Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🧑‍⚖️ Trump tariffs overturned
• 🏒 Miracle on Ice 2.0
• 🚨 Gunman killed at Mar-a-Lago

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.96-minute read (1,053 words).

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“Let us rather run the risk of wearing out than rusting out.”

–Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

The Supreme Court issued a landmark decision against President Trump’s global tariff strategy on Friday, ruling 6-3 that his plan to use an emergency powers law to impose sweeping tariffs is unconstitutional.

How we got here: The dispute centered on the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which Trump invoked last year to justify two major rounds of tariffs.

• In February 2025, he used the IEEPA to impose duties on Canada, Mexico, and China tied to border security and fentanyl trafficking.
• On April 2, a day Trump dubbed “Liberation Day,” he announced a broad 10% tariff on imports from nearly every country, along with higher rates for select nations.

The IEEPA gives US Presidents the authority to “regulate” imports in response to national emergencies. Trump has claimed the wording of the IEEPA allows him to unilaterally impose tariffs upon declaring that America’s trade situation represents a national emergency.

SCOTUS had other opinions

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that while the IEEPA allows the president to regulate imports in some ways, it doesn’t clearly authorize tariffs. Because tariffs function as taxes and have historically been controlled by Congress, the majority opinion concluded Trump exceeded his authority by not receiving explicit approval from lawmakers.

• The dissent from Justice Brett Kavanaugh—joined by Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito—argued the majority’s decision draws an odd line where the President can block all imports from a country, but can’t impose even a $1 tariff.
• Kavanaugh also warned that refunding previously collected tariffs could become a “mess,” particularly if companies have already passed costs on to consumers.

What comes next?

President Trump and admin officials say they plan to explore other options for implementing the President’s tariff agenda outside of the IEEPA, with Trump calling the SCOTUS decision "deeply disappointing" and referring to some Justices as “unpatriotic.”

• Hours after SCOTUS’ decision on Friday, Trump announced a new 10% global tariff under the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the President to enact tariffs of up to 15% for 150 days without congressional approval.
• On Saturday, Trump said the temporary global tariff would increase to 15%.
• A small portion of Trump’s tariffs enacted last year—like sector-specific duties on steel, aluminum, autos, and timber—are still in effect, since they don’t rely on the IEEPA.

What about refunds?...The Court’s ruling opens the door for companies to request refunds on the ~$133 billion in tariff revenue federal agencies have already collected—but Justices didn’t say whether the US gov’t should be on the hook for payments, nor mention any process for returning funds.

Experts say US importers will eventually receive some or all of their money back from tariffs, though the unprecedented process could take 12-18 months, and will likely involve a combination of Customs and Border Protection, the Court of International Trade, and other lower courts.

📊 Flash poll: Do you agree or disagree with SCOTUS’ decision to strike down the vast majority of President Trump’s tariff agenda?

• Agree
• Disagree
• Unsure/other

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 America’s GDP rose at a 1.4% annual rate over the final three months of 2025, down from 4.4% the previous quarter; overall, GDP rose 2.2% last year compared to 2.8% in 2024.
• 🏦 JPMorgan Chase says it closed 50+ bank accounts related to President Trump one month after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, without providing a specific reason; discovery comes amid $5 billion lawsuit from Trump accusing JPMorgan and CEO Jamie Dimon of debanking him for political reasons.
• 🏢 President Trump calls for Netflix to remove Susan Rice, a former top aide in the Obama and Biden admins, from the streaming giant’s board of directors; it comes as Netflix pursues a takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, with the DOJ reviewing the proposed deal.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🥇Winter Olympics: Team USA men’s hockey wins gold for the first time since 1980 in thrilling OT finals match against Canada. | Olympics closing ceremony took place yesterday in Milan, officially ending the 2026 Winter Games.
• 🏆 79th Annual BAFTA Film Awards held in London last night, with One Battle After Another’s six awards leading the way.
• 🙏 Eric Dane, best known for starring roles in Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria, passed away at 53 following battle with ALS.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🚀 NASA’s Artemis II mission may not launch in March at all following complications with the rocket, the agency said Saturday; news came one day after NASA said it was eyeing a potential Artemis II launch date as early as March 6.
• 🦖 Paleontologists confirm discovery of new T. rex-sized dinosaur species, called Spinosaurus mirabilis, that was discovered deep in the Sahara Desert.
• 👂 Baby chicks instinctively match sounds to shapes just like humans—e.g., sharp sounds for jagged objects and soft sounds for smooth—new research reveals.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🚨 Secret Service shoot and kill armed man who drove into secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s Florida home; White House officials say incident is under investigation.
• ❄️ Major winter storm expected to bring a foot or more of snow and strong winds to 25+ million Americans across the Northeast; NYC received its first blizzard warning since 2017.
• 🏛️ TSA says PreCheck is still operational after DHS previously announced the airport security service was being suspended due to ongoing gov’t shutdown; lawmakers in Congress remain deadlocked over a proposal to restore DHS funding. | President Trump directs Pentagon and other agencies to begin identifying and releasing files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena, and UFOs.

👆Say cheese! A 64-year-old woman found a fossil in Northumberland, UK, in December that looked very excited to see her. Turns out, it wasn’t a set of ancient teeth, but a marine animal called a crinoid lived ~350 million years ago.

🤔 Did you know? Your heart beats ~100,000 times/day, based on the average adult resting rate of ~70 beats/minute. That adds up ~35 million beats a year, and ~2.5 billion over a typical human lifespan.

📰 Worth a read: 'We feel it in our bones': Can a machine ever love you?

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• Do tall and short people find different faces attractive?
• Judge rules boneless wings don't have to be wings
• Why people are buying iPods again

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On Friday, we covered how the third round of Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations ended prematurely amid territorial disagreements over Ukraine’s Donbas region, with both countries set to begin a fifth year of fighting this week.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, when will the four-year-long war between Russia and Ukraine officially come to an end?

• Within 3 months: 8%
• 3-6 months from now: 11%
• 6 months to 1 year from now: 24%
• 1-2 years from now: 22%
• 2+ years from now: 35%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 533 votes and 48 longform responses.

Monday: National Banana Bread Day

Tuesday: President Trump’s first formal State of the Union address of his 2nd term; 4th anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Wednesday: Scrubs airs first new episode in 15+ years (with OG cast)

Thursday: Weekly US unemployment claims

Friday: Bruno Mars releases The Romantic, his first solo studio album in a decade; Resident Evil Requiem debuts on PS, Xbox, Switch; Gorillaz releases new album The Mountain

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

1. Bac
2. Dia
3. Err
4. Lumin
5. Robor

👆🦒 Eugene the Giraffe is capturing hearts around the nation thanks to his gravity-defying hair. The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium in Ohio welcomed the fashionable 130-lb calf on January 17th, with his outdoor debut set for this spring.

1. Bac = Rod-shaped (e.g., bacteria)
2. Dia = Through (diameter)
3. Err = Stray (errant)
4. Lumin = Light (illumination)
5. Robor = Strength (corroboration)

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