Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu sacked his defense minister yesterday, sparking large-scale protests and escalating a crisis that’s now freezing much of its economy.

The country’s largest trade union group, which represents almost 800,000 workers across a range of industries, announced a strike, halting departures at Ben Gurion Airport and leaving some hospitals with reduced staff. The country’s research universities are also suspending classes indefinitely beginning today.

How we got here

Israelis have been staging mass protests for months against the hard-right coalition government’s plan to overhaul a judiciary that it claims has become too interventionist. Critics say this proposal, which gives the coalition government the final word over judicial appointments, would weaken Israel’s checks and balances and erode its democracy.

And there are a lot of critics—including military reservists in elite units who said they wouldn’t show up for duty. That prompted so much alarm in military circles that on Saturday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a senior member of Netanyahu’s political party, publicly called on the government to delay its overhaul.

The plan presents “a clear and immediate and tangible danger to the security of the state—I shall not be a party to this,” Gallant said. Netanyahu fired him the next day.

Political crisis is not good for business

You typically don’t see corporate elites hitting the streets to demonstrate, but that’s been happening in Israel as the business community warns that the judiciary reforms would severely damage the country’s economy—specifically its vaunted high-tech sector.

Israel has prided itself as the “startup nation” thanks to its world-famous tech ecosystem that churns out unicorns. But many business leaders—from major bank CEOs to startup founders—argue that the government’s judiciary plans would weaken Israel’s legal institutions, potentially lead to a credit rating downgrade, and dry up the foreign investment upon which these startups depend. An estimated 90% of the high-tech sector is funded by investors outside of Israel, per The Guardian.

The plan has even attracted critics in the US. More than 50 leading economists at American universities wrote a letter to Netanyahu stressing how an independent judiciary is critical to economic growth. They said his overhaul is “detrimental” to the economic cause.

Looking ahead…all eyes are on Netanyahu’s next move.

Deadly tornado strikes Mississippi. At least 26 people were killed when a powerful tornado tore through parts of Alabama and west-central Mississippi on Friday night, leveling the town of Rolling Fork and causing widespread damage along its 59-mile path. President Biden declared a major disaster and made federal funding available for rebuilding efforts in one of the country’s poorest regions. To get a sense of how harrowing this Mississippi twister was, watch one meteorologist say a prayer on air as he tracked the tornado on Friday. Here’s how you can help with the recovery.

SVB was finally sold. Well, at least a large chunk of it. First Citizens BancShares, a Raleigh-based regional bank, is scooping up SVB’s deposits, loans, and 17 branches that will reopen today under new ownership. About $90 billion of SVB’s assets will remain with the FDIC, which took control of SVB following its epic collapse over two weeks ago. The sale is meant to “instill confidence in the banking system,” the CEO of First Citizens said, and it seems to be working for now: Regional lenders like First Republic Bank are surging premarket.

The Final Four no one predicted. Florida Atlantic University, UConn, San Diego State, and Miami punched their ticket to Houston this weekend, setting up an underdog-heavy battle for the men’s college basketball championship. On the women’s side, the Final Four will be solidified tonight, but one legendary team won’t be in the mix: UConn got bounced and won’t be in the Final Four for the first time since 2007.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has emerged as a Hero of the People after he tangled with infuriated lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week.

On Wall Street, the verdict was damning: One tech analyst called the hearing, in which lawmakers berated Chew for about five hours, a “disaster” for TikTok that will only accelerate a ban in the US or a forced sale by Chinese parent company ByteDance.

But TikTok users watching the hearing saw something completely different: a sympathetic figure being unfairly singled out by tech-illiterate, disrespectful politicians.

Almost immediately after the hearing, videos making fun of lawmakers and hailing Chew’s “I’m him” performance went viral on TikTok. Most of the tributes have been thirst traps commenting on Chew’s looks—“TikTok Zaddy fighting for us,” one user wrote, and another commented, “Yall fr simping for the CEO of TikTok,” Business Insider reported.

Why it matters: The backlash to lawmakers’ treatment of Chew could make a ban even more politically toxic. TikTok reported that 150 million Americans use the app monthly, equivalent to 45% of the US population. And those who do use TikTok are far less likely to support a ban than non-TikTok users. According to a Washington Post survey, 54% of daily TikTok users oppose a ban, while 54% of respondents who hadn’t used TikTok in the past month support a ban.

Trump indictment possible: Former President Trump’s prediction that he would be arrested last Tuesday did not come to pass. But the threat isn’t over—the grand jury investigating Trump over hush-money payments will reconvene on Monday and potentially vote to indict him this week.

Inflation data coming in hot: The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures price index, will be released on Friday, and it’s expected to show that prices continued to rise at a brisk pace last month.

Sports! The women’s Final Four begins on Friday, the men tip off on Saturday, and baseball is back—MLB’s Opening Day is on Thursday.

Everything else…

• The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank on Tuesday.
• April Fool’s Day is Saturday.
• Twitter will remove all “legacy” blue checkmarks on Saturday to encourage users to pay for Twitter Blue. For my checkmark’s sake, hopefully that’s just a prank.

Stat: If you thought changing the clocks for daylight saving time was annoying, try living in a country with two competing time zones. People in Lebanon woke up to that reality on Sunday after caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati delayed a clock change until the end of Ramadan. However, private institutions like TV stations and businesses are not abiding by it. So, some folks in Lebanon are living in this Twilight Zone where they’ve got two meetings one hour apart that actually take place at the same time.

Quote: “I am thrilled to be back in China.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook was all smiles in Beijing, where he spoke at an economic summit about his company’s symbiotic relationship with China. You can’t help but contrast Cook’s warm welcome in China (customers even gave him a round of applause when he entered an Apple store) with the harsh reception US lawmakers gave TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew last week. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is based in Beijing.

Watch: Learn about the crime that created the modern internet. (Morning Brew’s YouTube)

One of history’s greatest brainstorms: George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Larry Kasdan flesh out Raiders of the Lost Ark.

A+ data viz: The design tricks that made Dark Sky a masterpiece of a weather app.

Any EDM fans? Test your knowledge of electronic music’s subgenres.

Is social media bad for kids’ mental health? This article argues the evidence is weak.

Shop smarter: Credit card rewards are great, but what if you could 2X them? Well, with Kudos you can! It’s free and easy to use—earn more and double your rewards with Kudos today.*

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Finance bros are out, rich girls are in. Katie Gatti knows about money and is here to help you manifest your financial freedom. Join Katie and her guests as they talk about spending habits, smart investing, and tax strategies—without putting you to sleep. Check out some of her most popular episodes:

• Think you might owe the IRS in April? Here are 3 easy ways to lower your tax bill.
• Where’s the millennial middle class?
• Upgrading your lifestyle: realistic, targeted financial goal-setting.

This editorial content is supported by TaxAct.

Turntable: Can you find the 38 words hidden in the Turntable jumble? Find out here.

State flags trivia

Last week, Utah’s governor signed a bill to establish a new state flag with a fresh design.

Can you identify the following states by their flags? (Utah’s new design is one of them.)

Time is running out to learn how to tell your boss your idea is actually better. Difficult Conversations at Work starts tonight, so grab your spot by noon ET.

There’s zero chance you’ll want to skip IT Brew’s analysis of how you can prevent zero-day attacks.

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