Trump Administration Moves to Cancel $810 Million in Congress-Approved Spending Through a 'Pocket Rescission' Sent Five Days Before the Fiscal Year Ends; Sen. Collins, Citing GAO, Calls It Unlawful
The White House budget office sent Congress 11 spending cuts on Sept. 25, most aimed at HHS services for refugees and other noncitizens; it says a 1974 budget law allows the move, while the Government Accountability Office has said such late requests are illegal.
U.S.
Taipei Times Cites Unnamed Official Saying Xi Made 'Little Progress' Pressing Trump on Taiwan Arms Sales
No White House statement using that phrase could be found. Trump has not said what he will do with a $14 billion Taiwan arms package that has been on hold since May.
Falling Tree Kills NYCHA Worker in Brooklyn as Nor'easter Cuts Power to More Than 130,000 Customers in the Northeast
A 56-year-old New York City Housing Authority maintenance worker died Saturday, Sept. 26. The storm peaked with an 81 mph gust at Montauk Point, flooded the Jersey Shore and led three governors to declare emergencies or open emergency centers.
Trump Says He Expects More Iran Talks This Week After Rejecting Tehran's Seven-Day Hormuz Plan
U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz said Iran wanted sanctions relief and frozen funds before negotiations began, and Iran's foreign minister disputed his account, as Qatari mediators passed a compromise text between the two sides.
Trump and Speaker Johnson Set Sept. 29 White House Meeting on AI With Tech Executives; No CEO Has Confirmed Attending
The meeting, which Johnson had pushed for, comes two weeks after Trump called AI doom warnings a "hoax." Unnamed sources say the agenda covers AI industrial strategy, competition with China and safety rules. Johnson has said Congress will not take the lead on regulating AI.
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.
N.C.
AARP Poll of Likely North Carolina Voters Shows Cooper at 53%, Whatley at 42% in U.S. Senate Race
Other September polls put Democrat Roy Cooper's lead over Republican Michael Whatley anywhere from 5 to 15 points, and Whatley has added transgender-policy attacks to a campaign mostly built on crime.
NC 12 Reopens on Ocracoke's North End as Pea Island Section Stays Closed; Hatteras-Bound Ferries Limited to Residents, Workers and Vendors
NCDOT reopened the Ocracoke stretch of N.C. 12 on Sunday, Sept. 27, and restarted limited Hatteras-Ocracoke ferries. Dare County's state of emergency limits Hatteras-bound travel to essential personnel, critical business vendors and permanent residents while crews rebuild a dune at Pea Island.
Stein Asks NC Supreme Court to Reverse 2-1 Ruling That Upheld Party-List Limit on His Judicial Vacancy Picks; Arguments Set for Nov. 10
A 2024 law makes the governor fill Supreme Court and Court of Appeals vacancies from three names chosen by the departing judge's political party. Gov. Josh Stein says the state constitution gives that choice to the governor alone, and Republican legislative leaders say lawmakers may set the process.
NC Legislature Returns Sept. 28 for Veto Override Votes on Judge Suspensions, Public Camping Bills
Under the adjournment resolution, lawmakers may take up vetoed bills for override votes, appointments, and a handful of other specified categories such as election-law and redistricting bills. Two of the bills Gov. Josh Stein vetoed are House Bill 377, which would let the chief justice suspend trial judges without pay during misconduct probes, and House Bill 437, which bans unauthorized camping on public property and creates drug-free zones around homeless service providers.
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.
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.
Finance
Stock Futures Fall and 10-Year Treasury Yield Trades Above 5.2% After Trump Rejects Iran Truce Offer and OpenAI Pauses AI Training
U.S. stock futures fell Monday morning, September 28, after a winning week. Oil jumped, long-term bond yields stayed near their highest levels since the 2000s, and investors waited for Wednesday's PCE inflation report and Friday's jobs report.
Brent Crude Trades Near $108 a Barrel After Trump Rejects Iran's Seven-Day Plan to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz
Oil rose as much as about 4% on Monday after President Trump, over the weekend, rejected Iran's offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He also said he expects talks to resume this week, and a newspaper report said he has told aides that strikes may resume after the November midterms.
Bitget Puts Losses From Sept. 24 Hack at About $387.5 Million, the Largest Crypto Theft Reported So Far in 2026
The exchange says attackers broke into a backend wallet system and tricked its own approval process into sending funds out, and it says its protection fund will cover customer balances as withdrawals restart in stages starting Sept. 28.
Judge Sets Monday Noon Deadline for Paramount and 12 States to Answer Sen. Booker's Objections to Their Warner Bros. Discovery Settlement
The assigned premise does not hold up. No restraining order expires Monday: the deal has been on hold since July 24 under Paramount's own agreement with the court, and noon Pacific on Monday is when the parties must file their replies about the proposed settlement.
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.
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.
World
UK Police Arrest Five Men Near RAF Fairford, a Base the U.S. Uses to Strike Iran, on Suspicion of Preparing a Terrorist Act
Armed officers stopped three vehicles near the Gloucestershire airbase after residents called police, and about 85 households were evacuated; Trump says the U.S. and UK had the men under investigation, but British media reports citing sources say the operation was not intelligence-led.
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.
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.