Daily Brew // Morning Brew // Update

MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE

Nasdaq

21,879.18

-5.86%

S&P

6,582.69

-3.84%

Dow

46,504.67

-3.24%

10-Year

0.000%

-416.3 bps

Bitcoin

$66,918.04

-23.53%

Micron

$366.24

+28.37%

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

Markets: With the stock market closed for Good Friday yesterday, investors got a day of rest to catch their breath after a week of volatility that ended with a rally. One group that likely appreciated the pause was Micron Technology’s shareholders, since the company has been getting hammered ever since Google announced an innovation that investors fear could dampen demand for memory chips (though it’s still up for the year).

BIG SPENDER

Inside Trump’s military-heavy, $2.2t budget proposal

Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images

Out with the “woke” and in with the weaponry: President Trump asked Congress to approve a $2.2 trillion budget for fiscal 2027 that would boost military spending to $1.5 trillion while slashing funding for domestic federal programs across housing, education, small business, and other areas deemed “woke, weaponized, and wasteful,” the White House said yesterday.

Note: This is just a proposal, as only Congress can set the annual budget. Last time around, lawmakers gave the military a fiscal boost, but largely rebuffed Trump’s efforts to cut domestic spending. It’s more like a gauge of the White House’s priorities than a prophecy.

The $1.5 trillion defense budget…would be 42% more than the Pentagon’s current allotment. That represents the biggest single-year increase in military spending since World War II. The funds are meant to cover more munitions and ships, higher servicemember salaries, and a missile defense system inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome.

Trump is also seeking:

An increase of $28.5 billion for immigration enforcement.
$10 billion for beautification projects in Washington, DC.
$150 million to rebuild Alcatraz as a working prison.

Meanwhile, on the chopping block…

Trump’s proposal would cut nonmilitary programs by 10% ($73 billion) to ~$660 billion.

Hardest hit: Funding would decrease by 67% for the Small Business Administration and by 52% for the EPA. The proposed budget would also downsize FEMA and…

Redirect $15 billion in renewable energy and clean air initiatives to fossil fuels and AI supercomputers.
Slash Education Department programs for minority-focused institutions (e.g., HBCUs).
Decrease Department of Health and Human Services spending by 12.5% and eliminate NIH divisions that research transgender health and racial health disparities.
Cut NASA funding by 23%.

“We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare,” Trump said at a private White House event this week. “It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare—all these individual things,” he said. “They can do it on a state basis.”

Big picture: Fiscal watchdogs say Trump’s proposed military budget could tack trillions onto the $39 trillion federal debt, despite his insistence otherwise.—ML

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WORLD

Tour de headlines

Morning Brew Design

The US added more jobs than expected last month. The Labor Department said yesterday that the US added 178,000 jobs in March, a reversal from February’s 133,000 decline (though the number from February was also revised down by 41,000). Healthcare was the job market’s hero, with the most jobs being added there. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.3%, down from February’s 4.4%, but that partly reflects a shrinking labor force, as some people stopped looking for work. Overall, the labor market got a boost last month, and the jobs report left economists cautiously optimistic.

One crew member rescued after Iran shot down US jet. One of the two crew members of the F-15E fighter jet, which was the first American aircraft shot down in Iran during the war, was rescued alive yesterday, US officials told news outlets. Search-and-rescue efforts for the other aviator continued. Iran was also looking for the crew member and offered civilians a reward for bringing them in alive. Meanwhile, a second American plane was shot down by Iran yesterday, this time an A-10 Thunderbolt (also known as a Warthog). The plane’s pilot was said to be safe, according to the WSJ.

OpenAI exec takes medical leave. Fidji Simo, whose title is CEO, AGI Deployment, and whose job is mostly figuring out how to make OpenAI make money, will be taking several weeks of medical leave. The planned absence comes as OpenAI prepares for an IPO. Simo was instrumental in the company’s decision to purchase the popular tech podcast TBPN this week, despite the company’s recent decision to ditch “side quests”—a move that appears to be about trying to control the narrative around AI, despite the show saying it will remain editorially independent. In other OpenAI exec moves, longtime COO Brad Lightcap is shifting to lead special projects.—AR

BLUE MARBLE MOMENT

See how cute we look from space

NASA

Finally, someone’s vacation snaps you actually want to see. The photos above come courtesy of the four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II rocket aboard the Orion capsule, who are currently on their way to becoming the first humans to reach the moon since 1972. After Wednesday’s launch and a 5-minute, 50-second engine burn on Thursday, they’ve left Earth’s orbit and are on their test flight path.

Monumental journey

The Artemis II flight is historic for many reasons: The crew will travel the farthest distance humans have ever traveled in space, and…it’s the first time someone has had a problem running Microsoft Outlook in space. We also cannot overlook the fact that it’s the first-ever launch with a toilet aboard the spacecraft:

During the Apollo missions, astronauts had to strap special bags and tubes to themselves every time they had to go. The far-from-perfect process led to a rogue floating turd during the Apollo 10 mission in 1969.
After six years and nearly $23 million in development…Artemis II’s commode was briefly offline for the first few hours of the mission.
But the extremely loud space toilet was fully operational by the time the astronauts went to sleep the first night, according to NASA.

Looking ahead…while this flight will complete a moon fly-by, scientists are hoping the mission will lead to a moon landing in 2028.—MM

Together With TurboTax

It’s go time. Tax season is here, bringing confusion over new tax laws for entrepreneurs. For the 5.6m+ LLCs formed in 2025, TurboTax Experts for Business can help. They match self-employed and small business owners with a tax expert—so you can file with confidence + save $$$.

ICYMI

Have you heard...

Here’s everything that didn’t make it into this week’s newsletters but we immediately sent to the group chat.

Several news outlets, including the BBC and USA Today, ran false reports based on a hoax this week that the world’s oldest land animal, the 193-year-old giant tortoise named Jonathan, had died. In reality, Jonathan is alive and well and planning a run for US Congress: “Slow and steady wins the race.”

Meta is testing a premium version of Instagram that gives subscribers access to exclusive features, like the ability to view stories without the person who posted them knowing. Still no movement on the feature we all want, though: The ability to make it look like you viewed all 15 of your friend’s quote slides.

Nepali authorities have accused Mount Everest guides of secretly drugging foreign climbers to make them feel sick in order to trigger helicopter evacuations and defraud insurance companies out of millions of dollars. Apparently, Everest is the scammers’ Everest, too.

MLB’s new robot umpires have taken the league by storm, but in order to work, they need the exact heights of every player (for strike zone purposes). That has prompted the league to downwardly revise dozens of players’ official heights on its website. Small ball is officially back.

Costco has been selling a 10-pound chocolate Easter bunny that you’re supposed to break into pieces using a hammer. The giant smiling confection also has a name: “Pete the Bunny.” But maybe don’t tell your kids it has a name before you repeatedly smash it over the head with a hammer.—BC

NEWS

What else is brewing

A fast-growing wildfire, known as the Springs Fire, broke out yesterday in Riverside County in Southern California.
A federal judge upheld his earlier decision to block the subpoenas in the criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, likely setting the stage for an appeal that could delay the confirmation of Powell’s successor.
President Trump unveiled a potential 100% tariff on some patented drugs—if the companies that make them don’t make deals with the government. The announcement was made on Thursday, the one-year anniversary of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
Cuba said it would release more than 2,000 political prisoners as a humanitarian gesture as the US continues to put pressure on the island nation.
Italy’s head men’s soccer coach, Gennaro Gattuso, resigned yesterday after the country failed to qualify for its third consecutive World Cup.
United will offer tiered tickets for business class and premium economy, making the premium seats more accessible—but with restrictions.
The NCAA women’s national championship basketball game will be played tomorrow between UCLA and South Carolina after they defeated Texas and UConn, respectively, in the Final Four yesterday.

Together With Frontieras

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COMMUNITY

Crowd work

Last week, we asked, “What’s an experience from your childhood that makes you feel nostalgic?” Here are some of our favorite responses:

“Drinking from the water hose. I grew up in rural Oklahoma with four sisters. Mom would occasionally banish us to the outdoors. The summers can get horribly hot, but we never got thirsty .”—Krista from Oklahoma
“Ripping Yu-Gi-Oh! packs, feeling and hearing the texture of the cards when I flip through them. The smell of the cards from a fresh pack—it’s a mix of clean linen and ink. Good times.”—Roberto from Houston, TX
“Growing up in rural Mexico and playing in my grandparents’ backyard with leaves and mud that I used to make ‘leaf soup’ and ‘mud chocolate cake.’ It’s one of my first memories, and every time I remember it, I think of how little I had to worry about as a child and how much simpler life was.”—Leslie from Iowa
“As a young boy, I used to ride a mechanical toy horse, ‘Sandy,’ for a nickel. She was located in the lobby of a local grocery store. In my 50s, I was surprised to be reunited with her…at the local history museum.”—Dennis from Auburn, WA
“Lying on my back along with my two best buddies on a garage roof on a starry night in Nebraska. We howled to invite the local coyotes to join in. They obliged and we had a joyous chorus from all around.”—Bob from Noblesville, IN

This week’s question

What’s a picturesque view near a place you’ve lived?

Sam’s answer to get the juices flowing: “There’s a big bridge across Boston’s Charles River boasting breathtaking views of the city skyline and the river’s basin. Underneath it is a railroad bridge, making it one of the world’s only places where a boat can pass under a train that’s moving under a car, which is driving below an airplane.”

Submit your response here.

RECS

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The fix is in: Why fixing your gadgets often costs more than replacing them.

Eat: The Easter treats going viral on TikTok.

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PLAY

Brew Crossword: This week’s big puzzle is called “Character sketches.” No need to doodle on it, but you may want to noodle on it. Play the Crossword here.

Open House

Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that is trying to fill up the coolers with crappie fish. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price.

Zillow

Today’s elevated waterfront home is in Barataria, LA—an area just under an hour’s drive south of New Orleans that was described in a 2011 letter to the editor of a local publication as a “labyrinth of bayous that served as a hideout for pirates and smugglers.” Amenities include:

5 beds, 6 baths
Private dock
Covered porch with outside ceiling fans

How much for the fishing getaway?

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ANSWER

$800,000

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: confection, meaning “a dish made with sweet ingredients.” Thanks to Lily from Chicago for sweetening the pot with the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.

✳︎ A Note From Frontieras

This is a paid advertisement for Frontieras’ Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.frontieras.com/.

Reservation of the ticker symbol is not a guarantee that we will be listed on the Nasdaq. Listing on the Nasdaq is subject to approvals.

Under Regulation A+, a company has the ability to change its share price by up to 20% without requalifying the offering with the SEC.

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