“President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he has approved new fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles, in another move meant to take aim at Biden-era policies supporting electric vehicles. … The final rule was not immediately available, and officials from the White House did not immediately respond to questions. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy amplified Trump’s post on social media, adding, ‘A major victory for America’s auto workers is COMING MONDAY.’ The new regulation is expected to slash fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles by nearly one-third through model year 2031.” (09/26/26)
“A Texas mental health clinic owner was convicted by a federal jury after prosecutors said he orchestrated a $26 million scheme to defraud the military’s health care program, using some of the proceeds to fund luxury purchases, including a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck worth more than $100,000. Kevin D. Curry, 64, of Frisco, was found guilty Thursday in federal court in Fort Worth on three counts of health care fraud, three counts of offering and paying illegal health care kickbacks and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property, according to the Justice Department. Federal prosecutors said Curry exploited TRICARE, the health care program serving active-duty servicemembers, retirees and their families, by billing for transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, therapy that was medically unnecessary or, in many cases, never provided.” (09/27/26)
“Australia has called for the CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic to appear before a Senate inquiry into artificial intelligence, just days after revelations that a rogue OpenAI bot had hacked the country’s health-system database. OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei have been sent written requests to appear at the inquiry, which is to hold public hearings in the capital, Canberra, on Thursday, a spokesperson for Senator Sarah Hanson-Young of the Australian Greens party said. The inquiry is examining the potential impacts of AI and data centres on safety, data transparency, Australian communities, industries, water and energy. It is one of several state and federal inquiries into AI.” (09/27/26)
“A Silicon Valley congressman is calling for a federal investigation into a controversial Menlo Park development, saying a Russian oligarch with alleged ties to organized crime is behind the project. U.S. Rep Sam Liccardo, a Democrat whose district covers the city, asserted in a letter Wednesday to Department of the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the development’s land is owned by Vitaly Yusufov, a Russian whom Liccardo says has been sanctioned by Ukraine and has acted on behalf of former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. He said the project’s location near tech companies raises national security concerns. Oisin Heneghan, the founder of N17 Development, the San Francisco-based developer behind the project, said in an email to SFGATE Friday that Liccardo’s allegations are ‘based on false reporting and what can only be described as NIMBY fan fiction.’” (09/25/26)
“SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 ship Saturday morning from California with a secret mission for the U.S. military. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 7 a.m. PDT from Vandenberg Space Force Base for the USSF-385 mission. The rocket went in a southerly direction after launch from Space Launch Complex 4-East, according to Space Flight Now. … This mission for the U.S. Space Force is believed to be the third in a series of flights to send satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield, which is a version of a Starlink satellite for government use.” (09/26/26)
“Despite rising political anxiety over the Iran war, senators on Thursday narrowly rejected a war powers resolution seeking to halt President Donald Trump’s military action, which has been largely blamed for the spike in gas prices and become a flashpoint in the midterm election. The Senate tally, 49-50, coming days after Trump’s bombastic address to the United Nations in which he threatened to ‘annihilate’ Iran, was likely the last chance for lawmakers to go on record about the war ahead of November. … This was the 14th time the Senate has considered a war powers resolution since Trump launched the conflict on Feb. 28.” (09/25/26)
“Fighting for his political life back home, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel gave a pugnacious address at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, casting his nation as falsely accused of genocide and his people as indomitable fighters against terrorism and antisemitism. At times pounding the lectern and raising his voice, Mr. Netanyahu took aim at Israel’s military enemies like Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and their allied forces in Yemen and Iraq. But he also assailed Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Western European leaders he said had ‘chosen to succumb to the antisemitic mob.’ As the Israeli leader took the podium, many of the international diplomats filed out of the hall, as they have in the past, but his speech seemed tuned far more to a domestic audience than an international one.” (09/24/26)
“New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Thursday evening that she gave Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell ‘until tomorrow’ to resign after an investigation found he had violated state ethics and harassment policy. … The state said this month that it had hired a law firm to investigate allegations against Caldwell, a Democrat who was elected on the ticket with Sherrill last year, claiming that he had behaved inappropriately toward women. … Sherrill said Caldwell’s ‘ethical lapses persisted despite multiple warnings and trainings.’ … Lawyers for Caldwell, who has denied the allegations, said in a statement Thursday night that they ‘strongly disputed the three findings in the investigation,’ as its conclusions ‘go further than the evidence supports.'” (09/24/26)
“Fewer people applied for US unemployment benefits last week, as US jobless claims remain at historically low levels as most Americans enjoy job security. The Labour Department said Thursday, September 24, that 197,000 applied for unemployment checks last week, the fewest since mid-July and down from a revised 198,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, fell to 202,250 last week from 204,000. Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed. So far this year, claims have mostly stayed below 220,000 — historically low.” (09/24/26)
“The governor of Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, a major agricultural producer, has declared a state of emergency over Ukrainian drone attacks that have inhibited the export of grain, a move which allows those affected to receive compensation. Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks on the other side’s grain vessels in the Black Sea in recent months, sending global prices higher. Regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev, announcing the state of emergency on Wednesday, said that ‘massive attacks’ on logistics infrastructure had caused the suspension of port operations and disruptions to shipping in the Black Sea, the Interfax news agency reported on Thursday. Agricultural producers, he said, were unable to sell much of their yields, leading to an oversupply on the domestic grain market.” (09/24/26)
