Semafor

House Democrats are panning the Trump administration after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer wouldn’t commit last week to imposing Russian sanctions recently enacted by Congress.

Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are renewing their calls for Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to appear before Congress after he sidelined its internal watchdog earlier this month.

As the Trump administration weighs next steps in the Iran war, at least some in the administration worry that Iran will consider taking action to damage the president ahead of the midterms.

The News The winner of Senate control would snatch one of the biggest tangible prizes of the midterms: control over President Donald Trump’s nominees.

The News One of the Democratic Party’s most prolific lawyers also is becoming one of its most prolific posters.

The Scoop Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson was talking about the media business on Vox’s podcast last month when host Peter Kafka asked him: How was the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, feeling about the growing success of Thompson’s personal p…

The Scoop A Silicon Valley nonprofit close to the AI safety movement is pledging $10 million by the end of 2027 to fund mainstream and independent coverage of artificial intelligence.

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces launched a major military campaign Sunday to beat back Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, adding fresh risks to oil markets as Iran reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

More than 150 million Brazilians voted Sunday in a pivotal presidential election for Latin America’s largest economy, after a campaign dominated by tensions between Brasília and Washington.

China closed a record 670 banks last year, or nearly one in four lenders, as Beijing pushes to de-risk amid slowing economic growth.

OpenAI faces mounting legal risks stemming from cyber incidents linked to its AI models, after the firm alerted more than 100 organizations to unauthorized activities.

The US director of national intelligence and the Federal Trade Commission chairman will head up the White House’s “Super Intelligence Force” on AI, President Donald Trump announced Sunday.

Japan lodged a formal protest with the US and summoned its envoy Sunday after an American soldier was arrested on suspicion of committing what Japan’s prime minister called an “extremely brutal and vicious” murder on Okinawa.

The Scoop On June 1, OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon gave employees a preview of a blog post denying the company had any connection to Leading the Future, a super PAC established to defend AI from regulation.

The AI bill is coming for governments and businesses, and no one knows whether the money will be there to pay it.

Amazon today announced new commitments to generate buy-in for US data centers and rebutted criticism about the facilities.

Meta said it’s letting go of employees it hired from AI safety startup Virtue AI four months after they joined the company in June, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told Semafor, chalking it up to clashing work styles.

David’s view If the vice president delivers a campaign speech, does it make a sound?

The fallout from Manchester City’s guilty verdict last week is threatening more than the club’s trophy cabinet: Billions in investment are now on the line.

The 80-kilometer stretch between Abu Dhabi and Dubai — a barren expanse of farms, factories, warehouses, and not much else — is now drawing multibillion-dollar property projects.

by Mahatma Gandhi.

Tiisetso’s view At about 5am on Monday, 23-year-old Boitumelo Nhlanzi left home in Thembisa for work.

The US labor market added 29,000 jobs in September, falling far short of economists’ expectations following a strong showing in August, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%.

Transsion Holdings, the biggest seller of phones in Africa, is eyeing a $500 million initial public offering in Hong Kong as the firm seeks to raise money to develop a new generation of AI-enhanced devices.

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema used his first trip abroad since his re-election last month to tell Gulf investors to fully comply with the country’s local procurement rules, he said.

Senate Republicans’ top super PAC is making a tactical change, pausing its ad campaign in North Carolina’s Senate race and launching a new one in Kansas.

The African Development Bank is holding talks with financiers, with the aim of finding ways to mobilize around $4 trillion in untapped domestic capital to fund the continent’s development needs, its president said.

The African Union urged Ethiopia and its neighbors to exercise restraint as growing tensions threaten to destabilize the region.

Nigeria will shift its economic policy goal from administering “emergency treatment” to delivering shared prosperity, President Bola Tinubu said, pitching himself as the best person to address welfare concerns ahead of crunch elections in January.

Matthew’s view Saudi Arabia’s recently appointed stock market regulator has had a whirlwind few weeks.

The US dispatched another aircraft carrier and thousands more troops to the Middle East, signaling a potential escalation in the Iran war.

EU member states readied talks over a feared diesel shortage as surging prices drove major refiners to ban exports, moves that threatened economies worldwide.

Brazil’s election this weekend will reshape the diplomatic strategy of Latin America’s biggest economy, analysts said.

Officials, led by Ukraine’s president, warned that Russia appeared to be readying military escalation against Kyiv and Europe more broadly.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz came under growing pressure from allies and rivals alike over electoral and legislative failures, raising the possibility that the leader of Europe’s biggest economy could be ousted.

Soaring borrowing costs spurred experts to warn of a gathering fiscal crisis, particularly in Europe.

The Signal Insight Swiss billionaire Thomas Flohr is a World Endurance Championship racing driver who has spent 22 years building VistaJet into a $2.9 billion revenue private aviation business with global reach.

The Signal Interview In a little more than a decade, Octopus Energy has grown from an outlandish idea into Britain’s largest energy provider.

Immigrant advocates are grappling with the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Trump administration to move forward with third-country deportations, which will leave the policy in place for months while they wait for the court to rule on it.

The FBI’s plans to acquire nationwide access to automatic license plate readers faces scrutiny from House Democrats, according to a letter shared with Semafor.

Sen.

The News New Mexico Gov.

The Trump administration is still eyeing Cuba, tightening travel rules and imposing new restrictions on banking this week in an effort to continue to squeeze the country’s regime.

Ashley’s view The tech industry is facing strange headwinds in Washington after meeting with President Donald Trump and senior administration officials this week and signing a “morally binding” accord on AI.

Broadcom plans to lend Anthropic up to $42 billion to lease its chips, Reuters reported, adding to the trend of chipmakers financing the AI buildout that’s driving demand for their products.

The Trump administration is pressuring European capitals to release their emergency diesel supplies or else face a US diesel export ban, as the White House turns to coercion in efforts to tame surging fuel prices.

Starbucks opened its first cafés in China’s Xinjiang region, prompting criticism from activists and US lawmakers over the coffee giant’s decision to expand into an area widely scrutinized for human rights violations.

Iran published a 14,390-word letter to Americans this week proclaiming the regime’s victory over the US, suggesting the two sides were no closer to resolving their seven-month war through diplomatic means.

European leaders should describe covert Russian actions as “terror attacks” amounting to “war,” instead of calling them “hybrid,” Estonia’s foreign minister told Politico Thursday.

The narrowly-avoided catastrophe aboard a flydubai flight has electrified Israel’s highly polarized election debate, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claiming vindication, and his opponents drawing parallels to the government’s pre-Oct. 7 security f…