“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez issued a thinly veiled warning to the Democratic establishment, making clear she wouldn’t step aside for any other potential presidential candidates in 2028 — including Kamala Harris. ‘I don’t think that my decisions would come down to deference,’ she told The New York Times when asked which factors would weigh on her decision about whether to launch a White House bid. The 36-year-old New York Democrat (the youngest woman ever [s]elected to Congress) has yet to announce a presidential campaign, but her comments make clear she isn’t waiting for a nod from Democratic leaders or a potential primary rival before deciding her own political future.” (09/22/26)
“A South Korean appeals court on Tuesday reduced the prison sentence of the wife of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol from seven to five years, following her initial conviction of accepting luxury gifts from businesspeople and others seeking political and business favors. The Seoul High Court threw out some of the corruption charges against Kim Keon Hee, including one involving a luxury watch from businessman Seo Seong-bin who allegedly sought government support for his robotic dogs business. In June, the Seoul Central District Court found Kim guilty of accepting the watch, but the high court on Tuesday said the prosecutors had not sufficiently proved that the watch was provided in exchange for business favors. The court upheld most of her other convictions.” (09/22/26)
“The Trump administration is planning to boot more than 700,000 people from their Affordable Care Act coverage as part of a purported initiative to root out fraud in the program—an effort that campaigners said is nothing more than a pretext to kick more people off healthcare. Vice President JD Vance, who is leading the White House’s ‘Task Force to Eliminate Fraud’, announced the planned ACA purge during a press conference on Tuesday alongside Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, whose agency has touted a right-wing think tank’s dubious claim that millions of ACA enrollees are on the program improperly. Vance insisted during Tuesday’s press conference that the administration is putting itself ‘under an extraordinary burden of proof’ to ensure its mass removal doesn’t impact people who are eligible for ACA coverage, but advocates were not convinced.” (09/22/26)
“Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has been placed at No. 1 in an annual ranking of U.S. colleges, with Princeton losing out on the top spot for the first time in 15 years. The Best Colleges list, published by the U.S. News & World Report, is one of the most influential rankings for universities, even though higher education experts have long criticized its methodology, including its reliance on a ‘peer assessment.’ The 2027 list sees Princeton coming in at second place, with Harvard University ranked third.” (09/22/26)
“DoorDash has agreed to pay a $131.5m (£99m) settlement to New York City regulators after the food delivery giant admitted failing to compensate thousands of workers correctly or on time. ‘Simply put, we screwed up’, DoorDash said. ‘Our mistakes meant some Dashers were underpaid or paid late.’ The agreement with the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection follows a city investigation into wage violations, with a significant share of the payout addressing how DoorDash calculates compensation for the time delivery drivers spend waiting for orders. The settlement marks another chapter in an ongoing battle between so-called gig economy platforms and municipal leaders. The likes of Uber Eats and Grubhub have repeatedly clashed with city officials over tipping laws, minimum wages and data-sharing requirements.” (09/22/26)
“Britain has become the second permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to formally commit to voluntarily refrain from using its veto in votes concerning mass atrocities. Britain made the commitment Monday as world leaders gathered in New York City for the start of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual high-level week. … Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States are the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, each holding veto power. The system has long attracted criticism for allowing a single permanent member to block action on major international issues, even when a resolution has the support of a majority of the 15-member council, such as Russia vetoing a Security Council draft condemning its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and China and Russia vetoing a U.S.-sponsored resolution in March 2024 that said an immediate and sustained cease-fire in Gaza was imperative.” (09/22/26)
“Former ABC News correspondent Terry Moran revealed Monday that he tried to report on concerns about then-President Joe Biden’s declining health — but was promptly shut down by senior leadership at the network. ‘In late 2023, early 2024, you know, it was pretty clear that Biden was fading rather quickly,’ Moran told The Daily Beast podcast. ‘I had actually traveled with him to Japan in the spring of 2023 and kind of eyeballed him there, and I thought, ‘Okay, he’s still functioning, but man, he’s frail.’ He looked like he’d blow away in a stiff wind.’ Moran added that the now-83-year-old former president’s voice was merely a ‘whisper’ by his final year in office.” (09/22/26)
“Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has held talks with Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Tehran, as Pakistan and Qatar seek to revive diplomacy amid fears that regional tensions could intensify. Naqvi’s visit to the Iranian capital on Monday was his sixth since the United States and Israel’s war on Iran began in February. It came a day after Tehran said it had received intelligence that the US was planning new attacks on the country.” (09/22/26)
“A Sri Lankan court convicted 15 men on Tuesday over their involvement in the 2019 Easter bombings that killed more than 260 people, and sentenced them each to 200 years in prison, meaning they will spend the rest of their lives behind bars. The three-judge High Court panel also ordered the property of the defendants confiscated. The verdict was delivered amid tight security, with hundreds of police officers deployed around the courthouse, following a lengthy trial that spanned for nearly five years. The April 21 attacks targeted three churches and three hotels across the island nation during Easter services and celebrations, and they also wounded about 500 people. The bombings, which were inspired by the Islamic State group, were among the deadliest attacks in Sri Lanka’s history. They killed 42 foreigners and devastated communities across the country. All the convicted men were from Sri Lanka’s minority Muslim community.” (09/22/26)
“Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expanded his de facto moratorium on new data centers Monday, ordering environmental regulators to stop approving permits for the tech projects until an electricity audit is finished. The Republican has now cut off major state-level approvals for data centers, blocking them from getting environmental permits or connecting to Texas’ main power grid. … The tightening marks Abbott’s latest effort to tamp down anger over data center development ahead of a tight election in November. He has pivoted in recent months after previously calling for Texas to be the ‘epicenter’ of artificial intelligence development.” (09/21/26)
