An Upbeat Dr. Doom.

AI-enabled price-fixing.

---

---

1. Analysts and intelligence experts warned Sunday that wider efforts may be underway by foreign powers to disrupt the U.S. presidential election, after the Trump campaign said it believed its email systems had been breached by hackers working for Iran. So far, two Democratic House members who have served on intelligence and security committees have called for briefings and for declassification of information related to the possible foreign interference in the election. The Trump campaign announcement came after it received questions from news organizations about an internal vetting document on vice-presidential candidate JD Vance that had been sent to the outlets. (Source: washingtonopost.com)

---

2. American commandos are scrambling to contain a resurgence of Islamic State where the militant group once imposed its violent religious fervor on vast territories and millions of people. Islamic State is mustering forces in Syria’s Badiya desert, training young recruits to become suicide bombers, directing attacks on allied troops and preparing to resurrect its dream of ruling an Islamist caliphate, according to officers from the U.S. and the Syrian Democratic Forces, Kurdish-led troops whom the U.S. helped to defeat the militant group five years ago. Militant fighters have doubled their pace of attacks in Syria and Iraq this year. They have targeted security checkpoints, detonated car bombs and plotted to free thousands of comrades jailed since the SDF and a U.S.-headed Western coalition recaptured the last Islamic State-held town. (Source: wsj.com)

---

3. The Israeli military on Sunday ordered civilians to evacuate from part of the humanitarian zone it had set up in southwestern Gaza, saying it was planning to fight in the area because Hamas had “embedded terrorist infrastructure” there. It was the latest in a string of evacuations ordered by the Israeli military in 10 months of war, and it came a day after Israel gave a similar explanation — that Hamas fighters were hiding among civilians — for a strike on a school-turned-shelter that the local authorities said killed dozens of people. (Sources: telegram.com, nytimes.com)

---

4. The U.S. is pursuing a long-shot bid to push Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to give up power in exchange for amnesty as overwhelming evidence emerges that the strongman lost last month’s election, people familiar with the matter said. The U.S. has discussed pardons for Maduro and top lieutenants of his who face Justice Department indictments, said three people familiar with the Biden administration deliberation. One of the people said the U.S. has put “everything on the table” to persuade Maduro to leave before his term ends in January. Another person familiar with the talks said the U.S. would be open to providing guarantees not to pursue those regime figures for extradition. The U.S. in 2020 placed a $15 million bounty for information leading to Maduro’s arrest on charges of conspiring with his allies to flood the U.S. with cocaine. (Source: wsj.com)