American women are having fewer babies, and that's become a political issue for many conservative advocates and lawmakers — Elon Musk called the falling birth rate "the biggest danger civilization faces."
Why it matters: Barring an increase in immigration, the record low birth rate threatens future economic growth — but there's little evidence that politics or public policy could meaningfully reverse the trend.
Disney and DirecTV on Saturday announced a new carriage deal in principle, ending a nearly two-week-long blackout of popular Disney channels, such as ABC and ESPN, for DirecTV's roughly 11 million satellite customers nationwide.
Why it matters: The agreement comes a day ahead of the 76th annual Emmy Awards, which are being aired Sunday night on ABC.
State of play: The Intuit tax software provider is closing the chapter on the once-ubiquitous CD-ROMs that customers used to process their returns every year, Axios has learned.
"It is important to clarify that while we are no longer offering CDs, we are NOT discontinuing the software," spokesperson Karen Nolan tells Axios in an email. "The software itself is still available, as always, just through download only (which is how most customers are installing now)."
💿 Nolan said she could not say how many customers were still using TurboTax CDs.
💭 Nathan's thought bubble: I'm getting nostalgic thinking about the old era of CD-ROM-based computer games. Those were the days.
Boeing's turnaround effort suffered another setback today as thousands of workers walked off the job after overwhelmingly rejecting a contract offer.
Why it matters: A prolonged strike could cost Boeing billions — not ideal for a company sitting on a $45 billion debt pile, already struggling to ramp up production and repair a battered reputation.
Brazil's top judge lifted restrictions on the bank accounts of Elon Musk's Starlink and X on Friday after more than $3 million dollars in fines were transferred, multipleoutlets reported.
The big picture: It's the latest in the standoff over misinformation vs. freedom of speech between Musk and Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who the billionaire has accused of acting as a "dictator" for suspending his social media platform in Latin America's most populous nation.
Former President Trump on Friday said he "is not going to sell" his shares in the parent company of Truth Social.
Why it matters: Trump is just days away from the expiration of a "lockup" provision on the shares, which was put in place when it went public back in March.
Vista Outdoors said the Czech bidder pursuing its ammunition unit for $2.15 billion has agreed to buy a 7.5% stake in the company's outdoor products division, in a sweetened offer to fend off a rival.
Why it matters: The Czechoslovak Group's revised offer puts the pressure back on MNC Capital and the investment firm's own effort to strike a deal to buy the company.
German national railroad operator Deutsche Bahn today announced that it will sell its logistics business, DB Schenker, to Danish transport company DSV for €14.3 billion. The losing bidder was CVC Capital Partners.
Why it matters: This was a Bizarro World sort of process, leaving confusion in its wake.
China's benchmark CSI 300 index is now at its lowest point since January 2019 — almost 50% below its 2007 high.
Why it matters: The stock market slump reflects that Chinese consumers still aren't spending, as the country's housing slump continues to infect the broader economy.
Thousands of Boeing workers walked off the job Friday after members of the aircraft maker's biggest union overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer late Thursday and voted to strike.
An original printed copy of the U.S. Constitution that was signed in 1787 and discovered inside an old filing cabinet in North Carolina is expected to fetch millions of dollars at auction this month.
Why it matters: This rare document that's signed by Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson "is one of only eight known surviving signed ratification copies of the United States Constitution, and the only known in private hands," per a statement from auctioneer Brunk Auctions.
Montanans are expected to be the most expensive Senate votes in history this year — and they will likely decide whether Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) remains majority leader.
Why it matters: Democrats are pacing ahead in ad spending in the race, but recent polling has Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) trailing Republican challenger Tim Sheehy.
Former President Trump said during a campaign rally Thursday that he will cut taxes on overtime pay if he is re-elected.
The big picture: The move is the latest in a series of sweeping tax cuts Trump has proposed to target working people in the months before the 2024 election.
