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Republican senators pray Trump pushes Paxton out of the Texas Senate race

If the state attorney general faces Democrat James Talarico, it “becomes more expensive, and it’s at-risk,” the former NRSC chair said.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas

Peace sells

The lack of any real presidential persuasion effort for Operation Epic Fury has been surreal.

A television monitor shows U.S. President Donald Trump’s earlier announcement in the otherwise empty press briefing room at the White House, while U.S. President Trump is away at his Mar-a-lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on the day the United States and Israel led attacks on Iran

How Third Way’s president plans to avoid the Biden fate in 2028

The centrist Democratic group’s chief spoke to Semafor about how to steer the party toward a candidate who’ll govern and campaign the same way.

Jonathan Cowan

Anthropic’s investors don’t have its back in its fight with the Pentagon

Some of Silicon Valley’s biggest players are staying silent.

Wall Street bristles over Senate housing proposal

Firms are particularly concerned about a requirement that institutional investors sell any rental homes they build to individuals within seven years.

Tillis goes big before going home

The retiring senator is applying his no-holds-barred Federal Reserve playbook to — well, everything.

All eyes on Vance amid Iran operation

The vice president is arguing that Trump’s Operation Epic Fury is different from past US conflicts.

Senate set to defeat Kaine’s Iran vote

A House war powers vote is also teed up for Thursday, but unity on the left isn’t guaranteed.

In the year’s first primaries, both right and left make gains

Republicans sought to punish incumbents who’d shown disloyalty to President Donald Trump.

Trump open to armed militias in Iran, WSJ reports

Trump is open to backing armed militias to help topple Iran’s government, The Wall Street Journal reported, as the expanding war raises questions about Washington’s endgame.

Republicans watch the clock on Trump’s Iran war

While his party largely supports a conflict that polls show Americans are cool to, the more time passes, the worse it could get.

China expected to lower economic growth targets

Beijing is expected to push for a growth target of between 4.5-5% — its lowest on record.

Attendants serve tea to Chinese leader Xi Jinping at Two Sessions.

US dollar surges amid MidEast conflict

The dollar surged as the war in the Middle East panicked investors and stoked US inflation fears.

Why the private-credit panic is misplaced

Beneath every troubled loan sit billions in private equity that, due to the way these deals are structured, will be wiped out before lenders lose a dollar.

Defense stocks soar, airline shares fall on Middle East conflict

The Iran conflict is creating leaders and laggards, JPMorgan analysts wrote.

Uber’s $1 trillion plan for the post-driver world

“All of the jobs other than the driving have to be done,” Dara Khosrowshahi tells Semafor’s “Compound Interest” podcast. Fleet management is a “trillion-dollar opportunity.”

Sam Altman pledges OpenAI deference to government amid Anthropic rift

Altman’s worldview hinges on the belief that “a democratically elected government” usurps “unelected private companies.”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addresses the gathering at the AI Impact Summit, in New Delhi, India.

AI chatbots show hawkish tendencies in war simulations

In simulated international crises, chatbots demonstrated self-awareness, an ability to model opponents’ thinking, and a tendency toward escalation.

The rise of AI agents is jamming up security firms

For firms managing security for businesses, hospitals, and banks, identifying AI is no longer enough, now that AI agents handle more private tasks on behalf of humans.

A new lawsuit claims Gemini assisted in suicide

Federal complaint alleges Google designed chatbot for ‘emotional dependency’

AI is prepared to commit science fraud, research finds

ArXiv, a repository for pre-peer-reviewed papers, has been “overwhelmed” with submissions since the rise of LLMs.

Anthropic’s investors don’t have its back in its fight with the Pentagon

Some of Silicon Valley’s biggest players are staying silent.

US renewables hit record high despite Trump pushback

More than a quarter of US electricity came from renewable sources in 2025, up from 10% the prior year, the EIA found.

Solar panels in San Diego.

Russia could gain from surge in global oil prices

Western governments may be less inclined to enforce existing sanctions or apply new ones in a highly-constrained energy market.

French navy diverts suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker to Marseille-Fos port.

Insurance rates for tankers passing through Hormuz could double

Many insurers are cancelling pre-existing war risk policies and looking to renegotiate at higher prices, a leading broker told Semafor.

Strait of Hormuz

What’s behind the UAE’s new era of transparency

In a region where governments reveal as little as possible even in peacetime, the level of disclosure so far has been striking.

Press briefing in Abu Dhabi on March 3, 2026.

The last best chance to break Tehran’s grip

A convergence of strength between the US, Israel, and the Gulf offers a narrow window of opportunity.

UAE stocks slide as markets reopen after Iranian strikes

The main indices for the Abu Dhabi and Dubai bourses ended Wednesday down 1.9% and 4.7% respectively.

Trump’s race against time — and oil prices, and inflation

For the US president, domestic economics may prove as constraining as any battlefield reality.

Gulf crisis prompts viral videos and scams

Videos of American pilots talking to Kuwaiti citizens have gone viral online.

Middle East crisis risks upending burgeoning Gulf-Africa ties

African governments have increasingly relied on Gulf nations — over Washington or Beijing — as sources of capital.

Dubai, UAE.

African markets brace for inflation amid Middle East crisis

African financial markets have been hit by foreign investors selling off assets as they flee perceived risk and retreat to the dollar, weakening local currencies.

Fire and smoke rise in the Fujairah oil industry zone in the UAE.

DR Congo’s Rawbank inks $265M deal

The country’s largest bank by assets hopes to boost its balance sheet for lending to small and medium-sized businesses.

Senegal PM threatens to withdraw his party from government

It marks an escalation in an ongoing power struggle between the president and the prime minister.

Nigeria’s foreign reserves jump by 772%

The government has removed a fixed peg for the naira currency, while the central bank has resolved a backlog of forex obligations.

African telecoms giants plan to launch $40 smartphone

The move is part of a push to bridge affordability gaps that limit access to digital services on the continent.

Iran war casualties mount as conflict widens

The US defense secretary said a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean with a torpedo.

The aftermath of a strike on Lebanon.

US, Ecuador launch joint action against cartels

The joint military campaign marks a major escalation of Washington’s regional action against drug trafficking.

A helicopter takes off from an unknown location in this still image from a video released on March 3, 2026, by U.S. Southern Command.

Trump open to armed militias in Iran, WSJ reports

Trump is open to backing armed militias to help topple Iran’s government, The Wall Street Journal reported, as the expanding war raises questions about Washington’s endgame.

US jet takes off from aircraft carrier during Operation Epic Fury

It’s bots vs. reporters at the AP

The tensions inside the wire service reveal a broader conflict playing out across the media over how AI should be applied within journalism.

Michel Porro/Getty Images

A new CBS News emerges amid Iran crisis

The joint Israeli and American attacks on Iran were the first major test of the new CBS News right-leaning and pro-Israel editorial leadership.

Netflix walks away from $83B Warner Bros. takeover

Paramount’s David Ellison gets the media property he has long wanted. Netflix, having swung and missed at its first big M&A deal, now has to reassure investors that its business is fine.

BBC News CEO who resigned over edit of Trump speech rejects charge of ‘institutional bias’

In her first interview since she left the BBC, Deborah Turness said at Semafor’s Restoring Trust in Media summit that it was her choice to resign.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr praises Bari Weiss’ CBS

“I think they’re doing a great job,” Carr said at Semafor’s Restoring Trust in Media event Wednesday.

US Soccer’s goal for the 2026 World Cup

CEO JT Batson says the tournament is forcing brands to see the value of the sport’s fans.

Pearson’s pitch for company bosses to become AI chief education officers

CEO Omar Abbosh says a new approach to skills is needed for companies to get the most from humans and technology.

Omar Abbosh

Affirm’s Max Levchin on how market sci-fi stories line up with AI reality

The PayPal co-founder values speculative visions of the future, even if investors overreacted to them this week.

Max Levchin

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