Good morning. During last year's women's college basketball tournament, Oregon forward Sedona Prince posted a viral TikTok video that showed shocking differences in the weight training facilities between the men and the women. Because of that video, this year's women's tournament, which tips off today, will look a lot different: - The field was expanded to 68 teams, matching the size of the men's bracket.
- The women will receive the same gift bags as the men.
- And, if you can believe it, this is the first time that the women's tournament will be branded as "March Madness." That moniker had been exclusively used for the men's tournament.
—Jamie Wilde, Max Knoblauch, Neal Freyman | | | |  | Nasdaq | 12,948.62 | | | | | S&P | 4,262.45 | | | | | Dow | 33,544.34 | | | | | 10-Year | 2.148% | | | | | Bitcoin | $39,559.42 | | | | | Nvidia | $229.73 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Stocks rock 'n' rolled as tech shares rebounded from their recent skid. Today, investors will be glued to their Bloomberg Terminals because the Fed is expected to hike interest rates for the first time since 2018.
- Ukraine: Two journalists working for Fox News were killed when their vehicles came under Russian fire. Three European prime ministers took a train to Kyiv to show solidarity with Ukraine, even as the capital was being shelled by Russian forces. And President Biden will travel to Brussels next week to meet with EU and NATO leaders to discuss the war.
| | Dianna "Mick" McDougall; Source: Getty Images The Senate thinks you should have a little more than a pocketful of sunshine on winter evenings. Yesterday it passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent. But the bill still has to pass the House, and it's surrounded by a firestorm of opinions. If you're still groggy from springing forward into DST this Sunday, you may be all for making the shift permanent. Sen. Marco Rubio, who spearheaded the bill, argued that an extra daylight hour during winter evenings would translate to lower rates of crime, seasonal depression, and childhood obesity. But the opposition has history on their side In January 1974, the US made DST permanent for the same reason it was introduced in the first place: to conserve energy. Americans, who were coping with dry gas pumps that year due to an oil crisis (anyone else see Licorice Pizza?), overwhelmingly supported permanent DST. However, the reality of post-8am sunrises set in fast. Children waited for their school buses in the dark, and a Department of Transportation study found the switch did not even save fuel. So in October of that same year, the House ganged up on the sun and voted 383 to 16 to repeal permanent DST. Historical precedent aside, opponents of the Sunshine Protection Act argue that permanent DST would have some nasty side effects: - Clocks will be unsynced from Europe, which implements standard time from October to March. Bad news for trade, travel, and organizing yacht week.
- Religious rituals typically performed at sunrise will be harder or impossible to do before work.
- Gas use could actually increase, since people will be more inclined to go out and about after work.
That brings us up to speed on Ed and Edd…what about Eddy? Hawaii, most of Arizona, and the US territories have opted for the third option: permanent standard time. If passed, the Sunshine Protection Act would not require them to switch from standard to daylight saving. And this is the option the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has pushed for, arguing standard time most closely matches our natural sleep cycles. Better, more consistent sleep could reduce the rates of strokes and heart attacks—which both tick up after switching clocks.—JW | | Knives Out/Lionsgate Films  AMC invested in a mining company. The movie theater chain spent $27.9 million to become a ~22% owner of Hycroft, a gold- and silver-miner that's mired in a liquidity crunch. AMC CEO Adam Aron called it a "bold diversification move" (no kidding) but one that made sense considering that Hycroft, like AMC, has "rock-solid assets."
 Oil prices have crashed. The US benchmark has now dropped below $100, a ~30% drop from its peak last week. A number of factors are contributing to the decline, including lower demand in China due to Covid lockdowns and the hope that the Ukraine-related supply squeeze won't be as critical as feared. It could just be that old saying: "The cure for high prices is high prices."
 Tesla didn't get the memo. It's raising prices for its electric vehicles between 5% and 10% over previous levels. The price hike—the second so far this month—comes days after Elon Musk tweeted, "Tesla & SpaceX are seeing significant recent inflation pressure in raw materials & logistics." Tesla's cheapest available car is a $46,990 Model 3.
| | Getty Images The US is running out of funds to pay for Covid tests, vaccines, and treatments—and could be "blindsided" by future variants and case surges, the White House warned on Tuesday. It's a move that kind of feels like if the driver of a car you're in told you they "feel a crash coming on." How'd we get here? The White House requested $22.5 billion for vaccines and treatments as part of a broad government spending bill in early March. During talks, that amount shrank to $15.6 billion. But, after some bickering among Democrats, it was dropped from the bill altogether. Now, given the lack of funding, officials say the government will run out of money necessary for key initiatives like providing variant-specific vaccines, monoclonal antibody treatments, and additional boosters. If the money isn't acquired, funding for uninsured Americans to receive vaccines and tests will run out in early April. Not the best timing: Cases are rising again, globally, due to a fast-spreading Omicron subvariant found in 57 countries—although scientists say it doesn't appear to be more dangerous than Omicron itself.—MK | | | Today, you're seizing the day—right after a quiet moment with your favorite newsletter and a fresh cup of coffee. The only way you could possibly improve the above situation? A morning-refreshment shortcut. Just pour hot water over one of Cometeer's flash-frozen, perfectly brewed coffee pods and enjoy speedy coffee relief in less than 30 seconds. Need an afternoon pick-me-up? Choose the brew to suit your mood, from fudgy Colombian blends to peachy Ethiopian single-origin coffee. And if you're far from home, bring your Cometeer with you. Toss a TSA-approved Cometeer capsule into an icy glass of your favorite milk and savor coffee that always hits just right, wherever you are. Try Cometeer today and get 10 cups free with your first order. | | Zoolander/Paramount Pictures via Giphy Starbucks and Volvo are teaming up to install electric vehicle charging stations outside of Starbucks cafes. The project may be two decades too late to avert the orange mocha frappuccino incident of 2001, but it's just in time to help build out the infrastructure required for EVs to become a practical choice for consumers. The partnership is starting small (excuse me, tall) by outfitting 15 Starbucks stores between Denver and Starbucks's Seattle HQ with Volvo-branded fast chargers. If all goes well, the duo plans to expand the partnership with more chargers at more locations. This seems like a win-win. - For Volvo: While any electric car will be able to use the stations, Volvos will charge up for free or at a discount—which could be a caramel drizzle for consumers choosing between a Volvo EV and its competitors.
- For Starbucks: The partnership is not only an opportunity to get more EV roadtrippers ordering PSLs, but it also aligns with the company's sustainability goals. In a related announcement yesterday, Starbucks said it will scale back its use of disposable cups.
Big picture: Recharging your EV isn't like filling up a tank of gas—Volvo's electric cars require 40 minutes to go from 20% charged to 90%. By setting up EV chargers in their parking lots, retailers want you to use that downtime to shop.—JW | | Alex Pantling/Getty Images Stat: People around the world are brushing up on their Ukrainian. The number of Duolingo users studying the language has spiked 485% since the war started, as of last Monday. In Poland, which has welcomed nearly 2 million refugees from the war, Ukrainian learners have shot up more than 1,800%. Quote: "At the end of the day, they appreciate a good pizza." Colorado native Christopher Wynne, whose company controls the franchise agreements for the 190 Papa John's restaurants in Russia, explained to the NYT why he's still operating in the country even as a flood of Western companies has pulled out. He said his focus is on keeping his employees, franchisees, and customers happy—not politics. Watch: Ahead of March Madness, get up to speed on the stunning rise of sports betting in the US. (Morning Brew) | | - Amazon won approval from EU regulators for its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM. The FTC will weigh in next.
- Russia sanctioned President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and other Americans including Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden. What are we, chopped liver?
- Nickel will start trading again today on the London Metal Exchange. It was suspended for six trading sessions due to a historic price spike.
- Allergy season could get longer and more intense as the climate warms, according to a new study. Pollen levels could potentially triple in certain areas.
| | The Cognitive Bias Codex: Here are all the ways—with accompanying Wikipedia articles—our brains trick us. Guess the secret word: To solve Semantle, you must find a word by inputting other words and seeing how semantically similar they are to the secret word. It's kinda confusing to explain—just play it. The FIRE mentality: See how one person used that personal finance strategy to become a millionaire following the 2008 financial crisis. It's all here on the latest episode of Point of Return. And the cash-back crown goes to: this card. It's kinda no contest, considering it offers up to 5% cash back, no annual fee, and a 0% intro APR for over a year. Yep, it's a certified cash-back king. Learn more here.* Fend off the feet sweats. Bombas Performance Socks are made with a sweat-wicking, easy-breathing material that keeps feet dry, cool, and oh-so-comfy. For every pair purchased, Bombas donates a pair to someone in need. Grab yours here.* *This is sponsored advertising content. | | Word Search: Lego city skylines. Who let the dog trivia out? The American Kennel Club just released a list of the most popular dog breeds in the US. Can you name the top 10? | | - Labrador retrievers
- French bulldogs
- Golden retrievers
- German shepherds
- Poodles
- Bulldogs
- Beagles
- Rottweilers
- German shorthaired pointers (shoutout to Remy and Ziggy)
- Dachshunds
| | | 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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