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‘Oppenheimer’ takes home major hardware at the Academy Awards... [Advertisement] March 11, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( SPONSORED BY [Apple Card]( Good morning. Four years ago today, the WHO declared Covid-19 a pandemic. Here’s a check-in on key metrics that show how life has—and hasn’t—changed since then. - WFH : The number of days Americans spend working from home has jumped 5x since 2019. - Air travel : Domestic air travel has been above pre-pandemic levels since last year. - Concerts : Live Nation had its best year in history in 2023, selling 620 million tickets. - Zoom stock : Zoom shares are down nearly 40% since March 11, 2020. - Housing prices : In Q1 2020, the median US home sold for $329,000; in Q4 2023, it had jumped 27% to $417,700. —Neal Freyman, Dave Lozo MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE Nasdaq 16,085.11 +8.93% S&P 5,123.69 +8.03% Dow 38,722.69 +2.67% 10-Year 4.089% +14.3 bps Bitcoin $69,491.02 +64.42% Apple $170.73 -7.91% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 3:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Wall Street hopes to sail into calmer waters after a [rocky week]( sent the three major indexes falling. Apple stock has been anything but magnificent this year, but it did rise on Friday to snap a seven-day losing streak.  ENTERTAINMENT [Manhattan Project wins big in LA]( [Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer ]( Oppenheimer/Universal Pictures In an Oscars ceremony where the only thing stripped down was [John Cena]( the big movie won the biggest prize. Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s epic about the creation of the atomic bomb, won best picture, while Nolan nabbed his first Academy Award for best director. It’s not typical Oscar fare: While low-budget, indie flicks have dominated the best picture category for the past decade, Oppenheimer proved to be a critical and commercial success. With a nearly $1 billion haul at the box office, the movie was the highest-grossing best picture winner since The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003. In the major acting contests, Emma Stone won her second best actress award for Poor Things. And everyone finally learned how to pronounce “Cillian” correctly (it’s a “k” sound) when Cillian Murphy won best actor for his portrayal of Oppenheimer in…yeah. The world’s wars were top of mind: Accepting the best documentary feature award for 20 Days in Mariupol, director Mstyslav Chernov said, “I wish I’d never made this film,” which chronicled Russia’s attack on the Ukrainian city. And in his acceptance speech for best international feature, The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer decried the “dehumanization” of victims in the current Israel–Gaza conflict. Some other highlights: - Ryan Gosling brought the house down with a performance of “[I’m Just Ken]( from Barbie. Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” from the same movie scored the actual hardware for best original song. (It was Barbie’s only award.) - Godzilla won its first Oscar in the franchise’s 70-year history. The team from Godzilla Minus One took home the award for best visual effects (on a reported $15 million budget!) and also won the award for [best monster accessories](. - John Mulaney described the [entire plot of Field of Dreams]( before presenting his category. Big picture: Hollywood had a topsy-turvy year, with astounding highs (Barbenheimer) and extreme lows (an actors and writers strike for six months that froze film/TV production). Kimmel mentioned the strike in his monologue, reminded the audience that LA was a “union town,” and invited crew members working on the telecast to come onto the stage. Looking ahead…the major nominees who didn’t win Oscars did not leave the Dolby Theater empty-handed. They received a [gift bag]( with items worth nearly $180,000, including stays at resorts in Switzerland and St. Barts worth tens of thousands. But if you want to check out the actual winners, the [full list is here](   SPONSORED BY APPLE CARD [Cash-back rewards that hit different]( [Apple Card]( Ready to take your [cash back]( to the next level? With Apple Card, you earn up to 3% cash back on *every* purchase. But how is that different from other cash-back rewards? Well, because the cash back you earn with your Apple Card is [real cash]( you can either spend or grow automatically at [4.50% APY]( when you open a high-yield Savings account through Apple Card. Terms apply. [Apply now for Apple Card](. Savings provided by Goldman Sachs Bank USA. Member FDIC. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [The exterior of SVB]Justin Sullivan/Getty Images It’s been one year since regional banks melted down. Yesterday marked the first anniversary of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, which sparked regional banking jitters that brought down two other lenders last spring. One year later, regulation to shore up confidence in the sector has been [slow to materialize]( and the big US banks have grown even bigger after scooping up the remains of their collapsed challengers. Silicon Valley Bank, for its part, argues it’s on stronger footing after its sale: The company’s president told Axios that [81% of its clients]( are still banking with it. However, concerns about regional banks’ health remain after teetering New York Community Bancorp received a $1+ billion lifeline last week. Biden knocks Bibi as Ramadan begins. In an [interview]( with MSNBC, President Biden said he’d continue to support Israel’s defense but criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “hurting Israel more than helping Israel.” Biden also said that a potential Israel assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah would cross a “[red line]( that could lead the US to withhold some—but not all—military assistance to Israel. Meanwhile, a US military ship carrying equipment to build a pier to deliver humanitarian aid to devastated Gaza [set sail]( from Virginia yesterday, hours before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began Sunday night. US airlifts nonessential staff from its Haiti embassy as violence rages. At the same time, the US military [flew in]( personnel to bolster security at the Port-au-Prince compound located in an area that’s largely controlled by gangs, which joined forces this month to attack government buildings. De facto opposition leader Jimmy Chérizier, who goes by the moniker [Barbecue]( said if Prime Minister Ariel Henry doesn’t step down, it will result in a civil war and genocide. US Southern Command said in a statement that no Haitians were on the departing aircraft with nonessential staff, in a likely attempt to quell any speculation that Haitian government officials were fleeing. TRANSPORTATION [Self-checkout comes to airport security]( [DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 20, 2019: Airplane passengers line up for TSA se...]( Robert Alexander/Getty Images If getting through airport security continues to be a miserable experience, there will soon be nobody to blame but yourself. Or the self in front of you. The first TSA self-service screening system in the US [opens today]( at Harry Reid Airport in Las Vegas. PreCheck passengers can bet on getting to their gates with greater alacrity by scanning themselves and their bags while minimizing interactions with TSA agents. The six-month trial program could be the future. Other airports could follow Vegas if the test proves successful. Self-screening aims to ease the growing burden on the TSA, which [screened]( between 1.6 million and 2.7 million passengers per day between Jan. 1 and March 7—more than all but three days over the same time period in 2023. You won’t necessarily get to Chili’s Too faster. The self-screening program isn’t primarily about saving time. According to the Dept. of Homeland Security, it’s designed to create “a more pleasant, passenger-friendly experience” that lightens the workload of TSA agents, who will still be available for secondary screenings and might have understandably hurt feelings about a government-funded program designed specifically to keep them away from others.—DL   TOGETHER WITH HEAR.COM [Hear.com]( Not your grandpa’s hearing device. Lend us an and we’ll tell you about the new [Horizon IX hearing aids from hear.com](. These devices give you unparalleled speech clarity—and their innovative design makes them virtually invisible. Ready to join 385k people hearing better than ever? Start your [45-day no-risk trial](. CALENDAR [The week ahead](#) [Starship rocket]Loren Elliott/Getty Images SpaceX hopes the third time’s the charm for Starship: A third launch of the most powerful rocket ever built is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, and SpaceX hopes its megarocket [accomplishes a lot more]( than prior versions did during the first two test launches. In the first launch last April, the rocket was intentionally detonated four minutes into its flight. The second mission in November was more successful, although the rocket (again) was intentionally destroyed eight minutes into its flight following a mishap. NASA is relying on Starship to get humans back to the moon, so it’ll be eagerly looking for signs of progress. Key inflation data incoming: February’s consumer price index report on Tuesday will provide fresh data to help the Fed decide when to lower interest rates. Last week, Chair Jerome Powell said he needed “just a bit [more evidence]( that inflation was coming back down to normal levels before reducing rates, though “we’re not far from it,” he acknowledged. Europe votes to regulate AI: Europe will maintain its reputation as the world’s most aggressive tech regulator with a [Wednesday vote]( on legislation that aims to curtail the biggest risks of AI. American companies—don’t think you’d be able to avoid this: Like Europe’s sweeping GDPR privacy law in 2018, these regulations would apply to any company operating in the EU. Everything else… - It’s Pi Day on Thursday, but there’s an even better reason to celebrate 3/14: Morning Brew turns 10 years old. - St. Patrick’s Day is on Sunday. Something to keep in mind if you have to be at work on Monday. - College basketball conference tournament games are happening every day this week leading up to Selection Sunday. Start strategizing how to watch the games in the office ASAP. - Don’t turn your back on anyone on Friday—it’s the Ides of March. GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Scene from Anchorman about getting an apartment together]Anchorman/DreamWorks Pictures Stat: In this brutal housing market, friends don’t let friends buy houses alone. About ~15% of Americans have co-purchased a home with someone other than a romantic partner, and another 48% would consider it, according to a [survey]( from JW Surety Bonds released earlier this year. Young people appear most keen on forming a platonic real estate syndicate, with 70% of Gen Z respondents saying they’d be willing to co-buy a home with a friend. According to real estate lister Pacaso, the [21.1% YoY increase]( in co-ownership purchases highlights the prohibitively high cost of buying a house in the US. Quote: “We’re hemorrhaging money.” Thousands of smaller medical practices, like one outside Philly managed by Catherine Reinheimer, are still unable to process insurance payments more than two weeks after a [cyberattack]( disrupted the computer networks of Change Healthcare, the largest billing and payment clearinghouse in the US, CNN reported. Change is part of UnitedHealth Group, which says it is still weeks away from restoring the system that remits payments to providers, some of whom have been forced to take out loans to stay afloat. Experts say the US healthcare system is [losing $100 million each day]( from the disruption. Read: The harrowing tale of how billionaire Angela Chao drowned in a Tesla. ([Wall Street Journal]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Key lawmakers]( said they were undecided on whether they’d support a bill that would ban or force a sale of TikTok. A full House vote could come on Wednesday. - [The DOJ]( has opened a criminal investigation into the January door-panel blowout on an Alaskan Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9. - [President Biden’s]( reelection campaign said it raised $10 million in the 24 hours following his State of the Union address—nearly a quarter of his total January fundraising haul. - [Twelve fans]( who attended a Dolphins-Chiefs game with subzero temperatures in January had to undergo amputations, according to Research Medical Center in Kansas City. - [Kate Middleton]( the Princess of Wales, appeared in an official photo for the first time since her abdominal surgery in January. The photo appeared intended to tamp down speculation over her whereabouts, but it only escalated the rumor mill: Photo agencies including AP and Reuters have [pulled the image]( over concerns it may have been “manipulated.” - [Indonesia]( is investigating a flight that veered off course after two pilots fell asleep at the same time. RECS [Monday to-do list image] Explore: The mysterious [village]( inside a crater in Madagascar. Space out: How a child’s [poster]( took a man down a rabbit hole of quasi-moons. Look: Go on a journey through the [typefaces]( of Toronto’s stores. Learn: A [deep dive]( into the connection between showers and sustainability. A tasty investment: Don’t miss your chance to invest in It’s Skinny, the fast-growing (80%+ annually!) brand behind Amazon’s top-selling pasta. [Invest by March 28]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Turntable: The instructions for Turntable are simple—from the given letters, form as many words as possible that are four or more letters, and you must use the central letter. [Give it a shot here](. Time-traveling trivia Yesterday, Americans “sprang forward” and entered daylight saving time. Well…most did. Two hipster US states buck the mainstream and do not observe DST. Can you name them? SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=4904f90a]( ANSWER Arizona (except for Navajo Nation) and Hawaii. Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: alacrity, meaning “cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness.” Thanks to Bob from Clifton, NJ, and many others for the brisk, lively suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✤ A Note From It’s Skinny This is a paid advertisement for It’s Skinny’s REG CF offering. Please read the offering circular at [invest.itsskinny.com](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( and Dave Lozo Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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