Mega Merger, Nationalized Voting, & Flag Knowledge

News without the noise

Adam Rogers
February 04, 2026

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Elon Musk's SpaceX has acquired his artificial intelligence startup xAI in a $1.25 trillion deal, the largest merger of all time. The transaction values SpaceX at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion, according to documents viewed by CNBC.
Musk says the merger will enable the construction of orbital data centers - AI computing facilities in space that utilize solar power instead of the massive amounts of electricity required by Earth-based data centers. He estimates that within two to three years, space will be the lowest-cost way to generate AI computing. The deal comes ahead of a highly anticipated SpaceX IPO later this year that could raise up to $50 billion and push its valuation as high as $1.5 trillion.
The merger provides crucial capital to xAI, which makes the Grok chatbot and is competing against OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R) publicly rejected President Trump's call for Republicans to "nationalize the voting," saying Tuesday he is "not in favor of federalizing elections" and calling it "a constitutional issue."
Thune emphasized he believes in "decentralized and distributed power," adding, "it's harder to hack 50 election systems than it is to hack one." The Constitution's Article 1 gives states authority to run elections, including voter registration, ballot counting, and fraud prevention.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) said states administer elections well "so long as" they ensure integrity.

The Walt Disney Company announced Tuesday that Josh D'Amaro will succeed Bob Iger as CEO on March 18, ending one of the most closely watched succession sagas in corporate America. D'Amaro, 54, currently chairs Disney Experiences, which oversees 12 theme parks and nearly 60 resort hotels globally.
Iger, who turns 75 next week, is ending his second stint as CEO. He returned in late 2022 after the board ousted his handpicked successor, Bob Chapek. Iger will remain as senior adviser and board member until December 31.
Disney's parks business has excelled under D'Amaro, posting record quarterly revenue in its most recent earnings. The announcement comes as Disney faces declining broadcast television viewership, the rise of artificial intelligence, and scrutiny from Trump administration regulators.

The House passed a funding package 217–214 to end the partial shutdown, funding most federal departments through September while extending Homeland Security for just two weeks amid ongoing immigration disputes. (More)

Jill Biden's ex-husband was indicted for murdering his wife after calling 911 himself in December to report a domestic dispute. She was unresponsive when police arrived. (More)

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending protected status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, calling it harmful to turn lawful immigrants into unlawful ones overnight. (More)

A US fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone aggressively approaching the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on Tuesday, hours after Iran harassed a U.S. tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. (More)

Credit Suisse held 890 accounts with Nazi links including SS connections and schemes to help Nazis escape to Argentina, a Senate investigation revealed Tuesday. (More)

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Libya's late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, was killed by four unidentified attackers near Zintan in western Libya. (More)

US stock markets closed lower on Tuesday (S&P -0.84%, Nasdaq -1.43%, Dow -0.34%). A large tech stock sell-off pushed the market down. (More)

Walmart hit a $1 trillion market cap on Tuesday, joining tech giants as its stock climbed over 24% this year on growth from digital businesses and new customers. (More)

PepsiCo is cutting prices up to 15% on Cheetos, Doritos, and Lays starting this week, responding to consumers struggling with high costs after years of price hikes. (More)

The NBA's All-Star Game adopts a US versus World format on Feb. 15, reuniting Olympic trio Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant as the league tries to boost flagging interest. (More)

The Clippers traded James Harden to the Cavaliers for Darius Garland and a second-round pick, pairing the 36-year-old star with Donovan Mitchell. (More)

Lindsey Vonn said she's confident she can compete in Sunday's Olympic downhill despite completely rupturing her ACL in a crash four days ago. (More)

Gifted dogs that rapidly learn toy names succeed because they initiate play with owners more than typical dogs, suggesting word learning depends on social connection, not just brain power. (More)

Cutting just one sugary drink daily—like soda, sweet tea, or energy drinks—lowers diabetes risk by 26% and heart disease risk by 14%, new dietary guidelines show. (More)

Fitbit founders launched Luffu, an AI startup that helps families track health across multiple members to ease caregiving for America's 63 million family caregivers. (More)

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