Good morning. In this edition:

• 📝 Unpacking Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs
• 📱 Multiple bids for TikTok are on the table
• 🗣️ The longest speech in Senate history

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.76-minute read (1,267 words).

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Editor’s note: We decided to move our Dose of Discussion section from Friday to Thursday this week so we could provide a timely 360° view of “Liberation Day” tariffs. There will be no Dose of Discussion tomorrow.

"Happiness is not a goal... it's a by-product of a life well lived."

–Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

President Trump unveiled a series of wide-ranging tariffs yesterday that analysts say represent the biggest overhaul to US trade policy since the post-World War II era.

Let’s break it down: The US will impose 10% tariffs on all imports across the board, with even higher rates—described as “discounted reciprocal tariffs”—for certain nations the White House considers “bad actors” on trade. The White House believes the duties will boost domestic manufacturing.

• China faces a new 34% tariff, while duties on Vietnam (46%), Taiwan (32%), India (26%), South Korea (25%), Japan (24%), the EU (20%), and a dozen-plus other nations are also elevated above the universal 10% rate.
• The new tariffs won’t apply to some countries and goods already hit by separate Trump tariffs in recent weeks. This includes Canada and Mexico, along with imports of steel, aluminum, automobiles, and auto parts.

The impact

The new tariffs mean companies will have to pay at least 10% more for all items they import to the US—from everyday products like cereal and fuel, to more expensive goods like computers—with at least some of the costs expected to be passed on to US consumers. Since the duties vary by country, some items will be impacted more than others.

• The EU, Canada, and China are among several countries that have threatened to enact reciprocal tariffs on US products in response, though many nations have cautioned against doing so due to risks associated with a trade war.

Given these risks…There’s a path for the US to score favorable deals, according to a recent tariff board game simulation organized by the Center for a New American Security.

Markets react: US stock futures fell sharply in the wake of Trump’s tariff announcement, with all three major indexes losing at least 2.5% in after-hours trading. Companies with extensive international supply chains were among the most affected by the after-hours dip, including Apple (-7%), Amazon (-5%), Nike (-7%), and Walmart (-6%).

Looking ahead…Trump’s universal 10% tariff will take effect on April 5, while the higher, country-specific reciprocal tariffs are slated for April 9.

📊 Flash poll: Do you agree with the Trump’s decision to impose wide-ranging “Liberation Day” tariffs?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

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Licking your bright red fingers after eating a whole bag of Hot Cheetos may soon become a delicacy of the past. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey last week signed a bill into law that bans artificial dyes from food items sold statewide, representing the latest success for a growing nationwide movement.

• West Virginia’s law prohibits seven dyes—including red No. 3 and No. 40—and two preservatives.
• These additives are commonly found in candy, soda, cereals, baked goods, condiments, chips, packaged fruit products, and more.

Why no dyes?

Governments, researchers, and nonprofit organizations have long raised concerns about artificial dyes, which have been linked to serious health problems like cancer, as well as hyperactivity and attention issues in children.

• Experts say the FDA hasn’t reviewed artificial dyes since the 1980s, or years before toxicological studies were advanced enough to detect more of their adverse effects.
• In mid-January, the FDA banned red dye No. 3 in response to a 2022 petition citing decades-old research that showed the dye causes cancer in animals.

Zoom out: A total of 25 other states across the political spectrum—from deep-red Arkansas to deep-blue California—are also seeking to ban dyes and other additives in food, while Health Secretary RFK Jr. last month told food executives that removing artificial food dyes nationwide is an urgent priority.

With a deadline of Saturday (April 5) for TikTok to alter its ownership structure or face a US ban, the app is finding itself like the inside of a dog toy—the bell(e) of the ball.

Over the past few days:

• A startup run by OnlyFans’ founder Tim Stokely partnered with a cryptocurrency foundation to submit a bid.
• Ad-tech firm AppLovin reportedly submitted an offer.
• Amazon—which has long harbored ambitions for an in-house social media network that could help it sell more goods and appeal to a younger audience—also submitted a bid, though it reportedly isn’t being taken seriously.

Other potential outcomes include: A deal that would involve a number of new US investors, including tech giant Oracle, PE firm Blackstone, and VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, buying out Chinese ones. Frank McCourt, former owner of the LA Dodgers, pulled together a group of investors and submitted a bid in December (Project Liberty). YouTuber MrBeast said in January that he had met with several billionaires and had “an offer ready” to buy TikTok.

Big picture: Any deal—which still has to be approved by China—would involve spinning off a US entity for TikTok and diluting Chinese ownership in the new business to below a 20% threshold required by US law, Reuters reports.

Should an agreement not be reached before the deadline…“it’s not a big deal,” President Trump said. “We’ll just extend it.”

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European research org CERN this week completed a feasibility assessment of its planned “Future Circular Collider”—a $17 billion particle accelerator that would be ~11x larger than CERN’s current Large Hadron Collider (LHC), aka the world’s largest machine.

Big fella, big questions: The Future Circular Collider would have a 56.5-mile circumference, and aim to smash subatomic particles together at a maximum energy ~7.5x higher than the LHC.

• CERN says the increased energy will help scientists figure out some of the key unanswered questions about our universe.
• These include whether our reality contains hidden extra dimensions, and what makes up dark matter and/or dark energy (mysterious substances comprising ~95% of the universe).

Looking ahead…Under CERN’s current timeline, the first phase of its Future Circular Collider will come online in the mid-2040s, followed by the second and final phase in the 2070s.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🚬 The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the FDA in the agency's dispute against flavored vape providers; the justices’ unanimous decision throws out a federal appeals court ruling.
• 📺 Newsmax shares fell ~78% yesterday; it follows a two-day post-IPO surge that saw the conservative news channel’s shares rise 2,230%.
• 🚗 Tesla reported a 13% YoY sales drop in Q1; the company’s 336,681 vehicles delivered mark its worst showing since Q2 2022.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with 120/Life

• 🎄 The NFL scheduled three games for Christmas Day 2025, the first-ever Thursday contests on the holiday; they’ll be broadcast by Netflix and Amazon. | 🥊 UFC signed a multimillion-dollar, multiple-year partnership deal with Meta.
• 🙏 Hollywood legend Val Kilmer passed away at age 65 from pneumonia complications.
• 🎮 The Nintendo Switch 2 will be released on June 2, alongside the ninth Mario Kart game, Nintendo announced. (Dive deeper: The Switch 2 revealed)

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• ☄️ The 2024 YR4 “city-killer” asteroid has a ~2% chance of striking the Moon in 2032, per a new Johns Hopkins report; 2024 YR4 previously had up to a 3% chance of hitting Earth in 2032, before NASA later revised it to near-zero.
• 🫀 The world’s smallest pacemaker was developed by a US-led team of scientists, per a new study in Nature; the temporary heartbeat regulator, which is smaller than a grain of rice, can be injected and controlled by light before dissolving.
• 🌧️ Parts of the central US could experience a 1-in-1,000-year flooding event due to heavy rain that began last night and will last through Sunday, per AccuWeather.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

in partnership with Surfshark

• ⚖️ A federal judge dismissed the criminal corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams with prejudice, meaning it can’t be brought again; the ruling comes after the DOJ under Trump requested Adams’ charges be dropped.
• 🏛️ A second wave of buyout offers have reportedly been extended to federal workers in several agencies.
• 🗣️ Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) set a new record for longest speech in Senate history this week; his 25 hour, 5 minute speech protesting the Trump admin eclipsed Strom Thurmond’s 24+-hour filibuster against the Civil Rights Act in 1957.

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👆 3-year-old Ziv Nitzan picked up a small rock while out on a walk with her family in southern Israel. Turns out, the toddler had discovered a 3,800-year-old scarab amulet dating to the Middle Bronze era, per the Israel Antiquities Authority.

🤔 Did You Know? John Carpenter, the first top prize winner on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, never cashed in any of his lifelines until the last question. That’s when Carpenter used the "Phone a Friend" to call his father—not to ask for help, but to tell him he was about to win $1 million.

📰 Worth a Read: America the secular? What a changing religious landscape means for US politics

🖱️ Clickbait: The science behind why you always have room for dessert

Yesterday we covered how Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in connection with the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

❓ Our question to you: Do you agree with the decision to seek the federal death penalty for Luigi Mangione?

• Yes: 27%
• No: 56%
• I don’t feel strongly either way: 11%
• Unsure/other: 6%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 3,028 votes and 319 longform responses.

💌 Best friends Pat DeReamer and Mary Wheaton have been exchanging the same birthday card for 81 years. This week, on Pat’s 95th birthday, that very same card was once again delivered to her door.

🎶 20-year-old Holly Connor has more than 100 performances under her belt. The bind and autistic young woman studies vocal performance at Webster University.

❤️ Paris Hilton is offering grants of up to $25,000 from her nonprofit to help women-owned businesses impacted by the Eaton Fire.

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Greenland