“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)
“Bitcoin rose above $86,000 on Monday as the cryptocurrency continued its sharp rally over the past few days. Bitcoin was trading at $85,863.40, up around 5.8%, according to CoinMetrics. Earlier in the day, the cryptocurrency rose as high as $86,349.90, its highest level since late Jan. 29. Investors are assessing whether the ‘crypto winter’ — a depressed period of digital asset prices — which began after bitcoin hit an all-time high of over $126,000 in October 2025, is over. … The rally comes even as the U.S. Senate last week blocked the Clarity Act from advancing. It would have set up a framework for crypto in the U.S. and divided industry oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).” (09/21/26)
“Russia hit Ukraine’s industrial heartland overnight, killing four, while an attack in the north cut power supply to thousands, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday. Moscow has escalated its air war, striking economic targets from businesses and ports to logistics hubs as frontline fighting has largely stalled more than 4-1/2 years into the war triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. … Moscow simultaneously hit industrial enterprises in the cities of Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and Pavlohrad in the southeastern region of Dnipropetrovsk, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on the Telegram messaging app.” (09/22/26)
“Hundreds of flights have been delayed at major airports in the US after construction workers accidentally cut a cable needed for air traffic control. Ground stops and delays were issued on Monday afternoon for airports in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Hours later, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the cable had been repaired and airports would resume normal operations, though delays were still expected. … The delays happened after the damaged cable impacted the Terminal Radar Approach Control system, which is used to guide planes during takeoff and landing, transport officials said.” [editor’s note: Sounds more like some kind of “security incident” they’d rather not admit happened – TLK] (09/21/26)
“Houthi fighters are moving to seize strategic heights in Yemen that would cut the Red Sea coast off from areas held by Saudi-backed forces after Donald Trump called off US strikes on the group at the last minute, reportedly as bombs were being loaded on to aircraft. Amid increasingly heavy fighting in Yemen, which has displaced tens of thousands of people in recent weeks, the New York Times reported on Monday that the US president had flip-flopped wildly in recent days after a call from Saudi Arabia for US strikes on the Houthis. It comes amid the Houthis’ rapid advance on the ground with the group gaining control over much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast from Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and advancing to areas adjacent to the crucial Bab al-Mandab strait, which Saudi Arabia has used as an alternative route for oil exports bypassing disruption in the strait of Hormuz.” (09/21/26)
“A federal appeals court reinstated the Missouri GOP’s 7-1 House map to be used in time for the November elections, delivering a boost for several Republican candidates who wanted a more favorable map for the party to be used in the midterm elections. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that using an older set of maps that gives Republicans a 6-2 advantage in the House instead of newer ones the party passed last year and used in this year’s primaries was unconstitutional. … The issue is now likely headed back to the U.S. Supreme Court for a third time in as many weeks.” (09/21/26)
