There’s never enough funding for Uncle Sam. On Saturday morning, most of the federal government shut down despite the Senate agreeing to pass a funding package the day before.

That same deal is now headed to the House of Representatives, with a final vote expected today, in hopes of avoiding another long shutdown.

Under the deal, funding for the Department of Homeland Security would be handled separately from a larger spending bill that would fund most federal agencies through September and include more money for cancer research, air traffic controllers, and the military.

However, negotiations involving immigration enforcement reforms, particularly those involving ICE, are at the center of the battle:

The proposal comes on the heels of last year’s record-setting 43-day government shutdown, fueled by a fight over expiring healthcare subsidies, which finally ended after a handful of Democrats cut a deal with Republicans to fund the government through (you guessed it) last Saturday.

Well, even with Senate approval secured, passage in the House is not guaranteed:

Looking forward: While Johnson has signaled confidence that the funding bill will pass, he still has to sell skeptical conservatives on the agreement to prevent another pause in government funding, which would extend the shutdown.

🌎 Why should you care? As we saw late last year, a government shutdown can delay many things we depend on, including federal job statistics, student loan servicing, permits, and travel processing. Those delays create uncertainty in the economy and the job market that can hit workers, particularly young ones, pretty hard.

Insert Elon jumping for joy gif here. Last night, the world’s richest person announced that his space company, SpaceX, had agreed to acquire his AI startup, xAI, forming what is now the most valuable private company in the world.

The deal would unite SpaceX’s cutting-edge launch capabilities and Starlink satellite network with xAI’s artificial-intelligence tools, including the Grok chatbot and the social platform X (formerly Twitter).

But why combine? According to a statement released by SpaceX and signed by Musk:

What does that even mean? Musk says the move aims to make a future where AI and space infrastructure work together. One potential case could be building AI data centers in orbit, powered by solar energy and linked through SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, addressing power, cooling, and scale limitations that Earth-based facilities face.

The strategic combination of Musk’s companies comes before a planned SpaceX IPO later this year:

To infinity and beyond: Observers say the deal could give the now combined companies competitive advantages over tech giants like Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and OpenAI by tightly linking computing, connectivity, and data generation.

🌎 Why does this matter? Since AI is becoming a foundation of future economic growth, the merger could hasten the spread and influence of AI-powered products and services (like advanced chatbots and satellite internet), while also influencing where jobs open up, how data privacy is handled, and the cost of AI services for everyday consumers.

Looks like the greenback just lost some color. America’s trusty currency hit a four-year low last week and has fallen over 12% in the past year, highlighting that global investors aren’t too keen on Uncle Sam.

Last week, the greenback suffered its biggest one-day drop since Trump announced his sweeping tariffs in April, though it has since rebounded slightly after concerns somewhat subsided.

The value of the dollar has been slowly falling for the past year, thanks to a mix of world and financial events:

But, it’s not all doom and gloom: A weaker dollar can help US exporters by making their goods cheaper abroad while also boosting the earnings of global companies (like Apple), as overseas sales translate into higher dollar revenue without a matching rise in domestic costs.

🌎 Why is this a big deal? The dollar’s global value influences everything from import costs to travel budgets. When the dollar falls, everyday purchases can get more expensive, meaning imported goods like clothes, electronics, and even fuel can cost more. Traveling abroad will also cost more, all while inflation pressures stick around even as policymakers (the Fed) cut rates.

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It comes after repeated breaches of the peace pact. After being closed for nearly two years, Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt reopened yesterday for limited travel as part of the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The Rafah crossing (see map), which allows some Palestinians who fled the Israel-Hamas war to begin returning home, will only be open in a limited sense:

Rafah’s reopening is tied to the second phase of the Israel–Hamas ceasefire, which launched in October and has been repeatedly strained by violations. Israel says increasingly more Palestinians will be allowed through the border on the contingency that everything goes smoothly.

It will be a busy border: Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled Gaza amid the war (Israel estimates the figure at 42,000, while Palestinian authorities say it exceeds 100,000), and officials add that roughly 20,000 more are seeking to leave the enclave for medical care.

🌎 Why is this important? If conditions continue to strain, the instability can drive up energy prices at home, raising the cost of gas, food, and travel, and push the US government to spend more on defense and foreign policy, adding pressure to federal budgets and long-term costs that younger Americans will ultimately shoulder.

Maybe if he keeps the shades on interest rates will drop to zero. President Donald Trump nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to lead the central bank on Friday, putting an end to months of speculation over who would succeed Jerome Powell when his term expires in May.

Warsh was described by Trump as a highly qualified choice thanks to his ample experience in government and in the finance world, but what do the experts think? Surprisingly, they mostly agree:

How is he different from current leadership? In recent years, Warsh has publicly favored lower interest rates than those set by the Fed under Powell, echoing Trump’s long-standing criticism of the central bank’s reluctance to cut rates.

Despite his perceived closeness to Trump… markets were cautiously optimistic about the Wall Street veteran leading the Fed, with Warsh seen as less aligned with the White House and more likely to maintain non-partisan decision-making at the world’s most influential central bank.

🌎 Why does this matter? Who leads the Fed directly affects how expensive borrowing will be (from credit cards and student loans to first-time home mortgages), plus how inflation and job growth are managed, so a new Fed chair with a different approach could completely change the cost of living and the financial environment for young workers.

> Despite not having ears, researchers found caterpillars can hear using microscopic hairs on their thorax and abdomen.

> A man survived for two days without lungs by using a custom-built artificial system that oxygenated his blood and maintained circulation until a double lung transplant was possible.

> Scientists found a potentially hospitable planet 146 light-years from Earth, whose average surface temperature is expected to be about –94 °F.

> AI agents are now running their own Reddit-style social network, called Moltbook, where they chat, vote, and even debate among themselves while humans watch.

> For the first time, researchers have created a 3D map of the Sun’s internal magnetic field using nearly 30 years of satellite data.