THE TWIN BRIEF
Quick hits for the morning. Full Brief drops Mondays.
World
Drone threat near Mecca + hard days in Gaza and Ukraine
- Saudi Arabia says it shot down a Houthi drone near Mecca — Islam’s holiest city — the first time that rebel group has aimed that close in almost a decade. The Houthis denied targeting the holy sites and said they were aiming at oil and military sites farther away.
- In Gaza, a war-damaged apartment building collapsed overnight, killing at least 12 people (including children) and trapping many more under rubble. In southern Ukraine, Russian drones hit a bus and a train, killing five.
Tech
OpenAI talks a $1.2T+ raise before any IPO
- OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT) has held early talks about raising money at a valuation above $1.2 trillion — up from about $852 billion in March — which could push a public stock sale (IPO) into next year.
- CEO Sam Altman has said now would be a bad moment to go public because of AI safety concerns. Rival labs and cheaper Chinese models keep the race hot for the tools students already use every day.
Money
Asia’s richest person flips · China money races into U.S. stocks
- ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming (TikTok’s parent company) is worth more than $105 billion and has overtaken Gautam Adani as Asia’s richest person, as AI-linked fortunes keep climbing.
- Chinese investors are piling into U.S. stock funds after Beijing raised outbound investment quotas. Some Nasdaq-tracking funds had to slam the brakes on new money because inflows got so huge so fast.
Sports
Oilers camp opens under Babcock · NFL Week 2 tips Thu
- Oilers: Main training camp opens today with new coach Mike Babcock. He has less prep time than recent new coaches before the Sep 29 home opener vs. Vancouver. Forwards Mattias Janmark and Matthew Savoie, defenceman Alec Regula, and goalie Frederik Andersen are expected to miss camp while rehabbing.
- NFL: Week 2 starts Thursday night — Lions at Bills (8:15pm ET). After Chicago’s 59-point Week 1 blowout, the Sunday slate is stacked.
- MLB: Yankees already locked a playoff berth — their franchise-record 61st postseason trip.