Plus: Poppi sells for $2 billion to Pepsi & the President challenges Biden's pardons

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Good evening,

It’s THAT time of year 🏀… March Madness brackets! Even for the non-basketball enthusiasts here (🙋🏻‍♀️ me), brackets are always a good excuse to rally around your alma mater, hometown team, or bond with friends/family.

Here at Mo News, we want our community to join the fun, so we’re hosting our own brackets for BOTH the women’s and men’s tournaments.
The winner will receive a $100 Amazon gift card, a year of Mo News premium, AND endless bragging rights! Second place gets a year of premium. Third place gets a $25 Mo News merch credit.
⏰ Brackets close around Thursday at noon.

To play, you need to be a Mo News premium member — which you can join for $9/month or $100/year at mo.news/premium. For all of our members, check your email inbox or on the premium IG page to join.

May the odds be ever in your favor!

Lauren
Producer

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🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Trump Administration Defiantly Pushes Back On Judge’s Order To Halt Deportations Under 200-Year Law

This is hitting your inbox a little later tonight because we wanted to update you on a 5 p.m. court hearing regarding President Trump’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. In a rare move, Trump invoked the act over the weekend to deport hundreds of Venezuelan men with alleged gang ties from the U.S. to El Salvador.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg called the hearing to find out whether or not the government defied his court order to halt deportation flights Saturday night. Judge Baosberg asked the Justice Department lawyer to give details on the timing of Saturday’s flights, as well as what authority the government had to remove these people.
- The DOJ lawyer refused to answer with any specifics, repeating a White House talking point that the flights to El Salvador took off after the judge's written order came down and therefore were not in violation of it.
The Trump administration also said that the judge only gave a verbal order to turn around the planes — and didn’t put it in writing — so they believe they were not required to comply. The judge wasn’t having it, reasserting that they are bound by his written and verbal orders.
- In sum: The proceeding turned into a fight between a judge asserting his powers, and Department of Justice lawyers arguing that they believe there are limits to his authority.

On Friday, the same parties will be back in court to argue about the legality of Trump’s executive order itself.

CATCH UP
Trump announced he was using the Alien Enemies Act to deport nearly 300 detained migrants over the weekend. Hours later, Judge Boasberg — an Obama appointee — put a temporary restraining order on the move, until he could determine if it was constitutional for Trump to invoke the act.

What is the Alien Enemies Act? It was signed into law by President John Adams back in 1798 and grants the president authority to deport non-citizens during times of war or “invasion”, without giving them the opportunity to go before an immigration or federal court judge. It has not been used since World War II — when FDR used it to create Japanese internment camps.
Trump said he called on the law because the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, is a “hybrid criminal state” invading the U.S. that is supported by the Venezuelan regime.
- A White House official said 137 of the 261 people deported to El Salvador were deported under the Alien Enemies Act.
White House officials argue that they did not defy the judge’s order to halt deportations, claiming that the deportees were over international waters by the time the judge made that ruling around 7 p.m. Saturday, and therefore it didn't apply.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele on Sunday posted a video showing soldiers leading deportees into the country's mega-prisons. He also posted a headline about the judge’s orders with the caption: “Oopsie… Too late.”

THE PRISONERS
El Salvador’s president has agreed to take U.S. prisoners in exchange for money — the U.S. is paying the country about $6 million dollars to take in the latest prisoners ($20,000 per person).

While many of the deportees were accused of violent crimes – like kidnapping, sexual abuse of a child, aggravated assault, and prostitution – some of their lawyers reject that they are gang members, which is the Trump administration’s justification for using the wartime authority.
- A lawyer for one of the deportees said her client is an LGBT artist from Venezuela who was targeted by ICE because of “benign” tattoos.

🚨 ONE OTHER THING THAT COULD GO TO THE COURTS

Trump Claims Biden's Final Pardons Are "VOID" Because They Were Signed Via Autopen

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Monday that former President Joe Biden’s preemptive pardons, signed with an autopen instead of a physical pen, were “VOID, VACANT,” and unenforceable.

Trump also claimed Biden did not personally authorize the pardons for lawmakers on the Jan. 6 committee during one of his final acts in office. The White House hasn’t yet offered evidence that Biden “did not know anything about them,” as Trump suggests.

THE HISTORY OF AUTOPENS
Autopens – devices that mechanically reproduce a person's signature – have been used by many former presidents, who sign huge volumes of documents.

President Harry Truman first used an autopen, followed by several other presidents like John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan.
They were legally approved for official document signing in 2005 under President George W. Bush’s Justice Department.

PARDON POWER
U.S. presidents have a unique power to issue pardons under the U.S. Constitution, and courts have been reluctant to limit that authority. There is no specificity on what type of pen must be used – and a federal appeals court last year said that a presidential pardon does not even have to be in writing. There is also no precedent for a president to revoke his predecessors’ pardons.

On Jan. 20, Biden announced the pardons of "General Mark A. Milley, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee" as he was leaving office. Several members of Biden’s family also received preemptive pardons.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who was in the group of lawmakers on the Jan. 6 committee, had some choice words in response to Trump:

🚨 ONE THING FOR THE MARKETS

Pepsi Expands Into Healthier Brands With Nearly $2 Billion Poppi Acquisition

PepsiCo announced it plans to buy Poppi, the prebiotic soda brand, for nearly $2 billion.

It comes as the company has moved to diversify its offerings by acquiring healthier brands like Siete Foods for $1.2 billion and the remaining 50% stake in Sabra Dipping Co.

MONEY MOVES
Pepsi reportedly canceled its original plans to create a soda alternative, after internal evaluations suggested the product might not succeed. Acquiring Poppi — which is made from apple cider vinegar, prebiotics, and contain just five grams of sugar — will allow it to tap into the brand’s already-established consumer base. This follows Coca-Cola’s recent launch of its own prebiotic soda brand called Simply Pop.

In 2023, Poppi’s annual sales reportedly crossed $100 million. Just five years before, the company’s founders pitched the idea on “Shark Tank” (under another name), where it won an investment and underwent a major rebrand.

Mo’ Context: The company has faced backlash regarding its health claims and was involved in a class action lawsuit that alleged its drinks are not as healthy as advertised.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Deported Brown University professor had ‘sympathetic photos’ of Hezbollah leaders on her phone, DOJ says (POLITICO)

📌 At least 40 killed as dozens of tornadoes, storms swept the country over the weekend (NBC)

📌 Trump to release remaining classified JFK assassination files Tuesday (MO NEWS)

📌 Sen. Chuck Schumer's book tour postponed amid funding vote controversy (ABC)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 From France comes a call for Trump’s America to return Lady Liberty. Here’s why it won’t happen (AP)

📌 Trump says Iran will suffer 'dire' consequences for any more Houthi attacks (ABC)

📌 Popular singer shot dead by hitmen in Peru, prompting state of emergency in capital over extortion killings (CBS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Harvard says tuition will be free for families making $200K or less (ABC)

📌 NASA astronauts stuck in space are set to depart space station Tuesday (NBC)

📌 Forever 21 to close all U.S. stores, files for bankruptcy again (MO NEWS)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Justin Bieber is 'drowning,' feels 'unsafe' to acknowledge the hate he feels (FOX)

📌 Deadline looms for Homeland Security to release Harry's US visa records (BBC)

📌 Conan O’Brien to return as Oscars host for 2026 awards ceremony (GUARDIAN)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… The Denver Zoo has a new giraffe — and we can help name him! Born March 7, after 444 days growing in his mom and a three-and-a-half-hour labor, the zoo says both calf and mom are doing great (see livestream above).

You can vote HERE on the baby’s name. It’s $5/vote, but helps support the zoo’s conservation work!

The options:

Dagg: In honor of late giraffe researcher, Dr. Anne Innis Dagg.
Thorn: Named after giraffe’s favorite woody food!
Kujali: Meaning “to care” in the eastern African language, Swahili.