Tom Brady started a trend. No, not “having a bad haircut and getting famous anyway”...unretiring. Retired Americans are increasingly following in No. 12’s footsteps and calling a take back on their early exit from the workforce.

According to the Labor Department, the number of people aged 55+ either working or looking for work increased to 38.9% in March, from 38.4% in October. And nearly half a million people in that age bracket entered the labor force in the last six months.

These unretirees are probably less concerned with winning another Super Bowl than they are with keeping up with surging prices, though. In a Fed survey released yesterday, the American public’s expectations of inflation over the next year hit their highest level on record. For older folks who live on a more fixed income, it could be a signal to collect more paychecks.

A U-turn from early in the pandemic

Aside from everything else it did to the labor market, the pandemic caused a massive spike in early retirement. A combination of health concerns, a jump in asset values like homes, and a general “that’s enough of that” vibe drove around 2.6 million more Americans than expected to retire early between February 2020 and October 2021.

Then, as stimulus checks and unemployment dried up but labor shortages persisted, businesses began enticing workers back with perks like remote and flexible schedules, higher pay rates, and new head coaches. Plus, vaccines became available and health concerns declined.

And so, many retirees concluded that it was time to call their early retirement early and head back to work. According to an Indeed analysis, 2.8% of workers who were retired in January 2021 were back in the labor force a year later.—MK

Philadelphians will have to make like Gritty, and put their masks back on. Philly became the first major US city to reinstate an indoor mask mandate, due to an increase in cases from the Omicron subvariant BA.2. Also yesterday, the White House’s new Covid response coordinator said that the federal mask mandate for public transportation could be extended past its current expiration date of April 18.

Ukraine’s economy will shrink by nearly half. The war with Russia will cut Ukraine’s economy by 45% this year, the World Bank said on Sunday. The conflict has forced half of Ukrainian businesses to close, cut off ~90% of the country’s key grain exports, and made economic activity impossible in “large swaths of areas” due to destroyed infrastructure. The Russian economy is projected to decline 11.2% this year.

More Ukraine updates: Mariupol’s mayor said that more than 10,000 civilians were killed during Russia’s ongoing assault on the city (which remains, tenuously, in Ukrainian hands). Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and it did not go well. Nehammer said he had “no positive impression” of the chat and told Putin that sanctions would remain in place “as long as people continue to die in Ukraine.”

Barred from traveling to many international destinations last year, Americans decided that Paris, Texas, and Cairo, Illinois, would have to suffice.

And given the increase in domestic travel, eight of the top 10 busiest airports in the world in 2021 were located in the US, according to a new report from Airports Council International (ACI). Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson reclaimed the No. 1 spot it had held for 22 years, after being dethroned in 2020 by Guangzhou in China.

• Denver climbed to third last year from eighth in 2020 as more Americans tried to confirm whether the conspiracy theories are true.
• Orlando, which was 27th in 2020, rose to seventh place.
• Charlotte, the American Airlines hub, jumped from 34th place in 2019 to sixth.

While leisure destinations in the US became more popular during Covid, hubs connecting international travelers lost out. Previous top 10 list mainstays such as Dubai, London Heathrow, and Paris Charles de Gaulle have been unusually quiet in the past two years.

Big picture: In 2021, the number of air travelers globally rebounded 25% from 2020, but still came in at just 50% of 2019 levels. Passenger levels aren’t expected to return to pre-Covid figures until 2024, per ACI.

Stat: Endangered Species Act but for Kmarts. Once the store in Avenel, NJ, closes its doors on April 16, there will only be three Kmart locations remaining in the entire US. Founded just a few months before Walmart in 1962, the big-box retailer once had over 2,000 locations.

Quote: “We’ve learned over time that these feelings can go beyond a simple like or dislike.”

Netflix just discovered emotion. The company is now allowing users to give a double thumbs up on content in order to better train its recommendation engine on the stuff you most enjoy. Netflix also took inspo from an SNL sketch and introduced a new “Short-Ass Movies” category full of flicks that last 100 minutes or less.

Watch: John Oliver explains the online data broker industry and blackmails Congress with their own data. (HBO)

Wii Sports, the 2006 hit game that sold 82 million copies, has a younger sibling that appears to be way cooler and much more online. Nintendo Switch Sports, which will be released April 29, is earning solid reviews for its vibrant visuals and stylish avatars that leave the OG Miis in the dust.

The $49.99 jump-around-your-apartment title features six mini-games: tennis, badminton, volleyball, bowling, soccer, and chambara sword dueling, all of which take place in vividly depicted venues (golf is expected to be added later this year).

Big picture: Nintendo Switch Sports is part of Nintendo’s push into online gameplay. The sequel offers many more multiplayer options than its predecessor, plus, most of the avatar merch and apparel can only be unlocked by players who use the premium online subscription service, Nintendo Switch Online.—MM

This will make you feel small: Take a tour of the Milky Way.

What lockdown in China is actually like: This video compiles 100+ video clips from social media platforms documenting Shanghai’s current lockdown.

Tech tip Tuesday: Last week Google released a “multisearch” feature that allows you to search using text and images at the same time. Learn more.

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Brew mini: “Muscular, in slang” (five letters) is probably our favorite clue in today’s Mini. See if you can solve the entire puzzle here.

Fun with geography

Only five countries in the world have one-syllable names (in English). Can you name them?