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👋 Good morning! The World Cup quarterfinals are here. Stat du jour: Number of times an MLB pitcher was pulled after 6+ perfect innings in 115 seasons from 1901-2015: 0. Number of times in 10 seasons from 2016-25: 3. Number of times in the past four days: 2. The times, they are a-changin'. In today's edition: Fery's magical run continues, Verlander announces retirement plans, World Cup quarterfinal preview, checking in on the Tour de France, Reeve's historic victory, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ JV set to retire: Justin Verlander, 43, announced on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the season, his 21st in the majors. The news came on the same day that the future Hall of Famer and Tigers pitcher was selected to his 10th All-Star Game as a "Legend Pick" by commissioner Rob Manfred. ⚾️ So close: Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease was three outs away from his second career no-hitter when a single by Giants OF Heliot Ramos ended his bid in the ninth. He still earned the win in a 10-0 victory with his third no-hit bid of 8+ innings, the most in MLB over the last five seasons. ⚽️ Record ratings: Upon closer inspection, Monday's USA-Belgium game (~42M viewers) was not in fact the most-watched soccer telecast in American history. That honor now belongs to Sunday's Mexico-England game, which drew nearly 45 million viewers across Fox and Telemundo. ⚾️ Derby field fills out: Royals RF Jac Caglianone and Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras have joined next week's Home Run Derby, whose eight-player field is now half full with Caglianone and Contreras joining Rays 3B Junior Caminero and Yankees 1B Ben Rice. ⚽️ MLS All-Stars: Lionel Messi, three wins from leading Argentina to a second straight World Cup title, headlined MLS' 29-player All-Star roster revealed Wednesday. They'll face a team of Liga MX All-Stars on July 29 in Charlotte.     🎾 WIMBLEDON THE FERY-TALE CONTINUES Fery falls to the court in celebration in front of an adoring home crowd. (Tim Clayton/Getty Images) The men's semifinals are set at Wimbledon, and while three of the players left standing are exactly who you'd expect them to be, the fourth is a young Brit named Arthur Fery, who is nothing short of the most unlikely semifinalist in the modern history of the sport. Odd man out: Fery — who upset No. 9 Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday to join No. 1 Jannik Sinner, No. 2 Alexander Zverev and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals — is just the fourth men's wildcard to reach a major semifinal in the Open Era (since 1968). But unlike the first three, Fery's run truly came out of nowhere. First was Jimmy Connors (1991 U.S. Open), an eight-time Grand Slam champion who received a sort-of "lifetime achievement" wildcard at age 39 at the end of an all-time great career. Next was Henri Laconte (1992 French Open), a former top-five player who'd reached eight Grand Slam quarterfinals but had fallen down the rankings due to injury. Most recently was Goran Ivanišević (2001 Wimbledon), a former world No. 2 and three-time finalist at the All England Club in the twilight of his career. He ultimately ran the table, becoming the first men's wildcard ever to win a Grand Slam. And now we have Fery, a 23-year-old Wimbledon local who'd never so much as advanced beyond the third round of an ATP event. By the numbers: Fery — who was born in France but grew up about a mile away from the All England Club, where he's played since he was a child — entered the tournament ranked a career-high 114th. Now, regardless of where he finishes he'll climb to at least No. 36. The Stanford graduate won nearly as many matches during his dream run at Wimbledon (5) as he had in his entire ATP career before last week (6). In fact, he'd only played in 14 main-draw matches before, underscoring just how little experience he has at this level. In the same vein, by reaching the semifinals he's already guaranteed himself a payday of roughly $1.2 million, more than he's earned in his entire career to date ($883,618). It is worth noting, however, that he perhaps doesn't need the money the way so many other struggling tennis players do: His father, Loïc, is a multimillionaire hedge fund manager and president of Ligue 1 club FC Lorient. What's next: Fery will face Zverev tomorrow after the reigning French Open champion knocked No. 6 Taylor Fritz out in straight sets on Wednesday. And if he can pull off another upset he'll get the winner of Sinner and Djokovic in the final. Good luck, kid.   ⚽️ WORLD CUP THE QUARTERFINALS ARE HERE, AND SO ARE THE STARS (Josh Heim/Yahoo Sports) After a solitary rest day that felt eternal, the quarterfinal stage of the World Cup has finally arrived. The global footballing behemoths have curtly dismissed the plucky underdogs, sent the host countries packing, and claimed their rightful seats at the big kid's table. All or nothing: It's no longer enough to fight for survival; this stage requires the game's best to wrest victory ruthlessly from the clutches of their opponent. The omnipresence of galactic stars — each performing at their very best — ensures there's no margin for error, and fans could scarcely ask for more big names to anchor the tournament down the stretch. Argentina's Lionel Messi, France's Kylian Mbappé, England's Harry Kane and Norway's Erling Haaland entered the World Cup as giants of the highest order, and have delivered to the tune of an astonishing 28 goals. That's 10% of all goals scored in the tournament. By four players. And still lurking is Lamine Yamal, the Spanish wunderkind who has yet to truly announce himself these last few weeks but is just one big game from joining that star-studded fray. Don't take it for granted: It's exceedingly rare that this many superstars make it so deep in the same tournament while simultaneously playing so flawlessly. Enjoy it. We're witnessing greatness. (Yahoo Sports) The road ahead: There are no easy draws left, just seismic clashes between teams that have already proven their mettle on the biggest stages in North America. France vs. Morocco (Thursday): The tournament's clear favorite faces its toughest test to date in 6th-ranked Morocco. France's star-studded attack will need to shake off the cobwebs from Paraguay's highly defensive approach in the prior round. Further raising the stakes in a game where the stakes need no raising, there are six French-born players in Morocco's squad. Belgium vs. Spain (Friday): Belgium were largely unconvincing in this tournament until they thoroughly humiliated the U.S. in an unfriendly environment. To win this one, they'll likely have to force Spain to do something it hasn't done all World Cup: concede a goal. Can Yamal and company find the back of the net sooner than they did against Portugal, when their 91st-minute strike clinched a 1-0 victory? England vs. Norway (Saturday): Norway enters as the lowest-ranked team in the quarterfinals, but the presence of Erling Haaland renders that standing an afterthought. If there's a goal to be had, the clinical Viking striker will find it. But the Norwegians face an England squad unrelenting in belief and urged along by their talismanic stars, Kane and Jude Bellingham. Argentina vs. Switzerland (Saturday): The Swiss may look like a final-eight underdog, but they face the reigning champions in formidable form, driven by the late-career apex of their captain, Granit Xhaka. Argentina have not beaten a team ranked higher than Switzerland in this tournament, and they would be tempting fate to wait too long for another moment of magic from Messi, however inevitable it might seem.   💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS (Tour de France) 🚴 5 stages down The Tour de France is nearly 25% of the way over, with five stages down and 16 to go entering the final Pyrenees stage today. Race favorites Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard aren't quite where you'd expect at this juncture, tied for fourth about eight minutes off the lead, but they'll likely begin making up that deficit during today's grueling climbs. And as for the leader? That would be Norway's Torstein Træen, who's completed an inspiring comeback after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2022. He was back on his bike and cancer-free later that year, earned his first stage victory at a World Tour event in 2024, held the red jersey for four stages at the Vuelta a España in 2025, and is now the third Norwegian ever to don the yellow jersey. 🏀 380 wins Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve picked up her 380th career regular-season victory on Wednesday, breaking a tie with Mike Thibault to become the winningest coach in WNBA history. The four-time Coach of the Year also holds the record for most postseason wins (52), thanks largely to Minnesota's dynasty that won four titles in the 2010s. More history coming? The Lynx improved to 16-6 with the victory, a half-game ahead of the Aces and Valkyries for the league's best record. There's a lot of season left, but a fifth championship — all under Reeve — would break a tie with the Storm and now-defunct Comets for the most ever. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images) ⛳️ 7 golfers Just seven LPGA golfers have ever achieved the Career Grand Slam; with a win at this weekend's Evian Championship — the fourth major of the season — world No. 1 Nelly Korda would become the eighth. The 27-year-old has already won the Chevron Championship, U.S. Women's Open and Women's PGA Championship, and despite there being five majors, only four are required for the Slam. But wait, there's more: A win this weekend would also make her just the 36th woman to earn a spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame. The points-based membership requires 27 points for entry; Korda has 25, and major championships are worth two. Here's where I remind you that she's already won four times this year, including two of the first three majors. ⚾️ 10 RBI Pirates 1B Ryan O'Hearn mashed three home runs and had 10 RBIs in Tuesday's win over the Braves, making him just the 17th player in MLB's modern era (since 1900) with at least 10 RBIs in a game. The others: Shohei Ohtani (2024), Mark Reynolds (2018), Scooter Gennett (2017), Anthony Rendon (2017), Garret Anderson (2007), Alex Rodriguez (2005), Nomar Garciaparra (1999), Mark Whiten (1993), Fred Lynn (1975), Reggie Jackson (1969), Norm Zauchin (1955), Walker Cooper (1949), Rudy York (1946), Phil Weintraub (1944), Tony Lazzeri (1936), Jim Bottomley (1924).   ⚾️ GO DEEPER GOOD READS: MLB EDITION (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) Jake Mintz: It's a weird year for the American League All-Stars MLB's balance of power has skewed heavily in the NL's favor this season — a discrepancy that will be on full display at next week's All-Star Game in Philadelphia, where the Senior Circuit's roster will be chock-full of stars while the AL scrambles to fill a void caused by injuries, underperformance and an interleague exodus. (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) Russell Dorsey: The man, the myth, the Miz: How Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski became MLB's most electric pitcher Milwaukee's flame-throwing righty has enjoyed a meteoric rise, going from a tantalizingly talented prospect to arguably the best pitcher in baseball in the past year. But the Miz's ascent to superstardom was far from a guarantee, and his road to becoming MLB's most electric hurler was anything but linear. (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) Mintz: Which player will the White Sox take with the No. 1 overall pick? The White Sox are on the clock with the first pick in Saturday's MLB Draft, and there are effectively three options for whom they'll select: UCLA SS Roch Cholowsky, Georgia Tech C Vahn Lackey and a high school SS from Texas named Grady Emerson. Let's run through this talented trio, highlight what makes each special and handicap their chances to be the first name called this weekend.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, JULY 9 (Yahoo Sports) ⚽️ World Cup, Quarterfinals The first semifinal spot will be booked today in Foxborough (4pm ET, Fox), where France and Morocco meet in a rematch of the semifinals from four years ago in Qatar. 20-20 vision? Kylian Mbappé has scored a stunning 19 goals in 19 career World Cup appearances, including seven this year alone. Will he make it an even 20 in 20 today? 🎾 Wimbledon, Semifinals The women take center stage — and Centre Court — today as the semifinals get underway at the All England Club. First up is No. 7 Coco Gauff vs. No. 10 Karolína Muchová (8:30am, ESPN), followed by No. 9 Linda Nosková vs. No. 12 Marta Kostyuk. Debutants: This is the first Wimbledon in the Open Era (since 1968) to feature four first-time Wimbledon semifinalists in the women's draw. ⛳️ Evian Championship The fourth LPGA major of the season is underway (6am, Golf) in Évian-les-Bains, France, where 132 women are competing for a $9.1 million purse. Flashback: Last year's tournament had as thrilling a conclusion as you could imagine, as Grace Kim forced a playoff with an eagle at the last, extended the playoff with a chip-in birdie — a shot so epic it was commemorated with a plaque — and won her first major with another eagle on the second playoff hole. More to watch: 🏀 NBA Summer League: Wizards vs. Jazz (9pm, ESPN) … Las Vegas Summer League action tips off with Washington's AJ Dybantsa and Utah's Darryn Peterson meeting in a matchup of the top two picks in last month's draft. ⛳️ PGA: Scottish Open (3:15am, ESPN+; 11am, Golf) … Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and defending champion Chris Gotterup headline the field at The Renaissance Club. 🏀 WNBA: Storm at Dream (8pm, Prime); Fever at Mercury (10pm, Prime) … Atlanta (12-9) could use a win in this get-right game against Seattle (6-17) after dropping five straight. 🚴 Tour de France: Stage 6 (6:25am, Peacock) … Riders will travel 116 miles through the Pyrenees from Pau to Gavarnie-Gèdre. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.   ⚾ NO-NO'S MLB TRIVIA (Nic Antaya/Getty Images) Justin Verlander — who announced Wednesday that he'll be retiring at the end of the season — has thrown three career no-hitters, a total surpassed by just two other pitchers in MLB history. Question: Can you name them? Hint: A lefty and a righty. Answer at the bottom.   ⚽️ WHO YA GOT? WORLD CUP: MAKE YOUR PICKS! The quarterfinals in the world's biggest soccer tournament begin today! Pick your winners for each game in 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em from Yahoo Sports and FOX One. How to play: Make picks each round, earn points for correct predictions and climb the leaderboard. You can play solo against the field, create a private group with friends to compete for bragging rights, or join a public group to play with other fans.   Trivia answer: Nolan Ryan (7 no-hitters) and Sandy Koufax (4)

Regards.

And here the writer hits on the key point which is at the center of the prophecy which led to the disappointment and when understood correctly became a pillar of the foundation of the church. "As we have seen, when the Millerite calculations failed, all appeared to be lost; but a singular event took place only three days later in a cornfield near Port Gibson, New York, which changed the face of Adventist history and brought about a reinterpretation of the eighth and ninth chapters of the book of Daniel, an interpretation which is a keystone in the arch of the Seventh-day Adventist view of prophecy. On October 25, 1844, following the “Great Disappointment,” Hiram Edson, a devout Adventist and follower of William Miller, was wending his way homeward with his friend O.R.L. Crosier. In order to avoid the mocking gazes and taunts of their neighbors, they cut across a cornfield. As they walked through the cornfield in deep silence and meditation, Hiram Edson stopped, became more deeply immersed in meditation, and then with upturned face indicative of a heartfelt prayer for spiritual light, he suddenly received a great spiritual “revelation.” In the words of Dr. Froom, Suddenly there burst upon his mind the thought that there were two phases to Christ’s ministry in the Heaven of Heavens, just as in the earthly sanctuary of old. In his own words, an overwhelming conviction came over him “that instead of our high priest coming out of the most holy of the heavenly sanctuary to come to this earth on the tenth day of the seventh month at the end of the twenty-three hundred days, He for the first time entered on that day the second apartment of that sanctuary, and that He had a work to perform in the most holy before coming to this earth.”18 In that instant, according to Seventh-day Adventist history, Hiram Edson found the reason why the Millerites had been disappointed. They had expected Christ to come to earth to cleanse the sanctuary, but the sanctuary was not the earth. It was located in heaven! Instead of coming to earth, therefore, Christ had passed from one “apartment” of the sanctuary into the other “apartment” to perform a closing work now known as the “investigative judgment.” "These concepts are now understood to mean that in 1844 Christ entered the “second phase” of His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, and ever since has been reviewing the cases of believers to determine their worthiness for eternal life. Further, He will come forth from the “second apartment,” or finish the “second phase” of His ministry in the sanctuary, to usher in judgment upon the world at His Great Second Advent. This, in essence, was the interpretation that shaped the later concepts of the “heavenly sanctuary” and the “investigative judgment” in Seventh-day Adventist theology. Thus, good Millerite-Adventists were justified in endorsing the work of William Miller..." And he gives this..."Although I do not accept White’s explanation or the interpretations of Edson, Crosier, Froom, or Nichol, I would be at a loss to account for the growth and development of Seventh-day Adventism apart from the psychological framework of the “Great Disappointment of 1844.”

Well, this is amazing. I was taking my wife to the beach as she had an outbreak which I thought the sun and warm waters would help heal. So we headed there and I grabbed my beach bag and made sure it had all my change of clothes, towels, and a book to read which I grabbed on the way out. So we get there and set up with beach chairs and bags and go in the water and it was so hot the sand was burning to walk on and the water ready for soup. Well anyway I finally get out of the water, and go to sit on the chairs, and sip a cool drink and pull out a book to read and relax. So I open the book I grabbed and come to a part where the words I am reading just leave me dumbfounded. Here is the part I had come across... "The Historical Background of Seventh-Day Adventism Seventh-day Adventism sprang from the "Great Second Advent Awakening," which shook the religious world just before the middle of the nineteenth century when a reemphasis on the second advent of Jesus Christ was rampant in Britain and on the continent of Europe. Before long, many of the Old World views of prophetic interpretation crossed the Atlantic and penetrated American theological circles. Based largely upon the apocalyptic books of Daniel and Revelation, the theology of the Advent Movement was discussed in the newspapers as well as in theological journals. New Testament eschatology competed with stock market quotations for front-page space, and the "seventy weeks," "twenty-three hundred days," and "the abomination of desolation" (Daniel 8–9) were common subjects of conversation. Following the chronology of Archbishop Ussher, and interpreting the 2300 days of Daniel as 2300 years, many Bible students of various denominations concluded that Christ would come back about the year 1843. Of this studious number was one William Miller, a Baptist minister and resident of Lower Hampton, New York. The Great Second Advent Awakening, which swept the United States in the 1840’s, stemmed largely from the activities of this William Miller, who confidently taught in the year 1818 that in "about" twenty-five years, i.e., 1843, Jesus Christ would come again...At length his associates set October 22, 1844, as the final date when Jesus Christ would return for His saints." I was intrigued as clearly this was saying that this timeline of the 2300 days of Daniel as 2300 years was seen by others and was being studied by many believers. William Miller was studying what many others were going over with great interest, and he was not some wild eyed extremist as we see. "Miller was raised by a deeply religious mother, but despite her zeal for his conversion, Miller became a deist. Only after a soul-searching experience that culminated in his conversion did he begin his preparation for ministry in the Baptist church. A great many books have been written about William Miller and the Millerite movement, but to this writer’s knowledge none of them proved Miller to be dishonest or deceptive in his prophetic interpretation of Scripture. Indeed, he enjoyed the reputation, among all who knew him, of being an honest, forthright Christian." The problem was not the timeline but the event that they were looking at had been picked up with the wrong ending, which if they had been Jewish, would have been clear from their understanding of work of the High Priest in the earthly sanctuary. And we see more of what others were seeing then... "Clearly it may be seen that although Miller popularized the 1843/1844 concept of Christ’s coming again, he was by no means alone. If we condemn him, we must also condemn a large number of internationally known scholars who were among the most highly educated men of their day. Yet they, too, had a blind spot in prophetic interpretation and endorsed this fallacious system of date-setting." They were looking for the second advent, and we can see now how the fixation on this led to the great disappointment. Here is a clear and much better explanation than I could give of the issue from the book.. "Regardless of the number of scholars who confirmed his errors, however, the fact remains that Miller and the Millerite movement operated contrary to the express injunctions of Scripture. Both Miller and his followers lived to reap the reward of their foolhardy quest and to suffer crushing humiliation, ridicule, and abject despair.,, The final phase of the movement closed with the “Great Disappointment of 1844,” but as the Millerites disbanded, there emerged other groups, such as the First-day Adventists. However, in our study we are concerned primarily with three segments that later fused to produce the Seventh-day Adventist denomination... At this point in our historical analysis of Seventh-day Adventism, we believe it will be profitable to briefly review “The Great Disappointment of 1844” and its relationship to the Seventh-day Adventist doctrines of the heavenly sanctuary and the investigative judgment. The entire superstructure of the Millerites’ prophetic interpretation was based upon their view of the book of Daniel, chapters eight and nine, with particular emphasis upon Daniel 8:14 and 9:24–27. The Millerites believed that the prophecy of the seventy weeks of Daniel nine must date from the year 457 BC., which, as recent archaeological evidence confirms,16 was the exact date of the decree of King Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25). Tracing the seventy weeks of Daniel on the theory that, as the Hebrew indicated, it should be rendered “seventy weeks of years” or 490 years, the Millerites arrived at the date AD. 33; that is, from 457 BC. to AD. 33. Since this date generally corresponds with Christ’s crucifixion, Millerites then linked it to Daniel 8:14—“Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed”—with the seventy weeks of years prophecy, and the 2300 days became 2300 years. Thus, if you subtract 490 years (adding, of course, AD. 1 to 33), the figure arrived at is 1843. Many biblical scholars have historically shown that in Scripture a day frequently symbolizes a year; further, that the seventy weeks and 2300 days of Daniel could have begun on the same date. And that date, according to the Millerites, was 457 BC. So we see here clearly that it was not William Miller who came up with the timeline leading to 1844, but it was from many of those who studied Gods Word, and this comes not from some advocate of Adventism or from the church, but from a surprising source...

Women could not "do the job" of firemen either. Lacked the upper body strength to pass the physical requirements. When the fire chief of Los Angeles made this public, rather than refuse women entry into the fire department, they fired the chief. This kind of stuff is/was not unusual in California civil service. There are many people working in certain occupations who should not be there. Social engineering types ultimately control the hiring process. Wonder who controls the process of placing a tranny as an Elder in a Christian church? Considering the number of likely qualified men with a wife and children who recognize his leadership compared with the number of transgendered in the congregation, are we to believe that a transgendered person is the best choice? Adventist congregations are dumbfounded and astonied at the rise of the sexual deviant in the denomination but do nothing about it. Years ago, there was a YouTube interview with a young female pastor who was placed by the conference over a church. Half the congregation left, either the church or that congregation. Probably something similar is going to take place with homosexuals. They will be placed in leadership positions, regardless of what the congregation wants, or the deluded congregations will welcome them. One of the SDA pastors pushing for homosexual inclusion was under psychiatric care. He ultimately left the denominational ministry, is doing counselling to help gays accept themselves. Working with AIDS patients, many of my coworkers were either gay or lesbian. The agency provided counselling sessions to help the workers deal with their own issues, not of only grief at seeing so many young people die a miserable death but of their own sexuality. Most of them, if they could, would probably choose a straight lay in the missionary position to a form of sexual expression which, in those days, was potentially lethal. Choosing Jesus was always an option but most of them hated Him, Christians, church, i.e., they loved darkness rather than light.

Sorry Bonnie. Sounds like a full life.

FBI Raided Texas Activist’s House — Then Offered Her $200,000 to Become Antifa Informant In the early morning hours of June 29, federal agents from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security conducted a raid on home in Midlothian, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. https://theintercept.com/2026/07/07/antifa-informant-raid-texas/? Graham Platner’s Exit From Senate Race Leaves Maine Dems “Hobbled” in Scramble for New Nominee In group chats of progressive activists and political operatives concerned with the state of the Senate race in Maine Wednesday morning, a link to an anonymous Google Doc was making the rounds. It disavowed Graham Platner, the disgraced Democratic nominee whose campaign was throttled by a rape accusation on Monday, and called to replace him with Troy Jackson, a recent gubernatorial contender the document deemed “the one candidate who can hold Platner’s coalition together.” https://theintercept.com/2026/07/08/graham-platner-maine-democrats-senate-replacement/? How Local Cops Are Running With Trump’s NSPM-7 Attacks on Antifa A month after Donald Trump issued an executive order purporting to designate antifa as a domestic terrorist group, an intelligence unit inside the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office in Florida sent out a confidential bulletin. https://theintercept.com/2026/07/07/antifa-terrorist-threat-fbi-police-fusion-centers/? It’s Time for Maine to Ditch Platner — But Not the Politics That Won Over Voters The day Graham Platner became Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee, he spoke behind a podium bearing his indignant campaign slogan: “They don’t know Maine.” But when sexual assault allegations against the candidate broke this week, supporters and political allies in the state were left wondering instead if they ever really knew Platner — and uncertain about what’s next for the movement that rallied around him. https://theintercept.com/2026/07/08/graham-platner-allegations-maine-senate/? It’s Time for Maine to Ditch Platner — But Not the Politics That Won Over Voters The day Graham Platner became Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee, he spoke behind a podium bearing his indignant campaign slogan: “They don’t know Maine.” But when sexual assault allegations against the candidate broke this week, supporters and political allies in the state were left wondering instead if they ever really knew Platner — and uncertain about what’s next for the movement that rallied around him. https://theintercept.com/2026/07/08/graham-platner-allegations-maine-senate/? FIFA Gives Trump Exactly What He Wants President Donald Trump regularly resorts to bluster and threats to get his way — from efforts to overturn election results to campaigning for international prizes — often with little success. But in FIFA, he has finally found a pliant partner to massage his ego and do his bidding. https://theintercept.com/2026/07/06/trump-fifa-world-cup-red-card-infantino/? Why Would Anyone Trust Ex-CIA Agents in Elected Office? The Democratic Party is rife with internal caucuses and factions. There’s the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Blue Dog Coalition, the “Squad,” and so on. But since 2019, when Elissa Slotkin and Abigail Spanberger first took seats in the House of Representatives, the party has had another, more sinister emerging faction: the CIA Spook Caucus. https://theintercept.com/2026/07/08/cia-abigail-spanberger-elissa-slotkin/? Another Trump Ceasefire With Iran Crumbles The Trump administration’s phony ceasefire with Iran is over. https://theintercept.com/2026/07/08/trump-us-iran-ceasefire/?

Make them hear you: Faith leaders say now is the time to talk about a pathway to citizenship Tallahassee faith leaders are pressing Florida politicians to assist Haitian families under temporary protected status facing deportation and laid out a five-part plan encouraging voters to speak up and make immigration a campaign issue. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/08/make-them-hear-you-faith-leaders-say-now-is-the-time-to-talk-about-a-pathway-to-citizenship/? Lawsuit alleges Byron Donalds threatened Collier County school board member in 2022 The Byron Donalds campaign is playing down a lawsuit filed by a Collier County school board member accusing the front-runner for the Republican nomination for governor of Florida of threatening and intimidating her during a confrontation at a Naples grocery store in 2022. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/08/lawsuit-alleges-byron-donalds-threatened-collier-county-school-board-member-in-2022/? Acclaimed Florida developer gets down and dirty fighting over canal In 1985, a book appeared called “Finest Kind: A Celebration of a Florida Fishing Village” by Ben Green. It depicted life in a Manatee County waterfront town named Cortez. Green, a native, bemoaned the forces pushing to change little Cortez to be like everywhere else in Florida. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/09/acclaimed-florida-developer-gets-down-and-dirty-fighting-over-canal/?

Trump’s Kennedy Center Demand Rejected in Humiliating Ruling The president has been fighting to rename the Kennedy Center after himself. President Donald Trump suffered another humiliating courtroom defeat as a federal appeals court refused to block a ruling ordering the removal of his name from the Kennedy Center. In its second rejection of the administration’s request, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said Trump’s lawyers had failed to prove that removing his name would damage fundraising efforts at the iconic performing arts venue, which has faced declining ticket sales and widespread artist cancellations since Trump initiated a MAGA takeover last year. Trump has argued that removing his name from the building’s exterior would cause “irreparable harm” to fundraising. But this week’s ruling said the president’s lawyers had failed to provide any evidence for that claim. The defendants “failed to support this assertion with any specific facts or evidence,” the appeals court said in its ruling. “They offer only the conclusory assertions of the Kennedy Center’s Executive Director that were made in a factually unsupported declaration.” The court also brushed aside a separate argument that the Kennedy Center could be forced to refund donations if Trump’s name was not restored, noting that the claim had never been presented to the lower court. Circuit Judges Robert Wilkins and Patricia Millet, who were both appointed by former president Barack Obama, were joined on the panel considering the appeal by Trump-appointee Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas. The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. The legal challenge was brought by Ohio Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, who serves as an ex officio trustee of the Kennedy Center, which is formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. She said this week’s ruling reaffirms that Trump’s effort to rename the Kennedy Center after himself was “unlawful.” “Today’s ruling again affirms that this administration’s efforts to rename the Kennedy Center were unlawful,” Beatty said. “His name no longer desecrates this sacred memorial, which belongs to the American people. Now it is time for the Trump administration to accept this, comply with the law, and take the tarps down,” she added, referring to the large tarps and scaffolding that were installed, obstructing the facade of the building, hours before Trump’s name was due to be removed from the front of the Kennedy Center. Kennedy Center Executive Director Matt Floca said in a court declaration that the lettering displaying Trump’s name had been taken down, but weeks later the building’s facade remains covered by tarps and scaffolding. Judge Casey Cooper, who was appointed by Obama in 2014, has directed the Kennedy Center to justify why its exterior signage remains hidden behind tarps and scaffolding. The order comes after Trump’s name was stripped from both the building and the center’s website under Cooper’s May 29 ruling, which also barred the venue from shutting down for renovations — a decision the Trump administration is expected to appeal. Trump’s handpicked board at the center voted last December to add his name to the prestigious D.C. venue, and fresh signage went up the next day to rename the building “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.” But Cooper ordered the name removed in May, on the grounds that Trump had failed to seek congressional approval for the name change. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” Cooper wrote. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-kennedy-center-demand-rejected-in-humiliating-ruling/?

Second person in 4 days is fatally shot in Memphis by federal task force member NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A member of a federal crime-fighting task force in Memphis shot and killed a person there on Wednesday, the second fatal shooting by a task force member in four days, and the fourth death involving the unit since it started in September. https://apnews.com/article/memphis-shooting-task-force-federal-eea039cff91552f547359dd4acd32e04?

New attacks raise questions about what comes next in the Iran war WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he believes the ceasefire with Iran is over. He says he’s not sure he wants a deal anymore and says the U.S. should “finish the job.” But he also insists that continued attacks do not mean a return to war or long-term action. https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-war-ceasefire-strikes-c45111ed270afa7dac285016ce07362f?

Inside AP’s on-the-ground reporting of the Russia-Ukraine war   President Donald Trump said Wednesday during the NATO summit in Turkey that the U.S. will give a license to Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air defense systems to help counter Russian missile attacks. There have been multiple deadly strikes on Kyiv this week. Today I’m with Susie Blann, our news director for Ukraine, to find out more about AP’s coverage of the conflict. What’s it like for a reporter on the ground in Ukraine when a missile or drone attack begins? It’s a balance between personal safety and covering the news. We have a team on standby and when an attack begins, we take cover but keep in constant contact following developments. We document what we can from where we are and when we think it’s safe to deploy, our teams head out into the field to capture those essential images and witness accounts that show the ongoing impact of Russia’s invasion. The AP has a robust presence on the ground in Ukraine, even as the war there has passed the four-year mark. How has our coverage of the war changed recently? With the world’s attention often focused elsewhere, we concentrate on producing stories that show the war’s impact on Ukrainian society while explaining developments in ways that keep audiences engaged. At the same time, reporting from the front line has become even more dangerous due to the intensity of drone warfare, so a lot of security preparation goes into every deployment. If you want more from Susie, she will be among the AP journalists taking questions at an exclusive AP donor-only event on our war coverage, including what it’s like to interview President Vladimir Putin. If you want to be part of the conversation, make a recurring gift today. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy Ukrainian drones batter Russian oil facilities, set more oil tankers ablaze WATCH: Midrange drones are reshaping the battlefield for Ukraine

Most American Jews don’t feel supported by either party or President Trump, new AP-NORC poll finds NEW YORK (AP) — Yahm Levin is a diehard Democrat who lives in one of the nation’s most liberal cities. And yet the 39-year-old Jewish woman from Los Angeles is sometimes afraid to use her first or last name when meeting people — even those who share her progressive politics. https://apnews.com/article/poll-jewish-adults-democrat-republican-trump-netanyahu-9114d71c93fad1997ae224e8992b7988?

Judge orders E. Jean Carroll be paid $5.8 million from Trump case A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the writer can collect money held in escrow since a jury found that President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed her. Trump’s lawyers immediately appealed but were denied an emergency order to block the payment from being made. Read more. What to know: The U.S. Supreme Court recently let the civil verdict stand, clearing the way for the federal judge to release the money. A jury found Trump attacked E. Jean Carroll in 1996 in the dressing room of a luxury Manhattan department store, and defamed her after she described it publicly in a 2019 memoir. Trump called her allegations false. Trump’s lawyers said Wednesday they would continue to appeal and accused his political opponents of using the legal system against him. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump’s plan for a triumphal arch in the nation’s capital is getting another review Trump flies partway home from Turkey in an old Air Force One, not the new Qatari-gifted jet The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on states to change election practices Judge sets February trial for man charged with planting pipe bombs on the eve of the Capitol riot Family demands an independent probe after ICE officer fatally shoots a man Judges deny request to return Trump’s name to Kennedy Center pending an appeal

July 9, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning. Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine and a onetime rising star of the progressive movement, suspended his campaign last night under intense pressure after a woman accused him of rape. Platner said in a video address that the allegations against him were false. We’ll get to that below, along with a close look at yesterday’s nominations for the Emmy Awards. But let’s start, as we have so often this year, with Iran. President Trump Doug Mills/The New York Times Are we at war again? You’d be forgiven for thinking so. After Iran attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States responded with new attacks on Iran. And Iran fired missiles and drones at U.S. military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait. The American military said it hit around 90 targets. Explosions were reported in at least three port cities along Iran’s southeastern coast, according to Iranian state media. The U.S. Central Command called it retaliation for “recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews.” Here’s the latest. The return strikes were not, perhaps, surprising. Speaking at the NATO summit in Turkey yesterday, President Trump threatened major new combat operations against Iran, including the seizure of Kharg Island, where Iran stages its oil for world markets, and attacks on the country’s infrastructure and desalination plants. Moreover, he called Iran “scum” and its leaders “cuckoo.” “There’s something wrong with them,” Trump said. “We said, ‘Go and do your funeral stuff,’ and instead of that, they start shooting rockets at ships.” (That “funeral stuff,” for what it’s worth, was the funeral cortege for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader who was killed at the start of the war in February.) There was much saber rattling, then, and some actual sabering, too. But a return to full-scale war? There isn’t much domestic support for that. That’s even true for some of Trump’s Republican allies, who voted for measures in the House and the Senate to check his power to continue the fight. Also, this war has been bad for business. Oil prices spiked yesterday. The stock market fluctuated. And what’s bad for business in the United States is bad for the electability of the party in charge. The midterm elections are less than four months away. “No one is more aware of that calendar,” David Sanger wrote yesterday, “than the Iranian leadership.” Which may leave us in a gray area, David reports of Trump’s intentions: He could elect to live in a world of neither war nor peace, an era of episodic skirmishes in the Persian Gulf, punctuated by periodic negotiations, with traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil-shipping route, greatly reduced from the 130 or so ships that passed through each day before the war. The energy markets would most likely adjust; to some degree they already have. But for a president who promised a quick, cost-free confrontation with an old adversary — “four to six weeks” was the White House prediction in the opening weeks — an ongoing conflict would amount to near-total failure on the mission he initially set out upon. And the price would be staggering: The Pentagon has already asked Congress for about $70 billion to cover the early operations around Iran, and the cost rises every week. I was particularly struck by something a security expert and former aide to John McCain told David about the uncertainty yesterday. “The likeliest outcome is a continuing series of low-level, tit-for-tat attacks,” he said, “followed by frantic diplomacy by mediators, the emergence of a new and fragile cease-fire, and then probably another round of strikes.” He added: “It will be a long oscillation between cold war and low-level hot war.” MORNING READS We’ve made the stories in this section free for you, once you log in. More on Iran: Read David’s analysis of Trump’s unpalatable options in Iran. It’s trenchant. Also, don’t miss Shawn McCreesh and Tyler Pager’s dispatch from Trump’s opening day at the NATO summit. Electric! War in Ukraine: The radioactive region around Chernobyl has become an unlikely wildlife refuge. When Russia occupied the region in early 2022, camera traps there offered a rare glimpse into the ecological effects of warfare, in real time. What a great read! A luxury resort: Jared Kushner wants to make Sazan Island, a former military base in the Adriatic Sea, into a hotel. First he’ll have to do something about the land mines and snakes. Summer fruit: There’s a reason you can get strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries in pretty much any supermarket at any time of year. Julia Moskin, who covers food culture, tells the slightly scary tale of how Driscoll’s, the giant California agribusiness, came to dominate the berry trade. Your pick: The most-clicked link in yesterday’s newsletter was an annotated photograph from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral procession. THE LATEST NEWS NATO Summit NATO reaffirmed its support for Ukraine and announced new European military spending. Trump said he would let Ukraine make Patriot air defense interceptors. It needs them to stop Russian ballistic missiles. But actually producing them might take years. Trump left the summit on the old Air Force One rather than the new jet Qatar donated. The decision raises questions about the new plane’s security features. Graham Platner In Maine. Ryan David Brown for The New York Times Platner’s bid for the Senate inspired progressive Democrats. But the campaign, which he suspended, was messy, disorganized and ultimately doomed by a steady drip of scandal. Go inside the implosion. Does a claim of sexual assault kill a political career? It largely depends on the candidate’s party. More on Politics Federal agents have now fired on at least 21 people, many in their cars, as part of Trump’s deportation crackdown. Five people, including three U.S. citizens, have died. Kentucky’s governor demanded that Senator Mitch McConnell give an update on his health. McConnell has been hospitalized since June 14. Three more people were charged with misdemeanors at the recently refurbished Reflecting Pool in Washington, accused of peeling and removing bits of paint. In the Courts A former Wisconsin judge convicted of helping an undocumented immigrant evade immigration agents was fined $5,000 but spared prison time. A judge ordered that E. Jean Carroll be paid $5 million after a jury found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation, and after the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s appeal. Around the World Count Binface, real name Jon Harvey, a British novelty political candidate. Temilade Adelaja/Reuters Nigel Farage, the leader of Britain’s largest populist right-wing party, has resigned his seat in Parliament to run for it again. His only opponent may be a man dressed as a trash can. Denmark's prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said her country would defend “every inch” of its territory after Trump said again that the United States needed Greenland. Health Lawmakers across the United States want to reduce health insurance companies’ hold on prescription drugs, echoing measures in Arkansas and Tennessee. Insurers are fighting back. Doctors report a rise in internal bleeding in babies as more parents reject a routine vitamin K shot that helps blood clot. LEANING TOWER The New York Times A 37-story office tower in Midtown Manhattan buckled this week, sending people in nearby buildings fleeing as officials warned of a possible “localized collapse.” Inside the building, which is being converted from a corporate office into a residential complex, at least two structural columns appeared to have failed. A review by The Times found that several new floors had been added atop these columns. Click the image above to see our investigation. The latest: Temporary supports have made the building stable, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said yesterday. OPINIONS The Democratic Party keeps trying to satisfy its hunger for enthusiasm with a personality instead of a purpose, the editorial board writes, citing Platner as the latest example. Mainstream Republicans couldn’t save themselves from a Trumpist takeover, Bret Stephens writes. Will democratic socialists hold the Democratic Party hostage too? Deeply reported journalism needs your support. The Times relies on subscribers to help fund our mission. Become a subscriber today. TODAY’S NUMBER 33 — That is the percentage of adults under 35 who were living with their parents in 2025. One mother, 61, told The Times that she had not expected to be living with her 30-year-old son, but saw a bright side: “I worked so much when he was little so it’s been nice to spend more time together.” WORLD CUP Belgium says it still wants FIFA to explain why it decided to suspend Folarin Balogun’s one-game ban. More than 70 European lawmakers have called for an investigation into the soccer governing body’s political neutrality. FIFA upheld the yellow card that a midfielder for France, Michael Olise, incurred against Paraguay. England’s win over Mexico was the most-watched soccer game in U.S. history. More than 44 million people tuned in on Fox or Telemundo. RECIPE OF THE DAY Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times Back in the 1990s it was uncool in some precincts to eat swordfish. There weren’t enough of them. No more. Conservation efforts led to a sustainable fishery, and buttery swordfish steaks are back in vogue. I like mine in the style of Gabrielle Hamilton: as a piccata, the flesh bathed in a pan sauce that works on any number of proteins but most excellently with sword. A bonus: Kids love it. HOMER! The New York Times We’d like to recommend your next great book. (Spoiler: It’s “The Odyssey.”) As our critic A.O. Scott writes, it’s got something for everyone. In the video above, he explains the centuries-old appeal of the story — and which version you should read. Click to play. More on culture “The Pitt” leads the Emmys race with 25 nominations. “Hacks” has 24. Explore all this year’s nominations, along with the snubs and surprises, and then see where you can stream the contenders. In Bangladesh, a long-running photography festival showcased works that reckon with the turmoil of the immediate past. See the images. Late night hosts speculated on the whereabouts of Senator Mitch McConnell. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Geri Allen performs at the Winter Garden in Manhattan in 2007. Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times Take five minutes to fall in love with the jazz pianist Geri Allen. Or skip right ahead and take in her amazing rendition of “Tears of a Clown” on YouTube. Stop fighting with your garden hose, which only wants to kink and fold and crack. The dogged landscapers at Wirecutter have, after years of testing, found the best hose for most of us, along with a reel that keeps it wrapped. Make like the Golden Girls and consider shared housing for an improved old age. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was liturgy. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times and me. See you tomorrow. — Sam Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren

THIS DAY IN HISTORY July 9 1877 Wimbledon tournament begins The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club begins its first lawn tennis tournament at Wimbledon, then an outer-suburb of London. The tournament has since become world-renowned. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1846 U.S. takes San Francisco from Mexico 1990s 1993 Romanov remains identified using DNA Arts & Entertainment 1962 Bob Dylan records “Blowin’ In The Wind” 1918 William Faulkner joins the Royal Air Force Cold War 1960 Soviet Premier Khrushchev and President Eisenhower trade threats over Cuba Crime 1928 A spiteful son kills four in a fit of rage 1996 A family is brutally attacked on a walk in England European History 1762 Catherine the Great assumes power Native American History 2020 Supreme Court rules in McGirt v. Oklahoma U.S. Presidents 1850 President Zachary Taylor dies unexpectedly Vietnam War 1971 United States turns over responsibility for the DMZ World War I 1915 Germans surrender Southwest Africa to Union of South Africa

🔋 1 for the road: EV road trip hope Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios Every so often, Axios Future of Mobility author Joann Muller puts an electric vehicle to the test on a long road trip. Here's how it went this time: My 1,900-mile road trip last week in an EV proved it's easily doable, but the charging experience is still not as seamless and convenient as pumping gas. Why it matters: Driving an EV is delightful. Charging an EV is what gives people anxiety. Until that problem is solved, EV sales in the U.S. will remain lackluster. My husband and I drove from Michigan to New Hampshire and back in a Toyota bZ on loan from the automaker's media test fleet. I wanted to see for myself how the world's largest automaker had upped its EV game after disappointing customers in 2022 with its first model, the bZ4X. (It's way better, with a bigger battery and longer driving range.) The bZ is one of four new Toyota EVs hitting the market this year. 🛣️ The big picture: This was our fourth long road trip in an EV, and they keep getting easier. There are many more fast chargers available now than during my first Michigan-to-Florida trek in 2023, and reliability has improved. And getting access to Tesla's Supercharger network has been a game-changer for non-Tesla owners. Go deeper: Joann's road trip journal.

💰 Charted: America's tax divide Data: Census Bureau. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals America's state governments have split into two camps: those that tax what you earn, and those that tax what you spend, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. Why it matters: States built on income taxes ask more of high earners. States built on consumption taxes ask more of everyday spenders. 🧮 By the numbers: In 2025, 27 states — many in the Sun Belt — relied most on sales and gross receipts taxes, while 21 states, heavily located on the coasts, relied most on income taxes, per an Axios analysis of new Census data. Most sales-dependent: Texas (86.6%), South Dakota (83.1%), Florida (80.3%), Tennessee (79.4%), Washington (74.6%), Nevada (73.9%). Most income-dependent: Oregon (71%), New York (67%), Massachusetts (66.8%), California (61.1%), Connecticut (59.5%). Between the lines: The divide isn't perfectly partisan. Blue Washington is sales-tax-reliant, while purple New Hampshire relies most heavily on corporate income tax (32.9%).

🗣️ OpenAI bets on voice Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios OpenAI is rolling out a new generation of voice models for ChatGPT, aiming to make conversations with its AI sound more natural while routing these queries to its best models, Axios' Madison Mills writes. Why it matters: The company sees this as a step toward a future where voice is the primary way people interact with AI. OpenAI says its smartest voice models yet, GPT-Live-1 and GPT-Live-1 mini, make conversations feel more human by allowing users to interrupt naturally and pause speech without the model cutting them off. 👀 The intrigue: Given the company's push into hardware, the focus on voice could hint at a future device built primarily around voice interaction. Keep reading.

📢 Trump's red scare Data: Roll Call. Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios President Trump invoked "communism" 81 times over the past two weeks — a sharp uptick after a trio of left-wing Democrats won primaries in New York. Focus groups run by his team showed the message fires up Trump's base. But it's less effective with independents and younger voters who have no memory of the Cold War. —Reuters

🛢️ Trump shifts to battle for Hormuz Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images The White House is preparing for what could become a multiday or even multiweek exchange of fire with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. Why it matters: A war that began with the goal of degrading Iran's missile capabilities and destroying what remained of its nuclear program has evolved into an open-ended fight over the world's most important energy chokepoint. A U.S. official said the current escalation could last a day or two, a week or a month, depending on whether Iran continues attacking commercial ships in the strait. "We're going to slap them a bit so they understand we're not f*cking around," the U.S. official said. Keep reading.

3 big AI trends collide Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images Three AI trends are accelerating and colliding, forcing government, business and investors to rethink strategies in real time, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a "Behind the Curtain" column. AI is getting bigger and better, both here and in China. The U.S. government is scrambling to keep pace by creating a regulatory framework, perhaps with international reach. Both America and China are considering blocking access to their best AI, in recognition of the rising stakes. Why it matters: The explosive rise of truly autonomous agents is forcing Washington and Beijing away from light-touch oversight, transforming the global AI race from a commercial sprint into a national-security standoff. Here's our latest intel on each trend, based on conversations with top AI execs and administration sources, and our team's stress-testing of advanced AI models: 1. Models muscle up: Increases in the capability of the big AI models (led by OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini) tend to get covered incrementally by the media. But we've just lived through a transformational few months. Anthropic's Fable and Mythos models — restricted in June for nearly three weeks over security concerns — have set a new standard for the mind-boggling power of frontier AI. Engineers can hand these models entire multimillion-line codebases and walk away for days, trusting agents to rebuild outdated systems, fix their own bugs and test their own work with shockingly little oversight. After a "voluntary" delay due to government consultations, OpenAI came roaring back with Sol — a model early testers describe as a quantum leap in agentic power. Developers have been left slack-jawed by its ability to summon swarms of sub-agents that collaborate, hunt for security flaws and rewrite software at speeds that make previous models feel like dial-up. Elon Musk's SpaceXAI, fresh off its record-breaking IPO and $60 billion acquisition of Cursor, clawed its way back into the AI race yesterday with the release of Grok 4.5 — a model triple the size of its predecessor. Musk says another model nearly twice as large is coming next month, doubling down on a bet that raw scale, not just smarter training, still wins. Meanwhile, China is dominating the open-source race. GLM-5.2, built by Chinese startup Z.ai, is free to download and now performs in the same tier as America's priciest models. Z.ai founder Jie Tang predicted China will achieve a "Fable-class" model before Q1 of 2027. 2. Administration activating: President Trump initially took a laissez-faire approach to AI as a way of keeping America's lead over China. But we've learned that top officials are vigorously debating a much more systemic and prescriptive approach, including protocols for the AI labs to follow before releasing their most powerful models. "The possibilities are wide open," said an outside adviser deeply involved in the conversations. Trump is reluctant to regulate, as is clear from his approach across much of the Executive Branch. But the power of Claude Mythos 5 and Fable 5 has roused many officials to favor a more robust, less ad hoc approach. Restrictions on those models showed the administration's hand: If national security becomes an issue, complying with the government becomes mandatory, as evidenced by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's letters to Anthropic. A U.S. official told us: "The export controls were effective [in] ensuring Anthropic worked with the administration." Mythos, we were told again and again, was a wake-up call that more guardrails are needed. We've learned Trump officials are considering a new governing body for vetting AI, with the possibility of including other nations. 3. U.S., China contemplate controls: Chinese authorities have met with top tech firms over the past month to discuss restricting overseas access to the country's most advanced AI models, Reuters reported this week. When we started asking around about the report, we were surprised to hear the U.S. is kicking around ways to restrict Chinese access to U.S. models, perhaps through export controls. These conversations are very preliminary, with little agreement about what measures could actually work. This isn't just about American competitiveness — national security is at stake. "AI is already deeply integrated into both countries' intelligence and military, which will change the geopolitical competition and the nature of warfare," said an insider who talks with competing factions of the administration. The bottom line: We've entered the Big Phase — big government considering new rules, big AI in a neck-and-neck race for frontier supremacy, and the big global showdown of China vs. USA. Zachary Basu and Andrew Kay contributed.

Bonnie Tyler, who topped the charts with epic ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart,’ has died at 75 https://apnews.com/article/bonnie-tyler-singer-died-11b043ebdb4fa946daa42aad804ce4a1?

Human intelligence largely depends on the processing power of individual brain cells, according to a study out this week. The finding challenges the assumption that humans' superior cognitive abilities (compared with other mammals, like rats) stem primarily from having more brain cells and the vast connections between them. Researchers tasked an artificial intelligence model with learning and reproducing the functions of individual neurons from humans and rats. The experiment revealed that a single human neuron can independently perform tasks, such as distinguishing between images of dogs and cats—abilities previously thought to require the collective activity of several neurons. The researchers believe that a human neuron's unique electrical properties and dense, treelike branches—which collect incoming information—may enhance its computational capacity. Explore the anatomy of a neuron here. Experts say this more granular understanding of human neurons could inspire the development of more complex AI models, which are already modeled after the human brain. (w/video)