Musk vs. Altman, Royal Visit, & Unicycle Granny

News without the noise

Adam Rogers
April 28, 2026

Good Morning! Today’s edition is 953 words, a 4-minute read.

What’s on tap:

First-time reader? Sign up here!

Jury selection began yesterday in an Oakland federal courtroom for a civil trial pitting Elon Musk against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The four-week case could determine the future of ChatGPT's parent company and end with a court order firing Altman.
Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI who left in 2018, alleges Altman and others accepted his money and time under the pretense of building a public-spirited nonprofit, then allowed insiders to cash in when OpenAI converted to a for-profit structure. He is seeking $134 billion in damages — or, in an amended filing this month, demanding disgorged funds go to OpenAI's charitable arm along with Altman's removal.
Altman's side disputes the account: Musk gave $38 million — not the $1 billion he pledged — left in 2018 after failing to take control of the company, and privately agreed a for-profit conversion was necessary to raise capital. The jury's verdict is advisory as Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers makes the final call. Polymarket gives Musk 32% odds.

King Charles III arrived in Washington yesterday for a four-day state visit — the first by a reigning British monarch since Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. Charles will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, only the second time a British monarch has done so.
The visit comes amid a US-UK rift over the Iran war. Trump has called Prime Minister Keir Starmer "not Winston Churchill," and a leaked Pentagon email suggested the US could reassess support for British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. However, Trump has called Charles a "friend" and "great guy," separating the monarch from his government. Some U.K. politicians called for the trip to be canceled.
Charles will meet Trump privately, attend a White House state dinner, and visit the September 11 memorial in New York. Charles's congressional speech is expected to touch on the environment and interfaith harmony.

Meta signed a deal with Overview Energy to beam solar power from space to Earth, aiming to keep AI data centers running after dark — solar power's biggest limitation.
Overview's satellites would convert sunlight into wide infrared beams aimed at existing solar farms on the ground. Meta has reserved up to 1 gigawatt of capacity. Its data centers consumed more than 18,000 gigawatt-hours in 2024, enough to power about 1.7 million US homes, and the company is targeting 30 gigawatts of new renewable capacity.
If successful, the approach could boost solar output without batteries and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Overview's first satellite launches in January 2028, with commercial deployment targeted for 2030. The technology remains unproven in space.

The Supreme Court appeared ready yesterday to allow police to use Google location data to identify unknown suspects, while exploring limits on such warrants in a case stemming from a 2019 Virginia bank robbery. (More)

A California ballot initiative imposing a one-time 5% tax on billionaires' assets qualified for November after collecting 1.5 million signatures, despite fierce opposition from tech moguls and Governor Newsom. (More)

Severe storms swept the Midwest yesterday, prompting water rescues in Kansas City, with 64 million people still at risk of tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds through the evening. (More)

Argentina's President Javier Milei banned all accredited press from the presidential palace and called journalists "filthy scum" on social media. (More)

A bombing on Colombia's Pan-American Highway killed 21 people and injured 56 others, the country's deadliest civilian attack in decades, blamed on FARC dissident rebels. (More)

Twenty-two Sri Lankan monks were arrested Sunday at Colombo's airport after customs officers found 242 pounds of cannabis hidden in false walls in their luggage, the largest such bust at that airport. (More)

US stock markets closed mixed on Monday (S&P +0.12%, Nasdaq +0.20%, Dow -0.13%) as the S&P and Nasdaq reached record highs, but an increase in oil prices muted the moves. (More)

Shell agreed to buy Canadian natural gas producer ARC Resources for $16.4 billion, adding 370,000 barrels per day to its portfolio. (More)

Domino's stock dropped 10% after US same-store sales grew just 0.9% in the quarter, well below the 2.3% Wall Street expected. (More)

The Penguins staved off elimination again, beating the Flyers 3-2 in Game 5 to cut Philadelphia's NHL playoff series lead to 3-2. (More)

Dallas Mavericks star Cooper Flagg won NBA Rookie of the Year on Monday, narrowly edging former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel by 26 voting points after averaging 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. (More)

Melania Trump called Jimmy Kimmel's "expectant widow" joke "hateful and violent rhetoric" after a gunman opened fire at the Correspondents' Dinner two days later; President Trump separately demanded ABC fire him. (More)

Japanese researchers used supercomputers to simulate dolphin swimming and found that large tail-generated whirlpools drive most of the propulsion, a discovery that could help design faster underwater robots. (More)

A JAMA study found that older adults who nap frequently, for longer durations, or in the morning face up to 30% higher mortality risk, though researchers say excessive napping likely signals underlying illness rather than causing harm. (More)

South Carolina declared an end to the largest measles outbreak since the disease was eliminated in the US, with 997 cases over six months concentrated in Spartanburg County among mostly unvaccinated school-age children. (More)

Are some forms of sugar healthier than others?

Unicycle granny is still going at 69.

Test your brain with over 30,000 competition-level math problems.

The case of the pantless mayor.

Your feedback helps us provide the best newsletter possible.