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Intelligence for the New World Economy
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The World at a Glance
Updated 7:20am EDT
1
The US and Iran exchanged fire again, straining an already fragile ceasefire and pushing oil prices up.
2China is propping up the global economy by buying a lot less oil as it draws on its large reserves.
3Donald Trump said he was “not looking to renew” his country’s free trade deal with Canada and Mexico.
4Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for worker protection against AI-driven unemployment and a regulatory body to oversee frontier AI research.
5A German court ruled that Google was responsible for its AI search overviews, potentially leaving tech firms open to defamation lawsuits.
6The World Cup is the largest sporting event ever, but the average host nation gets no economic boost from it.
AFL-CIO skeptical of government AI stake
“We think that our plan forward is actually a more responsible way to use technology to benefit the people,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said.
Daniel Becerril/ReutersRising trade barriers could reshape China’s clean tech investments
Tariffs, localization requirements, and other trade barriers abroad are making a pure export strategy trickier to sustain.
China Daily via ReutersMamdani-backed democratic socialist leads incumbent Espaillat in key House race
Darializa Avila Chevalier leads incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat 39-35 in a new poll from Data for Progress.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters; Darializa for Congress2026 World Cup could be the hottest and dirtiest ever
Climate change and the risk of extreme heat could affect players’ performances in the largest World Cup ever.
Eloisa Sanchez/ReutersNvidia exec touts ‘significant’ data center benefits
Nvidia’s head of sustainability wants to educate policymakers and the public about the positive impacts AI can have.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters ‘Nobody has budgeted’ for tokenmaxxing, Box’s Levie says
The bullish news for AI companies is that everyone using the technology will keep spending to keep up.
Chris Tuite/SemaforUS launches more strikes on Iran
The attacks marked the latest sign that the countries’ ceasefire is deteriorating.
Evan Vucci/Reuters
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Politics
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters Shannon Stapleton/Reuters; Darializa for Congress Daniel Becerril/Reuters
Republicans ask FEC to probe the other Dan Sullivan
The Dan Sullivan wars are entering a new phase.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters Mamdani-backed democratic socialist leads incumbent Espaillat in key House race
Darializa Avila Chevalier leads incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat 39-35 in a new poll from Data for Progress.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters; Darializa for CongressAFL-CIO skeptical of government AI stake
“We think that our plan forward is actually a more responsible way to use technology to benefit the people,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said.
Daniel Becerril/ReutersNvidia exec touts ‘significant’ data center benefits
Nvidia’s head of sustainability wants to educate policymakers and the public about the positive impacts AI can have.
Democrats weigh whether a Senate majority is possible without Platner
An expanding map and his recent stumbles are nudging some in the party to look beyond Maine.
Lawmakers warn Commerce about easing trade penalties
A pair of lawmakers worry the Trump administration is going easy on foreign companies potentially involved in dumping Chinese and Russian goods in the US.
$35 insulin deal has 60 votes in Senate
A bipartisan insulin pricing deal in the Senate now has enough votes to clear a filibuster.
Why Democrats rejected ‘class traitor’ Steyer in California
As Steyer grew more ambitious, the donor-doer billionaire came to embody the Democratic Party’s problems.
Trumpworld connections are fueling Coupang’s clash with South Korea
Republicans are offering remarkable support for South Korea’s biggest online retailer.
Blanche faces a rocky road to confirmation in the Senate
Sen. Thom Tillis’, R-N.C., reservations about the acting attorney general are well-known, but there are other undecided senators on the judiciary panel.
Jockeying starts for a Trump intelligence job that may be taken
The president isn’t clear about whether he would name a permanent replacement for Bill Pulte, but contenders are already materializing.
Business
Manuel Orbegozo/Reuters
AI revives the conglomerate
Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are building the same thing: a holding company glued together by AI.
Manuel Orbegozo/ReutersWall Street readies for SpaceX liftoff
There is little sign that investors have rotated out of other assets ahead of the historic IPO.
World Bank expects Iran war to slow global growth
The group predicts GDP growth will fall to 2.5%, with the steepest toll paid by developing countries.
Jeff Bezos raises $12B for AI that builds things
The billionaire tech founder returns to CEO role, taps JPMorgan and BlackRock to fund an “artificial general engineer.”
Blue Owl opens office in Abu Dhabi
Wall Street firms are still betting on the UAE capital despite uncertainty over the Iran war.
Technology
Courtesy of Prometheus
Annegret Hilse/Reuters
Jeff Bezos raises $12B for AI that builds things
The billionaire tech founder returns to CEO role, taps JPMorgan and BlackRock to fund an “artificial general engineer.”
Courtesy of PrometheusGerman court rules on Google AI liability
Search engines are partially protected against liability for their results in most jurisdictions, because they point to outside websites.
Annegret Hilse/ReutersNvidia exec touts ‘significant’ data center benefits
Nvidia’s head of sustainability wants to educate policymakers and the public about the positive impacts AI can have.
A Sputnik moment: China’s beating the US in neuroscience
“This is going to be one of the three or four major plot lines of the next decade,” former Neuralink president says.
Google quantum exec: US government funding would’ve come with ‘conditions’
Google’s Charina Chou said the government “can do more” to invest in and support the sector.
‘Nobody has budgeted’ for tokenmaxxing, Box’s Levie says
The bullish news for AI companies is that everyone using the technology will keep spending to keep up.
EnergyEloisa Sanchez/Reuters China Daily via Reuters 
Willy Kurniawan/Reuters
2026 World Cup could be the hottest and dirtiest ever
Climate change and the risk of extreme heat could affect players’ performances in the largest World Cup ever.
Eloisa Sanchez/ReutersRising trade barriers could reshape China’s clean tech investments
Tariffs, localization requirements, and other trade barriers abroad are making a pure export strategy trickier to sustain.
China Daily via ReutersPoorer nations face fertilizer hit as prices soar
Around 30% of global fertilizer supplies flowed through the Strait of Hormuz before the start of the Iran war.
Willy Kurniawan/ReutersGulf
Abu Dhabi’s ADGM. Courtesy of ADGM.
Blue Owl opens office in Abu Dhabi
Wall Street firms are still betting on the UAE capital despite uncertainty over the Iran war.
Abu Dhabi’s ADGM. Courtesy of ADGM.Kuwait joins AI infrastructure race with $10B venture
Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund is backing a new AI infrastructure venture alongside KKR, Nvidia, and power company Vistra.
Dubai developer invokes force majeure on home sales
One of the city’s biggest conglomerates delays some housing handovers, citing war-related supply chain disruptions.
How success turns allies into competitors
Gulf countries have prospered in large part thanks to their cooperation. Rivalry can jeopardize further progress.
US launches more strikes on Iran
The attacks marked the latest sign that the countries’ ceasefire is deteriorating.
ChinaChina Daily via Reuters 
Aly Song/Reuters
Dado Ruvic/Reuters
Rising trade barriers could reshape China’s clean tech investments
Tariffs, localization requirements, and other trade barriers abroad are making a pure export strategy trickier to sustain.
China Daily via ReutersChinese investors want in on US IPOs
The workaround involves cryptocurrency that purportedly has exposure to the underlying stocks.
Aly Song/ReutersChina’s $300 billion plan to build more data centers
The government wants to construct a network of “computing hubs.”
Dado Ruvic/ReutersAfrica
South Africa players during training. Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
Stephen Lam/Reuters
The complicated economics of Africa’s football success
African talent has never been more prominent on the global stage, but migration continues to reshape who benefits from that success.
South Africa players during training. Siphiwe Sibeko/ReutersRwanda diversification model drives Zipline’s expansion plans
The drone delivery company plans to include livestock insemination in its plans to expand across Africa following a successful trial in Rwanda.
Stephen Lam/ReutersRwanda secures $250M IMF credit facility
The IMF noted that a prolonged war in the Middle East may jeopardize the country’s resilience.
Gas project forecast to lift Mozambique’s economy
ExxonMobil’s project could lift Mozambique’s economy by more than 4% a year once production starts, estimates Standard Bank.
South Africa Q1 GDP edges higher
South Africa recorded modest growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of the year, underscoring the threat posed by the Iran war when its full impact is felt.
US block of World Cup referee from Somalia prompts scrutiny
Omar Abdulkadir Artan “was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns,” the Trump administration said.
Security
Ammar Awad/Reuters
Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
Iran says it has halted strikes on Israel
Oil prices jumped 5% and stocks fell on the news.
Ammar Awad/ReutersIndia ‘cockroach’ party attracts discontented youth
The Cockroach Janta Party was started by a recent Boston University graduate after India’s chief justice compared young unemployed Indians to cockroaches.
Adnan Abidi/ReutersUS defense secretary attacks European allies in D-Day speech
Speaking in France on Saturday, Pete Hegseth decried a modern “invasion” of “boats and men.”
Elizabeth Frantz/ReutersMedia
Eleanor Kaufman/Semafor
Progressive site Zeteo plans UK expansion
Zeteo UK is a standalone site that will begin publishing this week, with a hard launch date in September.
Eleanor Kaufman/SemaforPolitico folds E&E News ahead of broader energy push
In September, Politico plans to launch a series of energy-focused newsletters.
Former Gourmet magazine owner sues new Gourmet newsletter
Condé Nast filed a lawsuit against Goulash Unlimited, the LLC set up by the owners of a revived Gourmet site.
CBS News in the crossfire
Within the network, every editorial decision has been scrutinized by CBS’ own staff.
Kalshi asks paid influencers to delete posts sowing doubts over LA mayoral election
Kalshi and Polymarket have enlisted hundreds of paid influencers to spur interest in everything from sporting events to political races.
CEO Signal
Courtesy of Smith & Nephew/Graph Massara/Semafor
Courtesy of Cisco/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Courtesy of Match Group/Joey Pfeifer/Semafor
Deepak Nath applies pressure at Smith and Nephew
The medtech CEO is standing by his company’s portfolio strategy despite calls to break it up.
Courtesy of Smith & Nephew/Graph Massara/SemaforHow Cisco’s Chuck Robbins gets his team to ‘disagree and commit’
The longstanding CEO says a bad decision that you reverse is better than a delay.
Courtesy of Cisco/Joey Pfeifer/SemaforWhy 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/SemaforAD