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Politics
Four takeaways from a huge primary Tuesday
Not every one of Tuesday’s primaries can be called yet, but the big trends are clear.
The World at a Glance
Updated 7:31am EDT
1
Houthis attacked a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb, killing six, the first deadly strike in the strait in a year.
2Iran doubled down on its demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, dampening hopes of opening a route for commercial shipping.
3Ukraine reportedly halted attacks on a Russian port following a request from US Vice President JD Vance.
4Deutsche Bank is authorized to settle yuan transactions in Europe, a key step in Beijing’s ambitions to challenge the supremacy of the dollar.
5Global youth unemployment rose in 2025, as weak economic growth and global geopolitical tensions slowed hiring.
6A longtime OpenAI executive announced his exit, continuing a months-long leadership exodus from the company ahead of its planned IPO.
The gap is widening between corporate AI adopters and laggards
OpenAI’s enterprise customers are shifting toward agents that do work, not chatbots that answer questions, new data suggests.
Progressive lawmakers prepare AI regulation push
“The foundational idea here is that you shouldn’t lose your freedoms because of the development of AI,” Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, told Semafor.
Deutsche becomes first non-Chinese bank to settle yuan
The German bank is authorized to settle transactions in the Chinese currency in Europe, a major step in Beijing’s ambitions to dislodge the supremacy of the US dollar.
Conservative groups launch ad deluge in Maine
The Senate Leadership Fund is launching its first ad Wednesday hitting Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson.
Inside Trump’s college sports lobbying push
The fan-in-chief is getting closely involved in lobbying for the deal, even enlisting Alabama football coach Nick Saban.
Lip-Bu Tan sought US blessing for Intel’s stock sale
The US government will remain on the sidelines for the $15 billion stock sale.
US-Iran peace talks at impasse as Trump calls for reparations
US President Donald Trump rejected Tehran’s call for war compensation payments, saying Iran should instead pay for the deaths of American soldiers.
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Politics
Progressive lawmakers prepare AI regulation push
“The foundational idea here is that you shouldn’t lose your freedoms because of the development of AI,” Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, told Semafor.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
Conservative groups launch ad deluge in Maine
The Senate Leadership Fund is launching its first ad Wednesday hitting Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson.
Screenshot/YouTube/Senate Leadership Fund
Four takeaways from a huge primary Tuesday
Not every one of Tuesday’s primaries can be called yet, but the big trends are clear.
Tim Evans/Reuters
VoteVets goes after Sullivan for Iran votes
VoteVets Action Fund is launching a $225,000 ad buy against Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, for his votes against reining in President Donald Trump’s Iran war powers.
Inside Trump’s college sports lobbying push
The fan-in-chief is getting closely involved in lobbying for the deal, even enlisting Alabama football coach Nick Saban.
US senators move to rebuke China over Tibet
The legislation calls for a resolution of the dispute between Tibet and China, labeling it a “matter of strategic interest to the United States.”
New White House counsel could face Democrats’ scrutiny post-midterms
Will Scharf also chairs the National Capital Planning Commission, a body that oversees projects like the White House ballroom and Trump’s triumphal arch
Graham tries to hang on to her late brother’s Senate seat
President Donald Trump hasn’t done much for Graham after urging her to get in the race, though she’s wielded his backing at every chance.
Voters head to polls in South Carolina, Wisconsin, Minnesota
Nine primary races to watch that will test progressives’ staying power and Trump’s endorsement.
Extended Iran conflict risks Trump-Carter comparisons
The president is stuck in a stalemate with Iran that threatens to tank Republicans’ chances in the midterms.
US tech leaders stage data center charm offensive
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a 6,500-word essay Monday announcing plans for a $1 billion fund to invest in communities that host data centers.
Business
Big tech meets Milton Friedman
Big Tech is working its way through all four stages of a money-spending matrix legendary economist Milton Friedman outlined.
Wikimedia Commons
Lip-Bu Tan sought US blessing for Intel’s stock sale
The US government will remain on the sidelines for the $15 billion stock sale.
Lionsgate faces activist pressure to sell itself in ‘AI era’
Anson Funds is pushing the movie studio to avoid becoming an “AI casualty.”
Yen erases gains after US-Japan intervention
The slide raised questions over the efficacy of the maneuver and whether more currency moves may be required.
Nvidia partners with lenders to finance AI infrastructure
The chip giant joined six major Wall Street firms to lend more than $500 billion.
Technology
The gap is widening between corporate AI adopters and laggards
OpenAI’s enterprise customers are shifting toward agents that do work, not chatbots that answer questions, new data suggests.
Reuters
India’s IT sector downsizes amid AI disruption
Several large employers have slashed headcount by as much as 6% in 2026.
Vivek Prakash/Reuters
US tech leaders stage data center charm offensive
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a 6,500-word essay Monday announcing plans for a $1 billion fund to invest in communities that host data centers.
Tech IPOs set up windfall for effective-altruist philanthropy
A surge in AI-related wealth stemming from anticipated tech IPOs is poised to shower Silicon Valley’s favorite philanthropic movement with tens of billions of dollars.
Apple tests Chinese memory chips
Apple is testing memory chips from China’s CXMT across its product lines, including iPhones and MacBooks, as global tech reckons with an AI-induced memory shortage.
Open-weight AI models are catching up to the frontier, analysis finds
The leading open-weight AI models are closing the gap on the frontier in cyber capabilities, according to the UK’s AI Safety Institute.
Energy
Amazon’s new data center projected to be top source of US emissions
Amazon’s sustainability chief foresees a multi-year uptick in the company’s carbon footprint.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
US ‘overpaid’ for cancelled wind leases, researcher finds
A German power company agreed to cancel offshore wind development leases, bringing total reimbursements owed by US taxpayers to nearly $4 billion.
Michael Kooren/Reuters
US imposes new tariffs targeting China’s solar panel sector
Washington imposed a 15% tariff and price floors on all imported polysilicon on Friday, a crucial material in solar panels.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Gulf
Iran’s export lifeline runs dry as US defends blockade
The embargo is the sharpest edge of a campaign to starve Tehran of oil revenue and undermine its economy.
Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters
Israeli textbook watchdog commends Saudi education reforms
Riyadh has removed material viewed as intolerant and introduced lessons on coexistence and critical thinking over the past decade.
How UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba won over Washington
The UAE has spent more than $270 million on lobbying in Washington over the past decade, according to the Financial Times.
Saudi data center capacity projected to boom, but financing a challenge
Saudi Arabia’s data center capacity is forecast to reach 1 gigawatt by 2030, making it the fastest-growing Gulf market.
Hormuz risk pays off for shippers as profits soar
Today, ADNOC Logistics & Services said its profit quadrupled to $951 million in the second quarter.
China
AgiBot passes Unitree as China’s top humanoid exporter
Shanghai-based AgiBot surpassed the output of fellow Chinese robot maker Unitree in the first half of the year.
Steve Marcus/Reuters
Taiwan beefs up civil, military defense in drills
Taiwan is conducting its largest-ever annual military preparedness drills alongside extensive civil defense exercises.
Cheng-Chia Huang/Reuters
Chinese chip giant plays down US curbs
CXMT is looking to ramp up its overseas business.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Africa
Africa gets new sovereign bond ETF
The new sovereign bond exchange-traded fund launched with up to $250 million in commitments.
Tiksa Negeri/Reuters
US lawmakers mull extending AGOA trade program
The US Senate passed a government funding bill over the weekend that included an extension for the program.
Monicah Mwangi/Reuters
Ebola spread undetected for months, WHO says
The revelation raises the likelihood that the latest Ebola outbreak’s true scale is far larger than previously thought.
Nigeria tax breaks target $50B oil investment
Africa’s biggest oil and gas producer hopes to rekindle international interest in offshore projects.
South Africa’s unemployment rate hits four-year high
More than 340,000 people joined the ranks of the unemployed between April and June, pushing the total number of jobless to 8.5 million.
Ramaphosa, Eskom spar over power grid access
The fallout pits the government’s flagship energy plan against warnings of bondholder shock.
Security
Iran holds firm on war demands, dampening hopes of Hormuz deal
Tehran’s statement dampened hopes that a deal with Oman could provide a route for commercial shipping sooner than the US and Iran could reach their own agreement.
Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
France to deport Russian journalist accused of publishing propaganda
The case has laid bare Europe’s dilemma in carrying out its strategic objectives while upholding its liberal values.
The news studio at RT France. Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters.
Russia’s war narrative falters
Russia is suffering from “narrative collapse” in its war against Ukraine, a journalist said, as Kyiv turns the tide in the conflict — on the front lines and in American right-wing media.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
Media
Spotify’s new ‘skip’ button could end the podcast business as we know it
The Swedish streaming giant cast the move as streamlining a feature that already exists, the Spotify app’s 15-second skip button.
Screenshot/Max Tani/Semafor; Brendan McDermid/Reuters; Lucas Jackson/Reuters
The AI ‘news’ accounts hyping a blue-state dystopia
AI-generated videos are flooding YouTube with fake narratives about chaos in California and New York.
Senate Democrat’s new bills would restrict AI-powered ads and paid influencers
California Sen. Adam Schiff plans to introduce two new bills that would attempt to illuminate who is paying influencers for political speech online and restrict AI-generated likenesses of politicians.
Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on loneliness and why he’s more worried about your phone than your body
Former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy joins Mixed Signals to make the case that America’s loneliness crisis is a public health emergency.
Steve Hilton on the Murdochs, David Ellison, and conservative media’s California
Steve Hilton has lived many lives: a key strategist to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, a populist Fox News host, and — after renouncing his UK citizenship — the Republican nominee in California’s gubernatorial race.
CEO Signal
Why Max Levchin wants Affirm to act like your smarter older sister
The fintech founder sees AI threatening traditional lenders by alerting consumers to their hidden fees.
How Patrice Louvet blends ‘magic and logic’ at Ralph Lauren
The Procter & Gamble veteran has focused the fashion brand by balancing emotion and data.
How Bruce Van Saun united Citizens against America’s biggest banks
The superregional lender’s CEO has made a virtue of its place in “the middle of the river.”
Courtesy of Citizens Financial Group/Jake Angelo/Semafor
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