More than 640 days have passed since Donald Trump took the oath of office at the Capitol and delivered a grandiose inaugural address in which he declared: “The Golden Age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world.”

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The AI boom: Between bubble fears and a new economic paradigm

Artificial intelligence is driving the largest economic transformation in history. Never before has so much money been committed in such a short period of time to developing a new industry, not even during the railroad boom of the late 19th century or the dot-com era. According to a recent study by Stijn van Nieuwerburgh published by the Brookings Institution, investment by the major AI labs is expected to reach $10.3 trillion by 2032, equivalent to 3.6% of GDP.

The U.S. Data Center Map, which tracks activity across the sector, lists 5,098 facilities and projects nationwide: 3,172 operational, 400 under construction, and 1,199 planned, with a combined capacity of 395.1 gigawatts. Goldman Sachs estimates that AI investment alone will amount to 1.9% of U.S. GDP this year.

The sector is already having a visible impact on the economy, but it has also generated social unease over the effects of these facilities. "Most capital spending, which could reach $800 billion this year, is going toward the construction of massive data centers," notes Jared Franz, an economist at Capital Group. "This level of investment gives a strong boost to the U.S. economy. In fact, I believe we are underestimating the potential impact of the AI boom.”

Franz believes GDP growth could be underestimated by between 0.5 and 1 percentage point. Major companies are engaged in a frenzied investment race that has produced some of the most spectacular stock market debuts in history. Analysts have begun warning about the risk of a bubble, pointing to an ecosystem of highly leveraged companies with close ties to one another.

Policymakers, however, are pinning their hopes on the substantial productivity gains that artificial intelligence could deliver once the industry reaches full maturity.

The flight of far-right Brazilian politician Flávio Bolsonaro has exposed covert support from the Donald Trump administration and a network of alliances among conservative governments on the continent, encouraged by Washington, that collaborated to enable his escape. Bolsonaro’s departure for Miami — just one day after insisting he would lead the opposition to the newly re-elected Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — demonstrates the existence of a Latin American bloc not only ideologically aligned with Trump but willing to act according to his logic, disregarding international treaties, several analysts said.

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Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting was a bit like a Wes Anderson film: what mattered was not so much the ending as the way the story was told. The outcome came with a spoiler alert. More than 90% of analysts expected no change in interest rates, and they were right. The Fed left rates unchanged at 3.75% to 4%, less than a week before the U.S. midterm elections, which are being shaped by an affordability crisis fueled by persistent inflation.

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When Hulk Hogan sued the tabloid Gawker in 2016 for publishing a sexual video without his consent, no one gave him a chance of winning. But Hogan won the case and was awarded $140 million in damages, which led to the online outlet’s demise. Peter Thiel, one of Silicon Valley’s most shadowy figures, tipped the legal battle: he secretly funded Hogan’s lawyers. He wanted revenge on Gawker because it had ridiculed him for years and outed him as gay.

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Tractors swarm across Iowa’s cornfields. Farmers are rushing the harvest before rains arrive and ruin their season. Chip Hoffman is among the lucky ones. He has already gathered nearly the entire crop from the family farm, which spans several dozen hectares. It’s Wednesday morning and the 66-year-old farmer is helping his older brother position a hopper to unload grain from the truck into the silo. “These are hard times. Fuel, insurance, even machinery repairs have gone up and they’re extremely expensive,” says Chip. He blames tariffs and the war with Iran for the surge in inflation and the squeeze on profit margins that has hit Iowa’s farmers.

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Charisma or cash: to win an election, candidates need at least one of those two factors. With two weeks to go until the U.S. midterm elections, Republicans are throwing everything they have into the closest states to try to climb back in polls that are unfavorable to them. They have the invaluable help of the vast sums Donald Trump raises through his Super PAC, the political action committee that pools donations coming from the ultraconservative MAGA movement.

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Donald Trump has a complicated relationship with women. He was found liable for sexually abusing writer and journalist E. Jean Carroll. He was also convicted on 34 felony counts related to an effort to conceal accounting records showing payments made to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence. The U.S. president has, moreover, a long history of making disparaging remarks about women. And with less than three weeks to go before the midterms, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that a majority of women voters back the Democrats, while only 32% support Republicans.

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A new NBA season tips off this Tuesday, bringing with it the league’s galaxy of stars, from Jalen Brunson, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Dončić to veterans LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

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The United States is increasing its military presence in Latin American countries. The U.S. military has sent hundreds of soldiers to conduct training in Panama, an activity they will repeat later in Honduras and Colombia, The New York Times reported. The military detachment is preparing to take part in special operations against drug trafficking cartels, sources for that outlet said.

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