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US-China tensions worsen

US-China ties appeared to be worsening again as Washington admitted trade talks had “stalled” and Beijing skipped a meeting of defense ministers for the first time since 2019. The superpowers had agreed a trade war truce this month, suggesting relations between the world’s two biggest economies had found a floor. But they have since escalated export restrictions and any breakthrough in trade negotiations will likely require their leaders to speak directly, the US Treasury secretary admitted. China, meanwhile, said it will not send its defense minister to the Shangri-La Dialogue, where he would have had his first meeting with his US counterpart. “The US-China rift only seems to be deepening,” a Washington Post foreign affairs columnist warned.

‘Revenge’ clause worries Wall Street

A tax provision which targets foreign investors in US President Donald Trump’s mammoth spending program has alarmed Wall Street. The clause would progressively ratchet up financial penalties against people and businesses based in countries that Washington determines have “discriminatory” tax systems. “Cloaked in technicalities, the implication of the ‘revenge’ measure… is clear,” Bloomberg wrote. The Economist chimed in: “If enacted, this would render America all-but-uninvestable for many foreigners.” Analysts are divided as to whether the clause will make it into law — the bill was narrowly passed by the House of Representatives, and is currently being examined by the Senate — though one expert noted it has broad Republican support, suggesting it will survive.

EU dials back emissions goal

The European Union will reportedly relax its emissions-reduction targets as it looks to head off a threat to its green agenda from a rightward tilt in the bloc. The EU’s expected decision comes with corporations worldwide rolling back their own targets as Washington takes aim at efforts that prioritize environmental, sustainability, and governance policies. A majority of chief executives now see more risk than opportunity in the climate transition, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson reported in Semafor’s CEO Signal briefing, while fewer than one in 10 North American executives see prioritizing sustainability as a competitive advantage. Despite the retreat from ESG, some of the biggest energy consumers remain committed, with Microsoft saying it’s on track to meet its 2030 goals.

AfDB picks new boss

Mauritania’s former finance minister was named the next head of the African Development Bank, taking over the multilateral lender at a high-stakes moment as it grapples with the curtailing of Western support and a global trade war. Sidi Ould Tah, who won after three rounds of voting by AfDB shareholders, pledged during his campaign to strengthen Africa’s financial systems, leverage its natural resources to help the continent industrialize, and to unlock new pools of capital. That final point is particularly key with the US having largely shuttered its aid programs and cutting $555 million of support for the AfDB’s development fund, while other Western nations are also stepping back from humanitarian work.

Israel accepts Gaza truce plan

Israel accepted a new ceasefire proposal over the war in Gaza, potentially offering a respite for the enclave’s conflict-battered residents and suggesting ties with the US may be improving. Israel has given up its demand that negotiations to end the war only begin after all hostages are released, Haaretz reported, and the plan is currently being reviewed by Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval of the proposal comes after weeks of tensions with Washington over the Gaza war, a US ceasefire with Yemen’s Houthis, and American negotiations with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, which Netanyahu fears won’t block Iran’s bombmaking capabilities but may hold Israel back from taking military action, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Poland election down to the wire

Poland’s presidential election — pitting the centrist mayor of Warsaw against a MAGA-friendly populist — looks set to go down to the wire this weekend. Politico’s poll of polls pegged the pair at 47% and 46% respectively ahead of Sunday’s vote, which carries huge stakes that extend beyond Poland’s borders: The current hard-right president has used vetoes to restrain Poland’s prime minister, who is in favor of better relations with the European Union, which had in prior years pressured the country over an erosion of its judiciary’s independence. The Warsaw mayor is an ally of the premier’s, whereas the populist candidate has won the endorsement of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a persistent foil of the EU’s.

Mexico votes for judges

Mexicans will vote in the country’s first-ever judicial election on Sunday, which critics warn could mark the death knell of the country’s democracy. The “Kafkaesque” poll — through which all 900 judges from supreme court ministers to state-level jurisdictions will be elected — has already been marred by accusations of government interference, including via handouts telling supporters for whom to vote. Candidates include several accused of having ties to cartels, as well as one facing 36 allegations of sexual abuse. Some fear the election could also hurt the country’s already grim economic prospects as investors lose trust in the judiciary. “Mexico’s government is throttling the rule of law,” The Economist wrote.

Adam Friedland represents a new kind of comedian: He rose up through podcasting and now hosts a late-night-style weekly interview show on YouTube. This week, Ben and Max bring him on to ask him why he’s reviving a 1960s Dick Cavett-style talk show for the Internet, if podcasts have become too dumb, and whether he’s the long-anticipated Joe Rogan of the left. They also talk about why he thinks phones are making people weirder, how Trump legitimized podcasting, and his fateful run-in with Swifties.

New Uyghur abuse allegations

China has been ferrying ethnic Uyghurs around the country to evade Western bans on imports from its Xinjiang region, where it stands accused of mass human rights abuses against the mostly Muslim minority, an investigation showed. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Der Spiegel, and The New York Times reported that state-led programs had placed tens of thousands of Uyghurs in factories across China to help make goods sold worldwide, thereby escaping the gaze of supply-chain auditors and customs officials: “UN labor experts, scholars, and activists say the programs fit well-documented patterns of forced labor,” The Times said. China denied that forced labor was used in Xinjiang, and has said any participation in work-transfer programs was voluntary.

Wildfires hit Canada

Wildfires in western Canada forced thousands of residents to flee their homes and one province to declare a state of emergency. The premier of Saskatchewan said several fires were burning uncontrollably across the province, adding that the situation was “unlike anything we have faced in quite some time, if not ever.” Across the country, more than 80 wildfires are considered to be “out of control.” Swaths of North America have been devastated in recent years because of a deadly combination of warmer winter temperatures and shrinking precipitation — both exacerbated by climate change — which means fires can keep burning in layers of vegetation below the snowpack.

A Japanese yokozuna, finally

A Japanese sumo wrestler broke Mongolia’s domination of the sport, winning the title of yokozuna and ascending to sumo’s apex. Onosato Daiki, 24, was approved by the sport’s top advisory group after 13 tournaments, capped by back-to-back grand tournament championships this year, rising to the rank faster than anyone on record. His success harkens back to Japan’s historic control of sumo wrestling: Aside from in 2017, when Onosato’s mentor was promoted to yokozuna, every other holder of the title in the 21st century has been Mongolian. Indeed the only other current yokozuna — there can be more than one, because they cannot be demoted — is Mongolian. “You could say he’s my rival, or perhaps even my benchmark,” Onosato said.

• Brazil, Canada, and Turkey announce their GDP estimates for Q1, and India announces its GDP estimate for Q4.
• French President Emmanuel Macron is due to give the keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
• US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are due to hold a joint press conference.

The word with which Faizan Zaki won the 97th edition of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The 13-year-old nearly lost the tournament he was favored to win from the beginning: A “shocking moment of overconfidence” during which he began to spell a word without getting auxiliary information from the judges nearly cost the Texan the title of the world’s best speller in the English language, The Guardian reported. “I’m definitely going to be having nightmares about that tonight,” Zaki said after securing the trophy.

Dead Outlaw, by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna. The comedy musical, based on a book by Itamar Moses, follows the true story of an outlaw-turned-corpse-turned-celebrity in a plot that moves “like a speeding train,” the New York Theatre Guide wrote. The “gleefully lurid” play will show in Broadway’s Longacre Theatre until Oct. 12. Get your tickets here.

AI-generated social-media slop has become a barometer of political fame, and some lawmakers are starting to worry, Semafor’s David Weigel and Kadia Goba reported.

“Clearly the algorithm loves my name, so people do stuff with my name,” said Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, whose busy — and fictional — Tuesday included a closed-door confrontation with Elon Musk and rhetorical smackdowns of Republican representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert. Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, and presidential family members regularly appear in fake stories with tidy narratives, which sometimes get more views than real-world political reporting that’s not built for the algorithms.