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Happy Tuesday. If you’re watching “Squawk Box” this morning, you may have noticed a different backdrop: The show is live from Washington, D.C. today as tech execs descend on the nation’s capital to talk artificial intelligence. More on that below.
Stock futures are higher before the bell following a down day on Wall Street.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Lunch and learn
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (L) and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg (R) attend a state dinner hosted by President Donald Trump for Chinese President Xi Jinping in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 24, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images
President Donald Trump is set to meet with technology leaders including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai at a luncheon today. The gathering comes after a busy news day for AI companies.
Here’s the latest:
- OpenAI abandoned plans to release an upcoming model after it failed to meet the company’s safety standards, CNBC’s Ashley Capoot reports.
- Don’t miss CNBC’s interviews with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and CFO Sarah Friar live from OpenAI’s annual developers conference in San Francisco today. Follow live coverage of the event here.
- Sources also told CNBC that OpenAI tried to invest in Hugging Face — the company OpenAI’s agents hacked in July — before Nvidia agreed to buy it for around $13 billion.
- Meanwhile, Anthropic launched Sonnet 5.5 yesterday, its second model release since its CEO called for an industry slowdown amid safety concerns.
- Reuters reported last night that in its IPO prospectus, Anthropic warns that AI models could pose a “catastrophic or existential risk to humanity.”
- AMD is acquiring World Labs in a deal worth $8.2 billion. CNBC’s Kif Leswing writes that the AI lab — which was founded by industry pioneer Fei-Fei Li — is developing what’s called a world model that can simulate 3D environments.
2. Fall chill
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on Aug. 5, 2026 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
3. Man of steel
US President Donald Trump during an announcement in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026.
Bonnie Cash | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Trump announced yesterday that Mesabi Metallics plans to invest $15 billion to build a steel plant in Iowa. A White House official told CNBC that production will begin in 2030 at the facility, which would be the largest plant of its kind in U.S. history.
The White House said the first phase of the steel plant would produce around 7.5 million tons per year and support as many as 6,000 construction jobs. Minnesota-based Mesabi told CNBC that the plant would produce “100% American steel.”
As CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger notes, the deal comes ahead of November’s midterm elections which are expected to center on how voters see Trump’s stewardship of the economy. It also follows Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imported steel.
4. Mongo to Meta
After less than a year as MongoDB CEO, CJ Desai is leaving for Meta, where he will report directly to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as the company’s chief enterprise platform officer.
Meta said in a press release that Desai will lead its new Meta Enterprise Platform for businesses. The platform will focus on a suite of tools that will include its new Muse agent and a coding tool. Just this morning Meta announced Muse for Small Business, a version of its recently launched AI agent.
MongoDB shares tumbled 18.5% in yesterday’s session following news of Desai’s exit, marking the stock’s biggest one-day drop since March. Interim CEO Dev Ittycheria will join CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” today at 10 a.m. ET. Watch live on CNBC Pro or CNBC+.
5. Cabin fever
Davealan | Istock Unreleased | Getty Images
Alaska Airlines is jumping into the race to win high-end travelers. The airline this morning announced a major premium cabin overhaul that will bring new suites and premium economy seats to planes in both its Alaska and Hawaiian fleets.
Both airlines, which merged in 2024 but operate as distinct brands, are also working on opening airport lounges to lure customers willing to shell out for luxury travel. Alaska will open a new lounge at Seattle-Tacoma Airport, while Hawaiian’s new lounge in Honolulu is set to open in 2028.
The announcement comes ahead of Alaska’s investor day in Seattle today. CEO Ben Minicucci will join CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” at 10:20 a.m. ET.
The Daily Dividend
Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek has stayed largely quiet about his 2022 firing from the entertainment giant. But Chapek joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” yesterday to discuss his tenure at Disney while on a book tour for his new tell-all memoir.

— CNBC’s CJ Haddad, Ashley Capoot, Kate Rooney, Kif Leswing, Sawdah Bhaimiya, Liz Napolitano, Kevin Breuninger, Samantha Subin, Chris Eudaily, Isabel O’Brien, Leslie Josephs and Sarah Whitten contributed to this report.
Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.