There are a lot of things that lead to a high schooler crying at a kitchen table: algebra problems, decoding Richard III, and getting stuck in the Bye Bye Birdie ensemble. But this year, the Education Department’s botched rollout of its new financial aid application had seniors, their parents, college administrators, and lawmakers all feeling like they couldn’t solve for “X.”

Four years ago, US lawmakers voted to update the cumbersome 108-question financial aid application to fewer than 50 questions. The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, helps the government and colleges determine what kind of financial aid package incoming students can receive to pay for school.

But even with a two-month delay from the old form’s usual October opening, the updated one was almost unusable when it soft-launched in December. Users reported getting stuck on questions or logged out of the site.

• Only 5.7 million FAFSAs have been submitted, according to an Education Department spokesperson, far from the 17 million expected annually. Students have until June 30 to submit.

There’s a lot of finger-pointing

The fumbled debut of a $336+ million overhaul has Republicans blaming the Biden administration for letting the FAFSA revamp fall through the cracks while the president was laser-focused on loan forgiveness. The admin and some higher ed advocates said it’s Republicans’ fault for not approving a bigger budget for the project. But it was most likely a combination of both—plus the Department of Education’s lack of communication around issues, experts said.

The state of financial aid: The Biden administration said this week that after months of quiescence, the department had finally sent its first group of student financial records to schools over the weekend. A number of colleges and universities, already nervous about sharp enrollment declines since the pandemic, proactively extended the May 1 deadline for students to commit to their schools.—MM

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Schumer calls for election in Israel to replace Netanyahu. In a speech on the Senate floor yesterday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7,” arguing that the Israeli leader cares more about his political survival than the country’s best interests. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the US, also implied that Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition is threatening to turn Israel into a global “pariah.” The speech came as frustration mounts in the Biden administration over the civilian toll in Gaza.

Steve Mnuchin wants to buy TikTok. Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that he’s assembling the Avengers putting together a team of investors to acquire TikTok, just a day after the House passed a bill that would ban the app if its Chinese owner ByteDance doesn’t divest. Mnuchin, who headed up the Treasury Department under Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021, now runs the investment fund Liberty Strategic Capital. He did not specify who else might be part of his financial supersquad. Experts believe China is likely to block any sale of TikTok to a US company.

🥸 Craig Wright is NOT the father (of bitcoin). After a six-week trial, a UK court ruled that Australian computer scientist Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious inventor of bitcoin. Wright has long claimed that he adopted the pseudonym and authored a white paper on bitcoin in 2008, laying the groundwork for the cryptocurrency. Since then, he’s sued several developers for allegedly violating his intellectual property rights. But the evidence that he is not Satoshi, the judge said, is “overwhelming.” While crypto’s biggest mystery remains unsolved, at least one suspect can be ruled out.

The company looking to colonize Mars rang in its 22nd birthday yesterday with the third test launch of its large and in-charge Starship rocket, and unlike your 22nd birthday, this one didn’t end in a spontaneous blowup.

Starship, the rocket that future NASA missions and Musk’s satellite biz are counting on, blasted off from the Texas Gulf Coast yesterday morning and completed most of its ~hourlong test mission—detaching from the Super Heavy booster and cruising about halfway around the world—before losing contact on reentry and likely breaking up over the Indian Ocean.

This is major progress. The rocket’s first two orbital launches last April and November ended in explosions just minutes after takeoff. SpaceX engineers had to make 80 FAA-commissioned fixes after those launches.

But there’s still a ways to go. Starship is designed to be reusable, and while yesterday’s failed reentry shows it’s not yet there, it’ll have to be by the end of 2026 when Starship is contracted to help NASA shuttle astronauts to the moon (though some aerospace experts think the mission will be pushed back). Musk said Starship should successfully complete hundreds of uncrewed missions before then.

Meanwhile…Jeff Bezos might get to the big cheese in the sky first. Blue Origin announced plans this month to send a cargo lander to the moon by the end of 2025.—ML

Brothers solve a $100b problem…for their mother. These Forbes 30 Under 30–winning Aura founders propelled their mental wellness company to reach 8m users with 100k+ subscribers. They’re backed by top Silicon Valley VCs and executives from Spotify, Facebook, and Masterclass. But they’re far from finished—today is the final day to invest in Aura and receive 10% bonus shares with your investment.

Vancouver, the city known for having idyllic beaches, being the filming location of Riverdale, and giving us Ryan Reynolds, is embroiled in controversy over a new housing development.

The planned community, Sen̓áḵw, will consist of 11 towers and 6,000 apartments. It’s being built on 10 acres of prime real estate owned by the Squamish Nation, one of Canada’s Indigenous groups, and will be the densest neighborhood in Canada when finished.

Sen̓áḵw has drawn the ire of residents of Kitsilano Point—a trendy, beachfront neighborhood filled with athleisure-donning software engineers that borders the development.

• Neighbors are concerned that proposed futuristic skyscrapers will block their mountain view and erode the neighborhood’s character.
• They’re also worried about potential issues caused by the density, which is only allowed because it’s being built on First Nations land and thus doesn’t fall under Vancouver’s strict zoning laws.

But…some members of the Indigenous community see a subtext in Vancouverites’ opposition: “Canadians aren’t used to seeing Indigenous people occupy places that are socially, economically or geographically valuable, like Sen̓áḵw,” said one Canadian journalist.

Zoom out: Elsewhere in the city, a coalition including the Squamish is planning a 13,000-unit housing development. Neighbors have come forward in opposition, expressing concerns about the site’s lack of a hydrogeological study.—CC

Stat: Amazon might not notice if you forget to ship a toaster back after requesting a refund. But when millions of people do that with malicious intent, it makes a dent. Fraud groups, often with the help of conspiring retail employees, are tricking companies into issuing refunds without the products being returned, CNBC reported. Per the National Retail Federation, return fraud accounted for $101 billion in losses for retailers last year. And for every $100 in returned merch, shops lose almost $14 to return fraud. These groups operate like sophisticated businesses, marketing their services on platforms like TikTok and Reddit. Amazon said it’s now using machine learning tools to detect the fraud.

Quote: “I love that my bite is better, that my teeth are a better shape, that they feel better in my mouth.”

If you had “South Dakota governor travels to Texas for dental work, posts a testimonial video about it, and then gets sued for failing to disclose a financial relationship with the dentist” on your bingo card, then come collect your prize. Kristi Noem was sued by a consumer advocacy group yesterday after she gushed about her treatment at Smile Texas in a strange, five-minute infomercial-like video. The suit alleges that she was acting as an undisclosed influencer. Noem and her brand-new smile are rumored to be on Donald Trump’s shortlist of potential running mates.

Read: Can Reddit survive its IPO? (Wired)

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