Lawsuit Alleges Girl Scout Cookies Are Dangerous

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In Today’s Brief

• NASA: Mission delayed

• Greenland: Surprise results

• Senate: Shutdown odds

• Inflation: Cool report

• Spinal Tap 2: Release date

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1) Scout's dishonor?

A lawsuit says an iconic treat is dangerous.

• The news: A New York woman is suing Girl Scouts of the USA, claiming its popular cookies are contaminated with heavy metals. The lawsuit is a $5M class-action complaint against the Girl Scouts and their manufacturers.

• The details: Plaintiff Amy Mayo says a 2024 study determined "100% of the products contained at least four out of five heavy metals" and other "extremely problematic" results. Cookies that were distributed in different parts of the country were examined; aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury are among the named metals. The lawsuit also claims there are pesticides in the cookies.

• Big picture: The lawsuit claims the Girl Scouts sell $1B worth of cookies annually. The organization said its cookies are safe. The FDA and USDA allow non-harmful, naturally-occurring levels of metals and pesticides into foods.

2) Still looking

There are new developments in the disappearance of a woman on a spring break vacation.

• Catch up: Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student, went missing in the Dominican Republic on March 6. She is an Indian citizen and a permanent U.S. resident residing in Virginia. She was last seen on surveillance footage walking on a resort beach around 5 a.m. local time after drinking with a group of people. 

• More details: Dominican officials said earlier this week they believed Konanki died by drowning, but her body has not been recovered at this point. They also said they had spoken to a man who was apparently the last to see her before she went missing. That man was said to be cooperating, but his story had reportedly changed several times and cops had not ruled out treating him as a suspect.

• The news: Officials in Loudoun County -- where Konanki lives -- named a U.S. citizen they said is now considered a "person of interest." That man has reportedly sat down with American officials, but is not considered a suspect given there is no evidence of a crime. It is not clear if he is the same person Dominican officials referred to.

3) School's out

President Donald Trump is making his moves on the Education Department.

• The news: Plans to fire roughly 50% of the agency's 4.2K employees have been put into action. Building leases have also been terminated in several cities. The cuts come after earlier reports Trump was on the verge of signing an executive order to abolish the department.

• Catch up: Trump has previously vowed to shut down the department and return its functions to the states, calling it "a big con job." DOE has only been a Cabinet-level standalone entity since 1979 and there have been past efforts to eliminate it. But Congress ultimately will have the final say.

• Big picture: DOE supporters claim the department's funding is invaluable for many school districts nationwide. It also oversees student loans, support for special needs students and other matters. But Trump and his supporters argue it does nothing each state cannot administer itself.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

• The SpaceX mission to bring home two marooned NASA astronauts was delayed due to a mechanical issue. A new launch date has not been set; Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been at the International Space Station since last summer (More)

• Erik and Lyle Menendez will appear before the California Parole Board in June. The brothers, who killed their parents in 1989, are not eligible for parole; the hearing could set the stage for Gov. Gavin Newsom or the state's Superior Court to release them from prison via several pathways (More)

• A county in Washington state was sued for assisting federal immigration officials. The state attorney general alleges Adams County violated state law by holding people in custody based on their immigration status (More)

World News

• The Demokraatit Party scored a surprise victory in Greenland's parliamentary elections. The center-right group supports gradual independence from Denmark and has criticized President Trump's push to join the U.S. (More)

• At least 21 hostages were killed in a train siege in Pakistan. Government forces have regained control after the attack by separatist rebels in Balochistan province; hundreds of hostages were safely freed (More)

• Australian police believe an arrested suspect helmed several antisemitic attacks in Sydney. There have been a wave of incidents in the country since the start of the Gaza war; officials believe a foreign actor may be orchestrating the crimes (More)

Political News

• Senate Democrats will not support the House's government spending bill, increasing the odds of a shutdown tomorrow. Senate Republicans likely need eight Democratic votes to advance the legislation; Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is pushing an alternate continuing resolution (More | More)

• New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen will not seek re-election next year. The 78-year-old Democrat has served three terms; the seat is expected to be competitive amid speculation popular former Republican Gov. Chris Sununu could run (More)

• Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will conduct a national town hall tour in Republican-held Congressional districts. The former Democratic vice presidential candidate has not ruled out a 2028 presidential bid (More)

Business & Markets

• Major indexes closed mixed yesterday. Inflation fell to a better-than-expected 2.8% YoY in February (Dow -0.20%, Nasdaq +1.22%, S&P 500 +0.49% | More)

• Canada and the European Union levied retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. in response to President Trump's 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel. United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not rule out his own counter (More | More | More)

• The Federal Trade Commission will proceed with its antitrust investigation into Microsoft. The Biden Administration launched the wide-ranging probe; the decision signals the Trump Administration plans to scrutinize tech giants (More) 

Entertainment & Sports

• Spinal Tap II: The End Continues will hit theaters on Sept. 12, over 31 years after the original mockumentary debuted. Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink has been signed to Spider-Man 4, which will be released in 2026 (More | More)

• The Pokemon Go creator sold its video games division to a Saudi Arabia-based firm for $3.5M. Niantic Labs has been unable to replicate the success of the 2016 game and will focus on geospatial technology (More) 

• Brooks Koepka said he plans to finish his LIV Golf League contract. The comments came amid speculation the five-time major tournament winner wants to bolt the breakaway circuit and return to the PGA Tour (More)

Quick Hitters

• Feel Good: A Swiss man was reunited with his dogs after they were dognapped from his Zurich home and held for ransom. The pooches were rescued in Poland after officials in both nations identified the suspects.

• Precautionary Measure: A global seed vault in Norway holds specimen samples in the event of a disaster that threatens crop diversity. Over 100K seeds native to Africa were recently added to the repository.

• Go Deep: Can someone fundamentally change their personality? A new book probes the impacts of tweaking one's existence in pursuit of personal improvement.

• Medical Breakthrough: An Australian man lived for 100 days with a titanium artificial heart, a new record. He has since received an organ transplant.

• Life Hack: This may be niche advice, but it is a growing issue worldwide. Here are some tips on ensuring an expensive work of art is the real deal and not a sophisticated fake.

Watch This

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Looking Ahead …

Amazon, Google and Meta said they will support tripling nuclear power worldwide by 2050. The tech giants have signed onto the non-binding Large Energy Users Pledge.

Question of the Day

Yesterday’s results:

What is the best St. Patrick's Day food?

• Corned beef and cabbage (56%)

• Shepherd's pie (23%)

• Green beer (8%)

• Soda bread (7%)

• Whiskey (4%)

• Other (2%)