Surging energy prices drove US inflation to 3.8% year-over-year in April—a three-year high—marking the first time since 2023 that the cost of living has outpaced wage growth (3.6%). Energy prices rose ~18% from a year ago, fresh produce prices hit their highest monthly increase since 2010 partly due to tariffs on Mexico, and core CPI came in at 2.8%, well above the Fed's 2% target.
eBay rejected an unsolicited $56 billion takeover bid from GameStop, calling it "neither credible nor attractive." GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen announced the bid last week but struggled to explain how the company—with roughly $9 billion in cash—would finance the acquisition.
Telehealth company Hims & Hers reported a surprise Q1 loss, sending its shares down more than 14% in a single session.
Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz is reportedly in talks to raise money to take struggling fast-food chain Wendy's private.
A trend dubbed "tokenmaxxing" is spreading at major companies, with employees under pressure to maximize AI usage regardless of productivity. Amazon workers are reportedly using the company's in-house AI tool to automate unnecessary tasks to inflate token metrics, while firms like Shopify and Meta have added AI usage to performance reviews and internal leaderboards.
As part of its 20th anniversary, Spotify launched "Party of the Year(s)," a Wrapped-style feature showing users their top 120 most-played songs and full listening history since account creation. The feature was so popular it caused the app to go down for thousands of users.
Google unveiled a new laptop category called the Googlebook, featuring deeper integration with its Gemini AI chatbot.
TikTok is launching TikTok GO, a new feature allowing users to book hotels and travel experiences directly in the app based on videos they watch. The move follows Uber's recent addition of hotel booking to its platform.
The US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as a Federal Reserve governor in a 51–45 party-line vote, clearing him for a vote to become Fed chair expected the same day. If confirmed as chair, Warsh will assume the post Friday, while Jerome Powell remains on the board through 2028.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified in the trial over OpenAI's future, recounting his history with Elon Musk and describing Musk's departure as a "morale boost." Altman said he was "extremely uncomfortable" with Musk's demand for total control over OpenAI's for-profit arm.
Dr. Marty Makary resigned as FDA commissioner following reports that President Trump and some GOP lawmakers were dissatisfied with his performance.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani scrapped his controversial plan to raise property taxes, saying the city balanced its budget without placing the burden on working New Yorkers.
AI Minister Evan Solomon announced 44 Canadian AI projects sharing $66 million from the federal government's AI Compute Access Fund, with awards ranging from $100,000 to $5 million to help companies cover compute and scale-up costs.
Dunkin' is returning to Canada after exiting the market in 2018, with franchisor Foodtastic striking a deal with Inspire Brands to open hundreds of locations starting as early as late 2026. The chain will face stiff competition from Tim Hortons and potential anti-US consumer sentiment.
Canadian fintech Koho, which is pursuing a banking licence, has received access to Interac's payment services.
A new report found Quebec's high school dropout rate for boys stands at 27.1%, with male students falling further behind females in nearly every educational metric—a divide beginning as early as kindergarten. The female dropout rate was also high at just under 20%.
Canadian NBA player Brandon Clarke, who played for the Memphis Grizzlies, died at age 29.
Four Labour ministers in the UK resigned, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he will not step down.
A Harvard faculty committee began a weeklong vote on whether to cap A grades at 20% of students per course plus four additional students, to combat grade inflation. A's accounted for 60% of Harvard undergraduate grades last year—up from 25% in 2005—and 55 students tied for the top GPA award last year, a distinction once held by one or two.
Japanese snack giant Calbee is switching some colored packaging to black-and-white as oil shortages stemming from the US-Israel war with Iran squeeze global ink supplies.