U.S. envoys completed the first trilateral talks with Russian and Ukrainian representatives since the 2022 invasion, with formal negotiations expected by late September. Iran and the U.S. exchanged fresh strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, while global M&A hit a record $2.8 trillion in the first half of the year. Plus an AI benchmark flip between OpenAI and Anthropic, bond yields surging globally, and a fusion breakthrough from Princeton.