Taylor Swift now stands alone in music history after winning her fourth Grammy for album of the year for Midnights last night, breaking a tie with Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon, and Stevie Wonder for the most all-time. She also reminded us of the work ethic that made her a billionaire—using an acceptance speech to announce a new album, The Tortured Poets Department, out in April.

Even beyond Swift, the Grammys were dominated by women artists. Miley Cyrus won her first Grammy for “Flowers,” Billie Eilish took home song of the year for “What Was I Made For?” and singer-songwriter Victoria Monét was awarded best new artist. SZA and Boygenius also had big nights.

The performances

Every meeting this morning will likely be delayed by 10 minutes with a discussion about the two goosebump-inducing performances by Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman.

• Mitchell—who won for best folk album—performed at the Grammys for the first time at the age of 80. It marked the latest step in a remarkable recovery after she suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015.
• The reclusive Chapman performed a duet of “Fast Car” with Luke Combs, whose cover of her 1988 Grammy-winning song has brought her newfound acclaim from a new generation.

The music industry has a “hangover”

The juggernaut that is Taylor Swift—her sales accounted for 2% of the entire US music business last year, which was more than the entire jazz and classical genres brought in—is the anomaly, not the trend. Following a wave of layoffs over the past year at companies like Spotify, one executive told the Financial Times that the industry is enduring a “hangover.”

AI and social media also threaten major disruption. The music of Universal Music Group’s artists—including big names like Drake, Lana Del Rey, and Ariana Grande—was removed from TikTok last week after the two parties failed to negotiate a new licensing deal. Universal bashed TikTok for allowing AI-generated music to spread, while TikTok countered that it provides unrivaled promotion of Universal’s artists to an audience of more than 1 billion users. Until one side blinks, TikTok users won’t be able to soundtrack their videos with Universal musicians, some of whom won Grammys on Sunday.

Go deeper: Here are more highlights from the show, including when Jay-Z blasted the Recording Academy for never awarding his wife, Beyoncé, album of the year.—DL, NF

Imagine a social network…without posts. Or a streaming service with no music. Kinda takes away the whole point, right? Let’s face it: Users, creators, and fans give the internet value.

In his book, Read Write Own, Chris Dixon explores a world where people have more ownership over the platforms they use every day. He envisions a more democratic internet, fueled by the power of blockchains.

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“Atmospheric rivers” soak California. California experienced what the National Weather Service called one of the “most dramatic weather days in recent memory” as heavy rains and winds lashed areas not accustomed to wet weather. Downtown Los Angeles is expected to receive over six inches of rain through Tuesday, which is nearly half its average annual rainfall. Officials said all that rain could bring potentially life-threatening flooding and mudslides to the region today. As of Monday morning, more than 900,000 residents had lost power, with the number expected to increase as rain and winds continue.

The US launched more air strikes against Iran-backed militias. US and British forces attacked 36 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, one day after the US struck 85 targets in Iraq and Syria. The Biden administration has stepped up direct military involvement in the Middle East in response to a drone attack that killed three American soldiers in Jordan last week and ongoing attacks by the Houthis against commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The US, UK, and other allies said their goal is to “de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea” through these acts of deterrence, but the Houthis do not appear to be deterred and have pledged to retaliate. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the strikes were just “the beginning” of its response.

New York (but really New Jersey) will host the 2026 World Cup Final. FIFA announced that MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, where the NFL’s Giants and Jets play, will be the site of the men’s championship match on July 19. AT&T Stadium in Dallas was believed to be the front-runner to host the final but will instead be the venue for nine matches, the most for one location in the tournament. The USMNT will play its three group-stage matches on the West Coast, with two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. The opening match of the tournament will be held in Mexico City, as Mexico is sharing hosting duties with the US and Canada.

Saturday marked one year since a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, spilling ~1 million gallons of toxic chemicals into local waterways, forcing residents to temporarily evacuate, and causing millions of dollars in economic losses.

The accident was supposed to serve as a wake-up call around rail safety, but a year later, not much has changed in regulating the industry. Congress has not passed a rail safety bill, and derailments by the biggest US railroads increased 13% in the first 10 months of 2023.

What about the Railway Safety Act? The month after the Norfolk Southern crash, a bipartisan Senate duo unveiled the Railway Safety Act to increase industry oversight and prevent other chemical spills. And although Norfolk Southern and its Big Rail competitors have said they’d cooperate with Congress on the bill, behind the scenes, they’ve been attempting to derail its core provisions through the industry’s powerful lobbying arm, the Washington Post reported.

In the absence of more regulation, Norfolk Southern said it made several changes on its own to reduce the likelihood of accidents.

Meanwhile, back in East Palestine…the mayor said “roughly 90 to 95% of [the damage] is cleaned up,” though some residents remain wary of the long-term health impacts.—NF

SCOTUS to decide if Trump can appear on 2024 ballots: The Supreme Court—which includes three justices appointed by Trump—will listen to arguments on Thursday over whether the former president can be excluded from ballots due to his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Trump is appealing a Colorado ruling that found he violated a clause in the 14th Amendment, which says an elected official cannot return to office after engaging in an insurrection. The court’s decision will effectively decide if Trump’s pursuit to reclaim the White House can continue, as 11 other states are challenging his eligibility.

Border bill vote: The Senate is expected to vote on a long-awaited bill, which was released yesterday, intended to dramatically reduce illegal crossings at the US–Mexico border by establishing a new asylum process. The bill would also send $118 billion in funds to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, humanitarian efforts, and the Southern border, with Ukraine receiving more than half ($60 billion) of the allocation. But the bill faces opposition from members of both parties, and House Speaker Mike Johnson said it was DOA if it made it to his chamber.

Another big earnings week: Whether you’re into cheeseburgers (McDonald’s), spending money to cut lines (Disney), hauling stuff in trucks (Ford), paying extra for guac (Chipotle), or paying extra for medicine (Eli Lilly), there’s an earnings report for you this week. A strong earnings season so far has helped push the major stock indexes to four straight weekly gains.

Everything else…

• On Friday, it’s National Pizza Day. Or, as some bosses call it around the office, Please Don’t Unionize Day.
• Lunar New Year begins on Saturday. Here are some gift ideas for celebrating the Year of the Dragon.
• And finally, as if you need a reminder about the big game, we’re here to ensure you know that Puppy Bowl XX takes place on Sunday.

Quote: “This can’t be legal, can it?”

That’s @Russell_AGI’s response to a video on X showing a person operating a Cybertruck while wearing an Apple Vision Pro. The device that made quite a few public appearances this weekend after early adopters bought the $3,500 gadget and showed it off in the wild.

• One daredevil strapped on the headset and got behind the wheel of a Tesla in a video that ended with police cars on the scene.
• A pedestrian wearing a headset was seen crossing an intersection that thankfully did not also include drivers in headsets barreling toward him.
• One NYC subway rider was either diligently getting work done or miming the piano portion of Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles.”

Stat: This may be the news story when AI ceases to become an existential threat and reveals itself as a tangible one. Hong Kong police said a finance employee was duped into giving $25 million of the company’s money to scam artists who used deepfake technology to pose as the firm’s UK-based CFO in a video call. Police said the worker was initially skeptical that he was the target of a nefarious phishing scheme but felt at ease when he saw the faces and heard the voices of colleagues...that were recreated using AI.

Read: The money and drugs that tie Elon Musk to some Tesla directors. (Wall Street Journal)

Get the word out: Try a new game involving letters and tiles.

Look: Is this McMansion heaven or McMansion hell?

Travel tip: Atlas Obscura’s 50 places to eat and drink before you die.

Book recs: Simon & Schuster celebrates 100 years of publishing by recommending 100 of its titles.

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