⬆️ Situational awareness: U.S. GDP was up 3% in Q2, reversing a Q1 decline. Go deeper.

Turning this section over to my Axios colleague Emily Peck:

After United Healthcare's CEO was gunned down in December, companies scrambled to beef up executive security. Now, in the wake of Monday's fatal shooting in midtown Manhattan, broader office security questions are being asked.

Where it stands: Security inside New York's office buildings is already fairly locked down — it's not clear how much more can be done without alienating clients, employees, and other visitors.

• In most midtown skyscrapers like 345 Park Ave., where Monday's shooting took place, visitors must show IDs before gaining access to tightly controlled turnstiles and elevator banks.
• But the assailant on Monday shot his way in with an AR-15 assault rifle.
• It's difficult to prepare for an ambush like that, says Kelly Johnstone, formerly a chief security officer at Coca-Cola. "He wanted to do something."

Threat level: Workplace violence has been increasing, particularly since the pandemic.

• But it's still very rare. Neither the United CEO shooting nor the midtown incident is a typical workplace violence scenario. Instead, these involve a disgruntled employee or domestic violence issue, says Dan Leporati, director of risk management for Engage PEO.

By the numbers: Workplace fatalities due to violent acts totaled 740 in 2023, per the most recently available government data. The year before, 435 workplace fatalities were the result of a gunshot. (There are about 160 million workers in the U.S.)

• The health care sector sees the highest incidence of workplace violence.

Flashback: New York City offices first started locking down seriously more than two decades ago, after the Sept. 11 attacks.

• Before then, you could walk into some buildings' lobbies and be ushered in with little fuss.

The bottom line: Monday night's fatal shooting was tragic, but it might not significantly change office security practices inside urban office buildings.

Palo Alto Networks (Nasdaq: PANW) has agreed to buy Israeli cybersecurity firm CyberArk (Nasdaq: CYBR) for around $25 billion in cash and stock.

Why it's the BFD: This is a reminder that the AI gold rush is as much about supporting services as it is about foundational models, with CyberArk building tools that secure AI agents' identities.

By the numbers: CyberArk stockholders will receive $45 in cash and just over 2.2 Palo Alto shares per CyberArk share.

• That works out to around an 8.5% premium to yesterday's closing stock prices, even though a deal leak to the WSJ sent Palo Alto stock down 5.2% and CyberArk shares up 13.5%.
• Both companies are down in pre-market trading today, which would impact the headline price.

Zoom out: This is the year's second cybersecurity megadeal, following Google's $32 billion agreement with Wiz.

The bottom line: "This feels like the biggest move yet in Nikesh Arora's big 'platformization' push at Palo Alto Networks. If it works, it could set his company up to be a leader in securing identities in the AI age." — Sam Sabin, Axios

• Ramp, a financial ops platform, raised $500m in Series E-2 funding at a $22.5b valuation. Iconiq led, joined by Sutter Hill Ventures, Lightspeed, T. Rowe Price, GV, Emerson Collective, Operator Collective, and Pinegrove Capital Partners.

• Return backers include Founders Fund, D1 Capital Partners, GIC, Coatue, Avenir Growth, Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, Sands Capital, 8VC, Lux Capital, Altimeter, Definition Capital, 137 Ventures, General Catalyst, and Stripes.