Good Morning! Today’s edition is 1,082 words, a 4-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Soul queen Roberta Flack passes

• Ramaswamy launches Ohio governor campaign

• Stolen Lotto Dilemma

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Big Story

Apple’s Big US Plans

Apple announced plans to spend $500 billion in US investments over the next four years.

• Apple will expand its teams and facilities across nine states: Michigan, Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada, Iowa, Oregon, North Carolina, and Washington. The commitment will create over 20,000 R&D jobs.

• The announcement comes shortly after Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly met with President Donald Trump. The timing is important as many Apple products assembled in China could face 10% tariffs recently imposed by Trump, though Apple had secured some exemptions during Trump's first administration.

• A key part of Apple's plan is to build a 250,000-square-foot AI server factory in Houston. It will also double its manufacturing fund to $10 billion, partly to support chip production at TSMC's Arizona factory where mass production began recently. (Read About TSMC’s First Advanced US Chip Plant)

• Additionally, Apple plans to open a manufacturing academy in Michigan, offering free courses to small and mid-sized manufacturing companies in areas like AI implementation, project management, and process optimization.

Big Story

Back To The Office

Federal employees nationwide who have worked remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic returned to agency offices Monday under President Donald Trump's new mandate.

• Elon Musk, who leads Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, warned on social media that workers who don’t return would be placed on administrative leave. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that "full-time, COVID-era remote work is DONE" and revealed that average attendance at EPA headquarters on Mondays and Fridays last year was less than 9% of employees.

• The return-to-office mandate will be implemented in phases at some agencies, with some workers beginning their return Monday while others will relocate back to offices through April and beyond. Even remote employees at the Department of Health and Human Services who were hired for remote positions must report to offices by April 28.

• The federal government employed over 3 million people as of November last year—nearly 1.9% of the nation's entire civilian workforce, according to the Pew Research Center.

Big Story

Roberta Flack Passes

Roberta Flack, known for her smoky voice and soulful ballads, died peacefully at age 88.

• Born in North Carolina in 1937, Flack grew up in Virginia where she began playing piano and singing in church. Her talent earned her a full music scholarship to Howard University at just 15 years old. After graduating at 19, she taught music and English while performing at night in Washington area venues.

• Her career took off after jazz singer Les McCann saw her performing and connected her with Atlantic Records. Between 1969 and 1994, she released 13 albums. Flack had a run of hits in the 1970s with songs like "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," "Killing Me Softly with His Song," and "Feel Like Makin' Love." She won four Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.

• Flack suffered from ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that forced her to retire from singing in 2022. Beyond music, Flack had a lifelong commitment to civil rights, which was explored in a 2022 documentary about her life titled "Roberta."

Quick Stories

US News

• Vivek Ramaswamy announced his Ohio governor campaign at a Cincinnati rally on Monday. He promised to make Ohio the top state that embraces capitalism and meritocracy while drastically cutting regulations. (More)

• Energy Transfer's lawsuit against Greenpeace USA began Monday in North Dakota. The Dakota Access Pipeline company claims protesters caused $300 million in delays. The trial could potentially shut down the environmental group. (More)

• New York Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city will close the migrant shelter at the Roosevelt Hotel. He cited a drop in registrations as the reason for the shuttering — Migrant arrivals have dropped from 4,000 per week to 350 recently. (More)

World

• Ukraine marked the third anniversary of Russia's invasion on Monday as its forces struggle on the battlefield. Western leaders visited Kyiv, promising continued aid. However, no senior US officials attended. (More)

• Three homemade bombs were thrown at Russia's consulate in Marseille, France, with only two exploding. Police sealed off the area and are investigating, but no one was injured, and the suspect escaped. (More)

• Israeli tanks have entered the occupied West Bank for the first time in 20 years. About 40,000 Palestinians have fled from refugee camps in the area. (More)

Business & Economy

• US stock markets closed lower on Monday (S&P -0.50%, Nasdaq -1.21%, Dow -0.08%). The market failed to rebound from Friday’s big sell-offs. (More)

• Starbucks plans to fire 1,100 corporate employees to streamline operations under new CEO Brian Niccol. The layoffs do not include baristas. (More)

• Bankrupt craft retailer Joann will close all 800 stores and lay off 19,000 people after its restructuring plans failed. Liquidator GA Group won the bid for its assets, changing earlier plans to close only 500 locations. (More)

Sports & Entertainment

• Lawrence J. Dolan, the 94-year-old owner of the Cleveland Guardians team, died Sunday of natural causes. He invested deeply in Cleveland through military service, philanthropy, law, business, education, and sports. (More)

• Legendary rap group Wu-Tang Clan will perform their final tour, "Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber," this summer. The tour starts June 6 in Baltimore and ends July 18 in Philadelphia. (More)

• Lester Holt will step down as anchor from NBC’s “Nightly News” broadcast. He will stay on at the network in a full-time role on “Dateline.” (More)

Science, Health, & Tech

• Anthropic launched its new Claude 3.7 Sonnet, a "hybrid AI reasoning model" that lets users choose between quick answers or more thoroughly "thought-out" responses. (More)

• Mice try to revive unconscious companions by biting and pulling their tongues, which helps open airways. This "rodent first aid" involves brain activity and hormones similar to human rescue instincts. (More)

• All seven other planets in our Solar System will appear together in the night sky on February 28, 2025. This rare "great planetary alignment" will show Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars in a row. (More)

Extra Credit

💰️ Thieves buy a winning lotto ticket with a stolen credit card and can’t cash in.

🐊 Learn how to rank the world’s deadliest animals.

🇺🇸 Visualizing America’s $29 trillion economy by state.

🏞️ How do national parks impact the economy?