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Semafor Recommends
In this Judy Blume biography, the American writer comes across as ‘witty, optimistic, devoted to her craft and sincere’
The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan by the BBC’s veteran foreign correspondent Lyse Doucet is ‘observant, and sometimes heartbreaking.’
The latest offering from the world-renowned classicist Mary Beard, Talking Classics, arrives amid a time of peril for her field.
James Rosen’s biography about the conservative US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in Scalia: Rise to Greatness, 1936-1986 captures his ‘brilliance and magnetism.’
Arsenal’s unofficial biographer Nick Hornby writes about his own childhood and young adulthood following the Gunners in Fever Pitch.
Saudi’s NEOM halts work on The Line until after 2030
Budget deficits and feasibility questions were forcing a rethink even before the Iran war.
Courtesy of NEOM.Gabbard resigns, adding to Trump’s long to-do list
Any successor to the departing national intelligence director would have to get through an increasingly frustrated Senate Republican Conference.
Nathan Howard/ReutersHow Trump lost Senate Republicans
The president’s sway with them is lower than at any point in his second term — even as his influence in party primaries peaks.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersEbola outbreak prompts scrutiny of Trump cuts
Congressional Democrats and health experts say slashing USAID hampered the virus response
Jonathan Ernst/ReutersDNC autopsy prompts more questions
The Democratic National Committee’s incomplete 2024 “autopsy” report contains no mention of the war in Gaza.
Kylie Cooper/Reuters Republicans’ view of economy darkens, poll finds
Only 16% of all US adults describe current economic conditions as excellent or good, the lowest in three years.
Leah Millis/ReutersMusk, Zuckerberg derail Trump AI order
The executive order would have created some oversight for powerful new AI models.
Brian Snyder/Reuters AD
Politics
Eleanor Mueller/Semafor
Lucy Nicholson/ReutersNathan Howard/Reuters
No ‘immediate’ tariffs on semiconductors
The US will not impose tariffs on semiconductors in the near future, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Friday.
Eleanor Mueller/SemaforTrump administration clarifies new green card policy
Most people seeking green cards will have to leave the country to apply for permanent residency, rather than do it from inside the US, the Trump administration said Friday.
Lucy Nicholson/ReutersGabbard resigns, adding to Trump’s long to-do list
Any successor to the departing national intelligence director would have to get through an increasingly frustrated Senate Republican Conference.
Nathan Howard/ReutersSenators pitch bipartisan affirmation of US-Taiwan ties amid arms sale pause
The president has described a paused $14 billion weapons package for the self-governing island as a “negotiating chip” with China.
Trump faces further Republican rebellion
The latest displeasure comes over an “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” wth Trump’s standing among GOP legislators is at its lowest point of his second term.
Debatable: Taiwan arms sales
Members of Congress broadly support defensive weapon sales to Taiwan, but there’s friction over how far US support for the self-governing island should go.
Ebola outbreak prompts scrutiny of Trump cuts
Congressional Democrats and health experts say slashing USAID hampered the virus response
DNC autopsy prompts more questions
The Democratic National Committee’s incomplete 2024 “autopsy” report contains no mention of the war in Gaza.
Republicans’ view of economy darkens, poll finds
Only 16% of all US adults describe current economic conditions as excellent or good, the lowest in three years.
Trump postpones signing AI and cybersecurity order
Trump suggested he had concerns it could shrink the country’s AI lead over China.
How Trump lost Senate Republicans
The president’s sway with them is lower than at any point in his second term — even as his influence in party primaries peaks.
Business
Courtesy of Match Group/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Why an anxious AI romantic now drives Match Group’s dating apps
CEO Spencer Rascoff uses digital “personas” to help the Tinder owner understand its users.
Courtesy of Match Group/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforHow syringe-maker BD is infusing AI into its medical devices
CEO Tom Polen is turning his 65,000 employees into lean manufacturing “problem-finders.”
Retail signals portend trouble for US consumers
Major US retailers suggested shoppers are reining in spending as the Iran war raises prices on essential goods.
We need a new AI vocabulary
CEOs’ vocabulary about the technology is at turns rosy and robotic, maddeningly passive, and tin-eared.
SpaceX IPO filing lays out Musk’s interplanetary manifesto
The document also revealed how much the world’s largest public offering is underpinned by a founder firmly in control.
Technology
Mike Blake/Reuters
Some job seekers have worse odds than Harvard applicants
Deel received 1.3 million job applications last year.
Mike Blake/ReutersBig names missing from Trump’s quantum investment
Google, Microsoft, and IonQ were left out of the latest government funding round in quantum firms.
China bans import of some Nvidia chips
The decision dealt a blow to the American tech firm, which had long lobbied the White House to ease export restrictions on China-bound chips.
Musk, Zuckerberg derail Trump AI order
The executive order would have created some oversight for powerful new AI models.
Trump postpones signing AI and cybersecurity order
Trump suggested he had concerns it could shrink the country’s AI lead over China.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX eyes record $80B IPO
SpaceX reported rapidly increasing revenue — $18.67 billion in 2025 — most of it generated by its satellite broadband arm Starlink.
Energy
Jim Young/File Photo/Reuters
Rafael Martins/Reuters
China Daily via Reuters
Republicans split on ethanol share in national fuel mix
High US gasoline prices are increasing pressure on the Senate to pass legislation increasing the share of ethanol into the fuel mix, but not all agree.
Jim Young/File Photo/ReutersEVs, hybrids to hit 30% of car sales in 2026: IEA
EV sales are soaring on the back of the Iran war and ever-falling battery prices.
Rafael Martins/ReutersWestern nations let Russia in from the cold
The US and UK softened sanctions on Russian oil amid the Iran war’s energy crunch.
China Daily via ReutersGulfCourtesy of NEOM.
Saudi’s NEOM halts work on The Line until after 2030
Budget deficits and feasibility questions were forcing a rethink even before the Iran war.
Courtesy of NEOM.War dents Saudi’s efforts to diversify economy
The Iran war is undermining Saudi Arabia’s efforts to diversify away from oil, while boosting the kingdom’s oil revenues.
Israel’s Iran stance changes MidEast calculus
Washington’s Middle East partners are increasingly seeing Israel as a destabilizing force, analysts said, a perception that is shifting regional power dynamics.
Qatar Investment Authority, Spanish tech investor lauch $349M fund
The joint fund will back Spanish companies involved in the green transition and digital transformation.
Iran war shrinks Qatar Airways capacity, profits
The state-owned carrier posted a $1.9 billion profit for the year to the end of March, with revenue and passenger traffic hit by repeated airspace closures.
China
Florence Lo/File Photo/Reuters
Alexander Manzyuk/Reuters
China looks for signs of optimism in its housing market
Economists debated whether there’s light at the end of the tunnel for China’s multiyear property slump.
Florence Lo/File Photo/ReutersPutin leaves China without pipeline deal
Russia’s Vladimir Putin left Beijing without an agreement on a long-stalled gas pipeline he urgently sought.
Putin to discuss long-delayed pipeline with Xi
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing this week could clear a logjam for the construction of a long-delayed oil pipeline to China.
Alexander Manzyuk/ReutersAfrica
Steve Nesius/File Photo/Reuters
How SpaceX is making a quiet bet on Africa
That lofty ambition to connect over 3 billion people to the internet sits at the heart of Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet business.
Steve Nesius/File Photo/ReutersResin analysis of incense in Pompeii links Roman city to African trade
Resins from African rainforests were likely traded alongside other commodities from sub-Saharan Africa via the Red Sea, researchers said.
South Africa police clash with displaced migrants
The forceful clearance of migrant workers has been condemned by rights groups.
Chinese solar exports to Africa surge
The energy crisis sparked by the Iran war has fueled global demand for renewable energy.
Africa Finance Corporation commits $100M to digital growth
The move is unusual for the Africa Finance Corporation, which mainly deploys capital for infrastructure projects.
Investment into health R&D could unlock $668B for Africa
The goal could be achieved if African governments meet the African Union’s call to invest 1% of their GDPs in health, a report said.
SecurityAlexander Manzyuk/Reuters 
Evan Vucci/Reuters
Putin to discuss long-delayed pipeline with Xi
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing this week could clear a logjam for the construction of a long-delayed oil pipeline to China.
Alexander Manzyuk/ReutersPutin launches nuclear drills in projection of power
The show of force comes as Moscow suffers continued losses on the battlefield in its war against Ukraine.
Trump suspends planned Iran strikes
The US president said he was holding off attacks on Iran at the behest of Middle East allies.
Evan Vucci/ReutersMedia
Veronica McNabb/US Army National Guard
Democrats move to restore military paper’s independence
The new legislation from Senate Democrats aims to insulate Stars and Stripes from the Trump administration’s efforts to assert control.
Veronica McNabb/US Army National GuardNew arts magazine Totei to focus on the ‘creative process’
The online magazine will publish content weekly, including profiles of artists and musicians, photo essays, reported features, and interviews.
Fortune chairman joined Trump interview
Editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell conducted the interview with the president.
Paramount seeks to calm California’s creatives — and a litigious attorney general
Paramount is racing to reassure Hollywood that its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, with its HBO streaming service, isn’t aimed at killing movie theaters.
CBS’ Tony Dokoupil to broadcast from Taiwan after failing to get China visa in time
It was a stumble in the network’s efforts to play a leading role in this week’s dominant global story.
CEO SignalCourtesy of Match Group/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor 
Courtesy of Becton Dickinson/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Why an anxious AI romantic now drives Match Group’s dating apps
CEO Spencer Rascoff uses digital “personas” to help the Tinder owner understand its users.
Courtesy of Match Group/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforHow syringe-maker BD is infusing AI into its medical devices
CEO Tom Polen is turning his 65,000 employees into lean manufacturing “problem-finders.”
Courtesy of Becton Dickinson/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforWhy Allstate’s Tom Wilson thinks CEOs should create more jobs with AI
The insurance industry veteran says executives have an obligation to do hard things.
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