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AI Arms Race: China’s Lead in Open-Source AI Jolts Washington and Silicon Valley (Wall Street Journal)
China’s ambition to turn its open-source artificial-intelligence models into a global standard has jolted American companies and policymakers, who fear U.S. models could be eclipsed and are mobilizing their responses to the threat.
The Era of Big Government: Trump Has Made Himself Commander in Chief of the Chip Industry (New York Times)
In just eight months, Donald Trump has made himself the biggest decision maker for one of the world’s most economically and strategically important industries, which makes key components for everything from giant A.I. systems to military weapons. And he has turned the careful planning of companies historically led by engineers into a game of insider politics.
Economic News: UK Growth Tops G-7 as Government Spending Helps Fuel Economy
Britain recorded the fastest growth of the Group-of-Seven nations during the first half of the year, a repeated pledge of Keir Starmer’s government.
Hope for Peace? Europe’s Leaders Say They’ve Agreed With Trump on a Strategy for Russia Talks (New York Times)
European leaders said on Wednesday that they had hammered out a strategy with President Trump for his scheduled meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Friday in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, including an insistence that any peace plan must start with a cease-fire and not be negotiated without Ukraine at the table.
Right-wing Alliance: Poland’s New President Karol Nawrocki Bumps Prime Minister Donald Tusk From Trump Call on Ukraine (Bloomberg)
Premier Donald Tusk told reporters in Warsaw that he was informed by the US side “shortly before midnight” on Tuesday that they “would prefer” the president to represent Poland in contacts with Trump.
Tusk’s absence was particularly jarring as the prime minister took part in a video conference of European leaders earlier in the day to prepare for the call with Trump. The goal of the meeting was to present their joint stance ahead of the US president’s summit with Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Tense Backdrop to Russia-Ukraine Talks: Exposing the Cracks at the Heart of Putin’s War Economy (Bloomberg)
The Russian economy is spluttering under the weight of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine just as Presidents Putin and Trump meet to talk peace.
Climate Change Taxing Strained EU Power Grids: Europe Finally Embraces Air Conditioning as Heat Waves Hit Hard (Bloomberg)
Once seen as an American excess or Mediterranean necessity, air conditioning is becoming a fixture of life in places where it was long considered a luxury or even unwelcome. The shift reflects a new climate reality: Extreme heat is no longer rare across much of Europe. It’s increasingly the new norm.
Appeals Court Says Trump Can Defy Congress: Court Lets Trump Block Billions of Dollars in Foreign Aid (Bloomberg)
The ruling is a significant win for Donald Trump’s efforts to dissolve the US Agency for International Development and broadly withhold funding from programs that have fallen out of favor with his administration, regardless of how Congress exercised its authority over spending.
Unorthodox Call: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Urges Fed to Lower Rates by 150 Basis Points or More (Bloomberg)
Treasury secretaries have typically shied away from making specific calls on Fed rates, and Bessent has said for months he would only discuss the central bank’s past policy decisions — not their upcoming ones.
Will Trump Get Blank Check to Extend DC Takeover? Trump to Ask Congress for DC-Specific Crime Bill, Funding (Bloomberg)
Donald Trump’s control of the city’s police department under the emergency powers he's now claiming is limited to just 30 days under the law, which also allows District residents to elect their local government officials. Trump suggested he would seek a crime bill that allowed him to extend that deadline, as well as eliminate the city’s use of cashless bail.
'Will They Arrest Us All'? D.C.’s Homeless Begin to See the Effects of Trump’s Crackdown (Washington Post)
Harvard Latest: Harvard Ready to Pay $500 Million for Job Training in Trump Deal (Bloomberg)
Democrats' Push for Senate Majority Gets Boost: Three-Term Senator Sherrod Brown Launching Comeback Senate Bid in Ohio (Axios)
Follow My Clean Energy Insta: Nuclear Power Is Having a Pop Culture Moment (Wall Street Journal)
Thanks to a new wave of activists like Isabelle Boemeke, a fashion model and author who started posting TikToks about nuclear power in 2020, nuclear energy is having a moment in both pop culture and politics for the first time in decades.
Fans of nuclear power are riding a wave of improving public sentiment. About 60% of Americans support the construction of more nuclear power plants, according to the Pew Research Center. That’s a significant shift from 2020, when 43% said they supported more power generation from atomic energy.
Revival Staged in NYC: Academy Award-Winner Tarell Alvin McCraney's Early Play 'The Brothers Size' Comes to The Shed (The Shed)
Conceived during Mayor Mike Bloomberg's administration as a "new kind of cultural organization, one which would complement the rich array of cultural entities already in New York," The Shed has lived up to its billing and more. This innovative cultural institution for the 21st century has grown New York’s cultural landscape by supporting established and emerging artists who are advancing art forms.
This month, The Shed will stage a revival of Academy Award-winning screenwriter and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney's play 'The Brothers Size', a modern-day fable about the bonds of brotherhood and life after incarceration. Starring André Holland as Ogun Size and featuring Alani iLongwe as Oshoosi Size and Malcolm Mays as Elegba, this new production of 'The Brothers Size' comes on the 20th anniversary of McCraney’s groundbreaking drama.
Previews begin August 30. Get your tickets and learn how you can support this New York City jewel here.
Click the photo below to hear
from McCraney
about what the play means, as well as his hope that "this dreaming in the dark will allow us to find some light together."
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