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Who needs to go to Mars when you can board a spaceship to Earth? Serial #disrupter Elon Musk is planning to build a new rocket, code-named BFR, capable of traveling anywhere on the planet in under an hour. A hypersonic trip from New York to Shanghai would take 39 minutes, down from the current nonstop time of about 15 hours. Sign us up. —Megan Hess

 

Watch the chair

President Trump and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin met Thursday with Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Fed’s board of governors, to discuss a potential nomination as the next chief of the Federal Reserve. Trump is said to be considering the current chair, Janet Yellen, Stanford economist John Taylor, former BB&T Corp. CEO John Allison, and Columbia University economist Glenn Hubbard as well. The president has said he’s also looking at White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn.

 
Here are today's top stories...
 

Elon Musk aims to build a rocket that will get you anywhere on Earth in an hour. The surprise announcement means SpaceX is setting up a potentially competitive challenge to the commercial airline industry. "Fly to most places on Earth in under 30 mins and anywhere in under 60," Musk wrote in an Instagram post. "Cost per seat should be about the same as full fare economy in an aircraft. Forgot to mention that." Musk will need to conquer many technical hurdles first.

 

The Equifax hack has the hallmarks of state-sponsored pros. Investigations into the massive breach aren't complete, but the intruders used techniques that have been linked to nation-state hackers. Similar intrusions in recent years at Anthem and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management were both ultimately attributed to hackers working for Chinese intelligence.

 

Tax reform could open up a huge loophole for the wealthy. The framework released this week by Trump and Republican leaders offers a treat to owners of “pass-through businesses” — ones that don’t pay taxes themselves but instead pass profits on to the owner, who pays based on his or her own individual rate. Now, everybody might want to get in on the act, especially those in higher tax brackets.

 

The fate of that historical tax revamp lies with six senators: Bob Corker, John McCain, Rand Paul, Pat Toomey, Orrin Hatch, and Susan Collins. Some in the group have already laid out their demands for a tax bill. Here’s a closer look at those senators, whose actions will be crucial to getting a tax bill across the finish line.

 

Merlot is having a comeback. Sales of luxury merlots are increasing again, and restaurants are pouring more of it. Sommeliers are not responsible; most are in love with every grape but merlot. Rather, its silky, cherry fruit and round texture give it an immediate appeal.

 
 
 

Wastin' away...

Over the past two decades, Jimmy Buffett has built a licensing and hospitality empire on the back of his most famous hit song, selling everything from hotel rooms to deck chairs and frozen shrimp through his company, Margaritaville Holdings. Now, he’s putting his brand on 55-and-older communities in a bid to sell homes to boomers ready to kick back.

 
 

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