It’s Tuesday, September 15.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have launched a major offensive in the Middle East—obstructing trade routes, disrupting Saudi Arabia’s most vital crude pipeline, and sending oil prices skyward.
asserted
Houthis → align → prices
Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds briefly rose above 5 percent on Monday, its highest since the pandemic, with interest rates expected to rise in the coming days.
asserted
rates → rise → days
It’s the latest reminder of the enduring influence of the Houthis in the region.
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It → ’ → region
The question, writes Zineb Riboua, is simple: How do they do it?
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they → write → it
“Why is this seemingly ragtag militia group so hard to beat?” she writes.
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she → beat → ?
And “what does the Houthis’ continued activity mean for the broader regional order?”
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activity → continue → order
Today, Zineb outlines four reasons that explain why the U.S. has failed to contain the Houthis despite Washington’s relative military might—and how a weakened Iran could finally threaten their ability to keep fighting.
uncertain
Iran → outline → ability
Book Now: Simon Sebag Montefiore and Bari Weiss Live in New York
For decades, the Middle East has shaped American foreign policy and loomed large in the public consciousness.
asserted
East → live → consciousness
Few understand its influence on our politics better than Simon Sebag Montefiore, who argues that America’s quagmires in the Middle East stem from a deep misunderstanding of the region—on both the left and the right.
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quagmires → understand → left
Join him on October 1 as he sits down with Bari Weiss live in New York City to kick off his U.S. book tour for The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East.
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he → join → East
Patrick Clancy: Husband of a Killer
Last week, a Massachusetts judge declared a mistrial in the case of Lindsay Clancy, who killed her three children in 2023, allegedly during a bout of postpartum psychosis.
uncertain
who → declare → psychosis
But that hasn’t stopped the court of public opinion from relentlessly declaring her ex-husband Patrick Clancy guilty.
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that → stop → Clancy
For Amanda Knox, this horror of trial-by-media is hauntingly familiar—in 2007, she was arrested and tried in Italy for her roommate’s murder and, despite her eventual acquittal, smeared as a killer in one of the first highly publicized trials of the social media age.
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she → arrest → age
Today, she writes in defense of Patrick.
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she → write → Patrick
Read her column on why he can’t win.
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he → read → column
According to the deranged conspiracy theories, Patrick killed his children because he was having an affair.
uncertain
he → accord → affair
The lie persists even though Lindsay Clancy has confessed to killing her three children.
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Clancy → persist → children
Patrick’s lawyer has threatened to sue the online crackpots pointing the finger at him.
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lawyer → threaten → him
Would he have a case?
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he → have → case
That’s the question Jed Rubenfeld addresses in his latest column.
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Rubenfeld → ’ → column
Should We Trust the AI Warnings?
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We → trust → Warnings
In a world with little agreement, there is one thing that unites almost everyone: AI is the most transformative technology of our time.
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AI → be → time
What we don’t agree on is what to do about it.
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agree → agree → it
Over the past few days we’ve aired a range of perspectives, from Niall Ferguson and Daniel Kokotajlo on the rising risk of AI catastrophe to Tyler Cowen on why efforts to slow AI won’t necessarily impede progress.
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efforts → air → progress
But there’s another view of this issue—and especially the developments of the past week—that argues that the warnings from AI researchers and leaders should not be taken at face value.
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warnings → ’ → value
He lays out what he sees as the destructive ideology that lies behind calls for safety regulation:
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that → lay → regulation
President Trump is not feeling the AI doomerism.
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Trump → feel → doomerism
On Monday, he rejected calls for new guardrails on the technology, writing in a TruthSocial post, “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT.”
asserted
AI → reject → that
He told reporters on Air Force One over the weekend that he uses AI “for a lot of things” but declined to specify how.
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he → tell → things
The Trump administration announced Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency will scrap pollution limits on power plants that burn coal and gas.
asserted
that → announce → coal
The rollback marks a pivotal moment in the undoing of climate policy enacted by former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, and could potentially bar future administrations from regulating power plant emissions.
uncertain
rollback → mark → emissions
One of China’s top intelligence officials is warning that AI could threaten the rule of the Chinese Communist Party by contributing to a potential “propaganda war.”
uncertain
AI → warn → war
In Beijing’s most exhaustive statement on AI risks yet, Ministry of State Security leader Chen Yixin articulated concerns about leaks of sensitive information, attacks on critical infrastructure, and competition with increasingly robust American military technology.
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Yixin → articulate → technology
Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon will gather in Washington, D.C., to host an event advocating more human control over AI, Axios reported Monday.
asserted
Axios → gather → AI
Jacob Coxon, an AI safety whistleblower whose resignation from Anthropic went viral last week, was initially expected to co-host the event, though he eventually declined to attend because he said his “public profile was completely blowing up.
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profile → go → event
A coalition of American cities is suing the Trump administration over a rule that discourages immigrants from using public assistance programs, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday.
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Mamdani → sue → programs
The federal policy, which Trump announced this summer, would allow the government to deny visa applications based on an applicant’s present or possible future reliance on public benefits.
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government → announce → benefits
Rapper Macklemore of “Thrift Shop” fame has been axed from Ed Sheeran’s tour after he said “Free Palestine” and performed an anti-Israel protest song onstage at two concerts this month.
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he → ax → concerts
Robert Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium outside Boston, where the tour is set to play, was central to the rapper’s ousting and cited concerns of antisemitism in a Monday statement justifying his decision.
asserted
tour → own → decision
The Aporia
