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Australian Social Media Ban |
Australia’s nationwide ban on social media use for children under 16 takes effect today, making it the first country to prohibit underage users from major platforms outright.
Millions of accounts are expected to be affected as companies, such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, and X, face fines of up to $33M for serious or repeated noncompliance. The law places responsibility on companies rather than families, and platforms must demonstrate that they have taken “reasonable steps,” such as age checks and the removal of suspected underage accounts. Some countries have taken similar steps, such as strict youth modes or time limits.
The measure is cast as a child-protection and mental health safeguard, citing research showing 96% of 10- to 15-year-olds use social media, with many encountering harmful content, grooming, or cyberbullying. Critics say the law is difficult to enforce, may push teens onto harder-to-monitor platforms, and poses privacy risks. |
Campaign Finance Challenge |
The Supreme Court yesterday heard a Republican-led challenge to federal limits on the amount of money political parties can spend in coordination with candidates.
The case, filed in 2022 by Republican congressional groups alongside then-Sen. JD Vance and former Rep. Steve Chabot, argues coordinated spending limits violate the First Amendment by restricting a party’s ability to assist its nominees. Democrats counter that striking down the limits would allow wealthy donors to sidestep caps on how much individuals can contribute to candidates, potentially concentrating political influence in a few large gifts and weakening the impact of small-dollar contributions. Democratic candidates have recently outraised their Republican counterparts, largely due to smaller contributions.
The court is expected to rule by July. The case will be its first major campaign finance decision since it struck down limits on political spending by corporations and unions in 2010 and eliminated the aggregate cap on individual contributions in 2014. |
Newly discovered materials from Pompeii confirm how the Romans formulated concrete to build long-lasting structural masterpieces.
Architect Vitruvius described the Romans' building process nearly 2,100 years ago in "De Architectura"—the first known book on architectural theory—suggesting they mixed a water-lime paste with other ingredients to produce concrete. But a 2023 paper challenged this order. Researcher Admir Masic analyzed samples of a roughly 2,500-year-old city wall in Priverno, Italy, and found Romans used a "hot-mixing" process—first mixing dry ingredients including lime fragments and volcanic ash, then adding water. The approach released heat, allowing lime pieces to expand and fill gaps as cracks form. Now, analysis of a newly discovered site in Pompeii confirms Masic’s theory using additional samples and a dry raw materials pile. Read the study here.
Masic has cofounded a company that aims to commercialize "self-healing" cement. DMAT recently raised $4.5M in a round led by Italy’s Primo Capital SGR. |
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In partnership with SmartAsset |
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The Top 10 Wealth Management Firms of 2025 |
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Whether you're looking for help with retirement, wealth management or tax planning, the US is home to thousands of advisors that can potentially meet your specific needs. SmartAsset ranked the top 10 wealth management firms in the US based on AUM, fees, and more.
SmartAsset's no-cost tool will match you with vetted fiduciary advisors, obligated to work in your best financial interest. The criteria for the matching tool differs from the methodology for the list above and you may not be matched with the advisor firms mentioned in the article. See the list. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Musician Raul Malo, best known as the frontman of Grammy-winning, multicultural Americana band The Mavericks, dies at age 60 (More) |
> Federal judge postpones Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's civil trial from March 9 to May 18, citing the need to prioritize two criminal trials (More) |
> Inter Miami's Lionel Messi named Major League Soccer's MVP, becoming the first player to earn the title in back-to-back seasons (More) | LA Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani selected as AP's Male Athlete of the Year for fourth time, tying for most nods (More) |
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> European Commission launches antitrust probe into Google's use of web content and YouTube videos to create the search engine's AI-generated overviews (More) |
> Microsoft to fund $17.5B in new data centers, AI infrastructure, and skills programming in India from 2026 to 2029, building on $3B committed in January and marking the company's largest investment in Asia (More) |
> Researchers record winds blasting from a black hole at more than 134 million miles per hour—about 20% the speed of light and the fastest ever observed (More) |
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In partnership with The Rundown AI |
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Join 1M+ Professionals Getting Ahead With AI |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.1%, Dow -0.4%, Nasdaq +0.1%); investors await today's Federal Reserve interest rate decision (More) | Silver rises above $60 per ounce for first time (More) |
> Elon Musk's SpaceX reportedly to pursue initial public offering in 2026, seeking to raise more than $30B at a valuation of about $1.5T (More) |
> US job openings rise slightly to 7.67 million in October, from 7.66 million in September; layoffs rose to nearly 1.9 million—the most since January 2023 (More) |
🫴 What we learned about tipping: Where did it come from, and why is it expected? Tomorrow's 1440 Business & Finance newsletter explores the cultural practice of gratuity. Join 280,000+ business enthusiasts here! |
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> Clashes between Cambodia and Thailand kill at least seven civilians, wound 20 others, and displace more than 20,000, per Cambodia (More) |
> French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu passes a proposed 2026 spending plan through the National Assembly, sending bill to Senate; Lecornu previously resigned over his failure to pass a budget (More) |
> European Union's climate observatory projects 2025 will rank as the second-hottest year on record (More) |
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In partnership with SmartAsset |
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7 Mistakes When Choosing A Financial Advisor |
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Working with a financial advisor can be a crucial part of any healthy retirement plan.
Research suggests that people who work with a financial advisor feel more at ease about their finances and could end up with about 15% more money to spend in retirement.* But choosing the wrong one could wreak havoc. Avoiding these 7 mistakes people make when hiring an advisor could potentially help reduce financial stress.
SmartAsset’s no-cost tool simplifies the time consuming process of finding an advisor. Answer a few questions to get matched with vetted financial advisors serving your area. All advisors on the platform have been rigorously screened through a proprietary due diligence process and are legally bound to work in your best interest. Get your financial advisor matches today. |
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1440 Topics gives you the overview, then points you to the best resources: |
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> We added a TED Talk on why sitting is bad for you—along with other great resources we've found on exercise. |
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> The next episode of "1440 Explores" comes out tomorrow and takes a look at dreams—why we have them, whether we can control them, and what they might mean. Sign up here for updates on our flagship podcast. |
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Historybook: Encyclopædia Britannica first published (1768); Poet Emily Dickinson born (1830); Inventor Alfred Nobel, founder of Nobel Prizes, dies (1896); Spanish-American War ends (1898); Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet dies (2006). |
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"The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience." |
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*Disclosure: "Journal of Retirement Study Winter" (2020). The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of your future results. Please follow the link to see the methodologies employed in the Journal of Retirement study. |
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