A Times investigation into deals involving Trump and the U.A.E. Also:
| The U.S. and China reached a framework deal on TikTok.President Trump said that the U.S. struck a second boat from Venezuela. |
Plus, Emmys for “The Pitt” send a message.
The U.A.E got A.I. chips; Team Trump got crypto riches
President Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and a member of the United Arab Emirates’ ruling family, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, have become business partners, enriching the president and his inner circle, according to an investigation by The New York Times.
The arrangement between Witkoff and Sheikh Tahnoon gave the Emirates access to the most advanced American-designed A.I. chips.
At the heart of their relationship are two multibillion-dollar deals:
| In May, one of Sheikh Tahnoon’s investment firms agreed to deposit $2 billion into World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency start-up founded by the Witkoff and the Trump families.Two weeks later, the White House agreed to allow the U.A.E. to buy hundreds of thousands of the world’s most advanced and scarce computer chips. |
There is no evidence that one deal was explicitly offered in return for the other, but the confluence of the back-to-back deals tested the limits of ethics rules, which are intended to bar officials from participating in matters that could benefit themselves or their relatives.
At one point, when the U.A.E. was pressing hardest for access to the chips, a senior executive was simultaneously working for both World Liberty and Sheikh Tahnoon’s A.I. company. One of the chief U.S. negotiators is David Sacks, the Trump administration’s A.I. and crypto czar, who worked with Elon Musk at PayPal and later became a Silicon Valley investor and Trump fund-raiser.
The cryptocurrency deal also created a financial link between the Trump family and Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to money-laundering violations in 2023, has applied for a presidential pardon.
The Times reviewed correspondence and interviewed more than 75 people to reveal how the deals got done. Read the takeaways from our investigation.
| Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent following talks with Chinese officials in Madrid yesterday. Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters |
The U.S. and China moved closer to a TikTok deal
The U.S. and China have agreed on an outline of a deal to resolve concerns about the Chinese ownership of TikTok, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday. Trump will speak with President Xi Jinping of China on Friday to “complete” the deal, Bessent added.
He said the agreement was between “two private parties” and would shift the social app to U.S.-controlled ownership. The deadline is set to expire tomorrow for the app to be sold by its Chinese owner, ByteDance, or to face a ban in the U.S.
Context: TikTok has faced accusations for years that it poses a national security risk because Beijing could use the app to seek sensitive data on Americans, or to spread propaganda.
Related: China’s antimonopoly regulator said that Nvidia, the leading U.S. chip maker, had violated antitrust law.
| MORE TOP NEWS |
| White House: Trump announced that the U.S. military had struck another boat from Venezuela that he said was carrying drugs, killing three people. U.S.: Investigators said they had found DNA and a note connecting a suspected gunman with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. Trump officials have seized on Kirk’s death to accuse liberal groups of “domestic terror” without evidence, while downplaying violence from right-wing or other supporters. Middle East: Arab and Muslim leaders vented their anger at Israel for its airstrike that targeted Hamas officials last week in Qatar, but failed to agree on any punitive measures in response. Israel: After meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that a deal to end the war in Gaza might not be possible. Elon Musk: Tesla’s chief executive bought around $1 billion worth of Tesla stock after the company’s board proposed paying him nearly $1 trillion, if he meets certain targets. Ukraine: Pope Leo XIV said he was unlikely to be a mediator to broker any peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Sudan: In El Fasher, the worst battleground in the country’s civil war, children eat cattle feed, as paramilitaries try to starve 260,000 people into submission. Malawi: Opposition leaders fear that cheating will influence today’s presidential election. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Cricket: Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani opponents, in the first meeting of the two sides since their countries exchanged fire this year. Soccer: Who’ll scoop football’s biggest individual prize next week? The Athletic ranked the favorites to win the Ballon d’Or. Golf: Scottie Scheffler continued his winning streak with victory at the Procore Championship ahead of the Ryder Cup. |
| MORNING READ |
Duane Dimock proudly owns one of the world’s best collections of low-quality records. He collects cereal box records, a forgotten format that emerged in the U.S. in the 1950s in which a thin plastic film was used to stamp records onto — you guessed it — cereal boxes.
At the peak of the trend, artists as big as the Monkees and the Jackson 5 had their greatest hits pressed into cardboard, helping to sell millions of boxes of cereal. Most of these records were eventually thrown out or destroyed, but today a small community of collectors hunts for the survivors.
| CONVERSATION STARTERS |
| Bold new museum: The Fondation Cartier’s new home opens in Paris next month, with Chris Dercon at its helm. Le Monde has called him “disruptive. ”What’s with all the beards? More men are putting down the razor, and our critic gets to the bottom of why. A morbid commodity: Charlie Kirk wore a white T-shirt with the word “Freedom” when he was killed. The internet has been flooded with replicas. Comeback stories: According to a new book, “all the coolest girls get fired.” |
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
‘The Pitt’ went back to TV basics
When HBO Max’s “The Pitt” beat out Apple TV+’s “Severance” for best drama at the Emmy Awards on Sunday, it sent a message that people wanted to watch something different on TV. The series centers on doctors, residents and nurses over the course of a day in a busy hospital struggling with costs.
For much of the last decade, the members of the Television Academy who vote on the awards have been selecting high-concept, high-budget prestige dramas. “Severance” feels made with that purpose, but “The Pitt” is a throwback to the network-style series that used to dominate television. It’s got a lower budget and a relatively unknown cast. An exception is Noah Wyle, who plays the weary Dr. Michael Robinavitch in the series; he won the Emmy for best lead actor in a drama. Here’s the full list of Emmy winners.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
Cook: Ras el hanout, a fragrant Moroccan spice blend, gives this chickpea and spinach stew its aromatic depth.
