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Politics
Republicans grapple with Graham’s death
His absence complicates every task on the floor for the Republican Party, from confirmations to legislation.
View / Saudi reshuffle shows pressure on underperforming industries
View / The missing link in Africa’s infrastructure boom
The World at a Glance
Updated 8:37am EDT
1
The US and Iran traded further strikes on Sunday night, pushing oil prices up 9% from pre-war levels.
2The ‘coalition of the willing,’ a group of Ukrainian allies, meets in Paris to discuss further military support for Kyiv.
3The death toll from Venezuela’s twin earthquakes last month neared 5,000, with concerns rising of a long-term health crisis.
4Australia has installed 2,000 home batteries a day so far this year, as it accelerates its renewable energy push.
5Europe’s record-breaking heatwave last month led to 10,000 excess deaths, new data found, as forecasts indicate higher temperatures incoming again.
6China blasted a US-led coalition that marked the 10-year anniversary of a ruling that rejected Beijing’s claims over the South China Sea.
View / Graham’s legacy is inextricably tied to Trump
The South Carolina Republican will be remembered for his pivot to become a Trump ally, and for his love of the job.
Why Edward Jones thinks AI can defuse a demographic time bomb
Managing partner Penny Pennington wants to capture financial advisers’ insights before they retire.
Apple sues Open AI, accusing it of stealing trade secrets
The legal salvo could complicate OpenAI’s plans as it gears up for a potentially blockbuster IPO.
Top Democrats slam Trump over crypto ahead of vote
“The disclosures heighten concerns about the president pushing Congress to pass crypto legislation in favor of the very industry he’s cashing in on,” the senators wrote.
US lacks scores of ambassadors in Africa
Some 41 African countries currently lack a confirmed envoy, including Nigeria, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, and Sudan.
Gay Wyoming Republican sues members of his own party for ‘pedophile’ slur
“I’ve never experienced anything like this in my entire life,” said Reid Rasner, who’s running for Wyoming’s sole House seat.
US, Iran trade more strikes as ceasefire crumbles
The US cannot easily walk away from the conflict, but any likely deal is unpalatable.
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Politics
Republicans grapple with Graham’s death
His absence complicates every task on the floor for the Republican Party, from confirmations to legislation.
Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
Graham’s legacy is inextricably tied to Trump
The South Carolina Republican will be remembered for his pivot to become a Trump ally, and for his love of the job.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Lindsey Graham, Republican senator and Trump ally, dies
The lawmaker’s office said he died following a ‘brief and sudden illness.’
Aaron P. Bernstein/File Photo/Reuters
Debatable: AI’s impact on the economy
Will the technology eliminate US jobs, or create more of them? Washington isn’t sure.
US lacks scores of ambassadors in Africa
Some 41 African countries currently lack a confirmed envoy, including Nigeria, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, and Sudan.
Gay Wyoming Republican sues members of his own party for ‘pedophile’ slur
“I’ve never experienced anything like this in my entire life,” said Reid Rasner, who’s running for Wyoming’s sole House seat.
Top Democrats slam Trump over crypto ahead of vote
“The disclosures heighten concerns about the president pushing Congress to pass crypto legislation in favor of the very industry he’s cashing in on,” the senators wrote.
Maine Senate race debacle muddies Democrats’ future
The end of Platner’s disastrous bid for a must-win US Senate seat has blunted Democrats’ efforts to oppose President Trump’s agenda.
Trump’s Supreme Court mulligan ‘exceedingly unlikely,’ experts say
The president faces long odds in trying to get the court to reconsider his defeat on birthright citizenship and E. Jean Carroll’s $5 million civil judgment against him.
Senators want to restore manufacturing program cut by Trump
Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Jon Husted, R-Ohio, Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, and Andy Kim, D-N.J., are backing the bill.
Americans’ support for immigration falls from record high, poll finds
Seventy-three percent of US adults say immigration is a good thing, according to June Gallup polling, down from 79% who said so last year.
Business
UK law firm Linklaters sought to merge with Cleary Gottlieb
Linklaters’ approach was rebuffed, but it’s the latest effort to consolidate among big law firms.
Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Paramount weighs leaving California over Warner Bros. rift
David Ellison is wary of decamping, but his battle with state regulators is intensifying.
Why Edward Jones thinks AI can defuse a demographic time bomb
Managing partner Penny Pennington wants to capture financial advisers’ insights before they retire.
Russia-China effort targets Starlink
Russia and China are seeking the capability to disable and eventually destroy Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network, an investigation found, as the allies deepen their clandestine military cooperation.
Corporate earnings to reveal uneven war impact
The results could boost Trump’s case that the oil industry is profiteering off the fighting.
Technology
Experimental IVF shows promise
Lambs were born via an experimental form of IVF that involved turning immature eggs into viable ones — a development that could potentially improve human success rates.
Roselle Chen/Reuters
Apple’s OpenAI lawsuit highlights broader tensions
The case is a gigantic reminder that Apple is under major pressure from AI.
Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/Reuters
Apple sues Open AI, accusing it of stealing trade secrets
The legal salvo could complicate OpenAI’s plans as it gears up for a potentially blockbuster IPO.
A new plan emerges for AI apocalypse avoidance
The AI Futures Project is advocating for the US and China to cooperate on a temporary pause of frontier AI research so the industry can build some scaffolding around safe development.
Wearable-makers vie to control data
By controlling the data, companies can also keep users locked into their systems and away from their competitors, a tech analyst told Semafor.
Meta unveils two AI models
Muse Image and Muse Spark 1.1 are the latest releases in the tech firm’s race to catch up to competitors and assert itself as a top player in the AI race.
Energy
Permitting major obstacle to energy infrastructure buildout
The issue is “most acute” in the US, JP Morgan says, but can also be seen in lengthening construction timelines in Australia, Canada, Germany, and the UK.
Carlos Barria/File Photo/Reuters
Russia bans diesel exports as fuel crisis deepens
Ukrainian strikes on refineries have led to the worst fuel shortages since the fall of the Soviet Union.
An attack on an oil refinery outside Moscow. Social Media/via Reuters.
Saudi Arabia slashes main crude oil price for Asian customers
Despite the discount, Asian buyers said Saudi supplies were still more expensive than those from other regional producers.
Ali Jarekji/Reuters
Gulf
Saudi’s first ultra-luxury train doesn’t make any stops
Dream of the Desert is due to start running at the end of the year, and one of its trips will leave Riyadh on a two-day swing through the desert without stopping.
Courtesy of Dream of the Desert
UAE wins access to US AI chips and other advanced technology
The UAE government and approved companies no longer need licenses to buy semiconductor processors, some commercial satellites and military equipment, or dual-use items for civil nuclear power, a first in the Gulf.
Middle East venture capital collapses as international investors retreat
Deal count hit a five-year low in the first half of 2026 and there may be worse to come, according to venture capital tracker Magnitt.
Saudi reshuffle shows pressure on underperforming industries
New heads for mining and defense industries will be tasked with accelerating national development.
Gemcorp lands its first Saudi deal
A $20 million facility in Saudi marks Gemcorp’s first direct lending deal in the kingdom.
China
South China Sea feud simmers 10 years after ruling
China on Sunday blasted a US-led coalition that marked the 10-year anniversary of an international arbitration ruling rejecting Beijing’s claim over vast portions of the South China Sea.
Stringer/Reuters
China mulls curbing foreign access to its AI models
Such a move could raise costs for many US businesses that have become dependent on cheap Chinese AI.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Russia-China effort targets Starlink
Russia and China are seeking the capability to disable and eventually destroy Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network, an investigation found, as the allies deepen their clandestine military cooperation.
Jeenah Moon/Reuters
Africa
Viral Ethiopian Instagrammer uses trash for fashion
Since his first post on March 30, the young creator has gained 6.5 million followers on Instagram.
@kaluputics/Instagram
Nigeria’s oil output hits six-year high
The result comes following a government push to improve security along pipelines.
Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters
Trump’s new Africa envoy makes debut trip
Frank Garcia is due to arrive in Nigeria before planned stops in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali.
S. African central bank predicts reaching 3% inflation target
The announcement prompted economists to scale back expectations of back-to-back interest rate hikes.
South Africa deports 53,000 migrants after demos
Africa’s biggest economy has been on a knife edge for months over growing anti-migrant sentiment and xenophobic violence.
The missing link in Africa’s infrastructure boom
Dangote’s planned refinery in Kenya illustrates why ports, pipelines, power, and industry should be funded as interconnected systems rather than standalone megaprojects.
Security
US, Iran trade strikes, dispute Hormuz status
The US on Sunday launched its heaviest assault on Iran in weeks, while Tehran hit Gulf nations and announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command/Handout via Reuters
Ukraine pursues a government shakeup
Ukraine’s prime minister stepped down on Sunday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy oversees a sweeping government reorganization spurred by a new “political strategy.”
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters
Russian spies use Japan as base, report says
Russian spies who descended on Japan in recent years are now central to smuggling battlefield technology to Moscow — apparently right under the nose of the authorities in Tokyo.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Network via Reuters
Media
Paramount weighs leaving California over Warner Bros. rift
David Ellison is wary of decamping, but his battle with state regulators is intensifying.
Mamdani squares off with ‘The View’
The New York City mayor’s allies were frustrated by a host’s comments about fellow democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier.
NYT tries to catch up to video-addicted audiences
New York Times Executive Editor Joe Kahn said the paper is pouring resources into visual content, prompting comparisons to the media’s “pivot to video” in the 2010s.
The Daily Wire sells Jeremy’s Razors to media company’s former CEO
The sale represents the further uncoupling of Jeremy Boreing and the conservative media company he co-founded with Ben Shapiro.
‘The View’ throttles back political candidate bookings following FCC inquiry
Since February, the ABC daytime talk show has cut its bookings of candidates for office.
CEO Signal
Why Edward Jones thinks AI can defuse a demographic time bomb
Managing partner Penny Pennington wants to capture financial advisers’ insights before they retire.
How Allianz’s CEO prepares for the risk of ‘huge havoc’
Oliver Bäte says Europe can no longer afford all the options its citizens expect.
Courtesy of Allianz/Graph Massara/Semafor
The MSCI boss helping Elon Musk get closer to Mars
Henry Fernandez says the index provider has grown by playing soccer, not singles tennis.
Courtesy of MSCI/Graph Massara/Semafor
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