Flagship

Trump faces revised indictment

US prosecutors filed a revised criminal indictment Tuesday charging Donald Trump with election interference in an attempt to keep the case alive after a Supreme Court ruling granted broad immunity to former presidents. The indictment kept the four original charges intact but removed allegations of Trump’s attempts to pressure the Justice Department into promoting his false claims of election fraud, as the Supreme Court ruled that such interactions fell under his official presidential duties. The indictment comes as Trump’s rival Kamala Harris continues to ride a wave of momentum in the final months of the election race: More than 200 staffers of prominent Republicans signed a letter endorsing her, saying “the alternative… is simply untenable.”

US consumer confidence rises

US consumers’ confidence rose to a six-month high in August on the back of upbeat views about the economy and inflation, though they remain concerned about the job market. Economists attributed the overall boost to the Federal Reserve’s expected interest rate cut next month, which should ease borrowing costs. Kamala Harris’ recent momentum may have also lifted Democrats’ spirits: One pollster told The New Yorker that the new presidential nominee has escaped “a significant amount (though certainly not all) of the economic pessimism” around the Biden administration.

Zelenskyy previews end-of-war plan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would present the US with a “plan of victory” to end the war with Russia during his upcoming visit to New York. Kyiv’s surprise incursion in Russia’s Kursk region is a bargaining chip to compel Moscow into ending the war diplomatically during potential negotiations later this year, Zelenskyy said, as he renewed pleas to ease Western restrictions on striking Russian targets. Moscow warned that the West is “playing with fire” by considering Kyiv’s demands, but so far Russia’s muted response to the US relaxing some of its weapons restrictions shows that the Kremlin’s red lines are “nothing but a chimera designed to reinforce Western political timidity about decision-making on the war,” said one security expert.

China hackers target internet companies

A Chinese-government backed group hacked into several US internet service providers with millions of their customers in recent months, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. Some of the targets appear to include undercover government and military personnel, alarming cybersecurity experts. One told the Post that even though Chinese hacking efforts are common, the latest attempt “is dramatically stepped up from where it used to be.” The report comes during US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s visit to Beijing as he attempts to ease tensions between the two superpowers ahead of the US election. 

Deadly militant attacks roil Pakistan

Pakistan’s prime minister said Tuesday that separatist militant attacks that have killed more than 70 were aimed at thwarting China-led infrastructure projects in the southwestern province of Balochistan. The $65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is one of the largest projects under Beijing’s global Belt and Road initiative and has helped Pakistan tap mineral resources in the poverty-stricken province, Reuters reported. Ethnic separatists, who have previously attacked Chinese contractors there, want a larger share of the regional wealth and have also accused Pakistan of being complicit in Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims, The Diplomat reported.

Israeli military rescues eighth hostage

Israel on Tuesday rescued a 52-year-old Israeli Arab hostage held by Hamas in an underground tunnel in Gaza. Qaid Farhan al-Qadi is the eighth hostage to be rescued alive since the start of the war, leaving more than 100 still held by the militant group, dozens of whom are presumed dead. Israeli officials believe Hamas is holding them captive in its complex network of tunnels, with some hostages surrounding the group’s elusive leader Yahya Sinwar. Israel has been on the hunt for Sinwar, whose capture or death could dramatically impact the war, but his removal could make Hamas less willing to negotiate the release of other hostages, The New York Times wrote.

Samuel Levine, Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection will join Semafor’s editors to explore how online platforms can play a constructive role in communicating age restrictions for certain goods and services and the responsibilities and strategies of policymakers in effectively regulating social media use among young people.

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Venezuela journalists turn to AI anchors

Venezuelan journalists are using artificial intelligence avatars to avoid persecution following the country’s disputed election. President Nicolás Maduro has mounted a sweeping crackdown on political opponents and the media since claiming victory in the contested July vote, leading reporters to fear for their safety. With authoritarianism tightening, around 100 journalists from 20 media outlets have begun using AI-created newscasters named La Chama and El Pana — Bestie and Buddy — to put out daily broadcasts on the government’s crackdown, The Guardian reported. The project’s coordinator said, “Being on camera is no longer so sensible.”

‘Wow!’ signal may have new explanation

The “Wow!” signal, an unexplained radio burst detected by a telescope in 1977 and sometimes claimed as evidence of alien life, may have an explantion. The 72-second-long transmission matched no known natural source, leading astronomer Jerry Ehman to write “wow!” next to it on his printout. Proposed explanations included interference from an Earth radio, but none were conclusive, leaving open the possibility that it was sent by an extraterrestrial civilization. A new paper suggests the signal could have been made by a hyper-dense star hitting a cloud of interstellar hydrogen, which would then emit on the relevant frequency. However, this series of events would constitute “a very rare kind of astrophysical anarchy,” Scientific American wrote, thereby still leaving room for doubt.

Scientific fraud costs lives

Scientific fraud likely costs thousands of lives a year. One cardiologist’s research led to beta blockers being recommended for use before certain surgeries: His data was reportedly fake, and later analysis found the drugs increased mortality risk by 27%, possibly causing as many as 800,000 deaths. He is far from the only fraudster in science. One fraud researcher told Vox that culprits face few consequences — the cardiologist was eventually fired, but faced no legal repercussions and most of his papers were never retracted. Misconduct is typically embarrassing for institutions, leading many to sweep it under the rug. “Even with people who have been caught cheating, the punishment is super light,” the researcher said.

Dinosaur prints found 3,700 miles apart

Matching sets of dinosaur footprints were found on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Africa and South America split apart around 120 million years ago, but before then dinosaurs walked between the two, which were still part of the supercontinent Gondwana. Paleontologists found more than 260 prints 3,700 miles apart in Cameroon and Brazil, possibly along a migration route. The footprints are almost identical in shape and similar in age and geological context, according to the study published by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. Dinosaur footprints “are not rare,” the study’s lead researcher told CNN, but unlike bones they show behavior: “How they walked, ran or otherwise, who they walked with, what environment they walked through.”

August 28:

• E-commerce giant Alibaba upgrades its Hong Kong listing to primary status.
• French President Emmanuel Macron meets his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Paris.
• The 81st Venice Film Festival opens.

Life in miniature is a major theme of this year’s Homo Faber craft fair in Venice, art-directed by Challengers director Luca Guadagnino. Tiny objects have long sparked wonder for their playful, escapist qualities and ability to evoke the power of noticing — as well as being an expensive marker of status, the Financial Times wrote. Miniature artworks being exhibited at Homo Faber in September include a replica Japanese koi pond and a 1/12-scale architectural model of Versailles’ Salon de la Paix. “Everyone has experience of playing with small things as a child,” said one miniaturist. “It touches their inner childhood soul and memories.”

• Harris will use human Donald Trump stand-ins, not AI, for debate prep.
• Kenya student fee change sparks fresh protest threat.
• Top Biden adviser visits China amid rising Asia-Pacific security tensions.