President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure big US investments from foreign companies and crack down on immigration collided last week, and the fallout continues.

What happened? On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security conducted its largest single-site enforcement action, detaining 475 people at an under-construction Hyundai battery plant in Georgia:

• It’s part of the Hyundai Metaplant, the biggest economic development project in the state’s history.
• The search warrant used to conduct the raid targeted four Hispanic workers. More than 300 of those detained were South Korean nationals, and many of them were subcontractors. Seoul wasn’t given advance warning, according to a South Korean official who spoke with the Wall Street Journal.
• Hyundai said none of its direct employees were arrested.

The American labor market lacks experience with Hyundai’s advanced battery technology. An employee told the South Korean newspaper Hankyung that “experienced Korean employees” need to set up the manufacturing site, “but given the US government’s reluctance to issue H-1B visas, realistically, there are no other options than ESTA and B-1 visas,” which are shorter-term and carry limited authorizations.

It’s unclear what visas the workers held and whether they were allowed to be on site.

Koreans are displeased

South Korea is one of the US’ biggest direct foreign investors, most recently pledging $350 billion in July. Professor Kim Tae-Hyung of Soongsil University in Seoul told Bloomberg the raid “feels like a stab in the back.”

The office of South Korea’s president said detained Koreans would return home on a chartered flight. The nation’s foreign minister is expected in Washington today to discuss how to prevent similar incidents and to advocate for improving the visa system for foreign employees involved in US deals.

Zoom out: South Korea is the 10th-largest economy in the world, and the US’ sixth-largest trading partner. In a Truth Social post yesterday, President Trump said, “I am hereby calling on all Foreign Companies investing in the United States to please respect our Nation’s Immigration Laws.”—HVL

Japan’s prime minister is resigning after striking tariff deal. Shigeru Ishiba ate the frog and is now packing up his office after less than a year as prime minister, he announced at a news conference yesterday. But his departure has little to do with the deal itself: Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party lost its majority in the upper house of Japan’s Parliament in July, as voters worried about inflation and immigration more than the impending trade deal. As for said agreement, President Trump lowered tariffs on Japan to 15% in exchange for Japan agreeing to buy more American exports and invest $550 billion in the US. As for how long he’d been drafting his notice, Ishiba said only, “Who would seriously negotiate if I were to say, ‘I’m quitting?’”

POTUS watches Alcaraz best Sinner at US Open. President Trump, a former mainstay at the US Open, returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium yesterday for the first time since 2015, flanked by members of his family and administration to take in the men’s final. He and the other ~23,000 attendees witnessed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain defeat his rival and last year’s US Open winner, Jannik Sinner of Italy, in four sets. But many ticketholders experienced significant difficulty getting into the one entrance available due to security measures for the president. Despite a 30-minute delay to the start time, rows of seats were still empty as the match began. Trump received notable boos, as well as some cheering, from fans. He attended as a guest of Rolex. On Saturday, in the women’s final, Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka beat American Amanda Anisimova to take home her second consecutive US Open victory.

Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande won big at MTV Video Music Awards. The 41st iteration of the show, at NYC’s UBS Arena, saw Mariah Carey win the annual Video Vanguard Award for outstanding contributions to pop culture and perform a long medley as her British alter ego (which included no Christmas songs). Lady Gaga won the award for artist of the year and popped in for a minute before dashing off to her concert at Madison Square Garden. Ariana Grande took home three awards, including video of the year. Sabrina Carpenter also won thrice, including best pop artist. Sign of the times: A Labubu dressed as a Moon Person appeared on the red carpet.—HVL

The Catholic Church’s first millennial saint, Carlo Acutis, was officially canonized yesterday. Acutis died in 2006, at age 15, from leukemia. In his lifetime, he was known for using his computer skills to spread Catholicism, proving technology can be a beat-iful thing.

“God’s influencer”

Acutis grew up in Milan, Italy, and had a penchant for technology, helping religious institutions with their websites and building his own site that cataloged Church miracles.

Acutis’s sainthood was secured by two miracles that the late Pope Francis attributed to him, both involving people who had prayed to the teen. Francis hoped Acutis’s digital evangelizing and modern story could inspire a new generation of churchgoers. The young saint’s tomb in Assisi, Italy, is proof of his millennial-ness:

• His body is on display wearing Nikes, a zip-up sweatshirt, and jeans.
• His tomb is livestreamed on YouTube.
• A nearby statue depicts Acutis holding a laptop.

Praystation: Acutis is also likely the first gamer saint. His mother said he played video games like Halo, Super Mario, and Pokémon, though he limited himself to just one hour of play a week.

Big picture: The Vatican has not shied away from pointing out the potential risks and benefits of the digital age. Pope Leo XIV, like Francis, has made it a priority to ensure that AI is a net positive for humanity, warning of the dangers it poses to “human dignity, justice, and labor.”—BC

Apple is expected to debut its new iPhone on Tuesday: We’ll get a fresh peek at what CEO Tim’s been Cooking up tomorrow at Apple’s annual product reveal. This year’s so-called “Awe Dropping” event will unveil the iPhone 17, but its lighter, thinner sibling, the iPhone 17 Air, may draw the lion’s share of attention, Bloomberg reports. Also keep an eye out for new Apple Watches and stay tuned for new AirPods. If you’re waiting for a foldable iPhone, you’ll most likely have to wait until next year.

Two inflation checks this week: Last month’s producer price data will be out on Wednesday, and the consumer price index will be released on Thursday. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will be combing through both of them as the central bank prepares for its September 16–17 meeting. Pretty much everyone expects a quarter-point interest rate cut to come out of that meeting, but last week’s worse-than-expected jobs report has some crossing their fingers for a half-point cut.

Six companies are set for IPOs this week: The Winklevoss twins plan to take their cryptocurrency exchange, Gemini Space Station, public this week, hoping to capture some of the magic that helped crypto companies Bullish and Circle soar above their IPO prices in recent months. Lending firm Klarna will also make its debut this week, daring investors to buy now or pay more later.

Everything else:

• Oracle and GameStop report earnings on Tuesday.
• Season 5 of Only Murders in the Building hits Hulu on Tuesday.
• Thursday marks 24 years since the September 11th attacks.
• Adobe and Kroger release their earnings reports on Thursday.
• The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment reading will be released on Friday.
• Comedian Nate Bargatze hosts the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday.

Just when you thought Open Enrollment couldn’t get any more frustrating. The cost of companies’ employee health insurance plans is expected to increase 6.5% on average next year, the Financial Times reported, citing a Mercer report. That’s the biggest spike in 15 years.

People who buy health insurance on a government exchange could pay around 18% more, according to health policy organization KFF.

In some states, insurance company UnitedHealth has blamed price increases on the uncertain environment created by tariffs, though the company’s regulatory filings have stopped short of that, more generally blaming rising healthcare costs.

Then, there’s the fact that Affordable Care Act subsidies expire at the end of this year, which could further disrupt insurers’ moneymaking math.—BC