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The Fondation Cartier in Paris is celebrating its new location opposite the Louvre with an exhibition on its history.

Lucy Ash’s The Baton and the Cross: Russia’s Church, from Pagans to Putin explores the thousand-year history of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Rome Film Festival, running from October 15-26, will honor US director Richard Linklater and Iranian dissident Jafar Panahi among others.

The Dutch Women by Dorothee Elmiger is “a magnificent literary expedition” tracing the 2014 disappearance of two women in the Panamanian jungle.

The prose in Good and Evil and Other Stories by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell, “shimmers with a menacing lyricism.”

Syria will be ‘gone’ if economy rebuilding falters, top officials say

Speaking at Semafor’s World Economy Summit, top Syrian economic officials said they need to build new institutions, and not rebuild those that led to the country’s collapse.
Prashant Rao, Senior Editor, Semafor, Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar, Minister of Economy and Industry, Syria and Dr. Abdel Kader Husrieh, Governor, Central Bank of SyriaPaul Morigi/Getty Images for Semafor

Fintech firm lauds Kenya’s approach to crypto regulation

Chris Maurice, CEO of crypto startup YellowCard, said Kenya had learned from the mistakes of the US and Europe.
Chris Maurice, CEO of Yellow Card. Chris Maurice, CEO of Yellow Card. Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Semafor.

US banks in talks to lend $20 billion to Argentina

JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup are among banks working with US Treasury officials to bolster Argentina’s collapsing currency and ease economic turmoil, people familiar with the matter said.
Reuters/Agustin Marcarian

OpenAI reverses policy to allow erotica on ChatGPT

CEO Sam Altman’s remarks were not planned, and caught the company’s PR team by surprise, Semafor is told.
Sam AltmanShelby Tauber/Reuters
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Politics

Whooping cough surges in Florida as vaccine rates plummet

Kindergarten vaccination rates fell in 2024 to the lowest in over a decade.
A nurse displays a tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis whooping cough vaccine in LA.Lucy Nicholson/Reuters.

As Zelenskyy visits DC, Trump eyes a diplomatic win

The leaders will discuss the US potentially giving Ukraine Tomahawk missiles.
Volodymyr ZelenskyyKylie Cooper/Reuters

Uncommon bonds: Repealing old military authorizations

This year’s House and Senate defense bills both include a repeal of the 1991 and 2002 authorizations.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind.Nathan Howard/Reuters

Miran says impact of AI on labor ‘very difficult’ to predict

The Federal Reserve governor spoke with Semafor’s Liz Hoffman at the World Economy Summit in Washington on Thursday.

House conservative says clawing back Republican spending bills ‘erodes trust’

The Virginia Republican spoke to Eleanor Mueller at Semafor’s World Economy Summit on Thursday.

‘This is asinine’: Shutdown bitterness grips a stalled Congress

Neither side is moving or showing signs of engagement in negotiations as the 35-day record looms.

Republicans want answers on $20B Trump ‘facility’ for Argentina’s debt

They’re unlikely to block the Treasury Department move, but one senator said he expects more details than the administration has provided so far.

US journalists protest over Pentagon press crackdown

Journalists from every major news organization gave their press passes back in protest over new reporting rules.

US judge halts layoffs amid government shutdown

The Trump administration had outlined plans to lay off 4,100 workers during an ongoing government shutdown, now in its sixteenth day.

US forces could take covert action inside Venezuela

President Donald Trump seemed to confirm a New York Times report that his administration had authorized covert action by the CIA inside the country.

Warren probes Treasury over ‘baffling’ Argentina aid

The Massachusetts Democrat is requesting more information on the Treasury Department’s effort to shore up Argentina’s economy.
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