Monday, September 28, 2026

Andrew Bailey, co-deputy director of the FBI and former Missouri attorney general, announced Monday he is resigning to return to his family in Missouri, citing family reasons. He had served about a year, originally alongside Dan Bongino, who left in December 2025, and later with co-deputy Chris Raia. Director Kash Patel thanked Bailey for his service in a reply on X.

Following last week's meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, the US and China each released lists of about $30 billion worth of products that will receive lower tariffs under a new "30-by-30" framework. Goods include toys, coal, fireworks and kitchenware. China's list of US farm goods excludes soybeans, according to Reuters.

A New York prosecutor reopened a criminal investigation into an alleged 2024 gang rape at Cornell University's Chi Phi fraternity, sending the case to a grand jury. The move follows a civil lawsuit filed this month by a woman, identified as Jane Doe, against Cornell and seven fraternity members, alleging she was drugged and raped and that the university failed to protect her. Cornell said it supports the decision to reopen the case.

The Trump administration finalized new fuel economy rules, lowering the required fleet average to 34.9 miles per gallon by model year 2031, down from a prior target of 50.4 mpg. Officials said the change could save Americans $138 billion over five years and reduce the average new vehicle price by $1,300 by 2031; some analysts have expressed doubt about that claim.

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Monday to lift lower-court blocks on a Bureau of Prisons policy that halts new hormone treatments, surgeries and social accommodations like binders or wigs for transgender inmates. Inmates already on hormones would be tapered off. Solicitor General D. John Sauer said the policy prioritizes mental-health treatment over what he called medically disputed interventions. Lower courts had blocked the policy's enforcement.

Justice Samuel Alito announced Monday he will not participate in Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, a case set for oral arguments the following Monday over whether Boulder County, Colorado can sue oil companies over climate change. The Supreme Court's clerk said Alito "has determined that he will not continue to participate in this case," without explanation. Alito had faced scrutiny over his financial interests in oil and gas stocks, and the court had previously said his recusal was unnecessary. The remaining eight justices will hear the case.

SpaceX's Starship rocket reached orbit for the first time Monday on its 14th test flight, launching from South Texas and deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites. An engine shut down unexpectedly during ascent but the flight continued. Planned to orbit Earth six times before splashing down near Chile, the uncrewed ship was brought back early, with an explosion visible after touchdown in the Pacific. The cause was not immediately explained.

President Trump announced Monday that Mesabi Metallics plans to build a $15 billion steel plant in Iowa, which the White House called the largest steel plant in American history. The plant is expected to eventually produce up to 10 million tons of steel and would be the first mega-steel plant built in the U.S. since the 1960s, according to White House officials.

Nvidia's board of directors authorized an increase of $150 billion to the company's stock buyback program on Monday, bringing the total authorized amount to $235 billion. The move, four months after an earlier $80 billion addition, marks the largest share-repurchase authorization in history, according to multiple reports.

Three men were killed and four people wounded in a shooting at 7:21 a.m. Sunday at a Detroit after-hours strip club, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said. He said a fight escalated into gun violence. The wounded, two men and two women in their 20s and 30s, were driven to hospitals by private car and are stable. Police had been called to the location seven times in 2026. Mayor Mary Sheffield said the city needed more people to speak up.

British counterterrorism police released on bail five British nationals, aged 23 to 25 from London, who were arrested near RAF Fairford, a Gloucestershire base used by U.S. forces in strikes on Iran. The men remain under investigation as detectives probe possible Iran links and examine suspected explosives found nearby. President Trump criticized the decision to release the suspects. Officials have not identified the men or detailed why they were freed.

South Korea summoned Ukraine's ambassador after President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN General Assembly last week that two captured North Korean soldiers had been transferred to South Korean custody. Seoul says the handover was meant to remain secret and that disclosure violated a confidentiality agreement; Ukraine's presidential press office denies any such agreement existed. President Lee Jae Myung's office says the dispute has damaged trust between the two governments.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an undisclosed visit to Abu Dhabi on Sunday and met with the Emirati leader, according to an Israeli official. The trip was not publicly announced beforehand. Details of what was discussed have not been disclosed.

A Russian jet-powered drone struck Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences in central Kyiv, sparking a fire, as jet-drones struck across the country. People tried to escape through windows during the strike. The Kremlin said Ukraine is "paying the price" for attacks on Russia. Ukraine separately claimed battlefield breakthroughs, according to the Associated Press.

Congo's Ebola outbreak has surged past 8,000 confirmed cases, according to the government. Health officials say the disease remains out of control amid a shortage of health workers in the country. No date range for the case count or additional details on the outbreak's location were reported.

An avalanche struck a mountain in northern Nepal, killing at least two people. Rescue teams are searching for 12 others who were swept away and remain missing.

A Rome court convicted three Egyptian security officials in absentia of kidnapping Giulio Regeni, an Italian researcher who disappeared in Cairo in 2016 and was later found dead. The Associated Press reported the court sentenced them to 10 years. The verdict came after a decade-long Italian effort to hold someone accountable for Regeni's killing.

Authorities in South Africa are investigating a string of killings of women in one region since July, with Newsmax reporting an 11th body found and the BBC citing 12 deaths. President Cyril Ramaphosa called the murders "a stain on our national conscience." Separately, at least 30 people died in unrelated shootings across the country, CNN reported.

An 87-year-old woman, María del Carmen Abascal, was evicted from the Madrid home she had lived in for 70 years, prompting protests that drew tens of thousands and an encampment in Puerta del Sol continuing into a third day. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he would pass a housing decree giving tenants greater legal protection following the eviction.

Category-three Hurricane Polo was bearing down on Mexico's Baja California Sur on Sunday, with landfall expected Monday and a second landfall in mainland Mexico late Monday or early Tuesday. Forecasters warned of storm surge, high winds and heavy rain. Separately, Hurricane Nolo moved further away from Hawaii on Sunday, easing threats to the islands.