Good morning and welcome back to a short week. A quick note before we begin: If you enjoy getting our newsletter and think your friends or coworkers would also find it useful, please let them know about it. Not only will they thank you for helping them find a TikTok alternative in the morning, but you'll also get free swag from us (even with just one referral). Get started here. —Max Knoblauch, Neal Freyman, Jamie Wilde, Abby Rubenstein
| | | |  | Nasdaq | 11,787.27 | | | | | S&P | 4,079.09 | | | | | Dow | 33,826.69 | | |  | 10-Year | 3.821% | | | | | Bitcoin | $24,726.59 | | | | | Walmart | $146.44 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: It's a short but jam-packed week on Wall Street, which was closed yesterday for the holiday. Investors will be dialed in to Walmart earnings this morning, the Fed minutes on Wednesday, and an inflation report due Friday. Stocks have hit a wall after a blistering start to the year, and the Dow has posted three straight weekly losses.
| | | | Presidency of Ukraine/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images As the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine nears, President Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv early yesterday morning in a show of support for and solidarity with Ukraine. A closely guarded secret for months, the trip marks the first time in modern history that a US president has visited a war zone where the American military was not fighting. The trip was only officially finalized on Friday due to the risks involved, and just a handful of top officials knew it was coming. Biden's public schedule for the day made no mention of the stop in Kyiv. As details of the visit come to light, the meticulous planning and covert efforts involved become clear. No phones, just vibes While a 13-person press pool typically travels with the president, on this particular journey only two journalists were present: one writer and one photographer, both of whom turned their phones over to officials as a security measure. Air Force One, for this trip, was a plane typically used for domestic travel to small airports.The plane took off from Maryland around 4:15 am ET Sunday, and eventually landed in Poland. Once there, the president boarded a train for a 10-hour ride to Kyiv to avoid Ukrainian airspace. During his visit to Ukraine's capital, President Biden traveled by motorcade on sealed-off roads and walked to a memorial. US surveillance planes reportedly kept watch from Polish airspace. According to national security officials, Russia was notified of Biden's top-secret travel plans hours before he left Washington, DC, on Sunday. Looking ahead…while in Kyiv, President Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—promising to stand with the country as long as it takes, and pledging to release an additional $460 million in military aid in the days ahead. Biden also announced a fresh wave of sanctions on Russian elites and companies.—MK | | TOGETHER WITH ETHICSTREAM | | Carbon credits are emerging as a key solution for fighting global climate change. The market is expected to reach a staggering $550b by 2050—50x bigger than today—because over 190 countries and major brands committed to net-zero carbon. Plus, new laws push them to meet these commitments. To get there, they'll have to buy tons of carbon credits. But the big problem is quality. Many credits aren't reliably verified, which causes problems for buyers. EthicStream is poised to become a go-to source for reliable credits. Here's how it works: EthicStream bulk-buys premium credits at discounted prices from quality producers like CarbonEthic, which is developing the Western Hemisphere's biggest carbon-offset project (4.2m hectares—the size of Switzerland!). EthicStream then sells the credits at market price. This creates an opportunity for investors to save the planet and their portfolios. Click here to become an investor.* | | National Weather Service  Get ready to talk about the weather. With a major winter storm system expected to blow across the US and a jet stream likely to create record temperatures, both high and low, it's going to be a major topic in your office Slack this week. As of yesterday, 17 million Americans were under winter weather warnings in the West, where frigid temps are likely. Meanwhile, in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions, temperatures are expected to climb to nearly 90 degrees in some spots. There could be a 100-degree temperature spread from North Dakota to Florida, per CNN.
 SCOTUS will hear arguments in a case that could reshape the internet. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in a case against Google concerning Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields websites from liability for users' posts. The case deals specifically with YouTube's responsibility when its algorithms suggest videos from terrorist groups (and SCOTUS will also hear a terror-related case against Twitter tomorrow). But if the court does rule broadly on the law's reach, it will have a big impact on how social media sites—and just about everyone else—operate online.
 People like working less. The results are in from the biggest-ever trial of the four-day workweek, and most companies said they're not ready to go back to the five-day grind. Over 60 companies and nearly 3,000 employees in the UK participated in the study, trying out the shorter workweek from June through December last year. Many companies saw higher revenue and lower staff turnover: 90% said they would keep the experiment going. Several even plan to make a permanent change.
| | Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images Outside of a Mac McClung jersey, Manchester United is the most sought-after sports asset in the world right now. And the current owners, the American Glazer family, are busy evaluating takeover offers after a deadline for initial bids expired last Friday. While Manchester United is for sale, it definitely isn't on sale. A deal could set a record for the most expensive purchase of a pro sports team in history, topping the $5.3 billion an American investor-led group paid for Chelsea FC last May. So, who's in the running? We know of at least two potential buyers who've submitted offers. - Jassim bin Hamad bin Jaber Al Thani is a member of the Qatari royal family and a former board member at Credit Suisse.
- Jim Ratcliffe is the majority owner of petrochemical giant Ineos and the richest person in Britain.
The common thread between the two: 1) They have FU money and 2) they're huge United fans who've pledged to restore the team to its former glory. Zoom out: The enthusiasm for buying Man United doesn't appear to be matched for another football squad up for sale, the NFL's Washington Commanders. Three months into the process, there have been no signs of a bidding war for the team, the Washington Post reported.—NF | | TOGETHER WITH DELL FOR STARTUPS | | Ice Age/Fox via Giphy Minnesotans, it may soon be time to trade your parkas for piña coladas. Just 6% of the Great Lakes' surface was covered in ice as of February 15, compared to a historical average of 41%. This is even lower than the record 7.8% recorded in 2012. Lesser lakes across the Northeast US and Canada are sweating, too, as climate change warms and shortens the region's winters. Any activity that's as heat sensitive as Olaf is struggling to survive the balmy temps: - The world's largest natural outdoor ice rink, the Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa, Canada, has yet to open this winter…and may not at all.
- One of the longest US skating trails, a four-mile glide around Lake Morey in Vermont, was only able to open in early February—and its owner thinks its season could be halved in the future.
It's not just skating rinks that are hurting: Maple syrup producers are attempting to tap trees early (because heat apparently makes it bitter), ice fishers are losing income, and hydropower generation is down. One upside? Shipping routes are staying open for longer. Looking ahead…while the Great Lakes (and presumably others) may further slushify later this season or next year, climate researchers expect the downward trend to continue.—JW | | Kim Kulish/Corbis via Getty Images Stat: We all know folks camp out outside Apple Stores to be the first to snag the latest, sleekest iPhone model, but it turns out there's a competitive market for the old clunky ones, too: A first-generation iPhone just sold for a record-breaking $63,356 at auction. If that news sends you searching for your old phone with the cracked screen in a drawer at your parents' house, you're probably out of luck—this one was still sealed in its packaging because its owner didn't want to switch to AT&T back when it was the only network the phone could be used on. Quote: "The prosecution's priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys." In a win for Alec Baldwin, prosecutors dropped a gun enhancement charge against the actor in the manslaughter case over the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. That means he is now facing a maximum of 18 months in prison if convicted, rather than a potential five-year penalty. Prosecutors said they made the change to "avoid further litigious distractions" after Baldwin's legal team argued that the law behind the charge didn't exist in its current form when the shooting happened. Read: Inside the delicious and surprisingly political world of home canning. (Vox) | | - United Airlines said it will make it easier for families to sit with children under 12 without having to pay extra after politicians, including President Biden, criticized airline fees.
- US safety regulators have asked Tesla for more information on a deadly collision between one of its cars and a fire truck.
- More earthquakes hit southern Turkey yesterday, leaving at least three people dead mere weeks after massive quakes in the region killed thousands of people.
- Lego has announced a BTS-themed set. It will test the Korean supergroup's market power now that its members are pursuing solo projects and completing military service.
| | Brew Mini: Thirty-one seconds is your time to beat for today's Mini. Take a deep breath, then click here to play. Name the cocktail We'll give you the recipe for a cocktail and you have to name it. 2 ounces light rum, 2 ounces dark rum, 1 ounce lime juice, 1 ounce orange juice, 1/2 ounce passion fruit puree, 1/2 ounce simple syrup, 1 teaspoon grenadine, Garnish: orange half-wheel, Garnish: preserved cherry | | A good sanity check early on can save your startup. Join us on Feb. 28 at 12pm ET for a free virtual event where we'll talk with startup experts about raising money, building businesses for better times, and what not to do on this wild roller-coaster ride. Sign me up. *This editorial content is supported by Dell for Startups. | | | On Mardi Gras, did you think we'd feature anything but New Orleans's most famous drink? That's the Hurricane, a hangover in a glass invented at Pat O'Brien's in the 1940s. | | | ✢ A Note From EthicStream *Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for EthicStream's Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the offering circular at www.ethicstream.co. | | |
Binge-watch on a budget: These YouTube channels let you 
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