Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🗳️ SCOTUS + late mail ballots
• 😁 World’s happiest country
• ✈️ ICE deploying to airports

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.66-minute read (974 words).

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"I know now a loss can be a gift. A chance to grow. Losing has taught me to be a better winner and a better person, one who is always looking for opportunities to learn."

–Serena Williams (b.1981)

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments later today in a case that could significantly change how mail-in voting is carried out in states across the country.

Some quick background

The case, Watson v. RNC, centers on a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots to be counted up to five days after Election Day, as long as they’re postmarked on or before Election Day.

Mississippi is one of 14 states with similar rules extending deadlines by a few days or weeks. The largest such window is found in Washington state, where ballots can be counted up to three weeks after Election Day so long as they’re mailed on time.

But…Not everyone agrees with this approach. The Republican National Committee and the Libertarian Party of Mississippi sued the state in 2024, arguing that federal law establishes a single Election Day and not a rolling deadline.

Several states, including Kansas, Ohio, Utah, and North Dakota, have already eliminated grace periods in recent years, requiring ballots to be received by Election Day.

The arguments

At its core, this case presents a simple question for SCOTUS: does Election Day mean your ballot has to be sent by then, or actually received?

• Supporters of the current system say states have the constitutional authority to run their own elections, including setting ballot deadlines, without federal interference.
• They also note that grace periods ensure legally cast votes aren’t thrown out due to mail delays (which are common for military and overseas voters), and argue that eliminating these windows would end up disenfranchising legal voters.

On the flip side: Opponents of extending mail-in ballot deadlines argue the line should be drawn at Election Day, since late-arriving ballots can invite fraud—or the appearance of fraud—and create unnecessary confusion with delayed election outcomes.

They also argue that a patchwork of different state ballot deadlines is precisely what Congress was trying to fix when it set a uniform Election Day in the 19th century.

Zoom out: SCOTUS currently has two other election-related cases on its docket, with Justices also weighing changes to the Voting Rights Act and spending caps for political parties. Decisions in all three cases are expected before the end of the Court’s term in late June.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, should mail-in ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but not delivered until after still be counted towards results?

• Yes, they should count
• No, they shouldn’t count
• Unsure/other

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 💻 Super Micro Computer co-founder resigns from server maker’s board after receiving US indictment on allegations of illegally smuggling Nvidia AI chips into China; company’s shares fall 33% in trading Friday.
• 🎰 Nevada wins temporary restraining order preventing Kalshi from offering event-based contracts for sports, elections, or entertainment until the prediction market acquires state gambling licenses.
• 🎙️ CBS News to lay off 6% of its staff and shutter CBS News Radio, which serves ~700 affiliate stations nationwide.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏀 March Madness: The Sweet 16 is set on the men’s side, with three #1 seeds qualifying while #9 Iowa upset #1 Florida; on the women’s side, Round 2 action finishes up today after half of the Sweet 16 qualified yesterday.
• 🍿 Project Hail Mary leads domestic box office with $80.5 million in its opening weekend ($140.9 million worldwide); Ryan Gosling-led sci-fi epic marks Amazon MGM’s biggest opening ever. | 🙏 Actor Chuck Norris, iconic tough guy and star of Walker, Texas Ranger, died at 86.
• 🎭 Disney cancels Season 22 of The Bachelorette two days before planned debut on Sunday; move comes amid domestic violence allegations involving the season’s lead, reality TV star Taylor Frankie Paul, which sparked a police investigation. | Actor Kevin Spacey settles trio of UK civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault between 2000-13; Spacey was previously found not guilty in a 2022 UK criminal sexual assault trial.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🏆 German mathematician Gerd Faltings wins Abel Prize—math’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize—for his work helping to define arithmetic geometry; Faltings is best known for his 1983 proof solving a major conjecture that had stood for six decades.
• 🦫 Beaver-built wetlands can trap and store large amounts of carbon, offering a small but low-cost boost to climate restoration efforts, Swiss study finds.
• 😁 Finland ranks as world’s happiest country for ninth straight year in latest annual World Happiness Report; US ranks 23rd, up one spot from last year.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 💥 Iran war: President Trump on Saturday night gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or else the US will start destroying Iranian power plants; it comes ~24 hours after Trump said he’s considering "winding down" the war without resolving the Strait of Hormuz closure; Israel and Iran continue to exchange airstrikes as the war enters its fourth week, with Iran also targeting oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar.
• 🏛️ Trump plans to deploy ICE officials to airports starting today if Democrats don’t support a GOP-backed agreement to fund DHS which has been shut down since mid-February. | Senate votes 54-37 to advance Sen. Markwayne Mullin's nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security; Mullin is on track to be confirmed this week as Kristi Noem’s replacement once she steps down at the end of this month. |
• 🙏 Robert Mueller, former FBI director appointed after retirement to lead the federal investigation into Trump-Russia connections in the 2016 election, passed away at 81.

👆 You’re looking at some of the winners from London Camera Exchange’s annual photo competition, which received ~14,500 entries across 14 categories including macro, portraits, and street.

🤔 Did you know? Your brain starts forming a first impression of someone in as little as 0.1 seconds, based on quick visual cues like their face and expression. Those snap judgments can feel accurate, but they’re often incomplete and continue to evolve as you get more information about a person.

📰 Worth a read: How Big Diaper absorbs billions of extra dollars from American parents

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• 5 small shifts that saved my long-distance friendships
• Steak prices are changing how Americans eat—in a big way
• Is it time to end the Bachelor franchise?

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On Friday, we covered how tax codes in red- and blue-leaning states are increasingly going in opposite directions, with many red states cutting taxes and some blue states raising rates for high earners.

❓ Our question to you: If you were in charge of your state’s tax policy, which of the following would you choose for high-income earners and big corporations?

• Higher tax rates: 56%
• Lower tax rates: 11%
• Try for a middle ground: 33%

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

+Note on sample size: We received 592 votes and 81 longform responses.

Monday: National Puppy Day

Tuesday: Purchasing Managers Index provides first look at supply chain impact of Iran war

Wednesday: Bait from creator Riz Ahmed debuts on Prime Video

Thursday: Weekly unemployment claims; men’s Sweet Sixteen tips off

Friday: Ye (formerly Kanye West) to release album Bully; women’s Sweet Sixteen tips off; Charlie Puth drops album Whatever’s Clever!

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

1. Can
2. Duct
3. Fatu
4. Mar
5. Null

🧪 Biomechanical engineer Keti Weimer, who lost her mom to breast cancer years ago at 15, has created 3D-printed breast implants for women undergoing cancer treatment, which are made from advanced biomaterials the body won't reject.

1. Can = Dog (e.g., canine)
2. Duct = Lead (deduction)
3. Fatu = Foolish (infatuation)
4. Mar = Sea (marine)
5. Null = None (nullify)

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