Caracal Daily | August 28

Caracal Daily | August 28

Caracal Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for comms pros.

Geopolitics is disrupting every business and industry. Caracal is here to help.

Always Be Communicating.

Happy Wednesday.

Here’s today’s Caracal Daily:

*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***

Politico: Ukraine uses Kursk success to press Biden on lifting weapons restrictions

AP: Ukraine says it used US glide bombs in Russia’s Kursk region and has retaken some land in Kharkiv

Ukraine’s Zelensky says incursion into Russia part of plan to end war: WP reports Ukraine’s top commander reported that more than a 100 settlements in Russia’s Kursk region had been taken, along with 594 prisoners of war.

+ Oleksandr Syrsky, the head of Ukraine’s army, said his soldiers had captured nearly 600 Russian soldiers since Ukraine began its incursion into Kursk.

Why Ukraine’s allies are divided over deep strikes into Russia: UK has pressed US to back Kyiv’s use of Storm Shadow missiles on Russian territory. FT

Ukraine has crossed Moscow’s and Washington’s red lines: Zelenskyy is prepared to ignore Russia’s nuclear threats. But the Biden administration is still wary of escalating the war. Gideon Rachman

‘I cannot understand Putin’s hold on Trump’: In an exclusive excerpt from his new memoir, HR McMaster details the clashes over Russia that led President Trump to fire him as national security adviser. HR McMaster

AP: Security was stepped up temporarily at a NATO air base in Germany because of a ‘potential threat’

Tighter US-Japan alliance is unexpected legacy of Kishida-Biden era: Uncertainty over successors threatens momentum of 'global partnership.' Nikkei

China’s tech giants splash out on AI despite US restrictions: Capital spending doubles as Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu buy processors and infrastructure behind the training of large language models. FT

A history museum shows how China wants to remake Hong Kong: A new exhibit calls for the city’s residents to be patriotic, loyal to the Chinese Communist Party and ever vigilant to supposed threats to the state. NYT

Chinese government hackers have penetrated US internet providers to spy on users: Beijing’s hacking effort has “dramatically stepped up from where it used to be,” says former top US cybersecurity official. WP

BBC: Top-level meeting shows China - and Xi - still a priority for Biden

Jake Sullivan meets Wang Yi on China visit to 'manage' tense ties: Nikkei reports US national security adviser and China's top diplomat juggling 'complex' agenda.

Sullivan heads to Beijing to address concerns about Russia ties, South China Sea tensions: Politico reports Sullivan’s trip will be the first visit from a national security adviser to mainland China since the Obama administration.

The world’s call center capital is gripped by AI fever — and fear: The experiences of staff in the Philippines’ outsourcing industry are a preview of the challenges and choices coming soon to white-collar workers around the globe. Bloomberg

UK attorney general intervenes in Foreign Office review of weapons sales to Israel: Guardian reports Richard Hermer says officials need to be certain that weapons are not being used to breach international humanitarian law.

Keir Starmer: Labour needs a decade to rebuild Britain: The prime minister will prepare the public for potentially unpopular decisions, such as tax rises, by blaming the ‘rubble and ruin’ left by the Conservatives. The Times

In first major speech, Keir Starmer paints a gloomy picture of Britain: The new UK prime minister talked about societal “rot” and financial black holes and said “things will get worse before they get better.” WP

Keir Starmer seeks German deal to ‘turn corner’ on Brexit: The prime minister will meet Olaf Scholz in Berlin to discuss better access for British businesses and fix our relationship with the EU. The Times

Macron finds himself locked in an icy face-off with the political parties he loathes: The French president, who rejected the left's PM candidate, has had a bad relationship with parties for 10 years. The possible appointment of a technocrat would be a new attempt to bypass them. Solenn de Royer

No evidence that Maduro won, a top Venezuelan election official says: In an interview with The New York Times, an electoral council official expressed grave doubts about claims to victory by the authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro.

Mexico pauses relations with US embassy amid clash over judicial overhaul: NYT reports President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s proposed changes to the judiciary are at the center of a diplomatic fight with the United States in the last weeks of his presidency.

Justin Trudeau says Canada will impose steep tariffs on Chinese EVs and steel: FT reports the move replicates US measures and follows visit to Ottawa by top US national security official.

Harris and Trump embrace tariffs, though their approaches differ: Both Democrats and Republicans are expressing support for tariffs to protect American industry, reversing decades of trade thinking in Washington. NYT

Why Jackson Hole is the Fed’s biggest shindig: The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual conference in Wyoming gets a lot of buzz. Here’s why it matters for Wall Street and the economy. NYT

How Rep. Mike Gallagher, a rising GOP star, was driven out of politics: Could the forces that pushed him out soon be eclipsed? David Ignatius

Ronald Reagan was more ideological — and more pragmatic — than you think Max Boot

***  US Politics + Elections ***

NC-POTUS: The Cook Political Report moves North Carolina to a "Toss Up" in the presidential election.

+ Democratic strategist James Carville told the New Republic that Donald Trump  “knows he’s in deep trouble” — and it’s “driving him crazy.”

Why Biden isn’t dragging down Harris: It might be because strong majorities of Americans don’t think she played a central role in key administration policies. WP

How Kamala Harris would govern: The vice president’s advisers are moving quickly to map out policy plans, but the appetite for ambitious efforts is diminished from four years ago. WSJ

CNN: Harris and Walz to sit with CNN for exclusive first joint interview since campaign began

Why Kamala Harris is safer giving more interviews: The fewer the interviews, the bigger the risk of a gaffe. Jonathan Chait

Kamala Harris is election favourite — as 200 Republican aides back her: The Times reports Democrat is given 55 per cent chance of winning and receives endorsements from former staff to the Bushes, Mitt Romney and John McCain.

Harris called Trump’s border wall ‘medieval’. Now she backs funding it: The Times reports Democratic candidate accused of ‘flip-flopping’ with support for bipartisan immigration bill that Donald Trump killed in Congress.

Semafor: Harris will use human Donald Trump stand-ins, not AI, for debate prep

Trump suggests he might skip ABC debate with Harris: WP reports the Sept. 10 debate with ABC is the only one both campaigns have agreed to do with one of the major networks.

After raising complaints, Trump says he’ll participate in debate with Harris: WP reports the ABC News-hosted debate is set to take place Sept. 10 in Philadelphia, Trump said Tuesday.

Trump raising money by selling pieces of suit he wore in Biden debate: Guardian reports not for the first time, Trump will cut up one of his suits to sell to supporters who buy enough digital trading cards.

Are Trump’s campaign rallies energizing his base – or sowing doubt? Guardian reports given rambling speeches and personal attacks over policy talk, supporters wonder if events do more harm than good.

To lure Michigan voters, Trump campaign stokes China fears: NYT reports JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, waded into a fight over plans by Gotion, a Chinese battery plant, to build a factory in Michigan.

Kash Patel will do anything for Trump: Why Kash Patel is exactly the kind of person who would serve in a second Trump administration. The Atlantic 

Trump to put Kennedy and Gabbard on his transition team: NYT reports Kennedy and Gabbard, who had been progressive Democrats for many years, will join the former president’s sons and Senator JD Vance, his running mate, as honorary co-chairs.

Revised indictment tries to salvage Trump D.C. trial after  immunity ruling: WP reports the superseding indictment comes just before an election period window was about to close on filing such charges.

The Hill: Democrats see Harris as boosting their chances for House majority

MD-SEN: A new AARP poll in Maryland finds Larry Hogan (R) and Angela Alsobrooks (D) tied in the US Senate race, 46% to 46%.

Elon Musk backs California bill to regulate AI: By backing the legislation, the bombastic tech billionaire breaks with some of Silicon Valley’s most powerful players. Politico

Why Texas Republicans are souring on crypto: Playing the state’s energy market has become more profitable than mining bitcoin. Economist

*** Disruption + Innovation ***

Is that voice real or AI? This startup says it can tell: Bloomberg reports Pindrop Security works with banks to identify spam calls — it’s coming to social media next. 

AP: Police officers are starting to use AI chatbots to write crime reports. Will they hold up in court?

Amazon aims to launch delayed AI Alexa subscription in October: WP reports the revamp of the voice assistant, which documents say will include a daily AI-generated news summary, would come just weeks before the US presidential election.

What all parents can learn from the troubled AI in Los Angeles schools: An education expert says schools fail to ask essential questions about AI for children: Does it work? And is it better than other alternatives? WP

AI doomers had their big moment: Did they waste it? Ross Andersen

The AI guys are driving themselves mad John Herrman

How would we even know if AI went rogue? An early warning system could help fix the dangerous information gap between Big Tech and the US. Vox

When AI’s outpost is a threat to AI itself: As AI-generated data becomes harder to detect, it’s increasingly likely to be ingested by future AI, leading to worse results. TheUpshot

'It looks like cat food': The grey goop dreamed up by artificial intelligence BBC

Nvidia rally mints millionaires too busy to bask in new wealth: Many of the chipmaker’s employees have grown rich but still face a stress-filled work life. Bloomberg

Chip challengers try to break Nvidia’s grip on AI market: FT reports companies such as Cerebras, d-Matrix and Groq are focusing on cheaper, more specialised products.

Hungry for clean energy, Facebook looks to a new type of geothermal: As electricity demand from data centers soars, Meta and Google are looking at a novel solution: harnessing clean heat far below Earth’s surface. NYT

Will AI ruin the planet or save the planet? It’s a notorious energy hog. But artificial intelligence can also foster innovation and discovery, and it could speed the global transition to cleaner power. NYT

Can a closed nuclear power plant from the ’70s be brought back to life? Surging demand for electricity and new investment in green energy drove the plan to restart Michigan’s decommissioned Palisades plant. It would be a global first. WSJ

A rose, by any other name Dave Trott

IKEA launches secondhand marketplace to compete with eBay: FT reports the furniture retailer challenges digital classified ads ‘oligopoly’ with peer-to-peer sales platform for its products.

IKEA launches new urban store model in Tokyo's Shibuya: Nikkei reports the city center locations tie into online shopping to help make up for small size.

Leonard Riggio, who built Barnes & Noble into book-retailing powerhouse, has died: WSJ reports Riggio, a seminal figure in the industry who died at age 83, transformed the company into what was once the country’s largest publicly traded bookstore chain.

Apple rethinks its movie strategy after a string of misses: NYT reports that “Wolfs,” a new film starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, was going to get a robust theatrical release. But the company is curtailing that plan.

A company called Archer Aviation says it plans to build an ambitious network of “vertiports” across LA by 2026.

How NASA plans to rescue two astronauts stuck in space: Almost three months ago, two NASA astronauts flew to space in a Boeing spacecraft – and have been stuck at the International Space Station ever since. Today on “Post Reports,” what went wrong and what this could mean for the future of spaceflight. WP

*** Culture ***

The fury of the Med: I was one of many sailors to underestimate the sea. Harry Mount

‘I’ve never seen a vessel this size go down so quickly’: Why did the Bayesian sink in 60 seconds? Guardian

Gallagher brothers tease Oasis reunion: BBC reports Liam and Noel Gallagher have ramped up speculation that an Oasis reunion could finally be on the cards as the brothers teased that a band announcement could be made today.

Oasis is reuniting — after one of the nastiest feuds in rock: Oasis, the British band behind such tracks as “Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova,” plans to reunite for a world tour in 2025. WP

UC-Santa Barbara was named as the best party school in the US.

*** Sport ***

Private equity ownership is coming to the NFL: WSJ reports the NFL is finally set to allow private equity to buy into teams—and firms are so eager to get into the business of football that they’re accepting unusually strict terms to do so.

NFL ushers in new era by allowing private equity ownership Bloomberg

Kelce brothers sign Amazon ‘New Heights’ podcast deal worth more than $100 million: WSJ reports the podcast launched nearly two years ago amid a boom in celebrity-hosted shows and has risen up the charts.

Sven-Goran Eriksson obituary: Urbane England coach with a lively side: The first foreign manager of the men’s football team endured scepticism and media frenzy, for his love life as much as his handling of a ‘golden generation.’ The Times


Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc 

Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal