Apalachee Verdict, Injectable Livers, and Soundtracked Books

 Need To Know 

US Embassies Close

The US shut embassies in three Gulf countries—Beirut, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia—yesterday amid the ongoing war with Iran. The US State Department encouraged Americans in 14 countries, including nonessential staff in six Gulf embassies, to depart immediately. See the list of countries here.

The update came as President Donald Trump said US munitions were in hefty supply, potentially allowing the war to continue indefinitely, up from his projected timeline of four to five weeks. Israel, meanwhile, sent ground troops into southern Lebanon after Hezbollah launched rockets in response to US and Israeli strikes in Iran. (Hezbollah, an Iranian-allied militia, pledges allegiance to the country’s supreme leader; see background on the group here.)

Israel has said it destroyed at least 70 of Hezbollah’s weapons storage facilities as of this writing and also claims to have killed the group’s intelligence chief, among over 50 people reportedly killed. Separately, the Iranian Red Crescent reported a death count of 787 yesterday from the US and Israeli strikes in Iran. 

The conflict sent oil prices up as high as 15% as of this writing. See updates on the conflict here.

Georgia Father Convicted

Colin Gray, the father of a teenager accused of killing four people at a Georgia high school in 2024, was convicted yesterday of 27 counts, including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. He faces up to 180 years in prison.

Prosecutors said Gray gave his son a semiautomatic rifle and ammunition as a Christmas gift in 2023, ignoring warnings about the teen’s mental health and fixation on school shootings and failing to secure the weapon. His son, then 14, allegedly carried the rifle onto a school bus in a book bag before opening fire on Sept. 4, 2024, killing students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie, and wounding nine others. His son is awaiting trial.

The news marks the first US conviction of an alleged school shooter’s parent for murder. A Michigan couple previously received involuntary manslaughter sentences, while parents in Wisconsin and Texas face related felony charges.

Injectable 'Satellite' Livers

Engineers have developed an injectable liver cell mixture that can temporarily take over for a failing liver, according to a study published yesterday. The breakthrough could revolutionize long-term liver disease treatment and extend how long patients are able to wait for a donor organ.  

Tests on mice showed how the liver cell mixture forms connections with nearby blood vessels when injected into fat tissue, forming a sort of satellite liver. Over time, blood vessels began to grow around the satellite liver, supplying the injected liver cells with the nutrients they needed to perform basic functions throughout the entire eight-week study. When operating optimally, the human liver plays a role in about 500 essential functions, such as removing bacteria from the bloodstream and metabolizing drugs. 

The study comes as hospitals grapple with a shortage of organ donors. Roughly 20% of Americans waiting for a liver transplant die each year; currently, over 10,000 patients are on the waitlist.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> "Game of Thrones" movie is in development with Warner Bros. "House of Cards" showrunner and "Andor" screenwriter Beau Willimon (More) 

> The Guess Who's founding guitarist Randy Bachman and singer-keyboardist Burton Cummings announce first US tour in over two decades, nearly two years after regaining band name and property in copyright lawsuit (More) 

> Christina Applegate, 54, publishes memoir "You With the Sad Eyes," reflecting on acting career and battles with abuse, breast cancer, and multiple sclerosis (More) | Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance amassed nearly 4.2 billion views across platforms within 24 hours, a new global viewership record (More) 

Science & Technology

> Martian microorganisms tucked inside asteroid debris can likely survive interplanetary travel, scientists conclude after testing a comparable Chilean desert bacterium under extreme conditions (More) 

> Macaque monkey species with higher social tolerance have a larger amygdala—a brain structure responsible for social and emotional processing; finding differs from previous studies that primarily link the amygdala to aggressive behaviors (More) 

> Google to release Chrome web browser update every two weeks starting in September as competition stiffens with AI-powered browsers from OpenAI, Perplexity, and others; updates are currently released every four weeks (More) 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close down (S&P 500 -0.9%, Dow -0.8%, Nasdaq -1.0%) as concerns about the US' war with Iran persist (More) 

> Target shares close up 6.8% after posting better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings and announcing positive February year-over-year sales (More) | Pinterest shares rise 9.3% after activist investor Elliott Investment Management boosts stake by $1B to help fund $3.5B share buyback (More) 

> Intel board chair Frank Yeary to retire in May after serving on board since 2009 and as chair since 2023; tech executive Craig Barratt named next chair (More) 

📉 What we learned about the Dot-Com Bubble: Tomorrow's 1440 Business & Finance newsletter revisits the hype and subsequent crash at the dawn of the internet era. We're also exploring how companies go public, the history of Coca-Cola, and much more. Join 285,000+ other curious learners here!

Politics & World Affairs

> Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) head to May runoff in Texas' Republican Senate primary; Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D, TX-30) and state Rep. James Talarico (D) locked in tight race for Democratic nomination as of this writing (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> Small plane makes emergency landing in New York's Hudson River after reporting engine issues; pilot and passenger swim through icy water to safety, are hospitalized with minor injuries (More)

> Clashes continue between Afghanistan and Pakistan; Pakistan claims death toll surpasses 60 people as of this writing, most of them Afghan soldiers; Afghanistan denies these numbers, and claims they killed four Pakistani soldiers (More) 

Startup creates physical books with synchronized soundtracks.

British Columbia will have its final clock change this weekend.

See photos of the red moon lunar eclipse.

Kazakhstan prepares for reintroduction of tigers.

The 3D technology inspired by origami.

See the world's tiniest arcade machine.

Police officer sacked for pretending to work from home.

UK Royal Mint releases Spice Girls coin.

Clickbait: Beware the false promise of tiny pigs.

Historybook: Antonio Vivaldi, violinist and composer, born (1678); Jeannette Rankin becomes first female member of US House of Representatives (1917); Frances Perkins becomes secretary of labor, first female member of US Cabinet (1933);  Actor and comedian John Candy dies (1994); Actor Luke Perry dies (2019).