1 for the road

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📸 1 for the road: Calf on the couch

Photo: Macey Sorrell via AP A Kentucky family battling extreme cold on their farm last weekend opened their home to a newborn calf that was struggling in the deep freeze, AP reports. 🐄 Hours later, the calf took a spot on the couch with the Sorrell family's two children. 🥶 The calf was born outdoors in single-digit temperatures. "She was just frozen. Her umbilical cord looked like a popsicle," Macey Sorrell said. Keep reading.

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⛸️ 1 for the road: "Minions" routine iced out

Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté competes in the U.K. on Jan. 15. Photo: Yuan Tian/NurPhoto via Getty Images A Spanish figure skater can't do his "Minions" routine at the Winter Olympics due to copyright problems, ESPN reports. 🤳 Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté said on Instagram: "This season I have competed with my Minions routine to bring joy and a fun style to the ice, while complying with all of the obligatory elements and demonstrating that ice skating as a male Olympic figure skater can also be fun." The Opening Ceremony is Friday (2 p.m. ET), and the Games run through Feb. 22. Go deeper ... See the routine.

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🎶 1 for the road: Singing Resistance

Singing Resistance members gathered at a Minneapolis church on Tuesday, Feb. 10. Photo: Audrey Kennedy/Axios

A group called Singing Resistance has grown in six weeks from a few hundred Minnesotans singing in the streets to a rapidly expanding nationwide movement, Axios Twin Cities' Audrey Kennedy writes. Videos frequently go viral, and pages are cropping up for groups in Nashville, Atlanta and Portland.

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⛪️ 1 for the road: Pizza for pilgrims

St. Peter's Terrace at the Vatican yesterday. Photo: Gregorio Borgia/AP The Vatican is marking the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St. Peter's Basilica with a bigger snack bar and other upgrades. 📱 It's also adding a new online reservation system, an exhibition on the basilica's history, and AI-assisted live translations of mass in 60 languages, AP reports. 🍕 The snack bar has proven controversial, with some questioning whether it's appropriate to serve pizza and sandwiches in a sacred space. Go deeper.

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🍗 1 for the road: Wing suit tossed — with spice

Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios A federal judge added a little sauce while dismissing a lawsuit over Buffalo Wild Wings' boneless chicken wings, Axios Chicago's Justin Kaufmann reports. 🦴 Plaintiff Aimen Halim said he was misled by the term "boneless wings," thinking he was buying deboned wings rather than nuggets. 🐓 U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp of Northern Illinois ruled in favor of BWW — adding lots of chicken-based puns. 👨‍⚖️ A few nuggets from Tharp's decision: "What's in a name? If we called a wing by any other name, would it smell as sweet?" "Halim sued BWW over his confusion, but his complaint has no meat on its bones." "Despite his best efforts, Halim did not 'drum' up enough factual allegations to state a claim." Go deeper ...

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🌸 1 for the road: Late bloomers

The Washington Monument framed by cherry blossoms last March. Photo: Shannon Finney/WireImage

Peak bloom for D.C.'s iconic cherry blossoms could arrive later than recent years thanks to the District's record-breaking cold, Axios D.C.'s Anna Spiegel reports. 🥶 It's been a brutal winter for the nation's capital, and the wait may go on for its famous floral joy. National Park Service spokesperson Mike Litterst tells Axios that "heat drives the trees to bloom, so when you have colder temperatures, it takes longer for the blossoms to arrive." There's no official peak projection yet. But Litterst says it will likely come "later in the season than we've seen for the last few years." Peak bloom hit last year on March 28. 😎 On the sunnier side, the deep freeze hasn't harmed the trees.

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❄️ 1 for the road: Let's go, snow!

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios Washington State ski areas have logged more than a foot of snow over the past two weeks, giving this unusually dry season a much-needed lift, Axios Seattle's Christine Clarridge reports. Base depths are still well below normal but have improved. 🏔️ As of this week... Stevens Pass: 41.8 inches (30-year average: 85 inches). Snoqualmie Pass: 35 inches (average: 76). Hurricane Ridge: 42 inches (average: 80). Hit the slopes.

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🎶 1 for the road: iPods are hip again

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Cate Gillon/Getty Images

Grab your corded headphones: Apple's retired MP3 players are back in vogue, with buyers trading smartphones for nostalgia, Axios' Sami Sparber reports. eBay searches rose 25% for the iPod Classic and 20% for iPod Nano — which were retired in 2022 — from January to October 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, per internal data shared with Axios. 🏫 Some students are even using iPods to get around phone bans at school, the N.Y. Times reports. 🧽 "The act of playing my music, with the sole purpose of listening to music — no ads, no apps, no distractions — makes my brain feel brand-new again," says Gen Zer Shaughnessy Barker. Barker started using an iPod Classic over the holidays after scouring eBay and Facebook Marketplace.

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✈️ 1 for the road: "Freedom Plane" takes off

Rendering: National Archives Foundation A Boeing 737 loaded with some of the country's most precious founding documents is on a multicity exhibition tour marking America's 250th birthday. 🛬 The Freedom Plane is landing in Kansas City; Atlanta; L.A.; Houston; Denver; Miami; Dearborn, Michigan; and Seattle between now and mid-August. Monica Crowley, U.S. chief of protocol, tells CNN: "This initiative is all about bringing our history to life, capturing the national mood of celebration, and sending America's big birthday party from the nation's capital to the very heart of America." Full itinerary.

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🏟️ 1 for the road: D.C.'s next dome

Rendering: Washington Commanders and HKS The Washington Commanders released new renderings of the team's upcoming D.C. stadium yesterday — with extra views of its translucent dome, fan plaza and the Capitol. The column-heavy project is undergoing design approval at the National Capital Planning Commission. Rendering: Washington Commanders and HKS More renderings ...

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🌸 1 for the road: Sign of the times

Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters National Guard members patrol amid cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin in Washington yesterday. "Peak bloom" started yesterday and typically lasts 3-7 days. 👑 D.C. readers: Help crown a replacement for Stumpy, a beloved (albeit diminutive) cherry tree that fell victim to seawall repairs. Take the Axios poll.

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🐢 1 for the road: Crypto shell game

Jonathan the Seychelles giant tortoise in Saint Helena in 2017. Photo: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP via Getty Images A 194-year-old giant tortoise named Jonathan got mixed up in what looks like a crypto con scheme, The Guardian reports. 💰 An account posing as Jonathan's veterinarian posted about the beloved tortoise's alleged death, and asked for cryptocurrency donations. The post got 2 million views and was picked up by the BBC and others. The Guardian connected with Jonathan's actual caretaker, who confirmed the tortoise — a local celebrity in Saint Helena, in the South Atlantic — is "very much alive." Go deeper.

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📷 1 for the road: Easter light

Photo: Scott Jennings Scott Jennings, in town for a CNN hit this morning (in Easter-pink jacket), took a walk around sunset and texted: "What a sky and evening in DC!" Photo: Fred Ryan Fred Ryan, a faithful reader for 19 years, is on a family trip to Easter Island, Chile. He shares these iPhone images from the field in front of the iconic Moai statues. Photo: Fred Ryan

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🎭 1 for the road: Obama musical!

Photo "44: The Musical" The Obama era is back — this time with show tunes. "44: The Musical" opens in the nation's capital next Saturday (through May 10, Shakespeare Theatre Company's Klein Theater) after sold-out runs in Chicago and on Broadway, Axios DC's Anna Spiegel writes. The play — part satirical comedy, part concert — was written by former Obama campaign staffer Eli Bauman. We're told neither former President Obama nor Michelle Obama has seen it. 1-min. YouTube trailer ... More details.

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🐘 1 for the road: D.C.'s new baby elephant

Linh Mai the Asian elephant. GIF: Anna Spiegel/Axios A new baby at the National Zoo is ready for the spotlight, Axios D.C.'s Anna Spiegel writes. Linh Mai — a 463-pound Asian elephant calf — is the first of her kind born at the zoo in 25 years. The 2-month-old makes her public debut on April 22 (Earth Day).

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💺 1 for the road: Bunking in coach

Photo: Air New Zealand Air New Zealand unveiled the Economy Skynest yesterday — bunk-bed-style sleeping pods that economy passengers can book on its 17-hour flights between Auckland and New York. Four-hour sessions in a pod cost just under $300 on a one-way flight. Passengers get a lie-flat sleeping pod with a full-length mattress (6 feet, 8 inches), fresh bedding and a privacy curtain. Read the announcement.

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🦾 1 for the road: No sweat

Smartphone maker Honor's humanoid robot, called Lightning, wears a medal after finishing the race. Photo: VCG/VCG via Getty Images Milestone: Robot outraces human. A 5-foot-5 humanoid robot won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing yesterday, running faster than the human world record, AP reports. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 13.1-mile race in 50 minutes, 26 seconds. (Human best: 57:20, set last month.) The winner, on the run. Photo: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images Between the lines: The performance marked a significant step forward from last year's inaugural race, where the winning robot finished in 2 hours, 40 minutes. The robot was fitted with 36-inch-long legs to mimic elite human runners. Another robot in yesterday's race in Beijing. Photo: Ng Han Guan/AP Go deeper.

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🚁 1 for the road: Organs by drone

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios The nonprofit operating most of the country's organ transplant system is teaming up with NASA to see whether drones can improve deliveries, Axios' Maya Goldman reports. The United Network for Organ Sharing says drones could cut costs and transport times, plus add flexibility. 🧑‍✈️ The collaboration will first test whether drones can carry sensitive biological materials around obstacles and beyond operators' visual line of sight. Next, researchers will see whether an animal test organ can remain viable in the face of unstable temperatures and potential tissue damage caused by lack of blood flow. 🚑 If early tests go well, researchers will see whether drone systems can be scaled up for time-critical medical deliveries. Go deeper.

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✈️ 1 for the road: Just plane weird

Rendering: JetZero Soaring jet fuel costs could revive airlines' interest in radical "blended wing body" aircraft, Axios' Joann Muller reports. Their manta ray-style design promises less drag and more lift, cutting fuel needs by 30% or more. 🛩️ Two aerospace startups are pushing these futuristic-looking aircraft. JetZero has raised $226 million and is backed by United Airlines and Alaska Airlines. It also has a $235 million Defense Department contract to develop a full-size demonstrator by 2027. Natilus announced $28 million in Series A financing earlier this year. 💵 Reality check: There's still a long path to proving such aircraft can be viable. Go deeper ...

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🔭 1 for the road: Night fight

The Milky Way seen from Chile's Atacama Desert. Photo: Esteban Felix/AP The Atacama Desert's status as one of the world's foremost dark-sky sites is under threat. A rare combination of dry climate, altitude and low light pollution makes the Chilean desert an unrivaled hub for stargazing, astronomy and other science. But a battle over a proposed energy plant — plus other forms of industrialization and urbanization — is worrying scientists and dark-sky advocates. That comes amid a broader fight between stargazers and Big Tech, especially as companies like SpaceX launch massive satellite networks that catch flak for messing with humanity's views of the cosmos. Go deeper.

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🐶 1 for the road: Air buds

Ned (left) and Hercules at the West Virginia International Yeager Airport. Photo: Rich-Joseph Facun for The Washington Post via Getty Images Border collies named Hercules and Ned are keeping birds and other wildlife clear of West Virginia International Yeager Airport's runways, The Washington Post reports. Handler Chris Keyser tells the paper that bird strikes have fallen over 70% since the dogs started working at the field. Hercules takes a well-earned break. Photo: Rich-Joseph Facun for The Washington Post via Getty Images 🐕 Keyser says of the breed: "They are full of energy and they like doing their job, because they're herding dogs. It's born in them." Gift link.

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🏎️ 1 for the road: Fastest Apple ever

Photo: Porsche AG A pair of Porsche 963s competing at Laguna Seca Raceway in Salinas, Calif., this weekend will feature classic Apple rainbow designs. They're an homage to Porsche's racing team, which first sported Apple Computer colors back in 1980 — and a celebration of Porsche Motorsport's 75th and Apple's 50th anniversaries. 🐎 🌴 Two other big races are on this weekend's schedule: the Kentucky Derby and F1's Miami Grand Prix. Derby predictions ... Miami preview.

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One month out

Photo: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images The World Cup's first match — Mexico vs. South Africa — kicks off one month from today in Mexico City. The U.S. opens its World Cup campaign a day later against Paraguay in L.A. 🏟️ Pictured above: Workers install a grass field last week at MetLife Stadium (temporarily renamed New York New Jersey Stadium), where eight matches will be played — including the final. The Giants and Jets play on artificial turf. Photo: David J. Phillip/AP Above: Workers install the first layer of a new World Cup playing surface on Friday at Houston Stadium, where the Texans play. Full World Cup schedule.