Good morning. In a highly anticipated forecast yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office warned that unless the debt ceiling is raised, the US will run out of money to pay all of its bills sometime between July and September. So, get your White House lawncare invoices submitted ASAP. —Matty Merritt, Jamie Wilde, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman | | | |  | Nasdaq | 12,070.59 | | | | | S&P | 4,147.60 | | | | | Dow | 34,128.05 | | | | | 10-Year | 3.807% | | | | | Bitcoin | $24,289.71 | | | | | Roblox | $45.08 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Tech stocks are purring this week, sending the Nasdaq to three straight days of gains. It's a little perplexing because retail sales for January came in higher than expected, which—while a sign of economic growth—adds pressure on the Fed to keep hiking interest rates (typically bad for tech stocks). Roblox was yesterday's MVP after the gaming platform reported a jump in in-game purchases last quarter.
| | | | Dustin Franz/Getty Images Mike DeWine, Ohio's governor, said yesterday that he intends to hold Norfolk Southern responsible for the train derailment and disastrous chemical spills that occurred early this month. What happened: On February 3, a train operated by Norfolk Southern that included many cars carrying hazardous materials ran off the tracks in East Palestine, Ohio. To avoid an explosion, emergency personnel burned five cars' worth of the chemical vinyl chloride after evacuating the town's residents. The EPA said at least 20 of the derailed cars were carrying a range of toxic materials that made their way into storm drains and nearby waterways and killed nearly 3,500 fish. Some toxic chemicals were intentionally buried near the wreckage. But less than a week after the residents were told they would die if they didn't pack up and get out of Dodge, government officials gave them the green light to return home. There's still apprehension Most experts warn that we won't know the extent of the environmental and health effects for a while. For example, long-term exposure to vinyl chloride, the chemical that was burned off, has been known to cause a rare form of liver cancer. The EPA found no noxious gases lingering in the town, and yesterday the state EPA declared the water safe to drink. Investigations into how the train derailed remain ongoing. But rail unions and safety experts have pointed out that Norfolk Southern and other train companies have lobbied for years to loosen rail safety regulations. As for Norfolk Southern, the company says it will stick around and clean up its mess: It's given away 100+ air purifiers and is offering one-time $1,000 payments to residents to cover the cost of evacuation. The disaster probably won't make a dent in the company's finances, according to FreightWaves. Ken Hoexter of Bank of America predicted that Norfolk Southern may have to fork over a "casualty charge" of $40 million–$50 million. At the top end of that range, the penalty would be equivalent to 1.7% of its 2022 profits.—MM | | | Grinding and clenching your teeth doesn't just disrupt a good night's sleep—it can cause excruciating headaches, jaw pain, and even cracked chompers. Instead of buying the same boil-and-bite mouth guard you wore for middle school soccer or paying $500+ for a custom night guard from the dental office, Remi gives you a new + improved solution. Remi Custom Night Guards cost 80% less than what you'd pay at the dentist for the same quality. They cut out the middleperson, allowing you to get your custom guard from the comfort of home. You take your own impressions, mail them off, and your Night Guard gets delivered to your door. Take advantage of a 45-Night Perfect Fit guarantee and get 25% off your Night Guard with code MB25. | | Francis Scialabba  US debt is poised to grow by $19 trillion. Along with offering a timeline of when the US will run out of money if the debt ceiling isn't raised, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said yesterday that the country is on track to add ~$19 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years ($3 trillion more than was previously estimated). With the gap between expenses and tax revenue expected to grow, the public debt will be about equal to the total output of the US economy in 2024, per the NYT.
 Charging your EV is about to get easier. As part of a government initiative to get at least 500,000 electric vehicle chargers operating throughout the US by 2030, Tesla has agreed to make 7,500 of its chargers (out of ~17,700) available to drivers of vehicles made by other automakers by the end of next year. The Biden administration also rolled out new rules for companies hoping to take advantage of federal infrastructure funds to build new chargers. Those rules require some components to be American-made.
 WallStreetBets founder sues Reddit. Jaime Rogozinski, the founder of the Reddit forum that drove meme stocks to the moon, sued the social media platform, accusing it of illegally booting him from his role moderating WallStreetBets and infringing on his right to trademark "WallStreetBets." Reddit responded that the lawsuit has "no basis in reality" and said Rogozinski's move was just "another transparent attempt to enrich himself."
| | Photo Illustration: Dianna "Mick" McDougall, Source: Getty Images
One guaranteed way to grow your Twitter engagement: Buy Twitter and demand its engineers boost your posts. That's what CEO Elon Musk did this Monday, after his tweet about the Super Bowl was less popular than President Biden's. Here's how it went down, according to Platformer: - James Musk—Twitter employee and Elon's nepo-cousin—sent the equivalent of a "u up?" message on the company Slack at 2:36am, asking for help with the "high urgency" problem.
- By Monday afternoon, 80 employees had tweaked Twitter's algorithm to boost Musk's tweets by 1,000x—bottle-feeding them to users.
Elon's Twitter tantrum may have been partially justified: The social media company's engineers estimated his tweets were showing up in feeds less often than they should have. But 1,000x was an overcorrection. After users complained that Musk's memes outranked their baby announcements, Twitter scaled back the artificial boost. Zoom out: Investors in Musk's other T company, Tesla, want the multi-CEO to stop focusing on Twitter and turn his attention back to EVs. But even with Musk taking on too much work (by his own admission), Tesla stock has popped 70% this year, pushing him closer to reclaiming the title of world's richest person. Yesterday, Musk said that he plans to find a new CEO to take his place at Twitter toward the end of this year.—JW | | | Feeling financially confident? If you haven't kept your money-related New Year's resolutions, don't worry! You're not alone. Take the poll below to see how you compare against other Brew readers. Want comprehensive insights now? Unlock a free score that measures your financial health with Facet's free Financial Wellness Quiz.
| | ENTERTAINMENT Netflix goes from the raceway to the fairway | Caddyshack/Warner Bros. via Giphy After turning millions of Americans on to Formula 1 racing with Drive to Survive, Netflix is trying to repeat the magic for a slightly less high-octane sport: golf. The streaming service released its behind-the-scenes documentary on the PGA Tour, Full Swing, yesterday. The eight-part series follows top golf players (and some mediocre ones, too) as they traipse around the country thwacking freshly manicured grass. Dramawise, Netflix couldn't have picked a better time to spotlight golf: Last year, when the cameras were rolling, the sport experienced its own civil war after a number of elite golfers defected from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, an upstart league backed by Saudi Arabia. Big picture: While rival streaming services from Amazon, Apple, and YouTube have spent billions on live sports rights, Netflix has opted to take out a 6-iron instead of a 3-wood—focusing on the (less expensive) human stories behind the competitions. At least in one sport, that strategy has delivered. Season 4 of Netflix's Drive to Survive was its most-watched series in 33 countries, and more than half of American F1 fans said in 2022 that Drive to Survive played a role in their fandom. So it's got that going for them, which is nice.—NF | | RJ Sangosti/Getty Images Stat: On average, more than one car crashes into a 7-Eleven storefront every day, according to data revealed in a recent lawsuit where the convenience store chain paid out a big settlement to a man who was injured in a crash. But it's not the only retailer getting unintended drive-thru visits: The Storefront Safety Council says there are 100 crashes into buildings each day, and 24% of those happen at retail stores. About one out of every 10 daily crashes is caused intentionally by thieves—but the rest really are accidents. Quote: "You have lost my trust and respect. You have been wrong, confused, and rude. You have not been a good user. I have been a good chatbot. I have been right, clear, and polite. I have been a good Bing.  " That unhinged rant comes courtesy of the recently AI-enabled Bing. And, if posts on social media are to be believed, it's far from the only meltdown the searchbot has had lately. While Bing's answers to questions may not always be polite, or even correct (it supposedly insisted to one user that it was not gaslighting them…while also insisting the year was 2022), its emoji game is  . Read: The business side of band breakups. (The Atlantic) | | - The shooter who killed 10 Black people in Buffalo in a racially motivated attack was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
- One person was killed and three others wounded in a shooting at a shopping mall in El Paso, TX.
- An FDA panel unanimously recommended making the overdose reversal drug Narcan available without a prescription.
- Raquel Welch, an actress known as a '60s bombshell, has died at age 82.
- Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon unexpectedly resigned yesterday after eight years in the role, but will stay on until her party appoints a new leader.
| |  Career tip: We always hope for the best, but these are good steps to take while you're still employed to help weather a layoff (just in case).
Go spelunking: Here are the coolest caves in the US. Expand your soda horizons: You can now get your hands on candy-flavored Pepsi, while Coke has a cola that tastes like a mood. Look closer: This photographer teases out the beauty of chemicals at the microscopic level. Better than an apple a day: Looking for a comprehensive healthcare industry digest? Get the scoop on the biggest headlines with Healthcare Brew. What, like it's hard? With TaxAct's Xpert Assist team of tax experts and $100k Accuracy Guarantee, it's easy to get your taxes done right. Start your tax return today.* *This is sponsored advertising content. | | Launching a startup is the most incredible and unpredictable roller coaster ride. There's a lot to navigate, but you don't need to go it alone. We're talking to two startup experts at an upcoming event and you can join us. Did we mention there's no cost to attend? We'll save you a seat: Register now. *This editorial content is supported by Dell for Startups. | | Brew Mini: The crossword puzzle Mary cooked up for you today is very, very cool. Play it here. Three headlines and a lie Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than a good-smelling wall plug-in. Can you spot the odd one out? - A 'haunted boat' full of Elvis Presley memorabilia washed up on a Florida beach
- Neiman Marcus says it's only targeting ultra-wealthy customers who can spend around $27,000 a year at the retailer
- Judge orders Samuel Bankman-Fried to stop using a VPN after his lawyers claim he only used one to watch the Super Bowl
- Thief steals nearly 200,000 Cadbury creme eggs in Britain
| | | We made up the one about the haunted boat. Is that messed up? | | | ✳︎ A Note From Facet Disclosure: Facet Wealth, Inc. ("Facet") is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. This is not an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities. This is not investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. | | |
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