Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) Anthropic and OpenAI are promising measures to rein in the pursuit of cutting-edge AI models to better understand the risks posed by the technology following a series of security breaches. The two companies' calls to slow down AI development may be resisted by forces in the tech industry, financial markets, and the Trump administration, which has staked its economic agenda on aggressive AI advancement. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has proposed opening the company's doors to third-party evaluators to review new systems before their release, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said he likes the idea and plans to implement it at his company.
2) Oil prices rose after Saudi Arabia closed a major crude pipeline following attacks, disrupting a key route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. The closure may lead to output cuts if it is prolonged, according to June Goh, senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities SA. A meeting between Iran and several Gulf nations on creating a temporary shipping lane through Hormuz was postponed, amid a rapid military advance by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.
3) The Fed faces pressure to hike interest rates to tame elevated inflation, which puts Chair Kevin Warsh on a collision course with President Trump, who has pressed the central bank to slash rates. Trump has repeatedly argued that US borrowing costs should be the lowest in the world, and a rate hike could lead to a public rebuke from the president, damaging Warsh's credibility. Warsh is trapped in an institutional vise, where he must balance the Fed's independence with the president's pressure, and a decision to hike or hold rates could have consequences for inflation and the administration's economic goals.