Good Morning! Today’s edition is 1,031 words, a 4-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Trump axes DEI

• 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees

• Earth’s hidden layers

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Big Story

Prince Harry vs. the Tabloids

Prince Harry won a major legal battle against Rupert Murdoch's media company, News Group Newspapers (NGN).

• The company admitted to invading Harry's privacy through phone hacking and surveillance and agreed to pay him significant damages. It also publicly apologized for intruding on both his life and that of his late mother, Princess Diana.

• While NGN had previously admitted to phone hacking at News of the World (which shut down in 2011), this was the first time they acknowledged wrongdoing at The Sun newspaper. The company has now spent over $1.24 billion settling similar claims from more than 1,300 people.

• Harry's fight against the British tabloids is deeply personal. He blames the media for his mother's death in 1997 (she died in a car crash while being chased by photographers) and for the harsh treatment of his wife Meghan, which led them to move to the US.

• This case was one of three privacy lawsuits Harry has filed against British tabloids. He already won a case against the Daily Mirror last year, where he made history by becoming the first senior royal to testify in court since the 1800s. His third case, against the Daily Mail, is scheduled for next year

Big Story

Depression Nasal Spray

The FDA just approved a nasal spray called Spravato as a standalone depression treatment.

• The spray could help many of the 21 million Americans with depression, especially the one-third of patients who don't get better with regular antidepressants. It has already been approved in 77 countries and used by over 140,000 patients.

• In a scientific study, researchers tested the drug against a placebo. After four weeks, about 22.5% of people taking Spravato showed significant improvement in their depression, compared to only 7.6% of those taking the placebo. In another study, it relieved depression symptoms in as little as 24 hours compared to oral antidepressants, which can take weeks.

• Spravato must be administered in a healthcare clinic under supervision because its active ingredient, esketamine, is derived from ketamine, a hallucinogenic anesthetic. More than 3,000 outpatient centers in the US are certified to dispense it.

Big Story

Trump Axes DEI

President Trump has ordered all federal government employees working on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs to be placed on immediate paid leave.

• Trump called these programs "dangerous, demeaning and immoral" and wants them completely shut down within 60 days where legally possible.

• Federal agencies must now follow several steps: make a list of all DEI offices and workers by Thursday, remove DEI office websites, and submit plans for laying off DEI workers by January 31st. The order also changes federal hiring rules to focus on "individual initiative" rather than DEI factors.

• The American Federation of Government Employees, representing 800,000 federal workers, argues that DEI programs have helped reduce pay gaps between different groups.

• Meanwhile, The Trump administration has canceled travel plans for refugees who were already approved to come to the US. Among those affected are more than 1,600 Afghans who helped US forces during the war, as well as family members of current US military service members.

Quick Stories

US News

• The Pentagon plans to deploy up to 1,500 troops to help secure the southern border, following President Trump's orders to tighten immigration control. (More)

• A shooting at Antioch High School in Nashville left one student dead, another injured, and the 17-year-old shooter fatally shot himself, police reported. (More)

• A new LA wildfire called the Hughes fire has quickly spread to over 8,000 acres, prompting mandatory evacuations for over 19,000 people and adding pressure on already stretched firefighting efforts. (More)

World

• Greek police are investigating how a headless Hellenistic-era (between 323 and 31 BC) statue ended up in a black plastic bag near garbage cans in Thessaloniki after a man reported finding it. (More)

• Yemen's Houthi rebels released the crew of the Galaxy Leader cargo ship, seized in November 2023, as part of a ceasefire agreement related to the Gaza conflict. (More)

• Violence in Colombia’s Catatumbo region over control of drug trafficking routes has forced over 18,000 people to flee, with about 1,000 seeking safety in Venezuela. (More)

Business & Economy

• US stock markets closed higher on Wednesday (S&P +0.61%, Nasdaq +1.28%, Dow +0.30%). Tech stocks pushed the S&P to an all-time high. (More)

• CNN and NBC News plan to lay off hundreds of workers this week, as newsrooms across the US shift focus to digital audiences due to declining cable and broadcast viewership. (More)

• Netflix announced price hikes for all US subscribers, raising the standard ad-free plan from $15.49 to $17.99 and the ad-supported plan one dollar to $7.99 per month. (More)

Sports & Entertainment

• The 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees include iconic musicians like The Doobie Brothers, George Clinton, and The Beach Boys' Mike Love, along with hitmakers Ashley Gorley and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. (More)

• Aaron Glenn, formerly the Detroit Lions' defensive coordinator, has agreed to a five-year deal to become the Jets' head coach, according to ESPN. (More)

• Norway is poised to become the first country to stop using video assistant referee (VAR) technology after most top-tier clubs voted to scrap it, pending a final decision by the Norwegian Football Federation in March. (More)

Science, Health, & Tech

• Scientists have detected cosmic waves that sound like birds chirping from over 62,000 miles away, a record distance for the high-pitched plasma bursts previously captured closer to Earth. (More)

• A study found that over 40% of monitored corals at One Tree Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef were killed during widespread coral bleaching in 2024. (More)

• Following Meta's decision to remove its third-party fact-checking system and ease content moderation, Google searches on how to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads have increased. (More)

Extra Credit

⚾️ Sluggball, baseball’s version of Topgolf, is set to debut in May.

💿️ Twenty albums turning 50 in 2025.

🌎️ Quiz: Test your knowledge of Earth’s hidden layers.

🐀 Drug-addicted rats are destroying Houston police evidence.