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Politics
Republicans plot to counter Democrat probes
The GOP could rely on the threat of parallel probes by the Trump administration to power the House minority’s congressional investigations.
Trump Accounts to launch without rollovers
Experts estimate that more than half of the children eligible to receive $1,000 in seed money for Trump Accounts still have not enrolled.
Trump Accounts to launch without rollovers
Experts estimate that more than half of the children eligible to receive $1,000 in seed money for Trump Accounts still have not enrolled.
Africa’s vaccine sovereignty goal is set for its biggest hurdle
View / Africa’s aid addiction was never Washington’s to fix
The World at a Glance
Updated 10:09am EDT
1
OpenAI is considering giving the US government a 5% stake, a move that could improve relations with the White House and buoy public support.
2AI buildout is upending emissions targets, the latest signal that ambitions for the industry are taking priority over climate goals.
3Shares in one of China’s biggest renewables firms almost tripled on its public debut, underscoring the growing demand for power worldwide.
4Russia launched massive drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, retaliating against recent Ukrainian attacks that have buckled Russia’s economy.
5The US death rate hit its lowest level on record last year, falling by one-fifth in a quarter-century.
6US Fed Chair Kevin Warsh signaled inflation remains too high for his liking, but declined to offer hints on future action from the central bank.
Blue Owl hit by billions in redemptions — again
Investors asked for slightly less of their money back than last quarter but remain shaky on private credit.
OpenAI considers giving US government 5% stake
The move comes as the question of how to redistribute AI windfalls is being debated on either side of the political aisle.
Israel emerges as new Democratic litmus test
Democratic incumbents trying to run on holding Trump accountable are losing to progressive challengers willing to criticize Israel support.
Gulf sovereign funds on track for record year
Sovereign wealth funds from the region invested $53.9 billion across 108 transactions in the first half of 2026, an all time high.
Trump’s financial disclosure complicates crypto bill talks
News that the president made more than $1 billion from cryptocurrency while in office has emboldened Senate Democrats.
Warsh joins other central bankers in opposing forward guidance
In his international debut as the US Federal Reserve chair, Warsh also signaled frustration with inflation levels.
Meta cashes in on its excesses
Meta is building a cloud computing business and plans to sell excess compute to its competitors.
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Politics
Republicans plot to counter Democrat probes
The GOP could rely on the threat of parallel probes by the Trump administration to power the House minority’s congressional investigations.
Aaron Schwartz/Reuters
Trump Accounts to launch without rollovers
Experts estimate that more than half of the children eligible to receive $1,000 in seed money for Trump Accounts still have not enrolled.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Israel emerges as new Democratic litmus test
Democratic incumbents trying to run on holding Trump accountable are losing to progressive challengers willing to criticize Israel support.
Daniel Becerril/Reuters
Trump’s financial disclosure complicates crypto bill talks
News that the president made more than $1 billion from cryptocurrency while in office has emboldened Senate Democrats.
Warsh keeps his interest rate cards close
He told attendees of the European Central Bank Forum on Wednesday that attempts to get him to “break this rule” were “going to fail.”
Lawmakers want rideshare liability shield dropped
A bipartisan group objected to an amendment sponsored by Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., that would limit rideshare companies’ vicarious liability,
The decline of the impeachment voter, and other midterm lessons so far
The first half of the 2026 primary season has seen progressives — and Trump — win big.
El-Sayed unloads on media, Democratic criticism
The Michigan Senate candidate rising in the polls talks to Semafor.
Progressives grapple with old tweets
A candidate in Michigan is explaining why he deleted past posts expressing support for ‘defund the police.’
US expected not to extend USMCA agreement
Mexico City and Ottawa have tried repeatedly to reach an agreement with Washington to prolong the deal, under which $2 trillion is traded annually.
US students face new loan rules
The overhaul, which originated from Republicans’ tax law, will affect millions of borrowers.
Business
Blue Owl hit by billions in redemptions — again
Investors asked for slightly less of their money back than last quarter but remain shaky on private credit.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Win for Zyn nicotine pouches
US regulators allowed Philip Morris to advertise its Zyn oral nicotine pouches as less harmful than cigarettes.
Warsh joins other central bankers in opposing forward guidance
The US Federal Reserve chair also signaled inflation remains too high for his liking, but declined to offer hints on what the central bank might do later this month.
US private employers added 98,000 jobs in June
The numbers indicate a pullback in hiring from May.
US stocks wrap up best quarter since 2020
Chip stocks in particular soared thanks to a global memory shortage stemming from the AI boom.
Technology
US death rate hits record low
A collapse of drug overdose deaths was the main driver.
Adria Malcolm/Reuters
OpenAI considers giving US government 5% stake
The move comes as the question of how to redistribute AI windfalls is being debated on either side of the political aisle.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo/Reuters
Anthropic rolls back China tracking code
A cybersecurity newsletter reported that the Claude Code feature covertly tracked and transmitted information based on a user’s timezone and potential connection to certain Chinese tech companies.
Europe should build AI – and fear it, too
If Europe doesn’t change course on AI, it risks becoming an economic backwater, asset-stripped and descending into anarchy, according to the research project Europe 2031.
Gavin Newsom treads the line
As politicians attempt to rein in the power of the tech companies, they’re increasingly relying on AI products.
Meta cashes in on its excesses
Meta is building a cloud computing business and plans to sell excess compute to its competitors.
Energy
Russia faces growing fuel shortage
President Vladimir Putin acknowledged this week that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries had triggered fuel shortages, but downplayed the severity of a crisis.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
Renewed oil flows give US leverage
The future of the Strait of Hormuz is hanging over the indirect talks in Qatar this week.
Stringer/File Photo/Reuters
Russia imports gas from India
The shipments mark a shift in the countries’ energy dynamic.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
Gulf
Gulf sovereign funds on track for record year
Sovereign wealth funds from the region invested $53.9 billion across 108 transactions in the first half of 2026, an all time high.
UAE’s IHC and Adani ink $11.5B aluminum deal
The agreement, to jointly build an aluminum complex in eastern India, is the latest sign of growing ties between the UAE and India.
US asset manager to launch Sharia-compliant credit fund
Principal looks to tap demand from Islamic investors in the Gulf and Asia for US private credit.
Renewed oil flows give US leverage
The future of the Strait of Hormuz is hanging over the indirect talks in Qatar this week.
UAE oil exports hit a high amid Iran war
The country took advantage of its exit from OPEC and skirted Iranian threats in the Strait of Hormuz.
China
Anthropic rolls back China tracking code
A cybersecurity newsletter reported that the Claude Code feature covertly tracked and transmitted information based on a user’s timezone and potential connection to certain Chinese tech companies.
Yves Herman/Reuters
How climate affects US-China competition
Extreme weather — and mitigation against it — will shape the future of competition between the US and China, two experts wrote in Foreign Affairs.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
European tech leaders more worried about US than China
“The sharp edge of the tech discussion here is actually aimed at the US,” Jacob Kirkegaard, at the Brussels think tank Bruegel, told Semafor.
Merz visits China in February. Andres Martinez Casares/Pool via Reuters
Africa
Africa’s aid dependency was never Washington’s to fix
The end of USAID exposes a harder truth: decades of resource wealth never built the institutions aid was covering for.
Sodiq Adelakun/Reuters
Africa’s vaccine sovereignty goal is set for its biggest hurdle
As Gavi prepares the first payouts from its $1.2 billion manufacturing program, the challenge shifts from financing factories to securing long-term demand.
Esa Alexander/Reuters
The danger of South Africa’s fragile anti-migrant protests
The country’s major cities saw anti-migrant demonstrations that were largely devoid of violence, but there were promises of more protests.
Rising fuel costs boost African EV sales
In most African markets, Chinese EVs cost the same as their internal combustion engine alternatives, according to research firm BMI.
Nairobi, Kigali sign fuel import agreements
Landlocked Rwanda relies almost entirely on overland transit of fuel from ports in Kenya and Tanzania.
World Bank lends $750 million to Kenya
The financing will help Kenya fund a $37 billion budget, a third of which is allocated to servicing the country’s nearly $100 billion debt.
Security
Russia retaliates with Ukraine strikes
Ukrainian officials have warned residents to guard against further strikes as Russia lashes out.
Stringer/Reuters
South Africa braces for wave of anti-migrant violence
Thousands of migrants are fleeing South Africa as the country braces for violence after an anti-immigrant group set a Tuesday deadline for all undocumented migrants to leave.
Ihsaan Haffejee/Reuters
Putin acknowledges ‘difficult period’ as Ukraine ramps up attacks
Kyiv struck a Russian defense plant and set fire to a major oil refinery as part of its efforts to weaken Moscow’s wartime economy.
Stringer/Reuters
Media
Daily Wire, under pressure, seeks strategic investors, targets IPO
The Daily Wire is in talks to take on at least $100 million in investment, with an eye on an initial public offering in a few years’ time.
REUTERS/Cheney Orr
OpenAI’s $100 billion ad bet
The tech giant rolled out new tools for creatives.
The Atlantic beefs up its video podcasts
One of America’s oldest magazines is investing in video after seeing notable growth in its audience.
David Droga on AI and the end of ‘mediocre’ human-made ads
As he sees it, the advertising industry is in the throes of a profound technological shift.
Conservatives make the case for right-wing ads at Cannes Lions
The Daily Wire and others are offering an overtly partisan alternative to advertising gatherings that often stay far away from politics.
CEO Signal
How Antonio Neri turned HPE into an unlikely AI stock
The veteran dealmaker says he’s ‘building the best networking business on the planet’.
Courtesy of HPE/Graph Massara/Semafor
Former IEA chief says world faces a ‘third oil shock’ despite US-Iran deal
Nobuo Tanaka says the Hormuz crisis has accelerated a seismic shift in the global energy order, but business leaders can learn from it.
Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters
How a marathon-running CEO set the pace for Cigna
David Cordani says the insurer had to “actively listen” to rebuild trust with its customers.
Courtesy of Cigna/Graph Massara/Semafor
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