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Apple Just Gave This Rare-Earth Company $500m

William Attardi on July 16, 2025

 It’s been a long time since an expensive magnet has been able to sport a “Made in America” sticker, but recent massive investments in one private company could change all that. Apple announced yesterday that it would commit to a $500 million deal with the only US-based rare-earth producer, MP Materials.  The company was founded in 2017 to bring production back to Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine in Southeast California, about 50 miles south of Las Vegas, Nevada, which is the second largest rare-earth mine in the world—and the only one operational in the US.  MP Materials’ stock has skyrocketed almost 500% since going public in 2020. Morning Brew crew@morningbrew.com

Wyoming’s First New Coal Mine in Decades to Extract Rare Earths

William Attardi on July 16, 2025

The developer of what would be the first new coal mine in Wyoming in decades is launching a potentially half-billion-dollar effort to extract rare earth metals from the fossil fuel that is crucial for tech products and military hardware. The only operating U.S. rare earths mine is at Mountain Pass in California. Nearly all of the nation’s supply comes from China, the source of nearly 90% of the world’s supply. Wyoming’s First New Coal Mine in Decades to Extract Rare Earths – electrifiED

Name, Image Likeness (NIL) – NIL legislation has transformed the college sports landscape. The Supreme Court, NCAA, and student-athletes all played a role in the new compensation rules. NCAA long argued that amateurs are understood as those who do not profit off of their athletic performance and college sports fans and consumers demanded amateur play on the collegiate level. That argument was denied by the Supreme Court. Student-athletes can now be paid for their autograph, developing their own merchandise, promoting products or services, and event appearances due to their personal celebrity. Now, athletes are starting their own brands, endorsing brands, and becoming their own brands. While the Supreme Court and NCAA passed Name, Image, and Likeness into affect, schools still have their own specificities around the new rule. One of the most important hurdles for student-athletes now is to use these guidelines properly. That is to say athletes must understand how the state they play in or school they attend may affect the way they can utilize now-legal NIL rules. Rules on school logo restrictions, what products may or may not be sponsored, as well as other guidelines, differ from state and school. Athletes are also expected to inform universities of NIL deals and contracts they decide to engage in. Social media and personal branding are now more important than ever. And this is just the beginning.