Emma Tucker

1. FROM MY DESK

Earlier this year, Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown quietly visited the offices of a bitter rival: Elon Musk's xAI. Brown was there to broker a deal to rent computing power after the explosive success of Anthropic's Claude Code created a capacity crunch. Weeks later, Anthropic said it reached an agreement worth up to $45 billion to lease computing power from Musk's (SpaceX.)

The unlikely alliance illustrates the increasingly desperate scramble for "compute," the lifeblood of the AI boom. With demand outstripping supply and prices rising, tech companies are striking deals with rivals, while venture-capital firms are helping startups obtain computing capacity. Our reporters examine how the hunt for AI firepower is reshaping Silicon Valley.

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2. TODAY'S HEADLINES

-- Kamala Harris's husband has privately told people he would prefer she didn't run for president again, and some donors have told her a bid would be a long shot.

-- Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants are taking aim at Saudi Arabia's air links to the world, rattling travelers and squeezing another major sector of the kingdom's economy.

-- As New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani navigated the Oct. 7 anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel and an ICE shooting, support from his base showed signs of strain.

-- The Trump administration reached an agreement for Russia to supply hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel fuel, easing pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine.

-- The U.S. Army's drones and other combat tech struggled to perform in severe weather and hostile conditions during training exercises, revealing shortcomings.

-- Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Fla., Friday night, bringing heavy rains, damaging winds and the possibility of life-threatening flooding to the region.

3. FROM THE MARKETS

-- The Russell 2000 index fell for a fifth straight week, its longest weekly losing streak since May 2022. As bond yields march higher, small companies are taking the brunt of the damage.

-- We went to Robinhood's annual extravaganza, called Hood Summit, and spoke to individual investors, asking them about their riskiest moves, their concerns about the current market and what it means to make "life-changing money" by betting it all.

4. READ IT HERE FIRST

Trump's hit-the-road strategy aims to boost the GOP's chances in the midterms.

A growing group of Republicans are privately and publicly sounding the alarm that the party will perform poorly in next month's contests. To stave off those potential losses, Trump's political advisers are banking on a blitz of rallies in red areas to turn out low-propensity voters. The approach retools the turnout machine that delivered in 2024. They are also using targeted digital ads, mailers and phone calls to persuade these voters to cast ballots. Those close to the campaign strategy say that polls showing Democrats with significant advantages are inaccurate because they don't capture these low-propensity voters. Trump thinks he might be able to defy expectations, as he has in previous elections, according to people close to him.

5. REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK

Sports Editor Josh Robinson: If you only saw Erling Haaland on the soccer field, you would think he was some kind of a Norwegian Terminator: cold and unfeeling. In person, though, he's funny, laid back and really charming, with a self-deprecating, self-aware sense of humor.

I met Erling in Manchester in August, about six weeks after Norway was knocked out of the World Cup and two days before Manchester City's first game of the season.

Erling lit up while discussing his World Cup summer in America-from shopping for cowboy boots in Texas to attending his first NHL game. But the biggest twist came immediately after our interview.

In a sport full of elaborate buzz cuts and eye-searing bleach jobs, Erling's striking blond mane, pulled into a tight bun, became one of the enduring images of the tournament. When I asked if he planned to change his signature long hair, he hinted a haircut might be due. Barely a day later, he buzzed it all off.

We didn't know it was coming. Erling's team joked that it might've been my fault because I asked twice about it during the interview. "Let's just surprise everyone" was how Erling explained it to me later.

Erling is doing things no one has ever done on the field before, but he's also easy for a soccer novice to understand. He's the biggest guy out there, and when he has the ball, he's going to score.

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6. SEE THE STORY

Our auto columnist puts the SUV of jet skis to the test.

At nearly 13 feet long and more than 1,500 pounds, (Yamaha's) new CrossWave is the largest and heaviest production personal watercraft on the market. Dan Neil headed to the North Carolina coast to put the $32,499 craft to the test. His teenage daughter joined the crew, holding on for dear life as the roaring watercraft stood up on its tail.

7. HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND

-- Saturday: The White Sox face the Guardians in a decisive Game 5 of their American League Division Series. Protesters in New Delhi are aiming to stage large-scale demonstrations over a purge of voter rolls.

-- Sunday: South Carolina's U.S. Senate candidates face off in a debate. The Dodgers and Brewers open the National League Championship Series. Manchester City visits Liverpool for its first game since the club was found guilty of sweeping financial breaches.

-- Today's paper

8. THE NUMBER

1 acre

That is roughly the amount of land the federal government has preliminarily agreed to give to a Las Vegas developer on the western boundary of Yosemite National Park. The arrangement would allow the developer to build a short access road for a planned resort on an adjacent property. In exchange, the developer agreed to transfer to the National Park Service a similarly valued piece of property located elsewhere in California. But the proposal has sparked a fierce backlash from conservationists, who warn that it sets a dangerous precedent by signaling that protected natural spaces can be bartered away to private interests.

9. AND FINALLY...

America's fastest debut marathoner logs his miles at the local gym.

Most distance runners shudder at the thought of grinding away on a treadmill. But 25-year-old Vinny Mauri uses standard (Planet Fitness) machines for the bulk of his training. The unconventional approach helped him record the fastest debut marathon ever by an American. To pass the time, Mauri surfs YouTube, listens to music or stand-up comedy, or watches golf.

10. BEYOND THE NEWSROOM

-- Opinion: Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed says the "Medicare for All" he supports doesn't outlaw private health plans. That's not what the plan says.

-- WSJ | Buy Side: Our new analysis found the best pet insurance companies based on coverage, price-shock protection, premium stability over time and more.

-- From MarketWatch: The Need to Know newsletter is evolving. Starting Oct. 19, it will become your daily dive into MarketWatch, featuring story spotlights, market movers and more you Need to Know to start your day. Sign up here.

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Today's newsletter was curated and edited by Bharbi Hazarika and Natasha Dangoor in collaboration with Editor in Chief Emma Tucker. Got a tip for us? Here's how to submit.

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.