Good morning. So...baseball is a mess. MLB canceled Opening Day and several other games after players and owners couldn't reach a new collective bargaining agreement by yesterday's 5pm ET deadline. Kevin Costner, we are urging you: Leave Montana and start the XFL for baseball. If you build it, we will watch. —Neal Freyman, Max Knoblauch, Jamie Wilde
| | | |  | Nasdaq | 13,532.46 | | | | | S&P | 4,306.26 | | | | | Dow | 33,294.95 | | | | | 10-Year | 1.725% | | |  | Bitcoin | $43,991.81 | | | | | Target | $219.43 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Stocks slid and commodities surged the most since 2009 as the war in Ukraine continues to convulse Wall Street. One bright spot was Target, which offered a bullish forecast in its Q4 earnings report.
- Ukraine: With Russia's offensive in Ukraine not going as planned, its tactics could turn more brutal and indiscriminate, analysts warn. Examples of that strategy emerged yesterday, when Russian forces bombed densely populated areas in Ukraine's two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv.
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Everyone talks about crypto and NFTs. But we just did it in the METAVERSE. Check out our recent conversation between Fidelity Digital Assets and our executive chairman, Alex Lieberman, right here. | | Win McNamee/Getty Images President Biden delivered his first State of the Union address amid the largest ground war in Europe since World War II, the highest US inflation in 40 years, and an ongoing pandemic that's killed more than 950,000 Americans. We don't envy his speechwriters. Addressing the war The first part of the State of the Union wasn't even about our union, but Ukraine's. Biden praised the courage of the Ukrainian people, the united response of NATO and its allies, and the severe damage that sanctions have already inflicted on the Russian economy. - Americans were eager to hear Biden's thoughts on Ukraine. In a CBS News poll before the address, 73% of respondents said that Russia and Ukraine was the most important topic for Biden to speak about, ahead of the economy, inflation, and Covid.
Biden also made some Ukraine-related news: He announced that the US would close its airspace to Russian planes, a move that had already been taken by the EU and Canada. On the domestic front… Biden addressed soaring prices, which has become a political weak spot for him. He acknowledged that Americans were feeling the pinch, but offered only vague solutions, such as reducing dependence on global supply chains by boosting manufacturing in the US. On that front, he highlighted Intel's plan to invest $20 billion in a chipmaking facility in Ohio. Biden also talked about the US' progress in combating Covid (can you believe it's been two years?). New cases have declined more than 90% from their January peak, and the federal government recently relaxed mask guidance for much of America. Still, an average of 1,800 people are dying every day of Covid, and Biden admitted that new variants could emerge. A few other soundbites: - "We should all agree the answer is not to defund the police. It is to fund the police."
- "We must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they're conducting on our children for profit."
- Nine mentions of "folks," but just four of "fellow Americans."
Bottom line: Biden hopes that showcasing steady leadership in the face of multiple crises will give a boost to Democrats ahead of November's midterm elections. It's a big challenge—his approval rating has fallen to 41.1% from 53% in January 2021.—NF | | Francis Scialabba  Energy prices surge. US crude oil spiked more than 10% over concerns that supply from Russia, a major energy exporter, could dwindle. To try to keep oil flowing, the International Energy Agency said its member countries will release 60 million barrels (that's not a lot) from its emergency stockpiles—only the fourth time it's done so in its history. "The situation in energy markets is very serious and demands our full attention," IEA executive director Fatih Birol said.
 Apple stopped selling its products in Russia. The tech giant joined a growing list of companies including Hollywood studios, energy behemoths such as Exxon, and automakers like Ford that are cutting ties with the country following its invasion. Apple also said it's limiting other services in Russia, including Apple Pay.
 Texas governor sued over new transgender directive. A lawsuit claims that Gov. Greg Abbott is investigating parents of transgender adolescents for possible child abuse if they support gender-affirming treatments for their kids. One plaintiff in the lawsuit is an employee at Texas's Department of Family and Protective Services who has a 16-year-old transgender child; she was placed on administrative leave and investigators already came to their house, according to the filing.
| | Alexander Shcherbak/TASS via Getty Images Media outlets backed by the Kremlin are finding their audiences shrinking after the president of the European Commission pledged to "ban the Kremlin's media machine in the EU." Over the course of Monday and Tuesday, major tech companies announced harsh measures to block Russian state-backed outlets like RT (formerly "Russia Today") and Sputnik from disseminating Russian war propaganda in Europe. Outside of Europe, tech companies and TV providers are moving quickly to label and block misleading content in the midst of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Some of what's happened: - TikTok, Meta, and YouTube have blocked RT's accounts in Europe, making them inaccessible to users within the EU.
- Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and Facebook have restricted or altogether banned Russian government-backed media outlets from selling ads globally.
- Microsoft and Roku removed RT's apps from their app stores.
- Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram will include a label on all posts containing URLs from Russian state-backed media.
- DirecTV is pulling RT from its TV service, effective immediately.
Bottom line: Putin is already getting creamed by Ukraine in the PR arena; measures to block Russian state media will make spreading his message much more difficult.—MK | | | Sleeping soundly is about to sound that much sweeter, thanks to the dreamy duo that is John Legend and Headspace. In Headspace's newest sleepcast, John Legend narrates a soothing story to guide you to a satisfying snooze, inspiring the total relaxation your body and mind crave come sleepytime. Prefer smooth tunes to help you wind down after a long day? Achieve deep Zzz's with the ambient instrumental music on Headspace's latest sleep playlist, curated by the Legend himself. Because nothing says self-care like treating yourself to excellent sleep, courtesy of a playlist created by a musical megastar. Headspace's entire collection of sleep-supporting, stress-relieving, and focus-boosting meditations + mindfulness exercises await you, right in their app. Peace of mind? Piece of cake. Start your free trial here. | | Nurphoto/Getty Images Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are rallying as Russia gets slammed with economic sanctions, and its currency, the ruble, rapidly loses value. Ukrainians fleeing the country also may be contributing to the spike as they stash their savings under the digital mattress that is the blockchain. - As of last night, the price of bitcoin had risen 18% in 48 hours.
While bitcoin hasn't proven to be "digital gold," it has become more popular in countries with currency crises—like in Turkey when the lira plummeted last year. What's crypto companies' role in all this? Ukraine formally asked eight cryptocurrency exchanges, including industry leaders Coinbase and Binance, to halt service to all Russian users. Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov went further, tweeting, "It's crucial [for major exchanges] to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users." Coinbase and Binance have declined to blanket-ban Russia but have blocked users specifically targeted by sanctions. Most exchanges are opposed to freezing accounts since ease of international use and user anonymity are fundamental to crypto. Zoom out: Crypto is playing a major role in this war, from Russians and Ukrainians using it as a safe haven to Ukraine raising over $22 million in crypto to fund its war effort.—JW | | A Russian 40-mile convoy is on its way (slowly) to Kyiv. Maxar Technologies. Stat: 80% of the 150,000 Russian troops stationed at Ukraine's borders have invaded the country, a Pentagon official told the New York Times. But fuel and food shortages among the Russian forces have led to poor morale, and fierce Ukrainian opposition has caused some entire Russian units to surrender without a fight or deliberately sabotage their own vehicles, the official said. These issues may be why the 40-mile-long convoy of Russian tanks and armored vehicles en route to Kyiv has significantly slowed over the past two days. Quote: "There are many Russians strongly opposing the current military action, and I am one of them." Andrey Yakunin, a Russian businessman who is based in London, is one of several Russian moguls who has spoken out against the war in recent days. Their once-cozy relationship with the West is being squeezed due to sanctions; even oligarch playgrounds like Monaco and Switzerland are cracking down on Russian dirty money. Read: "Yes, he would": Fiona Hill on Putin and nukes. (Politico) | | - All Marvel shows on Netflix will head to Disney+ on March 16, Disney announced.
- Uber released a new feature that lets you book restaurant reservations and concert tickets through the app.
- Serena Williams's early stage venture fund raised $111 million.
- The cargo ship carrying luxury cars that caught on fire last month has sunk in the Atlantic Ocean.
| | | ATTN: This  metabolism booster is FINALLY back. Yep, Sakara's Metabolism Super Powder is here and ready to ignite your metabolism while eliminating bloat. This stuff whizzes off shelves faster than toilet paper in March 2020, so don't dilly-dally. Take 20% off with code MARCH22BREW. | | Musical Jenga: The magic that's produced when TikTok musicians riff on top of one another. Because we all need a laugh: This is an all-time Wheel of Fortune moment. Give your ears what they want. From inspirational stories to work advice to current events, we've got it all in the Morning Brew podcast slate. Check out some of our latest episodes: | | Word Search: Take a look at some whimsical chess sets and see if you can identify their themes in today's Word Search. Children's lit trivia To celebrate Read Across America Day, today's trivia focuses on literature—specifically, children's books. We'll give you the name of an author, and you must identify the children's/young adult series they wrote. - R. L. Stine
- Lemony Snicket
- Eoin Colfer
- Dav Pilkey
- Mary Pope Osborne
| | - Goosebumps
- A Series of Unfortunate Events
- Artemis Fowl
- Captain Underpants
- Magic Tree House
| | | Written by Neal Freyman, Jamie Wilde, and Max Knoblauch Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. WANT MORE BREW? Industry news, with a sense of humor → - Emerging Tech Brew: AI, crypto, space, autonomous vehicles, and more
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