Good morning. Daylight saving time begins overnight tonight, which means one less hour of sleep but more daylight in the evenings. Special shoutout to everyone who didn't change their clocks in October so that you wouldn't have to change them again tomorrow. Work smarter, not harder. —Max Knoblauch, Jamie Wilde, Neal Freyman | | | |  | Nasdaq | 12,843.81 | | | | | S&P | 4,204.31 | | | | | Dow | 32,944.19 | | |  | 10-Year | 1.998% | | | | | Bitcoin | $38,930.14 | | | | | Oil | $109.89 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: That's a wrap on another losing week for Wall Street's three main indexes, and the fifth down week in a row for the Dow. Despite ticking up yesterday, oil prices have actually fallen over the last five days thanks to assurances that producers could plug the supply gap left by Russia.
- Ukraine: As Russian forces expanded their assault on new cities in Ukraine, President Biden once again ruled out deploying US troops to the country. "A direct confrontation between NATO and Russia is World War III," he said.
| | Francis Scialabba The Kremlin has taken the step we've all considered after our Stories don't get enough reactions: banning Instagram. Russia announced it would block Instagram in the country beginning March 14 following a series of temporary changes the company made to its violent speech policies in certain countries. It's the first time Russia has named Instagram a target for restrictions (the Kremlin already banned Facebook and Twitter in the country). The policy change that ruffled the Kremlin's feathers came from Instagram's parent company, Meta. Meta is permitting Facebook and Instagram users in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, and other eastern European countries to call for violence against Russian soldiers, according to Reuters. Also temporarily permitted: posts calling for the deaths of Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. - It's not Meta's first policy pivot regarding Russia's invasion. In February, Facebook began allowing users to praise Ukraine's far-right military unit, the Azov Battalion, which was previously restricted under the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy.
Meta says the temporary rule relaxations are limited to posts targeting Russian soldiers (excluding POWs) and where the context is clearly about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While the policy change has raised concerns from human rights advocates and the UN, Meta defended the choice as necessary for protecting the free speech of Ukrainians. "If we applied our standard content policies without any adjustments we would now be removing content from ordinary Ukrainians expressing their resistance and fury at the invading military forces, which would rightly be viewed as unacceptable," Meta President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg tweeted Friday. But Russia's not stopping at a ban In addition to blocking the popular app (Instagram has about 63 million Russian users), Russian prosecutors have asked a court to designate Meta as an "extremist organization." Russia's extremist designation has expanded in recent years to include groups as disparate as Jehovah's Witnesses, al-Qaida, and the political movement of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Oddly, the Kremlin has signaled that it will allow Meta's social messaging app WhatsApp to continue unrestricted in the country. WhatsApp is widely used in Russia, with 77 million users.—MK | | BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images  Biden bans Russian luxury goods. President Biden said the US will prohibit imports of Russian vodka, caviar, and diamonds in a move intended to increase Russia's cultural isolation. Less symbolic but more impactful is Biden's additional call to revoke Russia's "most-favored nation" status in trade, which could lead to higher tariffs on some Russian exports. Congress intends to vote on the legislation next week.
 TikTokers enlist. The White House has briefed the most influential TikTok stars on the war in Ukraine so they can be better informed when talking about the conflict to their millions of followers, the WaPo reports. Over in Russia, the government is paying Russian TikTok influencers to post pro-Kremlin narratives about the war, according to Vice.
 Americans are really stressed. More than 80% of Americans said that the invasion of Ukraine and inflation are significant sources of stress, according to a new survey from the American Psychological Association. That share is higher than for any other issue asked about since the survey began in 2007. Meanwhile, US consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in almost 11 years in early March.
| | Stacy Revere/Getty Images WNBA star Brittney Griner was detained in Russia for having cannabis oil in her bag nearly a month ago, and there's no clear outlook on if or when she'll be released. Worst-case scenario: The two-time Olympic gold medalist gets a prison sentence of 10 years. Griner landed in Russia and was arrested one week before the country invaded Ukraine. While US diplomats were able to negotiate the release of one American tourist nine months after they were detained in Russia for having marijuana in their luggage in 2019, Griner's case will be decided under the shadow of what Biden has called a "complete rupture" in US–Russia relations. - US Representative Colin Allred noted that government officials currently have zero access to Griner and called her situation "unusual and extremely concerning." (She has had contact with her Russian lawyer, though, so we know she's "okay.")
Considering the acquittal rate in Russia is less than 1%, it could require some high-level political wrangling. But so far, US officials said they're trying to stick to strictly legal channels. But why was Griner even in Russia? Many WNBA players choose to ball in Russia during the league's offseason simply because it pays well. Really well: Russian basketball teams, funded by oligarchs and municipalities, pay top players like Griner more than $1 million—quadruple their US salary.—JW | | | Attention, cash fans! You finally have it: a cash-back credit card that puts other cash-back cards to shame. Here's the nitty-gritty: With this card, you won't pay a lick of interest on purchases or balances transfers for 15 months. That's right: 0% intro APR for over a year. Cardholders can also earn up to 5% cash back on places you actually shop. Oh, and you'll get all that with a $0 annual fee. Cash money, mega perks, and zero interest for 15 months. We see a lot of card offers, but this is one hot tamale. Get this card while you can. | | The Lord of the Rings/Warner Bros. via Giphy Stat: Tim Cook is more protective of Apple's brand than anyone who's possessed the One Ring. The company filed 215 trademark oppositions to defend its IP between 2019 and 2021, per the Tech Transparency Project. Compare that to the approximately 136 oppositions filed by Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and Google combined over the same time period. Apple has even gone after companies with logos that feature fruits like oranges and pears, the NYT wrote. Quote: "Time to let the American broomstick fly and hear the sounds of freedom." SpaceX's launch director went a little off script before the company sent 48 more Starlink satellites into orbit on Wednesday. His remarks about broomsticks were an apparent diss to Russian space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin. When Russia announced it would stop selling its rocket engines to the US last week, Rogozin quipped, "Let them fly on something else, their broomsticks." Watch: Jerry Cans: The true secret weapon of WWII. (Calum) | | - Disney CEO Bob Chapek said the company is pausing political donations in Florida due to its new so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill.
- The UK's financial regulator ordered all cryptocurrency ATMs to shut down because they're illegal in the country.
- CVS fired several executives following an internal investigation into how they dealt with sexual harassment complaints, the WSJ reports.
- Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones used by Ukrainian forces have emerged as the unsung heroes of the war.
- These stores are the future of retail design.
| | Things to watch: The new season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive on Netflix, Severance on Apple TV+, and this police chase. Weekend conversation starters: The crypto festival of your dreams. With 400+ speakers, exhibits, music, and events—like a MetaGala and an NFT Gallery—the 2022 Consensus Festival by CoinDesk is bringing the crypto world together. Longtime investors and new adopters are all welcome. Get $100 off your pass with code MorningBrew.* Trending this tax season: identity protection. To help protect against identity theft and guard your personal information, trust the pros at LifeLock by Norton. LifeLock scans for threats, sends alerts when they find potential suspicious activity, and helps fix the problem fast. They'll even reimburse stolen funds (up to the limit of your plan †††). Start today.* *This is sponsored advertising content. | | | The Brew's puzzle creator Mary Tobler always keeps her crosswords topical—so you shouldn't be surprised that today's puzzle relates to all of us losing an hour of sleep tonight. Play it here. | | Katie, Nora, and Sigin went on a mission to make a Women's History Month video that men will actually watch (and maybe even enjoy). Watch here | | | Written by Neal Freyman, Max Knoblauch, and Jamie Wilde 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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