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⛽️ No relief for energy prices Data: FactSet. Chart: Axios Markets/Matt Phillips Markets are coming around to the view that energy prices will stay high well into next year, Axios' Matt Phillips reports. Brent crude futures contracts for April 2027 jumped to more than $85 a barrel this week. That's the highest since the war in Iran began in February, and higher than at the peak for oil prices back in early May. 💥 The upswing comes after drone attacks on an alternative crude oil export route to the Red Sea and on a key pipeline. The latest prices for Brent oil futures set for delivery over the next six months or so have jumped higher recently. (That's the pink line in the chart above, compared with the same contract prices a week, a month and a year ago.) Go deeper.

Trump says he's at Iran crossroads Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photos: Getty Images President Trump believes he's approaching a critical juncture in the Iran war over whether to restart massive attacks in an effort to end the conflict, he told Axios' Barak Ravid today. Trump said: "I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me." 🇺🇳 Trump's comments come ahead of a planned meeting with leaders from six Gulf countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman — on the sidelines of next week's UN General Assembly in New York. The meeting could shape the next phase of the war. If Trump wants to resume major combat operations, he'll need buy-in from his regional allies. The president has said several times in recent days that the war will end soon. Some U.S. officials warn that the conflict has settled into an unsustainable, neither-war-nor-peace stalemate, and they believe that Trump could return to major combat operations after the midterms if a deal isn't reached by then. 🌍 Trump made clear in the interview that he wants to use the UN meeting to hear directly from regional allies about the war's next steps. He said: "I want to find out where they are and how they are doing. We have been very protective of them." Trump declined to say whether he'll decide on the path forward before or after the midterms. Keep reading.

Wow. Thank you for posting this.

Trump withdraws Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, as his nominee to lead ICE WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Thursday that it was withdrawing its nomination of Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ensuring that an agency at the forefront of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda will remain without a Senate-confirmed leader for at least a while longer. https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-ice-4cd354253c2e19ad2cb5e608fccf27e7? Judge orders Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it as President Donald Trump has threatened. https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-center-fencing-trump-closed-repairs-128f25afb33841baff16245d492f320c?

Bail set for ICE officer accused of lying and assault in non-fatal shooting in Minneapolis MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal immigration officer charged with shooting a Venezuelan man during the immigration crackdown that roiled Minneapolis early this year made a brief first appearance Thursday before a Minnesota judge, following months of legal and political battles over whether he would be extradited from Texas to face state charges. https://apnews.com/article/ice-officer-justice-department-minnesota-castro-abb6a23eaa9e6cbbc8e563152f6e535e?

US mortgage rates brush 7%, weighing on buyers, sellers and further straining a bleak housing market Home shoppers holding out for relief from rising mortgage rates may be in for a long wait. https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-d57cc5a38163cfef3a7b2639dd3d8d7c?

Saudi civil defense says falling debris from intercepted Houthi drone kills 1 CAIRO (AP) — Debris from an intercepted Houthi drone has killed a Yemeni resident of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi civil defense said Thursday. It is the first civilian casualty since the Iran-backed rebels have increased their attacks against the kingdom, targeting Saudi shipping and oil facilities. https://apnews.com/article/yemen-saudi-arabia-houthi-drone-d29f7fb71331bea0098cbdb38d7577e0?

👋 Good morning! 106 years ago today, the NFL was born. We revisit the league’s humble beginnings at the bottom of today’s newsletter. In today’s edition: Expansion on multiple fronts, Ovechkin faces backlash, Mark Walter sells another team, MLB power rankings, stuck in football limbo, Guess The Number, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏈 The wrong team won: The FBS Oversight Committee said Wednesday that instant replay protocols were not followed in the waning seconds of Michigan’s 13-12 win over Western Michigan earlier this month. Had they been followed, the committee says the Broncos would have won the game, but the result cannot be changed. 🏒 Ovechkin ad sparks backlash: Alex Ovechkin, a longtime supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, appeared in an ad for Putin’s ruling party, prompting widespread criticism. The Capitals responded with a statement saying their longtime captain was asked to participate while visiting his home country this summer. 🇺🇸 Cavan in, Christian out: USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino reportedly plans to call up 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan (who we profiled this week) for the upcoming international window. Christian Pulisic, who’s still working his way back to full strength after suffering an injury during the World Cup, will reportedly not be included on the squad. 🎓 Seats on the house: UCLA students will receive free admission to all regular-season home football and basketball games, the school announced. The policy goes into effect on Saturday when the Bruins host Purdue at the Rose Bowl, the 90,000-seat stadium they’ve been struggling to fill for years. $0 tickets should help. ⚽️ Walter sells another team: Mark Walter has sold his shares in Chelsea Football Club, roughly a month after selling his majority stake in the Lakers amid a federal investigation into possible fraud. He still owns the Dodgers … at least for now.   📍 LEAGUE EXPANSION COMING SOON TO A MARKET NEAR YOU (Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports) Amid the acceleration of the sports business and the appetite to own a piece of it, North American leagues are preparing to put more pins on the map in their quests for domestic and even global domination. Catch up quick: Expansion talk is heating up across several major professional leagues, as existing owners prepare to clip healthy expansion fees from prospective newcomers in exchange for a slice of league revenues. 🏀 NBA: Adam Silver confirmed this week that the league hopes to reach expansion decisions by the end of the year, with the next round of bids due shortly. Discussion at the Board of Governors meetings centered on Las Vegas, where questions remain about a potential arena site. The Seattle process is more straightforward thanks to infrastructure at Climate Pledge Arena (home of the NHL's Kraken and WNBA's Storm). 🏒 NHL: Though nothing is finalized, league officials are currently working with the Friedkin family (owners of AS Roma and Everton) to determine whether a 33rd team should be placed in Houston or Austin. There is also interest in Atlanta and Phoenix, both of which previously lost franchises to relocation (this time will be different!), for a 34th team if the league pursues another after Texas. ⚾️ MLB: Once the battle over a new CBA concludes, MLB is expected to begin its own expansion process, per ESPN's Jeff Passan, who reports that Salt Lake City currently has the most "compelling case." Other potential contenders in the pursuit of one East Coast and one West Coast team include Nashville, Raleigh, Portland, Orlando, and Montreal. 🏀 WNBA: Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia will take the court in 2028, 2029, and 2030, respectively. But the W isn't stopping at 18 teams. The latest buzz? A group in Vancouver is laying the groundwork for a future bid that would give the Toronto Tempo (debuted this season) a Canadian counterpart. In 2025, Vancouver's Rogers Arena hosted a sellout crowd for the first WNBA game played outside the U.S. The winning formula: The recipe for securing a successful bid begins with the expansion fee. NBA fees, for example, could exceed $10 billion in Vegas and land near $7 billion in Seattle, per ESPN's Shams Charania. But it's not just about who can say the biggest number, to paraphrase Logan Roy. Groups also need a credible ownership structure, a feasible site or a path to one, and a market that can grow the pie. In many cases, clearing the arena hurdle requires public advocacy and financial support from the government. Extending abroad: The NBA also has ambitious European aspirations, as it continues negotiating with the EuroLeague over a potential new competition. And you'll notice the NFL has no domestic expansion in the offing. Could it expand across the Atlantic instead? Roger Goodell has "no doubt" there will eventually be a team based outside the U.S. — though perhaps not until the league finishes expanding to Wednesday and every other day of the week first. Today, the calendar. Tomorrow, the world. This story was written in collaboration with Dylan Dittrich, who authors our new sports business newsletter, Yahoo Sports Biz.   🌎 THROUGH THE LENS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS What a ballplayer. (Michael Hirschuber/Getty Images) 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois National League MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong launched his 43rd and 44th homers of the season in Wednesday’s 8-4 win over the Braves, pulling him within one of Kyle Schwarber (45) for the MLB lead. Adding to the intrigue: PCA’s Cubs (85-68) and Schwarber’s Phillies (84-68) are battling for the NL’s top wild-card spot. Game on. The view from 101st place. (Mark Thompson/Getty Images) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Northamptonshire, England Max Verstappen stormed from the back of a 101-kart grid on Wednesday to win Red Bull’s “Max vs. 100” event at Silverstone. The four-time F1 world champion needed just 14 laps (and 35 minutes) to overtake a field made up of content creators, athletes and motorsport fans. What he’s saying: "When I went to the grid and I saw where I had to start, with 100 karts in front of me, I was a little bit worried," said Verstappen. Those concerns didn’t last long: He surged from 101st to 37th on the opening lap alone. Full speed ahead. (Malcolm Griffiths/Getty Images) 🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola The E1 World Championship (electric powerboat racing) rolled into southern Africa for the fifth race of the season. Among those in attendance: Team owners LeBron James and Will Smith. Speaking of LeBron: Polymarket will pay him $15 million per year under his new endorsement deal with the prediction-market platform, FOS reports. That’s $11.2 million more than the 76ers will pay him to play basketball this season ($3.8 million).   ⚾️ LAST CALL MLB POWER RANKINGS: FINAL EDITION (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) The MLB regular season ends in just 10 short days, and as has been the case all summer, the final edition of our power rankings illustrates the National League’s superiority over the American League, with seven of the top 10 teams hailing from the Senior Circuit. By the numbers: The National League’s dominance is hardly just subjective. NL teams are 43 games over .500 this season (1,165-1,122) while AL teams are 43 games under .500 (1,120-1,163). Nine NL teams have a positive run differential (compared to five in the AL) and eight NL teams are over .500 against AL competition (compared to five such AL teams). (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) The messy middle: With the NL owning the top 10, the American League has taken up residence in the messy middle, representing nine of the 13 teams ranked from 11-23 — including all five ranked from 11-15. Parting thought: All 30 teams might not have something to play for, but they all have the same 10 days left. So a word to the wise for fans of eliminated clubs: Don’t take these final games for granted. Come mid-January, when the only baseball storyline is, “How much of the 2027 season could the lockout potentially cost us?” you’ll be glad you stuck it out for all 162.   🏈 FOOTBALL LIMBO TOO PRO FOR COLLEGE, TOO COLLEGE FOR THE PROS Dae'Quan Wright during Eagles training camp in July. (Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Zxavian Harris and Dae'Quan Wright are stuck between football worlds: barred from college and now ineligible for the NFL. How we got here: The two former Ole Miss players went undrafted this past spring before signing with NFL teams. Harris, a defensive tackle, joined the Saints. Wright, a tight end, spent time with the Eagles and Browns. Both were eventually waived, prompting their attempted return to college and igniting an eligibility fight that ultimately left them in football limbo. Back to campus: A Louisiana judge ruled in favor of players seeking a fifth year of eligibility, opening a pathway for athletes who signed professional contracts to play college football in 2026. That same day, Harris and Wright said they intended to join their former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin at LSU. A firestorm erupts: In response to the ruling, the four power conferences adopted policies barring professionals from joining their respective leagues. Kiffin pressed ahead anyway, spurring the SEC to sue LSU and reportedly consider expelling the school. LSU stands down: Amid the backlash, the Tigers left Harris and Wright off the roster for their opener against Clemson. Four days later, they added two different players to complete their 105-man squad, eliminating the possibility of adding Harris or Wright. The NFL shuts the door: The league informed teams on Wednesday that because Harris and Wright returned to college after training camps opened, they are ineligible to visit, try out or sign with any club this season. To recap: Harris and Wright lost their college eligibility by turning pro, then lost their NFL eligibility by trying to return to college. Caught between competing rulebooks, both are sidelined until 2027… at least on this side of the border. I hear the 0-12 Ottawa Redblacks are in the market for reinforcements.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, SEPT. 17 (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) 🏈 Lions at Bills "Thursday Night Football" returns tonight (8:15pm ET, Prime) in Buffalo, where Josh Allen and the Bills host Jahmyr Gibbs and the Lions in the first regular-season game at the new $2 billion Highmark Stadium. Familiar voice: This will mark the 10th time* in Al Michaels' legendary broadcasting career that he's been on the mic for an NFL stadium's regular-season debut. ⛳️ BMW PGA Championship The DP World Tour's flagship event tees off today (7am, Golf) at Wentworth Club in Surrey, England, where a stacked 144-player field is competing for $9 million. Stacked, you say? Rory McIlroy is the headliner alongside Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland, Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose and more. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Phillies at Mets (7:15pm, Fox); Royals at Astros (7:15pm, Fox) … Philly (84-67) and Houston (76-76) are among those battling for playoff spots in today's nine-game slate. 🏀 WNBA: Sparks at Wings (8pm, USA); Aces at Storm (10pm, USA) … Play resumes after a three-week break for the FIBA World Cup. 🏈 NCAAF: Syracuse at Pitt (7:30pm, ESPN) … Pitt is off to a 2-0 start behind sophomore QB Mason Heintschel (49/70, 665 yards, 7 TD). ⛳️ PGA: Biltmore Championship (7am, ESPN+; 3pm, Golf) … Jackson Koivun headlines the field in Asheville as the eight-event Fall Series begins. ⚾️ WPBL Championship: Los Angeles (up 1-0) vs. San Francisco (7pm, ESPN+) … The Queens won Wednesday's opener in the best-of-five series. *The other nine: Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High (2001), New England's Gillette Stadium (2002), Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field (2003), Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium (2008), Dallas' AT&T Stadium (2009), San Francisco's Levi's Stadium (2014), Minnesota's U.S. Bank Stadium (2016), Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium (2017) and Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium (2020).   💰 LET'S PLAY GUESS THE NUMBER Joe Buck (L) and Troy Aikman. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) ESPN broadcaster Joe Buck has agreed to a six-year extension that will see him call “Monday Night Football” into the next decade, as well as Super Bowls in 2027 and 2031. Question: How much will Buck earn annually under his new deal? (A) $5 million (B) $9 million (C) $18 million (D) $25 million Answer at the bottom.   📆 THROWBACK THURSDAY 106 YEARS AGO TODAY... A portrait of the 1920 Akron Professionals, the first APFA/NFL champions. (Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images) On Sept. 17, 1920, representatives from 11 pro football clubs met at Canton Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay's automobile showroom and formed the American Professional Football Association. Two years later, that league was renamed the NFL. Humble beginnings: In 1920, pro football lived in the shadow of the college game and was confined mostly to small Midwestern industrial cities. The teams present at the meeting: Ohio: Akron Professionals, Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Indians, Dayton Triangles, Massillon Tigers, Racine Cardinals Illinois: Decatur Staleys, Rock Island Independents Indiana: Hammond Pros, Muncie Flyers New York: Rochester Jeffersons Rounding out the league: The Massillon Tigers withdrew before the league officially formed while four other clubs (Buffalo All-Americans, Chicago Tigers, Columbus Panhandles, Detroit Heralds) joined later that fall, giving the APFA 14 teams for its inaugural 1920 season. Still standings: Only two of the original franchises exist today: the Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears) and the Racine Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals).   Answer: (C) $18 million. Buck’s extension is worth $108 million over six years, per The Athletic. That matches broadcast partner Troy Aikman’s annual salary under his current five-year, $90 million deal, which expires after this season.

Here's an interesting article I came across on this subject: What Repentance Really Means in Judaism The Hebrew word for repentance doesn't mean what you think. It's less about guilt and more about finding your way back to who you really are. https://aish.com/what-repentance-really-means-in-judaism/?

Jolly and Donalds clash on property insurance proposals The Byron Donalds campaign is aggressively attacking David Jolly’s plan to reduce homeowners’ insurance rates. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/09/16/jolly-and-donalds-clash-on-property-insurance-proposals/? State colleges, preK-12 schools must implement AI guardrails before July The body regulating Florida public schools and state colleges Wednesday approved what the Florida Department of Education calls “one of the most comprehensive, parent-centered AI frameworks in the country.” https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/09/16/state-colleges-prek-12-schools-must-implement-ai-guardrails-before-july/? Florida county officials try to eliminate public comment on development “Reader’s Digest” always claimed laughter was the best medicine. In Lee County, laughter has also become a resistance tactic for people who want to keep their community free of ugly sprawl. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/09/17/florida-county-officials-try-to-eliminate-public-comment-on-development/? ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detainees were held in cages the size of a phone booth When federal investigators showed up unannounced at the sprawling pop-up prison in the Florida Everglades in January, they found something they had never seen at any other immigration detention center in the country: Detainees at “Alligator Alcatraz” were being held for up to nearly two hours in small metal cages roughly the size of a phone booth. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/09/16/alligator-alcatraz-detainees-were-held-in-cages-the-size-of-a-phone-booth/?

Princess Astrid of Norway died Friday at 94, just two days after attending the funeral of her younger brother, the late King Harald. “His Majesty the King has received with great sorrow the news that Princess Astrid has passed away,” the Norwegian Royal House said in a statement Friday afternoon. Astrid made her final public appearance Wednesday, arriving in a wheelchair after months of health issues for Harald’s funeral at Oslo Cathedral in Oslo, Norway. 6 Norway’s Princess Astrid, older sister of the late King Harald, died on Sept. 11 at the age of 94 — just two days after his funeral. BACKGRID 6 Astrid visiting her brother’s coffin in the Palace Chapel days before her death. Norwegian Royal House/Instagram She had been hospitalized for pneumonia earlier this year. In May, the palace said she was receiving treatment for heart failure and had been fitted with a temporary pacemaker.

Its not inconsistent at all. These are two completely different issues. One case people were fired for exercising their religious beliefs. In the other, employers had to purchase insurance they did not support. But that is not a burden. The court ruled correctly.

The legal victory for the BART workers underscores a profound transformation in American religious liberty law that has taken place over the past 5 years. For most of the nation’s history, religious accommodation did not mean dodging public health mandates. Historic religious exemptions centered on core matters of worship, sacred ritual, and non-negotiable spiritual duties. Early Americans fought for exemptions from mandatory military service, church taxes, or courtroom oaths that violated strict biblical commands against swearing. When public health rules like smallpox vaccination arrived in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, courts treated them as universal civic protections rather than religious battlegrounds. The Free Exercise Clause protected the soul, the altar, and the pulpit from state intrusion, not personal medical autonomy from standard civic obligations. The modern paradigm of using religious accommodation to challenge vaccine mandates chips away at that constitutional foundation. By reframing religious freedom as an individual right to veto workplace health policies, the law turns freedom to practice one’s own faith into a consumer-style personal preference. Historic free exercise protected individuals when the state compelled them to violate clear religious sacraments or forced them to confess secular creeds. Converting this profound shield into a convenient instrument for avoiding vaccine divorces the doctrine from the sacred obligations that gave it unique moral authority in 1791 and 1868. This is not to say there aren’t personal health reasons and concerns about vaccines, but simply applying a religious concern because there’s a “box for it” on the form misshapes what liberty means for those who have very real practice concerns. I know there are those who will argue that these particular vaccines violate their sincerely held religious beliefs that they suddenly discovered during COVID-19, but it tends to cheapen and call into question the entire range of religious practice that many have fought to protect over the past two-and-a-half centuries. ------------------------------------------------ But the reason people are checking this box now is because vaccines have CHANGED. 1) Almost all of them now contain Mrna tech. The President of Maderna said on a TED talk, that these change your DNA. 2) Almost all of these vaccines are cultured from aborted fetus tissue, from abortions. Now those may not be compelling liberty issues to this author, however, they are very compelling to some people. Let's not shame those people or invalidate their feelings because they believe these are real issues.

What did W.W. Prescott say?

Hobie: these are old arguments. W. W. Prescott (1855-1944) showed problems with these arguments.

Want to lower your risk of dementia? It doesn’t involve a blood test New blood tests that might predict Alzheimer’s years before symptoms begin may sound tantalizing for people who worry about later-in-life dementia, but doctors say they aren’t quite ready yet. Besides, you don’t need a test before trying to lower your risk. Read more. Why this matters: Instead, focus on addressing potentially preventable brain risks. One large study found people who reached middle age without high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking lived dementia-free for nearly 13 years longer than people with all three of those common health problems in their 50s. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Cut the number of choices you make each day. Your brain will thank you Centenarians living in Japan exceed 100,000 for the first time

Tens of thousands flee as Iran-backed rebels draw Yemen into the wider war More than 125,000 people in Yemen have fled as the Iran-backed rebels advanced down the Red Sea coast to a key maritime chokepoint. The offensive, linked to the wider Iran war, has threatened Saudi oil exports, pushed up global fuel prices and rattled markets. Read more. What to know: A Saudi-led blockade, along with the Houthis’ repressive rule and detention of U.N. and aid workers, has made life miserable in the now-expanding territory under rebel control. Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, weak and fragmented, has struggled to push them back. As the Houthis continue to make headlines, I found this explainer by our colleague Joseph Krauss on why Yemen’s Houthis have only grown stronger through years of war particularly helpful. Do you have a question about the Houthis, Yemen or the wider conflict with Iran? Email us here and we’ll put your questions to our reporters. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ UN-backed experts cite possible US war crimes in Iran strikes Saudis seek allies’ help as missile defenses run low in fight with Houthis, officials say WATCH: Yemeni families flee fighting

Fed rate hike likely means more expensive credit cards and mortgages, but savers may rejoice Trump administration has cut or frozen $177 billion in grants across every state, analysis shows Dr. Nicole Saphier, Trump’s 3rd surgeon general pick, faces Senate questions over her vaccine stance Trump suggests EU allowing Canada as associate member could be a ‘hostile act’ House approves sweeping Russia sanctions bill, sending it to Trump Trump administration hits South Africa with new sanctions over alleged discrimination against whites US troops must prepare to fight around the moon, Trump’s top military adviser says House passes bill aimed at addressing impact of data centers on energy costs Federal judge restricts warrantless immigration arrests in Southern California AP exclusive: Change in human trafficking policy could make some minors easier to deport Fencing goes up around the main Kennedy Center building after board votes to close it Trump and Whatley double down on the administration’s record in North Carolina Senate contest Kamala Harris is to campaign in Michigan with Abdul El-Sayed The Obamas’ family dog Sunny dies, the former president says

Speaker Johnson recesses the House early as GOP lawmaker pushes Hegseth impeachment GOP Rep. Thomas Massie’s resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war in Iran and his bipartisan effort to force the release of more files in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation are all being left behind, blocked from votes. Read more. Why this matters: The renegade Republican from Kentucky, seized control of the chamber for a blistering hourlong speech criticizing Johnson, the Republican majority and the work he said the speaker is refusing to conduct to lower prices for Americans and hold the Trump administration accountable. Massie lost his own primary bid for reelection after Trump mounted a costly campaign to kick him out of Congress. Earlier in the day, Johnson, who claimed this Congress was the most productive in decades, dismissed Massie’s effort to impeach Hegseth as “a stunt.” “Secretary Hegseth has done an extraordinary job at the Department of War,” Johnson said.

September 17, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning. OpenAI disclosed more incidents of concerning behavior from its A.I agents. Canada has a new relationship with the European Union. And the Federal Reserve decided to raise interest rates. President Trump’s not happy. We’ve got all of that, and more, below. But before we get to it, let’s talk about the mess in college sports. University of Oregon players. Lydia Ely/Associated Press Moneyball Were college sports more enjoyable when the athletes weren’t paid? Maybe for those of us at home. There was something thrilling about seeing the teenage Landon Collins commit to Alabama’s football program in 2012, live on television, his mom sitting beside him wearing L.S.U. purple, and thinking he’d roll Tide for the following four years. (Even though he turned pro after three, it was a good bet that Collins wouldn’t move to Miami for a big payday in his sophomore year.) Fans root for teams made up of players who want to be on them. Back then, anyway. And never mind the fans. Today the happiest beneficiaries of college sports are the people who play them. And it’s hard to be mad about that: Revenue-sharing and endorsement deals have let them enjoy the economic fruits of their considerable physical labor over the past few years. They have agency, too. If they don’t like their deal, they can transfer schools as often as they like. Universities make a lot of money on sports. The current system gives some of it to the students who play them. What does that look like in practice, though? Chaos, to some: Players jump all over the country, making like professional athletes in a largely unregulated bazaar. Colleges try to outbid one another, spending more and more on sports. University of Texas fans. Alex Slitz/Getty Images Now the government aims to do something about it. In a lopsided vote this week, senators from both parties decided to debate a piece of legislation, the Protect College Sports Act, that would limit the ability of athletes to switch schools. The bill would allow one college transfer and dictate that athletes who make a second move would have to sit out a year, with a few exceptions. Athletes would retain the right to compensation for their “name, image and likeness.” And the bill would limit midseason coaching moves and set a five-year window for athletic eligibility. “Right now, it is the Wild West,” Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas and a chief author of the bill, told Carl Hulse, who reports on Congress. Cruz worked on the bill with Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington. He said it would help make certain that college sports “remain strong and vibrant for decades to come.” That is not how some opponents see the legislation, which they say places restrictions on players that don’t exist for coaches — or regular workers out in the world. They say it preserves the financial interests of the N.C.A.A. “What this bill does at its core is to protect a system of exploitation,” said Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and a chief opponent. Civil rights groups largely concurred. “Sharecropping is over,” Derrick Johnson, the president of the N.A.A.C.P., said this week. “We should not ask athletes, particularly Black athletes, to generate revenue on the football field or basketball court and they share in none of the revenue.” The bill could reach a final Senate floor vote in the middle of next week. Email us at themorning@nytimes.com and tell us how you feel about it. Related: The Athletic’s college football staff looked into 68 teams to determine how much their rosters cost. Top teams can spend around $50 million a year. See their full report, along with 10 takeaways. RATE BUMP What does the Fed’s decision to raise the interest rate by a quarter of a point mean for you? The rise in the benchmark rate, however small, means your borrowing costs are probably going to go up — in your credit card bills, for instance, and for any new loans (say, for cars or houses) you take out in coming months. They’re all tied to the Fed’s interest rate. On the other hand, if you have savings accounts, you’ll probably start to see a better return on your savings. The economy takes and gives. That’s why folks bet on it. All 12 voting members of the Fed agreed on the rate increase, the first in more than three years. They probably aren’t done raising rates. FREE TO READ Igor Adameyko, Gerd Günther, Wim van Egmond, Benedikt Pleyer A recent competition honored the work of photographers who capture images of microscopic life. See more amazing videos. The House held the billionaire investor Leon Black in criminal contempt after he refused to appear for a deposition and turn over documents about Jeffrey Epstein. Merriam-Webster added 1,400 words to its online dictionary. Check out the new definitions. A.I. researchers are worried about the day when the technology could start improving itself — and researchers could lose control. Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about a man who keeps earning advanced degrees. He already has 12. THE LATEST NEWS Around the World Mark Carney and Ursula von der Leyen at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, yesterday. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press The European Union invited Canada to become its first associate member. It’s a sign Trump’s pressure has backfired. The authorities in Turkey have arrested dozens of people in a crackdown on L.G.B.T.Q. activists and associations. At least 70 people died in Sudan after shafts collapsed at an unofficial gold mine. Artificial Intelligence OpenAI disclosed six new instances in which its models hid mistakes, made up data and moved files onto the open internet without permission. Essays by Anthropic’s chief executive, Dario Amodei, help explain why some people are so worried about A.I. Read excerpts. A.I. isn’t pushing up unemployment yet, but it is slowing wage growth, new research shows. The Maldives is using A.I. to help rebuild eroding beaches. Politics The Trump administration is holding up the publication of the I.R.S.’s annual estimate of unpaid taxes. Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, said she was “cancer-free” after disclosing a diagnosis of breast cancer earlier this year. The U.S. immigration authorities fast-tracked the deportation of a former Ecuadorean official despite fears he could face torture back home. More on Science Warming temperatures caused by climate change destabilized ice and permafrost in the Himalayas, very likely contributing to recent catastrophic floods in Nepal, a report found. Scientists fused human neurons into the brains of mice. The mice don’t seem to be behaving any differently. Other Big Stories Two former U.S. Navy service members admitted to dealing fentanyl-laced pills to active-duty sailors after one sailor died of an overdose. Flooding from monsoon-fueled storms in the American Southwest has killed at least three people. OPINIONS The New York Times Brittany Wagner’s father, a construction worker, fell 35 feet on a job and then endured 18 years of chronic pain. Eventually, he died by suicide. She says what killed him was his struggle to get help. Click the video above to watch. Would an A.I. slowdown in the United States allow China to pull ahead? Ezra Klein’s podcast guest, an expert in Chinese A.I., is skeptical. Introducing the Shows tab. A new place to find and follow podcasts in audio and video. Explore Shows in The Times app. ANNIE DILLARD, 1945-2026 Annie Dillard walked into the woods and came out with a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on the wonders and horrors of creation, the modern classic “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.” Reviewers (including Eudora Welty, who assessed it for The Times) were quick to understand the book as a 20th-century analogue to Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden.” It made her a star of American literature at just 28. In the years to follow, Dillard published essays, meditations on religion, poems, a theory of literature, two novels, journalism, a best-selling autobiography and another best seller, “The Writing Life.” She gave herself to that life, telling her students that if you choose to be a writer, “you can’t be anything else. You must go at your life with a broadax.” She died at 81. Read three of her essays, written early in career but published for the first time in 2016 in The New York Times Magazine. TODAY’S NUMBER 107,677 — That’s how many people in Japan are at least 100 years old, according to new data from the country’s health ministry. It’s an increase of nearly 8,000 since last year. The oldest woman is 114, and the oldest man is 112. SPORTS Soccer: Cavan Sullivan, a 16-year-old American soccer prodigy, has been called up to the U.S. men’s national team. N.F.L.: The league fined the Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair for writing the name of a Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces on his face. College sports: Arizona State’s hockey coach was determined to toughen up his program. What happened next left one player on life support. Read our exclusive investigation. RECIPE OF THE DAY Kelly Marshall for The New York Times I’m not here to deliver faint praise. Ham El-Waylly’s recipe for kung pao tofu is fantastic, and worth making often enough that you learn its contours by heart. Tonight it could take you an hour, top to bottom. Make it four times and you’ll cut that time considerably. I rate it 10/10, with one note: I sometimes use cashews in place of the peanuts. A HUNGRY HEART Thea Traff for The New York Times Here’s a lovely passage from Alexis Soloski’s glittery profile of the actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus: “As an actress, she specializes in need, so naked and desperate that it makes the women she plays indelible. I can defend almost no choice her characters make. But their wanting is undeniable, as is the demented pleasure she conveys when a want is satisfied.” Think about her in “Seinfeld,” in “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” in “Veep.” True, no? Now Louis-Dreyfus has a new desire. It’s to return to the theater for the first time in more than four decades. She’ll make her Broadway debut this fall in a revival of Jon Robin Baitz’s drama “Other Desert Cities.” “It’s very delicious for me to consider chomping on,” she said. The whole thing’s a pleasure to read. More on culture Four very different artists — the Colombian superstar Karol G, the genre-bending Spanish experimentalist Rosalía, the innovative Argentine jazzy-trap and hip-hop duo Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso and the Uruguayan songwriter Jorge Drexler — each secured seven Latin Grammy nominations yesterday, before the 27th annual awards in November. John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell play the jaded C.I.A. agents at the center of “Wild Horse Nine,” the darkly comic new movie from the writer-director Martin McDonagh. The two actors talked to The Times about their sinister characters and the politics that underpin the film and, because they’re longtime friends, the conversation’s delightful. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS The New York Times Eat sardines. They’re good for your bones, your heart, your blood. Plus, they’re delicious. Subscribe to The New York Times. I make the suggestion because a subscription is the best way to ensure that this work continues, every day, across the world. We’ve got a good deal going. Replace the comforter that the dog who’s not allowed on the bed managed to shred. The coziness experts at Wirecutter found the best ones. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was pinewood. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times and me. See you tomorrow. — Sam Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren Deputy Editorial Director: Lauren Jackson

Carney embraces EU associate membership proposal as Trump pushes Canada closer to Europe STRASBOURG, France (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday embraced the prospect of his country becoming the European Union’s first associate member, saying closer ties with the continent would ensure no country could control Canada’s markets or undermine its sovereignty. https://apnews.com/article/carney-canada-eu-trump-parliament-speech-ef4559ce5972abb47444e469f42005bb?

THIS DAY IN HISTORY September 17 1862 Battle of Antietam breaks out The a pivotal, bloody Civil War skirmish halted Confederate momentum on the battlefield and abroad. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1868 Cheyenne and Sioux battle frontiersmen at Beecher’s Island 1970s 1978 Camp David Accords signed 21st Century 2011 Occupy Wall Street begins Arts & Entertainment 1967 The Who literally spark an explosion on national television 1996 Oprah launches influential book club 1983 Vanessa Williams becomes first Black Miss America Civil War 1862 The Allegheny Arsenal explodes, killing 78 people Space Exploration 1976 NASA unveils its first space shuttle, the Enterprise U.S. Constitution 1787 U.S. Constitution signed U.S. Presidents 1796 George Washington prepares final draft of farewell address World War II 1939 Soviet Union invades Poland

🍻 1 fun thing: America's Oktoberfest capital A man wears souvenir pins on his alpine hat during Oktoberfest Zinzinnati in 2021. Photo: Jeff Dean/AFP via Getty Images The world's largest Oktoberfest celebration outside Munich takes place in ... Cincinnati. Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, which started as a street festival in 1976, drew a record 808,300 people last year. It turns 50 when it starts today, Axios Cincinnati's Kristen Swilley writes. By the numbers: At a recent Oktoberfest, attendees consumed: 🌭 87,542 metts (a German sausage). 🥨 23,004 soft pretzels. 🍰 20,000 cream puffs. 🥬 3,600 pounds of sauerkraut. 🧀 702 pounds of Limburger cheese.

🗳️ States brace for ICE at polls Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Adam Gray/Getty Images The Trump administration's hints about sending ICE agents to election polling places this fall have led state officials from Maine to Oregon to make plans to counter any actions that could affect voters, Axios' Brittany Gibson writes. Why it matters: It's illegal for federal law enforcement to be at polling places. But when asked about ICE at the polls, President Trump said in May he'd "do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections." Keep reading.