September 2026
All columns and Brief analyses.
10 results
The Supreme Court kept Missouri on its 2022 congressional map
The US Supreme Court on Friday blocked Missouri from returning to its 2025 congressional map, with no dissents noted. The midterm election proceeds on the 2022 map, under which Republicans hold 6 of the 8 seats and Democrats 2. The court wrote that changing the map while voting is under way would usher in electoral chaos. The 2025 map would have eliminated Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver's seat.
Trump rejects a US-China AI slowdown after the Xi summit
After meeting Xi Jinping, Donald Trump rejected calls for the United States and China to slow or combine their artificial intelligence work. He argued that the United States should protect its claimed lead, while the summit ended without an agreement to pause the two countries’ AI race. The refusal comes after industry leaders and the UN secretary-general called for safeguards. Trump offered no joint timetable for a slowdown.
Two Houthi drones bound for Riyadh reportedly intercepted
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two drones sent by Yemen's Houthi movement toward the Riyadh area. The interception has not been independently verified. Saudi civil defence issued alerts for southern cities. The claim comes amid continued Houthi attacks on Saudi cities and infrastructure, while reports disagree on the number of missiles headed toward Khamis Mushait.
UN adds 61 companies to its settlement activity list
The UN human rights office added 61 companies to its list of businesses linked to Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The total reached 214 businesses across 11 countries; five of last year’s 158 entries were removed. The office assesses activities including settlement construction, banking, surveillance equipment and utilities. The list grew out of a Human Rights Council decision and cannot compel companies to act.
UpGuard finds thousands of readable Supabase databases
UpGuard says about 16,000 Supabase customer databases exposed some personal information. Table permissions and weak row-level security left records reachable outside the intended user group, a risk for applications assembled quickly with AI coding tools. Supabase says its projects are secure by default and customers control the configuration. The finding concerns affected customer projects, not every database on the platform. The figure shows the reported scale; the personal data reachable in each project depend on its settings.
US and China agree to establish a channel for AI incidents
The White House says the United States and China agreed after the Trump-Xi talks in Washington to establish a bilateral channel for artificial intelligence incidents. That would provide contact for specific incidents alongside a broader dialogue on the technology's risks and benefits. Another exchange in that dialogue is planned by November. Neither report says the incident channel is already operating; the announcement describes an agreement to establish it.
White House seeks to rescind 810 million dollars in spending
The White House sent the House Speaker 11 proposed rescissions totaling 810 million dollars in spending Congress had already approved. The largest is 567.4 million dollars from a refugee and entrant assistance account. Education, health, immigration and foreign aid programs also appear. The submission identifies the funds the administration seeks to withhold; it does not by itself establish that every cut has taken effect.
White House sets two-year target for China’s US coal purchases
The White House said China would buy at least 10 million metric tons of US coal in each of 2027 and 2028. The target appears in a US fact sheet issued after Xi Jinping’s Washington visit. Unlike the tariff recommendations in the same document, the coal item specifies a volume and two years. The statement gives no amount of coal already delivered under the pledge.
Yemen’s Alimi offers amnesty to Houthi defectors
Rashad al-Alimi, chair of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, promised a general amnesty for fighters and affiliates who leave the Houthis. The measure would be issued later through constitutional and legal procedures. He urged Yemenis to join the armed forces and security services through official channels. The speech came after government forces lost ground on the Red Sea coast as the Houthis advanced toward the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.