1. FROM MY DESK
Is the tech industry racing toward “out-of-control” AI? An Anthropic researcher believes so—and he is walking away. Jacob Coxon announced Tuesday his resignation from Anthropic, warning that competition is driving an industrywide rush to build models that could spiral out of control and destroy humanity.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and other company leaders have repeatedly warned about the risks of rogue AI models and urged the industry to slow development. Several researchers have left OpenAI and other companies with similar concerns. Coxon’s departure hits at a critical moment as Anthropic gears up for an IPO expected to be among the largest ever. The company is seeking a $2 trillion valuation while emphasizing its commitment to responsible AI development to investors.
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2. TODAY’S HEADLINES
Oil hit $100 a barrel on supply disruption fears after the U.S. destroyed five Iranian tankers in response to Tehran’s strikes on American warships in the Middle East.Republicans are putting an unpopular president at the center of their campaign to keep control of Congress.Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas and Republican former Sen. John E. Sununu prevailed in New Hampshire’s Senate primary, setting up a competitive fall campaign in the battleground state.Companies that do business with the U.S. government are largely failing to meet federal targets for hiring military veterans, a new analysis finds.States that gave data centers billions in tax breaks are now ripping up those deals.President Trump gave cash gifts of $45,000 apiece to Natalie Harp and two other White House aides last Christmas, according to financial disclosure forms released by the administration.
3. LIVE FROM THE MARKETS
📈 Follow our live financial coverage all day.
📊 Charts: Here’s how Americans really feel about the economy.There’s a high-stakes gamble playing out in the natural-gas market, writes Carol Ryan.
4. READ IT HERE FIRST
Melting glaciers and monster floods are threatening Nepal’s big bet on hydropower.
When a flood came roaring down the Himalayas into Nepal last year, engineer Santosh Adhikari narrowly escaped by scrambling to higher ground. Two weeks ago, another surge barreled down—this one was bigger and faster. The wave tore through the Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant where Adhikari worked, swallowing buildings and leaving only dark-gray sludge. The installation was one of nearly a dozen wrecked in a disaster that killed around 1,400 people. Nepal has staked its economic future on river-fed hydropower. Now, the future of that strategy is in question as a warming planet destabilizes Himalayan glaciers—putting human lives and billions of dollars at risk, report Niharika Mandhana, Krishna Pokharel and Tripti Lahiri.
5. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
Enterprise Reporter Khadeeja Safdar: I have been reporting on Jeffrey Epstein and his network of powerful associates since 2019. I have spoken with dozens of women whom he abused to understand how he operated. I first met Julia Molchanova this year after I heard from a source that she was thinking about revealing her identity for the first time.
We talked several times over a few weeks and I reviewed documents, including photographs and emails that weren’t in the Justice Department files. She agreed to sit down for an on-camera interview. Our senior video producer Emma Scott and I met Julia to film earlier this summer. We met her dog, learned about her hobbies and heard about her life before she met Epstein.
Julia helped us enormously by providing emails and documents that let us verify her story. She shared things with us that she didn’t want discussed publicly, such as the specifics of the physical abuse, so that the descriptions in the article would be accurate. She shared more and more as time went by, opening up her iPhone to us and showing photos that dated back more than a decade. We’re grateful that she trusted us to share intimate details of her life with the public.
Since publishing, we’ve heard from many who appreciated how we handled such a sensitive topic, including several Epstein survivors. One of them told me, “she’s given me more courage to gear up to start speaking soon.”
6. SEE THE STORY
These states are on the front lines of the trade war with Canada.
The latest Canadian tariffs on $20 billion of U.S. exports went into effect Tuesday. The levies will hit only a slice of goods including steel, aluminum, dairy products, motorcycles and agricultural machinery. But U.S. states along the northern border, such as North Dakota and Michigan, will likely bear the brunt of the levies.
Also on Tuesday, Trump signed orders to ban the importation of many dairy products, alcoholic beverages and motorcycles from Canada—a retaliation for the levies that took effect earlier the same day.
7. HAPPENING TODAY
Apple holds its annual fall product event, where it is expected to unveil a foldable iPhone. It’s also the first round of product launches under CEO John Ternus.The NFL season kicks off.Elections: Rhode Island holds primary elections. The Republican midterm convention begins in Dallas.Earnings: Jersey Mike’s Subs, Chewy, American Eagle Outfitters📰 Today’s paper
8. THE NUMBER
The share of retailers that now charge a return fee at least some of the time, up from 43% five years ago, according to Loop Returns. Sending back online purchases is getting harder. Americans accustomed to free and easy returns are facing surprise fees, shorter return windows and delayed refunds as merchants push back against rising processing costs.
9. AND FINALLY…
Here’s how a restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center changed New York.
When a team set out to build a destination restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center in 1971, lower Manhattan wasn’t exactly a dining hot spot. Wall Street was bust and the city was broke. Yet over 100 stories up the North Tower, restaurateur Joe Baum and Michael Whiteman let their imaginations run wild. Windows on the World became a culinary juggernaut that changed American dining culture.
10. BEYOND THE NEWSROOM
Opinion: California has used EPA waivers, approved by the Biden administration, in an attempt to set energy policy for the entire U.S. Republicans have a chance to do something about it.WSJ | Buy Side: The best financial advisers for retirees work with you to manage your finances, reduce your tax burden and create an estate plan that fits your goals.
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Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by Morgan Smith and Bryony Watson in collaboration with Editor in Chief Emma Tucker. Got a tip for us? Here’s how to submit.