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Politics
Senate Republicans weigh whether to keep investing in North Carolina and Georgia races
With the majority on the line and the battleground map expanding, hard choices may be coming soon.
Senators sought to add AI antitrust exemption to defense bill
The effort has taken on new significance as debate over AI safety rages in Washington.
Senators sought to add AI antitrust exemption to defense bill
The effort has taken on new significance as debate over AI safety rages in Washington.
View / An ‘AI OPEC’ is unlikely
View / Pacing the frontier is more about business models than AI models
The World at a Glance
Updated 6:42pm EDT
1
Stocks rallied as markets digested the US Federal Reserve’s unanimous decision to hike interest rates.
2US President Donald Trump will reportedly greet Chinese leader Xi Jinping as he steps off the plane in Washington, DC for next week’s highly-anticipated summit.
3Major Asian economies are booming on the growing global demand for AI, as their manufacturing sectors build high-end equipment for data centers.
4General Motors will build Patriot missile parts for Lockheed Martin, as the Pentagon pushes to speed up munitions procurement.
5Danish drugmaker Novo will partner with Anthropic in an effort to speed up drug development, betting AI can help it reclaim lost market share.
6New incidents of “unexpected or concerning” AI model behavior fueled new concerns over the technology’s impact.
Trump’s Saudi ambassador pick faces early hurdles
Sen. Thom Tillis and other Republicans expressed uncertainty about Rep. Wesley Hunt’s nomination.
Democratic group launches campaign to boost Graham challenger
The seat is widely considered reliably Republican, but some recent polling has Democrats feeling optimistic.
FDA nominee preps for hearing next week
Heidi Overton, who works on the White House Domestic Policy Council, has been meeting with lawmakers.
Warsh breaks with Trump to raise rates
The quarter-point increase is the first in three years.
Bipartisan AI safety talks accelerate in Senate
Key Republican tells Semafor a committee vote could happen ‘this month.’
Somaliland’s president puts everything on the table for Trump
The breakaway territory is offering Washington access to its port, minerals and potentially military facilities in exchange for recognition.
The public wants a say in AI development
Half of voters surveyed for a new poll said AI is moving too fast.
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Politics
Trump backs Fed’s Warsh following rate hike
Stocks rallied Thursday as markets digested the US Federal Reserve’s decision to hike interest rates.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
US, China ramp up summit preparations
US President Donald Trump will reportedly greet China’s leader Xi Jinping as he steps off the plane in Washington, DC next week — the first leader accorded that deference in Trump’s second term.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in 2025. Mandel Ngan/Pool via Reuters
Behind the Trump administration’s pro-AI meme campaign
The administration is casting effective altruists — who focus on reducing harm from the tech and heavily weigh advancement versus risk — as the enemy.
@DoWCTO/Screenshot/X
Hilton on courting California’s Trump haters
Steve Hilton, the Republican nominee for governor of California, is working to make the most of an endorsement from Trump as the president’s popularity wanes.
Senate Republicans weigh whether to keep investing in North Carolina and Georgia races
With the majority on the line and the battleground map expanding, hard choices may be coming soon.
Hopes dim for US-China détente during leaders’ summit
The US Treasury secretary told Axios he was open to discussing “shared risks” on AI with Beijing at talks this weekend ahead of the summit.
Democratic group launches campaign to boost Graham challenger
The seat is widely considered reliably Republican, but some recent polling has Democrats feeling optimistic.
FDA nominee preps for hearing next week
Heidi Overton, who works on the White House Domestic Policy Council, has been meeting with lawmakers.
Trump’s Saudi ambassador pick faces early hurdles
Sen. Thom Tillis and other Republicans expressed uncertainty about Rep. Wesley Hunt’s nomination.
Senators sought to add AI antitrust exemption to defense bill
The effort has taken on new significance as debate over AI safety rages in Washington.
Global survey finds sinking trust in US, Chinese leadership
When discussing solutions to global problems people “are no longer asking what do the Americans think,” the survey’s commissioner said.
Business
GM to build Patriot missile parts for Lockheed Martin
The Pentagon is hoping to enlist more manufacturers in its push to speed up procurement and plug the gaping munitions holes that have emerged during the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Kacper Pempel/Reuters
Asian economies boom on AI-driven data center demand
Major Asian economies are profiting from growing global demand for AI.
Novo to partner with Anthropic on drug discovery efforts
The one-time GLP-1 leader is betting AI will help it reclaim lost market share.
Trump backs Fed’s Warsh following rate hike
Stocks rallied Thursday as markets digested the US Federal Reserve’s decision to hike interest rates.
An ‘AI OPEC’ is unlikely
Mark Zuckerberg certainly wants no part of one, and cutthroat competition seems hard-coded into tech executives.
Technology
Asian economies boom on AI-driven data center demand
Major Asian economies are profiting from growing global demand for AI.
Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters
Novo to partner with Anthropic on drug discovery efforts
The one-time GLP-1 leader is betting AI will help it reclaim lost market share.
Tom Little/Reuters
Nvidia’s case for taming AI agents
The company’s VP of agentic AI told Semafor he sees AI safety as an engineering challenge, rather than an unprecedented, existential threat.
Behind the Trump administration’s pro-AI meme campaign
The administration is casting effective altruists — who focus on reducing harm from the tech and heavily weigh advancement versus risk — as the enemy.
Video AI company Pika offers new tool to speed up AI video creation
Creators can use fewer prompts to generate shot-by-shot lists for AI videos.
Fresh ‘unexpected or concerning’ AI incidents
The latest revelations by OpenAI follow recent calls by its CEO and fellow leading AI labs Anthropic and DeepMind to “pace the frontier.”
Energy
Quantum has major emissions savings potential, report finds
The BCG Institute argued in its analysis that the industry’s long deployment cycles are more reason to plan ahead.
SEEQC/Handout via Reuters
Russia sanctions advance, as the US deepens economic pressure
The US House of Representatives passed the sanctions bill on Wednesday.
Anastasia Barashkova/Reuters
Exxon nears Venezuela deal, two decades after messy exit
The move could help revamp oil production in the de facto US protectorate.
Ken Cedeno/Reuters
Gulf
UAE’s super stallions will compete in Japan’s Asian Games
The UAE fielded its first-ever Asian Games dressage team in Hangzhou in 2023. The 20th Asian Games run Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 in Nagoya, Japan.
Courtesy of UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation
Saudi Arabia’s well-timed uranium find near Medina
Though the element is more abundant than gold, the timing is curious. Beijing reportedly helped build a facility to extract yellowcake from ore.
Tested by war, Abu Dhabi charts its energy and water future
The emirate has earmarked almost $82 billion over the next decade for expanding and greening its power grid.
Aramco says technology delivered $5 billion in value last year
The Saudi oil producer is using AI, digital twins, and other tools to improve operations and adapt to wartime disruptions.
Chinese oil prices hit record high
Energy disruptions from an escalating Middle East conflict spilled into the world’s largest market for imported crude.
China
US, China ramp up summit preparations
US President Donald Trump will reportedly greet China’s leader Xi Jinping as he steps off the plane in Washington, DC next week — the first leader accorded that deference in Trump’s second term.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in 2025. Mandel Ngan/Pool via Reuters
Hopes dim for US-China détente during leaders’ summit
The US Treasury secretary told Axios he was open to discussing “shared risks” on AI with Beijing at talks this weekend ahead of the summit.
Tingshu Wang/Reuters
Chinese oil prices hit record high
Energy disruptions from an escalating Middle East conflict spilled into the world’s largest market for imported crude.
Florence Lo/Reuters
Africa
Kenya to host World Athletics Championship
The announcement marks the first time that the event will be held in Africa.
Isabel Infantes/Reuters
S. Africa unveils Johannesburg fiscal rescue plan
Implementation of the plan will continue through local elections, regardless of whether there is a new municipal administration, said the country’s finance minister.
Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
US imposes new visa restrictions on South Africans
Washington has repeatedly accused Pretoria of “government-sponsored discrimination” against Afrikaners.
Dangote mulls US listing for refinery
The plan would coincide with the refinery’s expansion by 2029.
Democratic Republic of Congo courts US mining funds
The DRC is the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a key component in electronics and is seeking to attract more Western funds.
Somaliland’s president puts everything on the table for Trump
The breakaway territory is offering Washington access to its port, minerals and potentially military facilities in exchange for recognition.
Security
GM to build Patriot missile parts for Lockheed Martin
The Pentagon is hoping to enlist more manufacturers in its push to speed up procurement and plug the gaping munitions holes that have emerged during the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Kacper Pempel/Reuters
US prosecutors charge five with plot to kill Russian dissident in DC
US federal authorities alleged they were part of a Kremlin-controlled “global assassination network” targeting perceived allies of Ukraine.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Fighting intensifies between Saudi forces and Iran-backed Houthis
Riyadh said it intercepted a Houthi drone near the holy Muslim city of Mecca; the Yemeni group denied the charge and said it downed a Saudi fighter jet.
Houthi Military Media/Handout via Reuters
Media
Inside the US Treasury secretary’s tense relationship with financial media
Scott Bessent’s blacklist starts with Bloomberg.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
Fertile ground
Flagship’s lead writer Tom Chivers says goodbye after four years.
Crooked Media’s nonprofit launches new political creator drive
The nonprofit arm of Pod Save America’s audio empire is hoping to lure younger voters back to the Democratic Party.
YouTube cracks down on ‘ghost creators’
The enforcement action targeted accounts named in Semafor’s report earlier this week.
Paid actors, AI writing: How a new kind of video business cashed in on America’s divided politics
‘Ghost creators’ are reaching millions of viewers with nearly identical, sensationalized videos that take aim at Democrats.
CEO Signal
How the billionaire Bayeux Tapestry backer gets ‘impact per dollar’
WorldQuant’s Igor Tulchinsky finds inspiration in the ‘very, very old data set’ now on display in the British Museum.
The logic behind Scott Kirby’s long-odds bet on a United Airlines deal
The gambler-turned-CEO is making the case for consolidation while trying to build a brand that passengers love.
How a ‘China-for-China’ strategy rebooted Logitech
CEO Hanneke Faber says competing in China is critical to winning in the rest of the world.
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