Source: Los Angeles Times
“Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a statewide emergency for California in anticipation of this winter’s El Niño-fueled storms, a new sign of growing worry about coastal flooding and high waves expected in the coming months. El Niño may bring high surf and high-impact storms to the state, which ‘warrants early, coordinated, and targeted preparedness actions to protect Californians, critical infrastructure, agricultural lands, natural resources, and the State’s economy,’ the emergency proclamation read.” (09/21/26)
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-09-21/gov-newsom-declares-statewide-emergency-el-nino-storms
Source: Fox News
by Jeffrey Gerrish
“President Donald Trump just secured nine new pricing agreements with drug manufacturers that could help reduce what Americans pay for many prescription medicines. The deals demonstrate Trump’s commitment to lowering drug prices for patients. The president’s dedication – and his desire to negotiate with companies individually, rather than imposing broad mandates – is commendable. But his efforts would be better directed at the root cause of high drug prices: foreign countries free-riding on American drug innovation. To deliver lasting price reductions while protecting U.S. leadership in biomedical innovation, the Trump administration must focus its negotiating strategy overseas – and intensify its push to make other countries pay their fair share for the medicines America develops.” (09/21/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trump-lower-drug-prices-free-riding-targets-outside-us
Source: The American Conservative
by Peter Van Buren
“Experience has taught me to distinguish between genuine danger and apocalyptic rhetoric. So forgive me if I am a little skeptical that AI will, as the latest crop of doom-saying scientists now warn, wipe out the human race within a decade. But I recognize that I am not an AI expert. So I did what anyone might do in response: I asked AI directly, ‘How could AI plausibly cause human extinction?’ The machine had a few scarily plausible ideas—ones that seem far more likely than car emissions to end our civilization.” (09/21/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/will-ai-kill-us-all/
Source: Politico
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her government is preparing two legislative proposals that would ban face coverings in Italian schools and restrict the number of foreign students allowed in classrooms. … Roughly 930,000 students without Italian citizenship are enrolled in the country’s schools, representing almost 11.6% of the school population, according to research institute Fondazione ISMU. … It’s not the first time Meloni’s government has looked to ban face coverings. In 2025 her party said it had plans to ban the burqa and niqab in all public spaces nationwide, calling the legislation a response to ‘Islamic separatism.’ The bill is still under consideration in the country’s lower house.” (09/20/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/giorgia-meloni-ban-veils-italy-schools-limit-foreign-students/
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Says He’s Considering Blowing Up ‘Entire Nation’ of Iran, US Airstrike in Somalia, and More.” (09/20/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0J9R66Vu80
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
by Will Bunch
“Lincoln Financial Field is a public edifice, full stop, We, as city and state taxpayers, contributed $188 million to build the Linc back in 2003, and the city owns the stadium, leasing it to the Eagles for them to host and profit from games and concerts. The team should be compelled to explain why it’s not a violation of the First Amendment to bar a performing artist from presenting a legitimate political viewpoint here. The Birds’ silence on this is a deafening roar. Maybe they’re channeling the spirit of the late, great Chuck Bednarik, but the Eagles are a two-way player when it comes to the question of whether they are a cherished public good in Philadelphia, or just another unaccountable multi-billion-dollar corporation.” (09/20/26)
https://archive.is/vukrr
Source: Town Hall
by Kevin McCullough
“You have to admit it. He outfoxes just about everyone, just about every time. And it keeps landing the same way: to America’s gain. Remember when Trump first floated the idea that America might make Greenland more prosperous, more secure, and do something Denmark hadn’t managed in generations — actually invest in the welfare of Greenland’s own people? Remember the freakout that followed? Trump wouldn’t rule out taking the island by force, even against a NATO ally, and for a while it genuinely rattled the alliance. … This week, we found out what the noise was actually covering for. On Friday, the United States, Denmark, and Greenland announced a finalized security agreement — to be formally signed by all three governments next week at the United Nations General Assembly, pending expected parliamentary approval in Copenhagen and Nuuk.” (09/21/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/kevinmccullough/2026/09/21/so-about-that-greenland-thing-n2683317
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Paramount Skydance has settled a lawsuit with dozens of US states, removing a major hurdle to its $110bn (£82.8bn) merger with Warner Bros Discovery. California Attorney General Rob Bonta told a news conference that state officials agreed to terms after securing commitments to protect competition across film and television, and broadcasting. Still, ‘the settlement is not a vote of support for this merger,’ Bonta said. ‘I don’t think these two companies should merge’. Paramount chief executive David Ellison hailed the resolution, saying: ‘Our shared aim was an outcome that best serves consumers, workers and – most importantly -the creative community so vital to the art of visual storytelling.’ In a statement, Ellison said that now the state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) concerns had been addressed, ‘we have complete clearance for this merger and look forward to putting these commitments into action’.” (09/21/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm4gjr1qepr8o
Source: Liberal Currents
“Samantha and guest Keira Havens talk Thomas Massie’s recent attempt to impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. They discuss the mechanics and politics of impeachment, the role of accountability, and what it means to regain a sense of ourselves as constitutional actors.” (09/20/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/lets-impeach-pete-hegseth-neon-liberalism-91-with-keira-havens/
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Criteria exist to qualify for some desirable outcome: getting into college, getting tenure, getting someone to marry you, getting students to come to your law school. Individuals spend resources gaming the system, taking advantage of an imperfect match between the criteria and the characteristics they are designed to select for. Colleges want smart students, use SAT scores and high school grades to recognize them. An SAT prep course doesn’t make you smarter but it might raise your score, so students spend time and money on them. Cheating on exams doesn’t make you smarter either but might raise your grades. … The same mechanism gives us news stories we cannot trust.” (09/20/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/criteriamaxxing
