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Today’s Flagship

The US and China clash at a major defense meet, Apple is set to debut an eagerly awaited product, and Saudi Arabia splashes the soccer cash.

Morgan Chalfant

Morgan Chalfant

Politics

Inside Biden’s North Carolina pitch on jobs

The president and first lady will visit a North Carolina community college to tout investments in EV and advanced manufacturing training programs. The 2024 race will loom large.

Benjy Sarlin and Shelby Talcott

Politics

DeSantis campaign shares fake Trump/Fauci images, prompting new AI fears

An attack video featuring realistic stills with no disclaimer may be a landmark moment in AI-generated and digitally altered misinformation.

Liz Hoffman

Liz Hoffman

Business

Wall Street’s hottest firm erupts into civil war

Michael Rees is being pushed out by his co-founders at Blue Owl, a $140 billion investing superband. He isn’t going without a fight.

Today’s Flagship

The US and China clash at a major defense meet, Apple is set to debut an eagerly awaited product, and Saudi Arabia splashes the soccer cash.

Kadia Goba
Politics
‘There’s a little chaos going on’: House remains frozen as right rebels
The holdouts won this battle of the war on the debt ceiling (that was signed into law last week) forcing McCarthy to cancel votes and gifting members a four-day weekend.

Adam Cole
Politics
Wildfires: Forests need more fire, not less
To restore healthy forests and mitigate the destructive power of wildfires, scientists urge lawmakers and foresters to embrace prescribed burns.

Julius Karugaba
Africa
Uganda's harsh anti-gay law alarms its original conservative backers
Local and American conservative groups that pushed Uganda to toughen its anti-gay laws now worry new harsh legislation could backfire on their cause.

David Weigel and Shelby Talcott
Politics
Donald Trump - January 6 + Ronald Reagan = Mike Pence
The former vice president announced his bid for the top spot in Iowa with a pointed attack on his former boss’s push to overturn the last election.

Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Politics
Congress may be done with crypto
Skepticism towards cryptocurrency has only intensified among lawmakers, but the House is divided on a response and the Senate is losing interest.

Sam Mkokeli
Africa
South Africa eyes virtual BRICS summit to dodge Putin arrest warrant
South Africa is considering hosting the meeting of leaders from BRICS nations online to avoid Russian President Vladimir Putin participating in person.

Alexander Onukwue
Africa
Nigerian businessman’s Tingo under scrutiny after short seller’s damning research
Dozy Mmobuosi's Tingo is under scrutiny for fraud after U.S. short seller Hindenburg raised doubts about the company’s legitimacy.

Jenna Moon, Max Tani, and Ben Smith
Media
What the crisis at CNN means
The embattled CEO had faced mounting questions over his performance in the network’s top job.

Inside Biden’s North Carolina pitch on jobs

The president and first lady will visit a North Carolina community college to tout investments in EV and advanced manufacturing training programs. The 2024 race will loom large.

DeSantis campaign shares fake Trump/Fauci images, prompting new AI fears

An attack video featuring realistic stills with no disclaimer may be a landmark moment in AI-generated and digitally altered misinformation.

Former Cameron aide, Fox Host launches California group

Hilton will focus on the housing crisis, and perhaps his political future.

‘There’s a little chaos going on’: House remains frozen as right rebels

The holdouts won this battle of the war on the debt ceiling (that was signed into law last week) forcing McCarthy to cancel votes and gifting members a four-day weekend.

Donald Trump - January 6 + Ronald Reagan = Mike Pence

The former vice president announced his bid for the top spot in Iowa with a pointed attack on his former boss’s push to overturn the last election.

Wall Street’s hottest firm erupts into civil war

Michael Rees is being pushed out by his co-founders at Blue Owl, a $140 billion investing superband. He isn’t going without a fight.

Lionel Messi, Tiger Woods, and other sports stars who rejected Saudi offers

Plus some who accepted lucrative bids.

What's the Deal on Permitting Reform?

Semafor is hosting the definitive conversation on permitting reform and diving into the multiple cross-cutting perspectives of policymakers, business leaders, advocacy groups and thought leaders.

FTX’s big AI bet could help bail out customers

Bankers for the failed crypto exchange are shopping around FTX's $500 million stake in hot AI startup Anthropic.

Binance sued by SEC for allegedly mishandling funds

The Securities and Exchange Commission accused the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange of allegedly mishandling funds and lying to regulators and investors about their practices.

Changpeng Zhao

Are AI startups too easy to copy?

Venture capitalists gush about AI but are also worried about investment risks, including when it comes to their own role.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen on what social media companies are still hiding

Haugen texted with Semafor’s Louise Matsakis ahead of the publication of her new book, The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook.

Startups are using ChatGPT to meet soaring demand for chatbot therapy

OpenAI often encourages users to seek help offline, but the companies say the benefits of AI therapy outweigh the downsides.

Concerns are growing over China’s AI rules

As China plows forward on AI development, China-watchers and industry experts have expressed some alarm about the potential for a tech catastrophe.

REUTERS/Florence Lo

Uganda's harsh anti-gay law alarms its original conservative backers

Local and American conservative groups that pushed Uganda to toughen its anti-gay laws now worry new harsh legislation could backfire on their cause.

South Africa eyes virtual BRICS summit to dodge Putin arrest warrant

South Africa is considering hosting the meeting of leaders from BRICS nations online to avoid Russian President Vladimir Putin participating in person.

Nigerian businessman’s Tingo under scrutiny after short seller’s damning research

Dozy Mmobuosi's Tingo is under scrutiny for fraud after U.S. short seller Hindenburg raised doubts about the company’s legitimacy.

Afrobeats hasn't peaked

Mr Eazi, aka Oluwatosin Ajibade, is best known as the Nigerian Afrobeats star behind hits like “Skin Tight “ and “Leg Over.” He’s worked with global superstars including Beyoncé and J Balvin and his songs have been streamed more than 4 billion times.

Africans trained in China grapple with pro-Western bias on their return

Returning African graduates are often “not channeled into Africa–China projects and they are also unable to compete in the job market,” according to research.

The climate case against the debt ceiling deal

Streamlining environmental reviews may actually slow projects down and lead to more lawsuits, the head of a leading environmental group said.

Climate activists need a new strategy

Energy market turmoil and anti-ESG fervor have sapped investor support for corporate climate initiatives.

Electric vehicles dominate gas-powered cars in Norway

Norwegians are embracing the transition to clean vehicles as the country pushes ahead with a break from internal combustion engines by 2025.

Electric vehicles charge in a parking lot in Oslo, Norway.

‘We can break out of this stranglehold’: A top energy strategist on what gives him hope

Jeremy Bentham, the co-chair of world energy scenarios at the World Energy Council, worries the energy transition is too often seen as a cost, rather than an investment or an opportunity.

Iran is using the world’s largest lake to evade the U.S. and ship weapons to Russia

Tehran is moving arms via the Caspian Sea, where Western naval ships can’t reach.

Deep fake video of Putin declaring martial law is broadcast in parts of Russia

The fake video took over airwaves and television screens in some Russian border cities Monday.

Will Putin ever be arrested by the ICC?

South Africa is planning to change its law so the government has the power to decide whether or not to arrest a leader wanted by the ICC, ahead of Putin's invitation to the BRICS meetings in August.

The Saudis want the US to help build a ‘nuclear Aramco’

As part of a potential deal to normalize relations with Israel, Mohammed bin Salman has pitched a joint American-Saudi venture to enrich nuclear fuel, raising concerns about proliferation.

What Beijing wants in exchange for returning Washington's calls

Top U.S. officials are pushing for a direct line of communication with Beijing. But setting one up isn't so easy.

Lloyd Austin

What the crisis at CNN means

The embattled CEO had faced mounting questions over his performance in the network’s top job.

Chris Licht at the Semafor media summit.

Fox News is trying to keep Jeanine Pirro away from conservative events

Fox discouraged Jeanine Pirro from participating in two recent book promotion events, sources said.

CNN's PR team will no longer report to Chris Licht

The PR team no longer reports to the embattled CEO.

Prince Harry testifies in newspaper phone hacking trial

He is the first senior royal to give evidence in court in more than a century.

Inside the high-stakes clash for control of Ukraine’s story

Journalists covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine are engaged in a running, low-grade conflict with the Ukrainian government.