Good morning. Germany’s Social Democrats snatched a narrow regional election victory over the far-right Alternative for Germany yesterday, winning Chancellor Olaf Scholz an unexpected reprieve from calls that he allow someone else to lead the party into the next national election.

Today, we set out the stakes for Europe at the UN this week, and report on a decision by Brussels not to block oil drilling that endangers Greek marine life.

Crunch time

World leaders are descending on New York for the UN’s General Assembly this week for a session billed as particularly pivotal amid uncertainty over the future of support for Ukraine and global climate policy, writes Alice Hancock.

Context: Delegates from the UN’s 193 members are gathering against a backdrop of deepening conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, trade tensions, and increasing desperation over the state of the planet’s health.

Ahead of the gathering, UN secretary-general António Guterres warned that “global institutions and frameworks are today totally inadequate” to deal with the “complex and even existential challenges”, and said he hoped to rally leaders behind a “vision for the future”.

But the UN is not a decision-making body, and the gathering can only signal opinions on the global state of affairs through resolutions. Bilateral meetings and chatter in the corridors are often far more consequential.

For Ukraine, it could be a defining week for the future of global support, two and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address UNGA on Wednesday, before travelling to Washington DC to meet US President Joe Biden in a last-ditch attempt to persuade Biden to back a “victory plan” before his presidency ends in January.

“This is a historical mission,” Zelenskyy told reporters last week. Zelenskyy will also meet US presidential candidate Donald Trump. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend UNGA.

Today, the G7 and EU foreign ministers meet together with the bloc’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell to discuss Ukraine and the destruction of its energy sector from Russian strikes. Another hot topic: whether the EU will lift its restrictions on Ukraine using western weapons to hit Russian military targets.

In back rooms elsewhere, harried climate envoys will use the last major global event before the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan this November to prepare a deal. The hope is that countries can agree on a figure for long-term climate finance in Baku, and sustain momentum on the phaseout of fossil fuels.

But European officials are not optimistic.

A European diplomat said that the talks so far had been “horribly not promising with unfortunately outsize expectations from developing countries”.

Chart du jour: Consequences

The world has experienced its hottest three-month period to August on record, with extreme weather causing floods in Europe. Meanwhile, the EU’s chief climate scientist has warned the EU will miss its climate targets if it does not force farmers to pay for emissions.

Hands off

The European Commission will not pursue a complaint by environmental NGOs about Greece approving oil and gas projects near protected natural sites, endangering whales, dolphins and loggerhead turtles, writes Daria Mosolova.

Context: ClientEarth, WWF and Greenpeace filed a complaint with the commission in December last year, urging Brussels to take action against Greece for what they say are breaches of EU climate laws in favour of offshore drilling.

In an official reply seen by the Financial Times, the commission said it would not. As the guardian of the EU treaties, the commission can open infringement proceedings against member states breaching EU law. But it argued that in individual cases of transgressions, it was up to national authorities to act.

“The European Commission is the guardian and enforcer of EU laws yet their reply suggests an unwillingness to engage,” said ClientEarth lawyer Francesco Maletto.

“It is clear, in the present case, the national court is not safeguarding EU law, but rather endorsing a blatant disregard of its obligations,” he added with regard to a previous decision by a Greek court.

EU rules on offshore oil and gas drilling require national authorities to assess the environmental impact of such projects on marine life in protected areas, known as Natura 2000 sites, before approving them.

According to climate activists, Greece has over the years granted at least six oil and gas companies concessions for damaging activities in the Hellenic Trench, a recognised biodiversity reservoir.

Researchers at WWF Greece have also warned that offshore drilling could compromise some of the country’s best-known tourist destinations, including the islands of Corfu, Zakynthos and Crete.

The number of infringement cases opened by the commission has declined in recent years, raising concerns from environmentalists that a more hands-off approach could scupper the union’s long-term climate goals.

The commission did not respond to a request for comment.

What to watch today

1. EU and western partners hold sanctions co-ordination forum in Brussels.

2. EU agriculture and fisheries ministers meet.

Now read these

Claim:

Photos shared online in August and September 2024 authentically showed a young Kamala Harris in revealing clothes, working as an escort.

Rating:

In August 2024, social media users spread a rumor that three images circulating online showed a young Kamala Harris working as an “escort” while wearing a series of revealing outfits. One caption claimed staffers in San Francisco had revealed that the vice president was once “an escort for judges, politicians, and various powerful businessmen to sway court cases and help push leftist policies in the state.”

The three photos can be seen in two X posts below, the first of which was posted in mid-September (the photo on the left is repeated in both posts).

(X user @AmyKremer)

(X user @ArmaLite15OU812)

Although it was not possible to find an authentic source for the photographs, one expert theorized the pictures were low-quality images that did not feature Harris at all. There was also no evidence Harris was ever an “escort,” as the captions claimed. Considering these points, and several others outlined below, the photos and associated claims have been rated as false.

Using numerous reverse-image search tools, we determined the photos appeared to start spreading on Facebook, Instagram, X and 4chan in early August, not long after Harris formally declared her candidacy for president.

A Reddit post (archived) and a Facebook post credited the images to a “Glenn Sparks” on Facebook; however, the pictures could not be found on Sparks’ account. The latter Facebook post said the photo showed Harris in the 1980s “with Montel Williams (a television host and actor) at some awards show.”

Analyzing Each Photograph

Starting with the second pair of photos featuring a woman in slightly different black and purple outfits, the individual carried a small resemblance to the vice president but, upon viewing, did not appear to be Harris.

Hany Farid, a professor who specialized in digital forensics and image analysis at the University of California, Berkeley, looked at the images to determine whether artificial intelligence or photo editing software had been used to place Harris’ head onto another woman’s body, or whether any other manipulation had occurred.

Farid, who analyzed both the photographs featuring the woman in black, said: “It is a pretty low-quality image, making an analysis difficult. But, I don’t find any obvious signs that the image is AI-generated. I think it is more likely that this is a cheap fake and the person just isn’t [Harris].”

He also ran the photo on the right through a facial biometric system and found it did not match Harris at all. He created a gif, seen below, comparing Harris’ face to that of the woman in one of the photographs. Even if it was a much younger image of Harris, the ear shape and structure did not align, and neither did the eyes.

“I [aligned] the face in the photo to a recent photo of Harris and you can see that there are significant differences in the shape of the ear (while not unique, ear shape/structure has been used as a biometric),” he said.

(Hany Farid)

Farid also used the facial biometric system on the woman in the red dress, from the first pair of photos, and found it matched with Harris. However, he explained: “This is most likely a simple photoshop manipulation, but the image is too low resolution/quality for me to say anything definitive.”

Snopes then ran the images through AI detectors, Winston AI and IsitAI, both of which suggested the images of the woman in the black and purple outfits were human-generated, though they were conflicted on the origin of the woman in the red dress. IsitAI said it was likely human-generated, while Winston AI said it was likely AI-generated.

Why Each Image Is Rated ‘False’

The posts containing the images did not include any links to authentic reporting on the photos, nor details of their origin, nor credible evidence other than the low-quality pictures themselves, making the images immediately suspect.

If there was any truth to the claims Harris was an “escort,” or to these photographs, both would be eminently newsworthy and mainstream media outlets would have investigated them. However, there was no evidence of news outlets reporting on Harris being an escort, or stating the images were authentic. Furthermore, if these were pictures of a young Harris, the photographs would have been more widespread before August 2024.

Snopes, the BBC and MSNBC have all previously reported on other authentic photos of Harris in the 1980s, none of which looked like the above three photos.

We also reached out to other experts to determine whether there were any potential manipulations in the images, as well as to the Harris campaign to get their response. We will update this article if we learn more.

False claims about Harris have proliferated ever since she became a presidential nominee, many focusing on her race and gender. Such racist and misogynist speech is common during political campaigns. In the past, we covered the false claim that Harris could not run for president because her parents were foreign-born.

Sources:

‘College Pics of Kamala Harris Help Highlight Her Black Greek History’. MSNBC.Com, 5 Aug. 2024, https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/kamala-harris-alpha-kappa-alpha-sorority-howard-rcna164185.” target=”blank”>https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/kamala-harris-alpha-kappa-alpha-sorority-howard-rcna164185.”>https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/kamala-harris-alpha-kappa-alpha-sorority-howard-rcna164185. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.

Evon, Dan. “Snopes Tips: A Guide To Performing Reverse Image Searches.” Snopes, 22 Mar. 2022, https://www.snopes.com//articles/400681/how-to-perform-reverse-image-searches/.” target=”blank”>https://www.snopes.com//articles/400681/how-to-perform-reverse-image-searches/.”>https://www.snopes.com//articles/400681/how-to-perform-reverse-image-searches/. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.

“Hate Speech Targets Kamala Harris on Social Media – DW – 08/07/2024.” Dw.Com, https://www.dw.com/en/kamala-harris-battles-hate-speech-and-false-claims-online/a-69872700. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.

Ibrahim, Nur. “Kamala Harris Is Eligible to Run for US President, Despite Parents Being Foreign-Born.” Snopes, 5 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/harris-president-foreign-parents/.” target=”blank”>https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/harris-president-foreign-parents/.”>https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/harris-president-foreign-parents/. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.

‘Kamala Harris and a 1986 Snapshot of That Howard Generation’. BBC News, 20 Jan. 2021. www.bbc.co.uk, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55690001.” target=”blank”>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55690001.”>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55690001. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.

PerryCook, Taija. ‘Authentic Pic of Kamala Harris in the ’80s?’ Snopes, 29 July 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/kamala-harris-photo-from-the-1980s/.” target=”blank”>https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/kamala-harris-photo-from-the-1980s/.”>https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/kamala-harris-photo-from-the-1980s/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.

Wrona, Aleksandra. “Fake Photo Supposedly Shows Hitler Once Posed Like Trump After Assassination Attempt.” Snopes, 8 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-hitler-photo/.” target=”blank”>https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-hitler-photo/.”>https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-hitler-photo/. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.

Marriott

This hotel– Asher Adams– was named after the first cartographers to depict railroad lines on their maps. It is the new luxury hotel, transforming the historic 1908 Union Pacific railroad passenger station into a 225-room Marriott Autograph Collection hotel.  

Located in The Gateway, a large, open-air retail, residential, and office complex in Salt Lake City, Utah, it is centered on the historic Union Pacific Depot now transformed into the new hotel Marriott Asher Adams on the west side of downtown Salt Lake City.  Asher Adams is just steps from the TRAX Light Rail and the Delta Center, the place where the Utah Jazz Basketball Team plays, and with quick access to Temple Square, the SLC International Airport, and surrounding amenities.

Paying homage to the building’s history, Marriott transformed the former Union Pacific Depot into a fresh new space, serving as the first luxury lifestyle hotel of its kind in Salt Lake City.  The hotel will feature three bars and signature restaurant, Rouser, which will be host to an upscale menu cooked with charcoal grilling techniques, paying tribute to the coal-powered train engines. 

THKS Architects and JNS Design further repurposed the historic boundaries of the old train station with a preservation-driven design. They preserved the train station’s French empire architecture as it brings the new hotel space into the 21st Century.  The sandstone building was originally architected in the French Second Empire style and included a terrazzo floor and stained-glass windows. What remains, among other architectural details, are two upper wall murals —one called Driving The Golden Spike by San Francisco artist John MacQuarrie in 1909, depicting the driving of the Golden Spike north of Salt Lake City at Promontory Summit, signifying the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. The other mural on the opposite side of the building is called Emigrants Entering Salt Lake Valley, by John MacQuarrie & August C. Wocker, completed in 1909. It shows the 1847 arrival of Mormon pioneers, traveling through Emigrant Canyon into what is now Salt Lake City. Both can be seen in the Asher Adam’s Grand Hall.  

The Asher Adam’s commitment to preserve architectural heritage while embracing the highest level of modern hospitality can also be felt from the original stained-glass windows to the grand lobby. Inspired by the connecting railways through Utah that brought a new cultural identity to the region, the property will continue by also being home to an array of contemporary artists, and further interior design details that add Salt Lake history to this contemporary building, which was once The Union Depot, or Union Pacific Depot building as it became known in 1921. It functioned as a railroad station well into the 1970s and for a short time was an Amtrak station as well. But now, it has been redesigned into a Marriott Autograph hotel, combining an historic past with a lively present. 

Also, Asher Adams’ culinary concepts bring new offerings to Salt Lake City. From the dishes to the décor, the building’s history will be apparent throughout the dining experience. Inspired by the coal-fueled train engines, the grill, oven, and rotisserie will be charcoal-inspired, to impart historic flavor throughout.  As further homage to train dining, the property’s culinary concepts are all designed to emulate the function of the dining car. Rouser is the signature restaurant, as mentioned above, is the fine-dining restaurant, and a homage to the dining car where train guests gather for an upscale meal. Counterpart is another dining experience, emulating the club car, designed for a quick meal or coffee. Finally, the bar car— focuses on the three on-property bars including Bar at Asher Adams & No.119. Whether guests are looking for a whiskey tasting or a charcoal-grilled seafood meal, the property’s culinary offerings will allow the past to inform the present in terms of culinary experience.

Finally, the location of Asher Adams is also important, as it appears to be close to many entertainment venues.  Situated across from The Delta Center, guests at Asher Adams will have access to entertainment from Utah Jazz games to Park City – forty minutes away– with the many Sundance Film Festival theaters. The guests will also be near the City Creek Center, and shopping at luxury stores from Nordstrom, Louis Vuitton to Tiffany & Co to Swarovski.  

As the Peter Allen song goes, “Everything Old Is New Again.”  It is certainly well-defined by this past informing the present Marriott Hotel space.

Marriott

The Grand Lobby

Guest suite

Rouser Fine Dining Restaurant, Marriott Asher Adams

1.4K

Fanatics, a sports apparel company, makes large profits by paying teams big for licensing and then selling a cheap, inferior product. Criticism of quality issues has yet to hurt its market share, however, as reported by Slate in March 2024.

The company holds critical apparel licensing partnerships with four major North American professional sports leagues, as well as numerous college athletic programs. Fanatics manufactures its own apparel, including game uniforms, and also sells products from other companies. The company has an evaluation of $31 billion, and had a projected $8 billion in internal revenue production, per CNBC. 

Fanatics has been under scrutiny as of late due to their poor spring training uniforms for Major League Baseball. These uniforms have poor patching, see-through pants, and overall have a bootleg look. This has led to certain teams, such as the Cincinnati Reds, to revert to last year’s pants, which were made by Majestic instead of Fanatics, per The Athletic. Despite this debacle, Fanatics remains Nike’s supplier for the MLB. 

Beyond this, Fanatics has problems supplying fans with goods they ordered. One customer on X (@SeanDeitrick) wrote on March 4, 2024, “Welp, @Fanatics just canceled my Christmas present today: a World Series baseball autographed by Adolis Garcia. Hope they enjoyed having my money for three months interest free for selling something they apparently never had. So bummed. So, so bummed”. This is an experience that is unfortunately shared by many fans but is largely unavoidable as Fanatics holds much of the licensing required to sell such goods. Getting the product from another company is either not an option or significantly more expensive. 

As for corporate coverage of the topic, nothing really captures the full picture like this Slate article has. Several articles, such as this NBC Sports article, have covered issues with Fanatics products, including their baseball pants and the complaints of MLB players who have to wear them. ESPN also posted an article about how a rival card company, Panini, sued Fanatics for being a monopoly—however, this focuses on Fanatics at the corporate licensing level and does not include information on their poor products. 

Given that NCAA athletes now have the theoretical right to earn corporate profits from Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals, the corporate bad actor already raking in the profits from their sweat deserves greater scrutiny—even from non-sports fans. “The company fits into the trend of enshittification, which happens when a company builds up a huge consumer base, then sells out its users in service of its business clients,” Kirshner concluded.

Source: Alex Kirshner, “It’s Time for Fanatics to Get Grilled by Congress,” Slate, March 7, 2024. 

Student Researcher: Duncan Kammar (Frostburg State University) 

Faculty Evaluator: Andy Duncan (Frostburg State University)

This is an audio transcript of the FT News Briefing podcast episode: ‘Looming US port strikes threaten supply chain’

Kasia Broussalian
Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Monday, September 23rd, and this is your FT News Briefing.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Germany’s centre left squeaked out a win yesterday and businesses are bracing for a major strike across US ports next week. Plus, one of the fastest growing AI companies wants to bump Google up its advertising perch. I’m Kasia Broussalian, and here’s the news you need to start your day.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Germany’s Social Democrats were breathing a huge sigh of relief on Sunday night. In Brandenburg state elections, the party won a very narrow lead over its biggest rival, the far-right Alternative for Deutschland. This win is a big deal because Brandenburg is a social democratic stronghold. The party has ruled the state for more than 30 years. It’s also where German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lives, and Scholz is having a tough time these days. His approval ratings are rock bottom. Some Social Democrats have even privately said that he should step aside rather than run for a second term as chancellor. That way, someone more popular could step in for elections next year. But yesterday’s results might just be enough to silence some of his critics — at least for now.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Workers at dozens of ports on the east coast of the US could be going on strike next week. Negotiations between the ports and the union representing the longshoremen have completely stalled. And if workers walk off the job, the effect could be devastating for supply chains. I’m joined now by the FT’s Taylor Nicole Rogers to talk about what a strike might mean for the US economy. Hey, Taylor.

Taylor Nicole Rogers
Hi. It’s so great to be back.

Kasia Broussalian
Great to have you. So what are the main sticking points when it comes to negotiations?

Taylor Nicole Rogers
This is all coming down to two big things. One, of course, is pay. And the other big thing is automation. There are not a lot of automated tools on the east coast and gulf coast ports compared to the west coast ports. And the union really wants to keep it that way. Of course, the port operators would like to do something different. And that is where negotiations broke down over the summer. And that’s the big reason why they haven’t gone back to the table since.

Kasia Broussalian
So these workers, they essentially don’t want robots taking over their jobs?

Taylor Nicole Rogers
Basically, yes.

Kasia Broussalian
And how close are we to a strike?

Taylor Nicole Rogers
The port operators in the union last met in June, and there’s been some talk about coming back to the table. But pretty much things are at a complete standstill. And US President Joe Biden said last week that he would not intercede if the workers decide to strike. So that really brought the level of fear of the business community to a fever pitch this past week. So unless something major changes, the dockworkers will be walking out on October 1st. And that means that every US port from Maine to Texas would shut down. And together those ports account for the overwhelming majority of all of the cargo that comes into and out of the United States.

Kasia Broussalian
Wow. And now, obviously, a work stoppage at the level that you’re describing here, it can’t go unnoticed. So just how disruptive could these strikes get?

Taylor Nicole Rogers
Well, a lot of retailers and manufacturers actually saw this coming. So they worked really hard to bring in a lot of the things that we need for Christmas earlier in the year. So Christmas will not be ruined. But what could happen is that businesses will have to start paying more to ship their cargo. And that will push prices up. And, you know, I was talking to some economists earlier and they were saying that supply chain issues were one of the big, big causes of the inflation that we’ve been dealing with over the past couple of years. And the fact that the supply chain has really been freed up has really helped bring inflation down. And so they’re worried that if shipping prices keep going up because people are freaking out about a strike or because there actually is a strike, consumer prices will go back up.

Kasia Broussalian
Taylor Nicole Rogers is a labour correspondent for the FT. Thanks, Taylor.

Taylor Nicole Rogers
Thanks, Kasia.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Kasia Broussalian
US chipmaker Qualcomm has reached out to its competitor, Intel, about a possible takeover. Now, no formal offer has actually been made, but it would be the biggest tech deal in history. Intel’s problems are no secret in Silicon Valley. In August, the company lost $30bn in market value after a disastrous earnings report. And it also announced painful job cuts — 15,000 workers. So the possibility of a buyout isn’t exactly out of the question, but there are a lot of hurdles. For starters, regulators would likely make a big fuss over antitrust concerns. Any deal would have to be pitched as a bid to strengthen the US in its chip race with China. And secondly, it’s not even clear how Qualcomm could pay for a full takeover. So a deal is definitely not a sure bet at this time.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

All right, Cristina. So I have the app Perplexity up right in front of me. What do you think I should ask it?

Cristina Criddle
Maybe you should ask if Perplexity is going to take over Google in the search ads business.

Kasia Broussalian
All right. Perplexity is an AI powered search engine that, let’s be honest, you’ve probably never heard of.

Perplexity audio clip
Perplexity AI is gaining traction as a potential alternative to Google due to its ad-free and precise search capabilities, but it is not currently positioned to overtake Google in the ad search business.

Kasia Broussalian
All right. It’s hedging a little bit. But the San Francisco start-up has big ambitions. So, Cristina, there’s actually something interesting going on here. I’m just looking at my answer. And then there’s this list of sort of related questions that follows just below. And that’s something that I’ve actually never seen before in a search engine.

Cristina Criddle
Yeah. These are called follow-up questions. Perplexity uses them as additional prompts. Things that you might want to find out that are related to your question. And this is where Perplexity wants to put ads in.

Kasia Broussalian
And Perplexity is attracting a lot of attention. Here to tell us about just how much of a threat it is to Google is the FT’s Cristina Criddle. Hey, Cristina.

Cristina Criddle
Hi.

Kasia Broussalian
So how is Perplexity trying to shake up the digital ad market?

Cristina Criddle
Well, Perplexity is trying to introduce advertising into its search AI product. We have a lot of AI products and search engines out there, but not many of them have ads in them yet. So I think Perplexity wants to redesign what the search ads business looks like. It’s a very different format. And they want to really challenge what Google has created on the traditional Google search. So the way that Perplexity wants to do it is to have these ads feature in the follow-up questions.

So, for example, if I wanted to promote a sparkling water brand, one of the questions I could ask is: Is sparkling water better than still water? And it would have a logo next to it of a suitable brand. It would generate just as the AI would normally respond. But the difference here is that the brand gets to sign off on the answer to make sure that it’s safe, that it doesn’t say anything that doesn’t align with its brand values. And they also pay for it, obviously.

Kasia Broussalian
Are brands showing any interest in partnering with Perplexity on this?

Cristina Criddle
Perplexity has been trying to target quite premium brands. Its user base is from quite high-GDP countries. And some of the brands that they’re in discussions with are people like Nike and Marriott. But as far as I know, no deals have been officially made yet.

Kasia Broussalian
And, you know, the goal here is for Perplexity to eventually take a pretty big bite out of Google. But Google kind of holds the keys to the kingdom when it comes to the digital ad space. So what sort of weaknesses does Perplexity see here?

Cristina Criddle
Since ChatGPT came out, there’s obviously been a huge amount of hype and excitement for generative AI, and that’s the type of AI that you see in perplexity and that you see in AI search engines. A few companies have launched AI search. Microsoft has done this with Bing, and they’ve started trying to monetise it a little bit. Google has launched AI search now, but they’ve not monetised it yet either, and they also won’t release figures on how widely it’s used. I think as the incumbent it has the most to lose here, and it’s trying to tread very carefully. A start-up like complexity can be more flexible, more nimble and make those business decisions a bit faster. But when Google does decide to jump, I think that’s really when we have to sit up and take notice.

Kasia Broussalian
Yeah. So then in the end, do you think that Perplexity can break through and challenge Google in the digital ad space?

Cristina Criddle
It’s still unclear. Perplexity does have quite a strong user base and it is growing very quickly, but so far we’ve yet to see it really take over. We’ve yet to see it really monetise either. By and large, Google is the biggest player in the search business. Its search business has grown 14 per cent in the last three months to June compared to the same period the year before. And the consumer behaviour of going to AI for search is still very nascent and we don’t know if that’s going to take off yet. But upstarts like Perplexity, they’ve still got a lot to prove.

Kasia Broussalian
Cristina Criddle writes about technology for the FT. Thanks, Cristina.

Cristina Criddle
Thank you.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Kasia Broussalian
You can read more on all of these stories for free when you click the links in our shownotes. This has been your daily FT News Briefing. Make sure you check back tomorrow for the latest business news.

Former President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he doesn’t “think” he’d run again for president in 2028 if he falls short in his bid to return to the White House in 2024.

“No, I don’t. I think that will be, that will be it,” Trump said when journalist Sharyl Attkisson asked him if he’d run again.

The comment was notable both because Trump seemed to rule out a fourth bid for the White House and because he rarely admits the possibility he could legitimately lose an election. Trump normally insists that could only happen if there were widespread cheating, a false allegation he made in 2020 and he’s preemptively made again during his 2024 presidential campaign.

Trump would be 82 in 2028, a year older than President Joe Biden is now. Biden bowed out of the race in July following his disastrous debate performance and months of being hammered by Trump and other conservatives as being too old and erratic for the job.

Attkisson interviewed Trump for her show “Full Measure.” Also during the 22-minute interview, Trump defended his record on the coronavirus pandemic. He took credit for the development of the COVID-19 vaccines developed during his presidency while also saying “they’re doing studies on the vaccines and we’re going to find out” if they are safe.

Trump said Republicans have become skeptical about the vaccines even as Democrats trust them.

The statement about 2028 came at the very end of the interview, which also included a question about how Trump stays in good health. “I try and eat properly,” the former president said, drawing an incredulous reaction from Attkisson, who noted that Trump has become infamous for his fondness for hamburgers.

“Proper hamburgers,” Trump said.