AI and Drone Warfare in Ukraine, the “Trump Riviera” Gaza Plan, aVenezuelan Boat
A Ukrainian soldier loads ammunition onto a drone during drone training at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on September 3, 2025.
A Ukrainian soldier loads ammunition onto a drone during drone training at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on September 3, 2025. (Diego Herrera Carcedo / Anadolu via Getty Images)
Danny is in talks with the Kremlin to unfreeze his accounts, so Derek is joined instead by the Quincy Institute’s Alex Jordan to bring you the news. This week: A new study warns that the Atlantic circulation system could collapse (2:32); Ukraine introduces AI-driven drone swarms, raising the prospect of autonomous killing machines (5:55); in Israel-Palestine, Israel declares Gaza City a “dangerous combat zone” (9:45), The Washington Post details the “Trump Riviera” plan (13:50), more European states move toward recognizing a Palestinian state (18:20), and Israel appears to be building a new nuclear reactor (24:44); the IDF assassinates the Houthi prime minister in Yemen (26:57); Indonesia sees mass protests over egregious political perks (30:25); Russia replaces the Wagner Group with the Africa Corps in the Central African Republic amid pushback (32:47); the Congo River Alliance/M23 accuses the DRC government of violating their ceasefire (36:57); lawyers sound the alarm about five men trafficked from the US to Eswatini (39:12); as Russia-Ukraine peace talks drag on, the focus shifts to “security guarantees,” with Moscow rejecting any foreign military presence in Ukraine (41:43); Donald Trump boasts about “obliterating” a Venezuelan boat that may have carried migrants instead of drugs (47:39); US appeals courts rule against Trump’s tariffs and deportations (51:33); and in a New Cold War update, Xi Jinping makes a statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and V-J Day military parade (54:33).