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The policies shaping the global economy are suddenly hitting everyday life. Today’s edition breaks down why Nintendo is raising prices, how a major tariff ruling could reshape consumer costs, and what Instagram’s privacy reversal says about where the internet is heading next.

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The Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that the tariffs Trump imposed after his Supreme Court loss in February were also unlawful, triggering an estimated $166 billion in refunds owed to importers. The ruling is technically limited to two specific importers and Washington State, but the legal reasoning extends well beyond.

Government will begin issuing the first refund payments next week, with the bulk of refunds rolling through importer accounts over the next six months. Trade lawyers expect a wave of similar filings from companies that paid the tariffs but weren't named in the original suit; total refund liability could climb materially higher.

Trump-era tariff strategy is now functionally on its third lawsuit cycle in twelve months — the original IEEPA tariffs were struck down in February, the replacement set just got struck down this week, and a third structure is reportedly being drafted. Cycle is straining trade relationships even with administration allies, and several mid-sized importers have publicly said they will pause inventory orders until the legal picture clears.

The State Department will revoke US passports of parents owing more than $2,500 in child support, with no new passport issued until the debt is paid. Authority comes from a 1996 law that has been on the books for thirty years but was rarely enforced at scale.

Reporting Thursday revealed the policy reversal, which marks the largest expansion of passport-revocation enforcement since the 1996 program was created. State framing emphasizes parents' "legal and moral obligations"; civil-liberties groups have raised due-process concerns about the threshold and the appeal mechanism.

The xisting program has revoked or denied passports for hundreds of thousands of parents since 1996, but the new push targets a much larger group of debt-owing parents that the law had previously authorized but rarely reached. Implementation timeline is six months; the State will coordinate with the Office of Child Support Services to identify eligible cases.

David Attenborough turned 100 Friday, with a Royal Albert Hall concert and an audio message from the man himself thanking everyone from "pre-school groups to care home residents" for the birthday letters. Attenborough said he had "rather thought" he'd celebrate quietly but had been "completely overwhelmed" by the response.

Attenborough's career spans more than seven decades — from his BBC Natural History Unit days in the 1950s to "Planet Earth," "Blue Planet," and "Our Planet" — and his voice has become the defining sound of natural-history programming for several generations. Estimates put his cumulative reach at roughly four billion viewers across his career.

The scientific community marked the day with a photo retrospective cataloging his contributions to biodiversity research, climate communication, and species discovery. Attenborough has had at least 20 species named after him during his lifetime. The Royal Geographical Society announced a permanent fellowship in his name to support early-career documentary makers.

Regional tensions climbed after the UAE reported intercepted missile and drone attacks linked to the wider Iran conflict. Oil traders remain focused on whether shipping disruptions spread beyond the Gulf.

North Korea said it will deploy new long-range artillery systems capable of striking the South Korean capital region this year, and will commission its first naval destroyer within weeks. Seoul military officials said the timeline is faster than allied intelligence had projected.

Actor Vijay's party shook up Tamil Nadu's political landscape in India's state election, leaving the major parties scrambling to rebuild coalitions ahead of next month's runoffs. Analysts called the upset the biggest political crossover in years.

A federal judge will decide today whether cameras and reporters can broadcast from the Charlie Kirk murder prosecution. The defense argued live coverage will taint the local jury pool.

A cyberattack hit Canvas, the learning platform used by thousands of US schools and universities, just as finals season opens. The ShinyHunters group is implicated; affected systems include grades, assignments, and lecture videos.

At least three tornadoes tore through Mississippi Wednesday, damaging close to 500 homes and hospitalizing at least 17 people across multiple counties. Survivors described crawling under furniture and shielding their kids as the storms passed; the governor's emergency declaration is in place.

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Nintendo confirmed a global Switch price hike and forecast a profit drop next year as US tariff costs filter through every console line. Investors said Nintendo is the clearest gaming-sector signal yet that tariffs are reshaping consumer tech pricing.

Sony reported falling profit and a rebound forecast, pointing to upcoming PlayStation hardware refreshes and a packed music release calendar to lift the back half of the year. Wall Street analysts called the guidance plausible but tariff-sensitive.

Toyota reported Q4 profit down nearly 49% Friday, slashing operating-income guidance for the next fiscal year by more than 20%. Drivers include US tariff costs, China sales slowdown, EV competition, and a wave of recalls.

A new audit of 2.5 million biomedical papers found a 12-fold rise in fabricated citations in 2025 versus 2023, climbing in lockstep with AI-tool adoption in academic writing. Tens of thousands of 2025 publications likely contain AI-hallucinated references; major publishers are now retrofitting validation steps.

Meta switched off end-to-end encryption for Instagram direct messages globally Thursday, a major reversal from a years-long privacy buildout. Children's safety advocates welcomed the move; privacy advocates said it removes the most secure form of online messaging from a platform billions use daily.

Cloudflare's stock sank 18% Thursday after the company beat earnings but announced a 20% workforce cut — roughly 1,100 jobs — tied to AI-driven restructuring. Reduction signals where infrastructure-heavy software companies are heading as AI absorbs middle-layer engineering work.

Cade Cunningham went for 25 and 10 assists as Detroit beat Cleveland 107-97 in Game 2, taking a 2-0 series lead in the East semis. Donovan Mitchell dropped 31 in the loss; Game 3 shifts to Cleveland Saturday.

Oklahoma City beat the Lakers 125-107 Thursday, going up 2-0 in the West semis with the Thunder now 6-0 across the playoffs. Holmgren and SGA each scored 22; Reaves dropped 31 for LA.

Jasson Dominguez crashed shoulder-first into the wall Thursday, making a leaping catch, and is headed to the injury list with a sprained shoulder. The path now opens for top prospect Spencer Jones to make his MLB debut.

Kelly Clarkson will return to “The Voice” for season 30 after ending her daytime talk show. NBC is betting a familiar star can strengthen live entertainment programming as traditional TV networks compete harder for streaming-era audiences.

Rebel Wilson is facing defamation claims in an Australian court over Instagram posts about Charlotte MacInnes, star of Wilson's film "The Deb." Court heard claims Wilson ordered a smear website during the three-week trial; closing arguments wrap this week.

Shakira posted a teaser Thursday of her FIFA World Cup 2026 song "Dai Dai," featuring Afrobeats star Burna Boy. Track is the first official tournament anthem of the cycle; full release expected before kickoff in five weeks.

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What it is: The NCAA voted Thursday to expand both March Madness brackets from 68 to 76 teams starting next season, the largest expansion in two decades. Move adds eight teams to each tournament — four new at-large bids and four play-in spots — and is reportedly driven by beer-advertising commitments tied to expanded broadcast inventory across the two-week tournament window.

The detail: Bracket adds eight teams to each tournament without changing the main 64-team bracket field that begins later in the week, preserving the iconic "Big Dance" shape that's defined the format since 1985. New First Four-style preliminary games will likely run separately on the broadcast schedule to add advertising inventory and TV revenue.

Why it matters: March Madness is the second-largest US sports event after the Super Bowl, generating massive TV-rights and advertising revenue. Expansion adds early-round commercial inventory at a moment when beer brands and sportsbooks are dominating sports advertising — which is exactly why this change happened now rather than five years from now.

What to watch: Watch the tournament's revised seeding criteria — the NCAA hasn't finalized whether the new at-large bids favor major-conference bubble teams or mid-major champions, a decision that will shape the bracket's competitive character for the next decade. Watch ad-rate disclosures from CBS and Turner Broadcasting in the next two earnings cycles for the first hard data on whether the expansion delivers the projected revenue lift.

- A White House photographer caught Trump and the first lady awaiting British royals from a rare angle, producing the kind of ceremonial deadpan only state-visit choreography can pull off.

- A curious black bear tried breaking into a Tennessee bakery before wandering off empty-handed.

- A Copa Libertadores match between Medellín and Flamengo was halted after just three minutes when fans set off a flare-and-protest combo, proving once again that South American club soccer answers to no schedule.

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—The Five Minute Daily Team