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Politics
American national pride recedes across parties, poll finds
One-third of US adults say they are “extremely proud” to be an American, according to Gallup.
US says Iran agreed to halt Hormuz attacks
The almost two-week-old truce has been under persistent strain, with both Washington and Tehran launching strikes in recent days.
US says Iran agreed to halt Hormuz attacks
The almost two-week-old truce has been under persistent strain, with both Washington and Tehran launching strikes in recent days.
View / Hollywood shouldn’t fear AI
View / Activists go back to basics
The World at a Glance
Updated 7:35am EDT
1
The US said Iran had agreed to halt strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, though Tehran had yet to confirm.
2Both Lebanese and Israeli officials expressed their frustration at the ceasefire deal signed on Friday.
3Investors’ huge borrowing to invest in AI-linked companies has racheted up volatility in stock markets.
4Major investment banks have grown increasingly upbeat on the future of the global economy, following the US-Iran truce.
5Vladimir Putin acknowledged Russia is facing a “difficult period,” as Ukraine expanded its long-range assaults on the country.
6A small plane crash in China’s capital exposed major gaps in the country’s airspace controls, analysts said.
Democrats’ ‘Project 2029’ goes after tech companies with online safety plan
The liberal counterweight to conservatives’ Project 2025 is rolling out a series of policies to set the stage for an already crowded field of 2028 presidential hopefuls.
Investor debt binge heightens stock volatility
The $1.4 trillion in margin debt exacerbated swings in South Korea’s stock market that spilled into US trading last week.
New Hampshire becomes the Senate midterms’ sleeper race
Democrat Chris Pappas warns his party not to be “overconfident.”
US releases powerful Anthropic model Mythos to some US companies
The move comes the same day as a new OpenAI model sees a limited release.
How Antonio Neri turned HPE into an unlikely AI stock
The veteran dealmaker says he’s ‘building the best networking business on the planet’.
Threats to US payment rails helped trigger Bessent’s AI worries
Advanced models have heightened banks’ fears of an outage that would hamstring their ability to send money.
Asian stocks slump on tech rout
South Korea’s benchmark index triggered an automatic suspension of trading, before closing down 5.8%.
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Politics
American national pride recedes across parties, poll finds
One-third of US adults say they are “extremely proud” to be an American, according to Gallup.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
Democrats’ ‘Project 2029’ goes after tech companies with online safety plan
The liberal counterweight to conservatives’ Project 2025 is rolling out a series of policies to set the stage for an already crowded field of 2028 presidential hopefuls.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters
New Hampshire becomes the Senate midterms’ sleeper race
Democrat Chris Pappas warns his party not to be “overconfident.”
Brian Snyder/Reuters
Threats to US payment rails helped trigger Bessent’s AI worries
Advanced models have heightened banks’ fears of an outage that would hamstring their ability to send money.
Only Trump can end his own blockade
The US president is preventing the reauthorization of a key surveillance law, and refusing to sign a bipartisan housing bill.
Debatable: Trump’s DC renovations
The president’s projects, from the Reflecting Pool to city fountains, are divisive.
Venezuela’s deadly earthquakes test US aid effort
President Donald Trump said the US was “ready, willing, and able to help.”
Democrats push Trump to coordinate with WHO on Ebola
A new bill would direct the president to rejoin the organization within 30 days.
Window shrinks for Congress crypto deal
“This thing’s going to have to come together fairly quickly,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Semafor.
Raimondo launches AI project with backing of tech giants
The former Biden official is joining with a GOP former governor to help transition America’s workforce.
Iran war funding request struggles on Capitol Hill
Still, Republican leaders think that there could be enough Democratic items in the budget request to persuade Democrats to support it.
Business
AI spending boom could end in global bust, report says
The AI spending spree risks an extended “investment bust” that could imperil the global economy, a report warned Sunday.
Audrey Richardson/Reuters
How Antonio Neri turned HPE into an unlikely AI stock
The veteran dealmaker says he’s ‘building the best networking business on the planet’.
Apple raises prices due to memory chip shortage
CEO Tim Cook said Apple could no longer protect its customers from higher prices stemming from the global memory chip shortage.
As inflation rises, Americans are spending and Europeans are saving
Countries everywhere are feeling inflationary pressures from the Iran war, but Americans and Europeans are coping differently.
Don’t read the Dimon succession tea leaves
Marianne Lake, who exited Thursday, was at least the eighth JPMorgan executive to occupy pole position since 2013.
Technology
AI spending boom could end in global bust, report says
The AI spending spree risks an extended “investment bust” that could imperil the global economy, a report warned Sunday.
Audrey Richardson/Reuters
US releases powerful Anthropic model Mythos to some US companies
The move comes the same day as a new OpenAI model sees a limited release.
Reuters/Jessica Koscielniak
Hollywood shouldn’t fear AI
AI can help more artists make more movies, rather than replace artists or the art.
OpenAI pulls ahead on custom chips
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman saw from the very beginning that compute infrastructure would become an important battlefront, and his company is getting ahead in a key element that can make models do more, faster and more cheaply.
New Cooley platform provides AI legal help for startups
Built with legal AI startup Legora and trained on Cooley’s data, the platform will roll out to the summer batch of Y Combinator startups first.
Qualcomm plans new chip architecture for phones
The company is in discussions with manufacturers of smartphones, personal computers, and cars about an aspect of its new data center chip technology.
Energy
US nuclear firm aims to get UAE plans back on track
Nano Nuclear is also in talks to get investment from an Abu Dhabi state-linked firm to fund expansion.
A small modular reactor (SMR) project in Argentina. CNEA/Handout via Reuters.
France and UK swelter in record-breaking heat
The UK saw its two hottest June days, and France its hottest day ever.
Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
US energy dominance faces a test in Ukraine
One essential facet of US President Donald Trump’s overseas energy dominance strategy is proving slow to materialize.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters
Gulf
US nuclear firm aims to get UAE plans back on track
Nano Nuclear is also in talks to get investment from an Abu Dhabi state-linked firm to fund expansion.
A small modular reactor (SMR) project in Argentina. CNEA/Handout via Reuters.
US and Iran test truce with fresh strikes
Tehran attacked American military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain after the US accused Iran of attacking a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted Iranian infrastructure in response.
Iran attacks cargo ship in Hormuz
The attack forced the UN to pause evacuations in the waterway.
Gulf wealthy snap up exclusive European mansions
A Sardinian compound once known for “bunga bunga” parties and a “mini Buckingham palace” are among the luxury properties bought by Gulf billionaires.
Burjeel issues $500M Islamic bond as market thaws
The Abu Dhabi-listed company said demand was three times larger than supply, in a sign that Gulf debt markets are thawing after the US-Iran conflict stalled new issuances.
China
Plane crash in Beijing reveals airspace security gaps
A small plane crash in China’s capital exposed major gaps in the country’s airspace controls, analysts said, as the government tried to limit public discussion of the incident.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Chinese AI firms scale aggressively to compete with US
DeepSeek hopes to at least double the size of all its departments to become a “driving force” in developing artificial general intelligence.
Florence Lo/Reuters
Chinese AI firm Zhipu plans billion-dollar share sale amid rally
Chinese AI startup Zhipu is weighing a multi-billion dollar share sale after it skyrocketed around 2,000% since its January IPO.
Tyrone Siu/Reuters
Africa
S. Africa on edge ahead of anti-migrant deadline
Protests against undocumented migrants have mall owners preparing for the worst.
Protesters calling for undocumented migrants to be deported at a march earlier this month. Ihsaan Haffejee/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
Nigerian lawmakers approve police overhaul
The decision marks a new effort to tackle an endemic, decades-old security crisis.
South Africa corruption investigation widens
Business Vusimuzi Matlala offered to provide evidence against members of the goverment underscoring the breadth of a huge graft probe in the continent’s biggest economy.
US to provide new experimental Ebola drug
Slowing the virus’ spread has been hampered by the fact that there is no known treatment or vaccine for the new Bundibugyo strain.
Dangote Refinery IPO will be ‘landmark’ for Nigerian exchange
Nigeria’s stock market is keen to attract “high-quality issuers,” its CEO told Semafor.
Security
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
Russia’s fuel crisis worsens
Fuel prices at Russia’s airports have spiked 17% in June.
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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