Trump Rejects Iran's Seven-Day Plan to Reopen Strait of Hormuz; WSJ Reports He Told Aides He Expects Strikes After Midterms
Iran offered to reopen the strait and start talks within seven days if the U.S. moved first on the blockade, sanctions and frozen funds. Trump said the deal "would not be acceptable," and Tehran says it will not soften its terms.
U.S.
Judge Moves James Comey's Arraignment in '86 47' Seashell Case to January 2027 and Sets No New Trial Date
U.S. District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan granted Comey's unopposed request to push back his Sept. 30 arraignment in New Bern, North Carolina, while his motions to dismiss the threat charges are still pending.
DHS Signs Contracts Worth Up to $7.3 Billion to Build ICE Detention Space at Government Sites in Five States
The contracts cover sites in New York, Texas, Arizona, Florida and California and are paid for from the $45 billion for detention that Congress approved in 2025. They were signed days before a federal watchdog reported that ICE's earlier warehouse-buying effort had wasted more than $20 million.
Federal Agents Pepper-Spray About 10 Protesters at Broadview ICE Site on Sept. 19; Portland 'Surge' Briefing in Assigned Story Dates to 2025
A year after clashes began at ICE sites near Chicago and in Portland, agents in Broadview, Illinois, sprayed protesters who were blocking a driveway, while the Portland emergency briefing described in the assigned story took place in September 2025, not this weekend.
U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Missouri's 2025 Congressional Map a Third Time, Keeping 2022 Lines for November
In an unsigned order with no noted dissents, the justices on Sept. 25 paused an appeals-court ruling issued four days earlier that would have required the Republican-drawn 2025 map. So Missouri will vote in November under the districts it used in 2022 and 2024.
FDA-Approved mRNA Flu Shot Has No CDC Recommendation While a Court Order Keeps the Vaccine Advisory Panel From Meeting
A federal judge's March order froze Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s reshaped vaccine advisory panel, and the CDC has kept last year's flu guidance in place instead of weighing in on Moderna's newly approved mFlusiva.
110 Lawmakers, All but One of Them Democrats, Urge Congress to Override Trump's 2027 Pay Freeze for Federal Civilian Workers
Twelve senators and 98 House members asked congressional leaders to add a raise of at least 3.8%, and preferably 4.1%, to fiscal 2027 spending bills. The White House's August 26 plan freezes most civilian pay but raises pay for law enforcement and the military.
N.C.
NC Court of Appeals Rules 2-1 That State Auditor, Not Governor, Can Appoint Elections Boards
Two Republican judges upheld a 2024 law moving elections-board appointments from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to Republican Auditor Dave Boliek, and one Democratic judge dissented. Stein says he will appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Ferries Resume Between Ocracoke and the Mainland; Dare County Puts Hatteras Island Under a State of Emergency as NC 12 Stays Closed at Pea Island
Ferries from Cedar Island and Swan Quarter restarted Saturday, Sept. 26. The Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry stayed suspended, and NCDOT got ready to run an emergency ferry to Rodanthe for the first time since 2013. About 500 feet of storm-damaged highway near the Pea Island Visitor Center still has no reopening date.
Court Preliminarily Approves Plan to Pay Consumers From $96.5 Million in Generic Drug Price-Fixing Settlements; NC Attorney General Urges Claims by March 8, 2027
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and 47 other states and territories say people who bought certain generic drugs between May 2009 and December 2019 can now file claims, while the drugmakers that settled deny any wrongdoing.
North Carolina Opens $65 Million Second Round of Helene Repair Grants for Local Governments, Tribes and Volunteer Fire Departments; Applications Due Nov. 23
Gov. Josh Stein announced the state-funded round on Sept. 25, 2026, two days before the storm's second anniversary. The money comes from the budget the General Assembly passed in July and pays for damage FEMA will not cover.
NC Medicaid Restores $901,400-a-Year Contract for Perinatal Quality Collaborative After 2025 Funding Cut
The state health department restored the maternal and newborn care program's money in June, backdated to April. The program had lost its funding on Oct. 31, 2025, during a Medicaid budget fight between Gov. Josh Stein and the Republican-led legislature, and its new newborn-screening and postpartum mental-health projects are now set to start in 2027.
NC 12 Closed Between Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe After Nor'easter Damages About 500 Feet of Pavement; All Ocracoke Ferry Routes Suspended
Tides broke through dunes near the Pea Island Visitor Center on Thursday. As of Friday morning NCDOT had no reopening estimate, and coastal flood warnings for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands run until 11 p.m. Friday.
Finance
Trump Rejects Iran's Seven-Day Offer to Reopen Hormuz as U.S. Diesel Sits at a Record $6.529 a Gallon
Trump announced his rejection on Saturday, after markets had closed. Crude last settled on Friday, with Brent at $104.32 and WTI at $92.41. Iran says it is still waiting for a formal U.S. reply.
JOLTS, Micron Earnings, PCE Inflation Data and September Jobs Report Due Sept. 29–Oct. 2, Two Weeks After Fed's First Rate Hike Since 2023
Four scheduled releases this week give investors new data on hiring, inflation and AI chip demand, with the 10-year Treasury yield at its highest level since 2007 and markets pricing a possible October rate hike.
10-Year Treasury Yield Touches 5.22%, Highest Since June 2007, Then Holds Near 5.16% Friday as 30-Year Tops 5.5%
The benchmark 10-year yield hit its highest level in 19 years on Thursday. It barely moved on Friday, while the 30-year yield set a new 22-year high and traders kept betting on another Federal Reserve rate hike.
Akamai Signs $11.6 Billion, Seven-Year Computing Deal With Anthropic and Issues Warrant for Up to About 5% of Its Stock
Akamai says Anthropic can add up to $9 billion more, which would bring the total to about $20 billion. Akamai expects to spend about $5.5 billion on equipment for the deal. Its shares rose sharply after the announcement and then gave back part of the gain.
MGM Resorts Discusses a Bid for Barry Diller's People Inc., WSJ Reports, a Day After People Dropped Its $48.30-a-Share Offer for MGM
People Inc., the publisher of Food & Wine and Southern Living, saw its shares rise more than 11% on Friday after the report. MGM shares fell almost 3%, following an 11% drop the day before.
University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index Finalized at 48.1 for September, Down From 51.7; Year-Ahead Inflation Expectations Rise to 4.6%
The final September reading was the lowest in four months and a bit above the preliminary 47.8. Survey director Joanne Hsu tied the drop to high prices, fuel costs and renewed trade disputes.
World
Venezuela Frees 39 Political Prisoners, Rights Group Says, After Second Round of Government-Opposition Talks
The releases, counted by a Venezuelan rights group, came after the interim government and one opposition bloc agreed to start reforming the Supreme Court. Three days earlier, interim President Delcy Rodríguez met President Trump in New York during the UN General Assembly.
Russia Launches 173 Drones at Ukraine Overnight Into Sept. 26 as Kyiv Comes Under Attack for a Second Straight Day
Ukrainian officials reported six people killed and 45 injured across Ukraine over one day. Strikes by both sides left at least 10 dead, and on Sept. 26 President Trump said he wants Zelenskyy to "settle with Putin."
Afghanistan's Defense Ministry Says Its Forces Killed 28 Fighters Who Crossed From Pakistan Into Nuristan
Kabul says the group included Islamic State militants and was backed by Pakistani militias. Pakistan had not responded, and the Taliban government's figures have not been independently verified.
Danish Intelligence Sees 'Low but Growing Risk' of a Limited Russian Attack on a NATO Neighbor in Coming Months
Denmark's Defence Intelligence Service said on Sept. 24 that Russia will step up sabotage and cyberattacks and could make a small military move against a NATO country on its border. The agency also said a full invasion remains highly unlikely, and Moscow rejected the assessment.
Congo Fighting With Rwanda-Backed M23 Continues as Doha Talks Stall; M23-Aligned Accounts Claim Tanzanian and Angolan Troop Deployments
Pro-M23 social media accounts said in early September that Tanzania and Angola had sent troops into Congo. No confirmation from either government turned up in this review, and only two of eight Doha peace protocols have been signed.
Haiti Asks UN Security Council to Renew Gang Suppression Force Ahead of Sept. 30 Vote
The anti-gang force's 12-month authorization runs out Sept. 30. The force has deployed far fewer than its authorized 5,500 personnel, and critics point to civilian deaths in the wider fight against the gangs.
Analysis
Unbiased, evergreen deep-dives on the bigger questions — not breaking news.
What Fauci's Released Diary Documents About the U.S. COVID-19 Response — and What It Leaves Unresolved
A 1,141-page personal diary released by Sen. Rand Paul's committee is roughly one-third routine administrative logging; a minority of entries bear directly on contested questions, and a few conflict with contemporaneous public statements.
Eight Months of Mamdani: What New York's Record Actually Shows, and What It Cannot Yet Show
A claim-by-claim audit of what Zohran Mamdani has delivered, how New Yorkers judge it, and what the evidence does and does not license anyone to conclude about the rest of the country.