🇺🇸🇦🇪 AMERICAN BUSINESS ISN’T WATCHING THE UAE FROM A DISTANCE. IT’S SHOWING UP. Walk through ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi this week and the American footprint is hard to miss. ExxonMobil, Chevron, Hunt Energy, Occidental, Halliburton, SLB, Baker Hughes, GE Vernova, Honeywell, Emerson, and others. That's a roll call of American energy and industry at the biggest ADIPEC yet, with more than 239,000 visitors expected. But the more interesting part is what they’re bringing with them. Halliburton, SLB, Honeywell and Emerson are showcasing AI-powered technology for drilling, reservoir management and autonomous oilfield operations. Microsoft and IBM are in the mix too. The oil show now comes with a side of algorithms. And the bigger story goes well beyond the exhibition floor. Sam Altman was in Abu Dhabi this week, meeting Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled and attending ADIPEC, as ADNOC and G42 signed a deal with OpenAI to bring advanced AI into ADNOC’s operations. When the head of one of the biggest AI companies in the world turns up at an oil and gas conference, you know the lines between industries are blurring fast. Energy and AI are 2 of the sectors shaping the next phase of global growth, and they’re becoming increasingly dependent on each other. AI is hungry for enormous amounts of reliable electricity. Energy companies want AI to make their operations faster, smarter and more efficient. Each has something the other wants. The UAE is positioning itself right at that intersection, becoming a meeting point for American energy, American technology and global capital. Headlines come and go. The companies on the ground tell you where business thinks the future is being built. Sources: The National, Abu Dhabi Media Office / Writer: Julie

🇺🇸🇬🇺 HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS… IT’S GETTING INTERESTING IN GUAM! We’re in for a barn burner in the race for governor of the tiny U.S. island territory of about 170,600 people. Here’s how Kalshi has the race as of this morning: 🔵 Therese Terlaje 52% 🔴 Tony Ada 52% 🟡 Joe San Agustin 0% (It’s not his fault, candidates named Joe are having a tough time!) Writer: Jamie https://t.co/WmYFujDmoQ

🇺🇸 OpenAI has slashed its latest fundraising target by $10 billion as a sharp selloff in technology stocks raises fresh questions about the enormous sums being invested in AI. The company behind ChatGPT is now seeking approximately $20 billion, down from its original $30 billion target, while its proposed valuation has reportedly fallen from $1.4 trillion to $1.25 trillion. Yesterday marked the deadline for investors to commit to the funding round, but the process is far from over. So far, OpenAI has reportedly secured roughly $11 billion, less than half its original target, with the first closing of the round expected to fall short of even the reduced $20 billion goal. A consortium of investors from the UAE, including state-backed technology fund MGX, is expected to provide the largest contributions in this round of fundraising. The fundraising difficulties come as investors increasingly question whether the AI industry's massive spending on data centers and computing power can deliver the profits needed to justify soaring valuations. The news comes as Nasdaq fell 2.9% yesterday, putting it 7.8% below its October 6 record closing high. Source: FT, Reuters, Wall Street Journal / Writer: Mhedi

🚨🇺🇸 FLASH FLOOD CHAOS IN PHOENIX Rescue crews are working near 40th Street and Camelback after multiple people became trapped in rising water. Cars were partially submerged as firefighters moved in for rescues. Writer: Sol https://t.co/kkhIWbPJI1

🇺🇸 The Pentagon wants its bases to survive a grid-down attack. Who's hardening the grid the rest of us live on? Hegseth's FORTRESS America plan orders US military installations off the civilian power grid so they can keep fighting through a cyber or EMP strike, and a former Army officer who worked EMP policy says that gets the mission backwards. David Pyne, who contributed to the congressional EMP task force's reporting and served at the Missile Defense Agency, says a 2008 commission estimated America could lose up to 90% of its people within a year of a major EMP event, because pumps, water treatment, fuel and hospitals all die with the power: "National defense is about preserving the United States of America and its people. And you can't have a country without its people." David says Trump signed a grid-hardening order in his first term and it died for lack of money, so the fix is an emergency declaration that moves Pentagon dollars to the grid before the next war, not after. Bases that outlast their own country aren't a defense plan @AmericaFirstCon @WeTheBrandon

🇹🇼 TAIWAN IS GETTING HAMMERED by Typhoon Champi, with massive waves reaching up to 26 FEET along the island's eastern coast. At least one person has died, 94 were reported injured in an early count, and more than 77,000 households lost power, with nearly 20,000 still in the dark as of 2 PM. The storm has also forced nearly 1,000 flight cancellations and the evacuation of 1,286 people, while schools, offices, and transport services face major disruptions. Champi reached SUPER TYPHOON strength before weakening as it approached Taiwan, but the footage of enormous waves smashing into coastal infrastructure is absolutely terrifying. And the island is still dealing with the aftermath of its powerful winds and dangerous seas. Writer: Sol https://t.co/suuxuHgFjV

🚨🇺🇸 Nasdaq 100 futures are getting HIT hard this AM. The Nasdaq 100 E-mini contract has fallen roughly 530 points, or 1.8%, trading around 29,475 after a sharp retreat from its recent highs. The selloff follows several volatile sessions and puts the tech-heavy index futures back below the 30,000 level. Another rough start is shaping up for Wall Street's biggest technology names. Source: Trading News / Writer: Samuel

🇨🇦Canada still has no idea how a deadly fire burned its own base At least four are dead and DOZENS critically injured. “Driven by ferocious winds, the fire jumped nearly a kilometer in LESS than a minute to where soldiers were gathered.” The troops were preparing for a RAPID deployment to Latvia to reinforce NATO. Source: Reuters / Writer: Bri

🇮🇹 What the HELL is going on in Italy? The protests are spiraling into CHAOS, with violent clashes, vandalism, and businesses getting trashed. How is any of this supposed to solve the cost-of-living crisis? Source: @LocalTeamIT / Writer: Sol https://t.co/LT42A7E1kA

Gucci really said let gravity make the final call… All it takes is one sneeze to turn this into a flash show 🫣 Writer: Bri https://t.co/c6hd86IyCq