A shooter opened fire during morning Mass at a Catholic school in South Minneapolis Wednesday morning, killing two children and injuring 18 other worshippers.
The latest: The children killed in the shooting were identified by their families on Thursday as Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10.
Over 90% of all bitcoins in existence are worth more today than when their owner bought them, but there's one group that complains that they've only incurred costs, not benefits: the neighbors of Bitcoin mines.
Why it matters: One Texas community has sought to pull a bitcoin mine into a new local municipality, which should give its neighbors the leverage to impose restrictions on noise.
The bond market served as a check on the Trump administration in April, when its sharp reaction forced a change in tariff policies. But bond investors seem asleep at the wheel after President Trump's firing of Fed governor Lisa Cook.
Why it matters: The muted reaction could be a sign that bond investors are pricing in an environment where Trump policies don't stick.
Sycamore Partners completed its $23.7 billion takeover of Walgeens Boots Alliance, whose shares no longer will trade on the Nasdaq.
Why it matters: One of the nation's largest pharmacy chains is now owned by a private equity firm with no health care experience, as Sycamore has focused exclusively on retail.
Some communications teams are taking it upon themselves to create AI solutions tailored to their specific workflows.
Why it matters: These tools automate a lot of the comms grunt work, creating more time for the team to focus on tasks and strategies that can drive the business forward.
President Trump fired Robert Primus, a member of the railroad regulatory board set to consider Union Pacific's proposed $85 billion merger with Norfolk Southern.
Why it matters: The Democrat was the only Surface Transportation Board member to oppose Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern's merger in 2023.
An AI-driven private school is opening this fall in Northern Virginia, one of eight new campuses Texas-based Alpha Schools has in the works to double its U.S. footprint.
Why it matters: Alpha Schools is riding the parental school choice movement while embracing the technology that will shape kids' futures — a challenge public schools are grappling with.
How it works: At Alpha Schools, students spend no more than two hours a day on core academics, then devote the rest of the day to developing life skills.
AI models generate personalized learning plans for students, who then learn on third-party apps like Synthesis Tutor and Math Academy, as well as Alpha Schools' own programs. Each subject is taught in 25-minute sessions, with short breaks in between.
Founder MacKenzie Price tells Axios that Alpha Schools can ensure students master concepts before new material is introduced.
Instead of teachers, the schools employ "guides," who start at $100,000 a year. They don't create lesson plans or lectures. Think of them more like coaches, who work to motivate students and come from a range of backgrounds, from tech to law.
Zoom in: For $65,000, NoVa K-3 students will get 60-90 minutes of outdoor play, in addition to the two hours of personalized learning and development of life skills like "entrepreneurship" and "grit and hard work," per its website.
The school is hosting info sessions for parents who want want one of 25 slots at the school's Chantilly location, near Dulles International Airport, the Washington Post reports.
The Virginia school is opening inside a Guidepost Montessori location and will operate alongside that school, per Washington Business Journal.
Alpha Schools struck a deal last month to acquire some assets from Guidepost's parent company, Higher Ground Education. Guidepost shuttered multiple campuses last year, including in Chesterfield and Virginia Beach.
Zoom out: Alpha School, which say it avoids political and social issues, is gaining more national attention, boosted by the support of billionaire Bill Ackman, a known critic of DEI.
Price says the anti-DEI movement was not a driving factor behind the school's inception, although her disappointment in her daughter's public education was.
She is a supporter of school choice, though, the Post reports. In the last two years she or entities tied to her donated more than $2 million to Republicans and PACs who support alternative school options.
That incudes $1 million to Gov. Glenn Youngkin's PAC in 2023 shortly after he toured an Alpha School in Austin.
What's next: Besides Chantilly, Alpha will launch this fall in Santa Barbara, Calif.; New York City; and Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C., before expanding to Houston, Tampa and Puerto Rico.
France, Germany, and the U.K. sent a letter Thursday morning to members of the UN Security Council announcing they are triggering the "snapback" mechanism to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran, which had been suspended under the 2015 nuclear deal.
Why it matters: In the letter, the three European powers emphasized that during the next 30 days — before the sanctions take effect — they are open to negotiations with Iran on a nuclear agreement that could halt the process.
Here's what's new on Apple TV+, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Hulu.
What we're watching: A new music show where K-pop stars team up with American acts; a star-studded movie about retiree amateur sleuths; and the final season of "Upload."
Nvidia, the biggest company in the world by market cap, reported world-beating results Wednesday evening. But export controls to China dampened its data center revenue, and that's making investors nervous.
Why it matters: Nvidia is caught in the middle of a Trump trade war that could impact its earnings growth and the trajectory of the entire stock market.
Support for labor unions among Republicans declined this year, finds a Gallup survey out Thursday morning.
Why it matters: The party traditionally opposed organized labor, but in recent years had been moving in a different direction — with the Trump campaign actively courting the union vote last year.
Trump administration tariffs on India would halve "if it stops buying Russian oil and helping to feed the war machine" in Ukraine, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Wednesday.
Why it matters: India's tariffs doubled to 50% on Wednesday, but the key U.S. trading partner is showing no signs of backing down, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging citizens to buy Indian-made and his senior officials meeting with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin last week.
