By Emma Tucker
Trump administration officials have spent recent days fretting over the power of Anthropic's next-generation AI software to potentially wreak havoc on global cybersecurity. Now, Anthropic is banking on a hacker -- one who recently rang the alarm about the dangers of artificial intelligence -- to help soothe the government's nerves. Nicholas Carlini is part of a team dispatched to the nation's capital to convince the White House that, even though there is no guaranteed safety in AI, it is better to release the software than to keep it under wraps. The episode reflects the chaos and uncertainty that rapidly advancing AI has brought to the cybersecurity world -- and ramps up a monthslong spat between the government and Anthropic.
Today's Headlines
Iran is returning to nuclear talks no longer afraid of America -- but it still needs sanctions relief to stave off economic calamity.
Kevin Warsh walks into his first meeting as Federal Reserve chairman this week in an awkward spot.
Florida's redistricting pits Democrats against each other -- and it's getting messy.
Rep. Mike Collins won Georgia's GOP primary runoff over former college football coach Derek Dooley, setting up a showdown with Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.
A plot to attack Sunday's UFC cage-fighting match on the White House lawn was uncovered when a concerned mother called the police.
Live From The Markets
AI companies hungry for cash are rushing into an arcane corner of the bond market.
Insurers have rebounded as cost trends cool and the Trump administration eases up, writes David Wainer.
Read It Here First
Elon Musk is unleashing SpaceX's new war chest to solve his AI problem.
The trillionaire has admitted SpaceX lags behind rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic and even Google and Chinese open-source models in the race to build out AI. He now has an $86 billion war chest to help change that. And the first target is getting enterprise customers who Musk hopes are willing to pay large sums for access to SpaceX's tools and computing power. Buying AI-coding agent Cursor and renting out data-center capacity will give the company a launchpad to land more enterprise customers, report Becky Peterson and Angel Au-Yeung.
Xi's enforcers are hunting down officials who consult mystics and borrow too much.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has escalated his fight against corruption into a ruthless campaign to enforce political loyalty. Communist Party enforcers punished nearly a million people in 2025, the highest number on record. The Journal reviewed disciplinary statements on more than 940 officials punished under Xi, published by the party's top internal watchdog from 2013 to this May. The data shows how Xi's purges have evolved in their focus, from economic crimes and moral lapses -- such as bribery, embezzlement and adultery -- to include wide-ranging political offenses. Xi's goal: keeping officials on their toes at all times, report Chun Han Wong and Andrew Barnett. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party's top internal watchdog, didn't respond to queries.
A scandal involving cigars and a canceled lacrosse season is rocking a Massachusetts town.
The boys gathered on an Ipswich, Mass., beach to celebrate their high-school graduation, some with medals draped over their gowns. Jutting from each mouth: cigars that may or may not have been real. The photos taken on June 7 mirrored those snapped all around the country lately. But in this coastal enclave dubbed America's Best-Preserved Puritan Town, those snapshots have lit a burning debate. What's beyond dispute: Six of the grads were on Ipswich High School's lacrosse team, and administrators suspended all six from a playoff game two days later for violating state athletic association rules against tobacco use. The team ultimately voted to forfeit the contest-and just like that, their championship run went up in smoke. Now, Ipswich is in a fierce debate over whether the penalty matched the foul, reports Scott Calvert.
See The Story
Iran is entering negotiations with the Trump administration with an eye on a big prize: tens of billions of dollars locked abroad that could help revive its crisis-hit economy. Estimates of how much Iranian assets abroad are worth vary, with Tehran saying it's at least $100 billion. Other experts put it much lower. Tehran's priority is to unblock an initial $24 billion in phases.
Happening Today
The Fed announces its interest-rate decision, where the focus is on any guidance from Warsh.
Economic data: Retail sales and pending home sales
World Cup: Ghana vs. Panama in Toronto; England vs. Croatia in Dallas; Portugal vs. Congo DR in Houston; Uzbekistan vs. Colombia in Mexico City
Number Of The Day:
$4,500
That's how much per night the SpringHill Suites East Rutherford -- one of the hotels closest to the MetLife Stadium -- is asking for the World Cup final weekend, with a two-night minimum. The stadium is hosting eight tournament matches, including the final on July 19. While hotels and Airbnbs across the U.S. might not be experiencing the hoped for World Cup windfall, hotels near the stadium aren't despondent given their prime location. The Hampton Inn by Hilton next door wants $4,200 during the final weekend.
And Finally...
'Toy Story' has won over every generation.
Hollywood's longest-running animated film series -- which has grossed more than $3 billion in theaters worldwide -- belongs to an audience that spans generations. Part of the franchise's enduring appeal lies in the deep emotional hooks embedded in the story of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and a closet full of other living toys. In "Toy Story 5," the threat facing the toys isn't a yard sale ("Toy Story 2") or a donation box ("Toy Story 3") but the digital devices seizing children's attention. We look back at the films that brought the toys to this moment.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 17, 2026 06:19 ET (10:19 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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