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Welcome back. The second day of U.N. General Assembly meetings starts today. Also in the news: Economic frustration tests Trump’s standing with rural voters; Trump says US and Iranian officials met Tuesday, shortly after warning he may ‘annihilate’ Iran; and a look at the plausibility of AI doomsday scenarios.
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Ed Westrick, a registered Republican and veteran, said he isn’t sure he will cast a midterm ballot. He’s seen here at his rural home near Commerce, Texas, Friday. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
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Trump’s rural base is feeling squeezed by the cost of living, new AP-KFF poll finds
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About half of rural American voters believe the economy is worse off now than when President Donald Trump returned to office, according to a new survey that points to economic frustration among a key group that has backed Trump and other Republicans in recent elections. Read more.
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- The costs of groceries, gas and healthcare rank as top pain points for the rural voters, who were surveyed over two weeks starting in mid-August. And a larger share than among voters overall say they are worried about being able to afford groceries or gas. At the same time, about half of rural voters approve of Trump’s job performance, more than among U.S. adults overall in separate AP-NORC polling. The findings suggest that many rural voters haven’t turned on Trump but that they also largely don’t think he has delivered the economic renaissance he promised on the campaign trail.
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Trump says US and Iranian officials met Tuesday, shortly after warning he may ‘annihilate’ Iran
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President Donald Trump said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met for about three hours with the Iranian officials on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, even as he threatened the Islamic Republic in his address if a deal isn’t reached soon to end the war. Trump offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange. Read more.
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In his address to the General Assembly, Trump made the case that he's shown fortitude while other leaders have equivocated as he defended his decision to start a war with Iran. The president's comments came in his wide-ranging address to the international body in which he also celebrated this year's U.S. military operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power, hailed a new agreement to expand the U.S. military presence in Greenland, and pushed back against calls for greater regulation of the artificial intelligence industry.
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A look at AI doomsday scenarios that researchers say could put humanity at risk
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For years, artificial intelligence researchers have warned of ways the technology could wipe out humanity. Some suspect the worst-case scenarios described by the AI companies themselves have more to do with validating the importance of their work than reality. Read more.
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The top risks involve nuclear winter, bioweapons, runaway AI and AI internet takeover.
Debates inside the AI industry and beyond over the plausibility of these doomsday scenarios have heated up since several executives endorsed slowing the technology’s development for safety reasons.
- “These arguments just don’t really hold water. I think they’re sci-fi and they’re enticing to a certain childish style of thinking and it’s very tempting for the frontier labs because it helps them recruit certain types of folks,” said Juan Andrés Guerrero-Saade, a researcher at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne and a member of OpenAI’s Frontier Risk Council.
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A freshly baked apple pie sits next to a window in Marlborough, Massachusetts, in June. (AP Photo/Bev Biller)
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Our readers weigh in on apple pie
In response to Friday’s apple pie history story, many of you wrote in with your own thoughts. “Some pies are ok if they are not homemade. Apple pie is NOT one of them,” said Maria Hardison. Several readers agreed the best crust combines lard and butter. Others shared tips on seasoning and sweetness. Readers said the best apples to use are Braeburn or Granny Smiths. Gretchen Patti recalls her grandfather insisting, “If you can’t get Greenings, there’s no sense making pie.” Gregg Plapas said as a child, his mom would make a faux apple pie out of RITZ crackers. “My childhood friends would never believe me when I told them what they had just eaten,” he wrote. “They made fun of me for years until one day I believe it was in the Reader's Digest that they published the recipe for it.” Cherry, blueberry and southern sweet potato pie also earned enthusiastic support. Mitchell Stein said Maine’s wild blueberries “are as all-American as you can get. (They were here long before us.)” Thank you to everyone who wrote in.
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That's all for today. Know someone who would enjoy Morning Wire? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. - Nadja
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