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Good morning,

🏆 And the Oscar went to…

• “Oppenheimer” continued its awards season success, winning 7 Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Original Score, Cinematography and Film Editing.

• Emma Stone won Best Actress—the tightest race of the night between her and Lilly Gladstone. They shared a touching moment with fellow nominee, Annette Bening.

• Billie Eilish made everyone cry with her performance and won, while Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” got laughs.

• John Cena went on-stage naked as an homage to the Oscars 1974 streaker.

  • Meanwhile, Kate McKinnon has been sending her "tasteful nudes" to Steven Spielberg 😉.

• "20 Days in Mariupol" won Best Documentary—the first Oscar in Ukraine's history.

• Several actors wore red lapel pins calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, while one award winner for international film drew controversy for saying he believes the “Holocaust being hijacked” by Israel.

• Jimmy Kimmel read former President Donald Trump’s critique of his Oscar’s hosting, “Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars?” Kimmel replied live on air, “Isn’t it past your jail time?”

Here’s a full list of winners!

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

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🇭🇹 HAITI CRISIS WORSENS AS US EVACUATES PERSONNEL

Caribbean leaders are meeting today to discuss Haiti’s dire gang crisis. Over the weekend, the US military airlifted non-essential American personnel from the US Embassy in Haiti on an emergency flight. The US also sent in additional marines to protect the complext.

The Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry is currently stuck in Puerto Rico, unable to return to Haiti because gangs demanding his resignation have taken over the airport. They are threatening a “civil war that will lead to genocide” if he does not step down.

• Henry had been out of the country visiting Kenya, trying to finalize an international force that would bring together reinforcements from around the world to help Haiti’s police. The United Nations already approved it and Kenya is set to lead it. The US has pledged $200 million, though the funds are held up in Congress, and the force lacks $$ from the rest of the globe.

HOW WE GOT HERE
Haiti’s roughly 200 gangs— which increasingly work together— have grown in force and influence over the last decade. As for Henry, he’s an unelected and unpopular leader, who has been resisting calls by the US and others to hold elections. He took over around three years ago following the assassination of then-President Jovenel Moïse and has remained in power ever since, thanks in part to US support (which is now waning).

• Gangs have overtaken the main airport and attacked Haiti’s two main prisons—leading to the escape of thousands of inmates—and multiple police stations. The violence on the streets has forced businesses, schools, and hospitals to close and caused thousands of people to flee their homes in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, where gangs control 80% of the area.

• Gangs have terrorized the nation of 11 million people for years by using rape, kidnappings and mass killings—all with impunity—to keep control.

• Why the gangs have so much power: Political leaders have used them for years. The AP reports because the nations security and police force are not well-funded nor organized, Haitian rulers’ depend on street gangs to exercise power.

The nation has been under a state of emergency with nightly curfews for a week and basic goods are dwindling.

TODAY’S MEETING
Caribbean leaders who are part of the 15-nation regional trade bloc are having an emergency meeting today in Jamaica. The US, France, Canada, the U.N. and Brazil are invited.

• It is unclear if Henry will be attending. He has yet to respond to a proposal for him to step down, with a transitional council appointing an interim prime minister ahead of an election.

• The group of nations have been trying for months to push Henry and other political leaders to agree to form an umbrella transitional unity government. Henry said he would hold elections in 2025.

📲 SELL OR SHUTDOWN: THE BATTLE TO BAN TIKTOK IN THE US

A US House committee last week unanimously passed legislation by a 50-0 vote to force TikTok’s parent company to sell it or face a ban on the app in the US. The legislation is now headed full House vote this week. Pending the Senate also approves it, President Biden says he’ll sign the bill into law.

In an unexpected twist, former President Trump has come out against the bill, despite vocally pushing for a ban during his administration.

WHAT’S BEHIND THE BAN?
TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. This new legislation says ByteDance would need to sell TikTok within 165 days or the social media platform would be banned in the US.

• Concerns are rising that the Chinese government could exploit American data, spread disinformation, and push anti-American or other subversive content through the TikTok algorithm via ByteDance.

  • Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said because the app collects data that could be available to the Chinese Communist Party, it poses a serious threat, and perhaps "the most powerful propaganda tool ever."

  • 63% of US teens and 56% US adults ages 18-34 use TikTok.

• The 50-0 House Energy and Commerce Committee vote signals the first-ever widespread support to overhaul the app. House Speaker Mike Johnson supports the legislation, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the ban “should be looked at.”

• User pushback: TikTok is urging users to lobby against the bill. Some congressional offices have been flooded with calls. The app has 170 million US users, and the company says 5 million small businesses also use the platform.

OVER TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Biden says that if the bill arrives on his desk he will sign it into law. As for former President Trump, back in 2020 he tried to ban the app with an executive order, but the courts blocked it. Fast forward to 2024. Trump now appears to be a TikTok fan.  

• Trump posted, "If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business. I don't want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!" [“Zuckerschmuck” is a reference to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg].

  • Why now: Trump believes Facebook & Instagram are biased against him, sees right-leaning content doing well on Tiktok, and senses an opportunity to gain support among young people (already disenchanted with Biden) by supporting a popular app like TikTok.

📄 TAX SEASON SCAMS TO WATCH OUT FOR

It’s tax season, and cyber criminals want your tax refund. With the April 15 deadline just over a month away, experts strongly advise filing your taxes as soon as possible to secure your return before scammers can claim it.

TAX SEASON SCAMS
This tax season, the IRS is expecting over 146 million individual tax returns to be filed. Last tax season, the IRS reported a staggering 294,138 complaints related to identity theft. That was the second most in its history, behind 328,591 in 2021.

• Why? Cybercrime. The CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, Eva Velasquez, says, “With the state of data breaches, we should all be operating under the assumption that all the data necessary to file a fraudulent tax return in your name is out there.”

• How they do it? Scammers typically file tax returns with the IRS using stolen personal information, such as home addresses and Social Security numbers. This data often becomes available through cyberattacks—like the recent UnitedHealth Group ransomware attack—when hackers and ransomware groups try to sell individuals' information online.

• Many people don’t realize they’ve been scammed until they go to file and their SSN has already been used.

HOW TO STOP IT
To combat this issue, the IRS has implemented several safeguards to protect against scams, but there are also proactive measures you can take to minimize your risk.

• Filing your taxes as early as possible will stop someone else from taking your return.

• The IRS recommends signing up for the IRS IP PIN program, which creates a unique six-digit PIN to be used when filing a federal tax return, adding an extra layer of security.

• YOU’VE GOT MAIL: And if an email appears to be from the IRS, it’s not them! Official communications from the IRS are typically sent through the regular mail, and on rare occasions over the phone. And remember, they will never ask for your credit or debit card numbers.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Officials identify 2 National Guard soldiers, Border Patrol agent killed in helicopter crash near southern border (ABC NEWS)

📌 Sen. Katie Britt responds to accusations of misleading statements in State of the Union response (NBC NEWS)

📌 Justice Department opens investigation into Alaska Airlines incident of door panel blowing out midair (CNBC)

📌 70-foot whale beached off Florida's Gulf Coast (ABC NEWS)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 As a U.S. aid ship heads to Gaza, Biden again warns Netanyahu on civilian deaths (NPR)

📌 Pope sparks anger after saying Ukraine should have the ‘courage of the white flag’ and negotiate (CNN)

📌 Indonesian flight veered off course after both pilots allegedly fell asleep in the cockpit (NBC NEWS)

📌 Days after gunmen abduct hundreds of children in Nigeria, hope of finding them begins to fade (PBS NEWS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 New Activision QA union is the largest in the video game industry (CNBC)

📌 Second case of measles confirmed at Chicago migrant shelter (FOX NEWS)

📌 Excessive alcohol deaths surged during pandemic, CDC data shows (CBS NEWS)

📌 Wegovy, the weight-loss medication, gets FDA approval for use as heart disease prevention drug (FOX BUSINESS)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Scarlett Johansson parodies Sen. Katie Britt’s GOP State of the Union response in ‘SNL’ cold open (NBC NEWS)

📌 Vanessa Hudgens makes glamorous pregnancy debut on Oscars red carpet (CNN)

📌 First post-op photo of Kate, Princess of Wales, withdrawn due to ‘manipulation’ (GUARDIAN)

📌 SEC women’s basketball title game scuffle causes mass ejections for LSU, South Carolina (AP)

Mo News Podcast: A daily conversation about the news that matters.

🗓 ON THIS DAY: MARCH 11

• 1974: Dolly Parton released ‘I Will Always Love You.’ (Video: Dolly discussing how she ‘almost had a heart attack,’ the first time she heard Whitney Houston sing it.)

• 1989: The TV Show ‘Cops’ debuts on Fox. It aired until 2020.

• 1997: Paul McCartney of The Beatles was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his "services to music."

• 2011: A 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck off the northeastern coast of Japan, killing nearly 20,000 people. It also caused the Fukushima nuclear reactor leak disaster.