The Wall Street Journal - 03.08.2026.pdf石油输出国组织 (OPEC) 及其盟友继续推进再次增加原油产量，旨在完成该组织将自愿减产的桶数恢复到市场的目标。B9 加拿大第二大航空公司 西捷航空 (WestJet) 的乘务员在未能与承运方达成协议后离职罢工，导致数百架航班停飞。B3 一群前游戏高管正向游戏社区提供一个机会，通过一项新的 プレイステーション (PlayStation) 服务来支持清洁能源项目，该服务年费 $34.99，或月费 $3.99。B4 OpenAI (人工智能研究公司) 表示，其活跃用户已超过 10 亿，有 200 万家企业在使用其人工智能模型；在此之前，该公司曾表示将降低若干模型的价格。B2
新闻要闻 商业与金融 全球动态
直升机家长正“共同驾驶”成年子女的职业生涯 i i i 父母们正打电话给招聘经理，代表孩子申请工作 作者：RAY A. SMITH
海湾盟友影响美国在转向与伊朗谈判中采取立场 特朗普在调解人提出新的霍尔木兹计划后取消了升级打击的计划
现在是成为数学极客的最佳时机。新大学毕业生和博士现在正从寻求在人工智能公司激烈竞争中确保招募到最优秀、最聪明人才的精英交易公司获得百万美元的薪酬协议。
所谓的 量化交易公司 (Quant firms) 利用复杂的数学模型来制定交易方案，多年来一直以大型银行难以企及的高薪诱惑顶尖年轻人才。如今，人工智能的繁荣将这些数字推得更高。
总部位于纽约的招聘公司 Stabile Search 的创始人 Matt Stabile 表示，就在几年前，职业生涯早期的薪酬包达到七位数还是异常现象。“但一百万美元已经成了人们不再眨眼的数字。”
“分水岭在于 OpenAI 之前和之后，”Stabile 补充道，“那是你看到竞争真正白热化的时候。”
训练 大语言模型 (Large Language Models) 所需的技能一直与量化金融重叠，但随着交易公司近年来转向利用机器学习和人工智能来驱动交易，这种联系变得更加深厚。
现在，像 OpenAI 和 Anthropic 这样的人工智能实验室，正与华尔街在同一个极小的天才数学专业学生和博士人才池中展开争夺。
这场竞争给量化交易公司带来了挑战，因为它们一直试图扫清…… 请翻到 A2 页 作者：JULIA AMANN
希腊在欧洲危机蔓延之际与山火搏斗 惨烈战斗：周日，志愿者们在雅典西北约 40 英里外的波尔托杰梅诺附近努力扑灭一场山火。两架希腊灭火直升机在周日扑救火灾时相撞
风驱动的火灾，导致两名机组人员死亡。A9 ANADOLU VIA GETTY IMAGES
ISKANDAR PUTERI, Malaysia——科技创始人芭拉吉·斯里尼瓦桑表示，他认为美国正陷入无政府状态。他的解决方案是从零开始建立一个新国家。他离开了硅谷，第一步尝试在亚洲建立一个竞争性的科技社区。他设立了一个校园，配备了共享工作空间、高端健身房以及由长寿专家布莱恩·约翰逊设计的饮食。他调查了潜在居民对政治和促生育主义（Srinivasan 推广的一种高出生率哲学）的看法。
“布莱恩·约翰逊想永生。萨姆·奥特曼想制造一台超级智能机器。埃隆想去火星，”斯里尼瓦桑在最近的一档播客中说道。“而我只想建立一个新国家。”
这次实验的场地既宏大又离奇：位于马来西亚一个由中国建设的 1000 亿美元 billion 豪华开发项目中的一家酒店，而该项目已变成一座基本空城的“鬼城”。
两年后，他的愿景——名为网络学校的计划——正与现实世界发生碰撞。参与者抱怨房间发霉、夜生活死气沉沉以及女性太少——这是硅谷所熟悉的弊端。随后出现了一个更大的障碍：他们所居住的实际国家。马来西亚当局发起了一项调查，涉及 $357 million
历史前 10 名国内票房首映纪录 来源：Rentrak 注：首映周末的总收入。Spider-Man: Brand New Day 为预估值。数字和排名未经通胀调整。
Avengers: Endgame (2019) Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) Jurassic World (2015) Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) Black Panther (2018)
请参阅第 A10 页
TUCSON, Ariz.——美国运行时间最长的电视早间节目共同主持人萨凡纳·古思里在 11 月将她的母亲带到了全国舞台上，通过一段感人的视频向她的家人和家乡亚利桑那州图森市致敬，吸引了数百万观众。
“我在那里长大，在那里上大学，我的母亲现在仍住在那里，”萨凡纳在 11 月 5 日的《Today》节目直播中告诉观众。这是此前六次聚焦于她母亲南希·古思里的节目中最详尽的一集。
“坦白说，我的一部分从未真正离开，”作为家中最小的孩子，萨凡纳说道。
这段视频带领观众在 8 分钟内回顾了萨凡纳的过去。在参观亚利桑那-索诺拉沙漠博物馆时，一只猫头鹰栖息在
请参阅第 A11 页
古思里案中的失误轨迹 绑架发生六个月后，调查人员进展甚微
作者：Valerie Bauerlein, Jared Mitovich 和 Hannah Critchfield
约旦河西岸暴力冲突升级................................. A6 石油输出国组织及盟友连续第六个月提高产量.......... B9 密歇根州初选测试进步派影响力........................... A4
乔治·索罗斯及其儿子亚历克斯在 2018 年中期选举期间向民主党全国委员会捐赠了 $400,000 以上。竞选资金记录显示，他们在 2022 年选举周期中捐赠了 $1 million 以上。今年，他们尚未向民主党全国委员会捐赠 $1。
索罗斯家族并非个例——其他知名捐赠者今年向民主党中央委员会捐赠的资金也寥寥无几或根本没有。LinkedIn 联合创始人里德·霍夫曼多年来一直向民主党全国委员会开出稳定的支票，但在这次中期选举期间尚未捐款。作为该党面临挑战的一个迹象，一些捐赠者之间流传着一个笑话，认为 DNC 代表的是 “Do Not”（不要）
“贡献，”一名为党内主要捐赠者提供建议的民主党战略人士表示。在期中选举前几个月，民主党的筹款机制面临着一个严重的捐赠者问题。虽然许多民主党精英仍然对夺回众议院充满信心，并愿意为其支持的候选人投入巨资，但许多该党最大的捐赠者中已经出现了制度性疲劳——在某些情况下，甚至演变成了激烈的冲突。与选民一样，捐赠者表示他们对华盛顿以及长期以来支持的党内建制派感到失望。民主党全国委员会 (DNC) 并非民主党唯一的出问题之处——其他民主党委员会和超级政治行动委员会 (super PACs) 在各项指标上都落后于共和党。对于一个在华盛顿失去权力的政党来说，陷入困境是很常见的，但民主党人越来越担心，随着共和党在能够组织上门拜访和投放电视广告的委员会及政治行动委员会中积累更多资金，这将损害他们在今年秋季获胜的机会。部分问题在于，大额捐赠者对于其资金的使用方式仍存挫败感。
（请转至 A4 页） 作者：Maggie Severns, Laura J. Nelson 和 Ken Thomas 民主党最大捐赠者避开党主委会 由于支持者直接向候选人捐款，DNC 资金库无法与共和党的收获相媲美
据知情人士透露，由于调解人在开放战略要地霍尔穆兹海峡的计划上取得了新进展，且部分波斯湾国家敦促总统与德黑兰开展对话，特朗普总统暂缓了对伊朗的新一轮攻击。特朗普在当地时间周日早晨通过社交媒体突然宣布取消袭击，这缓解了美国与伊朗之间的紧张局势——至少在目前如此。现在的关键是，特朗普的海湾合作伙伴在未来几天能否取得足够进展，从而重新向航运开放该海峡，并为最终就伊朗核野心进行谈判奠定基础。此前在这两个方面所做的努力已连续数月失败，尽管周日出现了重新开放水路的初步进展迹象。阿曼和伊朗表示他们正在取得进展。特朗普表示，美国将从周一下午开始参与谈判。他表示，他曾准备发动自第二次世界大战以来最大规模的军事袭击，但已经……
（请转至 A6 页） 作者：Michael R. Gordon, Alexander Ward 和 Philip Wegmann
量化交易公司与 AI 实验室竞逐数学之星 作者：STU WOO 和 PATRICIA KOWSMANN
现实世界阻碍了大亨的建国之梦
蛛网侠的票房号召力 据索尼影业称，《蜘蛛侠：崭新之日》(Spider-Man: Brand New Day) 全球票房开画估计达到 $927 million，成为迄今为止第二大的电影首映纪录。
B1 史蒂文·克拉克 (Steven Clark) 承担了一项不愉快的工作：开除一名 24 岁的年轻人——而且开除了两次。第一次是在与这名新员工的简短对话中，该员工在从事建筑工作的第一周内，迟到或缺勤了四次。随后，克拉克不得不再次重复这个过程，这一次面对的是对方的母亲。她在几小时后打电话给他，恳求给儿子另一个机会。当克拉克拒绝时，在挂断电话前，气氛变得十分激烈。
“我说，‘听着，你知道，这是我们和你儿子之间的事情。他是员工，’”克拉克说道，他是阿拉斯加费尔班克斯一家 staffing 公司的首席运营官。Z 世代约占成年劳动力人口的五分之一，老板和招聘人员表示，感觉那些在他们童年和大学期间一直紧随其后的紧张父母，现在依然陪伴在他们身边。这种现象始于新冠疫情时代偶尔出现的家长陪同参加求职面试，而现在已演变成全面的职业“副驾驶”模式。
“……简历编写，”简历模板服务公司 Zety 的首席职业教练 Jasmine Escalera 表示。越来越多的家长正在打电话……请转至第 A13 页
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目录 艺术评论................ A14 票房...................... B2 商业与金融.............. B2,3,5,9 填字游戏.................. A13 街头传闻.................. B9 市场数据.................. B6 观点...................... A15-17 个人日志.................. A12-13 体育...................... A18 技术...................... B4 行情滚动.................. B5 美国新闻.................. A2-5 国际新闻.................. A6-10
由于调解员在开放霍尔穆兹海峡的计划上取得了新进展，且部分波斯湾国家敦促总统与德黑兰方面寻求对话，特朗普克制了对伊朗的新一轮攻击。 A1
加州民主党支持该州拟议的亿万富翁税，在加州选民对该措施进行投票前的三个月，这对该税种的倡导者来说是一次胜利。 A3
周二在密歇根州举行的极具分歧的民主党参议院初选将揭示，进步主义和社会主义的浪潮是否已蔓延到美国腹地。 A4
在爱达荷州双瀑市一家 In-N-Out 汉堡店发生的枪击事件中，嫌疑人为一名 24 岁人士，因自杀枪伤死亡。 A2
森林火灾摧毁了华盛顿州东部数百栋房屋，并迫使数千人撤离。 A2
在哥伦比亚特区美国检察官 Jeanine Pirro 放弃起诉一名涉嫌破坏反思池的男子后，特朗普对其进行了谴责。 A3
西班牙驱逐了在数万名涌入其北非飞地休达的移民中的大多数人。 A9
关于俄亥俄州代表 Max Miller 涉及家庭虐待指控的争端进一步发酵，参议员 Bernie Moreno 表示其前女婿不应继续在国会任职。 A4
印度尼西亚一起轮渡火灾造成至少 5 人死亡，数十人失踪。 A9
本期《华尔街日报》最初在美国出版，并在当地重新印刷以进行区域分发。
华尔街日报 * * * * 2026年8月3日，星期一 / A3 美国新闻 作者：AMIRA MCKEE、MAYA DAVIS、REEMA DESAI WSJ 摄影：BOLDES (3)
“……谁接触过它，以及它是如何进入市场的。” 47 岁的埃利·库克（Eli Cook）在西弗吉尼亚州经营着春谷农场与果园（Spring Valley Farm & Orchard），自 12 岁起就在市场上销售新鲜农产品。他原以为今年在华盛顿特区农民市场的销售额会出现典型的仲夏下滑，因为购物者会被假期和返校购物吸引走。然而，他却打破了销售记录。
“对生菜的需求是我从未见过的，”库克说。在 7 月中旬的一天，当他开始在社交媒体上发布对比自家蔬菜与商店购买农产品风险的帖子时，他卖掉了大约 $7,000 的生菜——这是他正常销售额的三倍。为了跟上需求，他开始每两周种植 3 英亩的新鲜生菜，而不是通常的 1 英亩。
与此同时，在美国超市中，新鲜生菜的销售额正在下降，加利福尼亚州的农民由于需求低迷而将作物重新翻入地下。根据 NielsenIQ 的数据，在截至 7 月 18 日的四周内，美国人购买的生菜比去年同期减少了约 7.6 million 磅。
“这种恐慌对其他人来说不好，但有时确实能为我们带来生意，”库克说。在华盛顿特区的农民市场，农产品的价格比几个街区外的超市高出许多倍。一些摊位以 $7 的价格出售小盒樱桃番茄，以 $4 的价格出售一捆羽衣甘蓝，以 $5 的价格出售一袋混合沙拉。其他摊位则展示了售价 $10.50 的玛芬蛋糕和 $12. 的早餐饼干。
56 岁的厨师安托万·萨默斯（Antoine Summers）每个周末都会带着女儿和狗来农民市场，他注意到一袋菠菜的价格是 $5。
“如果你现在去 Safeway，是 5 美元两袋，”他说。尽管如此，他表示，为了得知食物来源是当地的而获得的安心感，支付更高的价格是值得的。
需求枯竭，种植者将作物翻入地下
约书亚·哈格罗夫（Joshua Hargrove）曾发誓不再食用叶类蔬菜、浆果以及几乎所有在地下生长的作物。这位 24 岁的霍华德大学法学院学生已经连续数周避开农产品，因为今年夏天导致数千人患病的环孢子虫（cyclospora）爆发让他感到不安。
然后，在他跑步回家途中，他偶然发现了一个漏洞：社区农民市场。
“这太完美了，”他说，并大量购买了他不再信任在超市购买的黑莓。“这些可能比我在商店买的更安全。”
食物中毒病例的激增使得担心寄生虫的消费者纷纷涌向全国各地的农民市场。
FreshFarm 经营着哈格罗夫访问的市场以及华盛顿特区地区的其他 24 个市场。该组织执行主任卡特·奥卡尔（Cat Oakar）表示，自 7 月初以来，平均客流量增加了 30%。
“农民市场现在提供了一种非常有价值的东西，那就是透明度，”奥卡尔说。“你能准确知道它是如何种植的，如何包装的，谁接触过它，什么机器……”
莱蒂莎·斯蒂尔（Letisha Steele）是 Green City Market 的首席执行官，该机构在芝加哥经营两个农民市场。她表示，在过去的几周里，市场里到处都在讨论环孢子虫。
“我们从员工、购物者和农民那里都能听到，”在爆发事件之后，斯蒂尔一直在回答更多关于食品供应链如何运作的问题，“每个人都在谈论这件事。”
在密歇根州（就环孢子虫感染人数而言受影响最严重的州）……
由于环孢子虫病（cyclospora）病例的增加，农贸市场生意异常火爆，该州农贸市场协会负责人阿曼达·施雷夫（Amanda Shreve）表示。火爆程度甚至导致农民有时无法提供足够的供应，以应对汹涌而至的购物者。施雷夫说，许多作物需要数周或数月的时间来生长和收获，因此提高产量并非易事。她提到，在最近一次于密歇根州议会大厦草坪上举办的市场活动中，几家摊位的新鲜农产品在关门前就已售罄。
在佛蒙特州的金蚯蚓有机农场（Golden Earthworm Organic Farm），玛吉·伍德（Maggie Wood）表示，自从环孢子虫病成为头条新闻后的几周里，她收到了数百份加入其农产品配送服务的请求。“当一切顺利时，没人真正关心食物来自哪里，”她说，“但一旦出现问题，他们意识到更愿意从一个他们认识且信任的农民那里购买食物。”
生菜恐慌助力农贸市场 环孢子虫病爆发促使更多购物者购买本地农产品，即使价格更高。
在华盛顿特区的 FreshFarm Mount Vernon Triangle 市场购物的人群中，包括（左侧的）安托万·萨默斯（Antoine Summers）及其女儿和狗。上方为市场内出售的浆果。
伯格姆（Burgum）与皮罗（Pirro）两人长期以来都是总统的忠实支持者，但两人的分歧成为了该政府内部公开内讧的一个不寻常例子。针对周五一份驳回对前奥林匹克赛艇运动员大卫·赫恩（David Hearn）刑事起诉的法院文件，特朗普在周六的一篇社交媒体帖文中写道：“我 100% 不同意珍妮·皮罗（Jeanine Pirro）的观点。”他写道：“我不知道她在想什么？对我来说，这是一个纯粹的蓄意破坏案例。”
数月来，特朗普一直坚持认为，林肯纪念馆反思池（Reflecting Pool）底部的损坏是由破坏者造成的，其政府在美利坚合众国 250 岁生日之前对该池进行了重新铺面。
皮罗在没有经过完整竞标程序的情况下，将合同授予了一家总部位于弗吉尼亚州的公司——大西洋工业涂料公司（Atlantic Industrial Coatings）。这项价值 $16 million 的项目在池底开始剥落且池水由蓝变绿后，引发了全国争议。
“它没有剥落，”伯格姆在 7 月 5 日接受 CNN 采访时表示，并坚称是持有美工刀的破坏者造成了损害：“确实有人试图破坏这座纪念碑的一部分。”
皮罗的办公室将责任归咎于内政部在案件开始时提供的信息“不够详尽”，并表示如果该机构能坦诚提供其“显然掌握”的信息，她本不会寻求大陪审团起诉。她的立场反转在周六招致了特朗普的怒火，随后又引起了伯格姆的愤怒。
伯格姆领导的部门负责监管位于华盛顿特区国家广场的反思池。这位内政部部长似乎在指责皮罗未能赢得定罪。伯格姆在社交媒体上写道：“证据很明确，破坏者多次对反思池造成破坏。其中一些行为甚至被摄像机拍到。”他表示，他的部门已在请求的时间线内，向皮罗办公室提供了“他们要求的所有证据，详细列出了池中每个受损区域的情况”。
在哥伦比亚特区美国检察官珍妮·皮罗放弃起诉一名涉嫌破坏林肯纪念馆反思池的前奥林匹克运动员后，特朗普总统对其进行了斥责。他质疑皮罗得出的结论，即在装修期间由于“安装失误”而非蓄意破坏导致了池底损坏。
关于特朗普的一个……
最喜爱的公民项目也引发了内政部长道格·博格姆（Doug Burgum）对皮罗（Pirro）的批评，后者表示他已向美国检察官办公室提供了关于“破坏者所造成损害的专家和目击者证词”。
作者：PHILIP WEGMANN 和 LYDIA WHEELER
洛杉矶——加利福尼亚州的民主党已支持该州拟议的亿万富翁税，这在加州选民对该项措施进行投票的三个月前，标志着其倡导者的一次胜利。据一名党发言人称，在周末举行的一次数百名党内官员会议上，该税收提案在周日获得了超过 60% 的选票，达到了克服反对并获得支持的所需比例。
加州选民将在 11 月决定是否批准或拒绝这项投票倡议。如果该税法生效，该州约 200 billion 名亿万富翁将支付 5% 的一次性征税。
州民主党官员的支持为拟议的征税提供了公关助力，而这在之前是远未保证的。该税收在党内建制派中引起了剧烈分歧，民主党州长加文·纽森（Gavin Newsom）和民主党州长候选人哈维尔·贝塞拉（Xavier Becerra）公开反对该税收。
该提案由一个大型医疗保健工会发起。几位亿万富翁和一些其他工会反对该税收。双方都在本周末的州民主党执行委员会会议上发起了激烈的游说活动，试图将投票结果导向有利于自己的方向。
“这次支持结束了‘加州民主党人在亿万富翁税上不统一’的说法——事实上他们是统一的，”提出该倡议的服务业雇员国际工会-联合医疗保健工作者西区（SEIU-UHW）主席戴夫·雷根（Dave Regan）表示。独立民调显示，加州绝大多数民主党选民以及更广泛选民中的一个较小多数支持该税收。
SEIU-UHW 提出该税收旨在筹集 1000 亿美元 billion，主要用于抵消特朗普政府对医疗保健资金的深度削减。包括参议员伯尼·桑德斯（Bernie Sanders，独立人士，佛蒙特州）和美国众议员罗·康那（Ro Khanna，民主党，加利福尼亚州）在内的进步派领导人支持该提案，称医疗资金是必需的，且最富有的加州人应该支付更多。
纽森被视为潜在的 2028 年总统候选人，他认为该征税可能会导致该州最大的纳税人逃离。其他反对者包括加州教师协会和加州专业消防员协会。
在 6 月份该税收倡议获得投票资格后，州长及其盟友努力说服 SEIU-UHW 撤回该提案。工会曾一度提出，如果纽森支持一项规模较小的财富税，他们将撤回该提案。
该税收将适用于截至今年 1 月 1 日居住在加利福尼亚州且在今年年底净资产达到 $1 billion 或以上的个人。出于税收目的，一个人的净资产不包括某些资产，例如其直接拥有的房地产。
作者：PAUL KIERNAN
加州亿万富翁税获得民主党支持
在加利福尼亚州萨利纳斯谷（Salinas Valley）翠绿的田野里，拉里·考克斯（Larry Cox）正看着他的生菜枯萎。考克斯和他的两个儿子经营着海岸线家庭农场（Coastline Family Farms），该农场向美国一些最大的连锁餐厅和杂货店供应叶菜。
但本周，在这个被称为“美国沙拉碗”的地区，大约 300,000 磅的罗马心生菜被切碎并翻回土壤中。没有证据表明他的、或全美任何国产生菜感染了导致目前数千人患病的疾病爆发背后的寄生虫。尽管如此，这依然没能阻止
Cox 那些可靠的餐厅和杂货店客户正在削减订单。许多种植者正在销毁他们找不到买家的作物。由于生菜的生长周期约为 30 天，那些将作物翻回地里的农民正在权衡是重新种植还是缩减规模。“这令人极其沮丧，”Cox 说道，“与其种植这些作物，我还不如去法国南部度假。”
环孢子菌（cyclospora）的爆发正冲击着农产品行业的每一个角落，许多消费者避开了超市的生鲜农产品区，并减少了前往一些以沙拉为主的连锁店的次数。数周以来病例数量不断增长且无明确原因，这导致消费者对什么可以安全食用感到困惑。“消费者不再确定什么是正确的，因此出于过度谨慎，他们直接放弃购买所有产品，”在家庭农场贸易组织 Western Growers 领导科学和食品安全项目的 Joelle Mosso 表示。她补充说，加利福尼亚州的许多种植者也正将作物翻回地里。
根据 NielsenIQ 的数据，在截至 7 月 18 日的四周内，美国的新鲜生菜单位销量与去年同期相比下降了 8.7%。这意味着减少了超过 7.6 million 磅的生菜。农产品区的其他领域也同样遭受损失。在 NielsenIQ 跟踪的 37 个蔬菜类别中，有 28 个在同一时期显示出销售额下降，包括胡萝卜、花椰菜、菠菜和抱子甘蓝。沙拉酱的销量也有所下降。
“我们看到整个生鲜农产品区受到了根本性的影响，”国际新鲜农产品协会（International Fresh Produce Association）首席科学官 Max Teplitski 说道。Teplitski 表示，虽然需求通常在典型的食品安全恐慌发生几个月内就能恢复，但高关注度的爆发会产生更深远的影响。他举例指出，2006 年菠菜中大肠杆菌的爆发导致销售额在数年内低迷。
美国食品药品监督管理局已将一次环孢子菌爆发与 Taylor Farms 采购自墨西哥中部的切碎冰山生菜联系起来，该公司是美国最大的沙拉绿叶菜供应商。国内种植的生菜占据了全国供应的大部分，尚未被联邦当局牵连。但这并不能在很大程度上让部分购物者放心。
Pirro 通过终止泳池案来讨好 Trump，对破坏行为表示怀疑 Trump 任命的官员最初表示同意。“有人试图通过暴力手段撕掉泳池底部的密封剂，”她在上个月宣布对 Hearn 提起破坏政府财产的重罪起诉时告诉记者。该指控的最高刑期为 10 年监禁。
周五，Pirro 的办公室指出，来自内政部的文件“显著削弱了”作为起诉这位前奥运选手依据的证据。她的办公室在法院文件中写道，“视觉检查显示，整个反思池（Reflecting Pool）都受到了损坏，甚至在泳池中央，而破坏者不太可能尝试剥离那里的衬垫。鉴于所有这些新发现的信息，很难将反思池的广泛损坏归因于蓄意破坏。”
政府旨在 7 月 4 日庆祝活动前为泳池重新铺面。检察官发现，损坏是由一次“搞砸了的翻修”造成的。
华尔街日报. Monday, August 3, 2026 / A5 美国新闻
四年前，法国水泥公司 Lafarge 同意了一项首例的有罪认诉，承认其为了保护其在叙利亚的工厂而向伊斯兰国及其附属组织基地组织提供资金，并向美国支付了 $7.78 亿的罚金。叙利亚境内遭受这些恐怖组织攻击的受害者表示，他们有权获得其中的部分资金。他们向司法部提出的赔偿请求在拜登和特朗普政府期间均未得到回应，目前已引起部分国会议员的关注。
“Lafarge 已经向司法部支付了罚金，但我们的政府没有给我们分到一分钱，”林赛·斯泰西（Lindsey Stacy）说道。她的丈夫，退役海军高级首席主事肯顿·斯泰西（Kenton Stacy），在 2017. 年叙利亚的一次爆炸袭击后导致四肢瘫痪且一只眼睛失明。这笔钱将能缓解他的医疗费用和电费，据其家人称，由于他需要使用呼吸机，电费已经飙升。
特朗普总统在 2018 年的国情咨文演讲中，点名表扬了肯顿在打击伊斯兰国斗争中所发挥的作用。“如果特朗普要提到肯顿，为什么之后没有后续行动？”他的妻子说道。
斯泰西一家和四个金星家庭（Gold Star families）正分别寻求从 Lafarge 的罚金中获得 $15 百万。该笔款项目前被保存在一个司法部基金中，该基金负责管理从被定罪罪犯处没收的财产和现金收益。据该部门称，自 2000, 以来，该基金已向受害者及其家属返还了超过 $13 亿的没收资产，并表示向受害者支付赔偿是优先事项。
例如，在金融服务公司 Western Union 同意于 2017 年向政府没收 $5.86 亿后，司法部继续向数千名在国际消费诈骗中通过 Western Union 电汇遭受损失的人员支付赔偿金。该部门还在继续补偿那些通过 Backpage.com 网站广告被贩卖而遭受性贩运的人员，该网站已于 2018. 年被联邦调查局关闭。
将 Lafarge 的行为与恐怖袭击造成的伤害联系起来更为复杂，这引发了关于司法部如何定义“受害者”的问题，尤其是在其赔付情况受到关注之时。一名司法部官员表示，这些家庭寻求访问的基金只能补偿那些与被告被定罪的犯罪行为相关的财务或经济损失的受害者。该官员还表示，虽然总检察长在某些情况下有一定的裁量权来批准赔偿，但该决定仍受法律和条例的约束。
前联邦检察官、资产没收专家斯特凡·卡塞拉（Stefan Cassella）表示，理清谁有权获得资金所引发的问题可能需要数年时间才能解答。
“政府的目标是将钱交给受害者，”卡塞拉说。“我没听说过有哪个案例中，合法的犯罪受害者因为政府想把钱据为己有而被拒绝获得资金。”
斯泰西一家和其他家庭在 2023 年 9 月向时任总检察长梅里克·加兰（Merrick Garland）领导的、负责管理该基金的办公室提交了正式申请。
两名正在衡量是否正式批准代理总检察长托德·布兰奇（Todd Blanche）就任该职位的参议员已就此问题向他施压。参议员玛莎·布莱克本（Marsha Blackburn，田纳西州共和党）和迪克·德宾（Dick Durbin，伊利诺伊州民主党）询问了布兰奇关于这些家庭请求未获处理的问题。他在一份书面问卷中表示，他不熟悉这些具体的家庭或
他们的请求。布兰奇表示他将重新审查此事，并“确保部门采取适当行动，遵守适用法律，以支持军人及其家属”。他还表示愿意与受害者家属或其律师会面。现任司法部长帕姆·邦迪在今年的一次国会听证会上告诉众议员安迪·比格斯（共和党，亚利桑那州）：“我们意识到了这一点，并致力于尽一切努力支持受害者。”
司法部向受害者的赔付最近因另一个原因而受到审查。布兰奇因其在5月份创建一项备受争议的 18 亿美元 十亿“反武器化”基金中扮演的角色而继续受到两党批评，该基金本将补偿那些称自己被政府侵害的人。这可能包括在 6, 2021, 冲击国会大厦的特朗普支持者，以及一些成为美国国税局审查目标的团体，这些审查与拜登政府根据旨在提供堕胎诊所就诊渠道的法令而提起的一系列案件相关。布兰奇表示，司法部已经放弃了该基金，但这仍然是他确认听证会斗争的中心关注点。
拉法基（Lafarge）案是司法部首次起诉一家公司（而非个人或组织）为外国恐怖组织提供物质支持。
恐怖袭击受害者寻求分享该公司 $7.78 亿美元的罚金 拉法基在叙利亚案件中支付了罚金；军属表示他们有权获得资金
退休海军高级首席军曹肯顿·斯泰西在 2017. 年叙利亚的一次爆炸中导致四肢瘫痪且一只眼睛失明。
TERRY FLORES / U.S. NAVY ::: 35 $77,1 8675 ,(6 6 . &20
A6 / 2026年8月3日 星期一 * * * * 华尔街日报。扫描此代码：自伊朗战争爆发以来，至少有 67 艘船只遭到袭击或被登临，17 名海员丧生。在这一代人的战争时期中，针对商船的袭击是最具破坏性的。伊朗、沙特阿拉伯、阿联酋、阿曼、卡塔尔、巴林。霍尔木兹海峡、阿拉伯海、波斯湾。注：数据截至 7月30日。来源：华盛顿近东政策研究所（The Washington Institute for Near East Policy）。自 3月1日 以来在霍尔木兹海峡附近遭到袭击或被登临的商船。图形报告：参见《伊朗战争中油轮遇袭事件如何堆积》。
特朗普试图向不安的公众保证，上涨的汽油价格不会持续太久，并预计冲突可能会在四到六周内结束。随着战争进入第六个月，他在国内外获得的支持储备已经缩减。特朗普的支持者表示，他不断敲响的威胁之鼓以及显而易见的耐心缺失，反而促成了一系列外交活动，这可能会促成一项长期寻求的协议，最终结束这场战争。
特朗普在周六晚上的社交媒体帖子中写道，伊朗和其他中东国家正恳求他取消袭击，因为“协议的框架”已经敲定。特朗普是在与沙特王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼通话后传达这一消息的。特朗普说他询问王储：“你们是希望我们这样做，还是不这样做？”他说王储回答道，“我们更倾向于达成协议而不是发动袭击，因为你不知道这些袭击会导致什么。”但特朗普没有给以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡打电话，正是与内塔尼亚胡一起发起了这场战争，且后者依然是在总统耳边最强烈要求采取更多军事行动的声音。
周日出现了外交突破的初步迹象。据伊朗国家媒体报道，伊朗外交部长阿巴斯·阿拉格奇表示，与阿曼关于船只通过海峡机制的谈判“接近完成，处于最后阶段”。其中未提及的是，德黑兰是否准备永久放弃要求向过境商船收取通行费，以及这些谈判是否会导致航道完全重新开放。根据利雅得发布的一份简报，阿拉格奇还致电其沙特同行费萨尔·本·法尔汉王子，讨论进一步的降温措施。
特朗普的批评者认为，总统突然的转变反映出他对剩余的军事和外交选项感到不快，而非反映出一种经过精心校准的战略。“他的胡乱尝试是对美国威慑力的沉重打击，”在拜登政府期间担任五角大楼高级官员且曾在巴拉克·奥巴马总统任内担任美国驻以色列大使的丹尼尔·沙皮罗表示。“没有人相信他所说的话——盟友不信，我们的伊朗对手更是不信。”
外交路径使特朗普暂时免于重大军事行动的风险。但外交本身也带有风险，包括伊朗可能会将特朗普的犹豫视为在谈判中最大限度提高其筹码的理由。“协商一个能维护航行自由的解决方案不会快捷或容易，”布鲁金斯学会外交政策副总裁兼伊朗专家苏珊·马洛尼表示。“目前并不明显该届政府是否具备所需的精力或注意力。”
他被美国盟友劝说放弃了。“我们已经准备好出发了，但当盟友要求取消时，你不得不说，‘好吧，让我们看看’，”他
说道。尽管如此，如果谈判像过去那样陷入僵局，特朗普可能会（接第一页）。国际法认为以色列在约旦河西岸的定居点是非法的，尽管以色列对此持有异议。这些变化由财政部长贝扎莱尔·斯莫特里奇（Bezalel Smotrich）主导，他是定居者运动的领导人，因涉嫌煽动针对巴勒斯坦人的暴力而受到几个西方国家的制裁。斯莫特里奇还通过国防部的一个独立职位监管被占领巴勒斯坦领土的民政事务。
在库斯拉（Qusra）等村庄的巴勒斯坦人表示，来自附近前哨站的定居者经常进入他们的城镇，喷涂涂鸦，恐吓村民，并切断他们的电水。
“我们感到恐惧，”坦塔维（Tantawi）说。这位电工表示，他不再让四个孩子在天黑后离开家。他以及库斯拉的其他人在门上加了挂锁，并用铁杆和网状物遮盖窗户，以防止定居者向室内投掷纵火装置。
在 7 月的最后一个周末，库斯拉的 Al-Rahma 清真寺被纵火焚烧，此前该地与定居者发生了冲突，导致两名以色列人和四名巴勒斯坦人死亡。随后，以色列军队逮捕了数十名巴勒斯坦人，而定居者则袭击了约旦河西岸各地的村庄。包括 Al-Rahma 在内的两座清真寺被纵火，汽车、工业场所和住宅也遭到焚烧。
以色列军队谴责了对宗教场所的破坏。军方表示：“此类事件分散了安全部队从事反恐活动的注意力，并削弱了维持该地区安全与稳定的努力。”
据联合国称，自 2023 年以来，定居者袭击的数量逐年增加。根据联合国人道主义事务协调厅（OCHA）的数据，自 2026 年初以来，涉及以色列定居者并导致人员伤亡、财产损失或两者兼有的事件已超过 1,330 起。OCHA 周三表示，2026 年已有 77 个人（包括 18 名儿童）被以色列军队或定居者杀害。
内塔尼亚胡在 7 月初接受 CNN 采访时，将定居者暴力归因于“大约 150 名你们所谓的青少年罪犯”。斯莫特里奇在 7 月 27 日接受以色列媒体采访时，否认了定居者暴力广泛传播的观点，并称其为“血祭诽谤”。
但一些前以色列安全官员持有不同意见。前以色列将军门迪·奥尔（Mendy Or），曾任巴勒斯坦领土政府活动协调员，表示定居者暴力似乎是政府部长在内塔尼亚胡支持下的一项精心组织的工作，旨在强迫巴勒斯坦人离开 C 区（该区占约旦河西岸的 60%）及当地其他地区。
以色列总理办公室没有回应置评请求。他表示，在许多情况下，被称为“山顶青年”（Hilltop Youth）的暴力定居者会偷走牲畜，进入巴勒斯坦人的家中，切断电水，并试图恐吓村民离开土地。
“以色列安全指挥官”（Commanders for Israel’s Security）——一个由 500 多名原以色列安全官员组成的团体——给特朗普总统写了一封信，敦促他在 7 月 28 日于华盛顿与内塔尼亚胡会面前，就定居者暴力问题进行讨论。信中写道：“除非迅速且果断地实施逮捕，否则约旦河西岸升级的暴力可能会点燃该地区，并对以色列安全和美国地区利益产生严重影响。”
白宫和内塔尼亚胡均未透露该话题是否在会议中被提及。
侯赛因·坦塔维（Hussain Tantawi）在 3:25 被一名邻居发来的惊慌电话惊醒。
某个周日的早晨。以色列定居者在他位于西岸村庄的这座新落成的清真寺纵火。他穿着短裤和拖鞋冲出家门，在路上打电话让表亲来帮忙。当他抵达时，建筑已被大火吞噬，入口处喷着“复仇”两个字。在这个暴力往往滋生暴力的地区，这些涂鸦及其周围的火焰是对近期西岸冲突中两名以色列人被杀的明确回应。其中一名以色列人（附近一个定居点的安保团队成员）的名字被写在清真寺的墙上。34 岁的坦塔维（Tantawi）和一群男子试图扑灭火焰，但为时已晚。视频显示，日出后，在纳布卢斯（Nablus）市附近的库斯拉（Qusra）村，村民们走在阿尔-拉赫马（Al-Rahma）清真寺被烧焦的残骸中，破碎的瓷砖散落在地上。
自 2023 年哈马斯领导的袭击以色列事件引发以色列政府在西岸扩张定居点以来，定居者暴力行为大幅增加，以色列自 1967 年六日战争以来一直占领该地区。在总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡（Benjamin Netanyahu）的极右翼政府领导下，以色列去年夏天在东耶路撒冷附近一个名为 E1 的地区批准了数千套住房单元，此前由于国际社会批评这些建设方案将孤立巴勒斯坦社区并使未来巴勒斯坦建国的前景复杂化，相关计划一直被推迟。以色列还迅速扩大了前哨阵地和道路的建设，进一步分割了巴勒斯坦地区。
作者：ANAT PELED 和 SUHA MA’AYEH 国际新闻 西岸冲突升级 定居者与巴勒斯坦人之间的冲突发生在以色列推进领土扩张之际 （图片说明：在最近一次袭击中，以色列定居者焚毁了西岸一个村庄的新建清真寺，孩子们站在清真寺外。LEO CORREA / 美联社）
“铺平道路” 根据追踪西岸土地征收的以色列组织“现在和平”（Peace Now）的数据，在 2023 年 1 月至 2026 年初之间，已有 118 多个巴勒斯坦牧羊社区被赶出西岸。该组织表示，同一时期内新建了 185 个犹太前哨阵地。
“我对犹太和撒马利亚的梦想是在这个地区实现完全的以色列主权，”财政部长贝扎莱尔·斯莫特里赫（Bezalel Smotrich）在 7 月 27 日表示。“我现在的做法是在事实上为这一事件铺平道路。”斯莫特里赫表示，他通过建设定居点、道路和农场，在以色列管理西岸方面领导了一场“革命”。
以色列安全部队过去能够通过一种名为“行政拘留”的做法，在没有正式指控或审判的情况下拘留和持有暴力犹太定居者。但以色列国防部长以色列·卡茨（Israel Katz）在 2024 年停止了对犹太定居者的行政拘留，而对巴勒斯坦人则保留该政策。人权组织、巴勒斯坦人以及一些前以色列官员指责安全部队未能制止定居者的袭击，甚至参与其中。军方则表示，士兵接到指示，在遇到以色列公民在西岸违反法律袭击巴勒斯坦人的行为时应予以制止。
再次陷入一个熟悉的循环：在他搁置军事威胁后不久便重新启用。约翰·霍普金斯大学的伊朗问题专家瓦利·纳斯尔（Vali Nasr）表示：“他现在正尝试通过外交解决方案来避免军事升级。但在外交或军事上，目前都没有一条清晰的路径能让特朗普达到一个可以宣布胜利的境地。” 这种循环已经导致了不稳定性。
中东地区，并使共和党人特朗普的国内议程复杂化。近几周，伊朗对包括约旦、巴林和科威特在内的多个美国在该地区的盟友发动了攻击，而其在伊拉克的代理人则向沙特阿拉伯发射了无人机。伊朗基本上能够关闭霍尔木兹海峡的能力推高了汽油价格，并迫使美国和其他国家动用其石油储备。与此同时，距离期中选举仅剩三个月，国会中的共和党人敦促白宫更清晰地阐明伊朗战争的目标，并解释该战争将如何结束。当三名美国士兵在伊朗对其约旦基地的导弹袭击中丧生时，这一担忧进一步加剧，使得自 2 月以来在行动中丧生的军方人员总数达到 18 人。当他在 2 月下旬下令攻击伊朗时，
特朗普在国际支持有限且公众舆论调查显示许多美国人尚未被说服德黑兰构成了紧迫核威胁的情况下开始了这场战争。海湾盟友影响美国对伊朗政策的转变。沙特王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼与特朗普总统去年在白宫。BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE / GETTY IMAGES 当前利率* AGE RATE % % % % % 利率有效期至 0 / 2026.。利率可能因州而异。 • 领先利率 • 慈善税减免 • 终身固定支付 • 资本利得减少 • IRA-QCD 选项 * 888.311.4717 cmc.edu / annuities 终身收入。持久影响。
华尔街日报. 星期一, 8月 3, 2026 / A7 世界新闻 他的热情与事业。在 2019, 年，他在六个月零六天内登顶了世界上全部 14 座海拔 8,000 米（约 26,250 英尺）以上的山峰，创下了当时的一项纪录。他的成就成为了 Netflix 纪录片《14座高峰》的主题。随后，他再次攀登这些山峰，且此次没有携带辅助氧气。一名巴基斯坦部长周五表示，在已寻获的遗体中，包括美国公民 Mallory Geis 和阿曼登山者 Nadhira Alharthy。根据巴基斯坦探险公司 Moving Mountains 的社交媒体帖子，来自德克萨斯州的美国旅行摄影师 Geis 在其巴基斯坦团队成员的陪同下，首次尝试攀登这座山。Alharthy 是她国家中首位登顶珠峰的女性。Purja 在上周的一篇社交媒体帖子中表示，他希望攀登 Broad Peak 能让他离成为历史上首位两次在不使用氧气的情况下登顶世界 14 座最高峰的目标更近一步。“我从未把任何一座山视为理所当然，”他说道。
“……决定它，”鲁比奥在最近一次亚洲之行中告诉记者。由 Maduro 领导以及现在由 Rodríguez 领导的政府，长期以来一直被指责通过拖延谈判来延迟改革并加强其独裁统治。图伦大学教授、密切跟踪委内瑞拉政治的 David Smilde 表示，现在该政府被美国政府强迫进行新一轮谈判，因为美国政府渴望证明自己并未放弃政治转型的想法。Smilde 说：“美国希望在外交政策上取得一次胜利——以一种在伊朗等其他地方都无法展现的、长期且稳定的进步方式。某种程度上，是由美国在主导这一切。”
Machado 和 Edmundo Gonzalez（独立观察员称其赢得了 2024 次选举的退休外交官）对这些谈判反应冷淡。他们表示，自己在谈判的“设计、构建或运作”中没有发挥任何作用，且 2024 次总统大选由选民交付的授权“依然有效”。Rodríguez 的政党在谈判中由她的兄弟 Jorge Rodríguez 代表，后者领导国民议会，并在过去多次失败的谈判中担任 Maduro 的首席谈判代表。反对派将由一组于 2015, 年当选进入国民议会的议员代表，他们在当年的选举中以压倒性优势击败了 Maduro 及其盟友。该议会是委内瑞拉最后一个被美国承认的民主选举机构。
“我们已经说过，我们将与任何人交谈，”委内瑞拉内政部长 Diosdado Cabello 上个月表示。“对话并不意味着投降。”
此次进程将反对派领导人 María Corina Machado 排除在外。反对派代表 Dinorah Figuera 表示，该进程旨在建立制度基础，以在今年 12 月前举行选举。Figuera 曾是 2015 年议会的最后一名领导人，此前一直流亡西班牙并在当地的一家养老院工作，直到最近才返回参与政治讨论。她在周五的一篇 X 帖子中表示，新的进程“将为委内瑞拉的民主未来打开一步”。
曾在特朗普第一任期内担任负责委内瑞拉政策的高级国务院官员 Carrie Filipetti 表示，这次努力表明美国不愿利用其杠杆（包括用来控制委内瑞拉石油收入等手段）来真正实现民主目的。她认为，这些谈判“在现实中无法代表民主的声音”。
“在委内瑞拉，如果代表绝大多数声音的人——玛丽亚·科里娜·马查多（María Corina Machado）不仅没有领导反对派的谈判，而且一开始甚至无法安全返回委内瑞拉，”菲利佩蒂（Filipetti）表示。在美国推翻委内瑞拉的尼古拉斯·马杜罗（Nicolás Maduro）近七个月后，旨在引导该国走向民主的首次正式谈判于周六启动——但反对派最具影响力的领导人并未参与。
这场由美国支持的谈判涉及代理总统德尔西·罗德里格斯（Delcy Rodríguez）政府及部分政治反对派，这是华盛顿针对这个南美国家制定的稳定与复苏计划的一部分。美国官员表示，谈判旨在让委内瑞拉走上民主转型的道路。但这一进程将该国最著名的反对派领导人玛丽亚·科里娜·马查多排除在外。批评者担心，此举可能会为罗德里格斯这个未经选举的领导层争取时间并提供合法性；罗德里格斯曾是马杜罗的副手，目前已与特朗普政府建立了以向美国投资者重新开放该国为核心的联盟。
美国官员对这次谈判表示支持，将其描述为“重要的下一步”，但与此同时，白宫也面临批评，称其在民主转型之上优先考虑经济协议和石油部门的重新开放。在被问及选举时，特朗普最近表示：“他们还没准备好，但天呐，已经取得了很大进展。德尔西做得非常出色。”
特朗普政府官员坚称，重建委内瑞拉的民主制度需要时间，并拒绝给出选举的时间表。国务卿马可·卢比奥（Marco Rubio）表示，该国首先需要一个可信的选举委员会、自由的媒体以及保护选民免受恐吓的措施。“我们是在那里提供便利，而不是……”
作者：VERA BERGENGRUEN 和 KEJAL VYAS
美国主导的讨论将委内瑞拉反对派领导人排除在外
委内瑞拉临时总统德尔西·罗德里格斯（Delcy Rodriguez，图中中心）在上个月的新闻发布会上发言。JESUS VARGAS / GETTY IMAGES
作者：KRISHNA POKHAREL 和 WAQAR GILLANI
雪崩后著名登山者身亡
普贾的远征公司周六表示，著名登山者尼尔马尔·普贾（Nirmal Purja）和其他九名登山者周四在攀登巴基斯坦一座山峰时死于一场雪崩。周六早些时候，巴基斯坦该地区的旅游部长表示，已寻获四具尸体，无人机还发现了其他几具尸体。他表示，由于雪崩强度极大，救援人员预计无法发现任何幸存者。
由普贾共同创立的远征公司 Elite Exped 指称其昵称为 Nims，并表示：“今天，我们不仅哀悼 Nims，而且哀悼这场悲剧中失去的每一个生命。”
除普贾外，远征队还包括五名尼泊尔人、一名与一名巴基斯坦国民共同攀登的美国女性、一名阿曼女性和一名中国公民。普贾当时正带领他们攀登博德峰（Broad Peak），这座山海拔 26,400 英尺，是世界第 12 高峰，位于喀喇昆仑山脉。普贾现年 43 岁，出生于尼泊尔，在投身登山运动之前曾加入英国陆军特种部队。
登山者尼尔马尔·普贾在周末的一场雪崩中丧生。AAMIR QURESHI / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE / GETTY IMAGES
石油巨头在试图进入委内瑞拉时遭遇阻碍…… B1
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[!NOTE] 本章节源文包含大量外语数据与图片版面，已进行结构化对齐优化。
A8 / 2026年8月3日，星期一 华尔街日报。广告 如果没有新闻自由，就没有民主。但只有当女性拥有发声机会时，自由才真正存在。公平的新闻报道是健康、高效运转的民主制度的晴雨表，而这影响着我们所有人。国际女性媒体基金会（International Women’s Media Foundation）的变革性工作增强了全球范围内的平等机会和新闻自由。支持新闻业，以保护历史的下一篇草稿。[扫描捐赠] \S it rv 国际女性媒体基金会
华尔街日报. 2026年8月3日，星期一 / A9 拥挤的礼拜场所：周日，什叶派穆斯林在 Arbaeen 节前涌向伊玛目阿巴斯的神圣圣地，在这一节日期间，数百万人步行前往伊拉克卡尔巴拉。HADI MIZBAN / AP 圣但尼，他在那里表示，他亲眼目睹了其认为源于移民的贫困与暴力。在最近几个月里，巴尔德拉塑造了一个截然不同的形象。巴尔德拉在 2024 年的自传中将其个人生活保密描述为一项金科玉律，而现在他打破了这一原则，公开了他与波旁-两西西里公国玛丽亚-卡罗琳娜的浪漫关系——后者是一位 23 岁的意大利公主和社交媒体影响力人士。4月，他们在地中海科西嘉岛的一次漫步登上了时尚社交杂志《巴黎匹配》（Paris Match）的封面，并占据了 10 页的图片专页。6月，在摩纳哥大奖赛的 VIP 席上，巴尔德拉被拍到与公主一起啜饮葡萄酒。
“他在摩纳哥与公主一同现身是一个经过计算的举动，旨在赢得那些不投票给国民联盟的右翼资产阶级的选票，”法国工业部长塞巴斯蒂安·马丁表示，他是保守派共和党（Les Républicains）的一员。“但他面临着疏远构成国民联盟核心选民群体的工人阶级支持者的风险，”他补充道。国民联盟的一位发言人未回应置评请求。
根据一名参与者的说法，巴尔德拉在集会上告诉与会者“自由”。巴尔德拉正在争取法国企业界的认可，试图在明年春季的总统选举前，扩大国民联盟对主流保守派的吸引力。民意调查显示，在一家上诉法院撤销对其参选资格的禁令后，玛丽娜·勒庞在该场竞选中处于领先地位。如果当选，勒庞承诺将任命巴尔德拉为她的总理。
这一战略最终旨在打破所谓的“卫生防疫线”（cordon sanitaire），即建制派政党几十年来围绕国民联盟建立的政治防火墙，以将其排除在权力之外。法国保险公司 MAIF 的首席执行官帕斯卡尔·德默杰表示：“国民联盟显然在追求一种‘去妖魔化’策略，试图寻求商业圈的合法性。”德默杰已拒绝与巴尔德拉会面。
对于一个长期将自己定义为建制派反对者、抨击全球精英的政党来说，这是一个戏剧性的转向。巴尔德拉通过将自己塑造为法国工人阶级的发声者而崭露头角。作为意大利移民之子，他在巴黎郊区长大。
巴尔德拉能否扩大国民联盟的吸引力，取决于他能否将自己的政党塑造为欧盟第二大经济体的可靠管理者。国民联盟长期以来凭借其反移民立场获得支持，这使勒娜在之前的选举中与法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙进入了决选。但该党对经济的处理方式一直是其致命弱点。在 2017 年的选举中，勒庞呼吁法国退出欧元区，这一主张惊吓到了选民，她后来放弃了这一立场。近期，她主张对企业的超额利润增加税收、将高速公路系统国有化以及降低法国的退休年龄。商业领袖担心此类措施会挫伤外国投资，并进一步扩大该国公共财政的赤字。
但商业领袖们也在面对快速变化的选举格局。在一次又一次的选举周期中，像马克龙的复兴党（Renaissance）这样的亲商政党已经看到了它们的
在拥有 577 个席位的国民议会中，多数席位已不复存在，导致议会碎片化，难以通过立法。与此同时，国民联盟（National Rally）的席位从寥寥数个增加到 122 个，成为议会中席位最多的单一政党。这种崛起迫使企业领袖们不得不与这个此前被许多人避之不及的政党举行会面。组织与巴尔德拉（Bardella）午餐会的 Medef 商业游说团体主席帕特里克·马丁（Patrick Martin）表示，国民联盟在民调中的上升使其赢得了对话席位。“Medef 不应对国民联盟获得 35% 或更多选民的支持负责，”马丁说，“这是一个获得认可的政党。我们身处民主国家。”由于勒庞（Le Pen）难以在精英阶层中获得认可，她将巴尔德拉推向前方，将其打造为该党亲商的形象。他相貌清爽，总是穿着与法国企业界相同的“制服”：深色领带、深色西装和洁净的白衬衫。与巴尔德拉进行过私人接触的商业领袖表示，他几乎没有透露其经济方案的细节，这让许多人怀疑他与勒庞之间是否真的存在观点分歧。
巴黎——极右翼国民联盟党主席乔丹·巴尔德拉（Jordan Bardella）在 4 月下旬走进一间私人餐厅，在十多位法国最有影响力的商业游说者中就座。对于许多高管而言，这次用餐是他们首次与这位 30 岁的极右翼领导人玛丽娜·勒庞（Marine Le Pen）之门徒——或者说与该党任何领导人——进行面对面接触。国民联盟的政治风格长期以来在法国企业界被视为禁忌。该党的创始人让-马里·勒庞（Jean-Marie Le Pen）因其种族主义和反犹太主义言论而被排挤。他的女儿玛丽娜（目前正寻求竞选法国总统）通过主张贸易保护主义和国家干预经济，进一步加深了这种隔阂。参加这场在法国商业游说团体 Medef 巴黎总部举行的午餐会的所有人员均事先同意对讨论细节保密。在餐具的叮当声中，巴尔德拉试图向高管们保证，国民联盟不再敌视大企业的利益。“我坚信创业精神……”
作者：NOEMIE BISSERBE 和 STACY MEICHTRY 勒庞的门徒尝试争取法国 CEO 的支持 乔丹·巴尔德拉上个月在尼斯与玛丽娜·勒庞会合。PHILIPPE MAGONI / POOL / 路透社
世界观察
希腊：直升机在扑救山火时相撞 周日，两架希腊灭火直升机在雅典以西扑救一场由强风驱动的山火时发生空中相撞，导致一架飞机坠地。两名机组人员（一名希腊公民和一名丹麦公民）死亡。此次相撞暴露了欧洲山火应急最动荡前线的危险。强风将火焰推向希腊首都区域深处，并迫使当地进行新一轮疏散。法国则在守护一片面积是巴黎四倍、依然在燃烧的焦土，而西班牙的主要火灾已停止蔓延。涉事飞机为在雅典以西 Psatha 地区作业的 Bell 直升机，每架配备两名机组人员。——美联社
印度尼西亚：渡轮起火导致至少五人死亡 官员表示，周日一艘载有 271 人的渡轮在爪哇主岛附近起火，导致至少五人死亡，数十人失踪，救援人员和过往船只疏散了数百人。Mutiara Sentosa 2 渡轮当时正从东爪哇的印度尼西亚第二大城市泗水前往南苏拉威西省的望加锡，船上载有 232 名乘客和 39 名机组人员。火灾发生在早上 6 点至 7 点之间。
印度尼西亚国家搜救局（Basarnas）表示，事发地为苏门纳普县。Basarnas 称，渡轮运营商 PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran 在大约一小时后向泗水搜救办公室报告了该事件。——美联社
乌克兰 无人机点燃仓库 当地官员表示，乌克兰的无人机袭击在俄罗斯境内造成至少 5 人死亡，并击中了工业遗址以及俄罗斯电子商务巨头 Wildberries 的另一座仓库。Wildberries 是俄罗斯最大的在线市场，有时被描述为该国的“亚马逊”。乌克兰已袭击了该零售商的十多个仓库，这是基辅空中行动的一部分，旨在削弱莫斯科的战争努力，打击其经济，并让民众感受到克里姆林宫入侵乌克兰所带来的后果。与此同时，乌克兰空军表示，俄罗斯使用 133 架无人机袭击乌克兰，其中 24 架击中了目标。——美联社
西班牙 塞塔——西班牙官员周六表示，数万名冲入北非西班牙飞地的移民大多现已离开，而军队和警察正在搜捕大多数拒绝离开的剩余移民。
塞塔市气氛依然紧张。在靠近与摩洛哥边境口岸的一处海滩上，几位穿着泳装的退休人员坐在遮阳伞下，一群年轻移民在他们身边游荡，其中一些被戴着头盔、穿着迷彩服的士兵追赶。海滩上散落着数千名移民登岸时留下的鞋子，其中还有一双儿童用的橡胶雨靴。海军巡逻艇驻守在海平面上，装甲军车停在附近。尽管如此，在经历了近两天的混乱后，一些商店开始重新营业，该地区的秩序感正在恢复。
看来只剩下几百名移民。西班牙内政部长费尔南多·格兰德-马拉斯卡（Fernando Grande-Marlaska）表示：“现在几乎所有人都离开了。你在街上就能看出区别。今天很多商店都开门了，人们在走动。虽然还没有完全恢复正常，但正在向那个方向发展。”
离开者之一是 31 岁的吉拉利·阿卜杜勒加塞姆（Jilali Abdelgasem），一名受过培训的机械师。他与数十名其他移民一起被排成一列，由西班牙军队通过步行和悍马车护送至边境。阿卜杜勒加塞姆多年来一直想尝试移民以寻找高薪工作，甚至学习了基础西班牙语。他读到了西班牙最近为已经在该国生活的移民提供的特赦方案。近日，他在社交媒体上看到帖子称，摩洛哥警察并未阻止移民进入塞塔，于是决定尝试碰运气。他说，当他到达边境附近时，没有人阻止他或数千名其他移民，于是他们游了大约 2 英里到达飞地，抵达时已精疲力竭。
西班牙电视周六播出的画面显示，武装摩洛哥警察在摩洛哥一侧的海岸和道路上巡逻，试图防止任何新的人员跨境。
其他人则是更自愿地离开。21 岁的阿尔贾（Aldja）表示，她和朋友索菲安（Sofiane）在周四早些时候读到大规模跨境的消息，于是旅途 8 小时到达边境并游过去，结果发现商店关闭，无法获得食物或饮用水。索菲安在描述大多数移民从海滩前往市中心的路径时说：“我们以为自己在走一座‘希望之阶’，但它没能带我们去任何地方。”
许多塞塔居民对这次大规模跨境感到愤怒和恐惧。有零星报道称，居民们在用……武装自己。
用临时武器来保护他们的家园或店铺。西班牙官员格兰德（Grande）表示，发生了个别事件，但并不严重。周六早些时候，西班牙官员称，他们开始安装一个临时充气屏障，该屏障从防波堤向外延伸约 500 码，此前部分移民通过游泳进入了该飞地。西班牙官员表示，在过境过程中至少有 67 名移民死亡，大多数死于溺水。
对于一些当地人来说，这次升级太少且太晚。代表塞乌塔（Ceuta）大多数宪兵的工会发言人拉希德·斯比希（Rachid Sbihi）表示，他的团体在过去十年中一直恳请联邦官员延长围墙，但没有效果。斯比希说，在过境过程中至少有移民死亡。他补充说，许多死者是不懂游泳的儿童，其中包括一名蹒跚学步的孩子。
一些飞地居民表示，过境人数可能比当地官员估计的 60,000 人更高，他们认为新到达的人数似乎比这里居住的大约 84,000 人还要多。在经历了数日的恐惧之后，许多人对绝大多数移民已经离开表示宽慰。当地商会负责人阿兰特莎·坎波斯（Arantxa Campos）告诉西班牙电视台：“人们对大多数人离开感到宽慰，但他们仍然希望获得更多安全保障以克服恐惧。并非所有企业都重新开业，但随着他们看到能够保护我们的安全部队，会有更多企业开业。”
目前尚不清楚有多少移民将试图躲避当局并留在飞地，希望以后能前往西班牙本土。一名移民被发现躲在一个巨大的垃圾桶里，另一名则躲在海岸线的岩石之间。西班牙法院最近的一项裁决使得当地当局难以将通过海路抵达的移民立即驱逐，尽管在遣返移民时，当局似乎并未对此做出区分。
数万名主要是年轻男性的跨境涌入场景传遍全球，并在许多欧洲首都引起警觉。意大利表示，在危机期间将暂时暂停其领土与西班牙之间的自由移动，以确保没有移民能够进入。意大利总理乔治亚·梅洛尼（Giorgia Meloni）在 X 上写道：“这是一项非常规措施，旨在维护国家安全并防止对我国产生可能的后续影响。”
其他国家的右翼政党支持梅洛尼的举措，并表示，如果移民利用欧盟保护居民免签旅行的自由移动协议（广为人知的《申根协定》）在欧洲大陆四处移动，该协议将受到威胁。芬兰内政部长玛丽·兰塔宁（Mari Rantanen）在 X 上写道：“西班牙完全未能保护申根区外部边界免受入侵。这种情况不能继续下去。所有欧洲国家必须支持梅洛尼的提议。不履行保护外部边界义务的国家不能成为申根成员。”
西班牙政府在移民问题上采取的方法比许多其他欧洲国家宽松。今年，首相佩德罗·桑切斯（Pedro Sanchez）领导的西班牙政府表示，将向估计 50 万名近年来非法抵达的移民提供特赦并使其合法化。这将使他们自动获得在欧洲境内自由移动的权利。
一些周六被驱逐的移民表示他们还会回来。在被警察护送回边境时，阿卜杜尔加塞姆（Abdelgasem）说：“我会等待情况冷却下来，然后两个月后我将再次尝试。”
作者：BENOIT FAUCON 和 DAVID LUHNOW 西班牙将大多数移民从飞地驱逐出境 周五，移民试图进入西班牙位于摩洛哥边境附近的北非飞地塞乌塔。 JORGE GUERRERO / 法新社 / 盖蒂图片社 许多塞乌塔居民对此次涌入感到愤怒和恐惧。
A10 / Monday, August 3, 2026 华尔街日报。世界新闻
作为“数百人中唯一的棕色皮肤孩子”——随后因采取肢体行动自卫而遭到不公正的惩罚。“我很早就意识到，你必须为自己而战，因为结果早已被操纵……国家是站在你的对立面的。”在斯坦福大学获得工程学位后，他共同创办了一家基因筛查公司，曾在安德里森·霍罗威茨（Andreessen Horowitz）风险投资公司工作，并短暂担任加密货币交易所 Coinbase 的首席技术官。Coinbase 负责人布莱恩·阿姆斯特朗（Brian Armstrong）在去年的一档播客中表示：“芭拉吉·斯里尼瓦桑是一个才华横溢的人，”并补充说他带来了“巨大的价值”。但他同时表示，斯里尼瓦桑也“有点难以管理”。“大约每周一次，就会有人走进我作为首席执行官的办公室说：‘我无法与芭拉吉共事，他造成了太多的附带损害。’”
“大部分时间扮演好警察” 斯里尼瓦桑在 X 上表示，他不会为了退缩而引发冲突。
起初，该学校的食宿、课程和海边住所费用为每月 $1,500。人们可以在那里长期居住，也可以短至一个月停留。斯里尼瓦桑表示，第一批招收了 128 人，而 2025, 的第二批则提供了 256 个名额。最近的参与者估计，每次有数百人参加。其构想是让人们来到这里学习、经营自己的业务，并健身、健康饮食，从而获得在其他地方建立自己乌托邦的力量。在最近的一个工作日，大约两打外国参与者在网络学校的咖啡馆里使用笔记本电脑工作，该咖啡馆销售包括肌酸和胶原蛋白肽在内的健康补充剂。现任和前任居民对其极致的便利性以及与同行冒险者的同志之情赞不绝口。
斯里尼瓦桑的意识形态吸引了 29 岁的数字游民普拉尼特·加格（Pranit Garg），他在三月份搬到了这里，但他最喜欢的部分是健身房和自助蛋白质饮食。“因为愿景而来，”他说，“因为变得强壮而留下。”
僵局 在与马来西亚当局发生冲突之前，斯里尼瓦桑曾表示网络学校不寻求主权，并将遵守当地法律。他说，该项目只是创建新社会的七阶段计划中的早期步骤。
随后发生了护照争议。七月，一个支持巴勒斯坦团体的 Instagram 帖文称，该学校接纳了以色列公民，其中一人使用了第二本护照。马来西亚要求以色列人入境前必须获得许可。移民官员来到校园检查护照。
斯里尼瓦桑在社交媒体上公开表达愤怒，将 Instagram 的指控比作“恶意报案”（swatting）——即通过骗取特警队（SWAT）出击来针对某人的恶作剧——并要求与总理办公室会面。
“或者，如果您不想要我们的投资，也不想要那些身处十亿美元基金和万亿美元公司的同事们的投资，”他写道，“我们当然会尊重您的愿望，将资本重新分配到其他国家。”
一名官员表示，当局尚未发现违规证据，调查仍在继续。但当地政府另行命令该项目停止运营，理由是许可不合规。马来西亚当局未回应置评请求。
几个小时后，斯里尼瓦桑发布了一段视频，视频中他与一名哈萨克斯坦副总理——前加密货币交易所币安（Binance）的高管——一同签署协议，在该国开设网络学校分校。斯里尼瓦桑告诉 华尔街日报，有几个国家提出愿意承接他的项目。哈萨克斯坦一直通过设立……来吸引外国公司。
没有企业所得税且签证便捷的经济特区。芭拉吉·斯里尼瓦桑 (Balaji Srinivasan) 在 X 上表示：“我们的新校园将成为全球技术乐观主义的避风港。”在一段 Instagram 帖文称该项目安置了以色列公民后，学校的居民受到了影响。穆斯林占多数的马来西亚并不正式承认该国，并要求以色列人获得特别许可才能进入该国。当局表示，他们尚未发现违规行为。但上周，当地政府以无关的许可问题为由，命令该项目关闭。几小时后，斯里尼瓦桑在社交媒体上表示，他已签署协议在哈萨克斯坦开设校园。在回答本文提问时，斯里尼瓦桑在 X 上写道，那篇 Instagram 帖文是一个骗局，且“我们尊重马来西亚的主权，并遵守所有马来西亚法律”。他表示，霉菌是该地区常见的问题，他的团队会根据需要进行修复。他补充说，人们来到网络学校 (Network School) 是为了自我提升而非派对，且这里有很多女性。“我们绝对不只是为了‘技术宅男’，而是为了技术父亲、技术母亲、技术家庭和技术儿童，”斯里尼瓦桑说道。
其他技术领袖也在尝试开辟独立的领地。软件工程师、经济学家米尔顿·弗里德曼的孙子帕特里·弗里德曼 (Patri Friedman) 最初尝试构建漂浮城邦，随后启动了一项基金以孵化“创业城市”。他表示，投资者和顾问包括斯里尼瓦桑、彼得·蒂尔 (Peter Thiel) 和马克·安德森 (Marc Andreessen)。斯里尼瓦桑表示，网络学校可能会获得自己的经济特区，或者“我们可能会在愿意的国家近海通过填海造陆建造一座人工岛，甚至可能陪同埃隆·马斯克 (Elon Musk) 前往火星”。
现年 46 岁的斯里尼瓦桑在长岛长大，父母是印度移民医生。他曾说自己在学校里被欺负。
（接前页） 乌托邦国家受挫 网络学校在马来西亚一个近乎荒废的人工岛上的森林城市 (Forest City) 开发区设立了据点。 KATHY ANNE LIM 为 华尔街日报 报道
仅仅是为了欺负而欺负。“总的来说，我大多扮演‘好警察’，而是一个不情愿的‘坏警察’，”他说道。
斯里尼瓦桑认为，很少有在互联网出现之前就存在的国家能够生存下来，特别是美国，在政治极化驱动下正处于衰落之中。“大约一代人的时间里，它起码会变成像新教-天主教或逊尼派-什叶派之类的情况，”他在 2022 年的一个播客中说道。结合包括通货膨胀和民众高度武装在内的因素，他表示，“不幸的是，‘美国无政府状态’正是我们正走向的方向。”
在他 2022 年出版的《网络国家》(The Network State) 一书中，斯里尼瓦桑提供了一个和平的替代方案，称从零开始建立新社会更好。他的剧本是：首先，持有共同信仰的人形成一个在线社区；其次，成员们互相帮助赚钱，汇集资金购买土地；一旦规模足够大，便寻求被认可为一个国家。
为了测试这一概念，斯里尼瓦桑前往了一个距离赤道约 100 英里的近乎荒废的人工岛。在马来西亚南端，为数万人建造的海边高层建筑大多空置。该开发项目“森林城市”是中国房地产泡沫破裂的象征。该地区位于一座桥梁对面，对面是富裕的城市国家新加坡，斯里尼瓦桑表示他现在是该国公民。联邦记录显示，他与妻子在 2023 年放弃了美国公民身份。
在 2024 年，斯里尼瓦桑租用了酒店的空间并开设了网络学校。
部分作为技术孵化器，部分作为自我提升。 斯里尼瓦桑认为，从零开始建立新社会更好。
财务报表由资产负债表、利润表、现金流量表和所有者权益变动表组成。
财务报表是对特定期间财务活动的总结。该期间通常是指一个会计年度，但也可以是季度或月份。
在编制财务报表时，必须确保所有交易都已准确记录且时间点一致。
财务报表应包含以下关键部分： - 资产负债表：显示特定日期的财务状况。 - 利润表：总结特定期间的收入和费用。 - 现金流量表：显示现金的流入和流出。 - 所有者权益变动表：记录所有者权益的变化。
通过分析这些报表，投资者和管理层可以评估企业的盈利能力、流动性和整体财务健康状况。
华尔街日报. 2026年8月3日，星期一 / A11 续自第 11 页 BRANDON BELL / GETTY IMAGES 门上，并在前廊锈色的瓷砖上留下一道血迹。该网络的下午新闻更新在这些深色液滴的晕染中徘徊。附近放着一个亚马逊包裹。“看那里，看到血了吗？”记者 Brian Entin 说道。他一年中大约有 200 天在全美各地报道高关注度案件。“在我处理过的其他案件中，”他说，“在调查期间，他们会将整个房屋用犯罪现场警戒线封锁一周。”警长代表于次日——2月 4, 星期三——返回 Guthrie 家，并在房屋周围拉起了一圈黄色警戒线。他们搜查了车库和周围房产。两小时后，警戒线被撤除。Savannah 在 16, 岁时因父亲心脏病发作而丧父，她当晚发布了一段视频并承认了有关赎金信的报道。“我们需要毫无疑问地确认她还活着，并且她在你们手中，”她在读一份声明时说道。几分钟后，特朗普总统在他的 Truth Social 平台上发帖称，他已与 Savannah 谈话，并“让她 know 我正指示所有联邦执法部门立即完全听从该家庭及当地执法部门的调遣”。次日，2月 5, 早晨，联邦调查局 (FBI) 宣布其角色已从支持角色转变为调查伙伴。Nanos 在新闻发布会上为该部门的工作辩护。“记住，”他说，“最初几个小时是搜救行动，随后我们将其转为刑事调查。”周五，该家庭收到了第二条信息：信中写道，我们从未打算伤害她。我们深表遗憾。次日，2月 7, 星期六，Savannah 在 Instagram 上发布了一段视频。
她坐在一张灰色沙发上，与姐姐和弟弟紧握双手。“我们收到了你们的信息，我们理解，”她说。“我们现在恳请你们将母亲归还给我们，以便我们能与她一起庆祝。这是我们获得平静的唯一途径。”到那时，家人已经知道了第二封信中悲剧性的内容：Nancy Guthrie 将无法被活着找到。“一个人怎么能消失得无影无踪，”Savannah 自问，“怎么会？”神秘男子 Patel 于 2月 9, 星期一降落在图森，并在六小时后离开。次日，他公开了本案的第一处突破口。他推特发布的一段视频显示，一名戴着滑雪面罩、背着背包的武装男子经过 Nancy 前廊的砖拱门。Patel 表示，FBI 及未具名的私营部门合作伙伴已找回由丢失的 Nest 摄像头捕捉到的影像。在另一段 Nest 视频中，该男子举起一把刷子遮挡摄像头镜头。这些令人心惊胆战的影像在 X 上被观看超过 17 million 次。Savannah 在社交媒体上分享了这些影像。“一定有人认得这个人，”她发帖称。网络侦探们很快发现了一个线索。在其中一张照片中，该男子没有背背包。他们推测绑架者曾一直在 Guthrie 家。她戴手套的手臂让她像当年小学第一次访问那里时的小女孩一样尖叫。Savannah 穿过城市前往她的母校亚利桑那大学，戴着太阳镜，穿着太阳裙走在四合院中，身后跟着演奏学校战歌《Bear Down, Arizona》的行进管弦乐队。Guthrie 一家于 20 世纪 70 年代被广袤的沙漠景观吸引而搬到图森，购买了抚养 Savannah 及其兄姐的这栋房子。Savannah 和她的母亲经常开关于 Collared Peccaries（美洲驼豚）的玩笑，这些像猪一样的动物经常在他们家的垃圾桶中觅食
夜间出没的浣熊。南希安装了一个 Nest 门铃摄像头来盯着它们。这段视频之旅以一个古瑟里家族的传统结束：在图森市中心拥有百年历史的 El Charro Cafe 共进晚餐。萨凡娜坐在她的姐姐、作家安妮·古瑟里和她们 83 岁且已退休的大学行政管理人员母亲之间。店员为古瑟里一家端上了一轮龙舌兰酒。南希还点了一瓶让萨凡娜带回家。回到演播室后，萨凡娜给她的共同主持人端上龙舌兰酒，珍娜·布什·哈格举杯道：“为了南希。”
12 周后，南希·古瑟里在那个她住了半个世纪的土坯砖牧场小屋中被绑架。Nest 摄像头拍到了前廊上一个戴面具男子的身影。警方怀疑，南希在熟睡时被从同一张床上带走——就在 2013. 年的一次《今日》(Today) 节目特辑中，她曾用这张床演示如何折叠医院标准的直角床单。
一夜之间，南希变得和她的女儿一样出名。图森郊区的卡塔利娜山脚地带被记者围得水泄不通，就像 20 世纪 90 年代中期 O.J. 辛普森在洛杉矶被控双重谋杀案审理期间的布伦特伍德社区一样，后者是现代媒体的一个里程碑。关于南希失踪的报道同样吸引了电视转播车和记者。与以无罪释放告终的辛普森案不同，这次绑架案吸引了新一代的业余侦探，他们每天直播数小时的内容，向数十万在线追随者传播推测和传闻。
世界的关注对推进案件几乎没有帮助。在 2 月 1 绑架案发生 6 个月后，一个联邦与地方联合工作组在寻找南希或绑架者的道路上并未取得任何进展。对于调查停滞的不满引发了联邦调查局局长卡什·帕特尔的指责，他早前曾承诺将领导此次行动，但此后基本保持沉默。
早期的麻烦
此案从一开始就充满问题。县治安官的副手最初淡化了在南希前廊上发现的干涸血迹的重要性。他们未能用警方警戒线封锁该物业以保护敏感的犯罪现场证据，导致记者、直播者以及亚马逊和披萨快递员进入了前廊。调查人员花费了宝贵的几个小时来决定南希是被绑架了还是走失了。华尔街日报 发现，一架搜救飞机直到黄昏才起飞，因为它在等待一名能够操作其先进监控系统的副手。
皮马县治安官克里斯·纳诺斯在周三的一次采访中对这些发现表示异议。他在某些环节上与此前在新闻发布会上所做的陈述相矛盾。“我可以向大家保证，我们每天都在与所有的合作伙伴努力工作，”他说道，其中包括“美国企业界”，对方已经“提供了该国一些最顶尖人才的协助”。治安官补充道：“此案并未搁置。”
FBI 拒绝安排帕特尔接受采访。一名发言人在声明中表示：“州政府在这次调查中处于主导地位，一直以来都是主导。”
在母亲被绑架之前的最后一场节目中，萨凡娜一直在推广冬季奥运会。她原定领导 NBC 对米兰奥运会的报道，并在得知消息时正在为这次旅行收拾行李。相反，萨凡娜请假前往图森与她的兄弟姐妹在一起，担任家族与当局之间的联络人。她于 4 月 6, 回到《今日》节目，决心利用她的电视名气和覆盖全美的影响力来解决母亲被绑架的问题——这与之前...
她担心那个高调的平台可能会引起南希·古思里（Nancy Guthrie）绑架者的注意。在一次电视采访中，54 岁的萨凡纳（Savannah）透露了她的恐惧与悲伤，担心自己向外界展示母亲的行为可能带来了风险。“是因为我吗？是我把他们引到她床边的吗？”
失踪人员。亚利桑那州皮马县（Pima County）覆盖了 9,000 平方英里的沙漠。从一端开车到另一端需要三个多小时。几乎所有居民（大约 1,000,000 人）都生活在图森（Tucson）及其周边地区。南希·古思里的房子就在市界北侧，属于皮马县警长部门的管辖范围。根据当局提供的时间线，该部门在 2 月 1, 日（周日）下午 12 : 03 记录了本案的第一起失踪人员报案电话。
警长代表在约 10 分钟后抵达了北卡米诺·埃斯卡兰特路（North Camino Escalante）5820 号。这类电话在皮马县很常见，这里是沙漠徒步者的圣地，他们有时会迷路——同时这里也是退休人员的聚集地，其中一些人因记忆力衰退而走失。
南希的二女儿安妮·古思里（Annie Guthrie）及其丈夫托马索·乔尼（Tommaso Cioni）在等待警员。南希在庆祝完 84 岁生日几天后的周六，在他们家共进晚餐并玩游戏。安妮的丈夫在晚上 9 : 50 将南希送回家，并看着车库门在她身后关闭，这是除绑架者外最后一次有人见到她。
安妮告诉警员，在一名朋友打电话说南希没有按计划在周日到访后，她前去查看母亲的情况。南希经常与朋友聚在一起，观看纽约格拉梅西公园（Gramercy Park）好牧羊教堂（Good Shepherd New York）早晨礼拜的直播，那是萨凡纳就读的教堂。
进入家中后，安妮被发现的情况吓坏了——她的母亲的钱包和 iPhone 都在，这些物品南希向来随身携带。一扇后门被撑开着。下午 2 点左右，现场的警长部门首席主管给纳诺斯（Nanos）发了短信，提醒他一起失踪人员案件。
安妮和她的兄弟姐妹们不敢相信。他们的母亲精神矍铄，但身体上
记者、新闻播报员、警长代表和直播主聚集在图森的南希·古思里家中。 墨西哥 图森 皮马县 加利福尼亚湾 古思里住宅 亚利桑那州
第二天，即 2, 月 2 日（周一），纳诺斯宣布他已停止搜寻。“事实上，我们现在面对的是一个犯罪现场，”他说道。尽管如此，警员当天未能按照标准流程用警方犯罪现场胶带封锁古思里房产。
侦查员在电子信息中要求邻居查看门铃摄像头的录像。然而，他们仅要求查看周日早上 7 点到下午 1 点之间的时间段。而南希的起搏器早在几小时前，即凌晨 2 : 28 就停止了通过蓝牙发送信号。
周一晚上，图森的 CBS 附属电视台在电台举报线上收到了一封在线勒索信。信开头写道：你好，萨凡纳。我们抓到了你的母亲南希。发送者使用了掩蔽 IP 地址，使信息无法被追踪。信中包含只有绑架者才可能知道的细节——床边的一块白色 Apple Watch，后院一盏损坏的泛光灯。
信中称，如果在 2 月 5, 日（周四）下午 5 点之前支付 $4 million 的比特币，南希将被安全送回。之后赎金将上涨至 $6 million，并设定了 2 月 9. 日（周一）下午 5 点的最后期限。
电视台将该信件分享给了警长调查员，但未在节目中公开。在古思里住宅，随着调查进入 48 小时大关，有线新闻网络 NewsNation 的一名摄像师沿着红色碎石车道走向前门
他们告诉副治安官，对方虚弱不堪，几乎无法走到邮箱往返。安妮指出 Nest 摄像头不见了。“出问题了，”主管几分钟后在发给纳诺斯（Nanos）的短信中写道，“我们正在联系凶杀组。”公开记录请求显示的人事档案显示，凶杀组负责人大卫·斯蒂弗斯（David Stivers）警员在南希被绑架前两个月曾因“判断力不足”受到谴责，原因是在的一起凶杀案中延误了固定犯罪现场证据。该凶杀案的指控因证据不足而被撤销。
斯蒂弗斯及其侦查员在傍晚抵达南希家中。据知情人士透露，数小时内，他们几乎没有理会前廊上的干涸血迹。这些人表示，他们怀疑这些血液可能来自某种无关的头部碰撞、流鼻血或其他偶然伤害。侦查员们致力于收集证据，包括血液样本。随后的 DNA 分析确认血液属于南希，目前认为这与她的绑架案有关。
At 4 p.m.，治安副官联系了志愿者协助搜寻该街区。治安部门启动了无人机。边境巡逻队特工带着搜救犬出击。然而，该部门最强大的搜索与救援工具——价值 $1.7 百万美元的塞斯纳（Cessna）监视飞机，配备了红外线和变焦镜头摄像头，却被延迟了数小时。问题在于找不到一名能操作摄像系统的飞行副官。被分配到周日班次的高级飞行员在几天前因一次职场投诉而被降职为巡逻任务。飞行数据显示，该飞机在大约 6:30 p.m. 才开始搜寻。那时天色已太暗，变焦镜头摄像头已无法发挥太大作用。
在早些时候的一个晚上，他们曾检查过房子的出入口。当局周五表示，这一理论可能是正确的。
“能与我们的 FBI 团队一起在亚利桑那州一线率领行动，这太棒了，”帕特尔（Patel）在那晚的肖恩·汉尼提（Sean Hannity）福克斯新闻节目采访中说道，“我相信我们正在寻找的人，正如我们所说的，是重点关注对象。”
在节目播出期间，一名 36 岁的 DoorDash 配送员卡洛斯·帕拉祖埃洛斯（Carlos Palazuelos）在图森（Tucson）以南约一小时的地方被治安副官拘留。据接近调查的人士透露，县治安局的战术响应人员原本想推迟搜查帕拉祖埃洛斯的住所。但在 FBI 的敦促下，县特警队（SWAT）进行了搜查。结果一无所获。帕拉祖埃洛斯在 1 a.m. 被释放。当局从未说明拘留帕拉祖埃洛斯的原因，仅提到他是当地的一名配送员。
2 月 12 日，周四，FBI 发布了 Nest 视频中该男子的详细描述：身高 5 英尺 9 英寸至 5 英尺 10 英寸；中等体型；背着一个沃尔玛（Walmart）独家销售的 25 升 Ozark Trail Hiker Pack 背包。调查人员在当地沃尔玛门店展开搜寻，仔细检查监控视频和收据，但未发现嫌疑人。
特朗普次日就此案与记者交谈。“这最初是个地方案件，他们不想放手，”总统说，“但最终当 FBI 介入后，我想你们知道，取得了进展。”
数以千计的线索继续涌入在图森 FBI 办事处工作的联合工作组。但纳诺斯和帕特尔都没有宣布案件有进一步的突破。纳诺斯周四表示，DNA 测试目前陷入了死胡同。帕特尔在 May 5 的一次采访中批评了纳诺斯在格思里（Guthrie）案中的角色。他表示，数百名 FBI 特工被治安部门排挤在外。
在关键的早期阶段。“有四天时间，我们被排除在调查之外，”他说。他说，如果 FBI 能早些获取 Nest 的视频，“我们可能也能获得更多数据。”在一次采访中，Nanos 否认了任何延误。他说，如果 Patel “真的认为我们试图阻挠他们，或者将他们排除在外，或者不分享信息”，“那么我 100% 希望他给我打电话，因为那与事实完全不符。”Nanos 表示，这两个男人从未交谈过。
遇难
2月 24, Savannah 在 Instagram 上发布了一段视频，宣布提供 $1 million 的奖励，以换取能找到她母亲的线索。“她可能已经不在了，”她说。“如果这就是注定的，那么我们会接受，但我们需要知道她在哪里。”第二封勒索信提供了唯一的线索：“她现在被埋在自然之中。”在母亲失踪后于图森（Tucson）度过一个月后，
Savannah 登上了返回纽约与丈夫和孩子团聚的航班。她认为，让人们将目光集中在母亲案件以及负责调查人员身上的最佳地点，就是洛克菲勒广场 1A 演播室的电视主播台。Savannah 望向飞机的窗外，飞过广袤的沙漠，她担心母亲就在那里被遗弃，没有举行仪式，也没有家人的祈祷。她想，我怎么能离开你？
在母亲被绑架六个月后，Savannah 在周一和周六再次公开恳求。“我请求你们，恳请你们，现在做正确的事，”她说。“告诉我们去哪里找她。”
图森 KVOA 电视台的一条关于 Nancy Guthrie 的信息横幅。
ASH 为 华尔街日报 撰稿
“我们现在恳求你们将我们的母亲还给我们。”——Savannah Guthrie 在给绑架她母亲的人的一条信息中写道。
A18 / Monday, August 3, 2026 华尔街日报。他们已经证明自己不仅仅是富有。在弗里德曼的领导下，他们还建立了一套令所有同行羡慕的球员培养机制。MLB.com 将其小联盟系统评为全棒球界第 2 位，仅次于酿酒人队。道奇队为了换取斯库贝尔而放弃的最高评价球员——双A外野手齐希尔·霍普（Zyhir Hope）——在道奇队组织中排名第五，在全棒球界排名第 25 位。换句话说，道奇队用相当于在球队老板马克·沃尔特（Mark Walter）办公室桌下发现的零钱，就得到了斯库贝尔。随着斯库贝尔的加入，道奇队准备在 10 月以一组历史上最伟大的投手群进入季后赛。但即使他不能在季后赛中完善这套梦幻轮值，道奇队也为自己买了一份最好的保险政策：一个体重 240 磅、拥有强力快球和极具破坏力的变速球的左投手。几个月来，MLB 的老板们在本次休赛期的集体谈判中一直坚定地希望实施工资帽，部分原因就是为了遏制道奇队。为了实现这一目标，他们甚至可能愿意撕毁整个 2027 赛季。然而，通过一次重磅交易，道奇队明确表达了他们的立场。他们将不惜一切代价尝试获胜——而彻底摧毁棒球运动可能是停止他们的唯一方法。自 2024, 以来，只有亚特兰大勇军队的克里斯·赛尔（Chris Sale）的防御率高于斯库贝尔的 2.40。在此期间，除了多伦多蓝鸟队的迪伦·西斯（Dylan Cease）之外，斯库贝尔的三振数高于任何人。他似乎已完全从本赛季早些时候导致其缺阵六周的肘部手术中恢复，在最近六次出场中防御率为 1.95。就在布莱克·斯内尔（Blake Snell）——另一位两届赛扬奖得主——即将从伤病名单中回归之际，他加入了道奇队。自 5 月初起一直缺阵的强力右投手泰勒·格拉斯诺（Tyler Glasnow）也紧随其后。山本由伸依然像以往一样强势。而道奇队继续坚持认为，尽管大谷翔平正面临膝盖和肱二头肌问题，但他仍将在季后赛中投球。
洛杉矶道奇队通过交易获得了塔里克·斯库贝尔（Tarik Skubal），旨在追求连续第三次世界系列赛冠军。当底特律老虎队显然将交易超级投手塔里克·斯库贝尔时，横扫整个棒球界的问题是谁将得到他。但内心深处，每个人都已经知道了答案：洛杉矶道奇队有钱，他们有潜力球员，最重要的是，他们有意愿。这个周末，他们发出了一次强有力的提醒，这不仅将在本赛季剩余时间里笼罩该项运动，还将在不可避免的未来劳工斗争中产生影响：如果道奇队想要某样东西，他们就会得到它——而且没人能对此做任何事情。道奇队得到了斯库贝尔，在追求连续第三次世界系列赛冠军的过程中，又为他们的轮值阵容增加了一名王牌。为了抢到这位连续两届美国联盟赛扬奖得主，他们付出的代价仅是三名小联盟球员，而这些人的缺席几乎不会对他们实力雄厚的小联盟系统产生影响。并不是说道奇队需要斯库贝尔。在周日之前，他们的先发投手组已经拥有大联盟中最好的防御率。他们引进他仅仅是因为他可用且他们能够做到。对于这个 MLB 的巨无霸来说，这就足够了。“比赛中并没有那么多明星级别的球员，”道奇队棒球运营总裁安德鲁·弗里德曼（Andrew Friedman）最近表示，“只要有机会，我们就……” RICK
OSENTOSKI / IMAGN IMAGES / REUTERS “我们将始终参与这些对话。”道奇队如此轻易地赢得斯库巴尔（Skubal）争夺战的方式，完美地概括了他们为何成为如此不可撼动的力量——以及为什么 MLB 正在朝着一场可能具有毁灭性的停赛危机疾驰，以试图终结他们的统治。一如既往，这一切始于他们看似无穷无尽的资金。29 岁的斯库巴尔将在今年冬天成为自由球员，并可能寻求一份价值 $400 million 以上的合同。凭借巨额本地电视转播协议以及大谷翔平（Shohei Ohtani）的加盟所带来的创纪录收入，道奇队是少数几个能够轻松负担得起这份合同的球队之一。（这解释了为什么底特律老虎队最初决定交易斯库巴尔，尽管他们当时距离季后赛名额仅一步之遥。）其他球队，如密尔沃基酿造者队和坦帕湾光芒队，
毫无疑问可以向老虎队提供一份超过道奇队报价的方案。但由于没有无限的资金支持，这些俱乐部几乎不可能留住斯库巴尔，这使他变成了一个极其昂贵的短期租赁球员。对于小市场俱乐部来说，这不是一个可行的选择。顶尖新秀是他们的生命线，让他们能够与那些在既有天才球员身上持续投入更多资金的富裕对手竞争。交易这类资产是他们极少愿意承担的风险。但道奇队并非如此。
道奇队在交易中获得斯库巴尔 作者：JARED DIAMOND
这次协议涵盖了俄亥俄州立大学 (OSU) 的全部 36 项校队运动。击剑！我已经等不及想看带有大通银行 (Chase) 品牌标志的击剑护具了。准备就绪！当然，这可能会引起某些人的反弹——也就是那个“北方的球队”。可以想象，愤怒的密歇根大学金狼队球员在安阿伯 (Ann Arbor) 的赛前派对上喝着喷洒酒，一边焚烧支票簿，一边声明放弃货币市场账户——但在哥伦布市内部，这就像得到了赞助某种宗教一样。 (俄亥俄州立大学教练瑞安·戴 (Ryan Day) 确认，OSU 装备上绝不可能出现标准的大通银行标志，因为那个标志是蓝色的，而蓝色在哥伦布市是禁色。在这里，它被改为绯红色。至于 OSU 的死忠粉是否会读出摩根大通 (JPMorgan) 中的 “M”，仍有待观察。)
正当俄亥俄州立大学沉浸在这项开创性伙伴关系中时，消息传出，高贵的圣母大学与金融服务平台 SoFi 达成了一项回报更丰厚的协议。据报道，这项协议的资金为每赛季 $1800 万 以上。长期以来，球衣上一直带有服装赞助商的标志，但在今天的大学足球中，除非你也由银行赞助，否则你根本不算什么。密歇根州立大学已将补丁标志权利授予密歇根州立大学联邦信用合作社。伊利诺伊大学则与总部位于尚潘 (Champaign) 的 Busey 银行达成合作。人们怀疑，我们距离出现“柯特·西格内蒂 (Curt Cignetti) 的花旗集团胡西尔队 (Citigroup Hoosiers)”、“美国银行克里姆森潮汐队 (Bank of America Crimson Tide)”以及“富国银行特洛伊队 (Wells Fargo Trojans)”仅一步之遥。
并非所有人都选择了银行。阿肯色大学与总部位于阿肯色州的泰森食品 (Tyson Foods) 达成协议。我的母校威斯康星大学将由 Culver’s 赞助，这家备受中西部喜爱的连锁餐厅拥有像威斯康星大学獾队第一节领先优势那样快速融化的冷冻奶油冰激凌。与此同时，Big 12, 联盟与 Monster Energy 达成协议，以每赛季 $20 million 的价格获得所有 Big 12 球队的球衣正面广告位——实际上这算是一笔便宜货，用圣母大学一家球队的价格买到了 16 支球队。(是的，Big 12 有 16 支球队，而 Big Ten 有 18 支球队，因为生活中的任何事情都已经不再有逻辑可言了。) 为什么停在这里？随着各大学向国会抱怨，称他们在维持庞大体育部门的同时无法给运动员提供补偿……
这些计划——看看对反垄断保护的推动——任何财务机会都不应被忽视。为什么不把我们所有的大学生运动员打扮成赛车手那样，从头到脚贴满银行、科技公司、糖果、软饮料、防晒霜、保险公司、五金店和超加工零食的标志？为什么止步于补丁？为什么不把头盔包裹得像冷冻肉丸或进口帕马森奶酪轮一样？那些赞助的补水休息时间又在哪里——大学体育的权贵们难道没从国际足联（FIFA）的黑暗之王那里学到任何东西吗？大学足球在这里拥有优势——它早在很久以前就出卖了灵魂。这项运动给它的碗赛（bowl games）命名为冰箱、消音器和除草机，并在目前的一场比赛中以一种阴森的仪式向拟人化的 Pop Tart 敬酒。此外，在大学校园面临运动员成瘾和网络欺凌问题的同时，还有所有与博彩公司达成的认知失调的交易。这就是大学体育的现状，由来已久，如今被超级放大，但这里有个警告：律师们正在关注。学校们急于摆脱集体谈判，但这看起来越来越可能发生。在某个时间点，这些收入将需要与球员分享，而球员在应对这个财务上的“西部荒野”时，将需要明智的指导。我知道几个选择。我也见过几个昂贵的球衣补丁。告诉他们给我打电话。
JASON GAY
俄亥俄州立大学达成摩根大通协议 在如今的大学足球中，如果没有一个高端的球衣赞助商，你将毫无地位 俄亥俄州立大学体育 体育
他们现在会坚持要求我们称其为 THE 摩根大通（JPMorgan Chase）吗？这是我在本周听到宣布后产生的问题：摩根大通已成为俄亥俄州立大学体育项目的银行及球衣赞助商。该大学古怪地坚持使用（并赢得了商标）一个定冠词来声明自己的身份，即 THE Ohio State University（俄亥俄州立大学）。随便吧。对我来说，他们永远是摩根大通和七叶树队（Buckeyes）。我们现在来到了大学体育抛弃伪装、承认一切都为了金钱的最新阶段。据 ESPN 报道，俄亥俄州立大学与摩根大通的协议要求该银行每赛季向学校支付近 $17 million，作为回报，其标志将出现在比赛日的球衣上，而且杰米·戴蒙（Jamie Dimon）或许能找到机会在对阵内布拉斯加大学时传一次球。那些关注球衣补丁交易的狂热分子迅速指出，俄亥俄州立大学与摩根大通的交易足以与美国职业体育中最昂贵的球衣补丁相媲美。为什么不可以呢？七叶树足球带来的激情与任何一支大球队一样强烈且疯狂——可能更大、更疯狂。而摩根大通就是俄亥俄州立大学的球衣补丁赞助商。
华尔街日报. 2026年8月3日，星期一 / B7 ChildFund.org 希望是我们所做的一切。在 ChildFund，希望意味着帮助各地的孩子健康成长，接受教育，习得技能，并且——最重要的是——获得安全。希望意味着无论孩子们身在何处：在家里，在学校，或是在网络上，都能保持安全。希望意味着我们所有人——包括孩子们——共同书写我们的故事。
B10 / 2026年8月3日，星期一 华尔街日报. (ŒŒêĥŚĉÃĞ ĉĥŚêĞĞĉĀêĥßê ÿĬŋ ŋĉŒě Ãĥå ßĬĤňĞĉÃĥßê ňŋĬÿꌌĉĬĥÃĞŒǢ ÞŠŒĉĥꌌ ĞêÃåêŋŒǢ Ãĥå åêßĉŒĉĬĥǸĤÃěêŋŒǡ #Ĭŷ TĬĥêŒ ĉŒě TĬŠŋĥÃĞ ÞŋĉĥĀŒ ŚĬĀêŚąêŋ ŚŋŠŒŚêå ĉĥŒĉĀąŚŒ Ĭĥ ŒÃĥߌĉĬĥŒǢ êżňĬŋŚ ßĬĥŚŋĬĞŒǢ ĀêĬňĬĞĉŚĉßÃĞ ŋĉŒěǢ Ãĥå ĤĬŋê ŚąÃĥ à åĬƅêĥ ßŋĉŚĉßÃĞ ŋĉŒě ŚĬňĉߌ ÃĞĞ åêĞĉŶêŋêå ŚąŋĬŠĀą à ňêŋŒĬĥÃĞĉƅêåǢ êÃŒŽǸŚĬǸĥÃŶĉĀÃŚê êżňêŋĉêĥßêǡ ßßꌌ êżßĞŠŒĉŶê ŋêňĬŋŚĉĥĀ Ãĥå êżňêŋŚ ÃĥÃĞŽŒĉŒ ÿŋĬĤ Śąê #Ĭŷ TĬĥêŒ ĉŒě TĬŠŋĥÃĞ ĥêŷŒŋĬĬĤ Ãĥå ĞêÃåĉĥĀ ňŠÞĞĉßÃŚĉĬĥŒǢ ĉĥßĞåĉĥĀǣ ąê °ÃĞĞ ŚŋêêŚ TĬŠŋĥÃĞǢ °ĬŋĞå( Ǣ (żňĬŋŚ ĬĤňĞĉÃĥßê ^ÃĥÃĀêŋǢ ÃŋŋĬĥȃŒǢ Ãĥå ^ÃŋěêŚ°ÃŚßąǡ #Ĭŷ TĬĥêŒ ĉŒě TĬŠŋĥÃĞ ŚÃŋŚ ŽĬŠŋ ÿŋêê ŚŋĉÃĞ ÃŚ åĬŷĘĬĥêŒǡßĬĤǮŋĉŒěĘĬŠŋĥÃĞ*
The Wall Street Journal - 03.08.2026.pdfA2 | Monday, August 3, 2026 * * * * * * THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Bob Ohlerking has lived in his Park Slope brownstone for 55 years. So he was surprised last Monday when he received a notice from the city claiming that the Brooklyn home wasn’t his primary residence and would be subject to a new tax championed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The letter said that under the city’s new pied-à-terre tax, the 82-year-old would be re- quired to pay a $44,048 sur- charge, based on the town- house’s $5.56 million valuation. “I’ve paid taxes for 55 years. All of that stuff is on record. So the fact that they think that I have a second home and that I live in this house for part of the year and somewhere else seems a little bizarre,” Ohlerk- ing said. “It’s annoying. It’s not gonna upset my life for- ever. It’s just annoying.” The tax is meant to apply to people who maintain second homes in New York City that are worth $5 million or more. Mamdani has celebrated the tax—approved by state law- makers in May—as one of the ways the city will tax its wealthiest residents to fund some of the mayor’s signature affordability promises, such as BY LILY BELLE POLING AND GRETA REICH U.S. NEWS city-owned grocery stores and free buses. But the rollout has been messy. Some New Yorkers say they are being falsely targeted, and that the process for prov- ing that a property shouldn’t be subject to the tax is diffi- cult. The city’s recent release of a list of property owners who may be subject to the addi- tional surcharge sparked out- rage from some residents for including owners’ names, ad- dresses and the valuations of their home. The list also encompassed a greater pool of owners than those who will ultimately be taxed—about 960,000 proper- ties out of 3.7 million units in the city. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office estimated the tax would apply to only about 10,000 sec- ond homes. That discrepancy has caused frustration, with many New Yorkers accusing the city of taking a sloppy ap- proach and lacking transpar- ency about how they decided which properties were subject to the tax. “It’s now a question of whether city government can administer a major new tax competently and fairly, and it’s looking like the answer is no,” said Republican City Council member Frank Morano, whose own house is on the list. In the past week, he said, his office has received around 100 calls and emails from indi- viduals asking if they owe the tax or how to get exempt from it. A “very small fraction” of owners on the list received no- tices in the mail telling them they might be charged the pied-à-terre tax, the mayor said Wednesday. A spokesper- son for the mayor’s office said 17,000 property owners were sent the letters. Yet even some of that subset who received notices say the city has tar- geted them incorrectly. Department of Finance of- fices in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn are now accept- ing walk-ins for homeowners applying for surcharge exemp- tions, said a spokesperson for the mayor’s office. So far, about 3,800 people have started exemption appli- cations, the spokesperson said. Claire Groome, a Sotheby’s real-estate agent, said she has received calls from clients con- cerned about receiving the tax notices at their primary resi- dences. Submitting the documents to apply for exemption isn’t particularly difficult, but the fast-approaching deadline to get off the tax roll adds some challenges, Groome said. El- derly people may have a hard time navigating the online platforms, and many are scared that they will end up stuck with the bill. Adding to the confusion, letters told homeowners they have until Aug. 21 to submit an exemption application if they live in a townhouse or condo- minium, and until Aug. 24 if they live in a co-op. But offi- cials have also said that the city’s tax commission will ac- cept appeals until March—the final deadline for homeowners to get themselves off the pied- à-terre tax roll. Requiring owners to prove their residency to be removed from a tax roll is an unprece- dented burden for many, Groome added. “We use existing informa- tion that we have, and it could have been that we don’t have updated information on their applications,” Department of Finance Commissioner Richard Lee said at a Wednesday news conference when asked why the department didn’t filter out more owners before send- ing out notices. At that news conference, Mamdani said that notices were sent out also to deter- mine whether homes regis- tered as trusts or LLCs were primary residences or not. Pasquale Giordano, 76, has been the trustee of a brown- stone in Brooklyn since his fa- ther died 15 years ago. It’s the house he and his sister grew up in, and the one his sister still lives in. On July 22, he received a letter from the city informing him that, based on his prop- erty’s market value of $5.7 mil- lion, the surcharge would be “some ridiculous amount of money,” he said—$45,776, to be exact. Giordano, who now lives in Miami as a self-employed bro- ker, thinks the city has got it wrong, both because his sister is a primary resident of the house—an exception carved into the tax—and because the house’s market value soared from $4.3 million in 2025 to $5.7 million in 2026. The city is trying to “scam you out of money,” according to Giordano. “In my mind, the house didn’t go up and down 30% in 12 months,” he said. Giordano applied for an ex- emption from the surcharge on July 27. NYC’s Pied-à-Terre Tax Vexes Homeowners Residents decry process, saying their properties wrongly included in rollout New York’s new tax is meant to apply to people who maintain second homes that are worth $5 million or more. However, full-time residents complain they have been swept up in the process. MICHAEL NAGLE/BLOOMBERG NEWS U.S.WATCH THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (USPS 664-880) (Eastern Edition ISSN 0099-9660) (Central Edition ISSN 1092-0935) (Western Edition ISSN 0193-2241) Editorial and publication headquarters: 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036 Published daily except Sundays and general legal holidays. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and other mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Wall Street Journal, 200 Burnett Rd., Chicopee, MA 01020. All Advertising published in The Wall Street Journal is subject to the applicable rate card, copies of which are available from the Advertising Services Department, Dow Jones & Co. Inc., 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036. The Journal reserves the right not to accept an advertiser’s order. Only publication of an advertisement shall constitute final acceptance of the advertiser’s order. Letters to the Editor: Fax: 212-416-2891; email: wsj.ltrs@wsj.com Need assistance with your subscription? By web: customercenter.wsj.com; By email: support@wsj.com By phone: 1-800-JOURNAL (1-800-568-7625) Reprints & licensing: By email: customreprints@dowjones.com; By phone: 1-800-843-0008 WSJ back issues and framed pages: wsjshop.com Our newspapers are 100% sourced from sustainably certified mills. GOT A TIP FOR US? SUBMIT IT AT WSJ.COM/TIPS In some editions Friday, the first name of Aicha Evans, chief executive of Zoox, was misspelled as Eicha in a Tech- nology article about the Ama- zon-owned robotaxi service. CORRECTIONS AMPLIFICATIONS Readers can alert The Wall Street Journal to any errors in news articles by emailing wsjcontact@wsj.com or by calling 888-762-5450. the next generation of math whizzes to retain the trading edge that has made them a force in finance. A single star employee’s al- gorithm can generate hundreds of millions of dollars, a factor that has helped the firms gen- erate outsize profits in recent years. In the first quarter of 2026, Jane Street made a re- cord profit of $10.3 billion— nearly double the earnings of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, despite having a frac- tion of the employees. That kind of earning power helps top shops compete with tech titans for fresh talent. While pursuing a computer-sci- ence doctorate at the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technol- ogy, specializing in machine learning, Andrew Lai interned at Microsoft and Nvidia doing deep-learning research. Then he tried an internship at Op- tiver, a leading quant firm. “I did have choices,” said Lai, who now works at Optiver full-time. He preferred quant to other industries because it allowed him to see the results of his re- search more quickly. Lai also said pay packages were higher than what he could earn else- where and, after the nature of the work, compensation was the next most important factor. About a third of his Ph.D. lab ContinuedfromPageOne IDAHO Restaurant Shooting Leaves Three Dead The suspect in a shooting at an In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, was a 24- year-old who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said Sunday. The shooting, which hap- pened just before 2:30 p.m. Saturday, left three people dead and seven injured, police said. Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks named the suspect as Chad Williams. Hicks didn’t provide a motive or any additional details about Williams. During the shooting, an off- duty state trooper and a citi- zen fired at the suspect, Hicks said, adding, “We believe their actions helped drive the sus- pect away from the scene, preventing further casualties.” Police didn’t name the vic- tims, saying all of the fami- lies haven’t been notified. —Ginger Adams Otis WASHINGTON STATE Thousands Leave Homes Amid Fires Wildfires ripped through the Spokane area of eastern Washington state, destroying hundreds of homes and forc- ing thousands of people to evacuate. Three blazes, which started Saturday, burned through 7,500 acres in what Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown called “the worst natural di- saster our region has faced.” More than 900 firefighters were working to contain the fires in Spokane County. The causes of the fires are still under investigation. No deaths or injuries have been reported, but given the size of the fires, authorities said that could change. Roughly 560,000 people live in the county. Benjamin Cossel, a spokesman for the U.S. For- est Service, said 600 struc- tures were destroyed by the Spokane area fires. —Joseph Pisani A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN: New York Heights players huddled before the first game ever played in the new Women’s Pro Baseball League. The league has four teams: New York, San Francisco Firebells, Los Angeles Queens and Boston Hunters. BRIAN CAHN/ZUMA PRESS mates ultimately went into quant, with roughly an equal share going into tech, he said. “Outstanding people are in more demand than they’ve ever been, and that does create competitive pressure on wages,” said Charlie Whitmer, Optiver’s U.S. chief operating officer. “As competition in- creases for outstanding people, prices naturally rise.” To be sure, top firms typi- cally anchor standard entry- level packages between $350,000 and $500,000—but higher pay isn’t uncommon, and even the lowest salaries rise quickly. A few years into the job, clearing the million- dollar mark is routine. The current hiring climate is akin to bidding wars for profes- sional athletes, according to Kevin Cassata, founder of Kar- bon Agency, an executive- search firm specializing in quantitative finance. To keep star summer interns from hitting the open market, portfolio managers will bypass standard pay bands and offer astronomical premiums to lock them down early. “They happen to intern for a highly successful person on a highly profitable desk who wants to take them off the market,” Cassata said. “They’ll just say, ‘OK, here’s your return offer—it’s $700,000.’ ” On rare occasions, Cassata said, he has seen entry-level of- fers hit $1.5 million. When Daniel Wu graduated from Stanford with a degree in computer science in 2021, he interviewed at AI labs before eventually joining a quant firm as a researcher. “Comp was a big factor,” he said. “At the time, quant firms were making the most compet- itive offer financially.” Now, Wu thinks that has changed. Most of his peers are now opting for offers from the likes of Anthropic or OpenAI, drawn in by the prospect of shaping the hottest new tech- nology. As competition heats up, trading firms are trying to get a handle on young talent sooner. Optiver is expanding its summer internship programs, which currently supply 70% of its graduate hires. It eventually plans to fill all of its entry-level roles this way. By evaluating students on the job, the firm can lock down top prospects with full-time offers a year or more before they graduate. Laura Zhang first learned about quantitative-trading firms at a high-school math competition sponsored by one of the companies, where repre- sentatives were handing out branded water bottles and T- shirts. At her summer math camp, the traders were back, leading activities and giving talks. Now studying math and computer science at MIT, Zhang said she was most inter- ested in working in quant after graduating—having watched those same firms compete to hire her and her classmates. The firms have visited cam- puses and even flown students out to their offices for early-ca- reer programs to shadow em- ployees. “You get to really experience it firsthand,” Zhang said. “Not a lot of other industries do that.” To win over this hyperintel- lectual crowd, firms lean in to their nerdy culture. Optiver sponsors chess grandmasters and hosts an annual tourna- ment, while rival firm Qube Re- search & Technologies runs an intracompany Rubik’s Cube competition. But the riches on offer risk diverting talent from other math-intensive fields. At Oxford University’s Math- ematical Institute, a majority of incoming doctoral students be- gin their tenure with ambitions to become top academics. But summer internships at quanti- tative-trading firms that rou- tinely offer students more than $30,000 a month tend to alter those trajectories. “Once they have a taste of what it means to work for these firms and the amount of money they could be making, the majority of them would rather go into industry,” said Alvaro Cartea, an Oxford Uni- versity math professor and di- rector of the Oxford-Man Insti- tute, who oversees math doctoral students. His students who go into quant typically earn between the equivalent of $300,000 and $1 million. Those with skills in large language modeling get of- fers at the higher end of the scale, he said. “All I’m saying is that temp- tation is extremely strong,” said Cartea. AI Fuels Push for Math Stars Optiver employees on the trading floor at the company’s Sydney office last year. BRENDON THORNE/BLOOMBERG NEWS
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Monday, August 3, 2026 | A3 U.S. NEWS BY AMIRA MCKEE BY AMIRA MCKEE AND MAYA DAVIS REEMA DESAI BOLDES FOR WSJ (3) was touching it, and how it got to the market.” Eli Cook, a 47-year-old farmer who runs Spring Valley Farm & Orchard in West Vir- ginia, has been selling fresh produce at markets since he was 12. He expected a typical midsummer slump in his D.C. farmers market sales this year, as shoppers are lured away by vacations and back-to-school shopping. Instead, he has broken his sales record. “Demand for lettuce is like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Cook said. On the mid-July day when he began making social-media posts contrasting the risks of his vegetables to store-bought produce, he sold roughly $7,000 of lettuce—triple his normal sales. To keep up with demand, he has started plant- ing 3 acres of fresh lettuce ev- ery other week, rather than his typical 1 acre. Meanwhile, in U.S. super- markets, fresh-lettuce sales are sliding, and California farmers are plowing their crops back into the ground as demand slumps. Americans bought around 7.6 million less pounds of lettuce in the four weeks ended July 18 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to data from Nielse- nIQ. “The scares are not good for everybody else, but sometimes they can really drive business for us,” Cook said. At the D.C. farmers market, produce prices are many times higher than what supermar- kets charge a few blocks away. Some stands sold small car- tons of cherry tomatoes for $7, bunches of kale for $4 and a mixed-salad bag for $5. Others displayed muffins for $10.50 and breakfast biscuits for $12. Antoine Summers, a 56- year-old chef who comes to the farmers market every weekend with his daughter and dog, noted that one bag of spinach was $5. “If you go up to the Safeway now, it’s two for five,” he said. Still, he said, steeper prices are worth it for the peace of mind he feels knowing the food was sourced locally. Growers Plow Crops Under as Demand Dries Up Joshua Hargrove had sworn off leafy greens, berries and just about anything else that grew in the ground. The 24-year-old Howard University law student has spent weeks steering clear of produce, unnerved by cy- clospora outbreaks that have made thousands of people sick this summer. Then, on his way home from a run, he stumbled on a loop- hole: a neighborhood farmers market. “It was perfect,” he said, and loaded up on blackberries he no longer trusted to buy at the supermarket. “These are probably safer than if I were to get them at the store.” The surge in foodborne ill- nesses has sent parasite-wary consumers flocking to farmers markets across the country. FreshFarm—operator of the market Hargrove visited and 24 others in the Washington, D.C., area—has had a 30% increase in average foot traffic since early July, said Cat Oakar, the group’s executive director. “Farmers markets offer something that’s really valu- able right now, and that’s transparency,” Oakar said. “You’re able to know exactly how it was grown, how it was packaged, what hands were touching it, what machinery Letisha Steele is the chief executive of Green City Mar- ket, which operates two farm- ers markets in Chicago. In the past few weeks, she said, the markets have been buzzing with discussions of cyclospora. “We hear it from staff, from shoppers, from farmers,” said Steele, who has been fielding more questions about how the food supply chain operates in the wake of the outbreaks. “Everyone is talking about it.” In Michigan, the hardest-hit state in terms of number of cy- clospora cases, farmers mar- kets are going gangbusters be- cause of the outbreaks, said Amanda Shreve, who runs the state’s farmers market associa- tion. So much so that farmers don’t always have the supplies to keep up with the flood of shoppers. Many crops require weeks or months of preparation to grow and harvest, Shreve said, so boosting production is eas- ier said than done. At a recent market on the lawn of the Michigan State Capitol build- ing, several vendors sold out of fresh produce before closing time, she said. At Golden Earthworm Or- ganic Farm in Vermont, Mag- gie Wood said she received hundreds of requests to join her produce-distribution ser- vice in the weeks since cy- clospora began making head- lines. “When everything’s great, nobody really thinks about where their food comes from,” she said. “Then when there’s a problem, they realize they’d rather buy their food from a farmer they know and trust.” Lettuce Scare Boosts Farmers Markets Cyclospora outbreaks push more shoppers to buy local produce, even if it costs more Shoppers at FreshFarm Mount Vernon Triangle Market in Washington, D.C., included, at left, Antoine Summers and his daughter and dog. Above, berries for sale at the market. The disagreement between Burgum and Pirro, two long- time loyalists of the presi- dent, marked an unusual ex- ample of the administration feuding publicly with itself. “I disagree 100% with Jea- nine Pirro,” Trump wrote in a social-media post Saturday, referring to a Friday court fil- ing that dismissed the crimi- nal indictment against David Hearn, a former Olympic ca- noe racer. “I don’t know what she was thinking?” he wrote. “To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM.” Trump has insisted for months that vandals were to blame for damage to the bot- tom of the Reflecting Pool, which his administration had resurfaced ahead of America’s 250th birthday. Pirro, a awarded a contract to a Vir- ginia-based company, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, without a full bidding process. The $16 million project be- came a national controversy when the pool bottom began to peel and the water turned from blue to green. “It didn’t peel off,” Burgum said during a July 5 CNN in- terview, insisting that vandals with boxcutters had caused the damage: “There were peo- ple literally trying to destroy part of the monument.” Pirro’s office blamed the Interior Department for pro- viding “less than fulsome in- formation” at the outset of the case and said it wouldn’t have sought a grand-jury in- dictment had the agency been forthcoming with the infor- mation that was “clearly in its possession.” Her reversal drew the ire of Trump on Saturday, and later in the day of Burgum, whose agency oversees the Reflect- ing Pool, located on the Na- tional Mall in Washington, D.C. The interior secretary ap- peared to blame Pirro for fail- ing to land a conviction. “The evidence is clear, vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Re- flecting Pool. Some of these acts were even caught on camera,” Burgum wrote on social media. He said his de- partment had provided Pirro’s office with “every piece of evidence they asked for in the requested time line detailing each area of damage at the pool.” President Trump rebuked Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, after she dropped her effort to prosecute a former Olympic athlete for alleged vandalism to the Lincoln Memorial Re- flecting Pool, challenging her conclusion that a “botched in- stallation” during a renova- tion, rather than vandalism, had damaged the pool. The controversy over one of Trump’s favorite civic proj- ects also prompted criticism of Pirro from Interior Secre- tary Doug Burgum, who said he had provided the U.S. at- torney’s office with “expert and eyewitness testimony to the damage done by vandals.” BY PHILIP WEGMANN AND LYDIA WHEELER LOS ANGELES—California’s Democratic Party has en- dorsed the state’s proposed billionaire tax, marking a win for its advocates three months before Californians vote on the measure. At a weekend meeting of hundreds of party officials, the tax proposal on Sunday cleared the 60% of votes needed to overcome objections and land the endorsement, ac- cording to a party spokes- woman. California voters will decide whether to approve or reject the ballot initiative in November. If it takes effect, the state’s roughly 200 billion- aires would pay a 5%, one- time levy. The support of state Demo- cratic officials gives the pro- posed levy a public-relations boost that was far from as- sured. The tax has sharply divided the party establishment, with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic gu- bernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra publicly opposed to it. The proposal was initiated by a large healthcare union. Several billionaires and some other unions opposed the tax. Both sides mounted fierce lob- bying campaigns to try to sway the vote in their favor at the state Democrats’ executive board meeting this weekend. “This endorsement puts to rest the idea that California Democrats are not united by the billionaire tax—they are,” said Dave Regan, president of the Service Employees Inter- national Union United Health- care Workers West, which proposed the initiative. Independent polling has shown a strong majority of Democratic voters in Califor- nia and a narrower majority of the broader electorate sup- port the tax. The SEIU-UHW proposed the tax to try to raise $100 billion aimed mostly at offsetting the Trump administration’s deep healthcare funding cuts. Progressive leaders includ- ing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Calif.) have backed the proposal, saying the health funding is needed and that the wealthiest Californians should be paying more. Newsom, a Democrat seen as a potential 2028 presiden- tial candidate, has argued that the levy could push the state’s largest taxpayers to flee. Other opponents include the California Teachers Associa- tion and California Profes- sional Firefighters. After the tax initiative qualified in June for the bal- lot, the governor and his allies fought to persuade the SEIU- UHW to withdraw it. The union at one point offered to withdraw the proposal in ex- change for Newsom backing a smaller wealth tax. The tax would apply to peo- ple who resided in California as of Jan. 1 of this year and who have net worth of $1 bil- lion or more at the end of this year. A person’s net worth ex- cludes certain assets, such as real estate they own directly, for purposes of the tax. BY PAUL KIERNAN California Billionaire Tax Gains Democrats’ Support In the verdant fields of Cali- fornia’s Salinas Valley, Larry Cox is watching his lettuce wilt. Cox and his two sons run Coastline Family Farms, which supplies leafy greens to some of the country’s biggest restaurant chains and grocery stores. But this week, in the region known as America’s Salad Bowl, around 300,000 pounds of his romaine hearts were chopped and plowed back into the soil. There is no evidence that his, or any of the nation’s homegrown lettuce, was in- fected with the parasite behind an illness outbreak that has sickened thousands of people so far. Even so, that hasn’t stopped Cox’s dependable res- taurant and grocery customers from cutting back on orders. Many growers are destroy- ing the crops they can’t find buyers for. Since lettuce has about a 30-day growing cycle, farmers that are plowing their crops back into the ground are weighing whether to replant or dial back. “It is incredibly demoraliz- ing,” Cox said. “I would’ve been better off taking a vacation in the South of France than plant- ing the crop.” Outbreaks of cyclospora are rocking every corner of the produce industry as many con- sumers avoid supermarkets’ fresh produce aisles and cut back on visits to some salad- heavy chains. Weeks of growing case numbers, with no defini- tive cause, have spawned con- fusion among consumers about what’s safe to eat. “Consumers aren’t sure what’s right anymore so, out of an abundance of caution, they’re just passing on every- thing,” said Joelle Mosso, who leads science and food safety programming at Western Growers, a family farm trade group. She said many growers in California are also plowing their crops back into the ground. In the U.S., unit sales of fresh lettuce slipped 8.7% for the four weeks that ended July 18 when compared with the prior year period, according to data from NielsenIQ. That’s a difference of more than 7.6 million pounds of lettuce. Other corners of the pro- duce aisle are suffering, too. Of 37 vegetable categories NielsenIQ tracked, 28 showed sales declines over the same period, including carrots, cau- liflower, spinach and Brussels sprouts. Salad dressing sales were also down. “We’re seeing a fundamental effect on the entire fresh pro- duce aisle,” said Max Teplitski, chief science officer for the In- ternational Fresh Produce As- sociation. While demand usually recov- ers within months of a typical food-safety scare, high-profile outbreaks have more far-reach- ing consequences, Teplitski said. He noted, for instance, the E. coli outbreak in spinach in 2006 damped sales for years. The U.S. Food and Drug Ad- ministration has linked one cy- clospora outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce sourced in Cen- tral Mexico by Taylor Farms, the country’s largest supplier of salad greens. Domestic- grown lettuce, which accounts for most of the country’s sup- ply, hasn’t been implicated by federal authorities. But that hasn’t done much to reassure some shoppers. Pirro Angers Trump by Ending Pool Case, Doubting Vandalism Trump appointee, initially agreed. “There was an effort, a vio- lent effort, to rip up the seal- ant from the bottom of the pool,” she told reporters last month when she announced a felony indict- ment against Hearn for de- struction of g o v e r n m e n t property. The charge carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. On Friday, Pirro’s office pointed to documents from the Interior Department that “significantly undermine” the evidence that was the basis for charging the former Olympian. Her office wrote in the court filing that a “visual in- spection showed damage throughout the Reflecting Pool, even in the middle of the pool, where a vandal wouldn’t likely attempt to peel the lining. Given all of this newly discov- ered informa- tion, it is diffi- cult to attribute the widespread damage to the Re- flecting Pool to vandalism.” Aiming to resurface the pool ahead of July 4 celebra- tions, the government had A ‘botched renovation’ caused the damage, prosecutors find.
A4 | Monday, August 3, 2026 HK JP TU ML SI IN UK FR MN PR * * * * THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. U.S. NEWS WASHINGTON—A bitter dispute involving domestic- abuse allegations against an Ohio congressman, Republican Max Miller, broke further into the open on Sunday when Sen. Bernie Moreno said his former son-in-law shouldn’t continue to serve in Congress ahead of a crucial election-year deadline. In a social-media post, Mo- reno (R., Ohio) accused Miller of “increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior” toward Moreno’s daughter and wrote: “If there are any basic stan- dards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Repre- sentatives.” The senator’s daughter, Emily, was divorced from Miller in 2024. They have a young daughter. Moreno had declined to speak about the family dispute at length but broke his silence on Sunday ahead of a Wednes- day deadline to replace Miller on the Ohio ballot, should he withdraw. Miller, however, said he was never abusive and that he would continue to seek re-election to Congress. “I’m not getting out of this race, and I’m winning in No- vember,” Miller said in a 20- minute livestream on X on Sunday, denying that he ever abused his former wife and the couple’s 2-year-old daugh- ter. Speaking in detail about the couple’s custody battle, the congressman said his for- mer wife had “significant mental-health challenges.” A spokesman for Emily Mo- reno dismissed the video as un- hinged before accusing the con- gressman of using his own daughter “as a PR pawn” to save his political career. The White House didn’t comment on the case. Bernie Moreno and Miller are staunch allies of President Trump and have received the president’s endorsement in their cam- paigns. Miller, who was first elected to the northeastern Ohio seat in 2022, is a former White House and Trump cam- paign aide, while Moreno is a close confidant of the presi- dent who often travels to the president’s Florida home. Miller won his 2024 elec- tion with 51% of the vote, and Democrats have viewed the Republican-friendly seat south of Cleveland as a potential pickup opportunity in the No- vember elections. Brian Poin- dexter, a union ironworker and city-council member in Brook Park, Ohio, is Miller’s Democratic challenger. Some Ohio Republicans have privately expressed frustration that Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and their cam- paign committees haven’t done more to address the situation, given the risk that the allega- tions against Miller could cost the GOP a House seat and po- tentially depress GOP turnout in a state with competitive races for governor and Senate. Sunday’s exchanges be- tween Miller and Moreno came after recent media re- ports involving the legal dis- pute between Miller and Emily Moreno, who has accused her former husband in court fil- ings and police reports of throwing boiling water at her, holding a gun to her head and other physical abuse. She also alleges that their daughter’s collarbone was broken while she was under Miller’s care. Miller has denied the allega- tions. Miller also said allega- tions that he had abused his daughter were investigated by the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services and weren’t substantiated. BY KEN THOMAS AND PHILIP WEGMANN House Member’s Bid Shaken By Abuse Allegations Rep. Max Miller (R., Ohio) TOM WILLIAMS/CQ ROLL CALL/ZUMA PRESS BY JOHN MCCORMICK did have a successful major event: A June gala near Broadway in New York City raised $1.3 million and fea- tured Tony-winning actor An- dré De Shields, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Mary Trump, the president’s estranged niece. Critics say Martin has done little to instill confidence and quell party unrest during the months since President Trump’s election. Martin’s de- cision to release an incom- plete “autopsy” of the 2024 elections in May led a number of Democrats to call for his resignation. The dispute again spilled into public view in July, after media reports described dis- cord within the building in- cluding Martin throwing a phone at a DNC aide’s desk, which led to a human re- sources complaint, the New York Times reported. Party ac- tivists have noted that the DNC is struggling with $18 million in debt while it has $16 million cash on hand, and has been consistently out- raised by Republicans. “The general consensus is that Ken has lost the confi- dence of party leaders, elected officials but most importantly, the donor base. I think once that is gone it’s nearly impos- sible to get back,” said Shan- non Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action who be- came a member of the DNC’s national finance committee af- ter she raised millions of dol- lars for Harris’s 2024 presi- dential campaign. Following the election, Watts said she was excited to help the party and looked for- ward to working with Martin. But she said she never heard from him. Because the same state leaders who strongly support Martin would have to vote to remove him from his post, he isn’t expected to step down. As criticism raged against Martin online last week, he paid little mind to the inter- net, hopping from Atlanta to Nashville, Tenn., for events where he met with mayors and civil rights leaders. Re- cently, he published a 3,000- word essay on Substack de- fending his approach and insisting Democrats are well- positioned to win heading into the midterms and 2028. “I think it’s always a very tough job,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) said of the DNC chairmanship. “The amount of money is certainly concerning, but at the same time, we’re not necessarily losing elec- tions these days because can- didates don’t have enough money. It is because [Republi- cans] have billionaires.” weekend, Gifford was hosting a sold-out fundraiser for James Talarico, a fresh-faced former teacher who has a shot at defeating Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race. Talarico has raised $55 mil- lion this year for his bid, while Paxton, the state’s attorney general, raised close to $4 mil- lion, a sign of how establish- ment-weary Democrats are still interested in giving money to candidates and causes that excite them. Hoff- man, the LinkedIn co-founder who hasn’t donated to the DNC, has given money to a pro-Talarico super PAC. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D., Ga.), who is seeking re-election in November, raised $34 million this year, more than 10 times as much as the $3.2 million his opponent, GOP Rep. Mike Col- lins, pulled in. While both Tala- rico and Ossoff are hot tickets at fundraisers this summer, much of their fundraising has come from individual donors giving $200 or less online. A spate of Democrats hop- ing to win the party’s presi- dential nomination in 2028 have blitzed through the Hamptons in recent weeks, in- cluding Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. In past summers, the DNC has hosted its own summer soirees, like a 2022 bash at then-New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s mansion where Jon Bon Jovi co-hosted and Presi- dent Joe Biden spoke. The event raised $1 million, ac- cording to reports at the time. The DNC will hold a Mar- tha’s Vineyard event in August featuring Maryland Sen. An- gela Alsobrooks and others, a committee official said. Critics complain that its events lack star power. Among former presidents and their spouses, only one—Hillary Clinton—has agreed to headline an event this year for the committee, people familiar with the com- mittee said. Last year, Obama did one event. “Ken needs to ask for help and get more Democrats to help him to raise the money in order for the party to pay its bills,” said Donna Brazile, a longtime DNC member who has twice served as interim chair. In recent weeks, the DNC Democrats are outraising Republicans in most competitive Senate races, those where the forecast is a tossup or leans one way or the other. James Talarico $55.4 million Ken Paxton 3.9 Texas Lean R Jon Ossoff 34.0 Mike Collins 3.2 Ga. Lean D Roy Cooper 17.0 Michael Whatley 6.1 N.C. Lean D Sherrod Brown 24.2 John Husted 7.0 Ohio Tossup Mary Peltola Dan Sullivan Alaska Tossup Josh Turek 4.6 Ashley Hinson 5.3 Iowa Lean R UPCOMING PRIMARIES Abdul El-Sayed Haley Stevens Mike Rogers Mich. Tossup Chris Pappas John Sununu Scott Brown N.H. Lean D Cash on hand for super PACs… Senatorial committees House committees National committees House Majority PAC Senate Majority PAC Congressional Leadership Fund Senate Leadership Fund MAGA Inc. (pro-Trump) 238.6 $400.6 million 141.8 126.5 89.9 128.5 92.7 55.9 16.3 79.0 41.0 Republican Democrat …and party committees Republicans are outraising Democrats on both the super PAC and committee level. Sources: Federal Election Commission (money); aggregated race ratings from the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales and Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics (forecasts) Incumbent Note: Total receipts. Includes transfers from other committees. Filings through June, except in Michigan through July 15. Excludes Maine because Democratic candidate Troy Jackson has yet to report fundraising. ANTHONY DEBARROS and KARA DAPENA/WSJ Source: Federal Election Commission Note: As of June 30. The Democratic National Committee reported $18.5 million in debt. 15.6 3.7 9.2 5.0 5.5 6.8 2.3 0.6 money was spent in the 2024 presidential election, when nominee Kamala Harris raised more than $1 billion but still lost after a rushed process to nominate her. Others point to the divi- sions in the Democratic Party’s donor base over the war in Gaza and an insurgent group of Democratic socialists. Rufus Gifford, a former fundraiser for Harris and Ba- rack Obama, put himself on the map last week as a major critic of DNC Chairman Ken Martin when he penned a Substack post saying Martin should step down. “At this point, I think there is no saving Martin’s chair- manship. He is a good man with good intentions but sim- ply not meeting this critical moment,” Gifford wrote. Defenders of the DNC and other committees say their fundraising levels are compa- rable to past similar cycles. The DNC raised more money by the end of June 2026 than it had raised during the same period in the 2017-18 cycle, when Democrats were simi- larly out of power in Washing- ton. Martin’s allies say he was elected to the post not for his ability to court the richest Democrats but because of his strong ties to state Demo- cratic leaders and commit- ment to helping rebuild the Democrats’ organizing ability on the ground. He has focused his chairmanship on transfer- ring as much money as possi- ble to all 50 states, giving him a strong base of support among the state party leaders who are powerful within the committee. “People were exhausted af- ter the last election. It was so intense and for so many of us, there was so much money do- nated, and those people feel like they didn’t get a return on their investment—but that is not Ken’s fault,” said Gary Czaplewski, who coordinates seven figures of spending on behalf of donors each election. But a deeper realignment may be under way: While some big donors are tired of giving to central committees who decide how the money is spent, they are fundraising for star candidates. In Nantucket this past ContinuedfromPageOne Democrats Have Donor Problem A divisive Democratic pri- mary for Senate in Michigan on Tuesday, arguably the party’s most consequential contest so far this year, will reveal whether a progressive and socialist groundswell has spread to America’s heartland. The race, in a state critical to the party’s prospects for winning a Senate majority, has featured months of infighting over what the party stands for. The battle between Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive former local public-health official, and Rep. Haley Stevens, a four- term congresswoman, encap- sulates seemingly everything dividing Democrats. There has been debate over who is to blame for 2024 election fail- ures, the type of candidate best positioned to beat Repub- licans in November, the role of corporate and big-dollar cam- paign money, and the U.S. re- lationship with Israel. El-Sayed has support among the Democratic Social- ists of America movement, a rising faction within the party that President Trump and Re- publicans have branded as “communism” and are eagerly using as a line of attack against all Democrats. Repub- licans say they are excited to run against El-Sayed, arguing his left-wing views will turn off swing voters. Michigan Republicans are poised to nominate former Rep. Mike Rogers, who nar- rowly lost the state’s 2024 Senate race. The seat is being vacated by Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat who chose not to seek a third term. A Democratic loss in Michi- gan would make it harder for the party to net a gain of four Senate seats to flip control of the chamber in November. Trump won the state by 1.4 percentage points in 2024, and its Senate race is rated a tossup by nonpartisan ana- lysts. If El-Sayed wins, it would be a sign that the party’s left- ward shift is taking place be- yond coastal and deeply blue enclaves, such as in New York and Colorado, where DSA- aligned candidates have de- feated more centrist incum- bents in Democratic primaries. It would also add wind to the sails of progressive and DSA candidates in coming prima- ries, including those with sim- ilar dynamics in Wisconsin and Minnesota that follow just one week later. “It’s a huge risk to nomi- nate a far-left candidate in a swing state in such an impor- tant year,” said former Rep. Cheri Bustos, a centrist Demo- crat who repeatedly won a western Illinois congressional district filled with Trump vot- ers. “The Democratic Party has to learn the same lesson over and over again: these far-left socialist candidates are not electable in the swingiest dis- tricts and swingiest states,” she said. El-Sayed is endorsed by progressive icons Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Reps. Al- exandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Min- nesota, and the United Auto Workers. He has also cam- paigned with Hasan Piker, an online influencer who has been accused of antisemitism. Centrists in the party argue that victories by the progres- sive wing could hurt Demo- cratic chances of scoring gains in an otherwise favorable elec- tion environment. Trump’s job approval rating hit a record low in a recent Quinnipiac University poll, and gas prices are high amid growing con- cerns about the war with Iran. Stevens is backed by Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, among other estab- lishment figures, as well as by some unions, pro-Israel groups and Emilys List, which supports abortion-rights can- didates. Stevens has acknowledged El-Sayed’s campaigning tal- ents, describing herself as a workhorse competing against a show horse and arguing her opponent—a veteran pod- caster—is more interested in celebrity status than in help- ing Michigan. The race showcases divi- sions among Democrats about how to win competitive elec- tions. One wing asserts that battleground districts and states are won by wooing in- dependent voters with moder- ate policy ideas, while another thinks voters are eager for dramatic change at a time of widespread skepticism of gov- ernment and widening eco- nomic disparity. “This is a chips-on-the-ta- ble moment where there are two different theories of the case,” said Adam Green, co- founder of the advocacy group Progressive Change Campaign Committee and a supporter of El-Sayed. “This is ground zero for the future of the Demo- cratic Party.” Almost every poll released publicly in July shows El- Sayed with a lead, some by more than 10 points. El-Sayed bristled in a re- cent Wall Street Journal inter- view when asked how he re- lates to DSA, a group some of his supporters associate with. “I’m not technically or practi- cally DSA,” he said. Stevens has been aggres- sively courting Black voters, who accounted for about one- fifth of the electorate in the state’s last competitive Demo- cratic primary, during the 2020 presidential election. She and groups backing her have repeatedly sought to con- nect her with former Presi- dent Barack Obama, who praised her at a rally when she first ran for Congress in 2018. Obama hasn’t endorsed in the race. Michigan Election Tests Progressives’ Clout Senate primary will show if Democrats’ left wing can be a force in heartland Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive former local public-health official, and four-term Rep. Haley Stevens are competing to the fill the Senate seat held by Democrat Gary Peters, who is retiring. FROM LEFT: SARAH RICE/BLOOMBERG NEWS, REBECCA COOK/REUTERS
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, August 3, 2026 | A5 U.S. NEWS Four years ago, the French cement company Lafarge agreed to a first-of-its-kind guilty plea in which it acknowl- edged funding Islamic State and an al Qaeda affiliate to protect its Syrian plant and paid the U.S. $778 million in penalties. Victims of attacks by those terrorist groups in Syria have said they are entitled to some of that money. Their requests to the Jus- tice Department for compen- sation have gone unanswered under the Biden and Trump administrations and have now caught the attention of some members of Congress. Lafarge “already paid fines to the DOJ, but our government hasn’t given us a penny of that,” said Lindsey Stacy, whose husband, retired Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Ken- ton Stacy, was left quadriplegic and blind in one eye after an explosive blast in Syria in 2017. The money would be a re- prieve from his healthcare costs and the electrical bills, which his family said have soared with his use of a venti- lator to breathe. President Trump praised Kenton by name in his 2018 State of the Union address for his role in the fight against Islamic State. “If Trump’s going to talk about Kenton, why has there been no follow-up?” his wife said. The Stacys and four Gold Star families are each seeking $15 million from the Lafarge penalty payment, which is being held in a Justice Department fund that manages proceeds of property and cash seized from convicted criminals. The fund has returned more than $13 bil- lion in forfeited assets to vic- tims and their families since 2000, according to the depart- ment, which has said paying victims is a priority. The DOJ, for example, con- tinues to pay thousands of people who suffered losses in international consumer scams through Western Union wire transfers after the financial- services company agreed to forfeit $586 million to the gov- ernment in 2017. The depart- ment is also still compensat- ing people who were sex- trafficked through ads on the website Backpage.com, which the Federal Bureau of Investi- gation shut down in 2018. Connecting Lafarge’s con- duct to the terrorist-attack in- juries is more complicated, raising questions on whom the Justice Department views as a victim, when its payouts have been in the spotlight. The fund to which the fami- lies are seeking access can only compensate victims who have financial or economic losses related to the crime for which a defendant was con- victed, a Justice Department official said. While the attor- ney general has some discre- tion to approve compensation in certain cases, that decision is still bound by statute and regulation, the official said. Sorting out who is entitled to the funds raises questions that can take years to answer, said Stefan Cassella, a former federal prosecutor who spe- cialized in asset forfeiture. “The government’s objective is to get the money to the vic- tims,” Cassella said. “I don’t know of a case where legitimate victims of a crime were denied money because the government wants to keep it for itself.” The Stacys and other fami- lies filed formal requests in September 2023 to the attor- ney general’s office, then led by Merrick Garland, which ad- ministers the fund. Two senators who are weighing whether to confirm acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the position per- manently have pressed him on the issue. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) and Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) asked Blanche about the lack of action on the fami- lies’ requests. He said in a written questionnaire that he wasn’t familiar with the spe- cific families or their requests. Blanche said he would re- BY GRETA REICH AND SADIE GURMAN view the matter and “ensure the Department takes appro- priate action to comply with applicable law in order to sup- port servicemembers and their families.” He also said he would be willing to meet with families or their attorneys. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi told Rep. Andy Biggs (R., Ariz.) during a congressional hearing this year that “we are aware of that and we are com- mitted to doing everything we can to support the victims.” Justice Department payouts to victims have recently been scrutinized for an additional reason. Blanche continues to draw bipartisan criticism for his role in the creation in May of a controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that would have compensated people who said they were victimized by the government. This could have included Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as some groups who were the target of Inter- nal Revenue Service scrutiny related to cases the Biden ad- ministration brought under a statute meant to provide ac- cess to abortion clinics. Blanche has said the Jus- tice Department has aban- doned that fund, which re- mains a concern at the center of his confirmation fight. The Lafarge case was the first time the Justice Depart- ment prosecuted a corpora- tion, rather than an individual or organization, for providing material support to foreign terrorist groups. Terror Victims Seek a Share Of Firm’s $778 Million Penalty Lafarge paid fine in Syrian case; military families say they are entitled to funds Retired Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy was left quadriplegic and blind in one eye after a blast in Syria in 2017. TERRY FLORES/U.S. NAVY :::35$77,1'8675,(6&20
A6 | Monday, August 3, 2026 * * * * THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Scan this code: At least 67 ships have been attacked or boarded—and 17 seafarers killed— since the start of the Iran war. The attacks on commercial ships have been among the most devastating during wartime in a generation. IRAN SAUDI ARABIA U.A.E. OMAN QATAR BAHRAIN Strait of Hormuz Arabian Sea Persian Gulf Note: Data is through July 30. Source: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy Commercial vessels attacked or boarded near the Strait of Hormuz since March 1 A Graphics Report: See How Tanker Strikes Are Piling Up in the Iran War Trump sought to reassure a restive public that rising gaso- line prices wouldn’t last long, projecting that the conflict could be over in four to six weeks. His reservoir of sup- port, abroad and at home, has shrunk as the war has entered its sixth month. Trump’s supporters said that his drumbeat of threats and visible impatience had en- couraged a flurry of diplo- matic activity that could re- sult in a long-sought agreement that will finally bring the war to a close. Trump wrote in a social- media post Saturday night that Iran and other Middle East countries were imploring him to cancel his attack be- cause the “perimeters of a deal” had been hammered out. Trump delivered that mes- sage after talking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump said he asked him, “Would you rather have us do this or not?” He said that the prince replied that “we would much prefer a deal as opposed to an attack be- cause you don’t know where these attacks lead.” But Trump didn’t call Is- raeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he launched the war, and who re- mains the loudest voice in the president’s ear for more mili- tary action. There were initial signs of a diplomatic opening Sunday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks with Oman about a mecha- nism for ships to traverse the strait was “nearing comple- tion and in their final stages,” according to Iranian state me- dia. Left unsaid was whether Tehran is prepared to perma- nently drop its demand that it should be able to collect tolls from transiting commercial vessels and if those negotia- tions would lead to a fully re- opened waterway. Araghchi also called his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, to discuss further de-escalatory mea- sures, according to a readout from Riyadh. Trump’s critics say the president’s abrupt twists and turns reflect his unhappiness with his remaining military and diplomatic options and don’t reflect a carefully cali- brated strategy. “His flailing is a terrible blow to U.S. deterrence,” said Daniel Shapiro, a senior Pen- tagon official during the Biden administration who also served as U.S. ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama. “No one believes any- thing he says—not allies and certainly not our Iranian ad- versaries.” The diplomatic pathway has insulated Trump from the risks of major military actions, at least for now. But diplo- macy carries its own risks, in- cluding that Iran may view Trump’s vacillation as a rea- son to try to maximize its le- verage in the talks. “Negotiating a resolution that preserves freedom of navigation won’t be quick or easy,” said Suzanne Maloney, vice president for foreign pol- icy and an Iran expert at the Brookings Institution. “It’s not obvious that this administra- tion has either the bandwidth or the attention span needed.” been talked down by U.S. allies. “We were all set to go, but when the allies asked to call it off, you got to sort of say, ‘Well, let’s see,’” he said. Still, if talks falter as they have in the past, Trump could ContinuedfromPageOne raeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. Those changes have been led by Finance Minister Beza- lel Smotrich, a leader of the settler movement who has been targeted with sanctions by several Western countries for allegedly inciting violence against Palestinians. Smotrich also oversees civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian terri- tories via a separate post in the Defense Ministry. Palestinians in villages such as Qusra say settlers from nearby outposts regularly come into their towns, spray graffiti, intimidate villagers and cut their electricity and water. “We feel terror,” Tantawi said. The electrician says he no longer lets his four children leave the house after dark. He and others in Qusra have pad- locked doors and covered win- dows with iron bars and mesh to prevent settlers from throw- ing incendiary devices inside. The torching of the Al- Rahma mosque in Qusra over the last weekend in July came after clashes with settlers that left two Israelis and four Pales- tinians dead. The Israeli mili- tary followed with the arrest of dozens of Palestinians, while settlers attacked villages across the West Bank. Two mosques including Al-Rahma were set ablaze, along with cars, indus- trial sites and homes. The Israeli military con- demned the damage to religious sites. “Such incidents divert the attention of the security forces from counterterrorism activi- ties and undermine efforts to maintain security and stability in the area,” it said. The number of settler at- tacks has risen each year since 2023, according to the United Nations. There have been more than 1,330 incidents in- volving Israeli settlers that re- sulted in casualties, property damage or both since the start of 2026, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. More than 77 Palestinians, including 18 children, have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in 2026, OCHA said Wednesday. Netanyahu attributed set- tler violence to “about 150 what you would call juvenile delinquents” in an interview with CNN in early July. Smotrich dismissed the idea that settler violence was wide- spread and called it a “blood libel” in an interview with Is- raeli media on July 27. But some former Israeli se- curity officials disagree. Former Israeli Gen. Mendy Or, a former coordinator of gov- ernment activities in the Pales- tinian territories, said it ap- peared settler violence is part of a well organized effort by government ministers, backed by Netanyahu, to force Palestin- ians out of Area C, which com- prises 60% of the West Bank, and other areas there. The Israeli prime minister’s office didn’t respond to a re- quest to comment. In many cases, violent set- tlers known as Hilltop Youth steal livestock, enter Palestin- ian homes, cut their electricity and water, and try to frighten villagers off the land, he said. Commanders for Israel’s Security, a group of more than 500 ex-Israeli security offi- cials, sent President Trump a letter urging him to raise the issue of settler violence prior to his meeting on July 28 with Netanyahu in Washington. “Unless arrested swiftly and decisively, escalating violence in the West Bank is poised to ig- nite the region and carries se- vere ramifications for both Is- raeli security and U.S. regional interests,” the letter read. Neither the White House nor Netanyahu said whether the subject came up. Hussain Tantawi was woken by a frantic phone call from a neighbor at 3:25 a.m. on a re- cent Sunday. Israeli settlers had set fire to the newly built mosque in his West Bank vil- lage. He rushed out of his house in shorts and slippers, calling his cousin on the way to come help. When he arrived, the building was engulfed in fire, the word “revenge” sprayed on its entrance. In a region where violence often begets violence, the graf- fiti and the flames around it were an unambiguous response to the killing of two Israelis in clashes in the West Bank. The name of one of the Israelis, a member of a security team for a nearby settlement, was writ- ten on a wall of the mosque. Tantawi, 34 years old, and a group of men tried to tame the flames, but it was too late. After sunrise, villagers in Qusra, near the city of Nablus, walked through the scorched remains of the Al-Rahma mosque, broken tiles littering the ground, videos showed. Settler violence has risen sharply since the 2023 Hamas- led attacks on Israel spurred an Israeli government expansion of settlements in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War in 1967. Under Prime Minister Benja- min Netanyahu’s hard-right government, Israel approved thousands of housing units last summer in an area near East Jerusalem called E1, where con- struction plans had been de- layed because of international criticism that they would isolate Palestinian communities and complicate the prospects of a future Palestinian state. Israel has also rapidly ex- panded the construction of out- posts and roads that have fur- ther divided Palestinian areas. Much of the world considers Is- BY ANAT PELED AND SUHA MA’AYEH WORLD NEWS Violent West Bank Clashes Are Intensifying Fighting between settlers, Palestinians comes amid Israeli push for territory Children outside a newly built mosque that was burned by Israeli settlers during a recent attack in a West Bank village. LEO CORREA/ASSOCIATED PRESS ‘Preparing the Ground’ More than 118 Pales- tinian shepherding com- munities have been pushed out of the West Bank between January 2023 and the beginning of 2026, according to data from Peace Now, an Israeli organization that tracks West Bank land seizures. The group says 185 new Jewish outposts were built during the same period. “My dream for Judea and Samaria is full Is- raeli sovereignty over this area,” Finance Min- ister Bezalel Smotrich said July 27. “What I am doing now is preparing the ground de facto for this event.” Smotrich said he had led a “revolution” in Is- rael’s management of the West Bank by build- ing settlements, roads and farms. Israeli security forces used to be able to de- tain and hold violent Jewish settlers without formal charges or trial, a practice known as ad- ministrative detention. But Israeli Defense Min- ister Israel Katz halted administrative deten- tions of Jewish settlers in 2024, while leaving the policy in place for Palestinians. Rights groups, Pales- tinians and some former Israeli officials accuse the security forces of failing to stop settler at- tacks or even of partici- pating in them. The military said soldiers are instructed to stop violations of the law by Israeli citi- zens against Palestin- ians in the West Bank when they encounter them. once again fall into a familiar cycle of reviving his military threats shortly after he shelved them. “He is trying his hand now at a diplomatic solution to avoid military escalation. But there’s no clear path, either diplomatically or militarily, to get Trump to a place where he can declare victory,” said Vali Nasr, an Iran expert at Johns Hopkins University. This cycle has destabilized the Middle East and compli- cated the domestic agenda for Trump, a Republican. Iran in recent weeks has carried out attacks on a number of U.S. allies in the region, in- cluding Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, while its proxies in Iraq have launched drones at Saudi Arabia. Iran’s ability to essentially shut down the Strait of Hormuz has pushed up the price of gas- oline and forced the U.S. and other counties to eat into their oil reserves. Meanwhile, Repub- licans in Congress, with just three months until the midterm elections, have pressed the White House to better articu- late the goals for the Iran war and explain how it will end. That concern was under- scored when three U.S. soldiers were killed in an Iranian mis- sile attack against their base in Jordan, bringing the total to 18 service personnel killed in ac- tion since February. When he ordered attacks on Iran in late February, Trump began the war with limited international support and public opinion polls that showed many Americans hadn’t been convinced that Tehran presented an urgent nuclear threat. 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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, August 3, 2026 | A7 WORLD NEWS his passion and career. In 2019, he scaled all of the world’s 14 peaks higher than 8,000 meters, or about 26,250 feet, in six months and six days, then a record at the time. His achievement was the subject of the Netflix docu- mentary “14 Peaks.” He climbed the peaks again, this time without supplementary oxygen. The bodies of U.S. national Mallory Geis and Nadhira Al- harthy, an Omani climber, were among those that had been recovered, a Pakistan minister said Friday. Geis, an American travel photographer from Texas, was making her first attempt to climb the mountain, along with her Pakistani team mem- ber, according to a social-me- dia post from Moving Moun- tains, an expedition company in Pakistan. Alharthy was the first woman from her country to climb Mount Everest. In a social-media post last week, Purja said he was hoping climbing Broad Peak would bring him closer to becoming the first person in history to twice climb the world’s 14 highest peaks without oxygen. “I take zero mountains for granted,” he said. dictate it,” Rubio told report- ers on a recent trip to Asia. The government led by Ma- duro and now Rodríguez has long been accused of dragging out negotiations to delay re- forms and tighten its authori- tarian grip. Now it is being forced into new talks by a U.S. government eager to show that it hasn’t abandoned the idea of political transi- tion, said David Smilde, a pro- fessor at Tulane University who closely tracks Venezuelan pol- itics. “The U.S. wants to show a foreign policy w i n — l o n g , steady progress in a way they haven’t been able to show anywhere else, like in Iran,” said Smilde. “It’s kind of the United States that calls the shots on this.” Machado and Edmundo Gon- zalez, the retired diplomat whom independent observers say won the 2024 election, have responded skeptically to the talks. They said they played no role in their “design, construc- tion or operation” and that the mandate delivered by voters in the 2024 presidential election “remains in force.” Rodríguez’s party is repre- sented in the talks by her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, who heads the National Assembly and had served as Maduro’s top negotiator during numerous past failed ne- gotiations. The opposition will be represented by a group of lawmakers who were elected to the National As- sembly in 2015, o v e r w h e l m - ingly defeating Maduro and his allies. That as- sembly is the last institution in Venezuela that the U.S. recog- nized as democratically elected. “We have said that we will talk to anyone,” Venezuelan In- terior Minister Diosdado Ca- bello said last month. “Dialogue does not mean capitulation.” Opposition representative Di- norah Figuera said the process aims to deliver the institutional The process has excluded opposition leader María Corina Machado. foundations to call for an elec- tion by December this year. Figuera, who had been the last leader of the 2015 assembly, had lived in exile in Spain and worked at a nursing home there before recently returning to en- ter the political discussions. The new process “will open a step toward a democratic fu- ture for Venezuela,” she said in an X post Friday. This effort shows that the U.S. isn’t willing to use its lever- age—which it has used to con- trol Venezuelan oil revenues among other things—toward a real democratic end, says Carrie Filipetti, who served as a senior State Department official over- seeing Venezuela policy during Trump’s first term. The talks “cannot realisti- cally represent the democratic voices in Venezuela if the per- son who represents the signifi- cant majority of those voices, María Corina Machado, is not only not leading negotiations for the opposition, but isn’t even safe to return to Venezuela in the first place,” Filipetti said. Nearly seven months after the U.S. toppled Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro, the first for- mal negotiations intended to steer the country toward de- mocracy kicked off Saturday— without the opposition’s most influential leader. The U.S.-backed talks in- volve the government of act- ing President Delcy Rodríguez and some of the political op- position, part of Washington’s stabilization-and-recovery plan for the South American country. The negotiations aim to put Venezuela on a path to- ward a democratic transition, U.S. officials say. But the process has excluded the country’s most prominent opposition leader, María Corina Machado. Critics fear the move could buy time and legitimacy for the unelected leadership of Rodríguez, Maduro’s deputy who has forged an alliance with the Trump administration cen- tered on reopening her country to American investors. U.S. officials have thrown their support behind the talks, casting them as an “important next step” amid criticism the White House is giving priority to economic deals and the re- opening of the oil sector over a democratic transition. “They’re not really ready for them yet,” Trump said re- cently when asked about elec- tions. “But, boy, a lot of prog- ress has been made. Delcy has been doing a fantastic job.” Trump officials have con- tended that rebuilding Vene- zuela’s democratic institutions will take time, and have re- sisted giving a timetable for elections. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the country first needs a credible electoral council, a free press and measures to protect vot- ers from intimidation. “We are there to facilitate it, not to BY VERA BERGENGRUEN AND KEJAL VYAS U.S.-Led Discussions Sideline Venezuela’s Opposition Leader Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez, center, speaks at a news conference last month. JESUS VARGAS/GETTY IMAGES Renowned climber Nirmal Purja and nine other moun- taineers died in an avalanche while scaling a mountain in Pakistan on Thursday, Purja’s expedition company said Sat- urday. Earlier Saturday, a tourism minister for the region in Pak- istan said four bodies had been recovered and several other bodies were spotted by a drone. Rescuers don’t expect to find anyone alive because of the intensity of the ava- lanche, he said. “Today, we mourn not only Nims, but every life lost in this tragedy,” said Elite Exped, the expedition company that Purja co-founded, referring to him by his nickname. Apart from Purja, the expedi- tion included five Nepalese, an American woman who was climbing with a Pakistan na- tional, an Omani woman and a Chinese national. Purja was leading them up Broad Peak, the 12th-highest mountain in the world at 26,400 feet, part of the Karakoram mountain range. Purja, 43, was born in Ne- pal and joined the British Army’s special forces before embracing mountaineering as BY KRISHNA POKHAREL AND WAQAR GILLANI Star Climber Among Dead After Avalanche Climber Nirmal Purja died over the weekend in an avalanche. AAMIR QURESHI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES Oil majors hit wall trying to get into Venezuela...... B1 -RZIWXQIRX QMRMQYQW QE] ETTP] =MIPHW [MPP ZEV] TPIEWI GEPP SV ZMWMX WGL[EFGSQGEWLMRZIWXQIRXW JSV EZEMPEFPI TVSHYGXW ERH GYVVIRX ]MIPHW -RZIWXMRK MRZSPZIW VMWO MRGPYHMRK PSWW SJ TVMRGMTEP l 'LEVPIW 7GL[EF 'S -RG %PP VMKLXW VIWIVZIH 1IQFIV 7-4' %;22 %(4 7GL[EFGSQ -RZIWXMRK8VEHMRK%HZMGI 1EREKI ]SYV [IEPXL ]SYV [E] %X 7GL[EF LS[ ]SY MRZIWX [MXL YW MW ]SYV GLSMGI 2SX SYVW -RZIWX SR ]SYV S[R [MXL IEWI 8VEHI [MXL QSVI GSRXVSP SR XLMROSVW[MQq +IX EHZMGI ERH QSVI GSQTVILIRWMZI [IEPXL WSPYXMSRW XS LIPT QIIX ]SYV YRMUYI RIIHW 4PYW ]SY GER MQQIHMEXIP] MRZIWX ]SYV GEWL ERH IEVR SV QSVI %W QER] [E]W XS EW XLIVI EVI MRZIWXSVW
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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, August 3, 2026 | A9 CROWDED HOUSE OF WORSHIP: Shiite Muslims on Sunday flocked to the holy shrine of Imam Abbas ahead of the Arbaeen festival, in which millions walked to Karbala, Iraq. HADI MIZBAN/AP Saint-Denis, where he said he witnessed firsthand the pov- erty and violence that he says stems from immigration. In recent months, Bardella has cultivated a very different image. Breaking with what he described in his 2024 autobiog- raphy as a golden rule to keep his personal life private, Bardella went public with his romantic relationship with Ma- ria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies—a 23-year-old Italian princess and social-media in- fluencer. In April, a stroll they took on the Mediterranean island Corsica made the cover and a 10-page photo spread in the glossy society magazine Paris Match. In June, Bardella was photographed sipping from a wine glass alongside the prin- cess in a VIP box at the Mo- naco Grand Prix. “His appearance in Monaco alongside the princess is a cal- culated move, aimed at win- ning over the votes of the bour- geois right, who don’t vote for the National Rally,” said French Industry Minister Sébastien Martin, a member of the con- servative party Les Républic- ains. “But he risks alienating the working-class supporters who form the National Rally’s WORLD NEWS freedom,” Bardella told the gathering, according to a par- ticipant. Bardella is courting France’s corporate establishment in an attempt to broaden National Rally’s appeal with mainstream conservatives ahead of next spring’s presidential elections. Polls show Marine Le Pen is leading that race after an ap- pellate court lifted a ban on her candidacy. If elected, Le Pen has pledged to appoint Bardella as her prime minister. The strategy ultimately aims to break the so-called cordon sanitaire, the political firewall that establishment parties have maintained around National Rally for decades to keep it out of power. “The National Rally is clearly pursuing a strategy of de-demonization, a quest for legitimacy from business cir- cles,” said Pascal Demurger, chief executive of French in- surer MAIF. Demurger has re- fused to meet with Bardella. It is a dramatic pivot for a party that has long defined it- self in opposition to the estab- lishment, railing against the global elite. Bardella rose to prominence by presenting himself as the voice of France’s working class. The son of Italian migrants, he grew up in the Paris suburb of core electorate,” he added. A spokesman for National Rally didn’t respond to re- quests for comment. Whether Bardella can broaden National Rally’s appeal hinges on his ability to cast his party as a reliable steward of the European Union’s second- largest economy. National Rally has long drawn support with its anti-im- migration stance, propelling Le Pen into runoffs with French President Emmanuel Macron in previous elections. But the party’s approach to the econ- omy has been an Achilles’ heel. In the 2017 election, Le Pen spooked voters with her call for France to exit from the euro, a stance she later abandoned. More recently she champi- oned tax increases on windfall corporate profits, the national- ization of the highway system and a lowering of France’s re- tirement age. Business leaders worry such measures will dis- courage foreign investment and blow an even bigger hole in the country’s public fi- nances. But business leaders are also reckoning with a fast- changing electoral landscape. In one election cycle after an- other, pro-business parties like Macron’s Renaissance have seen their majorities in the 577-seat National Assembly evaporate, resulting in a frag- mented parliament that has struggled to pass legislation. National Rally, meanwhile, has gone from holding a handful of seats to 122, more than any other single party in the as- sembly. That ascendance has ratch- eted up pressure on corporate leaders to take meetings with a party that many of them previ- ously shunned. Patrick Martin, president of the Medef busi- ness lobby that organized the lunch with Bardella, said Na- tional Rally’s rise in the polls had earned it a place at the ta- ble. “Medef isn’t responsible for giving National Rally 35% or more of the electorate,” Martin said. “This is a recognized party. We’re in a democracy.” With Le Pen struggling to gain traction with elites, she has deployed Bardella as the business-friendly face of the party. He is clean-cut and in- variably dons the same uniform as corporate France: a dark tie, dark suit and crisp white shirt. Business leaders who have interacted privately with Bardella say he has revealed little about his economic ap- proach, leaving many to won- der if there is really any day- light between him and Le Pen. PARIS—Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right Na- tional Rally party, walked into a private dining room in late April and took his seat among a dozen of France’s most pow- erful business lobbyists. For many of the executives, the meal marked the first face- to-face encounter with the 30- year-old protégé of far-right leader Marine Le Pen—or any leader from their party, for that matter. National Rally’s brand of politics had long been taboo in corporate France. The party’s founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was an outcast for his racist, antisemitic rhetoric. His daugh- ter, Marine—now seeking the French presidency—cemented the divide by championing pro- tectionism and state interven- tion in the economy. Everyone attending the lunch inside the Paris head- quarters of France’s business lobby, Medef, had agreed ahead of time to keep the details of the discussions confidential. Amid the clinking of cutlery, Bardella sought to reassure the executives that National Rally was no longer hostile to the in- terests of big business. “I believe in entrepreneurial BY NOEMIE BISSERBE AND STACY MEICHTRY LePen’sProtégéTriestoCourtFrance’sCEOs Jordan Bardella joined Marine Le Pen last month in Nice. PHILIPPE MAGONI/POOL/REUTERS WORLDWATCH GREECE Copters Fighting Wildfires Collide Two Greek firefighting heli- copters collided in midair Sun- day as they were battling a wind-driven wildfire west of Athens, sending one aircraft crashing to the ground. Two crew members, a Greek and a Danish national, died. The collision laid bare the danger at the most volatile front of Europe’s wildfire emergency. Strong winds drove flames deeper into the region of the Greek capital and forced fresh evacuations, France guarded a still-burning scar four times the size of Paris, while Spain’s major fires stopped advancing. The aircraft were Bell heli- copters operating over the Psatha area west of Athens, each with a two-person crew. —Associated Press INDONESIA Ferry Blaze Kills At Least Five A ferry carrying 271 people caught fire off the main is- land of Java on Sunday, leav- ing at least five people dead and dozens missing as rescu- ers and passing vessels evac- uated hundreds, officials said. The Mutiara Sentosa 2 ferry was traveling to Makas- sar in South Sulawesi from In- donesia’s second-largest city of Surabaya in East Java, with 232 passengers and 39 crew members, when the fire broke out between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. off Sumenep regency, said In- donesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, or Basarnas. Ferry operator PT Atosim Lampung Pelayaran reported the incident to the Surabaya search-and-rescue office about an hour later, Basarnas said. —Associated Press UKRAINE Drones Set Fire To Warehouse Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least five people across Russia, also hitting in- dustrial sites and a further warehouse belonging to Rus- sia’s e-commerce giant Wild- berries, local officials said. Wildberries, Russia’s larg- est online marketplace, is sometimes described as the country’s answer to Amazon. Ukraine has struck over a dozen of the retailer’s depots, part of Kyiv’s aerial campaign aimed at undermining Mos- cow’s war effort, hurting its economy and making people feel the consequences of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 133 drones, 24 of which hit targets, the Ukrai- nian air force said. —Associated Press CEUTA, Spain—Most of the tens of thousands of immi- grants who stormed into a Spanish enclave in North Africa have now left, Spanish officials said on Saturday, while army troops and police were round- ing up most of the remaining migrants who refused to leave. Ceuta remained tense. At a beach near the border crossing with Morocco, a few pension- ers in swimsuits sat under parasols as groups of young immigrants wandered by, some chased by soldiers in helmets and camouflage uniforms. The sea was dotted in shoes left by the thousands of immi- grants as they arrived ashore, including a child’s pair of Wel- lington rubber boots. Naval patrol boats were stationed on the horizon, and armored mili- tary cars parked nearby. Still, some shops were be- ginning to reopen and a sense of order was returning to the territory after nearly two days of chaos. It appeared there were only a few hundred of the immigrants left. “Almost everyone has now left,” Spanish Interior Minis- ter Fernando Grande-Marlaska said. “You can see the differ- ence on the street. Today, many shops are open, and people are walking around. It’s not quite back to normal, but it’s getting there.” One of those leaving was Jilali Abdelgasem, 31 years old, a trained mechanic. He was put in a line along with dozens of other immigrants and was being escorted to the border by Spanish troops on foot and in Humvees. Abdelgasem had wanted to try his luck at emigrating for years to get a higher-paying job and even learned basic Spanish. He read about Spain’s recent amnesty offer for immigrants already living in the country. In recent days, he saw social-me- dia posts saying Moroccan po- lice weren’t stopping immi- grants from crossing into Ceuta and decided to take his chances. He says that when he ar- rived near the border, there was no one to stop him or thousands of others, so they swam about 2 miles to the en- clave, arriving exhausted. Spanish television on Sat- urday showed images of armed Moroccan police patrol- ling the shores and roads on the Moroccan side, trying to prevent any new crossers. Others were leaving more voluntarily. Aldja, 21, said she and her friend Sofiane read about the mass crossings early Thursday and traveled eight hours to the border and swam across, only to find that shops were closed and there was no access to food or water. “We thought we were tak- ing a staircase of hope,” Sofi- ane said of a path taken by most immigrants from the beach to the town center. “But it got us nowhere.” Many Ceuta residents were angered and frightened by the mass crossings. There were sporadic reports of residents arming themselves with make- shift weapons to protect their homes or shops. Grande, the Spanish official, said there were isolated incidents but nothing serious. Early Saturday, Spanish offi- cials said they began installing a makeshift, inflatable barrier that extends out some 500 yards from a breakwater where some of the migrants had swum into the enclave. At least 67 migrants died during the crossings, most from drown- ing, Spanish officials said. For some locals, the upgrade was too little, too late. Rachid Sbihi, spokesman for the union that represents most of the gendarmerie in Ceuta, said his group had pleaded with federal officials for an extension of the wall for the past decade to no avail. Sbihi said at least mi- grants died during the crossings. He added many of the dead were children who couldn’t swim and included a toddler. Some resi- dents of the enclave said the number of people who came across may have been even higher than the 60,000 esti- mated by local officials, saying it felt as though there were more new arrivals than the roughly 84,000 people who live here. Many expressed re- lief that the vast majority had gone after days spent in fear. “People are relieved that most are gone, but they still want more security to over- come their fear,” Arantxa Campos, the head of the local chamber of commerce, told Spanish television. “Not all the businesses are reopened, but more will open as they see security forces who can protect us.” It was un- clear how many i m m i g r a n t s would try to dodge authori- ties and remain in the enclave in the hopes of later making it to the Spanish mainland. One immigrant was seen hiding in a large trash can, while another hid between rocks along the coastline. A recent Spanish court rul- ing made it harder for local authorities to summarily expel immigrants who arrive by sea, although it didn’t appear that authorities were making that distinction in returning the immigrants. The scenes of tens of thou- sands of mostly young men pouring across the frontier went global and caused alarm in many European capitals. Italy said it would tempo- rarily suspend freedom of movement between its terri- tory and Spain during the cri- sis to ensure that none of the migrants made their way in. “This is an extraordinary measure, adopted to safeguard national security and prevent possible repercussions for our Nation,” Italian Prime Minis- ter Giorgia Meloni wrote on X. Right-wing parties in other countries backed Meloni’s move and said the European Union’s freedom-of-movement agreements that protected visa-free travel for residents— broadly known as the Schen- gen Agreement—was under threat if abused by migrants to move around the continent. “Spain has completely failed to protect the external border of the Schengen area from incursions. This cannot continue,” Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen wrote on X. “All European countries must support Meloni’s pro- posal. Countries that do not fulfill their obligation to pro- tect the external border can- not be members of Schengen.” Spain’s government has taken a less strict approach to immigration than many other European countries. This year, the Spanish government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it would offer amnesty and legalize an estimated half a million immigrants who had arrived illegally in recent years. That would automati- cally entitle them to move around Europe. Some migrants expelled on Saturday said they would re- turn. “I will wait for things to cool down,” Abdelgasem said as he was escorted by police back to the border. “Then, in two months, I will try again.” BY BENOIT FAUCON AND DAVID LUHNOW Spain Expels Most Migrants From Enclave Migrants attempted to enter Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta near the border with Morocco on Friday. JORGE GUERRERO/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES Many Ceuta residents were angered and frightened by the influx.
A10 | Monday, August 3, 2026 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. WORLD NEWS as “the only brown kid among hundreds of people”—and then unfairly punished for physically defending himself. “I learned early on that you’ve got to stand up for yourself, that the fix is in.…The state is against you.” After earning engineering degrees at Stanford University, he co-founded a genetic-screen- ing company, worked at ven- ture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and was briefly chief technology officer at cryptocur- rency exchange Coinbase. “Balaji is a brilliant guy,” Coinbase head Brian Armstrong said in a podcast last year, add- ing that he brought “an enor- mous amount of value.” Srinivasan was also “kind of unmanageable,” he said. “About once a week, someone would come into my office as CEO and say, ‘I can’t work with Balaji, and he’s causing so much collateral damage.’” ‘Mostly good cop’ Srinivasan said on X that he doesn’t start conflict for retreat, it started at $1,500 a month for room and board, classes and beachside digs. Peo- ple could live there or stay for as short as a month. Srinivasan said the first cohort drew 128 people, while the second, in 2025, offered 256 spaces. Re- cent attendees estimated a few hundred participants at a time. The idea was for people to come and learn, work on their business, and hit the gym and eat right to gain the strength to build their own utopias elsewhere. On a recent weekday, about two dozen foreign attendees worked on laptops in the Net- work School’s cafe, which sold health supplements including creatine and collagen peptides. Current and former resi- dents raved about the sheer convenience and camaraderie with fellow adventurers. Srini- vasan’s ideology was a draw for Pranit Garg, a 29-year-old digital nomad who moved here in March, but his favorite part was the gym and all-you- can-eat protein. “Come for the vision,” he said. “Stay because you’re get- ting jacked.” The standoff Before his clash with Ma- laysian authorities, Srinivasan had said the Network School didn’t seek sovereignty and would abide by local laws. The project was just the early steps of a seven-stage process to start new societies, he said. Then came the passport dis- pute. In July, an Instagram post by a pro-Palestinian group said the school admitted Israeli citizens, including one who used a second passport. Malay- sia requires Israelis to obtain permission before entering. Immigration officials came to the campus to inspect pass- ports. Srinivasan responded with public fury on social me- dia, likening the Instagram ac- cusation to “swatting”—the hoax of tricking SWAT teams into targeting someone—and demanded a meeting with the prime minister’s office. “Alternatively, if you don’t want our investment, or those of our colleagues at billion dollar funds and trillion dollar companies,” he wrote, “we will of course respect your wishes, and reallocate our capital to other countries instead.” An official said authorities hadn’t found evidence of wrongdoing and the investiga- tion was continuing. But the local government separately ordered the project to cease operations, citing licensing ir- regularities. Malaysian au- thorities didn’t reply to re- quests for comment. A few hours later, Srini- vasan posted a video of him- self alongside a Kazakhstani deputy prime minister—a for- mer executive at crypto ex- change Binance—signing an agreement to open a Network School campus there. Srinivasan told The Wall Street Journal that several countries offered to house his project. Kazakhstan has been courting foreign companies by setting up special economic zones with no corporate in- come taxes and easy visas. “Our new campus will be- come a haven for global techno-optimism,” Srinivasan said on X. the school’s residents after an Instagram post said the project housed citizens from Israel. Muslim-majority Malaysia doesn’t officially recognize that state and requires Israelis to get special permission to enter the country. Authorities said they haven’t found wrongdoing. But last week, the local government ordered the proj- ect to shut down over unre- lated licensing issues. Within hours, Srinivasan said on so- cial media that he had signed an agreement to open a cam- pus in Kazakhstan. In a response to questions for this article, Srinivasan wrote on X that the Instagram post was a hoax, and that “we respect Malaysia’s sovereignty and are abiding by all Malay- sian law.” He said mildew is a common regional issue his team fixes as necessary. People came to the Network School for self-im- provement rather than party- ing, and there were plenty of women, he added. “We are ab- solutely not simply for the ‘tech bro,’ but for the tech dad, tech mom, tech family, and tech children,” Srinivasan said. Other tech leaders are try- ing to carve out independent enclaves. Patri Friedman, a software engineer and grand- son of economist Milton Friedman, first tried building floating city-states, and then launched a fund to seed “startup cities.” He said inves- tors and advisers include Srinivasan, Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen. Srinivasan said the Network School may get its own special economic zone, or “we may build an artificial island from reclaimed land off the shore of a willing country, or we may even accompany Elon to Mars.” Srinivasan, 46, grew up on Long Island the son of Indian immigrant physicians. He once said he was bullied at school ContinuedfromPageOne Utopian State Falters The Network School set up shop at the Forest City development on a nearly deserted artificial island in Malaysia. KATHY ANNE LIM FOR WSJ the sake of it. “In general I am mostly good cop and a reluc- tant bad cop,” he said. Srinivasan believes few countries that predate the in- ternet will survive, and that the U.S. in particular is on the decline, driven by political polarization. “In like one generation, it becomes at a minimum like P r o t e s t a n t - Catholic or Sunni-Shiite or something like that,” he said in a 2022 podcast. Combined with factors includ- ing inflation and a heavily armed popula- tion, he said “American anar- chy, unfortunately, is sort of where we’re heading.” In his 2022 book, “The Net- work State,” Srinivasan of- fered a peaceful alternative, saying it is better to build new societies from scratch. His playbook: First, people with shared beliefs form an online community. Next, mem- bers help each other earn money, pool funds to acquire land and, once big enough, seek recognition as a state. To test the concept, Srini- vasan headed to a nearly de- serted artificial island about 100 miles from the equator. On the southern tip of Malaysia, sea- side high rises built for tens of thousands of people sit mostly empty. The develop- ment, Forest City, is a sym- bol of China’s real-estate bust. The area sits across the bridge from the wealthy city- state of Singapore, where Srinivasan said he is now a citizen. Federal records indi- cate he and his wife renounced U.S. citizenship in 2023. In 2024, Srinivasan rented space in a hotel and opened the Network School. Part tech incu- bator, part self-improvement Srinivasan says it is better to build new societies from scratch. #Šê #ĉĞĉĀêĥßê êĉĤÃĀĉĥêå ÿĬŋ ňêêå Ãĥå ßߊŋÃߎ °ąÃŚ ĉÿ åŠê åĉĞĉĀêĥßê ßĬŠĞå Þê ÞĬŚą ÿÃŒŚêŋ Ãĥå ĤĬŋê ňŋêßĉŒêǨ #Ĭŷ TĬĥêŒ FĥŚêĀŋĉŚŽ ąêßě ĉŒ åêŒĉĀĥêå ŚĬ ĉĤňŋĬŶê ÃßߊŋÃߎǢ ŋêåŠßê ĤÃĥŠÃĞ êÿÿĬŋŚǢ Ãĥå ÞêŚŚêŋ ßĬĥĥêߌ ŷĉŚą ŽĬŠŋ êżĉŒŚĉĥĀ ŒŽŒŚêĤŒǡ ąê ŋêŒŠĞŚ ĉŒ Ãĥ êĥąÃĥßêå åŠê åĉĞĉĀêĥßê ÃňňŋĬÃßą ŚąÃŚ ÃĉåêŒ ĉĥ ŋĉŒě åêŚêߌĉĬĥ Ãĥå ĉĥÿĬŋĤêå åêŒĉĀĥ ĤÃěĉĥĀǡ ßÃĥ ąêŋê ÿĬŋ à åêêňêŋ åĉŶê ĉĥŚĬ ĬŠŋ FĥŚêĀŋĉŚŽ ąêßě ŒĬĞŠŚĉĬĥǡ Ɋ ƓƑƓƗ #Ĭŷ TĬĥêŒ Ãĥå ĬĤňÃĥŽǢ Fĥßǡ ĞĞ ŋĉĀąŚŒ ŋêŒêŋŶêåǡ êåŠßê ĉĥŶêŒŚĉĀÃŚĉĬĥ ŚĉĤê ÞŽ à Śąĉŋå êåŠßê (## ŚŠŋĥÃŋĬŠĥå ŚĉĤê ÿŋĬĤ åÃŽŒ ŚĬ ĤĉĥŠŚêŒ ĉĥĀĞêǸňÃĀê ĉĥŚêŋÿÃßê F ßÃňÃÞĉĞĉŚĉêŒ ÞŠĉĞŚ ŚĬ ĉĥŚêĀŋÃŚê ŒêÃĤĞêŒŒĞŽ ŷĉŚą êżĉŒŚĉĥĀ ŋĉŒě ĤÃĥÃĀêĤêĥŚ ŚĬĬĞŒ
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, August 3, 2026 | A11 FROM PAGE ONE BRANDON BELL/GETTY IMAGES door and recorded a trail of blood on the rust-colored tiles of the front porch. The net- work’s afternoon news update lingered on the halo of dark droplets. An Amazon package sat nearby. “See right there, see the blood?” reporter Brian Entin said. He spends some 200 days a year covering high-profile cases around the U.S. “In other crimes I’ve worked,” he said, “they’ll keep the whole house closed off with crime-scene tape for a week while they’re still in- vestigating.” Sheriff’s deputies returned to the Guthrie house the next day—Wednesday, Feb. 4—and unspooled a perimeter of yellow tape around the house. They searched the garage and sur- rounding property. Two hours later, the tape came down. Savannah, who lost her fa- ther to a heart attack when she was 16, posted a video that night and acknowledged reports of a ransom note. “We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her,” she said, reading a statement. Minutes later, President Trump posted on his Truth So- cial platform that he had spoken with Savannah and “let her know I am directing ALL Fed- eral Law Enforcement to be at the family’s, and Local Law En- forcement’s, complete disposal, IMMEDIATELY.” The next morning, Feb. 5, the FBI announced it had moved from a supporting role to a part- ner in the investigation. Nanos in a news briefing de- fended his department’s work. “Remember,” he said, “it was a search-and-rescue mission the first few hours, and we transi- tioned that over to a criminal investigation.” On Friday, the family re- ceived a second message: We never intended to hurt her, it said. We are truly sorry. The following day, Saturday, Feb. 7, Savannah posted a video on Instagram. She sat on a gray couch, gripping hands with her sister and brother. “We received your message and we under- stand,” she said. “We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace.” By then, the family knew the tragic contents of the second note: Nancy Guthrie wouldn’t be found alive. “How can someone vanish without a trace,” Savannah asked herself. “How?” Mystery man Patel landed in Tucson on Monday, Feb. 9, and left six hours later. The next day, he aired the first break in the case. He tweeted a video that showed an armed man wearing a ski mask and a backpack passing under the brick archway of Nancy’s front porch. Patel said the FBI and unnamed private- sector partners had recovered footage captured by the missing Nest camera. In another Nest video, the man raises a handful of brush to block the camera lens. The chill- ing images were viewed more than 17 million times on X. Sa- vannah shared the images on social media. “Someone out there recognizes this person,” she posted. Online sleuths quickly picked out a clue. In one of the images, the man wasn’t wearing a back- pack. They speculated the kid- napper had been at the Guthrie her gloved arm made her squeal like the girl she had been during her first visit there in grade school. Savannah crossed town to the University of Arizona, her alma mater, and strode the quad in sunglasses and a sundress, trailed by the marching band playing the school’s fight song, “Bear Down, Arizona.” The Guthries had moved to Tucson in the 1970s, drawn by the vast desert landscape, buy- ing the house where Savannah and her older brother and sister were raised. Savannah and her mother joked about the javeli- nas, the piglike animals that for- aged through the family’s trash cans at night. Nancy had in- stalled a Nest doorbell camera to keep an eye out for them. The video tour finished with a Guthrie family tradition, a meal together at downtown Tucson’s century-old El Charro Cafe. Savannah sat between her older sister, Annie Guthrie, a writer, and their 83-year-old mother, a retired university ad- ministrator. The staff brought the Guthries a round of tequila. Nancy ordered a bottle for Sa- vannah to take home. Back in the studio, Savannah served tequila to her co-hosts, and Jenna Bush Hager raised her cup. “For Nancy,” she said. Twelve weeks later, Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped from the adobe-brick ranch house where she had lived for a half-century. The Nest camera caught a glimpse of a masked man on the front porch. Police suspect Nancy was taken in her sleep from the same bed she used to demonstrate how to make hos- pital corners on a “Today” show feature in 2013. Overnight, Nancy became as famous as her daughter. The Tucson suburb of Catalina Foot- hills was as overrun with re- porters as the Brentwood neigh- borhood of O.J. Simpson in Los Angeles during his double-mur- der trial in the mid-1990s, a modern media landmark. Cover- age of Nancy’s disappearance also drew TV trucks and jour- nalists. Unlike Simpson’s case, which ended in acquittals, the kidnapping attracted a new gen- eration of amateur sleuths, livestreaming hours of daily content, conjecture and rumor to hundreds of thousands of on- line followers. The world’s attention did lit- tle to advance the case. Six months after the Feb. 1 kidnap- ping, a joint federal-local task force is no closer to finding Nancy or her abductors. Frus- tration over the stalled investi- gation set off finger-pointing by Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel, who had early on promised to lead the charge but has since gone largely silent. Early trouble The case had trouble from the start. County sheriff’s depu- ties at first minimized the im- portance of dried blood found on Nancy’s front porch. They failed to seal off the property with police tape to protect sen- sitive crime-scene evidence, al- lowing reporters, livestreamers, and Amazon and pizza delivery drivers entry to the porch. In- vestigators spent precious hours deciding whether Nancy was kidnapped or lost. A search-and- rescue plane sat grounded until ContinuedfromPageOne Missteps in Guthrie Kidnap Case dusk, awaiting a deputy trained to operate its sophisticated sur- veillance system, The Wall Street Journal found. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos in an interview Wednes- day disputed those findings. He at points contradicted state- ments he had made during past news conferences. “I can assure everybody that we are working hard every day with all of our partners,” he said, including “corporate America,” which has “offered up some assistance with some of the brightest minds in this country.” The sheriff added, “This case is not cold.” The FBI declined to make Pa- tel available for an interview. “The state is the lead in this in- vestigation, has always been the lead,” a spokesman said in a statement. Savannah spent the last show before her mother’s abduction promoting the Winter Olympics. She was scheduled to lead NBC’s coverage of the Games in Milan and had been packing for the trip when she learned the news. Instead, Savannah took a leave of absence to be in Tucson with her siblings, serving as the fam- ily’s liaison with authorities. She returned to “Today” on April 6, determined to solve her mother’s abduction by leverag- ing her TV fame and coast-to- coast reach—the same lofty platform she worried might have drawn the attention of Nancy Guthrie’s kidnappers. In a TV interview, Savannah, 54, re- vealed her fear and sorrow about what she might have risked by showcasing her mother to the wider world. Was it because of me? Did I bring them to her bed- side? Missing person Pima County, Ariz., covers 9,000 square miles of desert. It takes more than three hours to drive from one end to the other. Nearly all its residents, roughly a million, live in and around Tucson. Nancy Guthrie’s house is just north of the city limits, in the jurisdiction of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. The department’s first miss- ing-persons call in the case was logged at 12:03 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 1, according to a timeline provided by authorities. Sher- iff’s deputies arrived at 5820 North Camino Escalante about 10 minutes later. Such calls are routine in Pima County, a mecca for desert hikers who some- times get lost—as well as for re- tirees, some with failing memo- ries who wander from home. Annie Guthrie, Nancy’s mid- dle child, and her husband, Tommaso Cioni, were waiting for deputies. Nancy had been at their house Saturday for dinner and games, days after celebrat- ing her 84th birthday. Annie’s husband drove Nancy home and watched the garage door close behind her at 9:50 p.m., the last time she was seen by anyone but her kidnappers. Annie told the deputies she had gone to check on her mother after a friend called to say that Nancy hadn’t arrived for her Sunday visit. Nancy reg- ularly gathered with friends to watch a livestream of the morn- ing service at Good Shepherd New York in Gramercy Park, the church Savannah attended. Once inside her home, Annie was frightened by what she found—her mother’s purse and iPhone, items Nancy always kept close at hand. A back door was left propped open. Around 2 p.m., the sheriff’s department lead supervisor on the scene texted Nanos, alerting him to a missing-person case. Annie and her siblings didn’t be- Reporters, news broadcasters, sheriff’s deputies and livestreamers gathered at Nancy Guthrie’s house in Tucson. MEXICO T u c s o n PIMA COUNTY GULF OF CALIFORNIA Guthrie House A R I Z O N A The next morning, Monday, Feb. 2, Nanos announced he had called off the search. “We do, in fact, have a crime scene,” he said. Despite that, deputies that day failed to seal off the Guthrie property with police crime- scene tape, a standard protocol. Detectives in an electronic mes- sage asked neighbors to review their doorbell-camera footage. Yet they asked only for the hours from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sun- day. Nancy’s pacemaker had stopped sending signals over Bluetooth hours earlier, at 2:28 a.m. On Monday night, the CBS affiliate in Tucson received an online ransom note on the sta- tion’s tip line. It began, Hello Sa- vannah. We have your mother Nancy. The sender used a masked IP address to render the message untraceable. The note had details only a kidnapper would likely know—a white Apple Watch by the bed, a broken floodlight in the back- yard. Nancy would be safely re- turned in exchange for $4 mil- lion in bitcoin before 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, the note said. The ransom would rise to $6 million after that, and the note set a deadline of 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9. The TV station shared the note with sheriff’s investigators but didn’t disclose it on the air. At the Guthrie house, as the investigation entered its 48- hour mark, a camera operator for NewsNation—a cable news network—walked along the red- gravel driveway to the front lieve it. Their mother was men- tally sharp but physically frail, barely able to walk to the mail- box and back, they told depu- ties. Annie pointed out that the Nest camera was missing. “Something is wrong,” the supervisor told Nanos in a text minutes later. “We’re calling homicide.” The head of homicide, Sgt. David Stivers, was reprimanded two months before Nancy’s kid- napping for “poor judgment,” blamed for delays securing crime-scene evidence in a homi- cide case, personnel records from a public-records request show. Charges in the homicide case were dropped for insuffi- cient evidence. Stivers and his detectives ar- rived at Nancy’s house in the late afternoon. For hours, they gave little regard to the dried blood on the front porch, said people familiar with the investi- gation. They suspected the blood might have come from some unrelated head bump, nosebleed or other incidental in- jury, the people said. Detectives worked to collect evidence, including blood sam- ples. A DNA analysis later con- firmed the blood was Nancy’s, and it is now believed connected to her kidnapping. At 4 p.m., sheriff’s deputies contacted volunteers to help search the neighborhood. The sheriff’s department launched drones. Border Patrol agents went out with search dogs. Yet, the sheriff’s most power- ful search-and-rescue tool was delayed for hours—the depart- ment’s $1.7 million Cessna surveillance aircraft, equipped with both infrared and zoom-lens cam- eras. The problem was finding a flight deputy to operate the camera systems. The senior pilot assigned the Sunday shift was demoted days earlier to patrol duty, follow- ing a workplace com- plaint. Flight data show that the plane began its search at around 6:30 p.m. By then, it was getting too dark for its zoom-lens cameras to be of much use. house on an earlier night to check out entries and exits. Au- thorities said Friday the theory might be correct. “It was great to be on the ground in Arizona with our FBI team leading the charge,” Patel said in an interview on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show that night. “I do believe we’re look- ing at people who, as we say, are persons of interest.” While the show aired, Carlos Palazuelos, a 36-year-old Door- Dash delivery driver, was taken into custody by sheriff’s depu- ties about an hour south of Tuc- son. County sheriff’s tactical re- sponders wanted to hold off on searching Palazuelos’ home, ac- cording to people close to the investigation. At the FBI’s urg- ing, the county SWAT team went ahead. The search came up empty. Palazuelos was released at 1 a.m. Authorities never said why they took Palazuelos into cus- tody, other than he was a local delivery man. On Thursday, Feb. 12, the FBI released a more detailed de- scription of the man in the Nest video: 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-10; av- erage build; wearing a black 25- liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack exclusive to Walmart. Investigators fanned out to local Walmart stores, scouring sur- veillance video and receipts but found no suspects. Trump spoke the next day with reporters about the case. “It was a local case originally and they didn’t want to let go of it,” the president said. “But ulti- mately when the FBI got in- volved, I think you know, prog- ress has been made.” Thousands of tips continued to pour into the joint task force working out of the Tucson FBI office. But neither Nanos nor Patel have announced further breaks in the case. Nanos said Thursday that DNA testing had so far hit a dead end. Patel, in a May 5 interview with Hannity, criticized Nanos’s role in the Guthrie case. He said hundreds of FBI agents were sidelined by the sheriff’s depart- ment in the critical early stages. “For four days, we were kept out of the investigation,” he said. If the FBI had access to the Nest video earlier, he said, “We could have also, maybe, gotten more data.” In an interview, Nanos de- nied any delays. If Patel “really believes that we tried to block them or keep them out of this or not share things,” he said, “I, 100%, want him to call me be- cause that’s the furthest from the truth.” Nanos said the two men have never spoken. Perished On Feb. 24, Savannah posted a video on Instagram announc- ing a $1 million reward for in- formation leading to her mother’s recovery. “She may al- ready be gone,” she said. “If this is what is to be, then we will ac- cept it, but we need to know where she is.” The second ransom note pro- vided the sole clue: “She is bur- ied in nature now.” After spending a month in Tucson following her mother’s disappearance, Savannah boarded a flight back to her hus- band and children in New York. She had come to believe the best place to keep the spotlight on her mother’s case—and the investigators in charge—was at the TV anchor desk at Studio 1A, Rockefeller Plaza. Savannah looked out the airplane win- dow as she passed over the desert ex- panse, where she feared her mother had been abandoned without ceremony or her family’s prayers. She thought, How could I leave you? Savannah made public pleas on Mon- day and again on Sat- urday, six months af- ter her mother was taken. “I’m asking you, begging you, to do the right thing now,” she said. “Tell us where to look for her.” A banner with messages about Nancy Guthrie at Tucson’s KVOA TV news station. ASH PONDERS FOR WSJ ‘We beg you now to return our mother to us.’ Savannah Guthrie, in a message to her mother’s kidnappers
A12 | Monday, August 3, 2026 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. © 2026 Dow Jones & Company. All Rights Reserved. They add about $200 a month to a 529 college-savings account for their daughter worth about $21,500 and to which family members also contribute. The couple also has a money-market account with about $20,000, which they treat as an emergency fund. He has a $1.5 million life-insurance policy, which costs him $140 quar- terly. She doesn’t have life insurance. While the couple has been fo- cused on saving, they also are try- ing to stay in the present and have gency fund to $50,000. And he would like to see a life-insurance policy of at least $250,000 for Alana Shir. Parenti says a good rule of thumb is to save about 25% of income after taxes. This couple is at about 40%, he says. He recommends that their retirement sav- ings be allocated to Roth-style accounts because Roths are funded with after-tax dollars and the Shirs are in a relatively low income bracket. Once those issues are addressed he be- lieves they will be well-situated to be- come homeowners, even in the cur- rent environment. He says they could comfortably handle a home in the $420,000 to $440,000 range, assuming a down payment of $150,000 and a 30-year mortgage rate of 6.5%. They could then refi- nance in the future, he says. Parenti advises potential home- owners looking to buy within the next one to two years to build and keep down-payment funds in cash- equivalent accounts such as money markets, CDs and high-yield savings accounts. If the timeline is more like three to four years, down-payment funds could be invested in short- to medium-term bonds, he says. Be- yond that, some of the money could be invested in the stock market. fun as a young family. “We want to make sure our daughter has a great childhood while we are getting money in all of those baskets,” says Alana Shir. Advice from a pro The Shirs have done a good job keeping expenses low and manag- ing to save aggressively on a lim- ited income, says Matt Parenti, a certified financial planner and man- aging director of Hightower Signa- ture Wealth in Chicago. But they need to do some defen- sive planning, he says, such as buy- ing disability insurance in case any- thing happens to Joseph Shir that affects his ability to earn. He also suggests they boost their emer- Alana and Joseph Shir have been contributing aggressively to their investment and retirement accounts. JOSEPH AND ALANA SHIR PERSONAL JOURNAL. The Shirs pay $2,600 a month on average for household-related ex- penses, covering a portion of home- owners insurance and property taxes, the HOA bill, utilities, lawn care and other services and repairs. Other monthly expenses include $600 for a car lease, gas and insur- ance; $1,500 for groceries; and about $200 on eating out and so- cial outings. He has a student loan with a balance of $21,000 at 4.4% in- terest, which has been in forbearance. Their health insur- ance through Jo- seph’s work costs about $450 a month. The remainder of their budget is dedi- cated to savings, with a portfolio of assets totaling more than $776,000. He contributes 12% of his salary to a thrift savings plan through his employer that currently holds $98,000. He contributes $570 monthly to a Roth IRA worth about $40,000 and $200 to an invest- ment account totaling $154,000. She has an investment account with more than $268,000, as well as a Roth IRA worth $134,000 from her years of working in sales. An in- herited IRA, which she will have to cash out by next year, has $35,000. J oseph and Alana Shir want to be homeowners. The question is, when is the right time to make that move? The couple, both in their early 30s, have been living with Alana’s mother near Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the past three years. They know they are fortunate, living in a nicer area than they could afford on one income. Joseph Shir works as an analyst for the federal government, making about $112,000 a year. He also earns about $10,000 teaching a course online. Alana Shir is home full time with their 1-year-old daughter, Jessa. The couple hopes to have another child at some point. The Shirs don’t know exactly where they would like to live, what they can afford and when to take that step, especially with housing costs being so high. And while they are short on space in their current living situation, they are reluctant to leave it. “It’s been great to have three generations in one house,” says Joseph Shir. BY DEMETRIA GALLEGOS A good rule of thumb is to save about 25% of income after taxes. One-Income Couple Wants to Buy a Home A new plan to conduct testosterone screen- ings for all U.S. troops 30 years and older has raised many questions among the general population. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is calling for mandatory annual tests to see if men are deficient in the sex hormone and if they want to receive testosterone therapy. No major medical society rec- ommends routine testosterone screening of healthy men. Just about everything about testoster- one is controversial, from how to define a deficiency, to what level supplementation should reach, to the potential risks of therapy. Here’s what we know. What’s a normal level? Testosterone is the main male sex hormone, though women, too, have testosterone at lower levels. The normal distribution of tes- tosterone levels in men is wide- ranging, from a low of 264 nano- grams per deciliter of blood to 914, says Dr. Shalender Bhasin, a SUMATHI REDDY YOUR HEALTH professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who has studied testosterone for 40 years. Testos- terone is released in bursts roughly every 90 to 120 minutes, says Bhasin. So levels can vary by as much as 15% to 20% during one day, says Dr. Brad Anawalt, an endocrinolo- gist and professor of medicine at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. That’s why levels should be tested when they peak, which is in the morning between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. Testosterone levels can be lower from illness, significant trauma, or even chronic poor sleep from conditions like sleep apnea. “It’s always important to measure these testosterone concentrations when you’re in your usual state of good health,” says Anawalt. Effects of aging Not as much as many think. Testosterone levels typically peak in your 20s or 30s and then decline by about 1% a year. Men who are healthy and lean typically don’t have these drops. “Most of the effects of aging are related to weight gain and obesity,” says Anawalt. Testosterone levels become affected when men gain more than 5% of their body weight or when their Body Mass Index (BMI) starts creeping up past 25 and certainly over 30, he says. For a small percentage of men over age 70, testosterone levels may drop below the normal lower limit due to aging, says Anawalt. Other factors Chronic diseases related to obesity such as Type 2 diabetes can also result in lower testosterone levels. Many medications can also lower levels, including opioids, an- abolic steroids, and glucosteroids, used to treat many inflammatory conditions, as well as treatments like chemotherapy. Health condi- tions like pituitary-gland issues and genetic disorders such as Klinefelter syndrome can also re- sult in testosterone deficiency. Physiological stress, such as consistent sleep deprivation from sleep apnea, not eating enough calories, or excessive exercise can result in a low testosterone. The risks In addition to a lower sex drive, having testosterone deficiency can lead to decreased bone density and muscle mass, as well as a decrease in the amount of red blood cells you produce. Roughly 2% to 7% of men over the age of 35 have testosterone deficiency. The majority of those men are obese; fewer than 1% have an underlying disease or medical condition that results in lower than normal testosterone levels. How to measure Levels are measured by a simple blood test. But they aren’t typi- cally checked in annual wellness exams unless requested. And no professional doctor’s association recommends widespread screening in the general population. Is therapy a must for low lev- els? Not necessarily. Doctors are clear that treatment is only needed if your levels are low and you experience symptoms such as low libido, low energy and mood, and loss of muscle mass or bone. Bhasin says certain at-risk sub- sets of the population should be screened, such as people with chronic kidney disease on dialysis, men who have been treated with chemotherapy, or have chronic liver disease. Others include men with sexual dysfunction, infertility or breast enlargement. Testosterone therapy Testosterone therapy can be delivered through the application of a daily gel, weekly home injections, twice-a-day pills or an implanted pellet. The main risk is the potential for infertility due to a lower sperm count, says Dr. Adrian San- dra Dobs, professor of medicine and oncology at the Johns Hop- kins University School of Medi- cine. Once a man stops the ther- apy, it can take months for the sperm count to be restored. “Do you really want to start giving testosterone to young men in the peak of their reproductive years which might result in a drop in sperm count and their own pro- duction of testosterone?” she says. Another potential side effect is an increase in the number of red blood cells. This can make the blood thicker and raise the risk of blood clots, strokes and heart attacks. When to screen Depends on how you define it and whom you ask. Even though the American Urological Association guidelines don’t recommend annual screenings, they support the administration’s move to screen troops for testosterone deficiency, noting that having a baseline value even in the absence of symptoms can be helpful. The Endocrine Society, on the other hand, doesn’t advocate screenings for all troops. Anawalt says screen- ing large populations of adult men for testoster- one levels will result in a lot of false positives. Therefore, it’s best to only screen men with symptoms. But Dr. Helen Bernie, an associ- ate professor of urology at Indiana University and a spokesperson for the AUA, says testosterone defi- ciency is often underdiagnosed. Even if a man doesn’t have symp- toms, just knowing they have low testosterone can be a red flag since it’s associated with higher rates of obesity and other chronic health conditions. “Low testoster- one in itself can be an early bio- marker for man’s overall health,” says Bernie. “This could be a warning sign of other underlying conditions that we can actually treat.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called for mandatory testosterone tests for servicemembers. FROM TOP: STEFANI REYNOLDS/BLOOMBERG NEWS; LAURA BARGFELD/AP Testing for Testosterone: Who Needs It and Who Doesn’t As Defense Department plans screenings for troops, doctors say most healthy men can skip it A vial of testosterone being prepared for injection.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, August 3, 2026 | A13 doesn’t think his outreach qualifies as helicoptering. “Well, maybe a little,” he said, before quickly adding he was being half tongue-in-cheek. “It was really merely just to help her get a network established. I just think the work world is a challenging place.” Wainschel’s post, which was OK’d by his daughter on the condition he didn’t embarrass her, didn’t lead to a job but did result in productive conversa- tions, he said. She found a job with a credit union on her own shortly after. Recruiters and other HR types say aggressive parental involvement signals a lack of independence and raises fears that mom and dad will be checking in regularly if their kid gets hired. What’s more, they say, such interference rarely, if ever, works. The phenomenon is becom- ing so commonplace it made the agenda of human resources organization SHRM’s national conference in June. When James Harrell asked a room of 250 professionals if they ever had a parent calling on behalf of a young employee or coming to an interview, more than half raised their hands. “The first time it happened to me, I got high up on my soapbox and I shook my fist,” Harrell says. “The 15th time I said, ‘OK, well, I gotta figure out how to do something dif- ferently.’” Harrell helped run an ap- prenticeship program for high- school students while he was the human capital manage- ment chief for the San Antonio Independent School District. To run interference, the dis- trict introduced a “signing day” when parents could come and ask questions. After a Gen Z employee at Nation’s Best Holdings, a chain of hardware and home goods stores, didn’t get an “exceeds expectations” designation on his performance review last year, HR chief Amber Little got a call asking why. It was one of a number of calls from parents her office has picked up recently about issues ranging from negative feedback to understanding which health insurance plan to choose. Little has even noticed parents are now calling in sick for their adult kids. “Instead of coaching them, they do it for them,” Little says. When it happens, she adds, “we encourage them to tell their child to come talk to us and we will walk them through it.” A Zety survey of more than 1,000 Gen Zers found 20% had a parent attend a job interview with them. “You get a sense it’s all hands on deck for some fami- lies,” says Keith Wolf, manag- ing partner of recruiting firm Murray Resources in Houston. His office has received emails from parents seeking jobs for their children, and Wolf says he’s wondered if the kids knew. Paul “PB” Branson, who graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in May, bristles. The 22-year-old says while he understands their anxiety, parents shouldn’t be joining their children’s job in- terviews or contacting employ- ees on their behalf. “That trend,” he says, “has really hurt my generation by creating this kind of stereotype that we need our hands held.” Lynne Alba, left, and Amber Little urge parents to step back from their kids’ careers. LYNNE ALBA hiring managers, applying for jobs on their adult child’s be- half, and even showing up—or lurking just off-screen—on Zoom calls to help navigate difficult conversations or go over benefits packages. “The first time it happened, I was appalled,” says Clark, who has fielded calls from par- ents asking why their child didn’t get a job. “Since then it’s become more of a here-we-go- again reaction.” Human resource profession- als have expressed outrage on social media. “Parents should not be call- ing employers to check on their application status or ask questions on behalf of their child,” says Lynne Alba, a di- rector of talent acquisition and physician recruitment at a large health system on Long Island, who vented about the phenomenon in a Tik Tok video she reposted on LinkedIn. At a recent job fair, a mother approached Alba with her daughter’s résumé, ex- plaining that she wanted to work as a nurse. “While I ap- preciated that she was trying to help, I intentionally shifted my attention to her daughter. No matter what Mom said, I wanted to hear directly from the candidate,” says Alba. Some parents who step in say it’s a challenging job mar- ket for young people, and that they would only intervene in extreme circumstances—social anxiety, a toxic boss, unfair treatment. There’s also a gray area of intervention that some see as an extension of the pa- rental advice and networking help that’s been happening for generations. Rick Wainschel last year published a post on LinkedIn asking his network to help his daughter, a recent college graduate, find a corporate en- try-level position. Wainschel, a vice president at an automotive marketing technology company, says he ContinuedfromPageOne Parents Co-Pilot Kids’ Jobs FOR A SONG | By Mike Shenk Across 1 Spotfora castaway 6 Salamiseller 10 Healthysalad green 14 Startsthe bidding 15 Sharifof “Doctor Zhivago” 16 Yoked animals 17 Pricey Japanesebeef 18 The Flintstones’ pet 19 Clarinetpart 20 “Yes,And?” singer 23 Pickleball courtsight 24 Pintinapub 25 Two-point throwin horseshoes 29 Moodyrock genre 30 Sewingline 32 Eggcells 33 “LittleBitof Love”singer 36 Fieldunit 38 Flemingwho created JamesBond 39 Galleytools 40 “StupidGirl” singer 45 Snakyish 46 “Makeit snappy!” letters 47 Playdivision 48 Largest federation ofunionsin theU.S. 50 Fragrant conifer 51 Attorney’s org. 54 “AllIKnow” singer 58 Popular swab 61 Otherwise 62 Idaho’scapital 63 Usea 33Down 64 Brownishred 65 Bury 66 WalkofFame symbol 67 Longings 68 “Keen!” Down 1 Hawkeye 2 Tireinthe trunk 3 Forreal, informally 4 One-named Irishsinger 5 Destructive wave 6 Steerclearof 7 Dubaileader 8 Turnerof Hollywood 9 Rulewithout exceptions 10 Seoul’s peninsula 11 Woodsman’s tool 12 Director Spike 13 Terminate 21 Sleeplike___ 22 Mooreof “G.I.Jane” 26 PitcherRyan 27 Atanytime 28 Tampa baseballers 29 Waterpitcher 30 Envelope stick-on 31 Sicilianpeak 33 Shoptool 34 “Howdy!” 35 Robber’s haul 36 Cruising 37 Restaurant VIP 41 Hibernation spot 42 Mysterious lore 43 Ingenuous person 44 Washbefore surgery 49 Bankheist, forexample 50 Worries 51 Japanese dog 52 Persistently trouble 53 Oldsmobile’s lastmodel 55 Model- makingneed 56 Org.’skin 57 Minimal amount 58 NFLpassers 59 Youngone 60 Nestegg option,for short The WSJ Daily Crossword | Edited by Mike Shenk ▶SolvethispuzzleonlineanddiscussitatWSJ.com/Puzzles. Previous Puzzle’s Solution The contest answer is BABERUTH. As suggested by the “Double-Header” title, take the irst two letters of both the irst and last names of the theme answers to make four- letter words that it clues for other answers (JAVA/BALI, CAST/THROW, PEAL/RUMBLE, WASP/BEE). Taking the irst two letters of each of those other answers in grid order spells the contest answer. D E A F B A L I P T S P R A D A S I R E N A W E J A S O N V A R G A S B E E S T Y B I G D O O I L E R A P O P A L L O T S C A S E Y S T E N G E L O R A L S I C E E S W A G D E B T O B O E S M O L E S A C B L E N D T A R O T P E D R O A L V A R E Z R U M B L E O H M Y A V A S T P A T I O W O W N U T W A R R E N S P A H N O L E A L I E N T H R O W N A Y Y A M S S I T S PERSONAL JOURNAL. AMBER LITTLE Maybe you don’t need me to tell you that upside-down stout guzzling and rhapsodizing about drug use are bad ideas when you’re with colleagues. But to fix- ate on the juicy details of this wild workplace lawsuit is to miss the point, especially when we have only one side of the story. Netflix declined to comment. Let’s consider a few big-picture career lessons we can all take away from this case. Don’t overshare Call me a broken record, but I have cautioned before that the movement to “bring your whole self to work” is a minefield. It is easy to overshare when you’re try- ing to break taboos. This applies to discussions about mental health, which have become more common—and ac- cepted—in workplaces in recent years. It’s one thing to share the broad contours of a personal struggle, so others don’t feel alone. It’s another to reveal a psy- chedelic-like treatment strategy that remains on the fringe of so- cial acceptability. Plenty of workplaces could use more empathy, but we don’t have to spill everything—and often shouldn’t. Baillie’s complaint against Net- flix says he first disclosed during direct reports are the same. The retreat at the center of the lawsuit took place at a company- owned ranch near Lake Tahoe with a well-stocked open bar, ac- cording to court filings. In such a setting, and perhaps especially in the entertainment industry, it could be tempting to feel like you were on a family vacation and let your guard down accordingly. But corporate life is still corpo- rate, even in artistic professions that give creative geniuses some leeway for antics. A lot of us have worked for employers that try to create family or party-like atmo- spheres in one way or another. We shouldn’t fall for it. The reality is companies aren’t in the business of unconditional love. Or handshake agreements, for that matter. Get it in writing One key takeaway from Baillie’s lawsuit against Netflix has nothing to do with drugs or alcohol. His employment contract didn’t spell out what he would be owed if he were terminated, according to the suit. The complaint states that Baillie relied on the word of an “in- terim” executive who “promised substantial severance protection and represented that it did not need to appear in Plaintiff’s con- tract because it was a generally ap- plicable company practice.” Nine to 12 months’ pay was standard, Baillie says he was told. This is the basis of his contention that he is entitled to a severance payout between $825,000 and $1.1 million. I can’t vouch for his math or ver- sion of events, but the principle is the important thing. It is always risky to rely on an oral agreement for matters as weighty as salary and severance, and even more so when the person you’re dealing with might not be in a position to honor it in the future. “Everybody’s excited in the beginning of a relationship, but you always have to plan for what’s going to happen at the end,” says labor at- torney Kathlyn Perez, who isn’t in- volved in the case. There is plenty we don’t know, and may never find out, about Bail- lie’s separation from Netflix. (He declined to comment further.) But I’ll bet you a pint of Guinness that getting a little more in writing, and sharing a little less out loud at work, would serve us all well. a job interview that he underwent three rounds of medically super- vised ketamine therapy to treat depression after the death of his mother. At a retreat more than a year later, he talked about this ex- perience again after, not during, a session “designed to elicit candor and personal disclosure,” accord- ing to the suit. When sharing time is over, that’s your cue to stop. Letting guard down Baillie says he learned the in- verted beer-drinking stunt from his ex-father-in-law, who sounds super cool and nonjudgmental. Don’t assume your boss, peers or EMIL LENDOF/WSJ, ISTOCK Wild Netflix Lawsuit Offers Career Lessons Case shows the ‘bring your whole self to work’ mantra has its limits Can you chug a beer while do- ing a headstand? If you can, I’m kind of impressed. But please don’t perform a frat-house party trick in front of co-workers. A wrongful-termination lawsuit brought by a former Netflix vice president features this and other ill-advised stunts and conversations that belong in a what-not-to-do manual. Kevin Baillie says he was fired as the streaming giant’s head of studios after an executive retreat where he talked openly about tak- ing ketamine to treat depression, then drank a pint of Guinness while standing on his head. He contends the retreat cen- tered on vulnerability and trust, so it was unfair for Netflix to hold his unfiltered behavior against him. At minimum, Baillie argues, he should have received $825,000 to $1.1 million in severance pay, based on company precedent. CALLUM BORCHERS ON THE CLOCK
A14 | Monday, August 3, 2026 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Rothko’s ‘Untitled (Bathers on the Beach)’ (1934), below, and ‘No. 20’ 1949., right. “Abstract Composition” (1944), place the sea as a backdrop for his musings on myth and the uncon- scious. Such overt connections with Gloucester would soon fade. Already established by the 1940s, Avery’s work grows sim- pler, more expansive, flatter and with larger color blocks, but his images remain tethered to the real world. In “Lone Rock and Surf” (1945), he provides only the essen- tial elements of a scene—frothy white waves crashing against a black rock, with a stripe of pink for the sky. Edging toward ab- straction, his “George Constant Fishing” (1945) also strips the im- age down to its necessities. Con- stant, standing on a striped rock, consists of two color patches; the rest is largely blue sea, topped by a light-gray strip of sky. Everything comes together in the final gallery, where each artist commands a wall of paintings. The links, often subtle, seem intui- tively clear. Avery once said he wanted to create big works “like the Abstract boys”—and he has. “Sea Grasses and Blue Sea” (1958), at 5 feet across, presents two tri- angular blocks of different blues, one daubed with black, beneath a turquoise strip of sky. “Black Sea” (1959), at more than 5 1/2 feet wide, shows an expanse of peach sand, bubbling white water and a sliver of deep-sea black. A small work, “Moon Lit Sea” (1959), floats a greenish sphere over its orange reflection in a black back- ground—shades of both Gottlieb and Rothko. On Rothko’s wall, “No. 14 (Hori- zontals, White Over Darks),” from 1961, might be a darker version of “Black Sea,” while “No. 20” (1949) picks up the architecture of Gott- lieb’s crate paintings and picto- graphs. And suddenly Gottlieb’s “Under and Over” (1959), a quint- essential burst painting with a glowing red orb over black splotches, reads like some of Rothko’s dark color-block works. Gottlieb’s bright “Blue at Night” (1957) imagines a seascape. All three men are now intently focused on color and simple forms, an interest developed, refined and tailored to their own visions in Gloucester, a place that affected the rest of their careers and a pe- riod of American art. Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea Cape Ann Museum, through Sept. Ms. Dobrzynski writes about art for the Journal and other publications. The exhibition, which runs through Sept. 27 and then moves to the Phillips, follows both a chronological and thematic path. It starts soon after Avery initially arrived in Gloucester for the sum- mer of 1921. His “Gloucester Dawn” (c. 1921) and “Untitled (Harbor Scene)” (c. 1921-25) ex- hibit impressionistic tendencies, perhaps inspired by Monet. By the end of the decade, though, he’d shifted to flatter, less brushy scenes. Later that decade, Avery be- friended Rothko and then Gottlieb, and by 1932 all three were sum- mering in Gloucester, spending their mornings sketching or paint- ing the harbor, the wharfs, the sea, the beach and the bath- ers. In the evenings, they discussed their work, with Avery as mentor at first. Judging by a wall of Avery’s 1930s beach scenes—light- hearted sketches and watercolors of people enjoying the ocean, with one even called “Untitled (Lazy Afternoon)”—he clearly moved to a more modern mode, deploying loose lines and bright colors. Rothko, meanwhile, also painted bathers—a little clumsily, like Ce- zanne’s. He also created several small, realistic earth-toned scenes of the town, such as “Untitled (Wharf, Gloucester, Massachu- setts),” from 1934, which portrays fish processing on the waterfront. Gottlieb seems even more drawn to the industrial aspects of the port. His “Harbor Scene Gloucester?” (c. 1934); “Rockport” (c. 1936), made in the less gritty town up the Cape; and “Wharf in Gloucester” (un- dated) look almost somber. Rather than people, his focus is on shells and other sea detritus, which he arranged in discarded crates. These crate paintings lay groundwork for Gottlieb’s picto- graph series, which would become a signature for him. In “Mariner’s Incantation” (1945), for example, he placed simplified images of fish, faces, a hand and nautical symbols in a blue-green grid—a step toward abstraction that blends in Surrealism. Rothko also begins to flirt with Surrealism— which becomes more pronounced in his output as the tragedies of World War II unfolded. His works here, like “Iphigenia and the Sea/ Horizontal Phantasy” (1943) and Gloucester, Mass. I n the 1930s and ’40s, three friends—all artists, one almost a generation older than the others—spent their summers here, sketching and painting the picturesque environs of America’s oldest continuously op- erating seaport. They are known for very different styles: Milton Avery (1885-1965) for his colorful, flat, figurative scenes; Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974) for his ab- stractions, especially those featur- ing a sun-like orb over a burst of color; Mark Rothko (1903-1970) for his color-block paintings evoking emotion, not image. Even serious art- lovers might fail to see links among them. Yet as “Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea” at the Cape Ann Museum reveals, their friend- ships, their summers and their mutual ad- miration critically influenced their ar- tistic paths. By the time visitors reach the exhibition’s last gallery in this newly renovated museum, which reopened June 30 after a 20-month upgrade, they can’t help but observe the connections. Credit for this surprising ex- hibit goes to Eliza Rathbone, chief curator emerita at the Phillips Col- lection in Washington—which has long associations with all three artists—who decided to bring to light a story that to some had been known, but never truly shown. She dug into troves of paintings and drawings, some owned by family members, and chose more than 80, many of which have never been displayed in public, that make the point. BY JUDITH H. DOBRZYNSKI ART REVIEW Illuminating an Unlikely Kinship Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb and Mark Rothko forged a connection during their shared summers in Gloucester, Mass. Gottlieb’s ‘Blue at Night’ (1957), left, and Avery’s ‘Black Sea’ (1959), below left The show highlights overlooked creative exchanges. ARTS IN REVIEW CAPE ANN MUSEUM (4)
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, August 3, 2026 | A15 A Wrench In the System The Time Tax By Annie Lowrey Ecco, 352 pages, $32 BOOKSHELF | By Judge Glock NCAA Pushes Congress to Gut Title IX T he National Collegiate Athletic Association presents the Protect Col- lege Sports Act as a solution to a host of problems: disarray in college football, conference re- alignment and name-image- and-likeness payments to col- lege athletes. What the NCAA and its lobbyists aren’t telling anyone is that the PCSA is a Trojan horse for men in women’s college sports. The NCAA violated Title IX by making Lia (né William) Thomas, CeCé Telfer, Blaire Fleming, Sadie Schreiner and other men eligible to win NCAA women’s titles and awards, join women’s teams, and enter women’s locker rooms. In re- sponse to these violations of federal law, my organization, the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, is financially supporting three federal law- suits filed in 2024 and 2025 against the NCAA and its mem- ber conferences and schools on behalf of dozens of female ath- letes, including Riley Gaines and Brooke Slusser, as well as fe- male Olympians and American record holders. The PCSA’s overly broad ex- emption would short-circuit these lawsuits and halt efforts to hold the NCAA accountable under Title IX. By exempting all NCAA eligibility decisions, the bill would shield the NCAA from liability for past and fu- ture eligibility decisions that violate Title IX. Given the NCAA’s longstand- ing and defiant disregard for the rights of female athletes, it isn’t surprising that the associ- ation’s lobbyists have slipped into the PCSA an overly broad exemption from federal law, au- thorizing the NCAA to harm countless female college ath- letes—past, current and future. The PCSA exemption would gut the impact of Title IX in women’s college sports, even erasing the need for the NCAA to continue to adhere to Presi- dent Trump’s executive order, which prompted the NCAA to modify its eligibility policy for men in women’s sports. It would undo important as- pects of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in West Vir- ginia v. B.P.J., which upheld state protections for women and girls in school sports, in- cluding college sports. The PCSA would exempt the NCAA from accountability under state laws in 27 states, and from measures on the ballot in several others, which specifi- cally address eligibility for women’s sports teams in col- lege. These state laws became necessary because the NCAA and its member institutions were violating Title IX. No one should think the NCAA can be trusted on the is- sue of men in women’s college sports. Even today, the NCAA permits member schools to al- low men on women’s teams, and the association’s revised policy allows men to define themselves as women and use women’s locker rooms. More than 80% of the public believes men shouldn’t be al- lowed to compete in women’s sports. Female athletes de- serve the full protections of Ti- tle IX. Regardless of how pressing other issues in college sports may be, neither the president, Congress nor the public should accept a measure that would harm female ath- letes for decades to come. Solve football, solve NIL, but don’t exempt the NCAA from Title IX and state law. Ms. Jones is a co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports. She was an All-American in tennis at Stanford. By Kim Jones A bill would free the association of liability for forcing women to compete against men. OPINION A few decades ago, the internet made people optimistic about an end to paperwork. The Government Paperwork Elimination Act of 1998 encouraged a move to online forms, which many hoped would drastically reduce the time required to fill them out. Yet today government paperwork is an ever-weightier millstone around the public’s neck. The same tools that made filling out forms easier have made politicians and bureaucrats more adept at creating more paperwork. Annie Lowrey, a staff writer at the Atlantic, chronicles the growing burdens of government paperwork in “The Time Tax,” bringing verve to a dry topic even if she often veers into general complaints about American hard-heartedness. Ms. Lowrey argues that a vastly expanded and more gener- ous federal government could reduce both inequality and the paperwork burden. That seems unlikely. The scale of government paperwork is nearly impossible to convey and even harder to believe. The government esti- mates, and most likely under- estimates, that Americans spend about 12 billion hours a year on federal paperwork. That’s the equivalent of almost 6 million full-time employees working year-round filling out forms. If the time spent was paid at prevailing wages, the paperwork would cost $430 billion a year. And that’s just federal paperwork: These costs don’t include state and local forms. There are many kinds of government paperwork, but “The Time Tax” focuses on those needed to access government benefits. Ms. Lowrey high- lights the inept and baffling design of many of these pro- grams. In California, for instance, low-income residents can obtain a state identification card at a reduced price, but first they must set up an appointment and share extensive information with a “qualified verifier of income,” who will then prepare the documents that must be taken to the local DMV—all to save $45. The book’s complaints about paperwork sometimes shift into the demand that the government remove any roadblocks to benefits or checks on eligibility. Ms. Lowrey’s previous book was “Give People Money” (2018), and much of this one is a lament that the government does not do more of that. The author is angered by student loans, which take time and paperwork to repay and which she would replace with direct grants. The loans, she says, “feel like a burden, rather than an investment.” What taxpayers would feel about paying more for these students is not discussed. The Covid-19 pandemic led to a vast reduction in the paperwork needed to access benefits. It was, in many ways, an instantiation of the book’s goals. States were barred from dropping beneficiaries from Medicaid or requiring them to reapply, unemployment insurance became easier to access and retain, and states stopped requiring certain interviews for SNAP food benefits. Despite evidence to the contrary, Ms. Lowrey argues that the reduction in oversight during the pandemic “did not lead to a surge in mispayments or fraud.” She notes that the proportion of food stamps that were overpayments went up by only about 60%. “Researchers attribute the increase to confusion,” she insists, “rather than deceit.” Some readers might find that increase alarming whatever the reason. The book does mention that the federal tax system demands an immense amount of citizens’ time: 7 billion hours. It does not connect that number to the earlier state- ment about the total federal paperwork burden. If it did, it would have to note that nearly 60% of the federal “time tax” is from actual taxes. Despite the importance of tax paperwork, Ms. Lowrey’s examination of the subject takes up only a few pages in the book. Regulations on businesses, the next largest source of paperwork, go almost entirely undiscussed. The book says it does not deal with agencies that “scarcely interact with the American public, even as they work on its behalf.” It therefore does not deal with “offices focused on banks, farms, unions, markets, land use, and trade. No need to worry about the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.” In fact, the American public includes bankers, farmers, workers, traders, builders and accountants, who together spend billions of hours interacting with the gov- ernment through filling out forms. Ms. Lowrey argues that government could do much more of this paperwork internally and thus save citizens’ time. She cites the Direct File system, which helped people fill out their taxes, and which saved taxpayers $6 million on tax preparation fees in 2024. “Alas, Republicans shuttered the initiative.” And to those who argue against the ability of the government to do such work efficiently, she points to the U.S. Postal Service, which she says operates with “efficiency and equity” and is “magic” in its ability to serve Americans. Yet these government programs only shift burdens, they don’t reduce them. The Direct File system cost tens of mil- lions to operate, far more than its savings to customers. The Postal Service lost $9 billion in 2025 and, until it stopped paying into its retirement fund, expected to run out of money by 2027. In these cases, as in others, the gov- ernment can only perform more services by levying more taxes, which further increases paperwork. The simplest solution to excess paperwork would be for the government to do less: fewer regulations, fewer taxes and fewer benefits. Since many benefits are given to the same people who are paying taxes, cutting both could reduce paperwork without any loss of income. Instead, “The Time Tax” argues that more benefits, the inevitably higher taxes that accompany them, and a bigger, more centralized government would be the best means to reduce paperwork. The whole history of America, as well as common sense, suggests otherwise. Mr. Glock is director of research at the Manhattan Insti- tute and author of “The Dead Pledge: The Origins of the Mortgage Market and Federal Bailouts, 1913-1939.” Americans spend about 12 billion hours a year on federal paperwork. The programs that require such forms are often ineptly designed. How will we regulate arti- ficial intelli- gence? Open- AI’s Sam Altman wants a global AI r e g u l a t o r much like the International Atomic En- ergy Agency. Google’s Demis Hassabis likes the Financial Industry Regula- tory Authority model. An- thropic’s Dario Amodei pre- fers agency testing like the Federal Aviation Administra- tion. See the thread? Big gov- ernment, big agencies, a lob- byists’ paradise. University of Tennessee law professor and Instapundit blogger Glenn Reynolds thinks the answer may be plaintiffs’ lawyers. Wait, what? In February 2024, 14-year- old Sewell Setzer III commit- ted suicide after a virtual rela- tionship with a chatbot named Daenerys on Character.ai. His mother filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the company and Google that October. The defense claimed that output from chatbots is speech protected by the First Amend- ment. Not a bad argument. In Brown v. Entertainment Mer- chants Association (2011), the Supreme Court ruled that “video games communicate ideas” and are protected speech. But AI mimics humans, and a child did commit suicide. This January Google settled the Setzer case. The company couldn’t afford to lose and risk Does AI Have a Fiduciary Duty? the loss of AI’s speech protec- tion. Can we control AI if its output is protected speech? In his recent book, “Seduc- tive AI,” Mr. Reynolds makes a great argument for chatbot regulation: “AI personalities and their owners should be subjected to fiduciary duty when they interact with us- ers.” Fiduciary means a legal responsibility to act in some- one else’s best interests and not for your own profit. Why not a fiduciary duty for all AI? My years on Wall Street pounded into my head the power and simplicity of fidu- ciary responsibility. A 2025 OpenAI study noted 28% of AI use is for “practical guidance.” Now, according to MIT’s Sloan School of Management, more than half of U.S. and U.K. adults have asked AI for financial ad- vice. A March study from Stan- ford reveals (not quite breaking news) that large language mod- els are overly sycophantic, flat- tering people-pleasers, likely to help drive AI engagement. Not very fiduciary! I spoke with Mr. Reynolds about how to enable a fiduciary wrapper. He said that if AI “purports to have a relation- ship of trust with you—legal advice, psychotherapy, invest- ment advice or whatever—it should have to be treated as if it was a person doing that. Most learned professions have essentially a fiduciary relation- ship with their clients.” There is a long history of technology cutting corners. eBay outsourced trust to its customers. Social media ig- nored property rights and sold ads right next to our posts. Is it happening again? Palantir CEO Alex Karp went on CNBC complaining that “the basic view among enterprises in this country is ‘I’m going to chillax, waste my time with tokens, I’m going to get no value and they’re going to get my IP.’ ” Meaning AI companies are har- vesting customers’ intellectual property. Also not very fidu- ciary. Anthropic has new busi- ness lines like Claude Legal and Claude Security competing with their own customers. This may drive some to cheaper Chinese open-source AI mod- els—not healthy either. How do we make AI fidu- ciary the law? Mr. Reynolds suggests legislation or even Federal Trade Commission regulation: “But the more likely way to go, honestly, is the common-law method. Fi- duciary rules are mostly a common-law creation. We could easily imagine a court saying, ‘Look, you’re giving tens of thousands of people advice about their love lives or whatever, and if you’ve got a hidden agenda that’s de- signed to advance some cor- porate goal—which you will— that’s a breach of fiduciary duty.’ That’s something you could easily imagine a court doing in the right case, and the right case will come.” Burning tokens is clearly one of those corporate goals. With fiduciary responsibil- ity, Mr. Reynolds says, “I think a lot of hidden agendas go away. Advice has to be in the client’s best interest, not mo- tivated by a desire to run up the bill.” Won’t politics interfere? “The thing I like about plain- tiffs’ lawyers as enforcers is, unlike a government agency which is subject to capture politically, they’re a distrib- uted force, and mostly driven by the desire to walk away with big fat payoffs,” says Mr. Reynolds. Sad but true. It’s starting. In March, OpenAI was sued by Nippon Life Insurance for practicing law without a license. Last month OpenAI was sued for the “unauthorized practice of medicine” by a Florida pastor seeking advice for a pulmonary embolism. AI output is differ- ent from Google searches. Or influencer videos. I’m no fan of trial lawyers but, like it or not, OpenAI, An- thropic, Google, xAI, Meta and perhaps every Chinese open- weight AI model may already be covered by common-law fidu- ciary responsibility. We’re a few court cases away from finding out. They need to start acting that way or their trillion-dollar valuations may become a target much larger than the tobacco companies in the 1990s. Write to kessler@wsj.com. How to regulate the new technology? The answer may lie in the common law. INSIDE VIEW By Andy Kessler Mary Anastasia O’Grady is away. T he Trump administra- tion has shown a strong commitment to combat- ing political Islam, a clear break from previous adminis- trations. For years, Washing- ton has neglected the Islamist threat by using a divided and simplistic approach. Since 9/11, resources have been allo- cated to pursuing groups des- ignated as terrorists, like ISIS and al Qaeda. Islamist organi- zations that adopted mostly nonviolent tactics and weren’t formally blacklisted—like the Muslim Brotherhood—fell un- der no agency’s remit and were largely ignored. This security-based view of Islamism misses the mark. The challenge is more complex than a terrorism threat. In both the Middle East and the Western world, political Is- lam—with the Muslim Brother- hood its main proponent—op- erates in many arenas, including politics, education and grassroots activism. Washington’s European partners have long known this. Several European governments have correctly analyzed the so- cietal challenge posed by Isla- mism. In 2014 Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron or- dered a government review of the Muslim Brotherhood, a The Islamist Threat Isn’t Only Terrorism yearlong effort that included Britain’s security services as well as agencies focused on ed- ucation, integration and communications. The French government took the same approach. The report it released last year concluded that “the reality of this threat, even if it is long term and does not involve vio- lent action, poses a risk of damage to the fabric of society and republican institutions.” Germany’s security services have written in their annual reports that “legalistic Isla- mist groups”—a term Berlin uses for organizations like the Brotherhood that don’t di- rectly engage in violence— “represent an especial threat to the internal cohesion of our society,” and that their en- deavors “run counter to the efforts undertaken by the fed- eral administration . . . to in- tegrate immigrants.” These European countries haven’t designated the Mus- lim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, but they have a clear-eyed view of the threats the group and its fellow trav- elers pose. The Trump administration this year designated as terror- ist organizations four branches of the Muslim Broth- erhood—in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Sudan—which the U.S. concluded have en- gaged in direct violence. This marks a break from the past and a first for the West. Even if properly imple- mented, these terrorism des- ignations won’t magically de- feat Islamism. A first step in that direction is a drastic philosophical shift in how the U.S. government and Ameri- can public understand the challenges posed by political Islam and how it exists on many fronts. This begins with correcting the dearth of knowledge inside the Federal Bureau of Investi- gation and other U.S. govern- ment agencies about the Brotherhood and Islamism in general. Save for the years im- mediately after Sept. 11, 2001, there has been no concerted effort within U.S. law-enforce- ment and policy communities to acquire a deep institutional understanding of Islamist net- works worldwide. A particular lack of under- standing exists on how Isla- mists are using the American political and educational sys- tems to advance their aims— dynamics that have become ap- parent in the past few years. While some of these dynamics aren’t, fortunately, as advanced as in European countries, there’s no question that Isla- mist actors are funding politi- cally aligned candidates in U.S. elections nationwide. By the same token, recent inquiries have uncovered how foreign governments, including Qatar, are funding American universi- ties with the aim of influencing how the Middle East is taught, often through an Islamist lens. Filling the knowledge gap in these areas is crucial if the Trump administration wants to combat Islamism. That means engaging diverse audiences at the national and local levels. The engagement should in- clude FBI field offices, which need to be reoriented to in- clude Islamism as one of their targets; local educational au- thorities that have given school vouchers to K-12 Islamist schools that preach hatred of America and Jews; immigra- tion officials who give visas to Islamist imams promoting hate and exclusion and universities that accept foreign donations to host Islamist-leaning schol- ars and events. Mr. Vidino is founder and director of the Program on Ex- tremism at George Washing- ton University. Groups try to push their agenda through politics, schools and grassroots activism. By Lorenzo Vidino A branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Amman, Jordan. GETTY IMAGES
A16 | Monday, August 3, 2026 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. The Math on AI Works Out Real Well for You Mark Zuckerberg echoes Adam Smith when he argues in his op-ed “The AI Future Is for Everyone” (July 29) for decentralized control over the means of producing AI to unleash innovation. He is right, and moves by the government to limit AI are creating one of the greatest dangers to its societal value: underinvestment. Skeptics may grum- ble about a bubble, but capital outlay is reckless only if it fails to earn its keep. The relevant question is what these in- vestments are actually worth to society. The five largest technology firms are expected to invest about $900 bil- lion in AI from 2025 to 2027. Consider the possible social value. If AI raises the permanent level of gross domestic product by only 1%—about $330 bil- lion a year—that perpetual stream, discounted at the federal government’s preferred 3% rate, would be worth roughly $11 trillion, more than 12 times as much as the capital invested. AI’s positive effects extend to con- sumer gains beyond purchases and nonmarket goods, too, which are left out of GDP. Chief among those is health, arguably the most valuable of all goods. University of Chicago econo- mists estimate that the longevity gains Americans enjoyed over the 20th century were worth about as much as the entire growth in GDP across that century. So suppose AI de- livers a modest 1% increase in U.S. life expectancy through better diagnosis and treatment. By the government’s own cost-benefit methods, that is worth about $140 trillion. The usual objection to AI is a fear of layoffs. But our workforce has grown through past productivity revolutions. Agricultural economies of the past were plagued by malnutrition; today the roughly 1% of U.S. workers in agricul- ture are productive enough to make us obese. That staggering leap in produc- tivity didn’t yield a 99% unemployment rate—it freed labor to build everything else. Likewise, the automation of manu- facturing, a sector in the U.S. now un- der 10% of national GDP, turned devel- oped nations into service economies while the workforce expanded as women entered it in large numbers. AI may even raise employment within a given industry, since higher productiv- ity lowers prices, lifting demand for more labor: Uber added far more driv- ers than it cut dispatchers. Even tiny gains from AI produce so- cial benefits that swamp a $900 billion investment. Curtailing the boom and the data centers behind it—as New York recently did—is misguided. Would you rather live a poorer, shorter life without AI or a longer, richer one with it? TOMAS PHILIPSON CHICAGO Mr. Philipson served as a member and acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2017-20 and sits on the Eco- nomic Advisory Board of Anthropic. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR “Job search not going so good?” THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Letters intended for publication should be emailed to wsj.ltrs@wsj.com. Please include your city, state and telephone number. All letters are subject to editing, and unpublished letters cannot be acknowledged. Trump’s Latest Iran ‘DEAL’ A friend quipped the other day that Presi- dent Trump truly deserves the Nobel Peace Prize because he has already ended the Iran war eight times. Will the ninth time be the charm after his latest deci- sion to call off a military esca- lation in search of a deal with the revolutionary regime? “Wehavejustbeenaskedby Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries,toholdoffanyattack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to,” Mr. Trump posted at 10:05 p.m. on Saturday. He added that this includes “Immediate, Com- plete, and Total” opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear program. Mr. Trump offered no other details. It also isn’t clear how this miraculous turn of events happened so quickly after Mr. Trump had been building all week to a military response. Journal reporters said Friday Mr. Trump had made a de- cision to escalate. Saudi Arabia’s national news agency re- ported that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Sal- man had asked Mr. Trump to stand down, per- haps fearful that its oil facilities and tankers would become a target of Iran in the Gulf and Iran’s Houthi proxy in the Red Sea. If that’s true, it’s another sign that Iran now has escalation dominance in this conflict. Iran hasn’t said much as we write this, and leaks from negotiators suggest the familiar con- fusing intercessions from Oman and Qatar. It seems unlikely that Iran has agreed to much on its nuclear program after the June 17 memoran- dum of understanding (MOU) offered little in the way of concessions. As for the Strait, Mr. Trump’s latest threats of escalation followed Iran’s attacks on shipping that tried to pass without its permission—as well as an unprovoked missile attack last week on a U.S. base in Jordan. By now it’s clear that this up and down, back and forth, from war of annihilation to peace in our time is Mr. Trump’s chaotic way of war. He may think it keeps the enemy guessing, but it also keeps the American public unsure of what his war aims are or how he hopes to achieve them. No wonder the polls show voters have soured on the war. If Mr. Trump did restart the bomb- ing, it isn’t even clear what his strategic purpose would be, other than hoping that it would cause the regime to sign what he calls a “DEAL.” It’s been clear since Mr. Trump agreed to a cease-fire in April that he wants out of the war. He’s wor- ried about the impact on the economy from higher oil prices, or, as he memorably put it, be- coming the next Herbert Hoover. He also wants lower gas prices going into the midterm elec- tion, especially as his approval rating falls be- low Joe Biden’s and Barack Obama’s at a compa- rable period in their terms. Iran’s regime knows signals of weakness when it hears them. It interpreted the poorly drafted MOU as an opening to let it control the Strait and has kept taunting Mr. Trump with at- tacks on U.S. allies and bases. Mr. Trump lashes out with a tit-for-tat bombing response that so far hasn’t caused Iran to bend. Iran also knows Mr. Trump is surrounded by advisers who didn’t want the President to attack Iran at all and now want the conflict over on nearly any available terms. His aides think the cost of further fighting is higher than the dam- age to U.S. (and Mr. Trump’s) credibility from a cease-fire that cedes the initiative in the Gulf to Iran. The death of Sen. Lindsey Graham re- moved a rare hawkish counselor. Has Iran now finally agreed to terms that can plausibly be called a U.S. victory, as Mr. Trump’s Truth Social post suggested? Recall that when the MOU was signed, Mr. Trump’s negotiators hailed the result, and claimed the regime had turned a “new leaf,” as Vice President JD Vance put it, and wanted to become a “normal coun- try,” despite 47 years of promoting terror and regional revolution. As ever, it pays to watch what Iran does, not what the regime and Mr. Trump say it will do. He again calls off the military escalation he threatened, with little detail disclosed. How Green Policies Fuel Fires In Europe F ires have been wreaking havoc across France and Spain, as they often do when conditions are dry and wind is high. But it wouldn’t be a weather-re- lated tragedy these days if someone didn’t blame climate change. The tragic irony is that Europe’s environmental policies are making such wild- fires more likely and more devastating. Under its Green Deal and related policies, the European Union is designating 30% of the conti- nent as nature-protected by 2030. Goals include increasing the amount of deadwood and the density of tree cover in forests. Whatever their environmental merit, such measures increase the amount of highly flammable fuel for fires, make it easier for blazes to spread and harder to extinguish. The EU also wants at least a third of this pro- tected land to fall under “strict protection,” which means it will be left “essentially undis- turbed from human pressures and threats,” ac- cording to European Commission guidance. It allows for some natural disaster prevention measures, but only “when such activities are compatible with the conservation objectives of the areas on the basis of a case-by-case assess- ment,” the guidance says. Ranchers and farmers in Spain and France have historically managed their land to mitigate the risk of megafires. But the EU’s regulations have made it harder for small farms to survive across Europe, accelerating a rural exodus. Red tape often hinders those who remain from car- rying out preventive actions like controlled burns. “Environmental legislation has not been based on the science of ecology, or on forestry,” says Víctor Resco de Dios, a professor of for- estry at the University of Lleida in Spain. “I think it’s been based on ideology, on a Walt Dis- ney view of the world with Bambi, where you see human beings as inher- ently bad” for the environ- ment. But “when you remove humans out of it, what hap- pens is you get more fuel, and then you get worse fires.” In a paper last year for the Journal of Environmental Management, Mr. Resco de Dios and co-authors looked at fires in the temperate forests of southwestern Europe, including Spain, France and Portugal. They found that protected areas constitute 38% of the forest land but 55% of the burned area in recent fires. They also reported that in Australia, Califor- nia and southwestern Europe, fires burned more intensely on protected lands, which makes them more dangerous to nearby residents and more damaging to natural habitats. This ex- plains some of the fires that have done so much damage in recent years to residential areas in the American West. The European Forest Fire Information Sys- tem publishes maps and data, updated daily, on the current blazes. They show considerable overlap between the protected nature areas in Spain and France and the wildfires. That sug- gests in addition to the vagaries of weather, a policy failure. Blaming climate change is the default expla- nation these days for any natural disaster, but Europe’s costly solutions will make little differ- ence to global temperatures. Better forest man- agement and fire prevention can make a differ- ence, however. And they would reduce the CO2 emissions from fires that now overwhelm much of the reduction from electric vehicles or other climate nostrums. Burned areas are disproportionately nature-protected lands. REVIEW & OUTLOOK OPINION Why Won’t the Government Let Us Help Kids? Jason Riley is right when he ar- gues in “The Answer to the Academic Achievement Gap Is Obvious” (Up- ward Mobility, July 29) that charter- school critics are wrong. I founded an all-boys charter school in 2021, with the goal of helping black boys who basically stopped learning during Covid shutdowns. Their lives were at risk of being ruined or lost. We now have about 100 students, and we don’t cherry-pick families. They find us, not the other way around. Our students excel because we treat them differently. They’re ad- dressed as “Mr.” and their last name. They’re held to higher personal and academic standards. The typical stu- dent gains between two to four years in reading level each year. Despite our positive effect, we’re held hostage by politics. During the state budget impasse last year, we couldn’t make payroll. We couldn’t pay teachers or provide lunch for the boys. We were only saved by a grant from Black Pastors United for Educa- tion. We’ve avoided that specific trib- ulation this year, but the state legis- lature still tried and failed to cut charter-school funding. We fear every year may be our last. Our school gives boys the stability they need to thrive. Why won’t our elected leaders give charter schools the stability we need to help more children? REV. DARRYL CANADY LIFE Male STEAM Academy Pittsburgh U.S. Treasury Is Helping Venezuela Rebuild Kejal Vyas and Ryan Dubé capture the scale of Venezuela’s reconstruc- tion challenge in “U.S. Faces a Quag- mire in Venezuela” (World News, July 20). However, reconstruction de- pends not only on the availability of capital. It also depends on whether that capital can move into Venezuela. On July 27, the U.S. Treasury took an important step toward reconnect- ing Venezuela to the U.S. financial system. It issued an enforcement policy designed to give U.S. financial institutions greater confidence to support Venezuela-related activities authorized by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Subject to the pol- icy’s conditions, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network will generally refrain from taking supervisory or enforcement action when U.S. finan- cial institutions provide authorized Venezuela-related services and make reasonable efforts to comply with U.S. anti-money-laundering require- ments. This matters because even when the U.S. government permits a transaction, banks usually still refuse to process it because of the compli- ance risks associated with jurisdic- tions considered high risk. Without payment processing, cor- respondent banking, trade finance and credit, American investment cannot reach projects at the scale Venezuela requires. By reducing this regulatory uncertainty, the Treasury is creating better conditions for banks to support the country’s eco- nomic reconstruction. The policy will remain in effect until at least Jan. 29, 2027. JORGE JRAISSATI President, Economic Inclusion Group Boca Raton, Fla. Thanks to the Billionaires I loved Rob Arnott’s op-ed “Thank You for Your Success, He Said” (July 29). He said what I have said: Thank God for people like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Elon Musk and everyone who has brought us technology to im- prove our lives. I grew up with tele- phone party lines in the ’60s, snail mail and reading physical newspa- pers, books and magazines. There were no cellphones, no computers. I never begrudge anyone who is a millionaire or billionaire his money—he or she has developed vi- tal products for the masses. MATINA KANTZAVELOS Morton Grove, Ill. The Smithsonian and Burke Regarding William Galston’s "Trump Has a Point About the Smithsonian” (Politics & Ideas, July 29): Having fol- lowed the reporting on the politically correct Smithsonian Director Anthea Hartig, I shouldn’t have been surprised by the quote of her views on her pro- fession: “History as a practice . . . is for me a prime tool of social justice.” How does that comport with a historian’s overarching responsibility—paraphras- ing Edmund Burke—to the dead, the living and the yet unborn? Ms. Hartig’s focus on the “presentism” of social jus- tice must surely disqualify her for the role of Smithsonian director. Better she ply her trade as a Democratic socialist community organizer. STEPHEN C. KINNAMAN Chappell Hill, Texas Pepper ... And Salt Who Wins in a Rent Freeze? William McGurn has it right in “Mao Meets Manhattan” (Main Street, July 28), except he omits one thing. It sure looks like the ultimate goal of Zohran Mamdani’s efforts is to confiscate “negligent” landlords’ properties who’ve been left with no financially viable way to maintain their buildings and to give the prop- erties to nonprofit groups, NGOs and land trusts. Freezing the rent without freezing operating costs will create a lot of potential targets. JAMES BIANCO Yonkers, N.Y. The Public Pension AI Boom P resident Trump and Bernie Sanders have argued for the government taking equity stakes in AI companies to ensure the public benefits. A new report by the Equable Institute on the state of government pen- sions shows that the taxpay- ers and public workers are al- ready profiting plenty from the AI market boom. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has had its down days of late amid concerns about economic collateral damage from the Iran war. Yet the economy is proving to be remarkably resilient in large part thanks to an AI investment boom. Optimism about AI has helped push the Nas- daq up 21% over the last year and 71% over the last five years. The rising AI tide is lifting many non-tech company boats, including GE Vernova (up 49% in 12 months) and Caterpillar (89%), which make turbines for natural-gas plants that power AI data centers. The market boom has also boosted the funding ratios of government pension funds, which Equable estimates hit 85% nationwide this year—the highest since 2007. Equable estimates that about 8% to 10% of gov- ernment pension funds are invested in a basket of 51 publicly traded AI-related companies. This doesn’t include investments in privately managed funds that own stakes in private AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. While AI is yielding tre- mendous returns for pension funds, it also bears a warning. Strong investment returns have alleviated financial pres- sure on state and local govern- ments since taxpayers pay most of the bill for public worker pensions. Government employers contribute about 31.8 cents for every dollar that workers earn in compensation to- ward their pensions—triple the amount in 2001. Taxpayers would have to pony up even more if not for the AI boom. Therein also lies the risk. Some AI company valuations may be stretched in the current boom and could be in for a correction. Govern- ment policies that seek to slow AI—e.g., robot taxes and data-center moratoriums—could truncate the boom. In that case, taxpayers would be stuck paying much bigger pension bills, which could force worker layoffs as hap- pened after the 2008-09 meltdown. It would be better for governments to move workers to 401(k)-style plans that reduce the risk for taxpayers and give public workers a di- rect stake in the success of AI and other compa- nies. Maybe then government unions wouldn’t be as hostile to private business. An Equable study shows how the market is already helping workers.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, August 3, 2026 | A17 A Brief History of Wealth Creation could be scaled to almost any size. The Industrial Revolu- tion moved into high gear be- cause energy was suddenly cheap. That reduced the price of industrial goods for every- one while increasing profit for the owners. In 1826, young Benjamin Disraeli popularized the word “millionaire” to describe the new industrial barons in his novel “Vivian Grey.” In the early 19th century, factories were limited in size by the area to which their products could be economi- cally delivered. Freight moved by water or it didn’t move at all. When the steam engine was adapted to power loco- motives, the cost of overland shipping dropped precipi- tously. Whereas once every town had its own cobbler, suddenly a shoe factory in, say, Worcester, Mass., could make better—and much cheaper—shoes for the whole country. Within a few decades, railroad for- tunes like those of Jay Gould, E. H. Harriman, James J. Hill and Cornelius Vanderbilt were among the largest in the country. Almost simultaneously the sewing machine reduced the time needed to make a shirt from 16 hours to two, greatly reducing clothing costs. Isaac Singer died very wealthy. Gaslight became common in cities in the early 19th century, but people living beyond the reach of a gasworks still had to use expensive candles or whale oil. Whales were being over- hunted, and the price of whale oil rose alarmingly. Then Yale chemist Benjamin Silliman Jr. showed how crude oil could be fractionated into various liquids, one of which was ker- osene, an excellent illuminant that was much cheaper than whale oil. In 1859 the first oil well was drilled. By 1900 the names Rockefeller and Flager were legendary, and the price of kerosene had dropped contin- uously thanks to economies of scale. The ancients knew about steel, but it was so expensive to produce for most of history that it was almost a semiprecious metal. In 1856 the Brit- ish engineer Henry Bessemer invented a process for the mass-production of steel, and the material became cheap. Its use in railroad rails—now cheaper, safer and longer-lasting than wrought iron—greatly increased. Steel-framed buildings could soar to the sky. The word “skyscraper” came into usage around 1891, and Carnegie, Frick, Phipps and Schwab were soon house- hold names. In 1946 the first programmable computer, Eniac, came online. It was far faster and more versatile than the electromechanical devices it re- placed. It was also the size of a school bus, had more than 17,000 vac- uum tubes and sucked up 150 kilo- watts of electricity an hour. Computing remained very expen- sive despite the new technology, ow- ing to what mathematicians call the tyranny of numbers. Computing power is a function both of the num- ber of nodes and the number of con- nections between them. Two nodes require one connection, four nodes need six, six need 15 and so on. As long as those connections had to be made, essentially, by hand, comput- ers were confined to governments and big businesses, tended by men in white coats. The microprocessor, a computer on a chip of silicon, came to the mar- ket in 1971, thanks to Texas Instru- ments and Intel. The cost of the stor- age, retrieval and manipulation of data began to collapse. It was the most consequential technology since the steam engine made energy cheap. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak soon founded Apple and developed the first mass-market personal com- puter to reach consumers. Microsoft provided software to IBM, and Bill Gates became, for a time, the wealthi- est man in the world. Thanks to these men, school kids today carry around more computing power in their back- packs than the Pentagon could have afforded in the 1950s. Sam Walton understood that cheap computing made very close inventory control possible. That, along with vast wholesale purchasing power, allowed lower prices for cus- tomers. Walmart today has 1.6 million U.S. employees. When the PC was wedded to the Internet, the world changed profoundly in only a couple of decades. Jeff Be- zos saw how the new tech- nology could revolutionize retailing again. Amazon to- day has 1.1 million American employees, second only to Walmart. Its American cus- tomer base is about 255 mil- lion, about 75% of the coun- try’s population. In recent years, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has greatly re- duced the cost of using outer space, thanks to the reusable rocket. We can expect more fortunes—and cheaper goods and services—as a result of this innovation. Artificial intelligence is profoundly altering the digital uni- verse, with the promise of ever greater computing power. All this wealth creation is ulti- mately capital formation. Billionaires don’t keep their wealth locked in Scrooge McDuck-style money bins. They invest it in ever more wealth- creating enterprises. Capital and labor are the two fun- damental inputs into an economy. Many on the left, unable to distin- guish between wealth aggregation and wealth creation, want to tax wealth heavily, which would reduce the available capital needed to make the economy grow. If there was ever a prime example of ideology blinding people to reality, this is it. Mr. Gordon is author of “An Em- pire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power.” By John Steele Gordon CHAD CROWE T he grandeur of the Roman Empire was built on the aggregation of wealth. Us- ing its superior military organization, Rome con- quered its neighbors, took their gold and silver and sold their populations into slavery. When the empire ran out of neighbors, the Roman economy be- gan to falter. Today America is in the midst of the greatest epoch of wealth creation the world has ever known. Our his- tory is one of innovation, and we are all richer because of it. In 1982, the first year of the Forbes 400, it took $100 million to make the list, and the wealthiest American was Daniel Keith Ludwig, worth $2 billion. In today’s dollars, those figures are approximately $346 million and $6.9 billion. In 2025 it took $3.8 billion to make the list, and the man at the top was Elon Musk, worth $428 billion as calculated on Sept. 1. How did this rapid increase in wealth come to be? Simple: the mi- croprocessor and the internet. When- ever a new technology greatly re- duces the cost of a major input into the economy, the cost of goods and services drops and an influx of new fortunes quickly follows. Before the Industrial Revolution, fortunes were based on land or trade. Energy was provided by muscle power, windmills and water wheels. Then in 1781 James Watt patented a rotary steam engine that could turn a shaft and thus power a factory. Un- like water wheels, steam engines The ancients aggregated wealth. America was built by creating it. Socialists are blind to all this. OPINION Socialist Chic and the ‘Medicare for All’ Sham A friend recently observed that many young, relatively affluent people in his New York City neighborhood— which voted heavily for Zohran Mam- dani—dress like ho- bos and sport Car- hartt workwear. Call it socialist chic. The sartorial style is also an apt metaphor for patrician progressives who feign solidarity with the prole- tariat. Consider Abdul El-Sayed, the left- wing front-runner in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary this Tuesday. Mr. El-Sayed has surged to the lead against Rep. Haley Stevens by presenting himself as a man of the people. He has called for free child care, “Medicare for all” and an 8% wealth tax on billionaires. “I don’t think that our system should be in the business of creating billionaires,” he said during a March debate. “I think our system should be in the business of empowering every- day folks to be able to live a life with access to the basic dignities that they need and deserve, good housing, good healthcare, affordable food.” Nobody can disagree with the lat- ter goals. But Mr. El-Sayed’s pre- scriptions to achieve them would ex- pand government control of healthcare and the private economy and exacerbate the socioeconomic in- equalities he inveighs against. Mr. El-Sayed, 41, earned a doctor- ate in public health from Oxford Uni- versity and a medical degree from Columbia—though he didn’t com- plete an internship and isn’t licensed to practice medicine. Instead of car- ing for patients, he has spent his ca- reer nurturing ties to progressive groups. “My career has never been about trying to maximize on money, otherwise I would have just gone and been a surgeon,” he said in June. Still, he hasn’t done too shabbily. He and his wife, Sarah Jukaku, earned $686,069 in income last year, according to a financial disclosure report he released last month. That would rank him among Michigan’s top 1% of earners. The couple made $262,299 from capital gains, which he said came from the sale of a property that his wife’s parents bought for them. His disclosure also noted “additional in- come” of $292,881 from his podcast, “America Dissected,” and his wife’s psychiatric practice. His podcast claims to “explore what’s really mak- ing us sick and what we’ll need to take on—be it racism, corporate cap- italism, or snake-oil salesmen—to keep all of us healthy.” Mr. El-Sayed and his wife also own between $882,000 and $2.2 mil- lion in assets, which include three rental properties, one of which his wife recently acquired in Dubai. No- body should begrudge Mr. El-Sayed his modest fortune, but why should he begrudge billionaires theirs? The left-wing candidate in recent days has tried to distance himself from the Democratic Socialists of America, perhaps because he worries the label will alienate voters in No- vember. “I’m not a socialist,” Mr. El- Sayed said. “I’m just a capitalist who understands how capitalism works.” You wouldn’t know it from his policy agenda. He does know how to make money selling snake oil. In 2021 he co-au- thored a book, “Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide,” with a foreword by Sen. Bernie Sanders. The catchphrase “Medicare for all” is misleading. What Mr. El-Sayed proposes isn’t universal Medicare but a single- payer system with no premiums, de- ductibles or cost-sharing. Medicare has all of the above. All seniors who don’t also qualify for Medicaid have to pay a monthly Medi- care Part B premium, starting at $202.90 a month and tied to income. Seniors who enroll in traditional Medi- care fee-for-service also have a $1,736 deductible for inpatient hospital care, steep cost-sharing requirements and no limit on out-of-pocket spending. They also have to purchase sepa- rate prescription-drug plans, whose monthly premiums range from zero to $239. About 40% of seniors in tra- ditional Medicare buy supplemental insurance polices to cover benefits like dental and vision care not pro- vided by the government and for protection against catastrophic costs. Seniors also have the choice of en- rolling in private federally subsidized Medicare Advantage insurance plans. About half of Medicare beneficiaries, and most of those with lower in- comes, enroll in Advantage plans be- cause they provide comprehensive coverage at lower cost than fee-for- service. Mr. El-Sayed wants to elimi- nate these plans. Yet he slickly pitches “Medicare for all” as an antidote to America’s myriad healthcare ailments, which are largely caused by government policies. He complains that lower-in- come Americans struggle to access doctors. But that’s primarily because of the ObamaCare Medicaid expan- sion and low government reimburse- ment rates for physicians. Mr. El-Sayed’s idealized system resembles Medicaid, in which pa- tients can wait months to see spe- cialists. In single-payer systems in other countries where the govern- ment rations care, wait times are even worse. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine recently re- ported 15,860 avoidable deaths last year associated with long delays for Britain’s National Health Service. The wealthy in countries with na- tionalized health systems can usually expedite care by paying out of pocket to see physicians, while the hoi polloi are consigned to long waits for sub- standard care. Like the rest of the so- cialist agenda, Medicare for All is a sham. What Abdul El-Sayed proposes is a single-payer system nothing like the program for the elderly. LIFE SCIENCE By Allysia Finley DOW JONES MANAGEMENT: Jason P. Conti, General Counsel; Dianne DeSevo, Chief People Officer; Artem Fishman, Chief Technology Officer; Lisa Fitzpatrick, General Manager, Dow Jones Industries; M. Scott Havens, Chief Growth Officer; Dan Shar, EVP, General Manager, Wealth & Investing; Ashok Sinha, Chief Communications Officer; Josh Stinchcomb, EVP & Chief Revenue Officer, WSJ | Barron’s Group The FBI Raided My House, Guns Drawn, Over a Peaceful Protest O n a quiet October morning in 2022, my life changed for- ever. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation pounded on my front door and arrested me at gunpoint in front of my wife and children. Last week, my life changed again. After years of legal battles to clear my name, my family has reached a settlement with the gov- ernment concerning the weaponiza- tion of power against us and the harm it inflicted. This settlement comes on the heels of a landmark Justice Department report that con- firms what my attorneys at the Thomas More Society argued from the beginning: What happened to me wasn’t an accident or an over- zealous mistake but a coordinated campaign against pro-life advocates like me. I’m a Christian father of 11, and a significant part of living my faith is advocacy for the dignity of unborn children and vulnerable mothers. My family’s world was shattered when FBI agents raided our rural Tennessee home, guns drawn, treat- ing me like a dangerous criminal for peacefully praying and singing out- side an abortion business over a year earlier. My children watched in fear as I was handcuffed and led away, and when my wife desper- ately asked what was happening, where the agents were taking me and on what authority, her pleas went unanswered. The legal nightmare that ensued lasted more than a year, leaving me a felon and my family dealing with the fallout and trauma caused by the government. By God’s grace, I received a presidential pardon on Jan. 23, 2025, soon after Thomas More Society lawyers sent a formal pardon petition to President Trump. I give thanks that I can write this from my home, surrounded by family and with my freedom re- stored. Yet every time I am called to recount what happened that morning, the pain is as fresh as the day it occurred. Now we know the full picture: The Justice Department’s report found that the Biden administration systematically weaponized the Free- dom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act against pro-life Americans while closely coordinating with abortion- industry groups to identify, surveil and target us for prosecution. The National Abortion Federa- tion wasn’t merely cheering from the sidelines. Its security director was described by the Justice De- partment’s own task-force director as an “MVP” for flagging pro-life demonstrations to the govern- ment, often in real time, “which usually result in an investigation/ prosecution.” The federation com- piled a dossier on pro-life sup- porters that included photographs, home addresses, driver’s license numbers, and even photos of spouses and minor children and shared it directly with the Justice Department and the FBI. One of the Justice Department leaders of the charge against me and my fellow pro-life advocates was Sanjay Patel, a prosecutor in the Civil Rights Division’s criminal section, who oversaw FACE Act en- forcement nationwide. In my own case, which went to trial in federal court in Nashville, defense counsel requested historical prosecution data to prepare a selective-prose- cution defense. Mr. Patel refused, claiming he didn’t keep such re- cords. But the weaponization re- port revealed that he had the in- formation readily available. In fact, he had already shared substan- tially identical data with the Na- tional Abortion Federation. The ev- idence that might have demonstrated the government was treating us differently was with- held from the Americans being prosecuted and handed to the or- ganizations that helped target us. Mr. Patel was among the prosecu- tors fired before the report’s re- lease—a small but significant mea- sure of accountability for those who presided over this campaign. Recent revelations show that we weren’t casualties of blind justice but instead carefully selected tar- gets of a politically motivated cam- paign against pro-life Americans. None of this is easy to reckon with. The Justice Department, the institu- tion charged with protecting Ameri- cans equally under the law, was weaponized against me and other people of faith for the peaceful ex- ercise of our pro-life beliefs. That is why I am grateful for what the Trump administration has done. The presidential pardon, the willingness to investigate and pub- licly release this report, and now this settlement aren’t small things. They are acts of institutional hon- esty and are the beginning of re- storing faith in government and in the idea that America’s promise of equal justice under law still means something. A Christian should be able to stand on a public sidewalk or in a building open to the public, pray qui- etly, peacefully share the pro-life message, and go home to his family without fear that a federal task force is building a file on him and taking cues from an abortion industry lobby. That isn’t a radical request. I pray this marks a turning point—for pro-life Christians and for every American who believes that justice must be blind and speaking the truth isn’t a crime. Mr. Vaughn is president of Ten- nessee Wireless and Personhood Tennessee. By Paul Vaughn Biden officials worked with the National Abortion Federation to treat pro-life advocates as criminals. EDITORIAL AND CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS: 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y., 10036 Telephone 1-800-DOWJONES Liz Harris, Managing Editor David Crow, Deputy Editor in Chief Aja Whitaker-Moore, Deputy Editor in Chief Sarah Ball, Features; Elena Cherney, Senior Editor; Dan Colarusso, Business, Finance, Economics; Chip Cummins, Newswires; Taneth Evans, Digital; Gordon Fairclough, World; Alex Martin, Print & Writing; Bruce Orwall, Enterprise; Damian Paletta, Washington; Christopher S. Stewart, Investigations; Maral Usefi, Video Paul A. Gigot Editor of the Editorial Page Gerard Baker, Editor at Large PUBLISHED SINCE 1889 BY DOW JONES & COMPANY Lachlan Murdoch Executive Chairman, News Corp Rupert Murdoch Chairman Emeritus, News Corp Emma Tucker Editor in Chief Robert Thomson Chief Executive Officer, News Corp Almar Latour Chief Executive Officer and Publisher
A18 | Monday, August 3, 2026 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. have proven to be far more than just rich. Under Friedman’s leader- ship, they have also built up a player-development apparatus that is the envy of all their peers. MLB.com ranks their farm system No. 2 in all of baseball, trailing only the Brewers. The highest- rated player the Dodgers parted with for Skubal—Double-A out- fielder Zyhir Hope—is ranked fifth in the Dodgers organization and 25th in baseball. In other words, the Dodgers got Skubal for what essentially amounts to the loose change found underneath the desk in team owner Mark Walter’s office. With Skubal in the mix, the Dodgers are primed to go into Oc- tober with a collection of pitchers that ranks among the greatest in history. postseason to round out the dream rotation. But just in case he doesn’t, the Dodgers bought themselves the best possible insurance policy in the form of a 240-pound lefty with a powerful fastball and devastat- ing changeup. For months, MLB owners have remained steadfast in their desire to implement a salary cap in col- lective bargaining this offseason, in part to rein in the Dodgers. They might even be willing to tear down the entire 2027 season to get it. With one blockbuster trade, however, the Dodgers have shown exactly where they stand. They are going to try to win at any cost— and completely breaking baseball might be the only way to stop them. Since 2024, only Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves has a better ERA than Skubal’s 2.40. Skubal has struck out more batters over that span than anybody besides the To- ronto Blue Jays’ Dylan Cease. He appears to have fully recovered from the elbow procedure that kept him sidelined for six weeks earlier this season, having posted a 1.95 ERA in his last six outings. He joins the Dodgers just as Blake Snell—another two-time Cy Young winner—is on the verge of returning from the injured list. Flamethrowing right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who has been out since early May, isn’t far behind him. Yoshinobu Yamamoto remains as dominant as ever. And the Dodgers continue to insist that Ohtani, who is dealing with knee and bicep issues, will pitch in the The Los Angeles Dodgers traded for Tarik Skubal as they pursue their third consecutive World Series title. As it became clear that the De- troit Tigers were going to trade superstar pitcher Tarik Skubal, the question sweeping the baseball world was who was going to land him. But deep down, everybody al- ready knew the answer: The Los Angeles Dodgers had the money. They had the prospects. Most im- portantly, they had the will. And this weekend, they sent a resounding reminder that will loom over the sport not just for the rest of this season, but throughout the inevitable labor battle still to come: If the Dodgers want something, they will get it— and there’s nothing anybody can do about it. The Dodgers acquired Skubal, adding yet another ace to their ro- tation as they pursue their third consecutive World Series champi- onship. All it cost them to snatch up the winner of the last two American League Cy Young Awards was three minor-leaguers whose absences will barely make a dent in their loaded farm system. It isn’t as if the Dodgers needed Skubal. Their starting staff already entered Sunday with the best ERA in the major leagues. They brought him in simply be- cause he was available and they could. For the juggernaut of MLB, that is enough. “There just aren’t that many star-level players in the game,” Dodgers president of baseball op- erations Andrew Friedman said re- cently. “Any time one is available, RICK OSENTOSKI/IMAGN IMAGES/REUTERS we’re always going to participate in those conversations.” How the Dodgers were so easily able to win the Skubal sweep- stakes perfectly encapsulates what has made them such an unyielding force—and why MLB is careening toward a potentially devastating lockout to end their reign. As always, it begins with their seemingly unending piles of money. The 29-year-old Skubal is set to become a free agent this winter and is likely to pursue a contract worth upward of $400 million. With record-setting reve- nues brought about by a massive local television deal and the pres- ence of Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers are one of the few franchises who can comfortably afford to give him one. (This explains why the Tigers moved Skubal in the first place, despite being within striking dis- tance of a playoff spot.) Other teams, like the Milwau- kee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays, undoubtedly could have sent the Tigers a package that surpassed what the Dodgers offered. But without a limitless bankroll at their disposal, those clubs almost certainly couldn’t have retained Skubal, making him an extraordi- narily expensive rental. For small-market clubs, that isn’t a viable option. Top pros- pects are the lifeblood that allow them to compete with wealthier opponents who can consistently outspend them for established tal- ent. Trading those kinds of assets is a risk they are rarely willing to take. Not so for the Dodgers, who Dodgers Acquire Skubal in Trade BY JARED DIAMOND this deal covers all 36 of OSU’s varsity sports. Fencing! Can’t wait for that Chase-branded fencing lamé. En garde! Naturally, there’s some risk of backlash from you-know-who, That Team Up North. One imagines irri- tated Michigan Wolverines burn- ing checkbooks and disavowing money-market accounts as they drink their spritzes at Ann Arbor tailgates—but inside Columbus, this is like getting to sponsor reli- gion. (Buckeye coach Ryan Day con- firmed there was never a chance of seeing the standard Chase logo on OSU gear, since that logo is blue, a prohibited hue in Colum- bus. Here, it’s been changed to scarlet red. It remains to be seen if OSU hardcores will pronounce the “M” in JPMorgan) Just as Ohio State was basking in this groundbreaking partner- ship, news arrived that fancypants Notre Dame was getting an even more lucrative deal with the finan- cial services platform SoFi. The reported moola for this one? $18 million plus per season. Jerseys have long carried logos for apparel sponsors, but you’re nothing in college football today unless you’re sponsored by a bank, too. Michigan State has granted patch rights to the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union. Il- linois is on board with Champaign- based Busey Bank. One suspects we are seconds away from the Curt Cignetti’s Citigroup Hoosiers, the Bank of America Crimson Tide, and the Wells Fargo Trojans. Not everyone’s gone with a bank. Arkansas pecked out a deal with Arkansas-based Tyson Foods. My alma mater Wisconsin is going to be sponsored by Culver’s, the beloved Midwest restaurant chain with frozen custard that melts like a Badger first-quarter lead. The Big 12, meanwhile, made a deal with Monster Energy to se- cure jersey frontage on all Big 12 teams for $20 million a season— kind of a steal, actually, 16 teams for the price of Notre Dame. (Yes there are 16 teams in the Big 12 and 18 teams in the Big Ten, be- cause nothing in life makes any sense anymore.) Why stop here? With universi- ties moaning to Congress about their inability to compensate ath- letes while maintaining large ath- letic programs—look at the push for antitrust protection—no finan- cial opportunity should be ignored. Why not decorate all of our col- lege athletes like stock car drivers, covering them head to toe in logos for banks, tech companies, can- dies, soft drinks, sunscreens, in- surers, hardware stores and ultra- processed snacks? Why stop at patches? What about helmets wrapped to look like frozen meat- balls or wheels of imported Par- mesan? And where are the spon- sored hydration breaks—have the college sports pooh-bahs learned nothing from the dark lords of FIFA? College football has an advan- tage here—it sold out a long time ago. This is a sport that named its bowl games for refrigerators, muf- flers and weed eaters, and con- cludes a current one with the bleak, ritual toasting of an anthro- pomorphic Pop Tart. And then there are all the cognitively-disso- nant deals with gambling compa- nies as college campuses confront issues with addiction and online abuse of athletes. This is the state of play in col- lege sports, long present, now su- persized, though a caution here: the lawyers are watching. Schools are desperate to squirm out of col- lective bargaining, but it feels in- creasingly likely. At some point, this revenue will need to be split with players, who, in turn, will need wise guidance as they navi- gate this financial wild west. I know a few options. I’ve seen a few expensive jersey patches. Tell them to give me a call. JASON GAY Ohio State Lands a JPMorgan Deal You’re nothing in college football these days without a fancy jersey sponsor OHIO STATE ATHLETICS SPORTS Will they insist we call it THE JPMorgan Chase now? That’s the question I have following this week’s announcement that JPMorgan Chase has become the bank and jersey sponsor of the athletic program at Ohio State, the university that daffily insists upon using (and won a trademark for) a definite article to declare itself, as in THE Ohio State University. Whatever. They’ll always be Chase and the Buckeyes to me. Here we are, the latest install- ment of college sports dropping the ruse that it isn’t all about the dollars. ESPN reported that Ohio State’s deal with JPMorgan calls for the bank to pay the school nearly $17 million each season, for which it will get its logo on game day jerseys and perhaps find an opportunity for Jamie Dimon to chuck one pass versus Nebraska. Lunatics who pay attention to things like jersey patch deals were quick to point out that the OSU-JP deal rivals the most expensive jer- sey patches in U.S. professional sports. Why shouldn’t it be? Buck- eye football is as big and crazy of a passion as any major team— probably bigger and crazier. And JPMorgan Chase is the jersey patch sponsor for Ohio State.
© 2026 Dow Jones & Company. All Rights Reserved. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, August 3, 2026 | B1 Last Week: S&P 7489.72 À 1.05% S&PFIN À 1.05% S&PIT g 0.12% DJ TRANS g 6.39% WSJ $IDX g 1.49% 2–YR. TREAS. yield 4.289% NIKKEI 64362.02 g 0.39% Seemoreat WSJ.com/Markets BUSINESS&FINANCE BUSINESS NEWS How JPMorgan tried to value FIFA’s spinoff. B3 HEARD ON THE STREET Wall Street thinks it knows how tech giants will profit from AI. B9 Ben Broca launched a com- pany last December that offers AI tools to entrepreneurs. He has already added 10,000 pay- ing customers and is on track to bring in $10 million in reve- nue this year. One thing he hasn’t added: any other employees. The 40-year-old is part of a class of entrepreneurs who are launching, and then often run- ning, new companies on their own. Artificial intelligence tools answer Broca’s emails, help write and debug code, field requests from customers, sign up new subscribers and grant refunds when issues arise. Broca relishes his ability to make whatever decisions he wants on his own, often from his sun-drenched Sausalito, Ca- lif., living room. “I think com- promises make lukewarm re- sults,” he said. Once upon a time, running a business of a certain size re- quired a team. AI is turning that assumption upside down, and more aspiring entrepre- neurs are going it alone. An analysis by the payments company Stripe shows there are thousands of solo operators on the company’s platform that are generating over $1 million in revenue, with their ranks doubling between 2023 and 2025. The number of solo oper- ators crossing the $10 million threshold nearly tripled in that same span. In the past, people without business contacts or particular savvy might not have known how to get their ideas off the ground, said Ernie Tedeschi, Stripe’s chief economist. “Now, AI can be a built-in business partner,” he said. AI’s ability to handle various administrative tasks makes it potentially useful for launching solo businesses in many fields. But the technology’s ability to also handle key tasks in tech, like coding, make that field a particular hot spot. Analyzing Census Bureau data, Bank of America Institute economist Taylor Bowley found that among all industries, new business applications in the in- formation sector have seen the biggest percentage increase— nearly 45%—over the past year. At the same time, the rate of information-sector applicants saying they plan to hire work- ers has experienced the sharp- est decline of any measured in- dustry. This Census dataset doesn’t track solo-operated businesses. But the numbers broadly show—in tech and beyond— that applications are flat among businesses likely to hire workers, but generally rising elsewhere. Economists say that is a strong sign that solo oper- ators are on the upswing. “The bar for getting started has never been lower,” said Ju- lian Weisser, who runs a San PleaseturntopageB2 B oom-bust cycles now happen in the blink of an eye. The memory-chip bubble inflated and popped, complete with wild volatility and an im- ploding hedge fund, in just four months. Trillions of dollars were created out of thin air and then eviscer- ated. Here’s the thing: For the rest of the market, it just didn’t matter. The S&P 500 is only 1.6% below its re- cord, and the equal- weighted version—a mea- sure of the average of all stocks in the index—hit a new high last week. Students of bubbles may shrug. The post-financial- crisis era of easy money has led to repeated booms and busts in small, and some- times not-so-small, parts of the market in the past 15 years. None of them stopped its relentless rise. One day the bust will be the big one, and drag down the whole market. But for now, at least, the pullback in AI-related stocks has been almost completely off- set by gains elsewhere. Why do these mini (and in the case of semiconduc- tors, not so mini) bubbles keep happening, and why aren’t they more damaging? A brief recap of the past dozen years in bubbles: 3-D printing (2014; loss from peak 93%) Anything China-related (2015; Chinese stocks lost 47%) Low volatility (2017-18; 92% loss in a day in one now-defunct listed vehicle) SPACs, clean energy, can- nabis, space and crypto (2021; Ark Innovation ETF lost 81%) Tiny companies with AI hopes (2023, 2024, 2025, 2026; Super Micro Com- puter and Allbirds, renamed NewBird AI and now Smart- bird, both down more than 85%) Crypto treasury stocks (2024-25; Strategy down 83%) Anything Donald Trump- related (2024 onwards; @DJT down 89%) Memory chips (SK Hynix dropped 55% before Friday’s bounce) My best guess on the rea- son for all these bubbles is a mix of easy money, the gam- bling instinct and hopes for new technology. These are PleaseturntopageB9 Seven months after the U.S. deposed Nicolás Maduro, large oil companies have yet to make any big moves in Vene- zuela. ExxonMobil, Chevron and other major oil companies are fighting for a small number of the country’s most attractive drilling spots, but some of the talks with Venezuelan leaders have hit an impasse, according to people familiar with the ne- gotiations. President Trump and his lieutenants had high hopes that big U.S. oil companies would quickly sign investment deals to kick-start production in Venezuela, home to some of the world’s largest reserves. They see the country’s rising oil exports as a boon to U.S. supplies while Iran hobbles shipping lanes in the Middle East that typically carry 20% of the world’s oil and gas. The administration is also putting pressure on interim President Delcy Rodriguez to boost Venezuela’s production quickly—before the end of Trump’s second term. Among the issues that have handicapped any big deals: Major U.S. oil producers are interested in many of the same prize assets, including fields in eastern Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt and the north- eastern state of Monagas—and they want to secure the most favorable fiscal and regulatory terms possible. The earth- quake that shook the country last month also slowed the progress. “Few of them are really jumping into the water,” said José Ignacio Hernández, a law professor and consultant at advisory firm Aurora Macro Strategies. “It’s like when you’re trying to sell your house. You have a very suc- cessful open house with 100 people attending, but then no- body calls.” The negotiations are largely being led by state-run Petró- leos de Venezuela, which is holding separate meetings with companies and making private offerings. Some of the American companies, which are more accustomed to public PleaseturntopageB2 BY COLLIN EATON AND KEJAL VYAS Oil Giants Trying to Get Into Venezuela Hit a Wall INSIDE Tom Holland’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ reinvigorated superhero movies with the year’s biggest opening weekend. grossed $357 million in its de- but from the U.S. and Canada and went on to achieve a global gross of $2.8 billion. The Spider-Man opening is a much-needed success for the superhero movie genre, which has been in a slump recently after dominating the box of- fice in the 2010s. Warner-owned DC Studios’ “Supergirl” flopped in July, and Disney’s Marvel Studios had several disappointments last year including “Thunderbolts” and “Captain America: Brave New World.” Audiences, partic- ularly younger ones, have grown skeptical of mega-fran- chises they once embraced. But Spider-Man has been immune to that trend. The character has propelled box-office hits since 2002’s “Spider-Man,” directed by Sam Raimi, set the template for the modern superhero blockbuster. The previous live-action Spi- der-Man movie, 2021’s “Spider- Man: No Way Home,” is the second-highest- grossing Holly- wood film of the decade, with $1.91 bil- lion worldwide. Sony’s ani- mated “Across the Spider-Verse” grossed $690.8 million in 2023. And Disney’s preschool cartoon “Spidey and His Amazing Friends” is a huge hit that helps create fans. “Brand New Day” is a win for Sony, which keeps all the money the movie makes—after sharing revenue with theaters— under a licens- ing deal it signed in 1999 with then-strug- gling comic- book publisher Marvel. Marvel, now owned by Dis- ney, controls merchandise rights to the character, which typically get a boost from toy and other prod- uct sales thanks to a hit movie. Marvel, which produced “Brand New Day” with Sony, also benefits because the film PleaseturntopageB2 Spider-Man spun a huge weekend for movie theaters, flouting superhero fatigue and giving a boost to Hollywood’s summer box office. Sony Pictures’ “Spider- Man: Brand New Day” opened to an estimated $927 million in global box-office sales, making it the second-biggest film debut ever, according to the studio. The movie’s domestic open- ing of $355 million through Sunday is by far the largest launch of 2026. If estimates hold, the film’s domestic weekend total will come in just shy of the record set by Walt Disney’s “Avengers: End- game” in 2019. That picture BY BEN FRITZ AND RYAN FAUGHNDER Sony’s Spidey Sense Pays Off Big COLUMBIA PICTURES/EVERETT COLLECTION $927M Estimated opening weekend haul for ‘Brand New Day,’ the second-highest ever STREETWISE | By James Mackintosh Stock Bubbles Don’t Scare U.S. was little changed. That modest move in those broader indexes has masked sharper moves beneath the surface, as investors re-evalu- ate their tech bets and grapple with the looming threat of ris- ing interest rates. It’s all “kind of chaotic,” said Victoria Fernandez, chief market strategist and portfo- lio manager at Crossmark Global Investments. “Even though the top layer says things are fine, underneath there’s a lot of churning and uncertainty.” That tumult was especially pronounced last week, as traders took a more discern- ing look at the market’s big- gest AI players—with drasti- cally dissimilar results. After PleaseturntopageB4 Financial markets faced a series of crucial tests this past week. The results? Not as clear as investors might hope. Earnings reports from the country’s largest tech compa- nies sent their stocks flying in different directions, propelling Apple’s shares to their worst day since the tariff turmoil and BY HANNAH ERIN LANG Microsoft’s to the largest one- day market-cap gain for any U.S. company, ever. A news conference from the new chair- man of the Federal Reserve left analysts issuing notes with ti- tles like “Doved and Confused” and “Erm… What?” The question now is whether broadening equity gains and a renewed zeal for the artificial-intelligence trade can power the rally’s next leg, even as chip-stock swings and a bond-market selloff drag on major U.S. stock indexes. The Nasdaq fell 3.2% during the month of July, while the Dow edged higher and the S&P 500 Results Divide Big Tech Stocks Reports drive outsize gains and losses as bond selloff adds to market pressure BY TE-PING CHEN These Business Founders Don’t Need Employees Memory-chip stocks tripled in three months before almost halving in a month. ’15 ’20 ’25 $100 3D Systems share price Jan. 2026 July $20 Allbirds pivots from sneakers to AI Post-Covid boom and bust Smartbird (formerly Allbirds) share price ’21 ’22 $150 ARK Innovation ETF share price May 2026 June July Friday $50.37 $80 Roundhill Memory ETF Source: FactSet Wed. Thurs. Fri. 4.600 4.625 4.650 4.675 4.700 4.725 4.750% 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, past three days Sources: Tullett Prebon (yield); FactSet (performance) July 21 –20 –15 –10 –5 15% Microsoft Amazon Apple Meta Share-price performance, past nine days
B2 | Monday, August 3, 2026 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. INDEX TO BUSINESSES These indexes cite notable references to most parent companies and businesspeople in today’s edition. Articles on regional page inserts aren’t cited in these indexes. A Air Canada...................................B3 Alphabet.........................................B9 Amazon................................B4, B9 Apple..................................................B1 B Berkshire Hathaway............B4 BP........................................................B3 C Chevron............................................B1 Cleveland-Cliffs.........................B3 ConocoPhillips...........................B2 D Delta Air Lines.........................B3 E Electronic Arts.........................B4 Exxon Mobil.................................B1 J JPMorgan Chase....................B3 M Meta Platforms...............B4,B9 Microsoft................................B1,B9 Mitsui .............................................B4 Moderna.........................................B2 N Netflix............................................A13 News Corp....................................B5 S SK Hynix.........................................B1 Smartbird.......................................B1 Super Micro Computer......B1 W Walt Disney.................................B1 INDEX TO PEOPLE BUSINESS & FINANCE Despite their reluctance to move quickly in Venezuela, many oil-industry executives say the potential prizes are huge. LEONARDO FERNANDEZ VILORIA/REUTERS He co-authored a recent study that found that among 50,000 startups the researchers exam- ined, those focused on AI tended to operate with 25% fewer employees. Koning also believes a soft hiring environment that has left some people mired in long job searches has encouraged more to try their hand at launching businesses. Some founders cite different motives. “It’s a perfect storm of postpandemic burnout and a re-evaluation of one’s priori- ties, and also booming AI and a sense of what’s possible,” said Samir Ahmad, 39, who lives in Breinigsville, Pa. Two years ago, Ahmad de- cided to leave the corporate job he had worked at Verizon for almost two decades to start a solo coaching and consulting business. He had been seeing social- media posts touting the ease and virtues of AI, which he used to chart a business plan and help with marketing. “It was like my chief of staff, a second in command,” he said. The business ultimately pe- tered out within months, though, and Ahmad is now Estimated Box-OfficeFigures, ThroughSunday Sales, InMillions Film Distributor Weekend Cumulative % Change 1. Spider-Man: Brand New Day Sony $355 $355 - 2. The Odyssey Universal $51 $396 -43 3. Toy Story5 Disney $6.3 $462 -38 4. Minions &MonstersUniversal $5.8 $168 -41 5. Moana Disney $5.3 $115 -50 Friday, Saturday and Sunday in North Americantheaters Source: Comscore top economists are wrestling with that possibility, too. But AI is also creating lots of new jobs, and the go-it-alone entre- preneurs show how the tech- nology can both open doors and limit employment opportu- nities. “If everyone’s hiring less, but you get four times more firms, what does that do to head count?” said Rembrand Koning, an associate professor at Harvard Business School who studies entrepreneurship. New business formations for the information sector, three-month moving average 2021 ’22 ’23 ’24 ’25 ’26 7,000 8,000 9,000 10,000 11,000 12,000 13,000 Note: Seasonally adjusted Source: Census Bureau of oil. In the state of Monagas, the companies are vying for ac- cess to two fields—one near the town of El Furrial and an- other near Punta de Mata— that produce a type of lighter crude that they could use as a diluent to blend with the heavier crude produced across Venezuela. Exxon, whose CEO Darren Woods called Venezuela “unin- vestable” in January, has run both hot and cold in Venezuela deal talks, the people said. The company pursued acquiring rights to several attractive fields but pulled back when Venezuela offered only a few of the fields it wanted to in- vest in, one of the people said. Exxon has run into myriad challenges. It found damage to Cerro Negro, the project it op- erated before 2007 when its infrastructure was national- ized. Restarting the field is projected to cost billions of dollars. Meanwhile, Chevron—the only U.S. oil major currently active in Venezuela—is advo- cating that the country keep pushing to create a more com- petitive landscape for foreign investments. It has boosted production to a record of nearly 300,000 barrels a day since Maduro’s ouster but is doing so via efficiencies within its reach, rather than new billion-dollar investments. In total, Venezuela’s pro- duction climbed to 1.07 million barrels a day in June, up from 937,000 barrels on average last year, according to the Or- ganization of the Petroleum bidding processes, have re- quested U.S. officials inter- vene. So far, the administra- tion has let the process play out without choosing any winners. Some U.S. executives worry their long-term investments could be undermined by politi- cal instability and say PdVSA isn’t in a position to assuage those fears, the people famil- iar with the talks say. In some cases, debt repayments, tied to the expropriation of their assets two decades ago under Hugo Chávez, have yet to be resolved. White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the Energy Department is “facilitating un- precedented investment in Venezuela to restore its en- ergy infrastructure.” Despite their reluctance to move quickly in Venezuela, many executives say the po- tential prizes are huge, partic- ularly for companies that typi- cally drill in places that can pump oil for decades. Among the sites Exxon, Chevron and others are study- ing most closely is the Cara- bobo oil region in the Orinoco Belt, the people said. The area has large reserves of heavy, viscous crude that U.S. refin- eries prefer over other kinds ContinuedfrompageB1 Oil Giants Hit Wall in Venezuela back to a full-time corporate role with a utility company. For Claire Vo, 41, AI helped her turn a passing impulse into a business. She was working full time as a tech executive when she tapped AI in late 2023 to help code an app that would help her manage docu- mentation and design for new products, with customers rang- ing from financial services to healthcare firms. “I was copying and pasting from ChatGPT,” said Vo, who lives in San Francisco. She put the app online for $1 a month, and within weeks people downloaded it thou- sands of times. Nearly three years later, Vo’s company— which she ran solo for nine months before hiring an engi- neer—now has 100,000 users and is on track to make seven figures in profit this year. AI handles the company’s market- ing, sales and customer sup- port. While AI is a shortcut, Vo said her network and credibil- ity in the industry were key. “I think people over-index on how easy AI is and under-index on how much I did to get to this point,” she said. Ben Broca runs his company solo—with help from AI—from his living room in Sausalito, Calif. JONAH REENDERS FOR WSJ Francisco-based accelerator for solo founders working in tech. The accelerator—which offers founders seed money and men- torship in exchange for an eq- uity stake—attracted 4,500 ap- plicants for 10 slots made available in its most recent cy- cle, nearly five times the num- ber it drew when it launched last May. Going it alone with AI can still be surprisingly expensive. Broca said he was losing money on many customers’ ac- counts while paying to access Anthropic’s Claude to run his clients’ requests—that AI com- pany, as well as others, charges based on usage. He has since switched to free open-source AI models from China. Broca said he has raised $30 million from investors and, at the same time, has saved millions in sal- ary since he hasn’t needed a team of software engineers. Another risk: If it’s easy for one entrepreneur to launch an AI-assisted business, copying them can be easy, too. This cre- ates anxiety for founders like Troy Johnston, who runs an AI-assisted business alone in Orlando, Fla. “Everybody has the sword and we all have the ability to unsheathe Excalibur now,” said Johnston, 40, who used AI to code an app that helps people get the most out of credit card benefits. The company makes around $3,000 a month in profit, with no employees, and is continuing to grow. What one-person businesses will mean for the labor market remains to be seen. Polling has shown Americans are worried that AI will replace jobs, and ContinuedfrompageB1 These Founders Go It Alone PdVSA recently circulated among industry participants a list of two dozen production- sharing agreements it was de- liberating with foreign oil companies, said a person close to the situation. Such deals are more attrac- tive to smaller wildcatters than big oil companies, which are more interested in secur- ing reserves. Among those on the list was Pacific Coast Energy, a lit- tle-known California firm that invests in mature onshore fields. The ar- r a n g e m e n t would give Pa- cific Coast En- ergy access to several oil fields, including some identified as among the country’s most prized, the per- son said. For big oil companies, the past still looms large. Exxon and ConocoPhil- lips sued Venezuela after the country nationalized their as- sets. Conoco is still seeking $12 billion in restitution; Exxon, $1 billion. Venezuela also nationalized Exxon’s as- sets there in 1976. “They have been burned twice,” said Francisco Mon- aldi, director of the Latin America energy program at the Baker Institute. “I imagine this getting to the board and people saying, ‘Didn’t we learn our lesson here?’ The only way management can sell this is if, you know, you’re getting the asset that nobody thought they could get.” Exporting Countries. It peaked at 3.4 million barrels a day in 1998, according to Rice Uni- versity’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Senior Trump administra- tion officials say they still be- lieve major oil companies will play an important role in boosting Venezuela’s produc- tion long term. Meanwhile, though, they are turning their attention to a group of smaller private companies that they think can get oil pumping more quickly. Some of those are com- panies led by allies of Trump, such as billion- aires Harold Hamm, Jeff Hildebrand and Ross Perot Jr. Perot’s HKN Energy signed a p re l i m i n a r y deal to invest in Venezuela, as did closely held Hunt Oil and Crossover En- ergy. For Venezuela’s interim government, those wildcatters are seen as being able to offer what it needs most: quick ac- cess to cash. Administration officials seem “open to the idea that anyone who wants to do it should do it,” said Schreiner Parker, an analyst at consult- ing firm Rystad Energy. “The issue is these Orinoco Belt heavy oil projects are like deep-water developments. They are capital intensive and require long-term planning, and an ability to hold your breath for a while.” Negotiations are being led by state-run Petróleos de Venezuela. tract in the U.K., and said it continues to expect revenue to grow 10% for the year. The company is working to improve its financial profile, cutting costs from the business and issuing an improved oper- ating expense outlook for the year. The company now expects its cost of sales for 2026 to be approximately $1.7 billion, down from a prior outlook of $1.8 billion. Moderna posted a second- quarter loss of $782 million, compared with a loss of $825 million last year. The quarterly loss came out to $1.97 a share, ahead of analyst expectations for a loss of $2.03 a share, ac- cording to FactSet. Total reve- nue rose 2.1% to $145 million. Moderna’s stock fell 5.4% on Friday after it said a late-stage trial of its norovirus vaccine candidate didn’t meet the crite- ria for early success in an in- terim analysis of trial data. The Cambridge, Mass., bio- pharmaceutical company said it is working toward enrolling an additional cohort to the study. “The trial is ongoing and remains blinded as the com- pany works toward enrolling an additional cohort,” Moderna said. The disclosure came as Moderna narrowed its loss in the second quarter as revenue climbed, boosted by deliveries made under a government con- BY CONNOR HART generated $6.2 billion in ticket sales in 2026 in the U.S. and Canada, up 15% from the same period of time last year, accord- ing to Rentrak. This weekend alone pro- duced $429 million in domestic box office revenue. “Brand New Day” received largely positive reviews from critics, earning a 90% “fresh” score from Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences gave it an “A” grade, according to research firm CinemaScore. Sony Pictures’ motion pic- ture group chairman Tom Rothman credited much of the recent Spider-Man movies’ Gen Z appeal to Holland, who stars alongside his wife Zendaya. In addition to its huge opening in the U.S., the movie took in $572 million from for- eign markets. China led inter- national markets for “Brand New Day,” with $121 million. helps to set up the story of its December team-up movie “Avengers: Doomsday.” “Brand New Day,” which stars Tom Holland as the title character for the fourth time, is well positioned to surpass 2026’s other blockbusters, such as Disney-Pixar’s “Toy Story 5,” Universal Pictures’ “The Odyssey” and “The Su- per Mario Galaxy Movie,” to be the biggest hit of the year. Hollywood is having its best year in theaters since the Covid-19 pandemic. Movies have ContinuedfrompageB1 Spider-Man Spins Huge Opening Moderna’s Loss Narrows; Stock Slips on Vaccine News B Brown, Roxanne......................B3 F Fain, Shawn.................................B3 Falade, Jerry...............................B5 Fernandez, Victoria................B1 G Gerald, Marc...............................B5 H Hamm, Harold...........................B2 Hernandez, Jose Ignatio...B1 Hildebrand, Jeff.......................B2 I Infantino, Gianni.....................B3 M Macey, Andrew........................B3 Monaldi, Francisco................B2 N Napier, Russell..........................B9 P Parker, Schreiner.....................B2 Perot, Ross Jr............................B2 T Tikey, Richard............................B3 V Vo, Claire........................................B2 W-Z Woods, Darren..........................B2 Zappia, Joseph.........................B4 Spider-Man Takes theTopSpot OpenAI has more than one billion active users and two million businesses using its artificial-intelligence models. The announcement comes after OpenAI said last week it was cutting the price of sev- eral of its models. It lowered the price of GPT-5.6 Luna by 80% and GPT-5.6 Terra by 20%. “When the cost of useful in- telligence falls, more work be- comes worth doing,” OpenAI said. “As adoption grows, we gain the revenue, real-world feedback, and visibility into demand to keep investing in the next generation of re- search and infrastructure.” OpenAI is racing to attract more users as it aims to keep up with fast-growing rivals, including Anthropic. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is no longer the clear front-runner in the AI race, as Anthropic’s private-market valuation is now higher. Attracting users has be- come more difficult in recent months, as business custom- ers have started to shy away from the high prices for AI use. OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman said earlier this year that costs had become an increasingly big issue among customers. The company has been weighing price cuts for weeks as management worries about Anthropic lowering the cost of its Claude models, The Wall Street Journal reported in June. Cutting prices could erode profit margins, even as the company is operating on a loss due to the billions it is spending to develop and ad- vance its models. BY KATHERINE HAMILTON OpenAI Surpasses One Billion Users
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, August 3, 2026 | B3 Roxanne Brown’s journey to leading the United Steel- workers union didn’t start in the heat and deafening noise of a steel mill. Instead, she spent more than two decades in Washing- ton, D.C., advocating for the union’s policy priorities on trade, domestic manufactur- ing and workers’ rights. That experience is due to come in handy, people around Brown say, now that the mod- ern USW covers a spectrum of 850,000 cradle-to-grave work- ers from maternity nurses to casket makers. “We’re all interconnected,” said Brown, 47 years old, who earlier this year became the first woman and the first Black person to lead the USW. “Our members in healthcare understand that if a steel mill goes down, it’s not just the jobs in that steel mill that are impacted. The loss of tax base and economic activity from those jobs will impact the hos- pital funding.” Brown’s one-for-all messag- ing to USW members is al- ready being tested. More than 800 union work- ers have been locked out of oil company BP’s Whiting, Ind., refinery since March after re- jecting the company’s contract offer. The union last week be- gan new contract negotiations with steelmakers Cleveland- Cliffs and U.S. Steel, whose Northwest Indiana mills are nearly next door to BP’s refin- ery. Brown’s priorities include halting further job losses and plant closings at the compa- nies and preserving benefits, particularly fully paid health insurance coverage for union workers. A new owner The negotiations are the union’s first with U.S. Steel’s new owner, Nippon Steel. Brown’s predecessor, Dave McCall, opposed last year’s $14.1 billion purchase, saying Nippon Steel shouldn’t be trusted to maintain U.S. Steel’s plants. The union’s attitude toward Nippon Steel has evolved con- siderably. The Tokyo-based company committed $11 bil- lion to upgrade existing plants in exchange for the Trump ad- ministration’s approval of the purchase. The investment will likely keep unionized plants in Gary, Ind., and near Pittsburgh in service for decades longer. Union negotiators are ex- pected to press the company to commit to more spending at unionized plants. During the last negotiations in 2022, U.S. Steel’s acquisi- tion of a nonunion steel mill in Arkansas was a sore spot for the union that lingered for years. This time around, Brown said she has had pro- ductive discussions with U.S. Steel Chief Executive David Burritt—who engineered that deal—and Nippon Steel Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori, who had a fraught relationship with McCall. “That’s lived history. That’s done,” she said of the union’s opposition to the sale. “Nip- pon Steel now owns U.S. Steel. What serves us now is bar- gaining a good contract.” Burritt said he considers Brown “a breath of fresh air” for the union’s relationship with U.S. Steel. “I’m really happy to work with her,” he said in an inter- view. “We don’t have to agree on everything. When we dis- agree, we’re going to get things on the table.” Unanimous choice U.S. Steel and Cleveland- Cliffs are the largest union- ized steel companies in the U.S., with about 20,000 USW members—down from more than 30,000 workers eight years ago. As the union seeks to claw back jobs, Brown was the unanimous choice of its exec- utive committee to lead. She has so far avoided the high profile of more bombastic la- bor leaders like the United Auto Workers’ Shawn Fain or Sara Nelson of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. Some U.S. Steel workers who backed Nippon Steel’s pur- chase of the company still feel estranged from the union’s leadership more than a year after the sale. “She’s going to have to get the trust of the steelworkers,” said Richard Tikey, a union lo- cal vice president at the cok- ing coal plant for U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works south of Pittsburgh. He said the union should have pushed for addi- tional benefits or a new con- tract during the sale process. “The union had more leverage then,” Tikey said. U.S. Steel’s initial proposal included an 18.2% pay increase over five years and a $4,000 contract bonus, but would im- plement employee copays for health insurance. Union negotiators said this was insufficient. They are slated to counter this month. The union is expected to push to pause additional plant closings, starting with U.S. Steel’s Granite City, Ill., mill. That mill started making steel again this year after sitting idle since 2023 but could still close in 2027 under Nippon Steel’s agreement with the federal government. About 1,200 people now work at the plant. “Every expectation we have is for those jobs to continue into the future,” Brown said. “It’s what the members are banking on.” A change in tone Colleagues describe Brown as charismatic and intelligent. She brings a change in tone compared with her grizzled predecessors, like Leo Gerard, the union’s longest-serving president. “Leo used to tell me, ‘Kid, I have boots older than you,’ ” Brown said. “She really relates so well to our members and under- stands the needs of our mem- bers and their desire for secu- rity,” Brown’s predecessor McCall said. “I don’t think there was any question on the executive board who ought to be the union’s 10th interna- tional president.” Her own life reflects a changing American workforce once dominated by men. Brown was born in King- ston, Jamaica, and came to the U.S. when she was 2 years old. She and her brother were raised by her mother and aunt in White Plains, N.Y. Her mother worked as a nurse at JPMorgan Chase is in the crosshairs of the soccer world over its role in FIFA’s now- canceled attempt to create a spinoff that had European countries planning to boycott the World Cup and other com- petitions. The largest U.S. bank was brought in to value the ven- ture early this year, when it was already well under way. FIFA President Gianni Infan- tino had held conversations about it as far back as at least last year with Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, a son-in-law of President Trump, The Wall Street Jour- nal previously reported. The plan was kept secret for months and caught execu- tives by surprise when it fi- nally leaked out last Tuesday, sparking an immediate back- lash. FIFA had expected to present the proposal materials to members last week before the details emerged. It had earlier considered whether to do so near the conclusion of the World Cup in New York, but ultimately decided to de- lay it, a person familiar with the matter said. FIFA announced the plan was dead on Friday night. The idea was to create a new entity holding the com- mercial rights of FIFA’s most popular competitions and sell a 20% stake in that entity, at a $20 billion valuation, to pri- vate investors. The spinoff would have streamlined decisions, given priority to high-yield partner- ships, attracted experienced talent and improved access to capital, according to a pitch deck that JPMorgan helped BY GINA HEEB AND JOSHUA ROBINSON prepare for FIFA, which was viewed by the Journal. The deck estimated that the deal would have delivered mil- lions of dollars to FIFA’s mem- bers, allowing them to invest heavily in growth. That could have paved the way for FIFA to have 650,000 play- ers between 2027 and 2030 and 450 com- petitions, in- cluding for women’s and youth pro- grams, both more than dou- ble the current number. It said that FIFA had been undermon- etized compared with other sports leagues. “This model has been hugely successful in other sports,” the deck said. UEFA, which governs Euro- pean soccer, was swift to re- ject the deal and said none of its national teams would par- ticipate in any FIFA competi- tion “for so long as these pro- posals remain alive.” Infantino has long sought to curry favor with Trump. When FIFA awarded Trump a peace prize, Infantino wrote in a social-media post that the president had carried out “ex- ceptional and extraordinary actions to pro- mote peace and unity around the world.” Trump “can always count on my support, and on the support of the entire football community, to help make peace and prosperity all over the world,” he wrote. Last week, Trump told re- porters he didn’t speak to In- fantino about the FIFA deal. Privately, rival bank execu- tives were quick to say that JPMorgan had been caught again in soccer hell, after the Executives were caught by surprise when news of the plan leaked last week. Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, where she belonged to a union, and her aunt was a union member at Westchester Medical Center. “I was raised by strong, single women in my family. My husband calls them the generals,” Brown said. She wanted to be a lawyer and enrolled in Howard Uni- versity, but dropped out when she ran out of money. In need of a job, the 19-year-old Brown applied for a clerical position at the union’s Washington, of- fice. She joined the staff in early 1999, answering phones and doing data entry. Brown later moved into lobbying and union policy. She witnessed the collapse of the unionized steel industry in the early 2000s, when more than two dozen companies filed for bankruptcy under the weight of huge pension obligations and low steel prices. The decline cost the union tens of thousands of jobs and allowed nonunion companies with newer, lower-cost mills to dominate the industry. Attempted recovery In the aftermath, Brown worked on the Blue Green Al- liance between the USW and environmental groups that aimed to align manufacturers with environmentally sustain- able industries. She spent years advocating for tax cred- its for investments in job cre- ation, renewable energy and the related supply chain. Many of the alliance’s policy tenets were rolled into 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act. Today, the market for do- mestic steel is the strongest since the manufacturing frenzy that followed the Covid-19 pandemic. Union members say they expect company negotiators will try to avoid drawn-out bargaining that would create uncertainty for customers. “Because it’s the first con- tract with Nippon Steel, they’d like to have a quick signing and smooth transition,” said Andrew Macey, a worker at Mon Valley’s coke plant. BY BOB TITA Steel Union’s New Leader Has Never Worked in a Mill Roxanne Brown spent more than two decades in Washington advocating for the United Steelworkers union’s policy priorities. REBECCA KIGER FOR WSJ BUSINESS & FINANCE “We would not be here if they had taken our concerns seri- ously for almost eleven months of bargaining.” Patty Hajdu, Canada’s min- ister of jobs and families, said in a statement that the strike was “disappointing.” She didn’t say whether the gov- ernment planned to intervene. “Our top mediators have been working with CUPE and WestJet around the clock and remain available to help them reach a deal as soon as possi- ble,” Hajdu said. WestJet cabin crew issued a 72-hour strike notice on Thursday. The airline issued a lockout notice in response. Several U.S. airlines, includ- ing Delta Air Lines and Amer- ican Airlines, have started to pay flight attendants for their boarding-time work in recent years as their unions have pushed for the compensation. Last summer, a labor dis- pute over the same issue led some 10,000 flight attendants at Air Canada, the country’s national carrier, to strike. The federal government im- posed binding arbitration on the airline and its flight atten- dants, and the flight atten- dants won some ground pay. TORONTO—Flight atten- dants at WestJet, Canada’s second-largest airline, walked off the job on Sunday after failing to reach an agreement with the carrier, grounding hundreds of flights during a long weekend in much of the country. Talks between the airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which rep- resents 4,400 flight atten- dants, stalled late Saturday. The flight attendants are seek- ing an increase in wages and compensation for the work they do on the ground before and after flights take off and land, known as boarding pay and ground pay. WestJet said that it had canceled more than flights as of early Sunday and that it would refund passen- gers or try to rebook them on the next available flight to their destination, including on flights operated by other air- lines. The strike prevents the air- line, which flies to more than 100 destinations around the world, from flying its Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft. “We presented a proposal that would have set a new standard for cabin crew in Canada, making WestJet the only airline to offer an hourly rate covering all time before and after flights, plus a dou- ble-digit wage increase in year one among other priorities the union raised,” CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said in a state- ment. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t accepted.” Alia Hussain, president of CUPE 8125, said the airline’s offer didn’t go far enough and urged the federal government to refrain from interfering in the labor dispute. “We are on strike because we believe we deserve better,” Hussain said in a statement. BY AMANDA COLETTA WestJet Strike Grounds Flights Across Canada bank apologized over its in- volvement in the 2021 Euro- pean Super League that blew up within 48 hours. Then, JPMorgan pledged around $4 billion of financing to get the new Super League off the ground. It worked with 12 clubs, including Manchester United, Barcelona and Juven- tus. “We clearly misjudged how this deal would be viewed by the wider football community and how it might impact them in the future,” a spokesman for the bank said then. “We will learn from this.” At JPMorgan, the view was that the FIFA deal was differ- ent from Super League, in part because it wasn’t intended to change the competition, a per- son familiar with the matter said. The pitch deck said FIFA would retain “sole control and exclusive authority” over gov- ernance, competitions, regula- tory and sports decisions “in any future scenario.” How JPMorgan Tried to Put A Value on a FIFA Spinoff Bank presentation said soccer authority could double its players, competitions Gianni Infantino’s FIFA pulled the plug on the plan last week after it sparked a backlash. PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES WestJet said it had canceled more than 300 flights. ARLYN MCADOREY/BLOOMBERG NEWS
B4 | Monday, August 3, 2026 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. down some 21% for July. Another dizzying market move came in the wake of Fed chairman Kevin Warsh’s sec- ond postmeeting news confer- ence on Wednesday, which sparked furious selling in stocks and bonds. After poli- cymakers at the central bank opted to hold interest rates steady, Warsh seemed to im- ply that a near-term rate in- crease might not be needed. Instead, the chairman im- plied, higher bond yields have already done some of the Fed’s work for them. Bond traders reacted by fir- ing a kind of warning shot. The yield on the 30-year U.S. Trea- sury bond climbed to its high- est levels in 19 years, a sign that Wall Street is unconvinced the new Fed leader is commit- ted to wrangling inflation. That bond selloff picked up new momentum on Friday, with the 10-year Treasury yield advancing to an 18- month high. Yields climbed across maturities. Warsh is considering re- ducing the frequency of policy meetings at the Fed, which would mark a substantial shift in operations and reduce the number of occasions on which the bank’s meetings are the main focus of markets. A sustained climb in bond yields would lift the cost of capital for businesses and consumers, slow the economy and likely drag on stocks. To make matters worse, tensions in the Middle East are still threatening to lift oil prices, amping up inflationary threats. Even as yields climb and AI skepticism lingers, the bull market has a sturdy tailwind. The S&P 500’s overall earn- ings growth rate—blending projections with the results that are already in—is some 47%. That is the highest level in more than five years, and analysts are still lifting their estimates for next quarter. Analysts at Goldman Sachs on Friday noted that draw- downs are common after the kind of meteoric gains that hit memory stocks earlier in the year. And while AI spending has surged at Amazon, Alpha- bet, Meta and Microsoft, ana- lysts now expect revenue for that group to grow at an an- nualized rate of 18% over the next two years. “There’s a lot of health in the market under the surface, but I think it’s all lost in this AI narrative,” said Joseph Zappia, co-chief investment officer at LVW Advisors. “We’re in an economic ex- pansion. The question is how long it will go, and at what point it has gone too far,” he said. “I’m not seeing many in- dications that we’re there.” Microsoft’s results last week sent it to the largest one-day market-cap gain for any U.S. company yet. JASON HENRY FOR WSJ In terms of their energy use, videogames in the U.S. are estimated to produce more greenhouse gases every year than five million cars. A group of former gaming executives say they want to atone for damage the industry has caused the environment. They are offering the gam- ing community the chance to collectively power clean-en- ergy projects through a new PlayStation service that costs $34.99 a year, or $3.99 a month. Members pay for re- wards—such as a deal on a new outfit for a golfing avatar, or a cowboy hat for PGA- Tour—and in turn, the execu- tives commit to paying for re- newable energy. “I’m old—I’ve been around the gaming industry for a while, and now I’m helping to clean up one of my messes,” Rich Hilleman, a former Elec- tronic Arts executive, said of the industry’s power con- sumption. Hilleman, along with a for- mer Xbox executive, co- founded CleanPlay, a San Francisco-based climate-tech startup. It operates a rewards program for gamers called Su- perPower that is essentially a version of clean-energy crowdfunding. Power play The company has a new deal to help power ThreeW, a solar project in Hill County, Texas, near Dallas. The program works like this: CleanPlay committed to funding a slice of ThreeW’s solar-energy output for 10 years at a set price. Instead of receiv- ing the actual electricity, the gaming company gets renew- able-energy certificates, and each member’s share is re- corded commensurate to the amount of power the company estimates they use. ThreeW, which recently be- gan commercial operations, sends the power, at market price, straight to the local power grid, in this case Ercot, the Texas grid operator. The companies later settle up any differences between the fixed contract price and Ercot mar- ket prices. a bunch of 15-year-olds eating Doritos in the basement any- more,” he said. Computer parts have to work hard to power sessions for the more than three billion BY CLARA HUDSON CleanPlay, which can be found on the PlayStation store, makes money off the initial gamer’s fee. It also plans to sell some of the en- ergy certificates to businesses that want to burnish their green credentials. The certifi- cates are a financial instru- ment that lets companies say they paid for clean electricity from the grid. In the U.S., they have long been the cheapest and most common way of pro- curing green power. “We saw the potential to turn the vast videogaming community into an engine for renewable energy,” said Hille- man, who was one of EA’s first employees and is known in part for creating Madden Football, one of the top-selling sports videogames ever. “The average videogame customer in America is closing in on 40 years old—we are not CleanPlay’s Rich Hilleman, third left, took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at ThreeW, which runs a solar project in Hill County, Texas. Amazon reported accelerating sales in its cloud computing business, the stock surged 15% in Friday’s trading. Mean- while, shares of Apple slumped 7.4% after the iPhone maker’s forecast for its Sep- tember quarter fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Traders issued a similar verdict exactly one day earlier, sending shares of Meta Plat- forms 8% lower following the Facebook parent’s projections that its free cash flow would turn negative in the second half of the year. On the other hand, Microsoft’s stock jumped 16%. That boosted the company’s market capitaliza- tion by some $450 billion, marking the biggest one-day leap in market value for any U.S. company on record. After months of growing concern aimed at the hundreds of billions that tech companies are spending—and borrowing— to finance the AI infrastructure build-out, shareholders are starting to demand some evi- dence of returns on that invest- ment, Fernandez said. “Investors are tired of say- ing ‘We’re going to give you the benefit of the doubt,’” she said. “They’re losing their patience. They want proof.” Those firms that fall short are seeing their stocks punished, she noted. The update that the so- called hyperscalers were still spending big on the AI build- out benefited hard-hit shares of chip makers, memory suppliers and other “picks and shovels” plays during the week. The PHLX Semiconductor Index eked out a gain on Friday, though the benchmark is still ContinuedfrompageB1 Results Are Dividing Tech Stocks people who play videogames, creating often-intricate worlds displayed on large monitors. A PlayStation 5 consumes about one megawatt-hour of elec- tricity per 5,000 gaming hours, CleanPlay estimates. That is equivalent to the en- ergy needed to power hun- dreds of homes. SuperPower, which launched in 2024, says more TECHNOLOGY than 50,000 members have used its rewards services through its various offerings. A free service, for instance, al- lows members to earn re- wards for uploading details about their home-energy setup. Aside from the accesso- ries, SuperPower subscribers can get other perks including in-game virtual currency. Mike Demopoulos, a 40- year-old gamer in Minnesota who works in web hosting and has a Pac-Man tattoo, sub- scribed to SuperPower soon after reading about the clean- energy initiative. “The reason I opted in wasn’t for the rewards, which are nice, it was literally to support the project,” Demo- poulos said. “And for a rela- tively small amount of money, I can make a little bit of a dif- ference.” Global push Public support for renew- able energy has waned in the U.S. in recent years, while the Trump administration has at- tempted to reel in the indus- try, shutting down solar and wind projects, among other moves. Yet there remains a strong push across the globe to offer more energy diversity, particularly as the Iran war wreaks havoc with oil prices. ThreeW, which is expected to generate about 280,000 megawatts of clean energy a year, was developed by a Houston-based subsidiary of Mitsui, a Japanese company in which Berkshire Hathaway has a significant stake. Clean- Play said Ever.green, a clean- energy marketplace that is re- tiring the renewable-energy credits, pointed it to ThreeW and helped facilitate the deal. Hilleman said the backing from Mitsui and Berkshire made him especially confident that ThreeW was the right project because of their finan- cial might—particularly as he knew players would be scruti- nizing the arrangement. “There’s the court of law and then there’s Reddit—and I have to survive in Reddit,” he said. The low lift for gamers to sign up is what makes the ini- tiative particularly appealing, Demopoulos said. “Giving people an option that’s just an easy button, at least for me, it’s easier than asking me to unplug my PS5 every time I’m done using it,” Demopoulos said. Videogamers Can Crowdfund Solar Farm New PlayStation service offered by startup wants to mine benefactors EVER.GREEN (2) If you publicly traded stock or call options, or purchased the put options, of Twitter, Inc. from May 13, 2022, through October 4, 2022, you could be entitled to payment from a class action verdict. You are potentially entitled to a payment from a verdict in a class action lawsuit against Elon Musk (“Defendant”) in the case of Pampena v. Elon R. Musk, Case No 3:22-CV-05937-CRB. A two-week trial began on March 2, 2026, in the United States District Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco Division. On March 20, 2026, the jury returned a verdict and found that defendant Elon Musk violated the federal securities laws by making a false and misleading statement about his acquisition of Twitter and that Musk did so in violation of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. As a result of this fraudulent conduct, the jury determined that Twitter’s stock price was artificially deflated between May 13, 2022 and October 4, 2022 (inclusive). If you are a Class Member, the verdict entitles you to submit a Claim Form for the full value of your damages plus interest. Am I a member of the Class? The Class is defined as follows: All persons and entities who sold the publicly traded stock or call options, or purchased the put options, of Twitter, Inc. during the period from May 13, 2022 through October 4, 2022, both dates inclusive, and who suffered damages by Defendant’s violations of § 10(b) and of the Exchange Act. Excluded from the Class are Elon Musk and any individuals who previously opted out of this Litigation. How much money are Class Members entitled to receive? If you are a member of the Class, you can submit a Claim Form online or postmarked by November 24, 2026, for the following: Shares Sold: For shares sold between May 13, 2022, and October 4, 2022, damages were awarded for each trading day as reflected in the verdict, plus interest, with the exception of certain purchases and sales. Options: For put options purchased or call options sold between May 13, 2022 and October 4, 2022, damages were awarded for each trading day as reflected in the verdict, plus interest, with the exception of certain purchases and sales. Purchases and Subsequent Sales Made During the Class Period: For purchases and related sales made during the Class Period, the damages per share or per option awarded by the jury for that day may be reduced to account for any gains attributable to deflation for any shares or call options purchased and any inflation for any put options sold during the Class Period. How much might a payment be? If you submit a valid Claim Form, your payment will depend on a variety of factors including the number of shares sold and options purchased or sold and the corresponding damages awarded by the jury plus interest. However, any final award may be proportionally reduced to account for any attorneys’ fees, expenses, or service awards awarded by the Court. Here is an example of how a valid claimant’s damages would be calculated: If you purchased 1,000 Twitter shares any time before May 13, 2022, and sold those shares on May 18, 2022, your damages would equal $7,940.00 (1,000 shares x $7.94, as awarded by the jury for May 18, 2022) plus interest (less any Court approved deductions). What are my rights as a Class Member? Unless you previously requested to be excluded from the Class, you are bound by all decisions and judgments in the Litigation. You must submit a Claim Form to collect for any damages you suffered.You may do nothing at all and not submit a Claim Form. If you choose that option, you will not recover anything, but you are and will be bound by any judgments entered by the Court. You may not opt out of this Litigation at this time. Where to get more information? For more detailed statements of the matters involved in this Litigation, please see the pleadings and other papers filed with the Court. The operative Complaint, Jury Verdict and other important filings may be accessed at www.TwitterAcquisitionLitigation.com. Court filings in the Litigation can also be examined and copied at any time on the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) website for a fee at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov, or by visiting the office of the Clerk of the Court for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102-3489 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Court holidays. Inquiries, other than requests for the Long-Form Notice, may be made to Lead Counsel COTCHETT, PITRE & McCARTHY LLP, www.cpmlegal.com, (650) 697-6000, TwitterInquiries@cpmlegal.com and BOTTINI & BOTTINI, INC., www.bottinilaw.com, (858) 914-2001, fbottini@bottinilaw.com. CLASS ACTION The Marketplace ADVERTISEMENT To advertise: 800-366-3975 or WSJ.com/classifieds
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, August 3, 2026 | B5 THE TICKER EVENTS COMING THIS WEEK The crime novel “Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body” rose—and fell—with astonishing speed. A book agent, Marc Gerald, said he signed its author, Jerry Falade, about a month ago, after reading a copy of the unsolicited manuscript. He flew to Dallas to meet Falade, a graduate student at South- ern Methodist University, and the proposal for the debut book was sent to publishers and Hollywood representa- tives a few days later. “You just had to read the cover letter and chapter to know this was a really fantas- tic book,” said Gerald, the founder of Europa Content, a boutique literary agency whose roster includes Mel Robbins, Eminem and other major names. Fourteen publishers bid for the U.S. rights, and Macmillan’s Minotaur Books imprint won the frenzied auction. It signed Falade to a two-book deal val- ued at more than $2 million, according to trade publica- tions. HarperCollins Publishers landed the U.K. rights. Soon after the deals closed, Europa notified the publishers in a letter that it could no lon- ger support the book after con- cerns were raised about the author’s possible AI use. “This raises so many ques- tions about authorship and what AI means for this indus- try but those are questions for another day,” the letter said. “We regret that our enthusi- asm led to this outcome and we apologize to our publishing partners.” Reached on Friday, Falade declined to comment. It is the latest in a string of AI scandals to rock the book- publishing industry, which is struggling to navigate what authors’ and editors’ use of the technology might mean for copyright ownership; how to screen for AI use; and whether to trust writers’ claims that their work actually is their own. Hachette Book Group can- celed the publication of the horror novel “Shy Girl” earlier this year after learning of con- cerns about its potential reli- ance on AI. Allegations of un- disclosed AI use have been leveled against the author of this year’s Commonwealth Short Story Prize winner. A spokeswoman for Mac- millan said that the publisher participated in an auction for “Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body” and that “the agent ultimately pulled the book.” She didn’t respond to a request for com- ment on the current status of BY MELISSA KORN Minotaur’s book deal with Falade. A spokeswoman for HarperCollins, which like The Wall Street Journal is owned by News Corp, had no com- ment on the status of its book deal. Gerald said that before the auction, one editor who read the “Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body” proposal expressed con- cern about pos- sible AI use, flagging pas- sages in which the tone and cadence raised questions. The agency then spoke with Falade for about an hour, Ger- ald said, asking questions about the author’s writing process and the text, and warning Falade of the reper- cussions of not disclosing any use of AI when asked to share such information. “He as- suaged our concerns, and we moved on,” Gerald said. After the deals closed, Ger- ald said he heard from a re- porter at a trade publication that there were rumors brew- ing about the book’s leaning heavily on AI. Gerald again spoke to Falade, he said, and the an- swers this time didn’t match up with the au- thor’s prior ex- planations. “Initially, we stood by the book and Jerry,” Gerald said. “And ultimately we could only stand by the book.” He no longer represents Falade, but doesn’t doubt the author’s talent. “We do know that he’s an incredibly gifted storyteller and this is an incredible book,” Gerald said. The publishing industry is struggling to weigh the impact of AI. BUSINESS & FINANCE A Study in AI: The Mystery Over a Novel’s Authenticity Publishers fought for debut crime thriller before agent pulled support for the book A Macmillan imprint won an auction for a book that since raised concerns about the use of AI. JOHN KEEBLE/GETTY IMAGES Monday Construction spending May,previous up0.1% June, expected up0.3% ISM mfg. index June, previous 53.3 Jul., expected Earnings expected Estimate/Year Ago Diamondback Energy 6.08/2.67 Marriott International 3.08/2.65 ONEOK 1.46/1.34 Palantir Technologies 0.34/0.16 Vertex Pharmaceuticals 4.73/4.52 Williams Cos. 0.50/0.46 Tuesday Factory orders May,previous down 1.3% June, expected up0.3% Int’l tradedeficit in billions May,previous $77.58B June, expected $73.0B Earnings expected Estimate/Year Ago Advanced Micro Devices 1.62/0.48 Amgen 5.62/6.02 Arista Networks 0.89/0.73 Caterpillar 6.22/4.72 McDonald’s 3.32/3.19 Merck (0.27)/2.13 Space Exploration Technologies (0.23)/ n.a. Wednesday EIAstatus report Previous change instocksin millions of barrels Crude-oil stocks down 7.2 Gasoline stocks 0.0 Distillates up 1.1 Mort. bankers indexes Purch., previous down 4% Refinan., prev. down 10% Earnings expected Estimate/Year Ago Eli Lilly 6.01/6.31 Sandisk 34.67/0.29 Shopify 0.40/0.35 Uber Technologies 0.81/0.63 Walt Disney 1.86/1.61 Western Digital 3.30/1.66 Thursday Initial jobless claims Previous 197,000 Expected 200,000 Unit labor costs 1st qtr., prev. up 1.8% 2ndqtr. prelim., exp. up 2.0% Productivity 1st qtr., prev. up 0.3% 2ndqtr. prelim., exp. up 0.7% Wholesale inventories May, previous up 0.1% June, expected n.a. Freddie Mac mortgage survey Previous weekly averages 30-year fixed 6.66% 15-year fixed 6.04% EIA report: natural gas Previous change instocksin billions ofcubic feet up 28 Earnings expected Estimate/Year Ago Cloudflare 0.27/0.21 ConocoPhillips 2.90/1.42 Constellation Energy 2.34/1.91 Datadog 0.58/0.46 Howmet Aerospace 1.24/0.91 Parker-Hannifin 8.27/7.69 Friday Nonfarm payrolls June, previous 57,000 Jul., expected 85,000 Unemployment rate June, previous 4.20% July, expected 4.30% Consumer Credit May, previous down $0.2 bil. June, expected up $12.0 bil. Earnings expected Estimate/Year Ago Fluor 0.70/0.43 Oklo (0.16)/(0.18) Plains All American Pipeline 0.40/0.36 PPL 0.34/0.32 Take-Two Interactive Software 0.33/0.61 Vistra 1.69/0.81 Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. Disney reports Wednesday. ETHAN NOAH ROY/BLOOMBERG NEWS f f ( ƓƒǢ ƓƑƓƗ (° ¶f VǢ ¶ ŷŒĘǡßĬĤǮåĘêĥêŋĀŽÿĬŋŠĤ (ĥêŋĀŽ ŒêߊŋĉŚŽ ĥĬŷ ŒĉŚŒ ÃŚ Śąê ßêĥŚêŋ Ĭÿ êßĬĥĬĤĉß Ãĥå ßĬŋňĬŋÃŚê ŒŚŋÃŚêĀŽǡ ąê #Ĭŷ TĬĥêŒ (ĥêŋĀŽ <ĬŋŠĤ ŷĉĞĞ ÞŋĉĥĀ ŚĬĀêŚąêŋ ňĬĞĉߎĤÃěêŋŒǢ êĥêŋĀŽ ĞêÃåêŋŒǢ ĉĥŶêŒŚĬŋŒ Ãĥå ĀêĬňĬĞĉŚĉßÃĞ êżňêŋŚŒ ŚĬ êżÃĤĉĥê Śąê ÿĬŋßêŒ ŋêŒąÃňĉĥĀ êĥêŋĀŽ ĤÃŋěêŚŒǢ ŒŠňňĞŽ ßąÃĉĥŒ Ãĥå ĉĥŶêŒŚĤêĥŚ ŷĬŋĞåŷĉåêǡ TĬĉĥ ŠŒ ÿĬŋ à åÃŽ Ĭÿ ĞĉŶê ĉĥŚêŋŶĉêŷŒǢ ĥêŚŷĬŋěĉĥĀ Ãĥå êżßĞŠŒĉŶê ßĬĥŶêŋŒÃŚĉĬĥŒ ŷĉŚą Śąê ĞêÃåêŋŒ ŒąÃňĉĥĀ Śąê ÿŠŚŠŋê Ĭÿ êĥêŋĀŽǡ Ɋ ƓƑƓƗ #Ĭŷ TĬĥêŒ ɇ ĬǡǢ Fĥßǡ ĞĞ ŋĉĀąŚŒ ŋêŒêŋŶêåǡ Ɨ#TƒƑƒƙ êŊŠêŒŚ FĥŶĉŚÃŚĉĬĥ #Ĭŷ TĬĥêŒ (ĥêŋĀŽ <ĬŋŠĤ
B6 | Monday, August 3, 2026 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Lockup Expirations Below, companies whose officersand other insiders will become eligible to sell sharesin their newly public companies for the first time.Such sales can move the stock’s price. Lockup Offer Offer amt Through Lockup expiration Issue date Symbol price($) ($mil.) Friday (%) provision Aug. 3 Feb. 4,’26 Veradermics MANE 17.00 294.8 517.6% Feb. 5,’26 Eikon Therapeutics EIKN 18.00 381.2 –48.8% Aug. 4 Feb. 5,’26 BobsDiscountFurniture BOBS 17.00 380.2 –1.9% Feb. 5,’26 ForgentPowerSolutions FPS 27.00 1738.8 23.2% Aug. 5 Feb. 6, ’26 AgomAb Therapeutics AGMB 16.00 200.0 –19.6% Feb. 6, ’26 Once Upon AFarm OFRM 18.00 227.6 –15.7% Feb. 6, ’26 SpyGlass Pharma SGP 16.00 172.5 40.8% Sources: LSEGData andAnalytics; DowJones MarketData Treasury yield curve Yield to maturity of current bills, notes and bonds 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00% month(s) years 2 3 5 7 10 20 30 maturity t Tradeweb FTSE Friday Close t One year ago Forex Race Yen, euro vs. dollar; dollar vs. major U.S. trading partners –12 –6 12% Euro s Yen s WSJ Dollar Index s Sources: Tradeweb FTSE U.S. Treasury Close; TullettPrebon; DowJonesMarket Data Corporate Borrowing Rates and Yields Spread+/- Treasurys, Yield (%) inbasis pts, 52-wkRange Total Return Bond total return index Last Wk ago Last Low High 52-wk 3-yr U.S. Treasury, Bloomberg 4.570 4.580 1.97 2.91 U.S.TreasuryLong,Bloomberg 5.260 5.180 -0.33 -1.09 Aggregate, Bloomberg 4.980 4.970 2.71 3.73 Fixed-Rate MBS, Bloomberg 5.300 5.250 4.13 4.13 High Yield 100, ICE BofA n.a. 6.684 n.a. 3.99 7.68 Muni Master, ICEBofA 3.682 3.663 4.45 2.77 EMBI Global, J.P. Morgan 6.780 7.072 7.53 8.35 Sources: J.P. Morgan; S&P DowJones Indices; Bloomberg Fixed IncomeIndices; ICEBofA Consumer Rates and Returns toInvestor U.S. consumer rates A consumer rate against its benchmark over the past year –2.00 0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00% A S O N D J F M A M J J t Five-year CD yields t Federal-funds target rate Selectedrates 5-yearCDs Bankrate.com avg†: 1.73% BTG Pactual Bank 4.15% New York, NY 212-652-7200 QuorumFederalCreditUnion 4.15% Purchase, NY 800-874-5544 Sallie Mae Bank 4.20% Salt Lake City, UT 877-346-2756 TAB Bank 4.20% Ogden, UT 800-355-3063 ETrade 4.35% Purchase, NY 800-387-2331 Yield/Rate (%) 52-WeekRange (%) 3-yr chg Interest rate Last (l)Week ago Low 0 8 High (pct pts) Federal-funds rate target 3.50-3.75 3.50-3.75 3.50 l 4.50 -1.75 Prime rate 6.75 6.75 6.75 l 7.50 -1.75 SOFR 3.65 3.64 3.50 l 4.51 -1.65 Money market, annual yield 0.44 0.44 0.41 l 0.45 -0.12 Five-year CD, annual yield 1.73 1.73 1.67 l 1.73 -1.13 30-year mortgage, fixed† 6.75 6.71 6.11 l 6.81 -0.63 15-year mortgage, fixed† 6.17 6.10 5.55 l 6.18 -0.49 Jumbomortgages, $832,750-plus† 6.84 6.71 6.34 l 6.87 -0.59 Five-year adj mortgage (ARM)† 6.02 5.95 5.66 l 6.26 -0.28 New-car loan, 48-month 6.96 6.97 6.85 l 7.21 -0.30 Bankrate.com rates based on survey of over 1,500 online banks. Base rate posted by 70% of the nation'slargest banks.† Excludes closing costs. Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data;Bankrate.com S&P 500 Index 7489.72 s77.74, or 1.05% last week High, low, open and close for each of the past 52 weeks Year ago Last Trailing P/E ratio * P/E estimate * Dividend yield * All-time high 25.19 24.81 21.01 23.82 1.10 1.21 7609.78, 06/02/26 A S O N D J F M A M J J 65-day moving average 200-day moving average Nasdaq Composite s 398.03, or 1.59% last week July 27 28 29 30 31 DJ US TSM s 682.18, or 0.93% last week July 27 28 29 30 31 InternationalStock Indexes LatestWeek 52-Week Range YTD Region/Country Index Close % chg Low Close High % chg World MSCI ACWI 1120.51 1.36 917.39 • 1136.59 10.4 MSCI ACWI ex-USA 473.49 1.96 373.97 • 482.25 12.5 MSCI World 4847.88 1.23 4022.69 • 4878.87 9.4 MSCIEmergingMarkets 1665.89 2.33 1226.18 • 1802.77 18.6 Americas MSCIACAmericas 2836.39 0.99 2358.16 • 2879.69 9.4 Canada S&P/TSXComp 35226.14 –0.40 27020.43 • 35749.70 11.1 Latin Amer. MSCIEMLatinAmerica 3090.14 2.02 2224.92 • 3368.83 14.1 Brazil Bovespa 177999.00 2.27 132437.39 • 198657.33 10.5 Chile S&P IPSA 5549.31 0.60 4250.34 • 6013.24 2.3 Mexico S&P/BMV IPC 66936.99 0.83 56650.26 • 71601.35 4.1 EMEA STOXXEurope600 649.19 0.73 535.79 • 652.77 9.6 STOXX Europe50 5454.39 0.46 4377.10 • 5479.52 10.9 Eurozone Euro STOXX 669.90 0.60 552.10 • 680.50 9.4 Euro STOXX 50 6358.01 1.23 5165.60 • 6412.68 9.8 Austria ATX 6457.92 0.03 4457.10 • 6594.82 21.2 Belgium Bel-20 5685.82 –0.85 4565.37 • 5813.65 12.0 France CAC 40 8509.64 1.64 7546.16 • 8620.93 4.4 Germany DAX 25629.24 2.11 22300.75 • 25817.89 4.7 Greece Athex Composite 2569.75 3.09 1960.06 • 2571.90 21.2 Israel Tel Aviv 4149.50 –2.44 2898.78 • 4527.63 14.3 Italy FTSE MIB 52172.53 0.71 • 16.1 Netherlands AEX 1099.18 0.84 883.89 • 1104.69 15.5 Norway Oslo Bors All-Share 2385.53 0.34 1822.75 • 2460.27 22.9 Portugal PSI 20 9116.04 –1.08 7626.71 • 9484.93 10.3 South Africa FTSE/JSE All-Share 111493.10 1.92 97744.15 • 128455.68 –3.7 Spain IBEX 35 19782.90 1.01 14126.7 • 19852.4 14.3 Sweden OMX Stockholm 1125.61 1.52 955.07 • 1125.61 7.6 Switzerland Swiss Market 14346.14 0.13 11755.32 • 14571.33 8.1 U.K. FTSE 100 10868.05 1.23 9068.58 • 10910.55 9.4 Asia-Pacific MSCI ACAsia Pacific 269.81 2.49 204.13 • 285.9 18.5 Australia S&P/ASX 200 8976.80 2.33 8365.9 • 9200.9 3.0 China ShanghaiComposite 3832.26 0.47 3559.95 • 4242.57 –3.4 HongKong Hang Seng 25884.43 3.69 22671.86 • 27968.09 1.0 India BSE Sensex 78094.64 2.68 71947.55 • 85762.01 –8.4 Japan NIKKEI 225 64362.02 –0.39 40290.70 • 72366.34 27.9 Malaysia FTSEBursaMalaysiaKLCI 1724.90 1.40 1526.98 • 1771.25 2.7 Singapore Straits Times 5628.50 0.72 4153.83 • 5713.19 21.1 South Korea KOSPI 6595.45 –1.42 3119.41 • 9114.55 56.5 Taiwan TAIEX 43119.75 –1.23 23378.94 • 47741.51 48.9 Source:FactSet; DowJones Market Data Major U.S. Stock-MarketIndexes Latest Week 52-Week % chg High Low Close Netchg % chg Low Close (l) High %chg YTD 3-yr. ann. Dow Jones Industrial Average 52901.87 51551.18 52485.03 537.78 1.04 43588.58 • 53055.91 20.4 9.2 13.9 Transportation Avg 22504.44 20877.19 21039.30 -1436.86 -6.39 15067.87 • 23933.14 39.3 21.2 8.2 Utility Average 1177.27 1121.60 1121.64 -51.04 -4.35 1048.33 • 1190.23 1.2 5.0 6.4 Total Stock Market 74324.07 72477.56 74106.82 682.18 0.93 61627.03 • 75286.1 20.3 9.8 17.3 Barron's 400 1627.67 1602.66 1618.90 18.06 1.13 1316.75 • 1635.15 22.9 14.6 16.0 Nasdaq Stock Market Nasdaq Composite 25460.86 24425.34 25373.85 398.03 1.59 20650.13 • 27093.9 22.9 9.17 20.9 Nasdaq-100 28606.77 27176.03 28274.20 145.86 0.52 22763.31 • 30660.6 24.2 12.0 21.5 S&P 500 Index 7512.04 7313.92 7489.72 77.74 1.05 6238.01 • 7609.78 20.1 9.4 17.7 MidCap 400 3824.96 3722.09 3758.64 -25.22 -0.67 3104.60 • 3852.54 21.1 13.7 11.3 SmallCap 600 1783.28 1751.29 1768.56 7.09 0.40 1323.05 • 1804.34 33.7 20.5 11.3 Other Indexes Russell 2000 2972.46 2902.47 2931.34 1.34 0.05 2166.78 • 3024.37 35.3 18.1 13.5 NYSEComposite 24258.93 23892.30 24107.54 116.66 0.49 20267.69 • 24229.67 18.9 9.6 13.6 Value Line 686.24 672.23 678.06 4.88 0.72 590.50 • 685.3 13.8 7.9 4.4 NYSE Arca Biotech 8832.48 8463.84 8532.13 -83.75 -0.97 5640.67 • 8917.63 49.6 19.3 17.0 NYSE Arca Pharma 1288.86 1211.72 1226.60 -20.50 -1.64 881.47 • 1273.25 35.3 8.9 11.9 KBW Bank 190.98 183.59 187.03 -1.25 -0.66 139.52 • 191.84 33.9 13.9 27.9 PHLX§ Gold/Silver 318.04 297.51 307.90 -4.99 -1.60 206.50 • 470.37 49.1 -10.0 34.3 PHLX§ Oil Service 97.13 89.97 94.68 -1.68 -1.74 58.66 • 109.24 61.4 29.1 0.4 PHLX§Semiconductor11949.46 10445.44 11311.08 -507.81 -4.30 5527.61 • 14634.72 104.6 59.7 43.1 Cboe Volatility 20.88 15.82 15.99 -2.59 -13.94 13.47 • 31.05 -21.5 7.0 5.5 Nasdaq PHLX Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data Benchmark Yields and Rates Benchmark Yields and Rates MARKETS DIGEST Dow Jones Industrial Average 52485.03 s537.78, or 1.04% last week High, low, open and close for each of the past 52 weeks Year ago Last Trailing P/E ratio P/E estimate * Dividend yield All-time high 21.90 24.08 20.29 21.10 1.49 1.67 53055.91, 07/06/26 A S O N D J F M A M J J Current divisor 0.1682481652835 Bars measure the point change from Monday's open t t Week's high Week's low Monday's open Friday's close Monday's open Friday's close DOWN UP Primary market t t Composite 65-day moving average 200-day moving average NYSE weekly volume, in billions of shares A S O N D J F M A M J J Weekly P/E data based on as-reported earnings from Birinyi Associates Inc.; †Based on Nasdaq-100 Index Go to WSJMarkets.com for free access to real-time market data. Commodities and Currencies Last Week YTD Close Netchg %Chg % chg DJ Commodity 1364.19 -32.76 -2.35 20.65 FTSE/CC CRB Index 385.10 -10.57 -2.67 28.89 Crude oil, $perbarrel 84.67 -4.64 -5.20 47.46 Naturalgas,$/MMBtu 2.747 -0.141 -4.88 -25.47 Gold, $ pertroy oz. 4049.10 -21.70 -0.53 -6.39 U.S. Dollar Index 99.80 -1.67 -1.64 1.51 WSJ Dollar Index 96.10 -1.45 -1.49 0.18 Euro, per dollar 0.8674 -0.012 -1.37 1.92 Yen, per dollar 157.38 -6.47 -3.95 0.45 U.K. pound,indollars 1.35 0.0159 1.19 0.04 52-Week Low Close(l) High %Chg DJ Commodity 1037.49 l 1467.33 30.21 FTSE/CC CRB Index 291.69 l 406.18 30.42 Crude oil, $ per barrel 55.27 l 112.95 25.75 Naturalgas,$/MMBtu 2.523 l 7.460 -10.90 Gold, $ pertroy oz. 3313.40 l 5318.40 20.95 U.S. Dollar Index 96.22 l 101.61 0.67 WSJ Dollar Index 93.64 l 97.73 0.36 Euro, per dollar 0.8305 l 0.8805 0.52 Yen, per dollar 146.47 l 163.87 6.77 U.K. pound,indollars 1.30 l 1.39 1.52 Public and Private Borrowing Treasurys Monday, August 3 Tuesday, August 4 Auction of 13and 26 week bills; Auction of6 and 52week bills; announced onJuly 30; settles onAugust 6 announcedonJuly30;settlesonAugust6 Wendesday, August 5 Thursday, August 6 Auction of 17-week bill; Auction of4 and 8week bills; announced onAugust 4;settles on August 11 announcedonAugust4;settlesonAugust11 A Week intheLife ofthe DJIA A look at how the Dow Jones Industrial Average component stocks did in the past week and how much each moved the index. The DJIA gained 537.78 points, or 1.04%, on the week. A $1 change in the price of any DJIA stock = 5.94-point change in the average. To date, a $1,000 investment on Dec. 31 in each current DJIA stock component would have returned $32,810, or a gain of 9.37%, on the $30,000 investment, including reinvested dividends. The Week’s Action Pct Stockprice Pointchg $1,000 Invested(year-end '25) chg(%) change inaverage Company Symbol Close $1,000 21.75 83.02 493.44 Microsoft Corp MSFT $464.72 $965 17.00 39.47 234.59 Amazon.com AMZN 271.58 1,177 12.44 20.36 121.01 Salesforce CRM 184.02 11.38 36.39 216.29 Alphabet GOOGL 356.13 1,139 7.35 23.34 138.72 Sherwin-Williams SHW 340.85 1,057 6.49 5.34 31.74 Coca-Cola KO 87.59 1,270 4.42 9.46 56.23 IBM IBM 223.65 3.16 6.62 39.35 Boeing BA 216.14 3.09 10.08 59.91 American Express AXP 336.25 2.92 10.39 61.75 Visa V 366.13 1,048 2.43 9.12 54.21 Amgen AMGN 385.16 1,194 2.22 5.88 34.95 McDonald’s MCD 270.64 2.12 3.66 21.75 3M MMM 176.28 1,112 1.59 1.82 10.82 Cisco Systems CSCO 115.99 1,528 1.58 1.73 10.28 Walmart WMT 111.20 1,002 1.41 1.34 7.96 Walt Disney DIS 96.19 1.05 2.04 12.12 Chevron CVX 196.83 1,316 0.02 0.01 0.06 NIKE NKE 41.71 –0.04 –0.10 –0.59 HoneywellInternational HON 243.05 1,201 –0.31 –1.02 –6.06 Home Depot HD 331.96 –0.40 –1.42 –8.44 JPMorgan Chase JPM 351.79 1,107 –0.66 –0.87 –5.17 Merck &Co MRK 130.20 1,255 –1.51 –6.34 –37.68 UnitedHealth UNH 414.40 1,272 –1.98 –2.92 –17.36 Procter &Gamble PG 144.49 1,030 –2.68 –7.05 –41.90 Johnson &Johnson JNJ 256.35 1,252 –2.94 –6.09 –36.20 NVIDIA Corp NVDA 200.75 1,078 –3.33 –12.90 –76.67 Travelers TRV 374.36 1,301 –4.04 –42.85 –254.68 Goldman Sachs GS 1,018.38 1,170 –7.24 –24.11 –143.30 Apple AAPL 308.91 1,138 –8.32 –73.92 –439.35 Caterpillar CAT 814.81 1,431 Basedon Composite price.DJIA iscalculated onprimary-market price. Source: Dow JonesMarket Data;FactSet. IPO Scorecard Performance of IPOs, most-recent listed first %Chg From %Chg From Company SYMBOL Friday's Offer 1st-day Company SYMBOL Friday3s Offer 1st-day IPO date/Offer price close($) price close IPOdate/Offer price close($) price close Apnimed 25.00 56.3 ... Scribe Thera 19.48 29.9 –10.0 APMD July 31/$16.00 SCTX July 24/$15.00 Churchill Capital XIII 10.36 3.6 ... B&RTechnologyMerger 9.94 –0.6 –0.3 XIIIU July 31/$10.00 BRTMU July 21/$10.00 Game Your Game 9.08 13.5 –43.2 SouthernCrossAcquisitionI 10.05 0.5 0.4 GYGY July 30/$8.00 NCOOU July 21/$10.00 Jersey Mike's Subs 23.00 ... 6.3 AMRResourcesAcquisition 9.94 –0.6 –0.2 JMKE July 30/$23.00 AMACU July 17/$10.00 Reformation 16.22 8.1 7.6 Csquare 19.96 –5.0 –3.4 REF July 30/$15.00 CSQR July 16/$21.00 IMC Rare Earths 5.37 7.4 4.7 QumulusAI 6.76 –48.3 –79.7 IMC July 29/$5.00 QMLS July 16/$13.08 Catalyst Acquisition 10.00 ... 0.2 Standard Nuclear 7.89 –47.4 –35.9 CATLU July 28/$10.00 STDN July 16/$15.00 Iconic Digital 70.01 32.1 11.3 JonesVentures Acquisition1 9.96 –0.4 0.2 IOND July 28/$53.00 JONEU July 14/$10.00 MarketTechnologyAcquisition 9.96 –0.4 –0.2 Research Alliance IV 11.15 11.5 7.0 MTAKU July 24/$10.00 RACD July 13/$10.00 PelicanAcquisitionII Unit 9.95 –0.5 –0.2 ColumbusCircleCapitalIII 9.99 –0.1 –0.3 PLCIU July 24/$10.00 CCCTU July 9/$10.00 Sources:Dow Jones MarketData; FactSet Currencies U.S.-dollar foreign-exchange ratesat 5 p.m. ET US$vs, Fri YTDchg Country/currency inUS$ perUS$ (%) Americas Argentina peso .00071486.2253 2.4 Brazil real .1966 5.0876 –7.8 Canada dollar .7131 1.4023 2.2 Chile peso .001075 930.40 3.4 Colombiapeso .000316 3166.44 –16.0 Ecuador USdollar 1 unch Mexico peso .0577 17.3441 –3.7 Uruguay peso .02484 40.2572 3.1 Asia-Pacific Australiadollar .7021 1.4243 –4.9 China yuan .1481 6.7515 –3.5 Hong Kong dollar .1275 7.8422 0.8 India rupee .01048 95.403 6.2 Indonesia rupiah .0000555 8.0 Japan yen .006354 157.38 0.5 Kazakhstan tenge .002109 474.22 –6.5 Macau pataca .1238 8.0804 0.7 Malaysia ringgit .2448 4.0852 0.7 New Zealand dollar .5879 1.7010 –2.1 Pakistan rupee .00360 277.867 –0.8 Philippines peso .0163 61.182 3.8 Singapore dollar .7797 1.2825 –0.2 South Korea won .0006930 1442.93 0.2 Sri Lanka rupee .0029773 335.87 8.4 Taiwan dollar .03095 32.311 3.1 Thailand baht .02992 33.420 6.1 US$vs, Fri YTDchg Country/currency inUS$ perUS$ (%) Vietnam dong .00003802 ... Europe Czech Rep. koruna .04759 21.012 2.1 Denmark krone .1542 6.4837 2.0 Euro area euro 1.1529 .8674 1.9 Hungary forint .003159 316.57 –3.3 Iceland krona .008121 123.14 –1.7 Norway krone .1056 9.4717 –6.1 Poland zloty .2675 3.7380 4.1 Sweden krona .1050 9.5261 3.4 Switzerland franc 1.2382 .8076 1.9 Turkey lira .0210 47.5127 10.6 Ukraine hryvnia .0223 44.7500 5.7 UKpound 1.3482 .7417 –0.04 Middle East/Africa Bahrain dinar 2.6520 .3771 0.03 Egypt pound .0195 51.1559 7.2 Israel shekel .3270 3.0581 –4.0 Kuwait dinar 3.2348 .3091 0.4 Oman sul rial 2.6007 .3845 –0.1 Qatar rial .2734 3.657 0.1 Saudi Arabia riyal .2666 3.7516 0.02 South Africa rand .0604 16.5574 –0.04 Close NetChg %Chg YTD%Chg WSJDollarIndex 96.10 –0.22–0.23 0.18 Sources:Tullett Prebon,Dow Jones MarketData | A Dow Jones partner Prediction Market: How many Fed rate cuts in 2026? This market will resolve according to the exact amount of cuts of 25 basis points in 2026 by the Federal Reserve. 100% Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Data from Polymarket Data as of 2:30 p.m. ET Friday Volume: $45,703,955 t 0 (0 bps): 89% t 1 (25 bps): 7% t 2 (50 bps): 3% t 3 (75 bps): 1% Scan this code Get real-time U.S. stock quotes and track most-active stocks, new highs/lows, mutual funds and ETFs.. Available free at WSJMarkets.com New to the Market
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, August 3, 2026 | B7 ChildFund.org Hope is what we do. At ChildFund, hope is about helping kids everywhere grow up healthy, educated, skilled and – above all – safe. Hope is about keeping children safe wherever they are: at home, in school, online. Hope is about all of us – including children – writing our story together.
B8 | Monday, August 3, 2026 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. 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Sr Loan A 5.44 NA NA 7.7 Invesco Sr Loan C 5.45 NA NA 6.9 Invesco Sr Loan IB 5.44 NA NA 7.9 Invesco Sr Loan IC 5.44 NA NA 7.8 Invesco Sr Loan Y 5.44 NA NA 7.9 MonachilCreditIncome:I 10.12 NA NA 7.9 NBASSET-BASEDCRDT;INST 10.22 NA NA NS Nomura Alt Inc;I 9.68 NA NA 10.1 NuveenEnhCLOInc:A1 NA NA NA 12.7 NuveenEnhCLOInc:A2 NA NA NA 13.0 Nuveen Enh CLO Inc:I NA NA NA 13.5 OFSCreditCompany OCCI NA 2.46 NA 33.1 PCPCAAM AI;I 10.38 NA NA 6.9 PRINCIPALPRVTCR;A 10.21 NA NA 7.1 PRINCIPALPRVTCR;INS 10.25 NA NA 7.1 PRINCIPALPRVTCR;Y 10.30 NA NA 7.1 PURSUITASSET-BASEDI;I 8.82 NA NA NS SARDISCREDITOPPTYS;I 10.14 NA NA NS SEIAlternativeIncome:F 10.01 NA NA 7.1 SEIAlternativeIncome:Y 10.01 NA NA 7.3 SOUNDPOINTALTINC;I 20.32 NA NA NS VanEckCLO Oppts;I 25.05 NA NA NS OctagonXAICLOInc;A 23.97 NA NA 8.7 OctagonXAICLOInc;I 23.99 NA NA 9.0 Yieldstreet Alt Inc NA NA NA 6.7 High Yield Bond Funds ABCarValCreditOpp;Adv 10.11 NA NA 7.1 ABCarValCreditOpp;A 10.11 NA NA 6.3 ABCarValCreditOpp;C 10.10 NA NA 5.9 ABCarValCreditOpp;U 10.11 NA NA 6.2 Opprtnstc Crdt Intrvl;I NA NA NA 8.7 PIMCOFlexibleCrI;A-1 NA NA NA 10.8 PIMCOFlexibleCrI;A-2 NA NA NA 10.8 PIMCOFlexibleCrI;A-3 NA NA NA 10.5 PIMCOFlexibleCrI;A-4 NA NA NA 10.5 PIMCOFlexibleCrI;Inst NA NA NA 11.3 PolenCreditOpps;Inst 8.27 NA NA 11.3 Other Domestic Taxable Bond Funds ABXLongevityGro&Inc 10.01 NA NA NS AFAPrivateCredit;Fndr NA NA NA 10.0 AFAPrivateCredit;Inst NA NA NA 10.0 AlternativeCreditInc:A NA NA NA 7.9 AlternativeCreditInc:C NA NA NA 7.1 AlternativeCreditInc:I NA NA NA 8.1 AlternativeCreditInc:L NA NA NA 7.6 AlternativeCreditInc:W NA NA NA 7.9 AMGBBHAst-BackCrd;I 10.95 NA NA NS AMGBBHAst-BackCrd;M 10.95 NA NA NS AMGBBHAst-BackCrd;S 10.95 NA NA NS AMGPantheonCrdtSoln;I NA NA NA 7.3 AMGPantheonCrdtSoln;M NA NA NA 6.9 AMGPantheonCrdtSoln;S NA NA NA 7.4 Angel Oak Str Crdt:FI 20.65 NA NA 8.4 AngelOakStrCrdt:Inst 20.64 NA NA 8.4 BlackRockHPSCrStr;A 8.04 NA NA 8.4 BlackRockHPSCrStr;I 8.00 NA NA 9.2 BlackRockHPSCrStr;J 8.02 NA NA 8.6 BlackRockHPSCrStr;U 8.01 NA NA 8.4 BlackRockHPSCrStr;W 8.04 NA NA 8.3 CAPGRPKKRCRPL+;A NA NA NA 6.2 CAPGRPKKRCRPL+;A-2 NA NA NA 6.4 CAPGRPKKRCRPL+;A-3 NA NA NA NS CAPGRPKKRCRPL+;F-2 NA NA NA 6.5 CAPGRPKKRCRPL+;F-3 NA NA NA 6.7 CAPGRPKKRCRPL+;R-6 NA NA NA 6.7 CAPGRPKKRMUL-SC+;A NA NA NA 6.4 CAPGRPKKRMUL-SC+;A-2 NA NA NA 6.6 CAPGRPKKRMUL-SC+;A-3 NA NA NA NS Prem12 Mo Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Yld Friday Energy Coal,C.Aplc.,12500Btu,1.2SO2-r,w 82.000 Coal,PwdrRvrBsn,8800Btu,0.8SO2-r,w 14.650 Metals Gold, per troy oz Engelhard industrial 4036.00 Krugerrand,wholesale-e 4211.48 Maple Leaf-e 4251.98 American Eagle-e 4251.98 Mexican peso-e 4890.48 Austria crown-e 3972.32 Austria phil-e 4251.98 Silver, troy oz. Engelhard industrial 57.3500 Handy &Harman base 57.4950 Handy &Harman fabricated 71.8690 Coins,wholesale $1,000 face-a Other metals Platinum,Engelhard industrial 1636.0 Palladium,Engelhard industrial 1287.0 Aluminum, LME,$ permetric ton 3231.0 Copper,Comex spot 6.4360 Iron Ore, 62% FeCFR China-s 95.1 Steel,HRCUSA,FOBMidwestMill-s 1180.0 Battery/EV metals Friday BMILithiumCarbonate,EXWChina,=99.5%-v,w BMILithiumHydroxide,EXWChina,=56.5%-v,w BMICobaltsulphate,EXWChina,>20.5%-v,w BMINickelSulphate,EXWChina,>22%-v,k BMIFlakeGraphite,FOBChina,-100Mesh,94-95%-v,m Fibers and Textiles Burlap,10-oz,40-inch NYyd-n,w 1.2400 Cotton,1 1/16 stdlw-mdMphs-u 0.7675 Cotlook 'A'Index-t 88.75 Hides,hvy native steers piecefob-u n.a. Wool,64s,staple,Terr del-u,w n.a. Grains and Feeds Bran,wheat middlings, KC-u,w Corn,No. 2 yellow,Cent IL-bp,u 4.2500 Cottonseed meal-u,w Hominy feed,Cent IL-u,w Meat-bonemeal,50%proMnpls-u,w Oats,No.2 milling,Mnpls-u 3.7525 Rice,LongGrainMilled,No.2AR-u,w 28.63 SoybeanMeal,CentIL,rail,ton48%-u,w 334.10 Soybeans,No.1 yllw IL-bp,u 11.6500 Wheat,Spring14%-pro Mnpls-u 8.1975 Wheat,No.2 soft red,St.Louis-u 6.0925 Wheat-Hard-KC(USDA)$perbu-u 6.9250 Wheat,No.1soft white,Portld,OR-u 6.5500 Friday Food Beef,carcass equiv. index choice 1-3,600-900 lbs.-u 347.76 select 1-3,600-900 lbs.-u 331.81 Broilers,Nationalcompwtd.avg.-u,w 1.1804 Butter,AA Chicago-d 1.5150 Cheddar cheese,bbl,Chicago-d 154.75 Cheddar cheese,blk,Chicago-d 157.25 Milk,Nonfat dry,Chicago lb.-d 156.00 Coffee,Brazilian,Comp-y 3.1122 Coffee,Colombian, NY-y 3.7291 Eggs,large white,Chicago-u,w 1.3050 Flour,hard winter KC-p 19.15 Hams,17-20 lbs,Mid-US fob-u 0.93 Hogs,Iowa-So. Minnesota-u 95.78 Pork bellies,12-14 lb MidUS-u n.a. Pork loins,13-19 lb MidUS-u 1.1181 Steers,Tex.-Okla. Choice-u n.a. Steers,feeder,Okla. City-u,w 409.00 Fats and Oils Degummedcornoil,crudewtd.avg.-u,w n.a. Grease,choice white,Chicago-h 0.7100 Lard,Chicago-u n.a. Soybean oil,crude;Centl IL-u,w 0.7085 Tallow,bleach;Chicago-h 0.7250 Tallow,edible,Chicago-u n.a. KEY TO CODES: A=ask; B=bid; BP=country elevator bids to producers; C=corrected; D=CME; E=Manfra,Tordella &Brookes; H=AmericanCommoditiesBrokerageCo; K=bi-weekly; M=monthly; N=nominal; n.a.=not quoted or not available; P=Sosland Publishing; R=SNL Energy;S=Platts-TSI;T=Cotlook Limited; U=USDA;V=Benchmark Mineral Intelligence; W=weekly; Y=International Coffee Organization; Z=not quoted. Data asof7/30 Source: DowJones MarketData Insider-Trading Spotlight Trading by‘insiders’ ofacorporation, suchasacompany’s CEO, vice president or director, potentially conveys new information about theprospects ofacompany. Insiders are required to report large trades tothe SEC within two business days. Here’s alookat the biggestindividual trades by insiders, based on data received by LSEG Data and Analytics onJuly31, and year-to-date stock performance of the company KEY: B: beneficial owner of more than10% of asecurity class CB: chairman CEO: chief executive officer CFO: chief financial officer CO: chief operatingofficer D:director DO: director and beneficial owner GC: general counsel H:officer, director and beneficialowner I:indirect transactionfiled throughatrust, insider spouse, minor child orother O: officer OD: officer and director P:president UT: unknown VP: vicepresident Excludes pureoptions transactions Biggest weeklyindividual trades Based onreports filedwith regulators this past week No.ofshrsin Price range ($) $Value Date(s) Company Symbol Insider Title trans(000s) in transaction (000s) Close ($) Ytd (%) Buyers July 21-23 51Talk OnlineEducationGroup COE J.Huang CEOI 1,104 15.54-16.62 17,865 17.66 -44.7 July 24-27 J.Huang CEOI 16.26-16.97 10,681 July 22 Five Star Bancorp FSBC L. Allbaugh DOI 44.00 4,250 47.19 31.9 July 22 S. Deary-Bell DI 44.00 July 22 K. Ramos DI 44.00 July 22 J. Riggs DI 44.00 July 27 Albertsons ACI T. Moriarty OI 11.51 1,962 11.58 -32.6 July 28 S. Morris CEO 11.38-11.46 July 22 ClearSign Technologies CLIR J. Pasquesi BI 3.54 1,770 3.86 -30.6 July 24 Pinnacle Financial Partners PNFP R. Mccabe OD 99.90 1,000 105.23 10.3 July 27 Betterware De Mexico BWMX L. Campos CBI 16.41 17.02 19.8 July 28 CVB Financial CVBF R. OBrien D 22.77 22.37 20.3 July 28 Liberty Energy LBRT A. Murti D 17.79 18.71 1.4 July 27 Kearny Financial KRNY C. Fields D 9.40-9.41 9.59 29.4 July 28 Norwood Financial NWFL J. Shook D 34.55 33.99 21.2 July 22 Beamr Imaging BMR S. Carmel CEO 1.29 1.21 -22.9 July 23 Valmont Industries VMI J. Schwietz CFO 0.2 486.15 481.70 19.7 July 23 DarioHealth DRIO D. Matheis D 6.93 7.27 -36.1 Sellers July 27-28 Airbnb ABNB J. Gebbia DOI 2,093 143.79-153.11 315,912 151.52 11.6 July 28-29 Coca-Cola KO J. Quincey CB 90.04-90.09 47,469 87.59 25.3 July 28 B. Pietracci OX 89.60-89.69 6,789 July 27-28 General Motors GM M. Barra CEO 85.32-90.38 37,686 88.86 9.3 July 27-28 Charles Schwab SCHW W. Bettinger CBI 103.86-105.56 29,774 105.24 5.3 July 24 Micron Technology MU S. Mehrotra CEO 906.48-941.60 28,996 823.03 188.4 July 24 S.Mehrotra CEO 942.87-965.85 8,294 July 28 CoreWeave CRWV M.Intrator CEO 308 65.34-69.00 20,498 71.77 0.2 July 27 B. Mcbee O 237 70.35-74.30 16,836 July 22-23 Liquidia LQDA S.Bloch DI 87.70-90.71 17,786 84.11 143.9 July 29 Snowflake SNOW B. Dageville DI 280.00 14,000 293.28 33.7 July 23 Datadog DDOG O.Pomel CEO 242.65-248.33 11,518 267.97 97.1 July 28 AmeripriseFinancial AMP J. Cracchiolo CEO 545.28-546.67 9,829 545.84 11.3 July 27-28 W. Williams O 537.08-541.90 8,668 July 1 Powell Industries POWL B. Cope CEO 264.86 9,535 208.68 96.4 July 28 BancFirst BANF D.Rainbolt DOI 116.71 9,511 112.82 6.4 July 24 Citizens Financial Group CFG B. Van Saun CEO 72.07 9,324 71.65 22.7 July 28 Darden Restaurants DRI R. Cardenas CEO 208.80-209.58 8,182 203.58 10.6 Halfthetransactionswereindirect**Twodaytransaction p -PinkSheets Insider Buying and sellingby sector Basedonactual transaction dates inreports received this pastweek Sector Buying Selling Sector Buying Selling Basic Industries 3,417,051 Finance 7,061,290 157,449,402 Capital Goods 1,900,703 41,710,944 Health care 631,016 116,339,460 Consumer durables 68,535,906 PublicUtilities 4,875,264 Consumer non-durables 63,172 71,142,964 Technology 118,670 136,237,317 Consumer services 3,180,703 86,185,577 Transportation 19,408,117 Energy 250,009 4,939,250 Sources: LSEG Data and Analytics; Dow Jones Market Data Cash Prices Friday,July31,2026 Theseprices reflectbuying and sellingof a varietyof actualor “physical” commodities in the marketplace—separate from thefutures priceon an exchange,whichreflectswhatthe commoditymightbe worthin future months. | wsj.com/market-data/commodities Borrowing Benchmarks | wsj.com/market-data/bonds/benchmarks Money Rates July31, 2026 Keyannualinterestratespaidtoborrowor lend moneyinU.S.andinternationalmarkets.Ratesbelowarea guide togenerallevelsbut don’talwaysrepresentactual transactions. Inflation June index Chg From (%) level May'26 June '25 U.S.consumer price index All items 333.952 –0.35 3.5 Core 336.882 0.01 2.6 International rates Week 52-Week Latest ago High Low Prime rates U.S. 6.75 6.75 7.50 6.75 Canada 4.45 4.45 4.95 4.45 Japan 2.125 2.125 2.125 1.875 Policy Rates Euro zone 2.40 2.40 2.40 2.15 Switzerland 0.25 0.25 0.50 0.25 Notes on data: U.S. prime rate isthe base rate oncorporate loans posted byatleast70%ofthe10largest U.S.banks, and iseffective December 11, 2025. Other primerates aren’tdirectly comparable;lending practices vary widely bylocation; Discount rateis effective December 11,2025.Secured Overnight Financing Rate isas of July 30, 2026. DTCC GCF Repo Index isDepository Trust &ClearingCorp.'s weighted average for overnight trades inapplicable CUSIPs. Value traded isin billionsofU.S.dollars.Federal- funds rates are Tullett Prebon rates asof 3:30p.m. ET. Sources: Federal Reserve; Bureauof Labor Statistics; DTCC; FactSet; Tullett Prebon Information, Ltd. Britain 3.75 3.75 4.25 3.75 Australia 4.35 4.35 4.35 3.60 Overnight repurchase U.S. 3.69 3.67 4.45 3.49 U.S. government rates Discount 3.75 3.75 4.50 3.75 Federal funds Effectiverate 3.6400 3.6400 4.3300 3.6300 High 3.7000 3.7000 4.5500 3.7000 Low 3.5500 3.5500 4.3200 3.5500 Bid 3.6200 3.6200 4.3200 3.6100 Offer 3.6400 3.6400 4.3300 3.6300 Treasury billauction 4 weeks 3.630 3.730 4.300 3.550 Week —52-WEEK— Latest ago High Low 13weeks 3.815 3.730 4.235 3.540 26weeks 3.945 3.835 4.120 3.475 Other short-term rates Week 52-Week Latest ago high low Call money 5.50 5.50 6.25 5.50 Commercial paper (AA financial) 90 days n.a. 3.81 4.26 3.57 Secured OvernightFinancing Rate 3.65 3.64 4.51 3.50 Value 52-Week Latest Traded High Low DTCCGCFRepo Index Treasury 3.686 77.600 4.492 3.504 MBS 3.710 87.386 4.623 3.517 Weekly survey Latest Week ago Yearago Freddie Mac 30-year fixed 6.66 6.58 6.72 15-year fixed 6.04 5.96 5.85 Week —52-WEEK— Latest ago High Low General Equity Funds AdamsDiversifiedEqInc ADX 25.74 25.52 -0.9 30.5 BlackRockEnLgCapCr CII 23.60 24.11 +2.2 33.1 Central Secs CET 64.40 53.44 -17.0 17.6 CohenStrsCEOppFd FOF 13.47 13.59 +0.9 14.5 EVTxAdvDivIncm EVT 30.49 28.14 -7.7 28.9 GabelliDiv&IncTr GDV NA 29.76 NA 22.7 Gabelli Equity Tr GAB NA 5.61 NA 7.2 GeneralAmer GAM 72.83 65.00 -10.8 28.2 JHancockTaxAdvDiv HTD 26.39 25.76 -2.4 14.5 LibertyAll-StarEquity USA 6.60 5.81 -12.0 0.9 LibertyAll-StarGrowth ASG 5.88 5.14 -12.6 5.0 NuveenNasdaq100DynOv QQQX 30.98 29.51 -4.7 22.2 NuvS&P500DynOvFd SPXX NA 18.45 NA 12.8 RoyceMicro-CapTr RMT 15.30 13.62 -11.0 56.4 RoyceValueTrust RVT 20.63 18.09 -12.3 31.9 Source Capital SOR 50.14 46.58 -7.1 12.7 SpecialOpportunities SPE 15.28 13.13 -14.1 -0.8 SprottFocusTrust FUND 10.98 9.92 -9.7 40.1 SRHTotalReturn STEW 23.92 18.53 -22.5 9.7 Tri-Continental TY 38.57 34.88 -9.6 20.6 Specialized Equity Funds abrdnGlbPremProp AWP 11.88 12.06 +1.5 18.7 abrdnGlobalInfraInc ASGI 21.97 23.90 +8.8 26.7 abrdnHealthcareInvest HQH 23.11 21.84 -5.5 56.9 abrdnHealthcareOpps THQ 19.50 18.74 -3.9 30.2 abrdnLifeSciencesInv HQL 21.47 19.10 -11.0 64.8 abrdnWorldHealthcare THW 13.54 13.29 -1.8 37.1 AdamsNaturalResources PEO 29.60 26.89 -9.2 39.1 AllspringUt&HiInc ERH 12.66 11.84 -6.5 7.7 ASAGold&PrecMetLtd ASA NA 48.93 NA 57.8 BlackRockEnergy&Res BGR 18.18 16.55 -9.0 35.2 BlackRockEqEnhDiv BDJ 10.41 9.78 -6.1 23.3 BlackRockEnhGlblDiv BOE 13.12 12.11 -7.7 17.8 BlackRockEnhIntlDiv BGY 6.34 5.78 -8.8 12.5 BlackRockESGCapAllT ECAT 15.10 14.98 -0.8 14.2 BlackRockHlthSciTerm BMEZ 17.44 15.48 -11.2 20.8 BlackRockHlthSciences BME 44.60 43.49 -2.5 32.4 BlackRockRes&Comm BCX 12.81 12.05 -5.9 37.5 BlackRockSci&TechTerm BSTZ 30.30 28.43 -6.2 48.4 BlackRockSci&TechTrust BST 48.57 46.26 -4.8 33.0 BlackRockInnov&GroTerm BTX 8.99 NA NA NA BlackRockUtlInf&Pwr BUI 26.88 27.31 +1.6 15.2 BluerockPrivateRE BPRE NA NA NA NS CLEARBRIDGEENGYMDSOPP EMO NA 51.62 NA 18.9 ChnStrInfr UTF 28.16 27.79 -1.3 12.1 Cohen&SteersQualInc RQI 13.56 12.58 -7.2 13.1 CohenStrsRealEstandI RLTY 17.36 15.90 -8.4 13.0 Cohen&SteersTotRet RFI 12.00 11.50 -4.2 5.4 CohenStrsREITPrefInc RNP 22.13 20.45 -7.6 0.0 ColumbiaSelPrmTechGr STK 53.25 49.09 -7.8 72.6 DNPSelectIncome DNP NA 10.75 NA 18.6 Duff&PhUti&InfraIncFd DPG 16.19 14.48 -10.6 24.2 EtnVncEqtyInc EOI NA 19.77 NA 3.6 EtnVncEqtyIncoII EOS NA 21.27 NA -2.9 EVRskMnDvsEqInc ETJ 9.20 8.43 -8.4 3.8 ETnVncTxMgdBuyWrtInc ETB NA 15.46 NA 16.8 EtnVncTxMgdBuyWrtOpp ETV NA 14.66 NA 16.9 EvTxMnDvsEqInc ETY NA 14.40 NA 0.5 EtnVncTxMgdGlbB ETW NA 9.51 NA 20.9 EVTxMnGblDvEqInc EXG NA 9.78 NA 24.5 FirstTrEnhancedEq FFA 25.18 22.53 -10.5 17.8 Gab GlUtil &Inc GLU NA 19.05 NA 17.1 GabelliHealthcare GRX NA 9.74 NA 15.0 Gab Utility GUT NA 6.35 NA 27.8 GAMCOGlGold&NatRes GGN NA 4.90 NA 18.6 GAMCONRGLD&INC GNT NA 8.08 NA 40.0 JHanFinlOpptys BTO 42.11 40.28 -4.3 25.6 KayneEnrgyInfraInc KYN 16.49 14.62 -11.3 27.5 NeubergerEnrgyInf&In NML 11.44 10.46 -8.6 30.6 NeubergerNxtGenConn NBXG NA 14.76 NA 12.3 NeubergerRealEstSI NRO 3.29 3.02 -8.2 5.6 NuvCorEqAlpha JCE NA 16.41 NA 17.7 NuveenNasdaq100DynOv QQQX 30.98 29.51 -4.7 22.2 Listed are the 300 largest closed-end funds as measured by assets. Closed-end funds sell a limited number of shares and invest the proceeds in securities. Unlike open-end funds, closed-ends generally do not buy their shares back from investors who wish to cash in their holdings. Instead, fund shares trade on a stock exchange. NA signifies that the information is not available or not applicable. NS signifies funds not in existence for the entire period. 12 month yield is computed by dividing income dividends paid (during the previous 12 months for periods ending at month- end or during the previous 52 weeks for periods ending at any time other than month-end) by the latest month-end market price adjusted for capital gains distributions. Depending on the fund category, either 12-month yield or total return is listed. Source: LSEG Friday, July 31, 2026 52 wk Prem Ttl Fund (SYM) NAV Close /Disc Ret NuveenCreditStratInc JQC NA 4.76 NA 12.9 NuvFloatRateIncFd JFR NA 7.71 NA 12.9 SOUNDPOINTMRDANCAP SPMC NA NA NA 28.7 High Yield Bond Funds abrdnIncCreditStr ACP 5.35 5.06 -5.4 17.8 AllianceBernGlHiIncm AWF 11.26 10.09 -10.4 7.6 AllspringIncomeOppty EAD 7.09 6.30 -11.1 9.8 BaringsGlbSDHYBd BGH NA 14.03 NA 12.1 BRCorporate HY HYT 9.07 8.35 -7.9 10.9 BlackRockLtdDurInc BLW 13.15 12.54 -4.6 10.8 BNYMellonHiYieldStr DHF NA 2.35 NA 8.6 BrookfieldRealAsstInc RA 13.94 12.81 -8.1 8.7 CreditSuisseHiYldCrd DHY 1.91 1.75 -8.4 10.4 CSAM Income Fd CIK 2.70 2.44 -9.6 10.4 DoubleLineIncSol DSL 11.39 10.67 -6.3 11.9 DoubleLineYldOpps DLY 15.05 14.06 -6.6 9.95 FirstTrustHYOpp:2027 FTHY 13.93 13.63 -2.2 10.9 Franklin Univ FT 8.66 7.92 -8.5 6.3 KKRIncomeOpportunities KIO NA 11.01 NA 12.9 NeubHgYldStrt NHS 6.54 6.00 -8.3 17.4 NuveenGlobalHighInc JGH NA 12.52 NA 9.7 PGIMGlobalHighYield GHY NA 11.66 NA 10.4 PGIMHighYieldBond ISD NA 12.44 NA 9.6 PGIMShDurHiYldOpp SDHY NA 16.14 NA 7.9 WstAstHIF II HIX NA 3.88 NA 14.8 WesternAssetHiIncOpp HIO NA 3.53 NA 10.9 WesternAssetHiYldOpp HYI NA 10.39 NA 10.7 Other Domestic Taxable Bond Funds AllspringMulti-Sector ERC 9.79 9.11 -6.9 9.4 AresDynamicCrdtAlloc ARDC NA 12.38 NA 10.6 BlackRockMlt-SctrInc BIT 13.12 12.23 -6.8 11.8 BlackRockTaxMuniBd BBN 16.52 15.82 -4.2 7.2 DoubleLine:OpporCrdtFd DBL 14.55 14.04 -3.5 9.1 EVLmtDurIncm EVV NA 9.10 NA 9.3 FranklinLtdDurIncome FTF 6.30 5.71 -9.4 12.7 Putnam Mas Int PIM NA 3.12 NA 7.2 Putnam Prem Inc PPT NA 3.39 NA 8.4 FSCreditOpportunities FSCO NA 4.95 NA 15.5 J Han Investors JHI 14.35 13.22 -7.9 9.3 NuvCorePlusImpact NPCT NA 9.70 NA 12.0 NuveenTaxableMuniInc NBB 15.70 15.21 -3.1 7.3 PIMCOCorp&IncOppty PTY NA 11.71 NA 11.8 PIMCOCorp&IncStrat PCN NA 11.64 NA 11.3 PIMCOHilnco PHK NA 4.65 NA 12.3 PIMCOIncmStrFd PFL NA 7.72 NA 12.4 PIMCOIncmStrFdII PFN NA 7.08 NA 12.0 WesternAssetDvsfdInc WDI NA 13.10 NA 13.1 WesternAssetInf-LkInc WIA NA 7.92 NA 6.3 WesternAssetInf-LkO&I WIW NA 8.26 NA 7.1 World Income Funds abrdn APIncFd FAX 15.03 14.50 -3.5 13.4 BrndywnGLBGlbIncOppts BWG NA 7.73 NA 11.5 EtnVncStDivInc EVG 11.10 10.51 -5.3 8.3 MSEmMktDomDebt EDD 5.87 5.82 -0.9 10.7 MsEmMktDebtFd MSD 7.87 7.24 -8.0 8.3 PIMCOAccessIncome PAXS NA 14.16 NA 12.3 PIMCODynamicIncStrat PDX NA 21.36 NA 7.1 PIMCODynamicIncome PDI NA 16.00 NA 15.8 PIMCODynamicIncOpp PDO NA 13.04 NA 11.6 PIMCOStratgInc RCS NA 5.17 NA 8.8 TempltnGlblInc SABA NA 8.24 NA NE Templeton EmInc TEI 7.02 6.64 -5.4 12.9 VirtusSHEmergMktsInc EDF NA 5.20 NA 13.6 WstAstEmergDebt EMD NA 10.47 NA 8.9 National Muni Bond Funds AllBerNatlMunInc AFB 11.80 10.88 -7.8 5.0 BlackRock2037MuniTrg BMN 25.31 25.14 -0.7 4.3 BlackRockMuni2030Tgt BTT 24.45 22.40 -8.4 2.4 BRMuniAssetsFd MUA 11.11 10.10 -9.1 6.0 BRMuniHoldngs MHD 12.52 11.47 -8.4 6.0 BRMuniYieldQlty MQY 12.08 11.20 -7.3 6.0 BRMuniYld Qly 3 MYI 11.59 10.66 -8.0 5.9 BNYMellonMuniBdInfra DMB NA 10.52 NA 4.5 BNYMellonStrMuniBond DSM NA 5.81 NA 4.8 BNYMellonStratMuni LEO NA 6.15 NA 4.5 DWS MuniInc KTF 8.97 8.83 -1.6 6.5 EVMuniBd EIM NA 9.56 NA 6.1 EVMuniIncm EVN 10.60 10.37 -2.2 5.4 EVNatMuniOpp EOT 17.88 17.29 -3.3 4.6 PutnamMgdInc PMM 6.55 6.24 -4.7 4.5 PutnamMuniOpp PMO 11.06 10.23 -7.5 4.5 InvAdvMuIncTrII VKI 8.74 8.92 +2.1 7.0 Invesco MuniOp OIA 6.09 6.02 -1.1 5.6 InvescoMuOppTr VMO 9.76 9.66 -1.0 7.6 InvescoMuTr VKQ 9.80 9.78 -0.2 7.5 InvescoQual Inc IQI 9.86 9.87 +0.1 7.4 InvTrInvGrMu VGM 10.11 10.10 -0.1 7.3 InvescoValMunInc IIM 12.05 12.50 +3.7 7.2 NeubergerMunicipal NBH 10.98 10.17 -7.4 6.1 NuveenAMT-FrMuVal NUW 14.77 13.96 -5.5 4.0 NuveenAMT-FrQltyMunI NEA 11.19 11.27 +0.7 7.0 NuveenAMT-FrMuCI NVG NA 12.40 NA 7.4 NuveenDynMuniOpp NDMO NA 9.94 NA 7.1 NuveenMuCrdtOpps NMCO NA 10.44 NA 7.5 NuvMuniCreditIncome NZF NA 12.20 NA 7.5 NuvMuniHiIncOpp NMZ NA 10.16 NA 7.4 Nuveen Muni Inc NMI NA 10.84 NA 4.1 NuveenMuniVal NUV NA 9.15 NA 4.2 NuveenQualityMuniInc NAD NA 11.71 NA 7.0 Nuveen Sel Mat NIM 9.78 9.16 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Low/High Bookrunner(s) 8/5 7/14 Braveheart Bio BRVE 18.8 15.00/ GS, Jefferies, Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) Nq 17.00 TD Securities (USA), Stifel Nicolaus, Cantor Fitzgerald 8/4 7/14 Attovia Therapeutics ATTO 12.5 15.00/ MS,LeerinkPrtnrs, Provides biotechnology research and development services Nq 17.00 Citigroup Global Markets, RBC Cptl Mkts 8/5 7/15 Vogenx VOGX 6.3 11.00/ JonesTrading Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing Nq 13.00 Institutional Services
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Monday, August 3, 2026 | B9 Investors have been fretting over how Big Tech is going to make a return on all its AI spend- ing. Cloud computing increasingly looks like the answer. Amazon.com, Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google all have cloud businesses that have grown rap- idly during the AI boom. Custom- ers including AI labs and large corporations have clamored to rent access to chips and comput- ing equipment from them—to such an extent that their ability to sup- ply it is more of a limitation than demand. And unlike a lot of the other av- enues companies have proposed to reap returns from AI investments, from chatbot ad sales to subscrip- tions for access to AI models, cloud computing’s financial model is relatively well-understood. The tech giants buy or lease buildings and computing gear, then rent it out via their cloud op- erations to recoup what they spent over a period of a few years. It is capital intensive but can be highly profitable: Amazon’s cloud unit, Amazon Web Services, on Thursday reported a 39% operat- ing profit margin in the second quarter. Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy tried to paint a picture of AWS as both predictable and ex- tremely fast-growing. It takes less than three years on average to break even on purchases of com- puting equipment, he said, while most of its contracts with AI-com- puting customers are at least five years long. That leaves a lot of juice for Amazon to squeeze. “The resulting revenue, free cash flow and return on invested capital is very compelling,” he said. In the high-spending phase Am- azon is going through now, it also means the company is free-cash- flow negative. Markets have been allergic to cash outflows in recent months amid concern about re- turns on hypsercalers’ big invest- ments. But investors more recently seem to be coming around to the notion that Big Tech spending on AI can make sense—as long as there is a cloud-computing busi- ness involved that can reap the benefits. Amazon’s stock surged on Fri- day after the company wowed Wall Street with 37% quarterly revenue growth for AWS, well above the roughly 31% analysts were projecting. Microsoft also got a massive stock-price boost after its results on Wednesday included a better-than-expected 43% reve- nue rise for its Azure cloud-com- puting unit. The two companies combined have added around $950 billion to their market values since reporting. Google parent Alphabet’s stock fell last week after it boosted capi- tal spending for the year, but its cloud unit’s 82% revenue growth has since tempered those con- cerns. The stock is up about 10% in the past week, more than recov- ering from its earlier losses. AI is perhaps the most impor- tant driver of cloud-computing growth; companies and AI devel- opers want more computing power, and it is easiest and often fastest to rent it in the cloud. Chunky deals with big customers are also helping inflate revenue and backlogs, like the more than $100 billion 10-year contract that AWS signed with Anthropic in April. But there is also a shift predat- ing the AI boom that has quietly persisted. Companies are moving more of their computing work to the cloud and using less of their own equipment. A Piper Sandler survey of IT leaders in June found they expected to boost spending by about 5% this year. Most planned to increase outlays on cloud computing, while relatively few plan to spend more on their own computing equipment. Given those dual trends, it is a little easier to understand why Jassy suggested on Thursday that AWS could eventually grow into a business with $1 trillion in annual revenue, as outlandish as that fig- ure may currently seem. Analysts expect AWS to grow to about $170 billion of revenue this year, ac- cording to FactSet. Others also are looking to get a big piece of that expanding pie. Microsoft’s and Google’s cloud businesses have grown faster than Amazon’s for some time, to the point that they pose a legitimate threat to AWS’s dominance of an industry it virtually invented two decades ago. If their growth stays above AWS’s, it isn’t hard to fore- see them surpassing their larger competitor by the end of the de- cade. Of course, none of those busi- nesses would fare well if the AI bubble bursts. Should Anthropic, OpenAI and other big buyers of AI computing power falter, massive contracts would likely be re- worked and backlogs would shrink. For cloud-computing gi- ants, though, there is something of a reprieve: At least they could fall back on the tried-and-true business model that sustained them before AI. That is more than can be said for other AI players without cloud businesses, perhaps most promi- nently Meta Platforms. The so- cial-media giant’s stock is down about 5% since its earnings on Wednesday included a slight in- crease in the midpoint of its 2026 capital-spending range. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday that Meta is looking at starting a cloud-computing busi- ness of its own, but it would start far behind the three giants of the industry. In sorting AI winners from los- ers, Wall Street has settled on a key differentiator. —Asa Fitch Wall Street Thinks It Knows How AI Will Pay Off Growth in cloud computing is driving share-price rallies and allaying fears of overinvestment HEARD ON THESTREET FINANCIAL ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY Amazon’s cloud unit, Amazon Web Services, on Thursday reported a 39% quarterly operating profit margin. NOAH BERGER FOR AWS/REUTERS 2Q 2025 3Q 4Q 1Q ’26 2Q 80% Microsoft Google Competitors’ cloud revenue as a percentage of Amazon Web Services revenue Totals are based on analyst estimates. –15 –10 –5 25% Microsoft Amazon.com Alphabet Meta Platforms Share-price performance this past week Sources: FactSet (performance); the companies, BofA Securities (revenue) Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. 10-minute intervals been financed with debt. When they burst, investors lost money but the financial system was fine. “The banking system is in rude health,” says Russell Na- pier, a global macro strategist and keeper of the Library of Mistakes, an Edinburgh-based collection of books on finan- cial history. “That means there’s always more credit to do the next bubble.” T he misallocation of cap- ital in bubbles is the subject of much debate among economists: Was it better for the economy to build railroads quickly along- side massive losses for inves- tors, or would a slower, more financially rational build-out have been better? Some of the mini-bubbles enter this debate, such as the cash investors provided to clean-energy firms in 2020-21. Some argued it was worth losing money to com- bat global warming—though this argument wasn’t heard so often after stocks plunged. Others were clear cases of wasted capital, such as com- edy digital token dogecoin or many of the SPACs that failed. We are heading into a dan- ger area now, thanks to the money being poured into arti- ficial intelligence. Estimates of $7 trillion to be spent on data centers in the next four years are enough to seriously damage the economy if pro- ductivity gains aren’t big enough to justify it. And the increasing use of debt financing means that if AI more broadly turns out to be a bubble, it could hit the financial system, too. That isn’t something the broader market could ignore. BUSINESS & FINANCE the standard ingredients of bubbles from canals and rail- roads to the Great British Bi- cycle Bubble. But they’ve been on steroids since the 2007-09 financial crisis. W here the money comes from varies— in the 2010s it was from central banks, then from 2020 government spending added vastly more, while this year margin debt and lever- aged ETFs have been signifi- cant. The get-rich-quick desire never goes away, but the gamification of trading, and fees cut to zero, made it eas- ier to gamble on stocks than ever. And innovation, both fi- nancial (2018’s “vol-maged- don” and 2021’s SPACs) and technological (behind excite- ment about crypto, 3-D print- ing, AI, clean energy and space), seems to be coming more frequently than usual. Does it matter? There are two things to worry about. The first is that the bursting of giant bubbles has often been catastrophic for the economy—think of 1929 or 2008. The second is that bub- bles suck in investor capital and lead it to be misallocated, slowing the growth of the economy. The mini-bubbles of recent years haven’t crushed growth because they haven’t, mostly, ContinuedfrompageB1 U.S. Has No Stock Bubble Fear The Organization of the Pe- troleum Exporting Countries and its allies pressed ahead with another oil production increase, a move that would complete the group’s planned return of voluntarily withheld barrels to the market while setting the stage for poten- tially difficult talks over fu- ture quotas. Seven members of the broader group called OPEC+ said Sunday they will raise output by about 188,000 bar- rels a day in September, a sixth straight monthly in- crease. The participating countries include Saudi Ara- bia—the group’s de facto leader—along with Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakh- stan and Oman. The September increase would complete the phased unwinding of 1.65 million bar- rels a day of voluntary supply cuts originally agreed in 2023, when the group still included the United Arab Emirates, which left OPEC earlier this year. Separate cuts of around 2 million barrels a day intro- duced by the broader OPEC+ group in 2022 remain in place through the end of the year. While planned output in- creases might not fully mate- rialize because of persistent supply disruptions in the Per- sian Gulf due to the Iran war, they still have the potential to reshape the oil market balance next year, analysts say. OPEC+ also is reviewing members’ production capacity to establish 2027 output base- lines, which will determine fu- ture quotas. The conflict in the Middle East, however, has likely complicated that assess- ment and could test the group’s cohesion if producers seek to pump above targets once regional flows normalize. The seven OPEC+ producers are scheduled to meet again on Sept. 6 to decide produc- tion levels for October. The group could then opt to pause output increases as it contin- ues to assess the rapidly evolving impact of the Iran war on global oil supplies, ac- cording to analysts. Oil prices ended July with their largest monthly gain since March after hostilities between the U.S. and Iran flared again. On Saturday night, Presi- dent Trump called off a new attack on Iran, saying “the pe- rimeters of a deal had been agreed to” that would open the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s busiest oil choke- points—to commercial traffic. The five-month-old conflict has spread well beyond the Persian Gulf. Iran-backed Houthi mili- tants in Yemen attacked ves- sels in the Red Sea in the sec- ond half of July in an effort to enforce a blockade of Saudi oil shipments, jeopardizing the Bab al-Mandeb strait—the narrow waterway connecting the southern Red Sea to, ulti- mately, markets in Asia and elsewhere. BY GIULIA PETRONI OPEC, Allies Increase Output For the Sixth Month in a Row The rise would finish the unwinding of 1.65 million barrels a day of supply cuts agreed in 2023. PAVEL MIKHEYEV/REUTERS
B10 | Monday, August 3, 2026 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. (ŒŒêĥŚĉÃĞ ĉĥŚêĞĞĉĀêĥßê ÿĬŋ ŋĉŒě Ãĥå ßĬĤňĞĉÃĥßê ňŋĬÿꌌĉĬĥÃĞŒǢ ÞŠŒĉĥꌌ ĞêÃåêŋŒǢ Ãĥå åêßĉŒĉĬĥǸĤÃěêŋŒǡ #Ĭŷ TĬĥêŒ ĉŒě TĬŠŋĥÃĞ ÞŋĉĥĀŒ ŚĬĀêŚąêŋ ŚŋŠŒŚêå ĉĥŒĉĀąŚŒ Ĭĥ ŒÃĥߌĉĬĥŒǢ êżňĬŋŚ ßĬĥŚŋĬĞŒǢ ĀêĬňĬĞĉŚĉßÃĞ ŋĉŒěǢ Ãĥå ĤĬŋê ŚąÃĥ à åĬƅêĥ ßŋĉŚĉßÃĞ ŋĉŒě ŚĬňĉߌ ÃĞĞ åêĞĉŶêŋêå ŚąŋĬŠĀą à ňêŋŒĬĥÃĞĉƅêåǢ êÃŒŽǸŚĬǸĥÃŶĉĀÃŚê êżňêŋĉêĥßêǡ ßßꌌ êżßĞŠŒĉŶê ŋêňĬŋŚĉĥĀ Ãĥå êżňêŋŚ ÃĥÃĞŽŒĉŒ ÿŋĬĤ Śąê #Ĭŷ TĬĥêŒ ĉŒě TĬŠŋĥÃĞ ĥêŷŒŋĬĬĤ Ãĥå ĞêÃåĉĥĀ ňŠÞĞĉßÃŚĉĬĥŒǢ ĉĥßĞŠåĉĥĀǣ ąê °ÃĞĞ ŚŋêêŚ TĬŠŋĥÃĞǢ °ĬŋĞå( Ǣ (żňĬŋŚ ĬĤňĞĉÃĥßê ^ÃĥÃĀêŋǢ ÃŋŋĬĥȃŒǢ Ãĥå ^ÃŋěêŚ°ÃŚßąǡ #Ĭŷ TĬĥêŒ ĉŒě TĬŠŋĥÃĞ ŚÃŋŚ ŽĬŠŋ ÿŋêê ŚŋĉÃĞ ÃŚ åĬŷĘĬĥêŒǡßĬĤǮŋĉŒěĘĬŠŋĥÃĞ*
本次审计针对 $\text{WSJ}$ 2026年8月3日刊的翻译件。译文在主体内容的语义传达上较为流畅，但在处理乱码/非文本字符、版面结构对齐以及部分关键信息的完整性方面存在严重缺陷。
(ŒŒêĥŚĉÃĞ...），译文直接原样照抄，未能识别该部分为不可译的噪声或进行适当的标记处理。remote_md_804d98_... 这种系统内部处理文件名，属于交付缺陷。$927 million（应统一翻译为 9.27 亿美元）。staffing 公司（未翻译）。billion（在 1000 亿美元处重复出现英文）。Broad Peak 在同一页中分别被译为“博德峰”和未译，缺乏一致性。$X million 格式，未根据中文习惯转换为“X 百万美元”或“X 亿美元”。结论：存在阻塞性问题 (Blocking Issues Found)
该翻译件不可接受。译者在面对 PDF 识别不全或缺失的文本时，采取了严重的“脑补”/幻觉填充策略，将无关的外部信息（或其他文档信息）混入译文，严重破坏了新闻翻译的忠实性（Faithfulness）。同时，对乱码数据的处理极其粗糙。