Would-be flyers may be pivoting from sky to highway, even as gas prices climb. According to TravelPulse, search traffic for Hertz is up 15% in recent days.

The TSA is experiencing the longest wait times in its 24-year history, officials have said. Airfares rising as jet fuel prices remain elevated is likely adding to travelers’ decision.

AAA said that average gas prices could hit $4 per gallon in the next few days, which would mark the first time since August 2022 that they’ve hit that level.

According to the Energy Information Administration, demand for gas rose last week from 8.72 million barrels per day to 8.92 million. The data also shows that domestic gas supply fell from 244 million barrels to 241.4 million. Meanwhile, gas production grew last week, averaging 9.7 million barrels per day.

Prediction markets show traders pricing in a 61% chance the price of gas could surpass $4 by the end of the month. As AAA projects that gas prices could continue to rise in the next few weeks, markets also imply there’s a 42% and 40% chance gas could finish roughly around $4.02 or $4.04 per gallon, respectively, by March 31.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Lawmakers in at least 11 states have proposed pauses on data center construction, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In addition to halting new data center construction, the bill also calls for banning the export of advanced AI chips to countries that lack regulations that protect against harms from AI.

In a press release, Ocasio-Cortez said:

“Congress has a moral obligation to stand with the American people and stop the expansion of these data centers until we have a framework to adequately address the existential harm AI poses to our society. We must choose humanity over profit.”

Heading into the midterm elections, data centers are starting to emerge as a political issue following a growing list of projects that have been scuttled due to community opposition. President Trump has pushed AI companies to voluntarily pledge to “pay their way” for the massive energy requirements of data centers.

Per the report, investors and staff raised concerns that offering an erotica-generating AI model doesn’t exactly align with the company’s stated mission to “ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.”

As other tech companies deal with the legal consequences of failing to protect minors from their products, OpenAI would be choosing a potentially dangerous path with such an X-rated feature, while its main competitor, Anthropic, continues to make inroads among enterprise customers by improving on coding and spreadsheet skills.

This means homebuyers can secure a standard conforming mortgage without liquidating tokenized assets, which potentially triggers a taxable event.

“If BTC drops in value, the mortgage terms remain unchanged, and no additional collateral is required. Market movements alone never trigger liquidation,” per a joint press release from Better and Coinbase.

“Token-backed mortgages originated by Better are designed in accordance with Fannie Mae guidelines and remain as standard conforming mortgage loans, identical to other conforming mortgages,” the announcement continued.

Max Branzburg, head of consumer and business products at Coinbase, said, “Token-backed mortgages are a major first step to unlocking homeownership for the younger generations that have struggled with barriers to saving for a traditional downpayment.”

The announcement comes more than nine months after William Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Agency, ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare a proposal that considers cryptocurrency as a reserve asset in single-family mortgage loan risk assessment. 

The lawsuit follows a US criminal indictment that was unsealed last week and accuses the company’s cofounder, sales manager, and a contractor of illegally diverting $2.5 billion worth of AI servers containing Nvidia chips to China, in violation of US export controls. The initial news sent the stock plunging 33% in a single day, wiping out billions in market cap.

While the company wasn’t named as a defendant in the Department of Justice indictment, it announced its cofounder’s resignation and stated that it’s been “cooperating fully with the government’s investigation and will continue to do so.”

According to the complaint filed in San Francisco federal court and viewed by Reuters, shareholders allege the company inflated its stock by overstating its business outlook, while concealing its significant reliance on China sales and “material weakness” in its compliance with export control regulations.

The move comes as a number of other bitcoin firms have reached a tipping point and sold part of their stockpile. 

• Empery Digital, the 23rd-largest bitcoin treasury firm, announced in a March press release that it sold $4.2 million worth of BTC to fund share repurchases. DL News also reported that a shareholder who owns 9.8% of Empery Digital demanded the company sell its entire bitcoin stockpile and the immediate resignation of its CEO and entire board of directors. 

• GD Culture Group approved the sale of an unspecified amount of its 7,500-bitcoin reserve to fund its share repurchase program, according to a press release last month. 

• Elsewhere, Cango sold 4,451 BTC to reduce its overall finance leverage and strengthen its balance sheet, while Riot Platforms sold around $200 million worth of bitcoin in November and December.

Despite GameStop’s pledge to Coinbase Credit, the company has technically left the door open to resume its bitcoin strategy: the gaming firm said it intends to use net proceeds from its convertible 2030 notes for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of bitcoin. 

Shares of GameStop are up 2.7% today after posting lackluster Q4 results yesterday.

The jury also found that Meta and Google could face punitive damages, with a separate phase of the trial to determine how much they should pay.

The decision comes just one day after a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties, saying it violated state consumer protection laws by enabling child sexual exploitation.

JetBlue’s attempt to acquire budget rival Spirit was blocked by the Biden administration in 2024.