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Politics
Gallego rolls out ambitious plan to insulate workers against AI
The Arizona Democratic senator talked about his agenda with Semafor — but demurred on how he’ll handle 2028.
No Gaza peace three years after Oct. 7
President Trump’s Board of Peace unveiled a $2.45 billion Gaza recovery plan at a recent meeting, but the goals remain out of reach.
The World at a Glance
Updated 6:35am EDT
1
Oil prices held over $100 a barrel as supply route concerns outweighed reports of increased supply from the Gulf amid the merging of regional conflicts.
2Several high-profile investors warned about an impending AI bubble, as global tech stocks reach all-time highs.
3China appears to be looking to improve ties with the US ahead of two leader summits to be held before year-end.
4French politicians insisted the country would get to grips with its debt issues, but economists — and markets — signaled skepticism.
5OpenAI announced hundreds of mathematical breakthroughs, stunning the field with the booming capabilities of its technology.
6Germany’s former spy chief was arrested on suspicion of treason, in a major blow to Berlin’s security establishment.
View / The West’s open-source AI race kicks into high gear
Several Western tech firms have released open-source models over the past week.
Trump Account changes could take heat next year
The Treasury Department moved last week to automatically enroll tens of millions of children and greenlight donations of individual stocks.
View / The five takes that will define this midterm campaign
Many different kinds of Democrats are grabbing credit for midterm victories that aren’t official yet. Here’s your guide to the pre-spin cycle.
SpaceX looks to $40 billion debt raise to buy chips
The company’s reported raise shows it is stuck between mature tech giants like Google and Meta and startups like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Africa’s first credit rating agency set to launch
African Union’s new rating agency promises to add a fresh voice in a market dominated by the Big Three credit rating agencies.
Nigeria’s $8B oil security costs spark controversy
State oil company NNPC said it incurred the cost to protect oil facilities.
Democrat rolls out AI liability proposal
Massachusetts Rep. Lori Trahan’s “CLAIM Act” would make it easier for third parties to sue AI developers.
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Politics
The five takes that will define this midterm campaign
Many different kinds of Democrats are grabbing credit for midterm victories that aren’t official yet. Here’s your guide to the pre-spin cycle.
Rebecca Cook/Reuters
Is ‘abundance’ really dead?
The movement faced a wall of progressive resistance, but some Democrats are still embracing its ideas.
Kerry Tasker/Reuters
Unions look beyond their rolls to build a new movement
State labor groups are rolling out a broad populist agenda.
Nate Sawyer via Wikimedia Commons
Gallego rolls out ambitious plan to insulate workers against AI
The Arizona Democratic senator talked about his agenda with Semafor — but demurred on how he’ll handle 2028.
Trump haters are more confident in election integrity, poll finds
Sixty-three percent of Democrats say they have confidence in election integrity, according to Gallup polling.
Trump Account changes could take heat next year
The Treasury Department moved last week to automatically enroll tens of millions of children and greenlight donations of individual stocks.
No Gaza peace three years after Oct. 7
President Trump’s Board of Peace unveiled a $2.45 billion Gaza recovery plan at a recent meeting, but the goals remain out of reach.
Democrat rolls out AI liability proposal
Massachusetts Rep. Lori Trahan’s “CLAIM Act” would make it easier for third parties to sue AI developers.
Progressive groups lay out AI demands for candidates
Guardrails Action warns politicians in a new letter that they’ll face ‘active, mobilized opposition’ if they don’t commit to safety regulations.
CDC ‘closely monitoring’ suspected pneumonic plague case
The agency said there is “no indication of a broader threat to the United States” at this time.
Collins stakes her future on picking her spots against Trump
The Maine Republican sat down with Semafor amid her toughest reelection fight yet.
Business
Hyperscalers won’t stop spending until shareholders make them
Hyperscalers are spending themselves into oblivion, spreading inflation well beyond Silicon Valley and obscuring problems nearly everywhere else.
Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo/Reuters
New Skydance CEO Kreiz will be Ellison’s enforcer
Investors are warily eying Skydance’s freshly downgraded debt, and layoffs are coming.
Bessent’s reassurances fall flat for investors
Credit investors in the riskiest corners of the market, always the first to surface confidence gaps, are doubting the Treasury secretary’s reassurances.
SpaceX looks to $40 billion debt raise to buy chips
The company’s reported raise shows it is stuck between mature tech giants like Google and Meta and startups like OpenAI and Anthropic.
China is coming, slowly, for the dollar
Atlantic Council data shows the dollar still dominates trade and FX, but China’s competitor is gaining ground.
Technology
Tech companies play whack-a-mole with rogue AI
Agentic AI hacks pose major issues for governments and tech companies alike.
Dado Ruvic/Reuters
US and China take different approaches to AI agents
OpenAI’s dots and Meta’s Muse are built around the assistant first and then sent out to use other companies’ websites and services.
Go Nakamura/Reuters
AI video startup Higgsfield launches tool to build custom AI influencers
The company has updated its AI influencer tool, making it easier for users to insert a character of their own creation into existing videos.
The West’s open-source AI race kicks into high gear
Several Western tech firms have released open-source models over the past week.
SpaceX looks to $40 billion debt raise to buy chips
The company’s reported raise shows it is stuck between mature tech giants like Google and Meta and startups like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Alex Stamos on Silicon Valley’s ‘nihilism,’ and the line between real AI risks and imagined ones
In the debut episode of Future Proof from Semafor Technology, Cognition CISO and former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos goes off on the “nihilism” ripping through Silicon Valley.
Energy
China expands ultra-deep oil and gas drilling efforts
China broke oil and gas production records in 2025, though it has hastened its efforts this year in a bid to shield itself from war-related vicissitudes in global energy markets.
Stringer/Reuters
Bulgarian tankers struck in Black Sea as shipping fears mount
Drones struck two tankers in the Black Sea near Bulgaria on Tuesday, in the first attack on shipping in the NATO member’s exclusive economic zone.
Stringer/Reuters
Iberdrola becomes the world’s largest power provider by market cap
Iberdrola’s growing strength comes from its broader global footprint.
Vincent West/Reuters
Gulf
The Gulf’s new era of defense spending regardless of Washington stalemate
Blackstone, Brookfield, and KKR agreed to invest $16 billion in July for a 49% stake in Kuwait’s oil pipeline network.
IRGC/WANA/Handout via Reuters
Alabbar advances $18 billion Syria projects
Alabbar said he would prioritize using Syrian contractors and sourcing supplies locally for the projects.
New app Mazal targets luxury license plate resale market
Mazal’s founders say plates worth $463 million have changed hands in three years, and that the market is growing by about 20% a year.
Saudi’s expat workforce shrinks for the first time in more than two years
Foreigners employed in the country, excluding domestic workers, fell by 16,000 in the three months to June, driven by a drop in construction jobs.
Abu Dhabi backs Jordan’s $2.3B railroad to replace truck convoys to Aqaba
The UAE is investing in rail infrastructure across the region, including Etihad Rail at home, Hafeet Rail to Oman, and other links through Jordan.
China
China is coming, slowly, for the dollar
Atlantic Council data shows the dollar still dominates trade and FX, but China’s competitor is gaining ground.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
China expands ultra-deep oil and gas drilling efforts
China broke oil and gas production records in 2025, though it has hastened its efforts this year in a bid to shield itself from war-related vicissitudes in global energy markets.
Stringer/Reuters
China has resolved its ‘Malacca Dilemma’
China has survived the global energy disruption largely unscathed, while the island economies around it are struggling.
Supri/Reuters
Africa
Ethiopia renews push for Red sea access
After being sworn in for a second full term, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said his government would work diligently to ensure Ethiopia had “an outlet to the sea.”
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed being sworn in. Prime Minister’s Office/Handout via Reuters.
South Africa under pressure to provide $600M fuel relief
The Iran war drove petrol prices to record highs in the continent’s biggest economy.
Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
DR Congo uncovers $20B in payments to ineligible mining suppliers
The country is courting new mining investment and seeks to ensure that Congolese partners have a genuine stake in the businesses supplying its mines.
Nigeria’s $8B oil security costs spark controversy
State oil company NNPC said it incurred the cost to protect oil facilities.
Africa’s first credit rating agency set to launch
African Union’s new rating agency promises to add a fresh voice in a market dominated by the Big Three credit rating agencies.
Bridging Africa’s data gap
For decades, a lack of data has held back economic development in countries across Africa.
Security
Oil prices elevated as Mideast tensions amplify supply concerns
Analysts said attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz were increasing, while Iran-backed Houthis remain a threat in the Bab el-Mandeb waterway.
Mohammed Aty/Reuters
India’s bullet train project delays spark tensions with Japan
India’s first bullet train is yet to transport a single passenger 10 years after the joint project with Japan broke ground.
Amit Dave/Reuters
Former German spy chief charged with treason
August Hanning, who left Germany’s foreign intelligence service in 2005, is its first former chief to face charges.
Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
Media
New Skydance CEO Kreiz will be Ellison’s enforcer
Investors are warily eying Skydance’s freshly downgraded debt, and layoffs are coming.
Kris Tripplaar/Semafor
Marc Elias’ Democracy Docket sees Trump 2.0 success
One of the Democratic Party’s most prolific lawyers also is becoming one of its most prolific posters.
CEO’s podcast sparks tensions atop The Atlantic
Nicholas Thompson’s podcast, “The Most Interesting Thing in AI,” has been a source of friction at the magazine.
AI nonprofit will spend $10 million on journalism
A Silicon Valley nonprofit close to the AI safety movement is funding coverage of artificial intelligence.
Euractiv relaunches as ‘Rapporteur’ in Brussels
The newsroom, founded in 1999, has rebooted in recent years as a competitor to Politico Europe.
CEO Signal
‘It’s not about the champagne:’ Why VistaJet thinks the private flights boom can last
Founder Thomas Flohr is keeping IPO options open as he expands his global fleet.
How Greg Jackson runs Octopus Energy with no HR, no bonuses, and no succession plan
The serial founder relies on “family dinners,” accessibility, and a disdain for bureaucracy.
How Harvard Business School’s former dean thinks AI will test today’s CEOs
Nitin Nohria sees the technology as a decentralizing force that will challenge company power structures.
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