Michael Bloomberg Dials Up a War on Plastics (www.nytimes.com)
Michael Bloomberg is many things: former New York City mayor, founder of a financial data company, failed presidential candidate and the 11th richest man in the world....
US releases $6bn in frozen Iran funds for prisoner swap (www.bbc.co.uk)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress that the money would provide "limited benefit" to Iran as it could only be used for humanitarian trade....
Russia will not probe Prigozhin plane crash under international rules (www.reuters.com)
Foxconn founder Terry Gou announces run for Taiwan presidency, pledging to fix China ties (www.theguardian.com)
The billionaire founder of tech giant Foxconn, Terry Gou, has announced he will run for president of Taiwan as an independent candidate, pledging to fix cross-strait relations and boost Taiwan’s economy....
Boston.com: Visitors blocked a Vermont road just to see this wooden troll. Now no one can view it. (www.boston.com)
Gunfire at a California biker bar kills 4 people, including the shooter, and wounds 5 more (apnews.com)
Three people were killed and five others were wounded in a shooting Wednesday at a Southern California biker bar, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said. The gunman was also killed by deputies....
Little Rock Nine criticize Arkansas’s AP African American Studies course restrictions (thehill.com)
Some surviving members of the Little Rock Nine are pushing back against the Arkansas Department of Education’s decision to drop the Advanced Placement (AP) African American studies course from its schools.
Iran arrests 12 female activists in crackdown ahead of protest anniversary (www.washingtonpost.com)
Iran on Wednesday detained at least 12 female activists in what rights groups say is an escalating campaign to deter protests to mark the anniversary of the “woman, life, freedom” uprising that swept the country last year....
Maui's displaced grow anxious as wildfire recovery drags on (www.reuters.com)
106 people dead, 86% of the destroyed/damaged buildings are residential, and only 27% of Lahaina’s disaster area has been searched. This will only get worse.
1,500-year-old Teotihuacan village found in Mexico City (www.cnn.com)
Archaeologists have uncovered a 1,500-year-old Teotihuacan village in Mexico City, complete with large concentrations of ceramics and three human burials, Mexico’s National Institute of History and Anthropology has announced.
Biden orders ban on certain US tech investments in China (www.reuters.com)
New book details Trump lawyers’ secret meeting with Jack Smith ahead of DC indictment (www.politico.com)
Jack Smith’s public image, shaped by his near invisibility since taking over the federal criminal cases against Donald Trump, has been that of a sullen, brooding and hard-charging prosecutor....
Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war (cpj.org)
Editor’s note: The list below is CPJ’s most complete account of journalist deaths in the war. Our database will not reflect many of these casualties until we have fully investigated the circumstances surrounding them. For more information, read our FAQ. The Israel-Gaza war has taken a severe toll on journalists since Hamas...
Film crews became 'collateral damage' of Hollywood strikes (www.reuters.com)
They were among the hundreds of thousands of U.S. and Canadian film and television crew workers who were unemployed for up to 10 months because of strikes called by actors and writers, leaving a trail of evictions and family disintegration....
New Speaker Mike Johnson grasps for a funding plan with a government shutdown rapidly approaching (apnews.com)
With just a week left to avert a government shutdown, new House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing his first big test as he tries to win House Republican support for a short-term funding plan — a task that looks increasingly difficult amid stubborn divisions in the party over federal spending....
‘Aliens,’ or a foreign power? Pentagon UFO chief says someone is in our backyard (thehill.com)
This week, the director of the U.S. government’s UFO analysis office stated that there is “evidence” of concerning unidentified flying object activity “in our backyard.” According to physicist Seán Kirkpatrick, who heads the congressionally-mandated All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, this alarming UFO activity can...
UAW and Stellantis reach tentative contract deal as union adds strike at Tennessee GM factory (apnews.com)
Jeep maker Stellantis reached a tentative contract agreement with the United Auto Workers union on Saturday as it escalated strikes against General Motors by adding a plant in Tennessee....
Thousands loot UN aid warehouses in Gaza as desperation grows and Israel widens ground offensive (apnews.com)
A U.N. agency says thousands of people have broken into aid warehouses in Gaza to take flour and basic hygiene products. It's a sign of growing desperation and the breakdown of public order three weeks into the war between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers.
Mass layoffs are on the rise in the U.S., at least according to this often-overlooked data series (www.marketwatch.com)
Goodbye to more DVDs? Best Buy plans to phase out sales of physical movies in the coming months (apnews.com)
Best Buy is saying goodbye to movie-watching with physical discs....
Uranium enrichment starting at federally supported demonstration project in Ohio (apnews.com)
Uranium enrichment is getting underway this week at a facility in southern Ohio, a federally authorized demonstration project considered critical to produce the type of fuel needed for newer, more efficient nuclear reactors....
State Department announces plan to fly Americans out of Israel (abcnews.go.com)
The U.S. State Department will be arranging chartered flights for American citizens who are currently in Israel, the White House announced Thursday....
September sizzled to records and was so much warmer than average scientists call it 'mind-blowing' (apnews.com)
Black BYU student says he was harassed while recording social media posts (www.nbcnews.com)
A member of the “Black Menaces,” a group of Black Brigham Young University students who regularly share on social media video interviews with white classmates, said that a university staff member confronted him while he was conducting an interview last week and that a classmate harassed him immediately afterward....