September 9, 2026

MIDDLE EAST WAR | Day 194.

• The U.S. military says it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers yesterday in response to Iran's attacks earlier this week on U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf region. Iran fired at least 20 ballistic missiles at U.S. ally Jordan following the latest U.S. strikes, though all of the missiles were either intercepted or fell in unoccupied areas, according to Jordanian officials. [more]
• Amidst ongoing military actions and heightened tensions over escalations in the Middle East war, the price of international benchmark Brent crude oil rose above $100 per barrel early today for the first time since July. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,656 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Reports say at least two people were killed overnight in a Russian drone attack on a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova. Analysts suggest the strike was part of Moscow's attempts to target Ukrainian trade ‌and logistics routes. [more]

U.S. TRUMP INVESTIGATIONS | The Associated Press cites unnamed sources as saying the Justice Department is pursuing cases before a Florida grand jury as part of investigations into the theory that members of the intelligence community scrutinized President Donald Trump over the last decade, including over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, conspired against him, and violated his rights. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | A two-day mid-term Republican Party convention opens in Dallas, Texas, today, with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Attorney General Todd Blanche scheduled to be among the speakers. Reports cite Republican National Committee officials as saying about 30,000 people are expected to attend the convention over two days. [more]

MISSOURI | Two court rulings yesterday added confusion to the upcoming mid-term elections in Missouri, with the U.S. Supreme Court allowing a Missouri Supreme Court order to use old congressional districting maps to stand, while a federal judge in the state temporarily blocked the use of any district maps for November's voting except as redrawn last year. [more]

COLORADO | Former Colorado Bureau of Investigation forensic analyst Yvonne Woods was sentenced to 10 years in prison yesterday following her guilty plea earlier this year after authorities said her manipulation of DNA data raised questions about the validity of hundreds of criminal cases. [more]

U.S. AND CANADA | In a continuation of the ongoing U.S.-Canada trade war, U.S. President Donald Trump, in a series of presidential proclamations, imposed new restrictions yesterday on the importation of Canadian dairy products, motorcycles, and alcoholic beverages, and directed the U.S. General Services Administration to declare Canadian products ineligible for long-term U.S. government contracts. [White House fact sheet] [more]

ISRAEL AND GAZA | The Israeli newspaper Haaretz cites investigations as showing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was personally warned by the president of the United Arab Emirates that Hamas was planning a major offensive just days before the militant group attacked Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023. Netanyahu's office has rejected the report, saying there was no such warning made. [more]

KENYA | Citing increased workloads and the need to fully implement a collective bargaining agreement signed in 2017, doctors across Kenya threatened yesterday to join a strike by the African nation's nurses that is now in its sixth week. [more]

BRAZIL | Supreme Court Justice André Mendonca ordered the removal from office of the chief of Brazil's federal police and the agency's intelligence service yesterday, saying the two officials produced six illegal reports on the justice’s activities earlier this year. The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has appealed the order to the court’s chief-justice, saying Mendonca has no jurisdiction in deciding who heads the country’s federal police. [more]

BANGLADESH | Health officials in Bangladesh say efforts are ongoing to halt a measles outbreak in the South Asian nation that has seen at least 166,000 suspected cases, 19,835 laboratory-confirmed infections, and 999 related deaths since March of this year. [more]

U.K. AND ISRAEL | Following the U.K. move this week to ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, Israel ordered the U.K. today to close its East Jerusalem consulate within a month. [more]

INDONESIA | Flights to and from Indonesia's capital region resumed today following two days of closures due to ash from the eruption of the country's Anak Krakatau volcano. [more]

U.K. | More than 1,000 flights were disrupted across the U.K. yesterday due to a now-resolved problem with the country's National Air Traffic Services flight processing system. Reports cite officials as saying continued delays are possible at affected airports as airlines work to clear the backlog of delayed flights. [more]

COLLEGE SPORTS | Leaders of the Southeastern Conference will reportedly meet tomorrow to discuss Louisiana State University's continued membership in the collegiate sports conference following the LSU football team's recent, but now-abandoned, effort to field players who signed contracts with NFL teams as undrafted rookies earlier this year. [more]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL | Ohio State tops this week's AP Top 25 college football poll, followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas, and Indiana. [full poll] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law. The measure – the first civil rights bill to pass in the U.S. Congress since Reconstruction – was primarily concerned with protecting voting rights and also established a Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Justice. [more history]