Flagship

US Senate passes Trump megabill

The US Senate on Tuesday narrowly passed Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill, handing the president a win ahead of his July 4 deadline. Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie on the package, which would cut taxes, slash safety-net programs like Medicaid, and add trillions to the deficit. The “big, beautiful bill,” which heads back to the House, was passed following an all-night “vote-a-rama” in which senators scrapped a proposed tax on renewable energy projects. Republican leaders used “Trump as vinegar and a July 4 recess as honey” to push the bill, Semafor’s Burgess Everett wrote. “Now comes an arguably harder chapter: Making sure the bill and its Medicaid cuts don’t become a political albatross for Republicans.”

US AI regulation ban scrapped

US senators on Tuesday killed a proposed ban on states’ ability to regulate artificial intelligence, in a setback for Silicon Valley. The measure was a top priority for tech firms who argued a patchwork of local laws hinders their ability to innovate and compete with China. The senator who had proposed the moratorium backed down during an overnight marathon session of votes on Republicans’ megabill, saying that state laws can help prevent AI deepfakes. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who had backed the ban, recently told The New York Times’ Hard Fork podcast that some regulation is still needed, but said he’s lost faith in lawmakers’ ability to keep up with the speed of technology. A more “adaptive” framework is needed, he argued.

Trump-Musk feud reignites

The feud between US President Donald Trump and his former adviser Elon Musk reignited over Trump’s megabill that the Senate passed on Tuesday. The billionaire tech mogul renewed criticism of the massive fiscal package, saying he would start a new political party if it passes, prompting Trump to threaten to cut off billions in federal subsidies for Musk’s businesses. That would compound Tesla’s challenges: Musk’s electric vehicle company has seen declining sales and is expected to report another fall in deliveries Wednesday. New data showed Tesla’s popularity has tanked with Republicans since Musk left the White House. “What he’s done by wrapping Tesla into his political adventures and, now, misadventures is very dangerous for the brand,” a pollster told Semafor.

Starlink on track for India launch

India is close to greenlighting the launch of Elon Musk’s Starlink in the country, even as it intensifies a legal battle against the billionaire’s social media platform X. Musk’s satellite internet company has been trying for years to break into India’s large and lucrative market, and in March signed deals with two top Indian telecoms firms to enter the country. With New Delhi reportedly clearing most regulatory hurdles, Starlink could launch within months, NDTV reported. Musk’s X, meanwhile, is locked in a bitter dispute with the Indian government over content removal requests: The clash escalated Tuesday after lawyers for the site accused authorities of allowing “every Tom, Dick, and Harry” to issue takedown orders.

Manufacturing slumps on trade uncertainty

Much of Asia’s manufacturing sector slumped as it entered the second half of 2025, reflecting uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Southeast Asia — a critical region for firms looking to diversify away from China — saw its downturn in factory activity deepen, while tech powerhouses Taiwan and South Korea reported declines in output and sales, S&P Global data showed. India bucked the trend, suggesting it has benefitted from a shift in demand away from other export hubs, The Wall Street Journal wrote. Trump’s duties also slowed US manufacturing in June, as businesses grappled with uncertainty just before Washington’s tariff reprieve expires on July 9.

Trump pushes for quick Gaza truce

US President Donald Trump voiced optimism Tuesday for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, ahead of a meeting next week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington. Trump is hoping to use momentum from the Israel-Iran truce to push for an end to the fighting in Gaza as early as next week: Top US and Israeli officials were set to discuss “day after” plans for Gaza on Tuesday, while Trump said he plans to be “very firm” with Netanyahu about a ceasefire. The renewed diplomatic push comes as Israel pounded Gaza with deadly strikes Monday. Hamas’ demand that the US guarantee a permanent end to the war remains “the key sticking point” in talks, Axios wrote.

Is Trump inspired by Beijing?

US President Donald Trump’s strongman leadership style is rooted in aspects of China’s authoritarian past and present, some analysts argued, though others urged caution in drawing such comparisons. Shanghai-based writer Jacob Dreyer wrote in The New York Times that even as Republicans demonize the Chinese Communist Party, many elements of Trump’s MAGA movement validate Beijing’s ways: “Both push a muscular patriotism, are obsessed with manufacturing and hostile to immigrants.” Trump critics also often compare him to Mao Zedong, but that analogy is superficial, two history professors argued in Foreign Policy. Trump’s brand of nationalist populism, for example, has seen Washington retreat from aspects of the world stage, while Mao was “ideologically expansionist,” they wrote.

Can we reconnect a generation? A mental health crisis is gripping young people, with rates of depression, anxiety, and loneliness rising. As social bonds fray and digital life deepens isolation, experts are sounding the alarm and demanding action.

Join Semafor at The Gallup Building to hear from Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., Daniel Zoltani, Executive Director of the Whole Foods Market Foundation; Sara DeWitt, Senior Vice President and General Manager of PBS KIDS; Mark Dalton, Senior Policy Director of Technology and Innovation at R Street; Stacey McDaniel, National Director of Strategy and Quality Practice for Anti-Hunger of YMCA; January Contreras, Former Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services; and Steve Bullock, Former Governor of Montana, as Semafor explores the complex drivers of youth wellbeing, highlighting opportunities to rebuild social ties, foster resilience, and develop lasting strategies to improve the mental health of young people.

July 16, 2025 | Washington, DC | RSVP

GOP zeroes in on Mamdani

Zohran Mamdani officially clinched the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor Tuesday, as Republicans ramp up attacks on the self-described democratic socialist. The 33-year-old state lawmaker notched a 12-point lead over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, winning more Democratic primary votes than any candidate since 1989. Previously a political unknown, Mamdani’s upstart campaign that focused on affordability caught on among broad swathes of New Yorkers, even as party leaders kept him at arm’s length: “Mamdani just transformed the electorate,” Semafor’s David Weigel wrote. Republicans are racing to paint him as the poster child for Democrats over his leftist views; some suggested stripping Mamdani of his US citizenship, while President Donald Trump on Tuesday falsely implied he’s in the country illegally.

Mexico cracks down on fuel theft

Mexican authorities arrested 32 people accused of fuel theft, which has in recent years taken a huge toll on the country’s economy. The crime ring operated with the help of government authorities, Reforma reported. More than a quarter of Mexico’s cars are thought to run on stolen fuel, much of it sold by cartels. This year, authorities confiscated a ship carrying 250,000 barrels of fuel, underscoring the sophistication of cartels’ transnational operation. Mexico is dotted with thousands of clandestine fuel stations and refineries, which make up for the market shortfall created by a government refinery that runs at 30% capacity. Authorities are “totally blind and incompetent or complicit,” an expert told the Financial Times.

Cities eye maggots for food waste

Municipalities in Australia, Kenya, and Lithuania are turning to maggots to dispose of food waste. Vilnius uses fly larvae to process all 3,000 tons of food waste the city produces each year. The company that does it uses the larvae for proteins in animal feed or industry, and their manure for fertilizer. Smaller programs are underway in Mombasa and Sydney, and other countries are interested: Food waste collection will become mandatory in England from next year, meaning local authorities will have to find ways of dealing with millions of tons of waste. Maggots are much more efficient at breaking down food waste than existing methods: In sufficient numbers, fly larvae can destroy a 16″ pizza in under two hours.

July 2:

• South Korea releases CPI inflation data for June.
• The Dalai Lama delivers a video message to followers four days before his 90th birthday.
• The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, an exhibition celebrating international cultural heritage, begins on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

A new album and art installation by Northern Irish electronic music duo Bicep combines Arctic field recordings and indigenous-inspired music to document the effects of climate change. Titled Takkuuk — an Inuit-language word meaning “look” — the project highlights Greenlandic and Arctic ice sheet loss, which has quadrupled since the ’90s, by augmenting the duo’s traditional club music with the sounds of creaking ice sheets and indigenous-language vocals. A traveling festival exhibition, meanwhile, sets the music to infrared-film vignettes of the far north played on giant screens. “It’s easy to switch off with climate change,” Bicep’s Andy Ferguson told The Guardian. “If it starts people on a journey to learn more about Greenland then it’s achieved something.”

The “abundance” movement’s next front line is transportation, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller reported.

“Unlocking America’s economic potential can be achieved by accelerating construction, eliminating unnecessary delays, and clearing the way for smarter, faster infrastructure investment,” Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif., and 20 others wrote in a letter shared exclusively with Semafor; the group is asking leaders of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to “cut excessive red tape” when they reauthorize spending on highways, rail, and transit set to lapse in 2026.