View / How Trump and social media broke the bureaucracy
China investment curbs hit roadblock in Congress
The World at a Glance
Updated 6:27am EDT
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Chinese leader Xi Jinping outlined his vision for a new global order with Beijing at its center.
2Displays of warmth between the leaders of Russia, China, and India at a summit signaled New Delhi’s deepening ties with Washington’s adversaries.
3Israel’s actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of a genocide, the world’s largest association of genocide scholars said Monday.
4A US federal judge blocked White House plans to return Guatemalan children to their home country on Sunday.
5More than 800 people have been killed after an earthquake struck near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
6EU chief Ursula von der Leyen’s plane was targeted by suspected Russian GPS jamming en route to Bulgaria.
China’s exports to Africa surge after US trade upheaval
So far in 2025, exports from China to Africa total more than they did for the whole of 2020.
Go Nakamura/File Photo/File Photo/ReutersWidespread protests force Indonesia U-turn
Indonesia has been engulfed by civil unrest for days, driven by economic discontent and opposition to police brutality.
Willy Kurniawan/ReutersIsrael reportedly considering annexation in the West Bank
The move comes in response to several Western countries’ plans to recognize a Palestinian state.
Mussa Qawasma/ReutersKenya hires former Trump official to lobby US
Nairobi signed an agreement with Continental Strategy, a lobbying firm founded by a former US ambassador to the Organization of American States.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesAD
China hosts summit aimed at countering Western-led order
China on Sunday welcomed more than a dozen world leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and India’s Narendra Modi.
India’s Press Information Bureau/Handout via ReutersUS court says Trump can’t impose tariffs
Judges ruled that the levies were an illegal use of emergency powers, but did not immediately block them.
Kevin Lamarque/ReutersAmbassador Gor: Trump’s hiring chief on fast track to India
The 38-year-old personnel chief is a surprising and unconventional pick, but he’s highly likely to head for New Delhi soon.
Craig Hudson/Reuters
Politics
Al Lucca/Semafor
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters 
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
No more ‘Yes, Minister’: How Trump and social media broke the bureaucracy
The president and his aides have signaled that they view much of what is widely viewed as expertise as useless at best, mere left-wing ideology at worst.
Al Lucca/SemaforChina investment curbs hit roadblock in Congress
The top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, is blocking the measure from being included in must-pass defense legislation.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters Why the government shutdown threat is real this time
Congress returns to Washington on Tuesday after the August break, and both parties are nowhere near a deal to fund the government.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters‘A tipping point’: Bessent previews Trump administration’s latest tariff defense
The Treasury secretary talked to Semafor during a Labor Day push touting Republicans’ newly enacted tax relief for tipped workers.
Trump tariff ruling represents major setback, analysts say
A US court ruling that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal represents a major setback for his economic agenda, analysts said.
In Minneapolis, conservatives test limits of new rhetoric on crime
The Minneapolis discourse is a function of conservative arguments that the government really can stop crime if it is willing to target certain people.
Republicans look to Hinson in Iowa’s Senate race
The 42-year-old lawmaker is close to Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who’s expected to announce soon that she won’t seek a third term.
Warren backs Commerce on easing Syria export controls
A new rule issued Thursday removes restrictions on Syria-bound exports of certain US products.
Shutdown fight descends on DC
Senators in both parties want to see a bipartisan funding deal for less controversial government functions and a stopgap spending bill for the rest.
Ambassador Gor: Trump’s hiring chief on fast track to India
The 38-year-old personnel chief is a surprising and unconventional pick, but he’s highly likely to head for New Delhi soon.
US border czar says White House is discussing plan to use naval base near Chicago for ICE operations
Tom Homan said federal immigration operations in multiple US cities could ramp up after Labor Day.
Business
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Can investors make The New York Times into the Netflix of news?
Fivespan Partners has taken a stake in the Grey Lady.
Shannon Stapleton/ReutersIs FCC’s Carr the most powerful regulator in Washington?
FCC Chair Brendan Carr has proven facile at navigating both old and new media, most recently spurring a giant spectrum-license deal by telling EchoStar to use his airwaves or lose them.
France’s government nears collapse for the second time this year
Paris’ borrowing costs spiked as the Prime Minister bet the house on a confidence vote over austerity plans to reduce government borrowing.
AT&T won the first battle for spectrum. Elon Musk and Amazon could be next.
AT&T’s deal to buy $23 billion worth of spectrum licensing from Charlie Ergen’s EchoStar this week was a reminder that bandwidth is a limited commodity.
Fed Governor Lisa Cook sues to prevent Trump from firing her
The suit tees up a historic legal battle over President Donald Trump’s efforts to control the central bank.
Technology
Al Lucca/Semafor
Tunvarat Pruksachat via Getty Images
How AI will upend the news
Generative AI promises to revolutionize people’s relationship with information — and news organizations need to get ahead of that change.
Al Lucca/SemaforAI spots ‘covert’ consciousness before doctors
The work could help clinicians treat patients with brain injuries, researchers said.
Tunvarat Pruksachat via Getty ImagesChatGPT-powered dolls are becoming caregivers in South Korea
The dolls keep the elderly company and monitor their health, at a time when many suffer from loneliness and caregiving becomes increasingly expensive.
Hackers use Anthropic’s AI in large-scale cybercrime attempt
Security experts have warned for years that the increasing sophistication of AI also risks boosting the frequency and scale of cyber attacks.
Microsoft unveils powerful new homegrown AI models
MAI-1-preview is the first foundation model fully built by Mustafa Suleyman’s Microsoft AI division.
A new lawsuit against OpenAI could challenge rule protecting online content
The Section 230 framework for communications has been challenged in the AI age, because it’s the companies’ servers providing messages through their chatbots, rather than external users.
Net Zero
A FEMA task force in Texas. Brenda Bazán/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
David Ruvic/Reuters
FEMA suspends employees who criticized Trump
36 FEMA employees were suspended within 24 hours of sending a letter to Congress warning about President Donald Trump’s plans to overhaul the agency.
A FEMA task force in Texas. Brenda Bazán/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesUS power companies consider AI for grid security
Energy firms had until recently been unwilling to even countenance using the technology in the operations of their production or delivery sites.
Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesExxon holds secret talks with Russia’s state-owned oil company
Exxon took a $4 billion loss on its investment in the Sakhalin project when it left Russia in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine.
David Ruvic/ReutersGulf
A port in China. Stringer/Reuters.
Singapore, UAE lead talks to form new trade grouping
The move comes as the Trump administration unravels global trade agreements.
A port in China. Stringer/Reuters.Saudis celebrate crown prince’s 40th birthday
The ruler has had a significant impact on the Middle East in a relatively short period of time, and he could have decades more in power.
Wall Street analysts and investors at odds on Aramco
Two-thirds of analysts have a “buy” rating for Aramco, but investors have been dumping the stock this year.
Dubai villa fetches $43.7 million in record resale
The city’s property market, which imploded in 2008, is not nearing another bubble, the developer behind the project insisted.
Abu Dhabi’s G42 eyes chip options beyond Nvidia
The Abu Dhabi-backed AI firm is still courting customers for what could be the world’s largest data center campus outside the US.
Africa
Activists protest in Cape Town. Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Oil companies’ divestment breached human rights in Nigeria, UN experts say
The companies sold their assets in Nigeria before carrying out remediation for damage caused by their oil spills in local communities, the UN said.
Activists protest in Cape Town. Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images.Kenya hires former Trump official to lobby US
Nairobi signed an agreement with Continental Strategy, a lobbying firm founded by a former US ambassador to the Organization of American States.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesChina’s exports to Africa surge after US trade upheaval
So far in 2025, exports from China to Africa total more than they did for the whole of 2020.
Protesters call for African debt cancellation
Africa’s external debt doubled from over $500 billion in 2020 to more than $1 trillion in 2024.
Nigeria’s GTCO invests $238M after central bank ruling
A central bank directive last year raised the minimum capital requirement for international banks ten-fold to 500 billion naira ($326 million).
Africa’s secondary market for equities lags other regions
A new report said the continent’s private sector needs to grow in order to spur investor interest.
SecurityIndia’s Press Information Bureau/Handout via Reuters 
Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Zakarpattia region/Handout via Reuters.
Roman Baluk/Reuters
China hosts summit aimed at countering Western-led order
China on Sunday welcomed more than a dozen world leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and India’s Narendra Modi.
India’s Press Information Bureau/Handout via ReutersRussia pummels Ukraine as ceasefire talks appear to stall again
There are still no details on a possible summit between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Zakarpattia region/Handout via Reuters.World leaders haggle over Ukraine peace proposals
A plan to offer Kyiv a NATO-like security guarantee without actual membership gained support, though Washington appears reluctant to make such explicit promises.
Roman Baluk/ReutersMediaShannon Stapleton/Reuters
Can investors make The New York Times into the Netflix of news?
Fivespan Partners has taken a stake in the Grey Lady.
Shannon Stapleton/ReutersHow AI will upend the news
Generative AI promises to revolutionize people’s relationship with information — and news organizations need to get ahead of that change.
New York Times teams up with Economist in play for worldwide readers
The US paper quietly rolled out the bundled subscription with the UK-based finance and business-focused publication earlier this year.
FCC Chair Carr takes his Comcast fight to the ballpark
Brendan Carr backed the Yankees’ YES Network in its carriage dispute with Comcast, and threw the first pitch at Yankee Stadium as the standoff deepens.
Chips on the table
In big American media, the currencies most journalists trade in have been access and information, not cash.
CEO Signal
Courtesy Twilio
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Fortune Media
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME
Twilio’s CEO on making AI profitable to set up ‘escape velocity’
Companies have plenty of data on their customers, says Khozema Shipchandler, but need to be better at contextualizing it.
Courtesy TwilioZig Serafin on using AI to make companies more human
The Qualtrics CEO says leaders should ‘live the example’ if they want their teams to adopt the technology.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Fortune MediaHow Circle’s Jeremy Allaire swayed stablecoin doubters
The crypto champion sees a collision coming between the internet and the global financial system.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIMEAD