The Justice Department said Friday it was releasing the final tranche of Epstein files after a lengthy review, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters at a news conference.
Why it matters: With the release, Blanche said the DOJ's obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act will be completed — more than a month after the congressionally mandated deadline for the department to vet and release materials related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
OnlyFans, a U.K.-based subscription platform that connects creators directly to fans, is in talks to sell a majority stake to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm with a focus on tech companies, sources confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: The deal would value OnlyFans at around $5.5 billion, making it worth more than other creator subscription platforms like Substack and Patreon.
Gold and silver prices cratered Friday after President Trump named Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, following months of gains driven in no small part by fears over the central bank's independence.
The big picture: The selloff follows a year when the precious metals soared as if they were meme stocks or the hot new tech darling. Today's plunge was seen by many market analysts as an inevitable move for an asset class primed to retreat, with the Fed news merely a catalyst.
CEOs and some White House critics praised President Trump's pick of Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve — even as key lawmakers signal potential hurdles to confirmation.
Why it matters: Economists feared Trump would install a loyalist to push down interest rates, but tapping former Fed official Kevin Warsh — viewed as a credible policymaker by Republicans and business leaders — has eased those concerns, at least somewhat.
San Francisco may be 49ers territory, but on Super Bowl Sunday, pockets of the city will sound like Seattle and New England.
Why it matters: In a city packed with transplants, neighborhood sports bars have become cultural outposts — places where fans keep hometown loyalties alive thousands of miles from home.
As the Trump administration ramps up federal immigration enforcement, experts say children across the country may be absorbing the fear and uncertainty of ICE operations — even when they don't understand all the details.
Why it matters: Experiencing traumatic events in childhood can create lasting physical and mental health challenges that extend into adulthood, Sita Patel, a clinical psychology professor at Palo Alto University tells Axios.
ICE Out protests have prompted Main Street businesses across the country to close in solidarity, but the boycotts have yet to reach the registers of America's biggest retailers.
Why it matters: The lack of impact on major retailers so far underscores the limits of protest-driven economic pressure — even as businesses brace for potential disruptions tied to Friday's action.
Anthropic is launching plugins for Cowork, its enterprise product built around Claude, according to materials shared with Axios.
Why it matters: Tools like these —which let companies customize AI agents for specific roles and workflows — will enable AI to be treated more like a full-time coworker, rather than a one-off tech fix.
Deeply skeptical of what he sees as groupthink at the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh wants to shrink its multitrillion-dollar imprint in the financial system and sees a growth-driven reason to cut short-term interest rates.
The big picture: If President Trump's pick to lead the Fed is confirmed, expect Warsh to challenge central banking orthodoxy.
Why it matters: The circular AI economy has nothing on the circular Elon economy, where trillion dollar companies are rumored to be mixed and matched like IKEA furniture.
A new organization is launching to improve federal support for commercial deployment of a range of energy tech, with initial focus on the Energy Department's loan office.
Why it matters: The Energy Infrastructure Alliance Forum (EIAF) aims to fill what organizers call a need for a broad-based push that complements others' ongoing work on specific tech and finance streams.
Houston native Wes Anderson and Austin-based director Richard Linklater are now forever enshrined in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry.
Why it matters: The registry defines pop-culture moments that endure in America's shared cultural memory.
Driving the news: Anderson's 2014 comedy "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and Linklater's 1995 film "Before Sunrise" were added to the registry, the Library announced yesterday.
Fun fact: While Linklater claims Austin as his home, he has roots in Greater Houston.
The Bellaire High School graduate played baseball on scholarship for the Sam Houston State Bearkats in Huntsville back in the early 1980s, which inspired his 2016 comedy "Everybody Wants Some!!" about a rowdy Texas college baseball team.
Microsoft had one of its worst selloffs in history after it increased its AI spending plans. Meta did the same, but it was rewarded by investors.
Why it matters: The wildly different market reactions to Meta and Microsoft earnings reveal the new calculus investors are using to evaluate AI winners and losers.
Kevin Warsh at Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, in July. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Trump is expected to nominate Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and Wall Street veteran, on Friday morning to succeed Jay Powell as Federal Reserve chair, multipleoutletsreported.
Why it matters: The Fed pick "is arguably the most important personnel decision Trump faces for the remainder of his term, because the central bank serves as a first responder in financial crises and sets interest rates that affect every corner of the economy and markets," The Wall Street Journal reports.
President Trump's EPA is raising alarms with a shift in how it weighs the benefits of air pollution rules, with critics warning they'll lead to dangerous consequences for public health.
Why it matters: EPA regulations on ozone, soot, and more have produced cleaner air for decades, preventing deaths and ailments like heart problems and asthma.
Global trade is a minefield in the Trump era: wherever world leaders step, they risk igniting a new conflict with the Trump administration — trade deal or not.
Why it matters: President Trump's constant tariff threats have pushed U.S. trading partners to diversify away from American markets. But even that carries its own risks, as Trump vows to punish allies who turn elsewhere.
Gen Z is optimistic about their careers despite a gap in expectations among employees and employers in the greater workforce, according to Indeed survey data published Thursday.
Why it matters: Gen Z's positivity is unexpected against the backdrop of an entry-level job crisis.
Autonomous trucking startup Gatik signed a deal with a major consumer-goods company that will double its contracted revenue to $600 million over five years, Bloomberg reported this week.
Why it matters: Gatik says it is the first company in North America to deploy fully driverless trucks at scale, a milestone that moves the industry past limited pilots to sustained, revenue-generating operations that will strengthen supply chains.
