Friday, October 2, 2026
‘Explosion of melt rates’: 20% of Swiss glaciers lost in five years
Alpine regions in Europe experiencing extreme glacier collapse due to heat-trapping effects of fossil fuel pollution…
Democratic senators accuse Trump administration of worsening childcare crisis
“The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) unlawfully froze program funding for grantees mere weeks after President Trump took office – which forced some Head Start programs to temporarily close and left thousands of the country’s most vulnerable families’ child care with uncertainty – and withheld funding from grantees until they complied with the administration’s rigid requirements,” the letter says…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/01/childcare-crisis-trump-administration
Hegseth puts the future of warfare in the hands of major Maga donors
Installing tech billionaires Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey to Pentagon defense board raises conflict-of-interest concerns…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/01/hegseth-musk-warfare-taskforce
With Republicans in trouble, Trump gives himself an A+ ‘on everything’ - POLITICO
Trump has twice this week appeared to blame his own team for failing to communicate all the positives he’s achieved since taking office nearly two years ago. On Thursday, he added that “the press isn’t treating us fairly.”
But with stubbornly persistent inflation, gas above $4.40 a gallon and mortgage rates above 7%, even Republicans in ruby-red states are facing headwinds that could blow them from office…
Top Democratic appropriator wants White House to pay for airing 'propaganda' - Live Updates - POLITICO
Sen. Patty Murray is proposing to dock the Office of Management and Budget for violations…
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/10/01/congress/penalties-for-propaganda-ads-01103825
Google launches Project Suncatcher, a step towards AI data centers in space : NPR
"The sun puts out almost all of the power in our solar system. All of the other power sources that humanity has tapped into are just a tiny fraction of a percent," said Travis Beals, senior director and lead of Project Suncatcher. "So in some sense, this project is about tapping into the best way to use solar power to run AI compute."…
https://www.npr.org/2026/10/01/nx-s1-5983697/project-suncatcher-google-ai-data-center-space
Most Americans blame Trump for high prices as his economic approval hits new low, AP-NORC poll shows | PBS News
"Our president, I thought, was going to help the country, and so far he has not really seemed to have done that with the economy or in general. He's not really done what I was hoping he would," said Gault. "He said, 'Make America Great Again.' And I have not seen him do that."…
Trump officials abandon effort to investigate election threats, experts warn
The first day after Pam Bondi won Senate confirmation as attorney general, she eliminated the FBI’s foreign influence taskforce, which had been investigating influence campaigns waged by China, Russia and other adversaries.
Administration leaders fired or reassigned personnel working on foreign election interference at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa). They also defunded Cisa’s training program for local officials to monitor and coordinate threats through the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/01/trump-us-election-threats
Israeli forces overwhelmed by violent settlers in ‘terrorist attack’ on Palestinian family
More than 100 militant settlers overwhelmed Israeli security forces early on Tuesday to attack a Palestinian family as they attempted to reclaim their homes which had been seized by settlers in the West Bank village of Jalud. Three Israeli security officials were injured and houses were set on fire…
Disability rights upended by Trump DOJ : NPR
For nearly 50 years, the federal government has said people with disabilities should live, work and learn in the most integrated setting possible rather than be segregated in institutions like nursing homes.
The Trump administration just took its most concrete step yet to reverse that position…
https://www.npr.org/2026/10/01/nx-s1-5981375/integration-mandate-disabilities-reversed-trump
Judge permanently tosses Trump administration’s reflecting pool vandalism prosecution - POLITICO
The order bars the administration from charging a man again over damages to the pool in Washington…
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/01/reflecting-pool-vandalism-case-dismissed-01103477
Vance’s red-state swing hits Florida as polls tighten in Sunshine State - POLITICO
Democrats have overperformed in recent special elections in Florida and made gains with independent and even Republican voters. Florida is facing many of the same political headwinds as the rest of the U.S., including inflation and ongoing frustrations with gas prices due to the war in Iran — as well as backlash over mass deportations from members of its large immigrant population.
Vance, who is one of the White House’s top midterm surrogates and has embarked on a red-state swing, pressed the base assembled at an aircraft hangar and events venue to turn out in November to “send a message to the far-left radicals.” He accused Democrats of wanting to make Florida “less free, less safe and more poor.” …
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/01/vance-florida-campaign-rally-01103866
Why Trump’s Crypto Business Wants to Become a Bank – Mother Jones
Sen. Elizabeth Warren decries the first family’s latest crypto play as a “clear conflict of interest and corruption.”…
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/10/trump-world-liberty-financial-bank/
High diesel costs squeeze Michigan corn and soybean farmers
“If we can market it at a little higher price, maybe we can offset some of those expensive diesel costs, but as of right now until we get the crop off … and see what we have on the field, it’s still an unknown,” said Rupprecht…
Red States Just Asked the Supreme Court to Kill Abortion Shield Laws – Mother Jones
“It’s painfully obvious that anti-abortion extremists are targeting shield laws because they are working.”…
In Sworn Deposition, Rep. Max Miller Was Silent on Staircase Assault Allegation – Mother Jones
During a sworn deposition on Monday, Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) declined to answer repeated questions from one of his ex-wife’s lawyers about whether he pushed a girl down a staircase during high school…
Judge rules Trump can’t fire court-appointed prosecutors - POLITICO
“The president cannot unilaterally fire a United States attorney appointed by the district court,” U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian said in a ruling from the bench. Doing so, Bastian said, “would upend the framework created by the Constitution and the statutes, which together balance the president’s right to appoint and the Senate’s right to confirm.”…
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/01/us-attorneys-trump-firing-ruling
A super El Niño is here, but NOAA is scaling back research : NPR
The Trump administration is also trying to eliminate NOAA's research office, the primary scientific arm that studies events like El Niño, as part of that budget process. Since Trump began his second term, NOAA has lost more than 2,000 staff, largely due to retirements and firings…
https://www.npr.org/2026/10/01/nx-s1-5976905/super-el-nino-research-noaa-floods
Thursday, October 1, 2026
Man arrested over alleged plot to attack Texas state capitol
Suspect Benny Caldera Jr held on bond as officials say they received ‘credible’ information about Austin threat…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/30/texas-state-capitol-austin-attack-plot
Michigan congresswoman pitches bipartisan bill as way to lower child care costs
Michiganders dealing with high energy costs and increasing prices at the grocery store might find some pocketbook relief through the bipartisan Childcare Modernization Act introduced in the U.S. House this summer, says Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet…
Pentagon excludes key allies from NATO meeting - POLITICO
The planned meeting in Poland, which Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has spearheaded, is essentially a working group focused on NATO’s future, according to six diplomats familiar with the planning. But many of the countries who didn’t receive an invite — such as the United Kingdom, France and the Baltic countries — are big defense spenders and play key roles in the alliance, leaving their diplomats wondering why they’re being frozen out…
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/30/trump-nato-allies-left-out-01100310
Nuclear company plans reactor-powered data center on federal land : NPR
Valar Atomics is planning what it calls "Project Beehive" on over 9,000 acres of land held under the Bureau of Land Management near Price, Utah. The facility would include data centers and some 456 small nuclear reactors, along with a facility to produce nuclear fuel and others for storing nuclear waste, according to a proposal from the company to federal regulators…
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/30/nx-s1-5983482/valar-atomic-nuclear-data-center-project-beehive-utah
RFK Jr outlines expansive vision for collecting US health data at Maha event
Medical and lifestyle data, from doctor’s visits to exercise, should be connected and shared with the government and independent researchers, where it can be searched by AI – including potential links between vaccines and health outcomes including autism and mortality, suggested Kennedy, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a longtime vaccine skeptic…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/29/rfk-jr-collect-health-data
Michigan 10th Congressional race could determine which party controls Congress
The district that represents parts of Macomb and Oakland Counties has leaned Republican in recent years. President Donald Trump won the Tenth district by six points in 2024.
But Republican strength has ebbed in the Tenth district and now the open congressional seat, being vacated by John James as he runs for Michigan governor, is considered a toss-up heading into November…
Senate Democrats block datacenter bill
Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked legislation intended to offset the impact of datacenters on consumer electricity bills, calling it a “toothless” attempt to address a top voter concern ahead of November’s midterm elections…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/30/senate-datacenter-energy-bill
‘He should be sued’: Trump slams Powell over report clearing Fed of criminal wrongdoing - POLITICO
The long-awaited watchdog report concluded that the Fed should have done more to rein in the project’s cost, which has ballooned to an estimated $2.38 billion — more than $1 billion over a 2020 projection. But the agency said there were no “reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of criminal law had occurred,” nor was there misconduct by the Fed board…
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/30/fed-ig-probe-headquarters-powell-trump-01099857
Kristan Hawkins Helped Kill Roe. Now She’s Fighting to Control the Movement She Created. – Mother Jones
How the Charlie Kirk of abortion moved from the fringes to the mainstream…
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/kristan-hawkins-roe-anti-abortion-charlie-kirk/
This White House Plan Threatens Funding for Disabled Voters — ProPublica
A new rule from the Office of Management and Budget would prohibit anyone from using federal grant money for voter registration drives. It’s part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to restrict voting access…
https://www.propublica.org/article/disabled-voters-nonprofit-funding-cuts-omb
WATCH: Justice Department files complaint against judges over immigration enforcement surge comments | PBS News
The complaint alleges the seven judges — nominated by Democrats and Republican presidents — violated judicial ethics by speaking to The New York Times about their experience dealing with a flood of cases during last winter's Operation Metro Surge crackdown that led to thousands of arrests in the Twin Cities…
Flydubai pilot stabs another, tries to crash plane full of Israelis : NPR
But the Israeli and Indian governments identified the pilot who was attacked as Indian national Smit Machchhar, and praised his bravery.
"Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster," Netanyahu said. "He is a true hero."…
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/30/nx-s1-5985806/flydubai-flight-dubai-tel-aviv-israel
Pentagon says it has formally completed withdrawal of US troops from Iraq
Twelve years after US mission against IS began, Trump hails ‘great day for America’ and calls Iraq war ‘a quagmire’…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/30/pentagon-formal-withdrawal-troops-iraq
Cruz kills Blackburn effort to pass AI deepfakes bill - Live Updates - POLITICO
“Our bill would establish clear guardrails that protect our creators in Tennessee and across the entire country, in addition to establishing a federal intellectual property right in every American’s voice and visual likeness,” she said in a floor speech…
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/09/30/congress/cruz-says-no-to-no-fakes-act-01100986
Democrats want a blue wave. New Hampshire is Exhibit A for why that may not happen | PBS News
Democrats are ignoring glaring vulnerabilities that threaten to undermine the unstoppable blue wave they say is coming…
Insects play critical role in ecosystems beyond just providing food, new research shows
“We need to pay attention to insects and make their conservation a top priority, because conserving insects will benefit all the other species that rely on them. Insects are so much more than just food for vertebrates like birds and bats – they create and maintain habitat, provide protection to other species, help with reducing diseases and removing waste, and so many other ecosystem services that we, and other species, rely on. They really are the unsung heroes of the natural world,” she added…
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/30/insects-ecosystems-conservation
US Senate blocks resolution demanding accountability over Israeli violence in West Bank
The US Senate on Tuesday evening rejected along mostly party lines a Democratic resolution that would have forced the state department to report to Congress on violence in the occupied West Bank, including the killings of nine American citizens by Israeli settlers or security forces over the last few years…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/29/senate-resolution-west-bank-israel-violence
How I Got Dragged Into a Putin Disinformation Op – Mother Jones
Matryoshka, using old bot accounts created up to 12 years ago, spewed out at least nine sham Mother Jones videos, with each one promoting an outrageous but spurious allegation about a Democratic candidate…
Meet Kristan Hawkins, the “Charlie Kirk of Abortion” – Mother Jones
Along the way, we saw Hawkins try to defend extreme positions at odds with how the majority of Americans think. It was an illuminating, and unsettling, look not just at Hawkins, but at the entire anti-abortion movement at a critical, and unexpected, crossroads…
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/meet-kristan-hawkins-the-charlie-kirk-of-abortion/
A ‘freaked out’ US food industry is hitting back at Maga – with social media influencers
They call it Gaha: Growing a Healthier America. Documents show the coordinated effort is tracking Maha closely and researching ways to respond to the movement’s claims without alienating its supporters. They are focused on several key areas: seed oils, pesticides, high-fructose corn syrup, regenerative agriculture, organic farming, raw milk/dairy and “big ag”, internal documents obtained by the Guardian and Documented show.
The campaign involves deploying social media influencers with significant reach online in an effort to rebuild trust in the industries that the Maha movement has made their target…
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/sep/30/us-food-industry-maga-social-media-influencers
Trump’s AI chatbot turns on its master
Unfortunately for Trump, America.gov – which, according to the executive order he signed, is a place where Americans can “receive accurate answers” to all sorts of questions – is providing the kind of answers that he will not want to hear. It stands ready to debunk his false claims on all sorts of things, including election fraud, inflation and the impact of wind turbines on whales…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/30/trump-america-gov-ai-chatbot
Blackburn sues Jack Smith for obtaining her phone records - POLITICO
Smith insisted that his effort to obtain lawmakers’ phone records was cleared by the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section and complied with all department regulations…
A Leading Anti-Abortion Zealot Just Quit the FBI – Mother Jones
Andrew Bailey has been hellbent on eradicating access to abortion pills. Conservatives have lost a key ally at a critical time…
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/andrew-bailey-anti-abortion-zealot-quits-fbi/
Mamdani releases plan to combat antisemitism and hate crimes in New York City
Strategy includes increased security funding for synagogues, and focus on folding Jewish history into public school education…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/29/zohran-mamdani-new-york-antisemitism-plan
Three deaths, three states, 24 hours: one day in ICE’s quiet but ‘gruesome’ surge
These men in Maine, Georgia and Florida shared no ties – until they became casualties in the latest phase of Trump’s anti-immigration campaign…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/29/deaths-one-day-ice-immigration
Catholic clergy sexually abused nearly 1,000 Massachusetts children over decades, report finds
“The evidence gathered during this investigation also shows that, for decades, and especially before 2002, church officials in all three dioceses knew about the sexual abuse of children yet did not take effective action to prevent it or to examine the institutional failures of leadership that led to scores of children being victimized at the hands of abusive priests,” the report stated…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/30/catholic-clergy-massachusetts-sexual-abuse-report
Trump announces vague ‘morally binding’ AI deal among tech CEOs for ‘tremendous self-policing’
The document outlines four “layers of controls and audits” for AI companies. The first involves implementing internal safety monitoring during training – something that already exists at major labs and has failed to prevent testing failures thus far. The second calls for empowering an internal team to make sure the first layer of monitoring is operating correctly, while the third agrees to give an external auditor the ability to independently assess safety controls. Finally, the agreement calls for companies to designate an independent board to review reports about those safety controls…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/29/trump-ai-deal-tech-ceos-superintelligence
4 ways to avoid getting ripped off : NPR
Owens explains how to cover up your trail so it's harder for retailers to watch you — and then sell you products at personalized prices. Maybe you don't use all these techniques for smaller purchases, like a pair of shoes, but for expensive flights or other travel, it might be worth it…
Andy Burnham: UK could ‘go all the way’ by rejoining EU
Asked whether he wanted the UK to rejoin the bloc, the prime minister told Radio 4’s Today programme he wanted to “look at the options”. He added: “We could stay as we are. That’s definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay. We could look at what George Osborne has said about a customs union, we could look at what the Liberal Democrats said at their conference about the single market or we could go all the way.”…
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/30/andy-burnham-uk-could-go-all-the-way-rejoining-eu
WATCH: Hegseth confirms the U.S. military will cut 20% of its generals and admirals | PBS News
Members of Congress have criticized the war and the drawdown of munitions stockpiles,and some called the latest cuts to the general ranks a "purge" of the military's top ranks that will take years to rebuild…
Pete Hegseth appoints Elon Musk to US taskforce on future of warfare
A year after his explosive tenure at Doge, the SpaceX CEO is back in the Trump administration’s good graces…
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/30/pete-hegseth-elon-musk-taskforce-warfare
Leaning into culture war flashpoints, Hegseth says he has transformed U.S. military : NPR
"No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors," Hegseth said on Wednesday. "The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing on top."…
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/30/nx-s1-5986304/hegseth-troops-address
Pennsylvania reports fifth measles-related death of the year amid outbreak
Measles outbreak in the state has now reached 39 counties, with 943 confirmed cases and 176 hospitalizations
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/30/pennsylvania-reports-fifth-measles-related-death
Senate’s Justice urges ICE to dial back enforcement sweeps - Live Updates - POLITICO
Sen. Jim Justice is weighing in amid ranchers’ outcry over the impact of immigration enforcement activities on their industry…
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