Good morning. It's Tuesday, March 4, and we're covering tariffs on America's biggest trading partners, the culmination of Mardi Gras, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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Broad 25% tariffs on all imports from America's two largest trading partners, Mexico and Canada, go into effect today, according to President Donald Trump's latest comments. The tariffs were delayed for a month to facilitate talks with Mexico and Canada on addressing drug trafficking and migration at the US border.
All three major US indexes slid on the news (S&P 500 -1.8%, Dow -1.5%, Nasdaq -2.6%) yesterday, with the S&P 500 posting its biggest loss since December. Nasdaq's slump was led by Nvidia, which fell nearly 9%. The Canadian dollar and Mexican peso slipped to one-month lows after Trump's comments.
Mexico has already deployed 10,000 National Guard troops to its northern border, while Canada appointed a fentanyl czar, even though Canada accounts for less than 1% of fentanyl smuggled into the US (see data). China also faces a broad 20% tariff on its imported goods, up from 10% imposed last month. See how tariffs could impact consumers here.
Separately, the US paused military aid to Ukraine following last week's heated Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. |
NASA's latest advanced telescope will embark on a yearslong mission as early as today, with a launch window opening just after 10 pm ET from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Known as SPHEREx, the telescope will orbit roughly 400 miles above the Earth's surface and complement NASA's other best-in-class tools, like the James Webb Space Telescope. While the powerful Webb can provide unprecedented resolution of specific targets, SPHEREx is an "all-sky" survey that will map the entire celestial sky four times over the course of two years.
SPHEREx will collect light largely in the near-infrared range, some arriving from as early as 10 billion years ago. Researchers hope to understand the distribution of galaxies during the early universe, providing insight into cosmic expansion after the Big Bang. The mission will also study how the earliest stars formed and how much (and where) water and organic molecules are present.
See a livestream of liftoff here. |
Millions around the world will celebrate Mardi Gras today, the final day before the Christian fasting and religious observance period of Lent begins. Mardi Gras, French for "Fat Tuesday," is the culmination of Carnival season, which officially starts each year on Jan. 6—the 12th day after Christmas—and concludes the day before Ash Wednesday. The celebrations include elaborate parades and feasting on traditional foods such as king cake.
Mardi Gras has roots in medieval European traditions and evolved from ancient Roman festivals into a global event. In the US, the festivities date to 1699, when French Canadian explorers arrived in the South. Though Mobile, Alabama, claims the first American Mardi Gras in 1703, New Orleans is now synonymous with the celebration—the city welcomes around 1.4 million visitors each year, generating roughly $900M in revenue. Today, iconic krewes like Rex and Zulu will parade through the city, marking the season's grand finale.
A typical New Orleans Mardi Gras generates nearly 100,000 pounds of discarded beads. See a team developing biodegradable beads here. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Carl Dean, Dolly Parton's longtime husband, dies at age 82 (More) | Adrien Brody's Oscars acceptance speech breaks all-time record at five minutes and 40 seconds (More) |
> Jay-Z files defamation lawsuit against former accuser and lawyers over sexual assault allegations; the lawsuit against Jay-Z was dropped in February (More) |
> Serena Williams joins ownership group of WNBA's newest franchise, Toronto Tempo, which is set to begin play in 2026 (More) |
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> Google announces Gemini Live is ready to launch; feature allows the company's Gemini AI to look through a user's camera, approximate face-to-face interactions (More) | Everything you need to know about Google (1440 Topics) |
> Chinese electric carmaker BYD debuts roof-mounted drone launchpad for all models; devices can follow the car at speeds of up to 33 mph (More) |
> New simulations reveal how corrosion of metal surfaces unfolds, offering route to development of longer-lasting materials; roughly 3% of US GDP is spent annually repairing failing materials (More) |
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> Amazon-backed AI startup Anthropic valued at nearly $62B after closing latest funding round, up from $16B a little over a year ago (More) | Fintech startup Ramp secures $13B valuation in deal allowing employees, investors to sell shares (More) |
> Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC announces it will invest at least $100B to build chip manufacturing facilities in the US over the next four years (More) | Nvidia-backed cloud provider CoreWeave files for US initial public offering (More) |
> Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen resigns from his role at the nation's largest grocery chain; comes after internal probe found McMullen's personal conduct was inconsistent with Kroger's business ethics policy (More) |
1440 Business & Finance: This week, we're taking a deep dive into tariffs, their history, and economic impact. Sign up here for free! |
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In partnership with FinanceBuzz |
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> Senate confirms Linda McMahon to lead Education Department by a vote of 51-45; the former WWE executive previously headed the Small Business Administration during President Donald Trump's first term (More) |
> Man pleads guilty to murder and attempted murder charges for mass shooting that left seven people dead during 2022 Fourth of July festivities in Highland Park, Illinois; the 24-year-old faces sentencing April 23 (More) |
> Pope Francis, 88, back on noninvasive ventilation after suffering two episodes of acute respiratory failure, Vatican says (More) |
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> From Antarctica With Love
Atavist | Allegra Rosenberg. Through the private diary of Lt. Harry Pennell, dive into the story of love and ambition that fueled the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole. (Read)
> Where Did the Political Mustache Go?
Engelsberg Ideas | Luka Ivan Jukic. The once-powerful political mustache has mostly vanished from the faces of Western leaders. Why do most current male politicians prefer to be clean-shaven? (Read) |
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In partnership with Boxabl |
A Monster Plan for Homebuilding |
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*Disclosure: Reservations represents a non-binding indication of interest to purchase as Casita. A reservation does not require purchase of a Casita and there is no assurance of how many will result in actual purchases.
**This is a paid advertisement for Boxabl’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at https://www.boxabl.com/invest/ |
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