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Rani Molla6/3/24

Sam Altman's favorite deal partner? Sam Altman.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is taking a page out of Elon Musk’s playbook and finding himself on both sides of deals, according to a Wall Street Journal report, as a number of his more than 400 investments do business with the AI company he runs.

But figuring out the extent of his double dealing is difficult, according to WSJ, which said Altman’s lack of transparency was one of the reasons for his temporary ouster from OpenAI last November.

Some of the directors who ousted Altman felt he was giving them so little information about the size and scope of his startup holdings that it was becoming impossible to understand how he might personally benefit from deals the company pursued, people familiar with their thinking said.

Some examples: A nuclear-energy startup he chairs is in talks to sell power to OpenAI. Altman is the third largest shareholder of Reddit, on whose content OpenAI is paying to train its models. Altman has invested in cyber security startup Apex Securities, which plans to sell software to users of OpenAI product ChatGPT. He’s invested in Stripe, which has a deal to commercialize OpenAI’s technology.

The Opaque Investment Empire Making OpenAI’s Sam Altman Rich

The Opaque Investment Empire Making OpenAI’s Sam Altman Rich

Some of the directors who ousted Altman felt he was giving them so little information about the size and scope of his startup holdings that it was becoming impossible to understand how he might personally benefit from deals the company pursued, people familiar with their thinking said.

Some examples: A nuclear-energy startup he chairs is in talks to sell power to OpenAI. Altman is the third largest shareholder of Reddit, on whose content OpenAI is paying to train its models. Altman has invested in cyber security startup Apex Securities, which plans to sell software to users of OpenAI product ChatGPT. He’s invested in Stripe, which has a deal to commercialize OpenAI’s technology.

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Claire Yubin Oh10/1/25

OK, so when was the longest shutdown in US history?

The US government officially shut down at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday after senators failed to agree on a last-minute funding bill. Though initially shrugging off the threat of a shutdown during yesterday’s session, stocks were mildly in the red on Wednesday as investors reacted to what is now the 11th shutdown in the government’s history.

Until this latest shutdown, there had been 20 government funding gaps experienced since 1976 — though not all ended in a full shutdown, with full closure averted in half of those cases.

Indeed, prior to the 1980s, funding gaps didn’t typically have major effects on government operations, with agencies continuing to operate on the basis that the funding would come eventually. However, a more stringent interpretation of the rules led to a stricter appropriations process from the early 1980s onward, with many subsequent funding gaps resulting in a shutdown of affected agencies (unless the gaps were quickly fixed or occurred over a weekend).

Obviously, the duration of the latest shutdown is still unclear, but it will continue until Congress passes a funding bill — most likely via a “continuing resolution,” which has ended every shutdown since 1990. Data analyzed by USAFacts suggest that it might not be a one- or two-day affair, as funding gaps have lengthened in recent years.

Government shutdown patterns — Sherwood News

Indeed, the last shutdown, which began in December 2018, ended up becoming the longest in history, at a whopping 34 days. By the time the government reopened in January 2019, about $3 billion (in 2019 dollars) had been wiped from the GDP in Q4, per data from the Congressional Budget Office, with approximately $18 billion in “federal discretionary spending” delayed over the roughly five-week stretch.

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Max Knoblauch9/24/25

GM climbs following upgrade, report that Trump administration seeks stake in its lithium mine partner

Shares of General Motors rose more than 2% in premarket trading Wednesday following an upgrade of the stock by UBS from “neutral” to “buy.” The firm also hiked its price target for GM by 45% to $81.

Also likely elevating GM was a Reuters report that the Trump administration is exploring taking a 10% stake in Lithium Americas, the automaker’s partner in a yet to open Thacker Pass lithium mine. Shares of Lithium Americas surged 68% in the premarket.

GM, which invested $625 million into the lithium mine last year, holds a 38% stake in the joint venture. The mine is expected to become the Western Hemisphere’s primary lithium source in 2028, when it’s slated to open, producing enough of the metal to make 800,000 electric vehicle batteries.

Prior to its plans for Lithium Americas, the Trump administration last month said it would take a 10% stake in Intel. In July, it announced a 15% stake in rare earths miner MP Materials.

News Reporter 1970s

Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension highlights Nexstar and Sinclair’s vast control over US airwaves

Nexstar and Sinclair control large swaths of US television stations. Nexstar’s planned merger could make their influence even greater.

Max Knoblauch9/18/25

Senator Mark Kelly wants AI companies to pay into a fund to offset AI’s negative impacts

The proposal would use money from top frontier AI companies to create an “AI Horizon Fund” to help retrain workers and pay for infrastructure upgrades in a “public / private partnership.”

Senator Mark Kelly

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Max Knoblauch9/16/25

Delta dips as the Trump administration orders the end of its joint venture with Aeromexico

Shares of Delta Air Lines ticked down on Tuesday morning following the Trump administration’s order that the airline dissolve its approximately 9-year-old joint venture with Aeromexcio by January 1, 2026.

Delta said it was disappointed in the decision, adding that the termination will “cause significant harm to U.S. jobs, communities and consumers traveling between the U.S. and Mexico.” CEO Ed Bastian previously said that the administration’s regulatory stance could be a “breath of fresh air” for the aviation industry.

The Biden administration tentatively decided last year to not renew the antitrust immunity agreement covering the joint venture. At the time, Delta said “$800 million in annual consumer benefits would evaporate” if the partnership were terminated.

Collaboration isn’t over between the two airlines: the Department of Transportation said Delta can maintain its 20% stake in the Mexican airline and the partnership can continue through “arms-length activities such as codesharing, marketing, and frequent flyer cooperation.”

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