“Top Republican in the North Carolina Senate Phil Berger conceded his GOP primary race Tuesday after a second recount left him behind by a mere 23 votes, ending Berger’s long hold on the Triad-area seat and setting up a leadership shake-up in a key battleground state. ‘While this was a close race, the voters have spoken, and I congratulate Sheriff Page on his victory,’ Berger wrote in a statement Tuesday after the results of the second recount confirmed Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page won the District 26 race. ‘Over the past 15 years, Republicans in the General Assembly have fundamentally redefined our state’s outlook and reputation. It has been an honor to play a role in that transformation.’ Berger’s defeat is a major upset in North Carolina politics, particularly after President Donald Trump had endorsed him and fellow state Republicans had reportedly urged Page to end the primary challenge.” (03/25/26)
“Shares of U.S. space companies were trading sharply higher on Wednesday following a late Tuesday report by The Information that SpaceX is aiming to file its initial public offering prospectus with regulators later this week or next week. According to the report, SpaceX could seek to raise more than $75 billion in the IPO. Various media outlets previously reported that the company may be looking at a valuation of as high as $2 trillion.” (03/25/26)
“Apple has introduced more than just new features, like an AI playlist generator, with iOS 26.4 in the UK. The company now requires users in the region to verify their ages and to prove they’re 18 years old or above before they can access ‘certain services or features, or take certain actions on their account.’ Users can verify their ages in Settings by linking a credit card to their account or scanning an ID. For people who’ve had an Apple account for a while, the company will check if they already have a payment method on file that can prove they’re of age. The company says it will automatically switch on its Web Content Filter and Communication Safety features for everyone under 18 and for those who haven’t verified their ages.” (03/25/26)
“On Friday, bitcoin options or derivative contracts worth billions will expire on crypto exchange Deribit. Traders might want to note that the dynamics of the expiry are such that BTC’s market price could be lifted toward a very specific point: $75,000. Deribit, the world’s largest crypto options exchange, will settle bitcoin options contracts worth $14.16 billion on Friday at 08:00 UTC. This means nearly 40% of all open interest – the dollar value of all active contracts on the exchange – are set to expire in roughly 48 hours. On Deribit, one options contract represents one BTC. … According to Deribit’s data, the ‘max pain’ price — the level where the most contracts would expire worthless (lottery tickets that don’t win) — sits right at $75,000. As such, this level could act as a magnet, according to Deribit’s Chief Commerical Officer Jean-David Péquignot.” (03/25/26)
“More than 350 years after the death of legendary French musketeer d’Artagnan, remains have been found under the floor of a Dutch church that may well have been his. Jos Valke, who is deacon at St Peter and Paul Church in Maastricht, helped unearth the skeleton and is 99% certain that the remains belong to Charles de Batz de Castelmore, a close aide to France’s Sun King Louis XIV who was known as Count d’Artagnan. D’Artagnan was killed during the Siege of Maastricht in 1673, but later immortalised in the adventure stories of Alexandre Dumas as a friend of the Three Musketeers. His remains were long rumoured to have been buried in the church but no evidence has been found until now.” (03/25/26)
“Members of Congress may have to wait in line at the TSA checkpoint alongside everyone else if they fly with Delta. Delta Air Lines said on Tuesday that it has temporarily halted special airport services for members of Congress and their staff, including premium offerings such as terminal escorts that expedite security checks and its ‘red coat’ customer service assistance. ‘Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta,’ a spokesperson for the airline said.” (03/24/26)
“Arm jumped in early market trading Wednesday after the company said its newly released in-house chip would generate $15 billion in revenue alone by 2031. The British semiconductor and software design firm revealed its first-ever internal chip, the AGI CPU, at an event in San Francisco on Tuesday. The chip is designed specifically for AI inference in data centers, as demand for central processing units has surged with the rise of agentic AI. The new chip is expected to generate $15 billion in revenue by 2031, with total annual revenue of $25 billion and earnings per share of $9, Arm’s CEO Rene Haas said at the event.” (03/25/26)
“Americans’ views on Trump soured significantly with regard to his stewardship over the cost of living, as gasoline prices have surged since the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran. US President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell in recent days to its lowest point since he returned to the White House, hit by a surge in fuel prices and widespread disapproval of the war he launched on Iran, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. The four-day poll, which closed on Monday, showed 36% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, down from 40% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week. Americans’ views on Trump soured significantly with regard to his stewardship over the cost of living, as gasoline prices have surged since the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28. Just 25% of respondents approved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, an issue that was at the center of his 2024 presidential election campaign.” (03/25/26)
“Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi asked International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol for an additional coordinated release of oil stockpiles when they met on Wednesday, as Tokyo seeks to hedge against a prolonged Middle East conflict. After agreeing to release a record amount of oil stockpiles in coordination with the IEA to cover for the Middle East supply loss, Takaichi on Tuesday said Japan would also open up joint oil stockpiles co-owned by producing nations in the country. … There are 45 Japan-related ships that are still stranded in the Gulf as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, said Hitoshi Nagasawa, chairman of the Japan Shipowners’ Association and also head of Japan’s NYK Group, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, on Wednesday.” (03/25/26)
“British police arrested two men on Wednesday in connection with an arson attack on four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity, which authorities are investigating as an antisemitic hate crime. The Metropolitan Police said the two men, aged 45 and 47, were arrested in London on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and both men have been taken to a police station in the city for questioning.” (03/25/26)
