A CIA official who authorities said walked out of his office with 40 million in gold bars has reached a tentative plea agreement, federal prosecutors said in a court filing Friday (on.wsj.com)
The extremes of both parties—Republicans’ MAGA wing represented by JD Vance and the progressive left represented by Zohran Mamdani—have drawn closer to each other, @greg_ip writes. (on.wsj.com)
GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who faces a tough re-election campaign, made some of her sharpest criticisms to date about Trump’s handling of the U.S.’s trade dispute with Canada (on.wsj.com)
Vice President JD Vance’s Thursday night convention speech had the crowd looking to the future. Read more in today’s WSJ Politics Newsletter: (on.wsj.com)
JD Vance delivered a future-looking speech on the second night of the GOP midterm convention that showcased his vision of America and will intensify speculation about his presidential aspirations (on.wsj.com)
After years of inaction, Congress is suddenly waking up to the AI doomsday threat. But there’s little indication it will produce the first federal AI laws overseeing models. (on.wsj.com)
California is cracking down on social-media features aimed at teens, while new laws impose safety rules on AI chatbots and other online platforms (on.wsj.com)
A former Google DeepMind safety researcher explains the frightening difference between AI and other threats like nuclear war and asteroids (www.businessinsider.com)
Lovable CEO backs slowing AI development after warnings about AI safety: ''Warnings like this deserve to be taken seriously'' (www.businessinsider.com)
''You can''t break the fundamental laws of physics'': T-Mobile CFO says he''s not worried about Elon Musk''s cellular ambitions (www.businessinsider.com)
Is a Blue Wave Really Coming? - Democrats have the numbers on their side, but their success in the midterms is far from a sure thing. (www.newyorker.com)
“The Uprising” Is a Grim But Scattershot History Lesson - In Paul Greengrass’s dramatization of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, the imperatives of historical re-creation and hyperkinetic action filmmaking fight each other to a draw. (www.newyorker.com)
Colin Kaepernick, Ten Years After Taking a Knee - In his new memoir, “The Perilous Fight,” the former N.F.L. star recounts the backlash he faced from the league. (www.newyorker.com)
John Wilson and “The History of Concrete” - The documentary filmmaker met up with the New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz at Wilson’s independent movie theatre to discuss his newest endeavor. (www.newyorker.com)
Can A.I. “Go Rogue”? - In the wake of turmoil at OpenAI and Anthropic, it’s become common to describe A.I. as a kind of person, hatching plans and pursuing desires. The truth is a little trickier. (www.newyorker.com)
The U.S. Was Never Going to Win the “War on Terror” - In the twenty-five years since 9/11, the U.S. has waged several military campaigns against extremism around the world, resulting in the deaths of almost a million people. What has it accomplished? (www.newyorker.com)
The Sartorial Riches of the Silent-Film Era - Also: the neo-soul of Erykah Badu, a festival of Indian classical dance, John Wilson’s ode to concrete, and more. (www.newyorker.com)
“My Brilliant Career” Is the Best Show of the Summer - A new pop-feminist interpretation of Miles Franklin’s 1901 Australian novel is both fizzy and intelligent. (www.newyorker.com)
Troy Jackson Is Still Surprised That He’s Running for Senate - The former state senator replaced Graham Platner as Maine’s Democratic nominee. But as he reminded voters over Labor Day weekend, “it could have been anyone else.” (www.newyorker.com)
Is the Democratic Party Still Too Woke? - The political operative Adam Jentleson once believed “the way for Democrats to win was to get your base really riled up.” He’s now trying to wrest the Party away from its far-left flank. (www.newyorker.com)
Late-Night Dorm-Room Conversation Topics, Updated for Middle Age - Fuck, Marry, Kill: Income-tax returns, life-insurance policies, that folder explaining benefits that you received from H.R. when you were onboarded, and then immediately lost? (www.newyorker.com)
“Favorite Bodies,” by Lydia Davis - I told her that I’d been reading an article about morticians. One of the morticians interviewed had said something that was a revelation. (www.newyorker.com)
The Right’s Crusade to “Make America Hot Again” - After years of championing modesty and purity, conservatives are embracing a new cause: cleavage. (www.newyorker.com)
In “The Sun Never Sets,” Joe Swanberg Strips Romance to Its Bones - The filmmaker’s first feature in six years turns a love triangle in Anchorage into a philosophical experiment. (www.newyorker.com)
Remembrance of September 11th - It became immediately evident that this was terrorism on an unexampled scale. The twentieth century had ended, and the twenty-first had begun. (www.newyorker.com)
Some Legacy Sequels We Hope Are Never Made - But if you’re reading this and want to green-light one, please don’t hesitate to be in touch. (www.newyorker.com)
Can You Write a Memoir in the Third Person? - In Brian Dillon’s bewitching new book, “Ambivalence: An Education,” the author’s younger self is depicted as an inscrutable, fumbling figure named B. (www.newyorker.com)
Flock Wants a Closely Surveilled World with No Exit - The company, which has a hundred and thirty thousand cameras monitoring the streets of the U.S., frames privacy as a worthwhile trade-off for safety and security, echoing the language of the post-9/11 surveillance boom. (www.newyorker.com)
Can East Germany’s Cold War History Explain the Rise of the AfD? - After winning a state election this past weekend, the German far right is closer to power than it has been in decades. (www.newyorker.com)