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View / What Spencer Pratt’s rise can teach both parties about AI-age campaigning
Key Republican senator removes roadblock to crypto bill
The World at a Glance
Updated 6:37pm EDT
1
US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing today against the backdrop of the Iran war and pressing questions about the future of the US-China economic relationship.
2Beijing is poised to press Donald Trump on US arms sales to Taiwan, amid rising concerns that the president could alter his stance toward the island.
3Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s last-minute inclusion on Trump’s Beijing trip raised the possibility of a deal to break an impasse over AI chip sales to China.
4Global oil inventories are declining at an alarming rate, the International Energy Agency warned.
5Europe is seeking access to high-powered AI models to prevent cyberattacks after Anthropic denied EU regulators access to its powerful Mythos model.
6AI is playing an increasingly prominent role in US elections, as the technology galvanizes voters and corporate donors.
Two top Trump priorities in jeopardy on Capitol Hill
A potential gas tax holiday and funding for the White House ballroom are both in serious jeopardy.
Mike Blake/Reuters Trump faces high-stakes meeting with Xi
US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing against the backdrop of the Iran war and pressing questions about the future of the US-China economic relationship.
Evan Vucci/ReutersSenators warn against ‘unilateral changes’ to Taiwan policy
Twelve senators signed the bipartisan letter.
Photo: Stefano Relladini/Pool via Reuters; Banner: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty ImagesMayor Zohran Mamdani is wading into an international M&A deal
New York’s mayor wants to block the merger of Western Union and Intermex, arguing it’ll hurt some of the neediest New Yorkers.
REUTERS/Shannon StapletonMore activists rush in to HPE
More activist investors have taken stakes in the tech company.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters 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.
Alex Wong/Getty ImagesYounger Democrats challenge blue-state ‘gerontocracy’
In Connecticut and Massachusetts, older incumbents are confronting a familiar question.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
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Politics
Aaron Schwartz/Reuters 
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters Mike Blake/Reuters
Federal workers’ mood sank under DOGE, poll finds
Federal workers were less likely to trust their leaders or believe their workplace treats people with respect.
Aaron Schwartz/Reuters Senate’s crypto drama comes to a head
Republicans already amassed enough support to advance their latest bill text without Democrats on Wednesday.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters Two top Trump priorities in jeopardy on Capitol Hill
A potential gas tax holiday and funding for the White House ballroom are both in serious jeopardy.
Mike Blake/Reuters Vance takes campaign trail ‘tryouts’ to Maine, without Collins
The vice president will campaign with Paul LePage for the House, but the Maine senator will be in Washington voting.
Xi to push Trump on Taiwan
Beijing is poised to press Donald Trump on US arms sales to Taiwan, amid rising concerns that the president could alter his stance toward the island.
What Spencer Pratt’s rise can teach both parties about AI-age campaigning
You don’t have to imagine what Los Angeles would look like under Mayor Spencer Pratt, because AI already did it for you.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is wading into an international M&A deal
New York’s mayor wants to block the merger of Western Union and Intermex, arguing it’ll hurt some of the neediest New Yorkers.
Key Republican senator removes roadblock to crypto bill
Sen. John Kennedy, R, La., will support the legislation in committee, moving it closer to passage by the Senate.
Younger Democrats challenge blue-state ‘gerontocracy’
In Connecticut and Massachusetts, older incumbents are confronting a familiar question.
Data centers are wildly unpopular, poll shows
Seven in 10 Americans say they oppose building data centers where they live.
Warsh has cover to not cut rates — but it won’t matter to Trump
His confirmation as Federal Reserve Chair, expected Wednesday, will start the clock on presidential pressure.
BusinessREUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is wading into an international M&A deal
New York’s mayor wants to block the merger of Western Union and Intermex, arguing it’ll hurt some of the neediest New Yorkers.
REUTERS/Shannon StapletonMore activists rush in to HPE
More activist investors have taken stakes in the tech company.
Foreign investors pull out of India at record pace
Foreign investors have pulled $21 billion out of Indian stocks in the last two months, putting 2026 on track to be the worst year for outflows since the markets opened to overseas investment in 1993.
Who is, and isn’t, accompanying Trump to China
More noteworthy than who’s making the trip to Beijing with Trump this week is who isn’t.
The Fed’s most powerful economic lever is losing its edge
Whether Kevin Warsh cuts rates or not may matter less than anyone thinks.
Technology
Joel Angel Juarez/Reuters
Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch. Denis Balibouse/Reuters
AI assumes larger role in US elections
One Democratic congressional primary in New York City has become a proxy battle over AI regulation.
Joel Angel Juarez/ReutersJapan, EU seek out AI models for cyber defense
Governments and businesses are racing to detect and fix software vulnerabilities before AI systems get to them first.
Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch. Denis Balibouse/ReutersNvidia’s Huang a ‘bargaining chip’ in China
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s last-minute inclusion on Trump’s Beijing trip raised the possibility of a deal to break an impasse over AI chip sales to China.
Thinking Machines previews ‘interaction models’
The models intend to fit seamlessly into conversations by interrupting and adding context as a human might.
EU seeks social media laws
The European Commission is preparing new regulations tackling the “addictive design” of social media platforms.
Nvidia CEO joins Trump in China despite ‘awkward’ politics
The president initially left Jensen Huang out of the CEO delegation to dodge political tensions around chip sales to China.
Energy
Oscar Martinez/Reuters
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo/Reuters
Global oil inventories falling at record pace, IEA warns
Global oil inventories are declining at an alarming rate, the International Energy Agency warned Wednesday.
Oscar Martinez/ReutersChina widens lead in global clean tech
An analysis of $1.1 trillion in global clean energy manufacturing investments between 2019 and 2025 found that more than half were made by Chinese companies.
Maxim Shemetov/ReutersEnergy executives brace for prolonged spike in jet fuel prices
Even if the Strait of Hormuz reopened immediately and crude oil prices stabilize, it will take “months” for refineries to catch up, S&P Global Energy analysts wrote.
Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo/ReutersGulf
Evan Vucci/Reuters
China’s Iran calculus extends beyond Hormuz
Beijing has different interests to the US in the Iran war, which may preclude any breakthrough during Trump’s visit.
Evan Vucci/ReutersUAE makes major investment pledges in Damascus
The pledges signal Abu Dhabi’s growing comfort with Syria’s new leadership.
UAE delivers on US investment pledge
More than $100 billion in investment and trade deals between the US and the UAE have been announced since Trump’s visit to the Middle East a year ago.
Kuwait arrests Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps members
Four men arrested in Kuwait have confessed during interrogation to being affiliated with Iran’s IRGC.
Mubadala-backed M42 pitches genomics capabilities to the world
The healthcare firm has gathered a large database of the UAE’s gene pool, which it is using for personalized care.
China
Mike Blake/Reuters
Ann Wang/ReutersEvan Vucci/Reuters
Nvidia’s Huang a ‘bargaining chip’ in China
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s last-minute inclusion on Trump’s Beijing trip raised the possibility of a deal to break an impasse over AI chip sales to China.
Mike Blake/ReutersXi to push Trump on Taiwan
Beijing is poised to press Donald Trump on US arms sales to Taiwan, amid rising concerns that the president could alter his stance toward the island.
Ann Wang/ReutersTrump faces high-stakes meeting with Xi
US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing against the backdrop of the Iran war and pressing questions about the future of the US-China economic relationship.
Evan Vucci/ReutersAfrica
Hereward Holland/Reuters
Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters
US’ aid-for-minerals strategy courts controversy
While the strategy has appeared callous to some, Washington says it’s not as new as it appears.
Hereward Holland/ReutersTelecoms giant Airtel Africa’s revenues soar
Airtel operates in 14 sub-Saharan African countries and experienced a 10% rise in its customer base in the year to March.
Afolabi Sotunde/ReutersEV imports to Africa from China surged in 2025
African countries imported more than 44,000 electric vehicles from China last year, according to China’s commerce ministry, up from more than 19,000 in 2024.
South Africa arrests intelligence chief on corruption charges
Feroz Khan faces charges including corruption and the illegal possession of and dealing in precious metals.
Africa-France summit unlocks $50B in investments
French President Emmanuel Macron co-hosted the two-day summit with Kenyan President William Ruto.
South Africa’s Ramaphosa turns to courts to stall impeachment
The South African leader pledged to challenge a decision by the country’s top court, which revived an impeachment inquiry against him.
SecurityMistral CEO Arthur Mensch. Denis Balibouse/Reuters 
Ints Kalnins/Reuters
Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via Reuters
Japan, EU seek out AI models for cyber defense
Governments and businesses are racing to detect and fix software vulnerabilities before AI systems get to them first.
Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch. Denis Balibouse/ReutersSpain calls for creation of EU army amid US unreliability
The call is part of a broader shift toward European sovereignty.
Ints Kalnins/ReutersPutin says Ukraine war is ‘coming to an end’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he believes the Ukraine war is “coming to an end,” hours after vowing victory over Kyiv at a pared-down Victory Day parade devoid of its usual military hardware display.
Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via ReutersMedia
Alyson Shontell. Amal Alhasan/Getty Images for Fortune Media
Fortune chairman joined Trump interview
Editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell conducted the interview with the president.
Alyson Shontell. Amal Alhasan/Getty Images for Fortune MediaParamount 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.
Hollywood appears to avoid Cannes Film Festival
Only two American entrants are competing for the Palme d’Or, both relatively small and financed outside the US.
Weiss deputy says CBS owners are ‘independent of the news operation’
“The convention in American journalism is that the owners are independent of the news operation, and that’s the case at CBS,” Charles Forelle told Semafor.
CEO Signal
Reckitt Benckiser/Handout via Reuters 
Courtesy of Government of Dubai/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Reckitt’s Kris Licht on moving at ‘China speed’
The CEO behind Lysol and Durex ‘pivoted hard’ for a new era of TikTok-driven commerce.
Reckitt Benckiser/Handout via Reuters Dan Schulman’s plan to get Verizon back in the fight
“If somebody’s going to punch me, I’m going to punch back,” Verizon CEO Dan Schulman says in this episode of The CEO Signal.
How Dubai’s Hadi Badri builds confidence in a crisis
The Dubai Economic Development Corp. CEO says data, proactive engagement, and long-term goals can turn the Iran conflict into a “speed bump.”
Courtesy of Government of Dubai/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforAD