavender and flax seeds to completely block out light. Featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things 2x. Spend $45+ with Asutra and get a free Sleep Routine Kit (while supplies last).

👆 You’re looking at some of the best photos from around the world showing Friday morning’s blood moon lunar eclipse.

🤔 Did You Know? John F. Kennedy and James A. Garfield are the only two US Presidents to end their presidency under the age of 50. Both were assassinated.

📰 Worth a Read: The last decision by the world’s leading thinker on decisions

🖱️ Clickbait: Why are cockroaches so resilient?

Monday: St. Paddy's Day; iHeartRadio Music Awards hosted by LL Cool J

Tuesday: National Ag Day

Wednesday: Luigi Mangione faces court hearing in New York City

Thursday: Federal Reserve expected to hold interest rates steady

Friday: Disney’s Snow White live-action remake hits theaters

On Friday, we covered how the Education Department cut its workforce roughly in half last week, in a move Education Secretary Linda McMahon said represents the first step toward shuttering the department entirely.

❓ Our question to you: Do you agree with the Trump administration’s goal of shuttering the Education Department entirely?

• 👍 Yes: 29%
• 👎 No: 64%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 7%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 2,941 votes and 318 longform responses.

🦎 A portion of King Road in Burlington, Canada, will be closed for three weeks to allow for the safe migration of the tiny Jefferson salamander. The closure has been a town tradition for 13 years. 

🥧 Scottish bakers Christine and Paul Boyle of Boghall Butchers took the top spot at this month’s British Pie Awards. The couple’s winning pie had a doner kebab filling made from chicken, beef, and a chili marinade with a sweet chili sauce.

🦄🐟 Narwhals may use their mysterious tusks to play. A recent video shows the “unicorns of the sea” using their tusks not only to strike and manipulate fish, but also to engage in what looks like playful behavior.

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words:

1. Cav
2. Derm
3. Eu
4. Mne
5. Phil

1. Cav = Hollow (e.g., cavity)
2. Derm = Skin (dermatology)
3. Eu = Good (euphoria)
4. Mne = Memory (mnemonic)
5. Phil = Love (philosophy, philanthropy)