Semafor

Alphabet’s Isomorphic Labs is reportedly in fundraising talks at a $40 billion valuation, the latest sign of strong investor appetite for AI despite growing fears of a bubble.

Oil prices surged on fears of the Middle East conflict expanding, after Yemen’s Houthis attacked Riyadh for a second day.

The News Nigeria’s president is locked in a fierce reelection battle — one that is not just playing out among voters ahead of January polls, but pitting teams of lawyers and lobbyists against a lone litigant half a world away in California.

Fewer Americans are keen on businesses taking public stances on issues than they were a year ago, a decline largely driven by Democrats.

Tight polls for Republicans are throwing future GOP leadership of the Senate health panel into question.

The News Democrats are hoping to persuade Latino voters to get out and vote for their candidates in droves in the midterms.

The News A bipartisan pair of senators wants to do something bold before a new Congress takes over: Fix the Senate’s frequently maligned rules.

French authorities suspended the use of stun grenades Wednesday after a teenager lost his hand during clashes with police, as demonstrations over school conditions spread to more than 40 cities.

British Airways announced what it said will be the world’s biggest business class section on its Airbus A380s, underscoring how airlines are racing to adapt to a growing premium sector.

The market odds of a rate increase at the US Federal Reserve’s October meeting sank Wednesday after the central bank published minutes of its September meeting, though Fed watchers priced in a December hike.

Israeli elections this month will determine whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the country’s longest-serving leader — has shed the security failures preceding the Oct. 7 attacks.

The cost of hiring one very large crude carrier to move US oil to Asia topped $77 million, new data showed Wednesday, surging more than 700% from its 2025 average.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would be “unapologetic” about its “pursuit of national power” at a speech in Athens, as America’s top diplomat made the case for NATO allies to build self-reliance.

Governments around the world are hardening their AI stances as more agentic hacks breach critical systems.

US and Chinese tech companies are taking differing approaches to bring AI agents to the masses, the industry’s latest fixation.

There’s a new kind of AI influencer flooding social media feeds — and they’re not even pretending to look like real people.

J.D.’s view The race in the West to become the top open-source AI model shifted into higher gear this week, as both Nvidia-backed Reflection AI and French lab Mistral unveiled new models they hope will break China’s open-source monopoly.

David’s view Prick up your ears, and you can hear it — the sound of many different kinds of Democrats grabbing credit for midterm victories that aren’t official yet.

The News Whatever happened to “abundance,” the pro-growth movement that many Democrats were going to hitch a ride on this election cycle?

The Scoop Every Thursday afternoon, a cadre of state AFL-CIO leaders meets on Zoom to advance a shared project: the “Contract with Working Americans,” a populist economic platform they devised independently of the national AFL-CIO.

, by Didier Eribon.

Liz’s view The bull market of the early 2010s was called the most hated rally in history.

One thing was clear on Skydance’s first day of life: Beneath David Ellison’s velvet glove is Ynon Kreiz’s iron fist.

Scott Bessent isn’t worried.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is the in-betweener in the AI capex wars.

In the debut episode of , Cognition CISO and former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos goes off on the “nihilism” ripping through Silicon Valley.

Ethiopia’s prime minister reignited the issue of sea access for his landlocked country, potentially further inflaming regional tensions amid renewed fighting in its northern Tigray region.

South Africa is facing growing pressure from labor unions and business groups to provide around $600 million in fuel relief, after the Iran war drove petrol prices to record highs in the continent’s biggest economy.

China’s competitor to the dollar-denominated system that zips money between global banks saw record daily volume in August.

The Gulf is entering a costly new era of accommodating Iran, regardless of whether Tehran and Washington break their stalemate.

Abu Dhabi-based Eagle Hills signed a framework agreement with Syria’s government to build a housing development in Damascus and a tourism project in the coastal city of Latakia, advancing founder Mohamed Alabbar’s plan to invest $18 billion in the country.

The News Fourteen major mining companies in DR Congo paid at least $20 billion to ineligible subcontractors between 2020 and 2025, the country’s subcontracting regulator told Semafor, citing recently completed checks.

The News The Nigerian state oil company’s disclosure that it spent $8 billion to protect energy infrastructure has sparked calls for an inquiry into how the funds were used and cast fresh light on the country’s inability to protect key economic assets.

The News Ruben Gallego isn’t sure if he’s running for president yet, but he still has big plans for his Democratic Party once it’s back in power.

China appeared to move towards improving ties with the US ahead of two summits between the superpowers’ leaders due to be held by year end.

French politicians insisted the country would get to grips with its debt issues, but economists — and markets — signaled skepticism.

High-profile investors warned of an impending AI bubble after tech stocks drove the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to all-time highs.

OpenAI announced hundreds of mathematical breakthroughs, stunning the field with the booming capabilities of its technology.

Oil prices held over $100 a barrel as reports of increased supply from the Gulf were outweighed by signs that regional conflicts were merging, amplifying risks to key energy supply routes.

The News Africa’s long-planned credit rating agency launches in Mauritius on Wednesday, the continent’s most concrete answer yet to years of complaints that the world’s biggest agencies overstate African risk and drive up borrowing costs.

The News The largest privately held janitor service in the US is either a thriving business or a bankruptcy waiting to happen.

Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to have confidence in the honesty of US elections, despite President Donald Trump and his party controlling Washington.

The Trump administration’s recent changes to Trump Accounts could come under fire from the next Congress if Democrats win a majority.

Three years since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, the path toward peace in the resulting Gaza war remains murky.

A leading House Democrat is rolling out draft legislation to clarify liability for AI developers when their agents cause harm in direct response to the rogue AI hack of Hugging Face earlier this year.

The Scoop A coalition of nearly 40 labor, progressive, faith, and AI safety groups is laying out demands for AI legislation in Congress, warning lawmakers that any bill that crosses their red lines will face “active, mobilized opposition,” according to a…

A Belgian-American scientist was awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for his pioneering work studying “ghost particles” in the Antarctic.

China is expanding its efforts to drill ultra-deep oil and gas wells — defined as more than three-and-a-half miles deep — as the world’s largest crude importer steps up domestic exploration.

India’s first bullet train is yet to transport a single passenger 10 years after the joint project with Japan broke ground, as the undertaking devolves into sniping and recriminations.

The former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of treason and conducting espionage on behalf of foreign governments, in a major blow to Berlin’s security establishment.