Good morning. In this edition:

• 🚰 Utah bans fluoride in drinking water
• 🍄 Shrooming in space
• 😬 What not to tell ChatGPT

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.47-minute read (1,188 words).

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“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”

–Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Last Thursday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed a first-of-its-kind bill banning local governments across the state from adding fluoride to their drinking water starting next month.

Some quick background: In 1950, federal officials began endorsing water fluoridation by local governments to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later.

• ~63% of Americans (210+ million people) currently receive fluoridated tap water, roughly the same level as two decades ago.
• Utah in particular has one of the lowest water fluoridation rates in the US, at ~44% of residents.

The arguments

Leading health organizations and dentists–including the American Dental Association, the National Institutes of Health, and CDC—support the use of fluoride in drinking water, citing research that shows it reduces tooth decay and cavities by ~25% at lower levels of consumption.

• They also note that adding low levels of fluoride to water has long been considered one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent tooth decay on a large scale, and benefits lower-income families who may not have access to alternative sources.

On the flip side: Some health activists and Republican lawmakers, including Health Secretary RFK Jr., have endorsed a growing movement seeking to remove fluoride from drinking water.

• Opponents of fluoridation argue the process is unnecessary when most toothpastes and mouthwashes contain fluoride, unlike when the process made its debut.
• They also cite recent research that found higher exposures to fluoride are associated with lower IQ in children, though the study used a baseline ~2x higher than the recommended level in US water.

Big picture: Measures to remove fluoride from public drinking water are being considered in five states (Florida, Kentucky, Montana, Ohio, and South Carolina)—while in New Hampshire, North Dakota and Tennessee, lawmakers have rejected them.

📊 Flash poll: How do you feel about the practice of fluoridation, or local governments adding small amounts of fluoride to public drinking water?

• It should be allowed
• It should be banned
• Unsure/other

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No, it’s not the title of Kid Cudi’s new album. SpaceX’s latest mission, Fram2, is slated to launch as soon as tonight, blasting off with the goal of growing mushrooms in space for the first time.

The Mission MushVroom experiment, spearheaded by FOODiQ Global, will explore how the crop best thrives in microgravity. If the mushrooms sprout successfully, they could provide a sustainable food source for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.

• The research team considers mushrooms the “perfect space crop” because they grow fast, can be eaten raw, don’t need a lot of water, and are nutritional—containing vitamin D, potassium, selenium, and copper.
• And like most fun-guys, they could prove themselves useful in more than just the kitchen: NASA is researching the use of fungi as architectural material to eventually grow human habitats in space.

Big picture: Over the span of 3-5 days, the mission’s four astronauts will undergo a 90-degree circularized orbit––meaning they’ll travel over Earth’s North and South Poles, something no human has done. In addition to mushroom-watching, the crew will conduct 21 other experiments aimed at advancing human health and performance in space, particularly for future long-duration missions.

*Minimal spoilers ahead*

Not all publicity is good publicity, according to Duke University, which is upset over The White Lotus’ use of its marks in the HBO show’s latest season.

At issue: Season 3 prominently features the Ratliffs, a Durham-based family split along Tobacco Road lines (Duke/UNC). Duke merch is seen in multiple episodes––including one in which Jason Isaacs‘ character, Timothy Ratliff, contemplates suicide and holds a gun to his head while wearing a Duke T-shirt.

• This scene spawned a viral March Madness-related meme (3+ million views on X), prompting the university to reply: “Suicide is the second-leading cause of death on college campuses. Rivalry is part of March Madness but some imagery goes too far. If you or someone you know needs support, call or text the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988.”
• More broadly, Frank Tramble, Duke’s vice president for communications, marketing and public affairs, told the NY Times that the university did not approve of the use or portrayal of its brand in the program.

Can the school do anything about it? Probably not, according to IP law experts. Courts have consistently sided with artists in disputes over the use of well-known trademarks for artistic or expressive purposes (see: Pepperdine’s recent lawsuit against the Netflix show Running Point).

In other Duke news…Its women’s basketball team was eliminated in the March Madness Elite Eight this weekend, while its men’s team clinched a Final Four berth.

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Get ready to make your beloved morning scramble again: egg prices are finally falling. The average wholesale price of a dozen eggs was $3 on Friday, down 8% from $3.27 on March 21, and 63% from a record $8.15 on Feb. 21, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Behind the drop: Inventories are recovering amid a sudden and largely unexplained slowdown in bird flu cases. The Trump administration has also taken steps to boost egg imports to combat higher prices, and launched a preliminary probe into potential price fixing among egg producers.

In a dark twist of irony…as egg prices are coming down, coffee prices are poised to spike by double digits, Reuters reports.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📉 US markets fell last week (S&P: -1.5%; Dow: -1.0%; Nasdaq: -2.6%).
• 🤝 Elon Musk's X was purchased by his AI startup, xAI, for $33 billion in an all-stock deal. | 🏗️ Chinese regulators are probing CK Hutchinson's recent Panama ports sale; the Hong Kong-based company will reportedly not sign off on the deal this week.
• ⚖️ Frank founder Charlie Javice was convicted of defrauding JPMorgan in the college financial aid startup’s $175 million sale to the bank. | ⚖️ Convicted fraudster Trevor Milton (Nikola) was pardoned by President Trump, who also commuted the sentence of convicted fraudster Carlos Watson (Ozy).

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with Live It Up

• 🏀 The Men’s Final Four is set: All four #1 seeds (Auburn, Duke, Florida, and Houston) made it to the final weekend for the first time since 2008; the Women’s Elite Eight wraps up tonight, with #1-seeds South Carolina and UCLA already in the Final Four. | 👑 The College Basketball Crown, a new 16-team postseason tournament awarding $500,000 in NIL deals to the winner, tips off its inaugural run in Las Vegas.
• 🎟️ A Working Man, starring Jason Statham, topped this weekend’s domestic box office with $15.2 million; Snow White dropped 66% week-over-week to $14.2 million.
• 💰 Rapper Sean Kingston and his mother were convicted in a $1 million fraud scheme. | 🙏 Richard Chamberlain, a TV star who first rose to prominence in the 1960s, passed away at 90.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚀 The first-ever attempt at launching a rocket into orbit from Europe fell and exploded ~40 seconds after takeoff yesterday; German startup Isar Aerospace had warned its initial test could end prematurely, and said valuable data was gathered.
• 📲 Smartphone ownership was associated with better mental health outcomes among 11-to-13-year-olds compared to kids without phones, per a new study; the research also suggests a link between social media posting and various negative outcomes.
• 💊 Novo Nordisk’s new diabetes pill Rybelsus, the once-daily oral version of Ozempic, lowered the risk of cardiovascular-related death, heart attack, and stroke by 14% compared to a placebo in a new study.

POLITICS & WORLD

in partnership with Asutra

• 🌏 A 7.7-magnitude earthquake in central Myanmar killed at least 1,700 people in the country and at least 18 people in neighboring Thailand; the search for survivors among collapsed buildings continues.
• ⚖️ A New York county clerk refused to file Texas’ $100,000+ fine for a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills, sparking a dispute likely to reach the Supreme Court.
• 💼 Prominent law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom agreed to provide $100+ million in free legal services to the federal gov’t during the Trump administration; it comes in exchange for avoiding becoming the sixth elite law firm to be targeted by a Trump executive order imposing various punishments. | 🏛️ President Trump ordered a federal review of monuments taken down after George Floyd's murder in 2020, including those of Confederate leaders.

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👆 Eid al-Fitr, an Islamic holiday marking the breaking of fast at the end of Ramadan, was celebrated across the globe this weekend.

🤔 Did You Know? Oscar winners are forbidden from selling their trophies without first offering them to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for $1.

📰 Worth a Read: The “upside-down forest” that kept Venice afloat for 1,600+ years

🖱️ Clickbait: The Five Things You Shouldn’t Tell ChatGPT

Monday: Transgender Day of Visibility

Tuesday: April Fools’ Day; Special elections for two House seats from Florida; Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election

Wednesday: “Liberation Day,” or when Trump’s global reciprocal tariffs take effect and imports from Canada/Mexico face 25% tariffs

Thursday: National Burrito Day

Friday: March jobs report; A Minecraft Movie hits theaters

On Friday, we covered how Democrats scored a surprise upset in a special election for a Pennsylvania state Senate seat the party hasn’t occupied since 1983, in what some portray as a sign that Americans are turning on Trump’s agenda.

❓ Our question to you: Do you think the Democrats’ surprise election win in Pennsylvania a sign of widespread national discontent with the Trump administration?

• 👍 Yes: 56%
• 👎 No: 32%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 12%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 2,403 votes and 261 longform responses.

🐻 The first grizzly bears have been spotted at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks following a long hibernation season. The males are the first to emerge; mama bears and cubs will follow in April and early May.

🏠 Attention all Parks & Rec fans: A small Nebraska town with less than 900 residents named Pawnee City is paying people $50,000 to move there. In the city’s first two weeks of accepting applications, 115 people applied.

🔍 A miniature dachshund who went missing on South Australia's Kangaroo Island has been spotted alive and well 16 months after her disappearance.

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

1. Leni
2. Mers
3. Pecc
4. Qui
5. Salv

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1. Leni = Gentle (leniency)
2. Mers = Plunge (immerse)
3. Pecc = Sin (impeccable)
4. Qui = Rest (quiet)
5. Salv = Save (salvation)