Thursday, May 28, 2026

Trump Administration Under Scrutiny

Developing: The Justice Department has reportedly opened a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, who previously won a civil trial after accusing President Trump of sexual abuse, a move critics say targets his perceived enemies. The Guardian The New York Times

A bipartisan group of former federal judges has asked a federal court to reopen President Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, arguing the administration circumvented the court by negotiating a settlement and creating a $1.776 billion fund for those claiming government wrongdoing. The Hill

President Trump threatened to "blow up" Oman if it fails to "behave" during a cabinet meeting, following reports of talks between Iran and Oman about jointly charging a toll for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Guardian

A company headed by Elliott Broidy, a Republican fundraiser pardoned by President Trump in 2021, secured a $106 million contract from the Department of Justice last month to monitor prisoners' phone calls. The Guardian

Dell secured a $9.7 billion software deal with the Pentagon, following significant efforts to court the White House and President Trump's public encouragement for purchases of the company's computers. CNBC Reuters

AI & Tech Industry Shifts

Snowflake's stock surged nearly 40% after an earnings beat, a raised outlook, and a new $6 billion, five-year deal with Amazon's AWS to secure AI CPU chips. MarketWatch TechCrunch

Salesforce shares dipped despite beating earnings and revenue expectations, as its full-year guidance came in light, fueling investor concerns about AI disruption to traditional software products. MarketWatch CNBC

AI coding startup Cognition raised $1 billion at a $25 billion pre-money valuation, more than doubling its valuation in eight months as it reached $492 million in annualized revenue run rate. TechCrunch

Illinois lawmakers passed America’s strongest AI safety bill, which requires companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google to have third parties confirm they are following safety standards. Wired

Payroll startup Remote announced it surpassed $300 million in annual recurring revenue and became cash-flow positive, attributing a 50% increase in revenue per employee to AI adoption. TechCrunch

Market Performance & Corporate Moves

Global stock markets, including the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq, closed at record highs, buoyed by tech rallies and a drop in oil prices amid hopes for an end to the Iran conflict. MarketWatch Bloomberg.com

LG Energy Solution's shares surged as much as 16% after the South Korean battery company secured a major U.S. battery storage deal, expanding its energy storage systems business. CNBC

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that a Meta cloud computing business is "definitely on the table" if the company overspends on data centers and accumulates excess capacity. CNBC

Marvell Technology's stock fell despite reporting strong first-quarter financial results and an "exceptional" AI demand driving a stronger growth outlook, with revenue growth expected to accelerate each quarter. MarketWatch

Political Landscape & Elections

• Democrats are expressing optimism about their chances to flip several GOP-held Senate seats this fall, particularly in Texas, where the general election matchup was finalized this week. NPR NPR
• The public will soon see the prices of drugs launched since President Trump struck his "most-favored-nation" deals with 17 drugmakers, providing the first test of these pricing agreements. STAT+
• James Talarico officially launched his Texas Senate campaign against Ken Paxton with a rally in Houston, setting the stage for what is anticipated to be a contentious contest. The New York Times
• Jill Biden expressed concern that her husband, Joe Biden, might have been "having a stroke" during a 2024 U.S. debate, stating she had never seen him act that way before. Al Jazeera

Quick Shots

• 🚨 A Google employee was charged with insider trading on Polymarket, allegedly using confidential data to net $1.2 million from bets on future events. The Hill
• 🤖 Mistral's CEO announced the French AI startup will explore designing its own chips as it ramps up infrastructure to compete with OpenAI and Anthropic. CNBC
• 📱 Luxury phone maker Vertu is back with the AlphaFold, a folding phone powered by an AI agent and targeting CEOs with a starting price of $6,880. TechCrunch
• 🍽️ More people are experiencing food insecurity now than at the height of the pandemic, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. NPR
• 📺 YouTube is rolling out a new AI feature that allows users to create personalized video feeds based on custom prompts, which can then be pinned to their homepage. The Verge