September 11, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said yesterday that Israel's airstrike on the Hamas political headquarters in Doha, Qatar, earlier this week "killed any hope" of hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza being released. [more]

U.S. POLITICAL AND GUN VIOLENCE | Among instances of gun violence across the U.S. yesterday were:

• Political activist Charlie Kirk, who co-founded the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot and killed while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University yesterday. Despite early reports to the contrary, authorities do not have a suspect in custody and have appealed to the public for any information related to the incident. [more]
• Two students were shot at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado, yesterday by a fellow student who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Reports say one of the victims remains in critical condition. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | According to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today, consumer prices rose a higher-than-expected 0.4% in August. On an annualized basis, the consumer price index rose to 2.9% in August – the highest level since January. [full BLS report] [more]

U.S. DEMOGRAPHICS | According to new data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, among the changes seen from 2023 to 2024 across the U.S. were: overall income inequality declined, more people had college degrees, fewer people moved to a different home, the population became more demographically diverse, and the median household income rose from $80,002 to $81,604. [ACS website] [more]

U.S. WEST NILE VIRUS | According to data released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 770 cases, including about 490 severe cases, of West Nile virus infection have been reported in the U.S. so far this year – an increase of about 40% over infection levels for the same period in 2024. [CDC data site] [more]

U.S. POPULATION | A new report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that the U.S. population will be 4.5 million people lower by 2035 than it predicted in January due to a lower national fertility rate and mass deportations and other immigration measures under Trump administration policies. The report also noted that deaths are expected to exceed the number of births in the U.S. by 2031 – two years earlier than previously projected. [full CBO report] [more]

U.S. SOCIAL SERVICES | Rhode Island-based U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy yesterday blocked Trump administration restrictions on some social services for immigrants in the country illegally, including for health clinics, adult education, and the Head Start federal preschool program. Reports note that the judicial order applies to programs in 20 states and the District of Colombia whose attorneys general challenged the Trump administration restrictions. [more]

U.S. EDUCATION | The Department of Education announced yesterday that it is withholding $350 million in grants budgeted this year for colleges that have large numbers of minority students because it believes eligibility requirements based on racial or ethnic enrollment levels to be unconstitutional. According to reports, the grant suspensions apply to colleges and universities with certain minority enrollment levels for Black, Hispanic, Asian American, Pacific Islander, or Native American students, but not to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which are open to all students regardless of race. [more]

U.S. AND BELARUS | Following an appeal by U.S. President Donald Trump, Belarus released 52 prisoners of various nationalities today. Reports say the U.S. had described the prisoners as "hostages" and note that the U.S. has agreed to grant sanctions relief to Belarus's national airline, Belavia, in exchange for the prisoner release. [more]

GLOBAL CLIMATE | A new study published in the journal Nature concludes that 55 of 213 heatwaves around the world from 2000 to 2023 would not have occurred without human-caused climate change. Study authors further note that carbon emissions from 180 major cement, oil, and gas producers, both companies and countries, contributed significantly to all of the heat events considered in the study. [full study] [more]

POLAND | Following yesterday's incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace, Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged today to move forward with a “great modernization program” for Poland's military. Also this morning, the Polish Air Navigation Agency announced that air traffic restrictions have been introduced in the eastern part of the country at the request of military officials. [more]

CHINA AND PHILIPPINES | China’s State Council announced its approval yesterday of plans to create a national nature reserve on the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, prompting diplomatic protests from the Philippines, which also claims the shoal as its own. The Philippine foreign affairs department called the Chinese move "illegitimate and unlawful" and urged Beijing to "respect the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the Philippines" over the shoal. [more]

JAPAN | Streets were flooded and both rail and air traffic were suspended in Tokyo, Japan, today following severe storms that, according to the Japan Meteorological Association, dropped as much as 4.7 inches of rain on the capital city in just one hour. [more]

MEXICO | At least three people were killed, and 70 others were injured, yesterday when a gas tanker truck crashed and exploded on a major roadway in the southern region of Mexico City, Mexico. Mayor Clara Brugada said 19 of those injured were in grave condition and that some 30 vehicles were burned in the incident. [more]

R.I.P. | Tony and Emmy Award-nominated screen and stage actress Polly Holliday, best known for her role as the waitress Flo in the long-running CBS sitcom "Alice" from 1976 to 1985, died Tuesday at the age of 88. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 2001, al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four jetliners in the eastern United States, crashing the planes into New York City's World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks, which sparked the U.S.’ war on terror and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. [more on the September 11 attacks] [more history]