Two US foes join forces—and threaten to further destabilize the Middle East

 1. FROM MY DESK

Two implacable U.S. foes have locked into an unlikely marriage of convenience. Yemen’s Houthi rebels and al-Shabaab—al Qaeda’s wealthiest affiliate—were long divided by sectarian lines. But shared hatred of the West and a trade of weapons, training and cash have brought them together.

Michael M. Phillips explains how a single broker helped set this alliance in motion before a U.S. airstrike killed him. His legacy is a dangerous partnership that threatens a strategic maritime chokepoint for the global oil trade and risks further destabilizing the Middle East.

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2. TODAY’S HEADLINES

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned following months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.Mine warfare with Iran is hampering U.S. efforts to win control over the Strait of Hormuz.Ukraine’s growing ability to strike deep inside Russia is thanks to long-range drones such as the Mammoth, which can fly 1,500 miles.A last-minute bid by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to reduce electric utilities’ wildfire liabilities failed in the state legislature after an outcry from survivors.A former Crips gang leader was convicted of murder for orchestrating the drive-by killing ‌of hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas three decades ago.The FTC sued Amazon, alleging the e-commerce giant deceived advertisers by secretly raising the minimum price they had to pay to place ads promoting their products. Here’s how the FTC says the practice worked.

3. LIVE FROM THE MARKETS

The SEC has stepped up its examinations of firms behind so-called special purpose vehicles that purport to offer exposure to private company investments.Anthropic has signed a cloud-computing deal worth $35 billion with Nvidia-backed cloud provider Lambda, with Nvidia itself holding the lease on the data center.Jersey Mike’s is winning the sandwich war. But it still needs to win over Gen Z, writes David Wainer.

4. READ IT HERE FIRST

A Brazilian billionaire helped shape Trump’s beef import plan.

Rising beef prices have been a vexing conundrum for the Trump administration. The president’s decision to temporarily waive tariffs on foreign beef was meant to cool grocery bills—but it infuriated American farmers, ranchers and the Republicans fighting for their votes in coming midterms. The day before the announcement, Brazilian billionaire Joesley Batista—who shares control of JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker—lobbied President Trump to lower the import tax. It isn’t the first time JBS has helped to shape the administration’s views, report Patrick Thomas, Natalie Andrews and Brian Schwartz. The company is among four major meatpackers under Justice Department investigation over possible anticompetitive behavior. The companies have denied any wrongdoing.

5.

Seattle and D.C. are bucking the trend by attracting families with kids.

Most big, expensive cities are seeing a fall in child numbers as families struggle to cover the cost of living. The opposite is happening in Seattle and Washington, D.C., two pricey coastal cities diverging from the broader demographic trajectory. The number of kids rose 10% in both places, even as it fell in most other similar cities. Seattle and D.C. have vast differences, but possess a few common ingredients that seem to have spurred their growing population of children: high-paying jobs and decent local schools, report Rachel Louise Ensign and Paul Overberg.