Independent voters are the decisive swing vote in the 2026 midterm elections. Their priorities include border security, energy costs and AI regulation.

SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to discuss the possibility of a merger, Elon Musk has revealed during the former's earnings call for the third quarter of 2026. Musk, who serves as CEO for both companies, said the committees were formed at the request of shareholders. The committees are made up of independent directors from SpaceX and Tesla. Musk himself can't be part of the discussions, as someone who's considered a "conflicted party," along with his brother Kimbal Musk. Based on the corporate information listed on the companies' websites, Tesla has seven independent directors, while SpaceX has six. However, Ira Ehrenpreis, the chairperson for Tesla's Compensation and Nominating and Governance committees, also joined SpaceX's board in February.

Elon Musk has revealed that SpaceX and Tesla are exploring a possible merger, a tie-up that would create a corporate colossus worth more than $3 trillion. Musk said on Tuesday that his two largest companies had established special committees to explore a merger. "They've got to come up with something, and then that's got to be put to the shareholders as a vote," Musk said on a SpaceX earnings call. Musk, the world's richest man with a net worth of more than $900bn, said that a merger would need to clear the "high hurdle" of a 50 percent vote among Tesla shareholders "Some people out there assume that a SpaceX and Tesla merger is a certainty, and I think that would be overstating it," Musk said. "Do I think it would be a good idea? But at the end of the day, the shareholders have to be supportive of this."

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Tyler August won his Wisconsin State Assembly primary by just three votes after a recount, proving why every ballot matters on election day.

Barnabas and Mainspring grew up near at hand, about an hour apart with good traffic, but for a long time they weren't close. They traded glimpses and occasional hellos and then went about their business. Both of them carried on livelier conversations with farther-flung neighbors, who were richer and had more to offer. When Mainspring did interact with Barnabas, it was cringe. Mainspring liked to puff themself up, to strut around like a big deal--an innovator, a titan of industry--but they would turn shy at the worst moments, especially in any intimate conversation. Barnabas, meanwhile, had a dancer's flair, an artsy, enigmatic glamour, except that when they tried to talk about real life, they'd blurt out hundreds of rapid-fire words--overtalking, overthinking, and generally overwhelming whomever they were trying to impress. So when Barnabas and Mainspring were young, they minded their own business. Until they'd both come into their own, and they saw each other properly. A group of geographers got together every year in a different place to talk about everything they had learned, and they were considering coming to visit either Mainspring or Barnabas. Both of them put on their best faces and tried to coax the geographers into choosing them as host. "Uh, hi-hello," Mainspring said haltingly to Barnabas, whose full official name was St. Barnabas. "I really think it would be better if those geographers came to my place. I have more space, you see, and and I am a titan of industry. I can show them practical applications of their research. It just makes more sense." Barnabas laughed, making Mainspring more antsy. "Well, can give them an elevated, artisanal experience. I have fresh croissants that were just written up in the . And I have plenty of space! I have so many friends who are great thinkers and architects. Barnabas carried on, basically calling Mainspring uncultured. Mainspring had a prickly feeling, like the worst heat dome of midsummer. For their part, Barnabas couldn't bear the meanness they were inculcating inside themself. This feeling that they were small-time, no-account, a dilettante. At last, Mainspring had had enough--with the help of their city council and mayor, they offered the geographers a much-too-lavish deal that Barnabas could never hope to match. Totally worth it to hear Barnabas's stream of self-aggrandizing nonsense peter out as they realized they'd been defeated. "I'm going to show these geographers a time they'll never forget.

Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable @Home Trending Now Mashable Selects Say More Top creators, ranked Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Creator Playbook In My Bag AI at School Safety Net All Series When it comes to election advice, maybe AI isn't so bad after all? This political junkie was pleasantly surprised by AI's election-related usefulness. When I read on NPR this week that people are turning to ChatGPT to tell them how to vote, I shook my head. Here we go again, I thought: another search for the easy way out. Voting is too serious of a right to turn over the thought process to AI.

Follow this section to personalize your feed and get instant alerts. Follow Go to your personalized feed WHY FOLLOW? Smart Alerts: Get notified about major news as it happens. Follow this tag to personalize your feed and get instant alerts. Follow Go to your personalized feed WHY FOLLOW? Smart Alerts: Get notified about major news as it happens. Omar Sy on Lupin Season 4 and His'Stunned' Reaction to the Louvre Heist Follow this author to personalize your feed and get instant alerts. Follow Go to your personalized feed WHY FOLLOW? Smart Alerts: Get notified about major news as it happens. Follow this author to personalize your feed and get instant alerts. Follow Go to your personalized feed WHY FOLLOW? Smart Alerts: Get notified about major news as it happens. The 6-foot-3 actor is sitting on a large leather sofa.

I won't accept exclusion, says Polanski after criticism of Zionist motion Zack Polanski has said he will not accept anyone being excluded from the Green Party because of the religious or communal body they are part of, after members adopted a motion declaring Zionism a form of racism. The Green leader said no-one will be made unwelcome because of their background, their faith, or where they worship. The motion defines Zionism as an ideology supporting an ethnonationalist Jewish state and backs a single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine. It comes after more than a dozen Labour MPs reported the Greens to the equality watchdog on Monday, saying it raised serious questions. Tensions exposed among Greens by'Zionism is racism' conference vote Nine Labour MPs have also referred the Green Party to Sussex Police, asking the force to investigate whether alleged possible antisemitic offences at the conference merit a criminal investigation. Sussex Police and the Green Party have been contacted for comment.