Welcome to another busy Saturday. Protesters are turning out in France as well as in Albania. Bangladesh is trying to contain the world’s worst measles outbreak. And Donald Trump told a crowd in Georgia that if they’re ever in doubt about someone’s name in the Middle East, “just say ‘Mohammad.’”
Executive order: The sanctions and tariffs were supposed to take effect within days and included penalties for buying Russian oil and gas to put pressure on Moscow over the Ukraine war. Trump wants lower prices to give Republicans an advantage in the midterms and his efforts come at Ukraine’s expense.
An atomic combination: Russia and the US are discussing cooperating on more deals after Washington agreed to allow Russian diesel back into the open market to bring fuel prices down. One possibility, according to Vladimir Putin’s investment adviser: building nuclear-powered data centers.
Responsibility: Trump is questioning why Republicans aren't polling better before the November congressional elections and his advisers are blaming one another. One source described the situation as a "circular firing squad." Speaking of firing squads, here’s a look at how Pete Hegseth’s TV instincts failed him on the subject of broadcasting a live execution.
‘I’m gonna try and cheat like hell like they do’: Our reporters Peter Eisler and Mike Spector join On Assignment podcast host Jonah Green to discuss the avenues the president could use to interfere with the midterms.
Dressed in black: Masked Israeli settlers burned olive trees and attacked Palestinians in the West Bank. Israeli soldiers who arrived on the scene fired teargas at the Palestinians. Settlers beat a Washington Post photojournalist, putting her in hospital.
Gaza: Israel said commercial goods stopped entering the strip. It said Gazan merchants told the Israeli military’s humanitarian aid group that Hamas was demanding a $3,220 fee for each truck entering the zone and that 30% of all their sales be carried out in cash.
Profit: Norway should allow its $2.3 trillion wealth fund to invest in major Western defense groups that are banned from its portfolio because of their involvement in nuclear-arms production, a government-appointed commission said.
Background: The proposed change is part of an overhaul of the fund’s ethics rules that came after the Trump administration criticized it for divesting its stake in Caterpillar over Israel’s use of its bulldozers in Gaza and the West Bank.
Attacks: Russia’s brown-bear population has doubled to 308,000 over three decades because of shorter and milder winters. They have killed at least 22 people since this spring. Learn how hunters in the Krasnoyarsk region are dealing with the problem. By the way, Russia doesn’t find AI-generated bears funny.
Business: Markets worry that AI infrastructure companies could blow up big time should the boom turn to bust. In CoreWeave’s case, it has never turned a profit and has $50 billion in debt on its books.
Rates: The massive debt that companies are taking on before AI starts producing the productivity gains it promises could lead the world’s central banks to keep interest rates higher for longer.
