When I read this week that consumer genetics company 23andMe had filed for bankruptcy, I felt a familiar pang of regret.
I am one of 23andMe’s 15 million customers who entrusted the firm with a small sample of my saliva in exchange for health and ancestry information they could analyze from my DNA. After the company’s massive 2023 data breach that impacted nearly 7 million users, this marked at least the second time I wished I’d kept my genes to myself.
23andMe assured customers on Sunday that its data protection policies will not change. However, legal experts note that a potential sale would allow new owners to set different privacy policies for one of the world’s largest troves of consumer genomics.
Experts recommend that 23andMe customers follow the firm’s process to delete their accounts. The company’s website briefly went down Monday due to a high volume of users rushing to do just that. Your newsletter writer can confirm their site was back up and running by Tuesday morning, and I was able to delete my account without any issues.
This week’s stunning news that Trump Administration officials discussed U.S. military strikes on a Signal group chat that accidentally included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief shocked the cybersecurity community, as well as Trump’s own staff. “They are discussing classified material on an unsanctioned platform, which should result in someone being in jail,” an official at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency told Forbes.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that will require proof of citizenship, such as a driver’s license or U.S. passport, to register to vote in federal elections. The move addresses Trump’s long-running complaints about U.S. voter fraud, which research has repeatedly shown is not as widespread as the president claims.
U.S. consumer expectations plunged to a 12-year low of 65.2 in March, far below the threshold of 80 that typically indicates a looming recession, according to the Conference Board think tank. Their broader consumer confidence index was 92.9 in March, which was still under consensus economist forecasts of 94.5, according to FactSet. “[W]orries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers’ assessments of their personal situations,” Conference Board senior economist Stephanie Guichard said.
Seth Goldman’s first beverage company Honest Tea was acquired by Coca-Coca in 2011, but when the soda giant later discontinued the tea line in 2022, it only took him about two weeks to decide he wanted back into the market. His new brand Just Ice Tea is built on the same values—it’s less sweet, organic and Fair Trade-certified—but was able to power through the “painful growth years going from zero to $10 million” in a fraction of the time.
Alphabet’s Waymo robotaxis may be ferrying passengers around the nation’s capital as soon as 2026: The California-based firm said it has resumed testing in Washington, D.C., in preparation to add service there. Waymo also intends to launch in Miami this year and in Atlanta in 2026, while expanding its service in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin and several Bay Area communities.
China-based AI startup DeepSeek updated its large language model this week with what the company claims are “significant improvements” over its predecessor, after their earlier release rattled global tech stocks in January. So far, this release is having a more muted impact: Shares for Nvidia dropped by 0.6% Tuesday, while other stocks like Broadcom (1.6%) declined slightly. Apple (1.4%), Meta (1.2%), Microsoft (0.5%) and Tesla (3.5%), however, were all up Tuesday.
The Trump Administration is expected to freeze about $20 million in funding for Planned Parenthood as soon as this week while it reviews whether the organization is in compliance with President Donald Trump’s directive to root out DEI initiatives. The funding is part of about $120 million in Title X grants for family planning, access to birth control, infertility services and STI treatment, and would impact Planned Parenthood clinics in about a dozen states.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, White House officials announced Tuesday, and Ukraine confirmed—though Russia specified new conditions for the partial truce. The Kremlin is seeking a significant rollback of economic sanctions, including restored access to the global grain and fertilizer market.
Billionaire Elon Musk has poured millions into a high-stakes race for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, with both Musk and President Donald Trump backing Republican Judge Brad Schimel. The election will determine which party has control of the battleground state’s highest court, and is viewed as a bellwether for how elections in Trump’s second term could go. The New York Times also notes that the court’s makeup could benefit Musk, as Tesla has sued Wisconsin for blocking the company from opening dealerships in the state.
DAILY COVER STORY
It’s pretty safe to say that America’s traditional Ivy League universities, aptly called the “Ancient Eight,” have been in recent headlines more than they might like.
President Donald Trump’s attack on what he and others insist is a “woke” epidemic infecting the nation’s higher education system has turned the Ivy League and other elite colleges into pariahs. Hundreds of colleges now face steep federal funding cuts, gutted programs and federal investigations, and even the most fiscally fit universities are staring down four years of financial uncertainty.
The outlook doesn’t improve much when you talk to employers. In a Forbes survey of C-suite, vice president, and managerial professionals, 37% said they are less likely to hire an Ivy League graduate than five years ago—up from 33% who said the same last year. Another 12% said they would never hire an Ivy League graduate. Survey respondents pointed to graduates’ attitudes and lack of humility as sticking points. “I believe Ivy League candidates are over valued, and they frequently have a higher than real opinion of themselves,” one C-suite-level respondent wrote. “Entry-level job candidates should be eager to learn, have no ego or be ‘stuck-up’ because of the school they attended,” said another.
So if America’s favor is turning away from its most elite private schools, where are employers, students and parents looking instead? For the second year, Forbes has selected 10 outstanding public universities and 10 top private schools as New Ivies that are attracting the best and the brightest. A few public schools are making their second appearance on our list—Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University and the University of Michigan, for example, continue to impress.
New to this year’s private New Ivies list, and a crown jewel in greater Boston’s crowded higher education market, is Tufts University in Somerville, Massachusetts. The hilltop school, whose alumni include eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, is well-known for its international studies, computer science and pre-med programs.
WHY IT MATTERS “Students and their anxious parents go to great lengths to gain admission to one of America’s exclusive Ivy League colleges,” Forbes’ Emma Whitford says. “The eight schools were long considered a guaranteed on-ramp to career success, and while Ivy League graduates’ outcomes are still favorable, other schools are doing a better job educating and preparing students for the workforce, employers tell Forbes.”
“If a rigorous education and plentiful job prospects are the goal, high school seniors’ time may be better spent applying to one of our 20 New Ivies.”
MORE Forbes College Financial Grades 2025: America’s Strongest And Weakest Schools
FACTS + COMMENTS
With measles outbreaks in two states and cases reported in 16 more, the CDC is recommending measles vaccine boosters for specific subsets of Americans:
People vaccinated before 1968: The CDC recommends that this group get at least one dose of a new measles vaccine, as the vaccine available from 1963 to 1967 was not effective
People who are unsure of their status: If you are unsure of immunity or vaccination status, it is safest to get a measles vaccine as there is “no harm in getting another dose if you may already be immune,” the CDC says
‘Protected for life’: Barring the two groups above, the CDC says most people who get an MMR or MMRV vaccination are protected against measles for their lifetimes
STRATEGY + SUCCESS
While LinkedIn and other online platforms can be great resources for connecting with professionals in your field, in-person networking has key advantages that are difficult to replicate digitally. Face-to-face communication allows for more spontaneous and natural conversation, as well as opportunities to connect with people you wouldn’t have met otherwise—which can often lead to meaningful professional connections.
VIDEO
QUIZ
An original model from a beloved Stephen Spielberg movie is up for auction at Sotheby’s, with an estimated price between $600,000 and $900,000. What is the model?
A. The T-Rex from “Jurassic Park”
B. E.T. from “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”
C. The golden idol from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”
D. The shark from “Jaws”
Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Chris Dobstaff and Caroline Howard.