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Your Daily BriefFebruary 28th, 2022 |
Good morning, and happy Tuesday! Today is the last day of February, which means it’s your last chance to score freshly roasted coffee every month for a year. Water Avenue’s coffee adventure features a vibrant mix of high-quality single-origins, limited-time offerings, and blends in every delivery. If you appreciate a good cup of joe, it’s not something you want to miss out on.
To earn your entry, get one friend to join Tip News and cross your fingers! We announce the lucky coffee drinker tomorrow.
In Today’s Brief
- Belarus: Plane attack near Minsk
- Florida: DeSantis signs Disney bill
- Michelle Yeoh: Makes Hollywood history
- Twitter: Fourth round of layoffs
...and more
Top Tips
Student debt goes to SCOTUS
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments around whether President Biden has the authority to cancel an estimated $430B in federal student debt.
The cases being heard are Biden v. Nebraska and United States Department of Education v. Brown. The Biden administration’s approach to student debt forgiveness bypassed Congress and relies on the HEROES Act, which was passed in 2003 and allows the Secretary of Education to grant relief in times of national emergency (in this case, Covid-19). Meanwhile, the group of challenging states–led by Nebraska and Missouri–said in a court filing that the program “rests on a tenuous and pretextual connection to a national emergency.”
Biden’s plan allows for $10K in student debt to be forgiven for any individual earning below $125K/year. About 26M borrowers applied when applications opened last fall, and over 16M were approved before a pair of court decisions put the effort on hold. The Education Department estimates that over 40M people may be eligible.
End of extra SNAP benefits
Pandemic-era enhancements to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–or “SNAP,” for short–are set to expire tomorrow in 32 states.
Congress approved temporary allotments to SNAP in March 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of economic stimulus packages during the pandemic, these allotments provided an additional $3B per month to SNAP (formerly known as food stamps). For most recipients, that increase in funding amounted to an extra $95 per month over the past three years. The temporary SNAP allotments ended when Congress mandated the change in budget legislation that passed in December 2022.
Seventeen states saw the extra SNAP benefits expire as of January 2023. Tomorrow’s expiration for the remaining 32 states–plus Washington, D.C., Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands–will impact around 42M people. Per the Labor Bureau’s January report, food prices last month were 10.1% higher than they were during January 2022.
NASA & SpaceX postpone launch
The scheduled launch of a SpaceX Crew-6 Dragon capsule carrying four individuals bound for the International Space Station was called off yesterday.
Two NASA astronauts, one Russian cosmonaut, and one astronaut from the United Arab Emirates were strapped into the capsule atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. However, NASA and SpaceX reportedly scrubbed the launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with less than three minutes to go due to a technical glitch concerning the ignition fluid used to start the spacecraft's engines.
In a blog post, NASA wrote that the agency and SpaceX will forgo a potential launch today “due to unfavorable weather forecast conditions,” and added that “the next available launch attempt is at 12:34 AM EST Thursday, March 2.” Once launched, Crew-6 will be the sixth operational astronaut mission that SpaceX flies for NASA's Commercial Crew Program and the company’s ninth crewed flight overall.
Only 50 superfoods qualify
Mushrooms are one of the world’s most well studied superfoods and are jam packed with amazing benefits, making them one of only 50 superfoods in the world that qualify as “four sigmatic.” The best of the best.
Plus, mushrooms don’t just benefit our bodies’ internal environment. They can also improve the health of the ecosystems on which our very survival relies.
Not a mushroom fan? That’s ok. You don’t actually have to eat them to absorb all of their amazing healing properties.
4 fungus superstars you should know:
- Chaga - antioxidant/immune support
- Lion’s Mane - brain & nervous system enhancement
- Reishi - for stress & sleep
- Cordyceps - for energy & performance.
A company called Four Sigmatic revolutionized the way we can all bring medicinal mushrooms into our lives.
Try their Organic ‘Focus’ blend for a huge 36% off today. Or browse their many delicious coffees, superfood blends, protein powders and elixirs!
Quick Tips
Around the Globe
- UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struck a new deal with the EU yesterday on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, dubbed “The Windsor Framework” (More)
- Belarusian activists claim to have blown up a Russian military surveillance plane in a drone attack at an airfield near the capital of Minsk (More)
- Tally of provisional results in Nigeria’s elections showed Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress party ahead of Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party as of last night; around two-thirds of states in the country have yet to declare results (More)
On the Homefront
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that ends Disney World’s self-governing power in the state and institutes a state-run board whose members will be appointed by DeSantis (More)
- Nine tornadoes swept through the central U.S. yesterday, touching down in Kansas, Oklahoma, and northwest Texas; roughly 12K homes and establishments in Oklahoma were without power as of last night (More)
- Death of former champion swimmer Jamie Cail in the U.S. Virgin Islands prompts local authorities to open a criminal investigation (More)
Glitz & Games
- Michelle Yeoh becomes first Asian woman to earn a leading film acting accolade in the U.S. with her Screen Actors Guild take-home for best performance by a female actor in a leading role (More)
- Elizabeth Banks-directed ‘Cocaine Bear’ earned $23.1M in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates (More)
- The Washington Commanders released quarterback Carson Wentz after one season yesterday, along with defensive back Bobby McCain (More)
Business & Markets
- Major indexes in the stock market closed higher following the worst-performing week of the year last week (Dow +0.22%, Nasdaq +0.63%, S&P 500 +0.31%)
- Twitter laid off another 10% of its workforce, taking its total headcount to below 2K employees; the layoffs are the fourth round of job cuts since Elon Musk assumed ownership of the company in November 2022 (More)
- Palantir is cutting about 2% of its workforce; the layoffs will affect about 75 people based on the data analytics company’s December 2022 SEC report, which showed 3,838 employees (More)
Tips & Tricks
- Feel Good: Read about a group of high school seniors in Texas who managed to raise $250K so that their 80-year-old janitor, who had to come out of retirement after his rent went up, could retire once again
- Sneak Peek: The official trailer for season three of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+ dropped yesterday, featuring an iconic Rolling Stones song that seems to work well no matter where it’s used (bonus points if you can guess the song before you click on the link to see the trailer)
- Bump This: Allow Nashville-based rockers The Band CAMINO to put some pep in your step with their new high-octane single “Told You So” - listen on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube
- Chow Down: When it comes to healthy fats, olive oil boasts numerous health perks on top of its versatility - check out these eight health benefits of olive oil and how it compares to other oils used for cooking
- Go Deep: Read about how the balance of power has shifted from employers to workers when it comes to, well, work-life balance…and how the definition of that term has changed over the past few years
- Hot Goss: Blake Shelton revealed additional details about why he is leaving The Voice after the show’s 23rd season in October; Shelton is the only coach to appear on every season since the show premiered in 2011
- Life Hack: Toning up doesn’t have to come at the expense of completing impossible workouts that require a fancy gym membership - check out these seven cardio workout options for weight loss that are easy to incorporate into your daily routine
Tip-Offs
Mapping out each country's most popular video streaming service.
Everyday activities that can be traced back to pagan culture.
A conversation around the problem with AP classes.
Highlights from the Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury boxing match.
How Switzerland avoided double-digit inflation in 2022.
The full bloom of a Japanese cherry blossom tree.
…and a majestic shot of Mount Fuji during autumn.
The new self-care trend for young people: bare minimum Mondays.
Looking Back…
On February 28th: Prime Minister of Sweden Olof Palme is assassinated in Stockholm (1986); Japanese troops land on the island of Java during World War II (1942); the final episode of M*A*S*H airs on television (1983); Canadian American architect Frank Gehry is born (1929).
A ‘funguy’ to be around
Fruits and vegetables often get the spotlight when people talk about healthy eating.
But mushrooms are just as healthy— if not healthier— than many vegetables and greens!
Mushrooms being awesome superfoods isn’t exactly breaking news.
In fact, they’ve been part of healing practices in other cultures for millennia. Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine even treat them as medicine!
We’re just catching up here in the Western world.
Don’t like the texture or taste?
Good news: mushroom coffee incorporates these immune boosters right into your delicious morning drink.
Get up to 36% off today with Four Sigmatic.
Question of the Day
Which is your preferred theme park to visit on a day off?
Disney World
Yesterday's Results
Do you think it’s time for ‘Succession’ to end?
Yes - it’s good to go out on top (59%)
No - I want a few more seasons (41%)
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