Transgender Athletes, Powell Probe, and Deer vs. Rhino

 Need To Know 

Transgender Athletes Cases

The Supreme Court will hear its first-ever cases today on transgender athletes' participation in sports. The outcome of the cases—originating in Idaho and West Virginia—is likely to impact laws across more than 20 states with similar measures (see map).

Boise State University student Lindsay Hecox, 24, sued Idaho over its 2020 law barring transgender athletes from women's and girls' sports teams at public schools of all levels, including public colleges. Fifteen-year-old Becky Pepper-Jackson, who has publicly identified as a girl since the third grade and has been taking puberty-blocking medication, challenged a similar law in West Virginia. Federal courts have blocked the two laws on the grounds that they discriminate "on the basis of sex" in violation of Title IX (see explainer). The states have appealed, arguing sex and gender identity are separate matters.

An estimated 122,000 transgender teenagers participate in high school sports—a little over 1% of the US' more than 8 million teenage athletes. See public perceptions on the topic here.

Powell Probe Backlash

Former Federal Reserve chairs and top economists issued a statement yesterday condemning a federal probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell as a threat to the central bank’s independence. Read the statement here.

The Justice Department launched a criminal investigation into whether Powell misled Congress about the scope of a roughly $2.5B renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. Powell characterized the allegation as a pressure campaign by President Donald Trump to push the central bank to lower interest rates, or the cost of borrowing money (watch video statement). The rates, which influence economic growth, are reviewed about every six weeks by an independent board that Powell leads. Trump has criticized the Fed for not lowering rates faster and, last month, floated suing Powell over the renovation; Trump denies prior knowledge of the probe.

Separately, the Supreme Court will hear a case next week on whether Trump can fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations.

Learn why the Fed doesn't always lower—and sometimes raises—interest rates here.

Myanmar on Trial

The UN's top court yesterday began hearings in a long-running case brought by the West African nation of Gambia, which accuses Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya, a primarily Muslim minority group. The proceedings mark the first genocide case the International Court of Justice will hear in full in more than a decade and could set a precedent for other allegations, including South Africa's case against Israel.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled from Buddhist-majority Myanmar to Bangladesh since 2017, after the Myanmar military launched a widespread operation in the western part of the country (see background). UN investigators have documented accounts of killings, mass rape, and destroyed villages. Myanmar denies the accusations and maintains its actions were security measures against militant groups.

In the ICJ's 80-year history, the closest precedent came in 2007, when a case against Serbia over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre found that Serbia had failed to prevent genocide. However, the court did not hold Serbia directly responsible for the killings.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Houston Texans beat Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 in last NFL wild-card game; playoffs resume Saturday with 49ers vs. Seahawks and Bills vs. Broncos (More) 

> Paramount sues Warner Bros. Discovery for financial details of roughly $83B Netflix deal, announces plans to nominate directors to Warner Bros. board (More) 

> Real Madrid cuts ties with head coach Xabi Alonso after 2-3 loss to Barcelona in Spanish Super Cup, names B team coach Álvaro Arbeloa as replacement (More) 

Science & Technology

> Apple selects Google's Gemini to power the iPhone maker's artificial intelligence features, including a new iteration of Siri (More) | Nvidia and Eli Lilly to jointly invest $1B in AI-powered drug discovery lab (More) 

> Repeated same-sex sexual activity is observed in 23 nonhuman primate species, suggesting behavior evolved to strengthen social bonds and reduce conflict (More)  

> Researchers identify gut bacteria in infants that reduce likelihood of developing allergies and asthma later in life, opening door to new preventive treatments (More) | Explore the best resources we've found on the gut microbiome (1440 Topics)

🧬 What we learned researching CRISPR: Tomorrow's 1440 Science & Technology newsletter unpacks the revolutionary gene-editing technique, from its Nobel-winning history to disease breakthroughs. Join 115,000+ science enthusiasts here!

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +0.2%, Dow +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.3%), with S&P 500 and the Dow hitting records; gold and silver prices also hit record highs (More) 

> Alphabet briefly tops $4T market cap in intraday trading; Apple and Microsoft briefly crossed the historic mark last year, while Nvidia is the only tech company to hold firm above the threshold (More) | What we learned about Google (1440 Topics)

> Dina Powell McCormick, former deputy national security adviser to President Donald Trump, named new president and vice chair of Meta (More) | Meta reportedly planning to cut around 10% of roughly 15,000 roles in its Reality Labs unit (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> Malaysia and Indonesia become the first countries to block xAI's Grok chatbot over sexually explicit deepfakes, including nonconsensual images of women and children (More)

> Roughly 15,000 nurses walk out of three New York City hospital systems—Mount Sinai Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian, and Montefiore Medical Center—as contract negotiations stall; hospitals hire temporary nurses to stay open (More)

> Canadian authorities arrest suspect in the country's biggest gold heist in history: the April 2023 theft of 6,600 gold bars worth nearly $15M from Toronto's Pearson International Airport (More) 

In-Depth

> The Team Behind Disney Magic

WSJ | Ben Fritz. Theme parks and cruises are Disney’s biggest source of profits, surpassing television and movies. The company's 3,000 Imagineers—artists, engineers, and project managers—are charged with making it happen. (Read) 

> How to Build a Village

Life Kit | Staff. One in two US adults reports experiencing loneliness. The antidote involves taking social risks, hosting events, and building community. (Listen) 

Muhammad Ali gets a postage stamp.

...and Jimmy Carter's love letter goes to auction today.

Golden Globes red carpet lookbook. 

Why is AI so bad at telling time? 

VR headsets offer inmates exotic escapes. 

Missouri tops states with the largest credit score decreases.

Roomba vacuums have lost their pet-like charm. 

Why astronauts say space smells like a steakhouse. (via YouTube)

Clickbait: Tiny deer versus 1.7-ton rhino. (w/video) 

Historybook: Author James Joyce dies (1941); Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus born (1961); Douglas Wilder becomes first elected Black US governor (1990); 32 die as cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off coast of Italy (2012).