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Brown Shooting Update: Officials Find Dead Body of Suspected Brown, MIT Professor Shooter (Bloomberg)
Officials found the dead body of the suspected shooter in a Brown University rampage and the murder of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who was shot in his Boston-area home.
The suspect — Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national who was a former student at Brown — took his own life. The suspected shooter’s last known address was in Miami, Florida.
Sydney Mass Shooting Aftermath: Australia to Crack Down on Hate Speech After Bondi Beach Shooting (New York Times)
Next Act: Trump Media to Merge With Nuclear Fusion Firm in $6 Billion Deal (New York Times)
President Trump’s social media company, which recently expanded into streaming and cryptocurrency, is now entering its fourth act: fusion power, a promising but still unproven source of alternative energy. Trump Media & Technology Group and TAE Technologies, a fusion power company, said Thursday they had agreed to an all-stock merger that the companies valued at more than $6 billion.
The deal would be a metamorphosis for Trump Media, the money-losing parent company of Truth Social, a social media platform that has struggled to gain market share beyond serving as the main online megaphone for President Trump. Trump is the company’s largest shareholder, with a large stake worth more than $1 billion that is held in a trust managed by his eldest son, Donald Jr., who is a Trump Media board member.
The company, based in Sarasota, Fla., has only a few dozen full-time employees and has recorded tens of millions of dollars in losses in recent years.
The tie-up is a big bet on a commercially unproven technology that has the U.S. government at its back. As AI’s power needs have become a pressing economic issue, the Trump administration has unveiled many programs aimed at boosting technologies like nuclear fusion to meet surging demand, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Analysis: Trump Media Is a Loser in a Year of Winners (Bloomberg Opinion - Matt Winkler)
Investors who put their faith in Donald Trump's publicly traded media and technology company are among the biggest losers in a stock market that rallied from Amsterdam to Sydney this year, proving the peril of riding the coattails of a huckster with a history of running businesses that go bust.
Future of US Social Media: TikTok Says It Signed Agreements for New US Joint Venture (Bloomberg)
Under the arrangement, 50% of the investors in TikTok US will be new, with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based investment company, each gaining 15% ownership; 30.1% will be held by affiliates of certain existing investors of ByteDance; and 19.9% will be retained by ByteDance.
Poll Plummet: Trump's Economic Approval Hits a New Low at 36%, Poll Finds (NPR)
Toward the end of Trump’s first year in office this term, just 36% of Americans approve of his handling of the economy, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll. It's his worst mark in the six years that Marist has been asking the question.
Roughly 6 in 10 said the economy is not working well for them personally, and more said their financial situation has gotten worse in the past year than better (35% vs. 21%), NPR reports.
In addition to Trump's low approval for his handling of the economy, his overall job approval rating stands at a meager 38%. That's the lowest of his second term and the lowest number he's seen in Marist's surveys since April 2018.
Ukraine Lifeline: EU to Use Joint Bonds to Give Ukraine a €90 Billion Loan (Bloomberg)
Retribution Over Vaccine Advocacy: American Academy of Pediatrics Loses HHS Funding After Criticizing RFK Jr. (Washington Post)
The Department of Health and Human Services has terminated seven grants totaling millions of dollars to the American Academy of Pediatrics, including for initiatives on reducing sudden infant deaths, improving adolescent health, preventing fetal alcohol syndrome and identifying autism early, according to The Washington Post.
The abrupt loss of funds this week surprised the professional pediatrician association, which has been one of the harshest critics of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s changes to federal vaccine policy.
Meanwhile, President Promotes Pot: Trump Signs Order to Ease Cannabis Restrictions in Industry Win (Bloomberg)
Turning 40: Blackstone Parodies ‘Midlife Crisis’ in Annual Holiday Video (Bloomberg)
It’s all a little over the top, as has become tradition for the $1.2 trillion money manager’s holiday video. The firm pressed on with a high-energy production that ends with a tribute to Wesley LePatner, the real estate executive who was shot on July 28, 2025.
The video highlights the firm’s eccentricities without losing sight of its bid to become an investment superstore. And to President Jon Gray, any accusations of cringeworthiness are welcome. “That’s totally fine,” Gray said in an interview. “We are not actors.”
Watch the video here.
Person of the Week: Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott Gave $7.1 Billion to Nonprofits in 2025, a Major Increase (Cheddar)
Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced she donated $7.17 billion to approximately 225 organizations in 2025, bringing her total charitable giving since 2019 to $26.3 billion across more than 2,700 gifts.
Her 2025 focus centered heavily on historically Black colleges and universities, with $387 million going to eight HBCUs since mid-October, including record-breaking donations to Howard University ($80 million) and Spelman College ($38 million).
She now ranks among the most generous philanthropists including Warren Buffett, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Mike Bloomberg.
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Coldplay Kiss Cam Update: Astronomer HR Exec Kristin Cabot Breaks Her Silence (New York Times)
NYC Guide: The 24 Best Holiday Markets Across The City (Time Out)
The best holiday markets are right here in NYC—full of both the holiday spirit and the most unique gifts out there. While fancy Christmas window displays may entice you, NYC's holiday markets often include ice skating, twinkling lights, great food vendors, and fun holiday activities.
Shopping for the perfect gift doesn’t have to be stressful; make it fun at these holiday markets, from the Urbanspace Union Square Holiday Market, the Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park, or the Grand Holiday Bazaar on the Upper West Side, one of NYC's oldest and most beloved.
Explore the full list here.
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