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The plan started coming together inside a luxury box at MetLife Stadium.As the Premier League’s Chelsea was on its way to a shutout victory at the Club World Cup final in July, President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino were deep in discussion at the New Jersey sports complex outside New York City on another matter: where the draw for next year’s World Cup would be held.The high-drama spectacle decides which teams will face each other in the group stage of soccer’s most prestigious tournament, along with the schedule for competition. It was widely expected to unfold in Las Vegas, home to the 1994 draw when the U.S. last hosted the World Cup and a natural backdrop for glitz. But since at least March, officials had privately discussed bringing the draw to Washington, home to a showman president who regularly hugs the spotlight associated with sports.So during that July match in the stadium that will also host the final game of next year’s World Cup, Trump and Infantino agreed to get going on holding the draw in the U.S. capital namely, the Kennedy Center, another institution that Trump reshaped to his liking.“During that Club World Cup final, there was a real seriousness to well, look, if we’re going to do this, we’ve got to do it now,” Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA task force, told The Associated Press. “That’s when talks heated up between the president and Mr. Infantino in terms of getting this done.”The collaboration over the draw, slated for Dec. 5, illustrates the bond that has formed between Trump and Infantino, described by the U.S. president as “probably the most respected man in sports.” The relationship will come into even sharper focus as the World Cup approaches, jointly hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada.Tickets are now open to fans as major questions hang over the tournament, including how welcome visitors from some countries will be in the U.S. amid its immigration crackdown. Even as the White House pledges openness, Trump has added another uncertainty by suggesting he could move games from cities he thinks are unsafe. Trump and Infantino develop a deep alliance Despite his affinity for sports, Trump is known more for his ties to golf and football than soccer. But his awareness of the sport was spurred in part by his youngest son, Barron, who is such a soccer fan that he had a net in the first lady’s garden during Trump’s first term.Trump’s interest only grew when the U.S. won World Cup hosting rights in 2018. Nothing excites Trump like hosting a major event, and Giuliani recalled that, at the time, the president and his aides were almost wistful that he wouldn’t be in the White House when the tournament arrived, assuming he would be well into a post-presidency following an immediate second term.Shortly after the U.S. was awarded the tournament, Trump hosted Infantino at the White House. Infantino, who was also serving his first term as FIFA president, made an impression by handing Trump red and yellow penalty cards, joking they could be used on the press.The relationship flourished in 2020 as both men plotted their futures.During a dinner that January at the global economic summit in Davos, near FIFA’s home in Zurich, Infantino called the U.S. president “my great friend.” Trump, always appreciative of a compliment, responded by inviting Infantino to a White House signing event for the Abraham Accords, which sought to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab countries.The ceremony happened as Infantino was aligning FIFA’s sporting and commercial ties with Saudi Arabia and its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It followed a pattern of Infantino, much like Trump, cozying up to autocratic leaders.Infantino appeared to relish public meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin before, during and after that country hosted the 2018 World Cup. Visiting Putin at the Kremlin with a group of soccer greats during the tournament, Infantino said he felt “like a child in a toy shop” in Russia. He collected the Russian Order of Friendship from Putin the following year.Infantino would later relocate to Doha ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, emerging as a strong defender of the tiny Gulf state that was fiercely criticized for its treatment of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers needed to build essential stadiums, transport projects and hotels. Infantino’s connections to Biden were far more limited As the connection between Trump and Infantino deepened, Joe Biden dashed Trump’s hopes of staying in the White House. For the next four years, Infantino’s ties to Washington were far more limited. The two leaders had a brief meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022, a fleeting moment FIFA captured with one photo on its website.Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff also met with Infantino when he traveled for the Women’s World Cup in July 2023.Preparations for the World Cup under Biden were under the radar by design, according to one senior official for that administration who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Even though the administration had its own World Cup 2026 task force, Biden aides were aware of sensitivities surrounding large gatherings so soon after the COVID-19 pandemic.The Biden White House was also careful not to overtly promote a relationship with FIFA, which had sidelined the U.S. Soccer Federation in its traditional role in coordinating a home World Cup. Instead, it negotiates individually with each of the 11 U.S. host cities on security, ticketing and other matters.Infantino visited the White House while Biden was president at least once, meeting for about an hour in 2024 with then-national security adviser Jake Sullivan, an avid soccer fan. Biden officials emphasized to Infantino that they wanted to ensure the host cities ultimately benefited from holding World Cup matches and that the U.S.’s human rights values would be respected. Trump’s return sets stage for a ‘MAGA’ World Cup Trump’s disappointment about missing out on the World Cup would prove to be unfounded after he was elected to a second, nonconsecutive term last year.Since that victory, Infantino’s embrace of Trump has been gushing. He promptly congratulated him the day after Election Day, was at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s South Florida club, during the presidential transition and had a prime seat at his January inauguration. Trump called Infantino a “winner” in a video played at the Miami draw for the Club World Cup in December, which was attended by daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner.Meanwhile, FIFA has set up shop at Trump Tower in Manhattan, where Infantino worked last month as world leaders gathered nearby for the annual United Nations General Assembly. Infantino and Trump met again last week in New York, along with first lady Melania Trump, according to the FIFA president’s Instagram account.Infantino has teased the idea of Trump doing the draw himself, which Giuliani called the “MAGA-FIFA World Cup draw.”“Just like a great opera, there will be high drama,” Giuliani said.Infantino has had more public appearances with Trump than with any soccer officials from the sport’s heartlands of Europe and South America, according to the FIFA leader’s schedule and social media posts. He was late for his own FIFA Congress in Paraguay in Ma because he was with Trump and the Saudi crown prince in the Middle East, a move seen as disrespectful of his own voters and criticized by Europe’s soccer federations.During Infantino’s most recent appearance at Trump’s side in the Oval Office on Aug. 22, he took even some fellow soccer officials by surprise when he gifted a gold replica World Cup trophy to the U.S. president, saying it was “for winners only.”That handover was unexpected, according to one senior soccer official who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive dynamics. Even though it was a replica, the moment was still seen as a snub of World Cup tradition because Trump has held onto a trophy that is supposed to belong to the sport as a whole, not an individual person.A White House official said the trophy remains in the White House’s possession.No such offer was publicly extended by FIFA to Mexico’s President Claudia Scheinbaum or Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney. Infantino has not met with Carney this year and met Sheinbaum for the first time on Aug. 29.The episode is a reminder of how Infantino can shift with the moment. The man who remarked in Qatar on the eve of the World Cup in November 2022 that “today, I feel (like) a migrant worker” comments interpreted as solidarity with migrants was laughing along with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this year as they bantered about migrants being unable to scale the repainted wall on the U.S. southern border.Infantino has framed his close relationship with Trump as “crucial” to the success of the World Cup, a massive operation that relies on expansive cooperation with federal, state and local governments. Trump’s suggestion that he could move the host cities was a reminder that Infantino is working with a famously impulsive president whose whims could expose FIFA to logistical havoc and legal jeopardy if he followed through.Even without those threats, those involved with World Cup planning said the tournament’s stakes are high because it’s the first in a series of global sporting events hosted by the U.S., including the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.“This needs to go well in order to show the world that if you want to have the best sports and entertainment events, you want to have them in the United States,” said Alex Lasry, CEO of the New York/New Jersey host committee. “I don’t think it’s unusual for a White House to be coordinating and be involved, and I don’t think it’s unusual for the heads of state and for the president to be excited and to be talking about a mega event coming here.” Dunbar reported from Geneva. Seung Min Kim and Graham Dunbar, Associated Press
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For actors, its the Golden Globes. Musicians, its the Grammys. Now, content creators have their own award to aspire to. Introducing Instagram Rings. As social medias place in the entertainment ecosystem grows, the new award program from Instagram is meant to honor those creatives who dont just participate in culture – but shift it, break through whatever barrier holds them back to realize their ambitions, according to a blog post about the launch. Judged by a panel of creatives spanning fashion and makeup to sports and entertainment, each nominated their own longlist of favorite creators and voted on which 25 of Instagrams three billion users will be among the first to receive the honor. The panel includes Instagram chief Adam Mosseri, filmmaker Spike Lee, designers Marc Jacobs and Grace Wales Bonner, tech influencer Marques Brownlee, and others. As well as a physical ring designed by Wales Bonner, the winners also received a unique digital golden ring for their Instagram profile and Stories. When we thought about how to bring this to life, we wanted winners to be celebrated in a way thats uniquely Instagram, the blog post explained. We know the profile is an important space for creators to show who they are and what theyre about – so when winners post a story, an exclusive gold ring will show up around their profile picture, in place of the usual Stories ring. The soon-to-be-announced winners will also have a chance to customize their profile backdrop color and show off their creativity with their own twist on the like button. The photo sharing platform has been busy this year, dropping new features at breakneck speed. Just this year, theres been the Blend feature launch, followed by the Maps feature, the Schools feature. Instagram is also rolling out the first official iPad app. Most recently came the news that Reels may soon become the new default tab upon opening the app. But as the platform leans into Content with a capital C, with the ability to post a simple photo now obfuscated with endless customization options, the app has come a long way from when a grainy snap of your morning coffee was worthy of a main grid post.
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A group of countries that are part of the OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries has agreed to a small boost in oil production, citing a steady global economic outlook. The group said after a virtual meeting on Sunday that it will raise oil production by 137,000 barrels per day in November, the same amount it announced for October. The group has been raising output slightly in a series of boosts all year, after announcing cuts in 2023 and 2024. In a statement, the group said the move was due to a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals. It added the production adjustments may be paused or reversed as market conditions evolve. Saudi Arabia holds significant influence in OPEC+ as the dominant member of the OPEC producers cartel, and Russia is the leading non-OPEC member in the 22-country alliance. Along with Saudi Arabia and Russia, the group that met Sunday is made up of Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman. Their next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 2.
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E-Commerce
The AI arms race turned a new page on Monday, as OpenAI and chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced that the two have agreed to a new partnership to create new data centers powered by AMDs chips. The deal could also see OpenAI take a roughly 10% stake in AMD. Specifically, the partnership sees OpenAI committing to buying 6 gigawatts of AMD GPU chips, with the initial gigawatt deployment scheduled for the second half of 2026. The deal will ultimately see OpenAI deploy the remaining gigawatts over multiple years and multiple hardware generations. The deal also sees AMD issuing a warrant for as many as 160 million shares of AMD stock to OpenAI. Those shares are structured to vest in the event that specific milestones are achieved, the company said. The deal was a hit on Wall Street, as AMD shares hit the stratosphereat the market open on Monday, shares briefly topped $220.44, an increase of more than 34% from pre-trading. As of roughly 11 am ET, however, shares had fallen slightly but were still up more than 27%. This partnership is a major step in building the compute capacity needed to realize AIs full potential, said Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, in a company release. AMDs leadership in high-performance chips will enable us to accelerate progress and bring the benefits of advanced AI to everyone faster. AMDs leadership echoed the sentiment. We are thrilled to partner with OpenAI to deliver AI computers at a massive scale, said Dr. Lisa Su, chair and CEO of AMD, in a corresponding release. This partnership brings the best of AMD and OpenAI together to create a true win-win, enabling the worlds most ambitious AI buildout and advancing the entire AI ecosystem. The partnerships announcement arrives as the AI arms race continues to heat up. AMD finds itself playing catch-up with Nvidia, which has taken a dominant role in the space, particularly as it comes to developing, manufacturing, and deploying AI chips. But there is a clear hunger in the market for more computing power. As such, Nvidia and AMD could feel pressure from other burgeoning players, such as Google and Amazon, who are working on AI chips of their own. OpenAI also partnered with Broadcom to build in-house chips starting next year. Notably, OpenAI also recently announced a deal with Nvidia, which called for Nvidia to invest as much as $100 billion in OpenAIbut that deal has not yet been completed.
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E-Commerce
Verizon just announced that its current CEO, Hans Vestberg, is stepping downand the wireless carrier is pulling another seasoned leader out of retirement to take its helm. In a press release published on October 6, Verizon announced that former PayPal CEO Dan Schulman will be leading the company, effective immediately. In the meantime, Vestberg (who has held the title since 2018) will stay on as a special adviser at the company until October 4, 2026. Schulman has served on Verizons board of directors since 2018, and was elected lead independent director in December 2024. Dan is a seasoned and decisive leader with a unique set of experiences, and a proven record of transformative leadership and operational excellence, Mark Bertolini, Verizons board chair, said in the press release. He is the right leader to chart Verizon’s next phase of increased customer focus and financial growth. The leadership change comes during a promising moment for Verizon: This July, the company raised its annual profit forecast from $0.15 billion to $2 billion thanks to a favorable U.S. tax reform. Currently, Verizons main focus is on bulking up its internet services to compete with rivals like AT&T and T-Mobile. Heres what to know about Schulman as he steps in at Verizon. His most recent job was CEO of PayPal Schulmans most recent high-profile gig was at PayPal, where he served as president and CEO from 2014 to 2023. During that time, he tripled the companys revenue from $8 billion to $30 billion, all the while advocating for Wall Street leaders to use their financial power for good. If you look at the state of our country today, its clear that capitalism needs an upgrade, Schulman told attendees at a gala in 2020, per a Fast Company profile at the time. People dont believe that the system is working for them. For democracy to flourish, you need to rise above your own self-interest. But how can you rise above your own self-interest when you are struggling to make ends meet every day? The solution, he argued, was for business leaders to stand for more than just making money on behalf of shareholders. He runs a ranch in his off-time In February 2023, Schulman announced his retirement and officially moved on from PayPal in December of that year. Since then, hes served on various companies boardsincluding Cisco, Lazard, and JUST Capitalpositions that, per his LinkedIn, hes balanced with plenty of off-time at his familys Montana ranch, which is home to more than 500 cattle. Now, it seems, hes walking back his retirement to take the lead at Verizon. He has a long history in the C-suite Before his legendary run at PayPal, Schulman spent decades rising through the executive ranks at various other companies. He held leadership positions at AT&T, Priceline.com, Virgin Mobile USA, and American Express, to name a few. He has a recognizable uniform Plenty of CEOs have a go-to outfit. Schulmans is a bit different from the black turtleneck variety: He’s most commonly seen in a pair of light-wash jeans and cowboy boots.
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E-Commerce
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