Good morning. It's Friday, March 6, and we're covering turnover at the Department of Homeland Security, chickpeas that have the potential to survive in space, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.7 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
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President Donald Trump yesterday fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, marking the first Cabinet secretary to depart during his second term. He nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to replace her.
The decision followed a congressional hearing in which senators from both parties urged Noem to resign (watch excerpt). Lawmakers criticized her leadership during the Minneapolis immigration crackdown, her delay in distributing disaster funds, and her management of federal funds, including the allocation of roughly $220M to an advertising campaign. Trump said Noem will shift to a newly created role—special envoy for the Shield of the Americas—focused on Western Hemisphere security.
Under federal vacancy rules, Mullin can serve as acting DHS secretary while his nomination is pending in the Senate, which remains deadlocked over DHS funding, pushing the department shutdown into a fourth week. If confirmed, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) would appoint an interim replacement for Mullin’s Senate seat until a special election is held. |
Chickpeas may be able to grow on the moon, Texas scientists revealed in a Scientific Reports study yesterday. The study paves the way for further research on lunar agriculture and may have implications for astronauts’ ability to spend longer stretches of time in space.
In 2022, researchers demonstrated plants could grow in lunar soil using samples from the Apollo 11, 12, and 17 missions (1969-72). However, the plants—a relative of mustard greens—showed signs of stress and absorbed high levels of heavy metals. This time, biologists conducted a similar experiment using materials from Earth simulated to mimic lunar soil. They dusted chickpeas with powdered arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, helping the plant’s roots spread out and reduce absorption of iron, aluminum, zinc, and copper. Some soil samples were also treated with fertilizer from red wiggler worms. In each case, chickpeas treated with fungi powder lived two weeks longer or more on average.
Read the study here. |
China set a 2026 economic growth target of 4.5% to 5% at its annual Two Sessions meeting, the lowest since the early 1990s and the first cut since 2023’s shift to “around 5%,” as Beijing faces persistent deflation and US trade tensions.
Officials say the target allows room for reforms amid weak consumer spending, a property slump, a shrinking population, and an energy shortage—exacerbated by US actions in Iran and Venezuela. China’s economy grew 5% in 2025 but slowed to 4.5% in the final quarter. Exports, which produced a $1.2T surplus last year, have become a growth driver for the country, even as President Donald Trump’s tariffs weigh on the economy.
Draft outlines for the 15th Five-Year Plan, covering 2026 through 2030, emphasize innovation, high-tech industries, scientific research, and stronger household consumption. Chinese officials say boosting domestic demand will remain a top priority this year as they try to reduce the economy’s reliance on external demand. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Netflix acquires Ben Affleck's AI filmmaking startup specializing in postproduction tools; financial terms were not disclosed (More) | Cannes Film Festival to honor "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson with lifetime achievement award (More) |
> World Baseball Classic continues today, with the US facing Brazil at 8 pm ET; tournament runs through March 17, with games in Miami, Houston, Puerto Rico, and Tokyo (More, w/full schedule) |
> Britney Spears arrested in California on suspicion of driving under the influence; she was released hours later and has a court appearance May 4 (More) |
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In partnership with Motley Fool Money |
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Hands Down One of the Best Cards in 2026 |
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> Chinese automaker BYD releases new electric vehicle battery that can charge from 10% to 97% in nine minutes, a task that previously took 30 to 60 minutes; advance comes amid slowing demand for EVs (More) |
> GLP-1 drugs linked to reduced interest in all major addictive substances—from alcohol and nicotine to cannabis and opioids—potentially offering a pivotal approach to substance abuse treatments (More) |
> Scientists create 3D images of ant morphology with a particle accelerator that captured high-resolution images of internal anatomy in seconds; the library, spanning 792 species, may inform robot design (More) | Explore the renderings (More) |
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> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.6%, Dow -1.6%, Nasdaq -0.3%) as crude oil tops $80 per barrel amid Iran conflict and as traders await jobs data today (More) |
> Pentagon informs Anthropic leadership that the AI company and its products, including Claude chatbot, are deemed to be a risk to US supply chain (More) |
> Group of 24 states sues Trump administration over new 10% global tariffs, arguing President Donald Trump cannot sidestep Supreme Court ruling that invalidated most of his earlier tariffs (More) |
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> Justice Department publishes Epstein-related files about woman who, in 2019, alleged to the FBI that President Donald Trump sexually abused her years before, when she was between 13 and 15 years old; DOJ says the allegations were baseless, Trump denies wrongdoing (More) |
> President Donald Trump reportedly calls on Kurdish fighters to enter the war with Iran; Tehran strikes Kurdish headquarters in Iraq (More) | See explainer (More) |
> Ecuadorian officials confirm they are receiving support from the US military to address narcoterrorism; do not elaborate on level of cooperation (More) |
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> Creator Economy Power Brokers
WSJ | Lane Florsheim. How two women forged an industry that transforms Instagram personalities and TikTok creators, from Alix Earle to Jake Shane, into modern-day celebrities with nine-figure brand deals. (Read) |
> The Kirkland Signature Empire
Weird History Food | Staff. Store-brand products were historically viewed as inferior to their name-brand equivalents—then came Costco’s Kirkland Signature. (Watch) |
> Quantified Versus Quality Life
Plain English | Derek Thompson. A conversation with philosopher C. Thi Nguyen forces journalist Derek Thompson to rethink his relationship with his Oura ring. If life is a game, who decides the objective and how it's measured? (Listen, w/transcript) |
> The Golden Age of the iPod
Dirt | Molly Mary O'Brien. Almost 25 years ago, the first iPod expanded access to music without the distraction of easy internet access. Was that technology at its finest? (Read) |
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Here’s To A Fee-Free 2026 |
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We all want a fresh start in the new year, but that’s easier said than done when your credit card fees are stacking up.
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1440 Topics brings you everything you need to know to get smarter on hundreds of subjects you see in the news. Here’s some of what’s new this week: |
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Historybook: Michelangelo born (1475); Davy Crockett and around 200 others are killed at the Battle of the Alamo (1836); Aspirin is patented (1899); Nobel Prize-winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez born (1927); Ghana becomes first sub-Saharan colony to achieve independence from British rule (1957); Shaquille O’Neal born (1972); Artist Georgia O’Keeffe dies (1986). |
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"Life is not what one lived, but what one remembers and how one remembers it in order to recount it." |
- Gabriel García Márquez, from "Living to Tell the Tale" |
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