TSA Pay, Friday the 13th, and the Price of College

 Need To Know 

TSA Pay Delay

Transportation Security Administration agents are on track to miss their first full paycheck today amid a weekslong partial government shutdown. The lapse is expected to prompt more agents to call out sick as they take on other jobs to meet their financial obligations.

The nationwide callout rate for TSA agents is now 6% on average, triple the 2% rate of unscheduled absences before Department of Homeland Security funding expired Feb. 14. Passengers have complained of long lines at airports, especially in Houston (see lines, w/photo). The issue has stabilized somewhat, but could soon worsen, the TSA warns. More than 300 officers have quit since last month. Shutdowns tend to be followed by a wave of resignations and make it harder to recruit; after last year’s shutdown, the TSA lost nearly 1,100 officers. 

Meanwhile, the impasse continued yesterday as the Senate failed to reach a 60-vote threshold to reinstate DHS funding.

History of Friday the 13th

Today marks Friday the 13th, a date long regarded in Western culture as a symbol of bad luck and superstition, though its exact origins remain uncertain.

Historians trace the belief to Christian and Norse traditions, linking it to Judas Iscariot—the 13th guest at the Last Supper who betrayed Jesus—and Loki, the uninvited 13th guest at a divine banquet. Friday’s reputation as unlucky likely stems from the belief that Jesus was crucified on that day. Despite its reputation, no statistics show the date brings more misfortune than others. Still, the superstition endures, costing businesses hundreds of millions in lost travel and commerce. It has also inspired secret societies, novels, and the “Friday the 13th” horror franchise. Explore real-life events linked to the date here.

The fear even has a name: paraskevidekatriaphobia, coined by psychologist Donald Dossey, who told his patients, "When you learn to pronounce it, you're cured!" For the superstitious, it’s pronounced par-uh-skev-ee-dek-uh-try-uh-FOE-bee-uh.

Assimilation By Law

China adopted an “ethnic unity” law yesterday. Supporters say the law will promote national identity; critics warn it could erode and rights of 55 minority groups, making up roughly 9% of the population. Han Chinese are the remaining 91%.

The measure empowers authorities to promote a common culture and discourage customs they deem outdated. It also obligates parents to instill Communist Party loyalty in their children, who are now required to study primarily in Mandarin, China’s official language. The change nationalizes language policies the government has been trickling out in minority regions for years. Beyond the classroom, the law makes it illegal for anyone to oppose inter-ethnic marriages—which made up under 3% of households in 2010—and encourages mixed neighborhoods. Lawmakers say intermixing will spur economic development, but scholars warn it could become legal grounds to weaken minority communities.

Individuals and organizations, inside and outside China, can be prosecuted for violating the law, which experts say offers few objective measures for compliance.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> René Redzepi steps down as head chef of acclaimed Copenhagen restaurant Noma amid abuse and assault allegations (More) | Chile's Smiljan Radic Clarke wins Pritzker Prize, widely considered architecture's equivalent of the Nobel Prize (More)

> Netflix developing drama series about Mexican art couple Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, based on book by French novelist Claire Berest (More) | Actress Maya Rudolph to make Broadway debut in "Oh, Mary!" beginning April 28 (More)

> Pussycat Dolls announce 53-date reunion world tour with original members Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberly Wyatt, and Ashley Roberts to celebrate 20th anniversary of debut album (More) 

Science & Technology

> NASA clears Artemis moon rocket for April launch following repairs; the mission, which has been delayed multiple times, will take four astronauts to the moon for the first time in over 50 years (More) 

> Google researchers use Gemini AI model to analyze roughly 5 million news articles, creating a map that predicts flash floods for urban areas with limited government resources across 150 countries (More) | Explore the map (More)

> Palm-sized magnet reaches 42 tesla, approaching the strength of the world’s most powerful magnets while using a few thousand times less power and over 1,000 times smaller coil volumes (More) 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close down (S&P 500 -1.5%, Dow -1.6%, Nasdaq -1.8%) (More) | Oil closes at $100 per barrel after Iran says Strait of Hormuz must remain blocked (More) 

> BMW profits fall 11.5% in 2025—their lowest level since the pandemic—amid international trade tension and competition in China (More) | Honda cancels plans to develop three electric vehicles for the US, also citing tariffs and China (More) 

> Quince, a direct-to-consumer online retailer, reaches $10B valuation after raising $500M in latest funding round (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> Former National Guardsman previously convicted of ISIS support kills one person, wounds two others at Old Dominion University in Virginia (More) | Armed assailant is killed by security personnel after ramming vehicle into Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan; one security guard was wounded (More) 

> US military refueling plane crashes in western Iraq, near the Jordanian border; rescue efforts were ongoing as of this writing, with the status of crew not publicly known (More)

> European Union's top court rules member countries must provide passports for transgender citizens reflecting their gender as opposed to sex at birth (More) 

In-Depth

> The Real Price of College 

1440 Explores | Sony Kassam. College sticker prices are often misleading, obscuring what students actually pay. Our editor-in-chief chats with an economist to unravel how tuition really works, who carries the biggest debt, and why the system feels expensive. (Watch) 

Prefer audio only? Listen to "1440 Explores" on Apple or Spotify.

> Dad and the Bejeweled Egg

The Guardian | Serena Kutchinsky. The author seeks to find the multimillion-dollar, diamond-studded egg her late father created at the expense of their relationship, his marriage, and the family finances. Will the quest give her closure? (Read) 

> Bananas Are in Trouble

Vox | Staff. The average American eats over 25 pounds of bananas every year, but we won't for long if a deadly soil fungus continues to spread. Learn what scientists are doing to save the popular fruit. (Watch) 

> Los Angeles' Ghost Hospice Centers

CBS | Staff. A woman was enrolled in hospice care without her knowledge, dozens of nurses are simultaneously employed by several hospice companies, and per-patient billing is more than double the national average. What's going on with Los Angeles' hospice centers? (Read) 

Fremont, California, tops list of happiest cities in the US.

... and Boston tops best cities for St. Patrick's Day.

College students develop AI tool to help care for plants.

Two animals thought to be extinct discovered in New Guinea.

Catch up on the Oscar-nominated movies before Sunday.

... and catch up on the BAFTA Games Awards nominees.

Netflix confirms a sequel to "KPop Demon Hunters."

British fox stowaway finds refuge at the Bronx Zoo.

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Clickbait: Today is the last day to save Angus.

Historybook: Uranus discovered (1781); President Benjamin Harrison dies (1901); Susan B. Anthony dies (1906); The Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest undersea tunnel, opened in Japan (1988) Tennis star Coco Gauff born (2004); Pope Francis' papacy begins (2013).

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