Good morning. In this edition:

• 🏡 Florida may eliminate property taxes
• 😀 2025 World Happiness Report released
• 🌌 A scale model of the solar system

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.69-minute read (1,248 words).

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"Our greatest glory is, not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

–Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774)

In the future, the only thing for certain in Florida could be death and some taxes.

Top lawmakers in the Sunshine State have proposed plans to sharply reduce or eliminate property taxes, in an effort to reduce the soaring costs of homeownership across the state.

And while a full repeal of property taxes – something that’s never been done in America – is unlikely to occur in the near future, the idea is gaining political traction.

A breakdown: Florida’s property-tax system is among the top issues in its legislative session that began this month. There are currently three bills seeking to lower property taxes or even remove them altogether, the latter of which is a move supported by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

• However, Florida’s legislature doesn’t have control over property taxes – local governments do.
• This means any overarching change must be put directly to Florida voters through a constitutional amendment, which wouldn’t happen until at least 2026.

Suffering from success

The movement against property taxes in Florida is largely tied to a recent spike in local homeowners’ tax bills, since their home values have climbed in recent years. This means taxes on those properties, which are based on market value, also saw a corresponding increase.

• The amount of property tax levied on Florida residents has roughly doubled over the past decade, reaching $55 billion/year.
• Florida also has the highest home-insurance rates in America (~$11,800/year on average) due to a recent uptick in major natural disasters. As a result, many residents and lawmakers are looking to cut homeownership costs in other areas…such as property taxes.

But…Some policy experts warn that eliminating property taxes would come at a cost. Such taxes are responsible for funding critical local government services including schools, fire and police departments, libraries, and public parks.

Zoom out: In addition to Florida, lawmakers in several other states – including Wyoming, Kansas, and Montana – are currently weighing significant property-tax limitations. On the flip side, North Dakota rejected a ballot measure in November that would have eliminated most property taxes.

📊 Flash poll: In general, how do you feel about the movement to reduce or eliminate property taxes as a way of lowering costs associated with homeownership?

• Agree
• Disagree
• Unsure/other

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Finland is the world’s happiest country, according to the 2025 World Happiness Report, which asked countries to clap along if they felt like a room without a roof combines self-reported data with other factors, such as GDP per capita and corruption, to spit out an annual ranking of joy across the world.

It’s the eighth consecutive year the country has topped the list, continuing a string of Nordic domination like their Viking ancestors of yore; Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden round out the top-four spots.

More socializing = higher happiness levels

Major contributing factors to happiness besides health and wealth include: sharing meals with others, having somebody to count on for social support, and household size (4-5 people is the sweet spot in highly-ranked Mexico and Europe), per the study.

Perception also matters. Believing in the kindness of others is more closely tied to happiness than previously thought, according to the researchers, who, as part of the study, lost wallets on purpose and found they were returned at a rate ~2x higher than what people projected.

The US didn’t fare so well. America turned in its lowest happiness ranking on record for the second straight year, falling from #23 in 2024 to #24 in 2025. The drop, similar to souped-up Dodge Chargers, is mostly being driven by those under 30, who are more likely to feel a lack of freedom in their life choices, have a weak support system, and dine alone.

Explore the full report here.

Carl Erik Rinsch, best known for directing critical flop 47 Ronin, was arrested this week and charged with defrauding Netflix out of millions of dollars over a sci-fi show he was hired to direct, but never completed.

How it went down: In 2018, Rinsch signed a deal with Netflix for a new series called White Horse (later renamed to Conquest) with a production budget of $44 million. Two years later, after burning through the money, Rinsch requested an additional $11 million to finish production, to which Netflix obliged.

• But instead of finishing the series, Rinsch allegedly transferred the funds to his personal brokerage account – where he promptly lost ~$5.5 million on risky trades before seeing a windfall from crypto.
• Rinsch then went on a Wolf of Wall Street-level spending spree, racking up total charges of ~$10 million on luxury items and personal expenses (including $638,000 for two mattresses and $295,000 for bedding and linens).

In the end, it all came crashing down. Throughout Rinch’s spending spree, the director told Netflix that his show was “awesome and moving forward really well,” per the indictment. But he never ended up producing any episodes, forcing Netflix to write off the entire $55 million it spent.

Looking ahead…Rinsch faces an upcoming trial in New York that could result in a prison sentence of 20+ years, if found guilty.

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For three decades prior to the Covid pandemic, fast-food restaurants were the ultimate example of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” remaining stagnant in productivity rates while other industries continued to grow.

But starting in 2020, fast-food chains across the board began to see a major productivity surge amounting to ~15% more sales per employee – a figure that has remained steady even in post-pandemic times.

Here’s why: When takeout and delivery orders skyrocketed during the early days of the pandemic, fast-food restaurants began streamlining their processes so customers could receive orders faster and with fewer worker interactions. The end result? More time for employees to focus on food prep and operations.

Looking ahead…Fast-food restaurants are expected to see another wave of productivity growth in the coming years. Many chains are experimenting with AI and robots to streamline ordering, food prep, and other areas.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📉 US markets fell across the board (S&P: -0.2%; Dow: -0.03%; Nasdaq: -0.3%). | 🏡 US home sales rose 4.2% in February vs. analysts' expectations of a ~3% drop.
• 😋 Edible Arrangements is leaning into the first part of its name; will launch a marketplace for edibles and hemp drinks.
• 🛻 Tesla recalled ~46,000 Cybertrucks over the potential for an exterior panel to fall off; the recall applies to most Cybertrucks on the road; is the eighth issued for the model.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Niphtio

• 🎶 The US eclipsed 100 million paid music streaming subscriptions last year, per a new report.
• 🎥 Leonardo Dicaprio’s newest film One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, dropped its first trailer.
• 🏀 March Madness had some HEAVY action yesterday; see men’s results; see women’s results. | 💰 The Boston Celtics were purchased for $6.1 billion by a group led by private equity exec Bill Chisholm; sale price marks a pro sports record.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🤖 A federal appeals court ruled copyrights can only be granted to artworks originally created by humans; the judge quoted Star Trek poetry in decision.
• 🦜 Humans and parrots share common brain circuitry for complex vocalizations, per a new study; these small parrots, known as budgerigars, are the only animals known to share the trait.
• 🌌 Dark energy, which scientists believe is behind the accelerated expansion of the universe, is weakening, per an international group of 900+ researchers; could result in the universe collapsing on itself over billions of years.

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with 120/Life

• 📅 Columbia University faces a deadline of today to acquiesce to Trump admin demands or lose $400 million in federal funding.
• ⚖️ A jury found Greenpeace liable for actions taken during protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline; said it should pay pipeline company Energy Transfer $650+ million in damages.
• ✍️ President Trump signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the Department of Education. (See background + a 360° view of opinions)

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👆 You’re looking at some of the winners from the annual British Wildlife Photography Awards, which drew 13,000+ entries.

🤔 Did You Know? For decades, Titanic survivors who swore they saw the ship break in half before sinking were not believed by the wider global community – until the Titanic’s wreckage was discovered in two pieces in 1985.

📰 Worth a Read: Can animals make art?

🖱️ Clickbait: Does wearing a hat make you go bald?

😳🖌️ An Ohio woman bought a painting for $2.99 at a thrift store that ended up being auctioned for $2,875. 

🫀 An Australian man lived for 100 days with a titanium heart before a donor match was found, marking the longest anyone has ever lived with a fully artificial heart.

🐸 A rare frog species was rediscovered in Chile after going unspotted for more than a century. 

✉️ That’s cool: This website lets you write a letter to your future self. Options include delivery from six months to 10 years from now.

👀 Tunnel vision: Ensure your focused time stays productive.

🌌 Whoa: A tediously accurate scale model of the solar system.

🖱️ Interestingly random: Google’s “I’m feeling lucky” button, but for the internet.

Our weekly news quiz just dropped. Click to see how your news superpowers stack up against our team.

Below are three lists of ingredients. Your job is give us the completed dish they make.

☝️ Recipe #1:

• Chicken broth
• Sweet onion
• Carrots
• Celery ribs
• Garlic
• Salt
• Thyme sprigs
• Bay leaves
• Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind
• Pastina pasta
• Shredded rotisserie chicken
• Parsley leaves

✌️ Recipe #2:

• Olive oil
• Onion
• Red bell pepper
• Celery
• Salt & pepper
• Capers
• Fresh wild salmon
• Mayonnaise
• Panko bread crumbs
• Garlic
• Dijon mustard
• Cayenne pepper
• Seafood seasoning

3️⃣ Recipe #3:

• Strawberry cake mix
• Butter
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Strawberries
• Confectioner’s sugar
• Salt

☝️ Recipe #1: Italian penicillin soup

✌️ Recipe #2: Fresh salmon cakes

3️⃣ Recipe #3: Strawberry brownies