WHCD Shooter in Court Today | Rewire News Morning Roundup

The WHCD Shooter appeared in court today, Nasdaq achieved a 12-day winning streak, Mag 7 Tech Giants to report earnings this week, and Microsoft issued its first-ever buyback checks to employees in 51 years.

1｜WHCD Shooter Appears in Court Today, Manifesto Reveals "High-to-Low Ranking by Official Position" Action Plan

CBS obtained the full text of Cole Allen's manifesto. About 10 minutes before the shooting, he sent this document to his family, identifying himself as a "Friendly Federal Assassin." The manifesto listed a target list ranked by official position from high to low, stating that he would only attack law enforcement officers "when necessary." While not mentioning Trump by name, the manifesto cited the federal government's crackdown on a suspected drug ship in the Pacific Ocean as one of the motives.

At 31 years old, Allen graduated from Caltech in 2017 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is pursuing a Computer Science master's degree at Cal State Dominguez Hills, expected to graduate in 2025. He traveled from California by train carrying a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives, crossing multiple states to reach Washington. One law enforcement officer was shot wearing a bulletproof vest and is expected to recover. U.S. prosecutor Jeanine Pirro confirmed that he will be charged with three counts and will face court today. The shooting took place on the same day that King Charles III of the UK arrived in Washington for a four-day state visit, the first visit by a British monarch to the U.S. since 2007, adding a new level of security pressure. (Continued from yesterday's report)

(Source: CBS / Fortune / NPR / Fox News / Washington Post / White House)

2｜Nasdaq's 12-Day Winning Streak Sets Record Since 2009, Mag 7 Tech Giants to Report Earnings This Week

The S&P 500 closed at 7,165 points last Friday, while the Nasdaq closed at 24,837 points, both setting new all-time highs. The Nasdaq achieved a 12-day winning streak, marking the longest streak of gains since 2009. Tesla's earnings beating expectations, an extension of the Iran ceasefire, and the continued strength of AI chip stocks have collectively driven this rally. In April so far, the S&P has risen over 9%, the Nasdaq over 15%, and the Dow over 6%.

This week is the real test. Meta, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft will all report Q1 earnings on Wednesday and Thursday, with these five companies accounting for a quarter of the total market value of the S&P 500. Wall Street expects these five firms to grow earnings by 24%, while the remaining 493 companies are forecasted to grow by only 7%. The combined AI infrastructure budgets of the four major cloud providers have exceeded $200 billion, and the core question in every earnings call remains the same: has the massive investment translated into returns? The Buffett Indicator (total market cap of U.S. stocks/GDP) has risen to 227%, and Buffett himself has said that exceeding 200% is "playing with fire." Futures fell on Sunday night, with the Iran negotiations deadlock compounded by a new escalation in the Hormuz situation driving up oil prices. Historic highs and fear are both appearing on the same screen simultaneously.

（Source: CNBC / Yahoo Finance / Fortune / S&P Global）

3 | Microsoft's First Voluntary Layoff in 51 Years, Snap Cuts 16% as AI Writes 65% of Code

Microsoft announced last Wednesday that it is offering voluntary layoff packages to about 7% of its U.S. employees (around 8,750 people) whose age plus years of service equals 70. This marks the first time in Microsoft's 51-year history that it has initiated a voluntary separation program. Notices were sent to eligible employees on May 7. Last summer, Microsoft laid off 9,000 people, opting for a headline of voluntary departures this time around without a massive layoff announcement.

Snap took a different approach. On April 16, the company laid off around 1,000 employees, accounting for 16% of its full-time workforce. CEO Spiegel cited in an internal memo that AI now generates over 65% of Snap's new code. The company expects to achieve annualized cost savings of over $500 million from this restructuring by the second half of the year, leading to an 8% stock price increase on the day of the announcement. With Meta laying off 8,000 employees and simultaneously investing $135 billion in AI, the U.S. tech industry has already cut over 92,000 jobs this year. The decisions to downsize and invest stem from the same budget.

（Source: CNBC / Bloomberg / TechCrunch / Fortune / Fox Business）

4 | Cohere Merges with Aleph Alpha in $200 Billion Deal, Lidl Parent Company Bets $6 Billion on Sovereign AI

Canadian AI company Cohere announced its merger with German company Aleph Alpha last Thursday, valuing the combined entity at around $200 billion. Schwarz Group (Lidl supermarket's parent company) led a $6 billion Series E funding round, with its cloud service STACKIT set to host the merged sovereign AI product. Cohere shareholders will hold approximately 90% of the combined company. Both the Canadian and German governments have endorsed this transaction.

Sovereign AI forms the core logic of this deal. With increasing demands from governments and regulated industries for data localization, auditable models, and vendors not subject to U.S. jurisdiction, McKinsey's March report estimated this market to be around $600 billion. Cohere's customer base has been focused on the enterprise and government sectors, while Aleph Alpha has deep roots in Europe with clients like the German federal government. This merger is not about catching up with OpenAI ($25 billion in annual revenue) and Anthropic ($19 billion), but rather about cutting a slice of the cake they cannot reach.

(Source: Axios / BusinessWire / TipRanks / IT Pro / The Next Web)

Also Worth Knowing ↓

Brent crude oil price $105.33 / WTI $94.40, with no resumption of traffic through the Hormuz Strait despite the ceasefire. A UN report has confirmed that the ceasefire has not substantially lifted the blockade of the strait, with vessels still being intercepted and even fired upon. Trump canceled plans to send Witkoff and Kushner to negotiate with Pakistan, saying a phone call would suffice. Iranian Foreign Minister Aragchi traveled to Pakistan before heading to Moscow to meet with senior Russian officials. (Source: UN News / Al Jazeera / CNBC / Washington Post)

Apple CEO succession countdown begins. John Ternus will take over on September 1, with Cook transitioning to Executive Chairman. Ternus, head of hardware engineering, is inheriting two major challenges outside of his expertise. Apple's AI strategy lags behind competitors by one to two years, and while the Chinese market is rebounding, supply chain diversification is shaking the "China story" of the Cook era. (Source: Apple / Fortune / CNBC)

Tesla's capital expenditure rises to $250 billion, up from $85 billion in the same period last year. During the Q1 earnings call, it was confirmed that the Fremont factory will halt production of the Model S and Model X to produce the Optimus humanoid robot. Self-driving taxis are already operating in four cities, and free cash flow is expected to turn negative in the second half of the year. (Source: CNBC / TNW / Seeking Alpha)

Adyen acquires Talon.One for 750 million euros, its first acquisition since inception. Talon.One provides loyalty infrastructure for 300+ brands including Nordstrom and H&M, with an annual revenue of approximately 60 million euros. The payment company is evolving from transaction processing to a full-stack business platform. (Source: Finextra / American Banker / PYMNTS)

PwC: 75% of AI economic benefits captured by 20% of companies. Leading companies use AI for growth, while most companies use AI for cost reduction. The concentration of benefits is higher than in the internet era. (Source: PwC)

Bitcoin 2026 kicks off today in Las Vegas, with SEC Chair Atkins participating in a fireside chat. This marks the first time a sitting SEC Chair is attending a Bitcoin conference, with CFTC Chair Selig also on the agenda. In the same week, the Wisconsin DOJ filed lawsuits against Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase, and five other platforms, alleging that prediction markets constitute unlicensed gambling. (Source: SEC.gov / Bitcoin 2026 / CoinDesk / Crypto Times)