No Shutdown Deadline on Sept. 30: Trump Signed a Stopgap on Sept. 2 That Funds the Government Through Dec. 11
The Sept. 29 White House meeting that ended without a deal took place in 2025, not 2026; this year Congress passed a bipartisan funding extension weeks early, and the next deadline is Dec. 11, 2026.
U.S.
CDC Reports 3,659 U.S. Measles Cases So Far in 2026 as Pennsylvania's State Count Passes 900
As of Sept. 24, the CDC counted cases in 47 jurisdictions. Pennsylvania is now the largest outbreak, and the state and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. disagree over how many deaths measles caused.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board Meets to Start Superintendent Search, One Week After 5-4 Vote to Fire Crystal Hill
The board scheduled a virtual meeting for Sept. 29 to consider a charter for a superintendent search committee. State and local investigators are examining district finances, and the acting superintendent plans to retire Jan. 1, 2027.
Trump and Speaker Johnson Host White House AI Lunch With Zuckerberg, Amodei, Brockman, Pichai, Karp and Huang
The Sept. 29 lunch was billed as a talk on how Washington should regulate AI. It came a day after AI researchers warned of an "intelligence explosion" and Reuters reported on Anthropic's leaked IPO filing, which shows a $42 billion net loss for 2025. About $34 billion of that loss is a non-cash accounting charge.
Justice Alito Recuses From Suncor v. Boulder Climate Case Without Giving a Reason, a Week Before Oral Argument
A one-sentence letter from the Supreme Court clerk said Alito will not continue in the case. He had declined to step aside in May, and ethics groups had pointed to his oil and gas stock holdings.
FBI Co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey Resigns Effective Oct. 2, Citing Family in Missouri
Bailey, a former Missouri attorney general, announced on Sept. 28 that he is leaving after about a year as one of two deputies to FBI Director Kash Patel; the FBI says he left for family reasons, while some news reports tied his exit to tensions inside the bureau.
ICE Says Arrests of Immigrants Without Criminal Records Will Continue After Weekend Guidance Officials Call a 'Miscommunication'
The Daily Wire reported Saturday that ICE officers were told to stop arresting non-criminals. DHS called that report false. Fox News sources later said verbal guidance did go out and was withdrawn that evening.
N.C.
Gov. Stein Opens North Carolina's Largest DMV Office in East Charlotte; State Reports 23-Minute Average Wait in August
The Albemarle Road office replaces a nearby branch that closed. The governor's office says it is one of four facility upgrades paid for by 2025's House Bill 125. It also says average statewide waits fell 86% in a year, a figure that depends on a baseline taken at the worst point of the crisis.
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.
Finance
U.S. Stock Futures Mixed Tuesday as 10-Year Treasury Yield Holds at 5.24%, Highest Since 2007
Dow and S&P 500 futures dipped 0.1% after Monday's losses as investors weighed Trump's rejection of an Iranian offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, rising bets on another Fed rate hike, and AI-safety disclosures from Anthropic and OpenAI.
Job Openings and Consumer Confidence Reports Due Tuesday; Economists Expect About 7.2 Million August Openings Ahead of Friday's Jobs Report
Two scheduled reports, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Conference Board, are the first big data releases of a week that ends with the September jobs report. They come after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Sept. 16 for the first time since 2023.
Leaked Anthropic Filing Shows $42 Billion Net Loss for 2025, Including a $34 Billion Non-Cash Charge, and $518 Billion in Compute Commitments
The draft prospectus, which Reuters reviewed, shows revenue up 12-fold to about $4.6 billion, an operating loss of about $8 billion, and a warning that advanced AI could pose "catastrophic or existential risks to humanity." Reuters separately reported that the company expects a valuation above $2 trillion.
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.
World
Russian Jet Drones Hit Kyiv's Academy of Sciences and a Private Clinic on Sept. 28; Ballistic Missiles Strike the City Overnight
The science academy and the Dobrobut medical center were hit by daytime drone strikes on Monday, not by Tuesday's pre-dawn missile attack. Europe's top officials condemned the strikes, and Moscow said it hit military-linked sites.
Haiti Gang Force's UN Mandate Expires Sept. 30; U.S.-Panama Draft Would Reportedly Extend It Six Months
The Security Council must decide whether to reauthorize the Gang Suppression Force, which is still far short of its 5,500-person ceiling, while Haiti and regional states push for renewal and China and Russia seek tighter review.
UK Police Release on Bail Five London Men Arrested Near U.S.-Used RAF Fairford Base; Iran, Russia and Militant Links Under Investigation
The five British men, aged 23 to 25, have not been charged. Police say they remain under investigation. President Trump criticized the release, Secretary of State Rubio said a "foreign actor" was involved, and Iran's embassy denied any role.
Zelensky Says North Korea Is Preparing 10,000 More Troops for Russia; Putin Raises Army's Authorized Size by 15,500
Ukraine's president cited new intelligence on North Korean troops a day after Putin's fourth decree this year enlarging Russia's military, while the Kremlin maintains that volunteers and contract soldiers are meeting its needs.
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.
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.
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.