Edition 25 · Friday, September 11, 2026
Here's what happened.
Hurricane Lowell caused widespread destruction on Kauai, leaving residents potentially without power for days or weeks. Hawaii’s governor has asked President Trump for help as the state responds to the damage.
U.S. diesel prices have climbed above $6 a gallon on average, adding pressure to the cost of hauling everyday goods. NPR attributes the record increase to the war with Iran disrupting global fuel flows.
Data showed that a pilot warned another pilot about excessive speed before a deadly Amazon cargo-plane crash. The warning came as alarms sounded, with the other pilot responding unevenly.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a set of California laws intended to protect children online. The measures restrict chatbots and ban teens from using social media deemed “addictive.”
California’s future water supplies are tied to conflicts over Colorado River water, the Sites reservoir project, the proposed Delta tunnel and San Joaquin River diversions. The intertwined disputes could shape the state’s water outlook.
Iran-backed Houthi forces seized the strategic Red Sea port of Mokha after routing Yemeni government forces, according to officials. The takeover puts the group in a stronger position to attack shipping in a waterway crucial to global trade.
Russia is intensifying its ground assaults on Ukraine’s Donbas, with Kramatorsk and Slovyansk now the main focus. Residents are being told to leave the cities as Russian forces advance.
A demonstration of a potent cyberweapon targeting WeChat exposed vulnerabilities in China’s digital infrastructure. The incident has added urgency to artificial-intelligence safety talks between Beijing and Washington.
Reviews by the Canadian Center for Child Protection and The New York Times found that explicit images of children remain on Elon Musk’s social media platform X. The findings come despite Musk’s pledge to rid the platform of child sexual abuse material.
Anthropic said it blocked possible efforts to use its artificial-intelligence systems to build biological weapons. The company said it could not determine whether the research was legitimate or malicious, so it shut down the work.
Slack is introducing Slackforce Surfaces, a feature that lets users describe tools such as interactive reports, polls, dashboards, presentations, and microsites in chat. Slackbot can use information from conversations and connected apps including Google Drive and Salesforce to build them.
Scientists say August was the hottest month ever recorded globally. Summer temperatures also shattered heat records in the United States.
Arizona is facing the loss of more than a quarter of the water it typically draws each year from the Colorado River. The reduction threatens a region central to the bipartisan effort to revive US chip manufacturing, making water availability a key infrastructure constraint.
An exceptionally well-preserved fossil feather may help explain why some birds survived the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs while others did not. The discovery offers evidence about survival patterns during that extinction event.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed IRS 3, a star near the end of its life, in the crowded region around Sagittarius A*. Its mid-infrared data revealed oxygen-rich silicate dust and water-related features.
U.S. pediatrician Dr. Rupa Narra traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help care for children affected by Ebola. The report describes her experience treating some of the youngest victims of the outbreak.
A suicide-prevention charity is expanding its work by providing safe spaces where men can talk about their emotions without being judged. The initiative is described as “game-changing.”
Oil prices rose to $105 a barrel as fears grew that the Iran war would not be resolved quickly. Borrowing costs also surged, adding to pressure across energy markets and the wider economy.
Tech employment grew in August despite layoffs, according to HR Dive’s roundup of recent labor-market figures. The item also includes data on workplace behavior and employee performance under pressure.
Saber Interactive’s chief creative officer said the company has never replaced anyone with AI, responding to accusations that a writer had been replaced with ChatGPT. The statement offers the company’s position on AI’s role in game-development jobs.
Saber Interactive’s chief creative officer said the company has “no real development in North America any more.” The comments highlight the geographic shift in game-development work and the resulting implications for regional employment.
Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe will meet in a historic all-American U.S. Open semifinal. The match guarantees that an American—or the first Black man in decades—will reach the final.
Rumors of a Donald Trump speech disclosing alien life are reaching a fever pitch online. Wired reports that increased government information about UFOs is fueling excitement over the possibility of a presidential announcement that humans are not alone.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is reportedly considering combining Electronic Arts with its subsidiary, Savvy Games Group. The potential transaction would link one of the industry’s largest publishers with Saudi Arabia’s gaming investment vehicle, though the report describes it as under consideration rather than confirmed.
Wardogs has sold more than one million copies on its first day and exceeded 300,000 peak concurrent players on Steam. The launch gives the new warfare FPS an unusually strong early showing on PC.
Marvel’s Wolverine, the latest PS5 exclusive from Spider-Man developer Insomniac, takes a relatively direct and violent action-game approach. The review says its combat is strongest during cinematic sequences and enemy-slicing encounters, though the repetition wears thin before the conclusion.
Call of Duty has built dedicated teams to combat cheating, which the report describes as a multibillion-dollar industry. The franchise’s anti-cheat boss discussed cheating myths and how suspected cases are reviewed.
Thousands of undocumented immigrants helped rescue and cleanup crews at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11 attacks. Many say that, despite their exposure to toxic debris and psychological trauma, they now live in fear of deportation.