Good morning. It's Tuesday, March 25, and we're covering tariffs related to Venezuela, the fall of a popular DNA testing company, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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President Donald Trump yesterday announced 25% tariffs on any trade with countries that buy oil or gas from Venezuela to pressure Venezuela over alleged Tren de Aragua ("the train of Aragua") gang infiltration into the US. The tariffs will begin April 2, though it is unclear how they will work. China is Venezuela's largest buyer of oil and gas.
In related news, a federal judge upheld a temporary order blocking the Trump administration from deporting accused Venezuelan gang members under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. The judge said the order should remain in place to allow Venezuelan migrants the chance to challenge claims that they belong to the Tren de Aragua gang. A federal appeals court also heard arguments on the issue yesterday afternoon. The legal developments come after Venezuela agreed over the weekend to accept deportation flights of undocumented migrants in the US.
Tren de Aragua was founded in 2014 in Venezuela's Tocorón prison and has since expanded its operations across Latin America and into the US (see overview). |
23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced the resignation of CEO and cofounder Anne Wojcicki. The move follows months of turmoil for the genetic testing giant and raises concerns for over 15 million customers about what happens to their personal health data.
Founded in 2006, 23andMe attracted millions of consumers seeking insight into their ancestry and genetic profiles, having sold more than 12 million saliva-based testing kits globally. The company’s valuation peaked in 2021 at nearly $6B after going public and has since fallen to under $50M. Struggles to create a viable business model have caused 23andMe's shares to decline significantly in recent years (see graph). Profitability plummeted after a 2023 data breach that impacted nearly 7 million users, decreasing demand and harming the business’s reputation. The company plans to continue operations and seeks new ownership to cut costs and resolve liabilities.
23andMe claims it won’t change its current data protection policies, yet critics warn about potential privacy risks and suggest consumers delete their data. |
SCOTUS Leaves Libel Standard |
The US Supreme Court yesterday declined to hear a case brought by casino mogul Steve Wynn asking for the justices to overturn or narrow New York Times v. Sullivan, a 1964 case that established the nation's strict threshold for what constitutes libel.
Wynn originally sued the Associated Press in 2018 after a story referenced a pair of police reports regarding sexual misconduct in the 1970s, accusing the reporters of libel (the suit was dismissed by a Nevada court). The six-decade-old Sullivan ruling established a high threshold for libel, requiring "actual malice" be demonstrated—generally meaning plaintiffs must show the authors either knew the content was false or acted with reckless disregard to its veracity. Legal analysts said a reexamination of the decision may ultimately lower that standard, removing protections for reporting on public figures.
Separately, the court heard oral arguments yesterday challenging Louisiana's updated congressional map, which was redrawn last year to include a second majority-Black district. The state—whose population is roughly one-third Black—previously only had one (of six) majority Black districts. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Ari Emanuel steps down as CEO of Endeavor, the talent agency he founded in 1995, as part of deal to take the company private; Emanuel will remain as CEO of TKO Group, which owns WWE and UFC (More) |
> NCAA women's basketball tournament Sweet 16 field set; see latest bracket (More) | University of Virginia women win record-tying fifth straight NCAA swimming and diving championship (More) |
> French actor Gérard Depardieu's sexual assault trial begins; Depardieu is accused of sexually assaulting two crew members on a movie set in 2021 (More) |
Bob Dylan: This week's 1440 Society & Culture newsletter explores the cultural icon's six-decade career. Sign up here for free! |
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> UK officials report world's first known case of H5N1, also known as the bird flu, in sheep; risk to general public remains low, health officials express concern the strain could mutate into more dangerous strain (More) | Zoonotic diseases 101 (1440 Topics) |
> Marathon runners metabolize brain-cell insulation known as myelin as fuel during races; MRI study shows brain recovers over the course of around two months (More) |
> Mathematicians decode patterns of how people walk in large crowds; model allows predictions of when crowd movement transitions from orderly to chaotic (More) |
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In partnership with New Sapience |
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> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.8%, Dow +1.4%, Nasdaq +2.3%) as President Donald Trump signals he might exempt some countries from reciprocal tariffs expected April 2 (More) |
> South Korean conglomerate Hyundai announces $21B US investment, which includes $5.8B steel plant in Louisiana (More) |
> Georgia jury orders Monsanto parent Bayer to pay nearly $2.1B in damages to man who says Roundup weed killer caused his cancer; Bayer faces more than 177,000 lawsuits involving the weed killer (More) |
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> Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg says US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz mistakenly included him in Signal group chat where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details of military plans against Yemen's Houthi rebels (More) | See original report (More) | US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy resigns after five years in the role (More) |
> Turkey detains more than 1,100 people following mass protests after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested over corruption charges; İmamoğlu had emerged as a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (More) |
> Oscar-winning Palestinian director of "No Other Land" documentary reportedly attacked by Jewish settlers in the West Bank and detained by Israeli military (More) |
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> The Arms Race of Airline Safety Videos
Hustle | Shikhar Sachdev. Airlines are spending millions of dollars in a high-stakes competition to create engaging safety videos, but research suggests entertaining videos may be less effective at helping passengers recall safety information. (Read)
> The Unbearable Loudness of Chewing
Asterisk Mag | Jake Eaton. Misophonia—a poorly understood condition in which certain sounds trigger extreme anger or disgust—is finally gaining scientific traction and research funding after decades of being dismissed. (Read) |
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In partnership with Timeline |
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Please support our sponsors! |
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