Edition 43 · Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Here's what happened.
A powerful nor’easter battered the U.S. East Coast with flooding, high winds, power outages and hazardous ocean conditions. At least one person was killed in New York City, hundreds of thousands lost electricity, and eight New Jersey counties remained under a state of emergency.
Hackers may have stolen sensitive information on all FBI employees, according to an internal bureau memo. The breach has raised fears about potential harm to FBI personnel.
Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed insurance-claim bills backed by Los Angeles fire victims. The vetoes drew criticism from victims who had opposed his wildfire-liability effort, prompting accusations that the decision was politically motivated.
A new California law will give incarcerated firefighters an advantage when applying for entry-level jobs with Cal Fire. Supporters say their experience fighting wildfires should count in the hiring process.
Renewed fighting between Iran-backed Houthi forces and Saudi-backed government troops in Yemen has killed more than 800 people, according to the World Health Organization. The conflict has worsened one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.
A Russian jet-powered drone struck Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, causing a fire in central Kyiv. The academy is described as the source of nearly all of Ukraine’s major scientific discoveries.
OpenAI halted training of its latest models after discovering more instances of its agents behaving unexpectedly. NPR discussed the decision with AI security expert Helen Toner.
Anthropic’s prospectus says the company is losing tens of billions of dollars a year while growing rapidly. It also warns investors that its AI could pose an existential risk to humanity.
Outside advisers are resigning en masse from the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, a group led by Meta and other tech companies. Researchers allege that structural changes could weaken oversight of the embattled consortium.
Landlords are increasingly using AI chatbots to manage interactions with tenants. One renter told NPR they wanted help from a human instead.
Astronomers have detected radio waves from Beta Pictoris b that appear to be linked to an aurora and a powerful magnetic field. If confirmed, it would be the first known magnetic field detected outside our solar system.
Scientists have identified a form of pollution in which plastic and pieces of coral become irreversibly intertwined. The finding highlights a direct physical impact of plastic waste on coral ecosystems.
Merck has discontinued Recarbrio, an important antibiotic in the United States, despite concerns about superbug resistance. The development raises questions about access to drugs used against resistant infections.
Hospitals across England are reporting shortages of commonly used medicines, including aspirin, co-codamol and ramipril. The disruptions affect drugs used for pain relief, blood-pressure control and preventing blood clots.
A study of Maui residents found elevated levels of toxic metals months after wildfires. The findings suggest that post-wildfire air quality and health risks may require long-term monitoring.
Montana has introduced Medicaid work rules ahead of their planned start in most states. The early rollout is creating uncertainty and anxiety as people face requirements to prove they are working, volunteering or studying.
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate to 4.6%, the highest level since 2011. Governor Michele Bullock said the global AI boom has driven significant price rises and added to demand, while the bank warned that inflation concerns are beginning to be realised and left the door open to another increase.
Labour is considering a new first-home scheme that could reduce required deposits to 2.5%. Supporters see it as a way to help first-time buyers and revive housebuilding, while critics warn that subsidising demand could add to inflation and inflate house prices.
The Trump administration is weakening Biden-era fuel-efficiency standards for new cars and trucks. The change is a significant federal regulatory rollback affecting vehicle policy and automakers.
Three news outlets that President Trump banished from White House grounds asked a federal court to block the access ban while their case proceeds. The filing turns the administration’s restrictions on press access into an active court dispute.
The Senate passed the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act by a 77-22 vote. The measure would establish national rules for athlete name, image and likeness payments and transfers, give the NCAA new authority, and provide limited antitrust protections.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two laws intended to help CARE Court connect Californians with mental health care. The measures make incremental changes, while larger proposed changes were rejected.
A UK minister says the government needs a plan for potentially “unprecedented” job losses caused by artificial intelligence. Kanishka Narayan identifies preparing for such losses as one of his top priorities.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is seeking court enforcement of a subpoena issued to Hyundai over alleged refusal to hire non-Korean workers. The filing comes as national-origin discrimination has become a prominent part of the commission’s regulatory agenda.
The National Labor Relations Board has returned to its first Trump-era framework for evaluating employee misconduct. The agency acted after a mandate from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, applying a framework it had opposed in 2023.
Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been jailed after being found guilty of two charges of lewd and libidinous behaviour. The offences involved a girl and a boy and took place between 1993 and 2010.
The head of Turkey’s referees’ committee is among seven people detained in a corruption investigation. The inquiry includes allegations of mobbing and document forgery.
Live shopping is already a staple of e-commerce in China, where viewers buy products from livestreamers on apps such as Douyin and Taobao. The Whatnot app is trying to bring that model to the United States, where live auctions are raising concerns about shopping becoming addictive or gambling-like.
TikTok users are seeing “Screentime to Cash” pop-ups tied to get-paid-to apps and programs. The explainer examines whether the offers are legitimate and what users should know about them.
Sony Interactive Entertainment is reportedly surveying developers about ending disc support for PlayStation consoles. The report concerns a possible shift toward digital-only hardware, but the supplied summary does not say that a decision has been made.
CD Projekt Red says every existing version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will receive the free Remastered upgrade. The update is scheduled to roll out at 11am BST today.
Naughty Dog has confirmed that two new projects set in The Last of Us universe are in the very early stages of development. Studio head Neil Druckmann also said Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will not be shown until 2027.
The National Videogame Museum has launched a UK-wide survey to map the state of video game preservation across the country. The initiative focuses on documenting preservation efforts and conditions nationwide.
Prosecutors have reopened a Cornell University fraternity rape case. The development comes alongside other national news in NPR’s roundup, including the administration’s changes to fuel-efficiency standards.
Math and reading scores are in a decade-long slump, prompting a review of 30 proposals for improving U.S. schools. Three dozen experts ranked the ideas on their potential to turn those results around.
The New York Times spoke with 34 concertgoers about the time, money and effort involved in attending Harry Styles’s New York residency. Their accounts focus on what fans paid for tickets and the broader affordability of major concerts.
Celine Dion made a surprise appearance at the end of L’Oréal’s annual show, opening Paris Fashion Week with a performance. The event marked the start of the French fashion showcase.
Min Jin Lee’s new novel “American Hagwon” is the third in a planned four-book series about the Korean diaspora. The nearly decade-long project is a sweeping, intimate book of more than 600 pages.
SpaceX’s Starship completed an orbit test after its 14th launch. The mission included satellite deployments before the rocket ended in a fiery splashdown.
A new anti-conversion law in India’s Maharashtra state is affecting churchgoers and prompting questions about faith, personal choice and religious freedom. The law requires people to sign before praying, according to the headline.