An Ignoble Experiment: The 7: A big day at the Supreme Court; the debate over covid-19’s origins; cautionary findings about a popular artificial sweetener; and more

Good morning. It's Tuesday, Feb. 28, and we're looking at these stunning photos of the northern lights from this weekend. Now let's get to the news.

At stake: More than 40 million people could have up to $20,000 of their federal student debt canceled. Millions have already applied.
The cases before the court: One argues that Biden doesn't have the authority to grant such broad forgiveness; another says the administration violated federal procedures.
What to watch: Today's arguments will give a sense of how justices are leaning. The court's conservative majority has generally been skeptical about the power of federal agencies.

What to know: A new analysis prompted the Energy Department recently to say with "low confidence" that it believes a lab accident in China probably started the coronavirus pandemic.
Why it matters: The report has reignited debate over the origins of covid-19, although there's no widespread agreement, even among U.S. intelligence agencies. The other primary theory is that the virus spread naturally from animals.

What to know: The chairman of Fox News's parent company also said that he wished the network had done more to challenge false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Where he said this: In testimony, made public yesterday, tied to election tech company Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit against Fox News.

The latest: Israeli settlers carried out a deadly, destructive rampage in Palestinian towns on Sunday night. It came hours after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israelis.
What's driving this? Israel elected the most right-wing government in its history late last year. Since then, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 61 Palestinians.

The data: Nearly 30 million Americans across 18 states will face new threats from these damaging winds by 2035, a Post analysis found. Search the data for your Zip code here.
Why is this happening? Climate change. Warming temperatures are helping to create more powerful storms, on average, and causing hurricanes to track farther north.

Which sweetener? Erythritol, which is pitched as a healthy, natural sugar substitute and used in many low-calorie, low-carb and keto products.
The research: The findings came from a study of more than 4,000 people. However, this group had a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease already, so experts say more research is necessary.

What's going on? The company had been looking for a sailor from Dominica who survived 24 days lost at sea with little more than a bottle of ketchup to keep him alive.
The latest: Heinz said yesterday that it had finally found the sailor, Elvis Francois. The company plans to buy him a new boat with full navigational technology.

You're all caught up. See you tomorrow.

But before you go … The Post just launched On the Record, a daily news quiz. Play it every day and earn points throughout the week. Try it here.