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👽 1 science thing: The search for speck Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios In a new study, researchers propose searching for microscopic evidence of long-dead alien civilizations in lunar soil samples. The idea is that tiny particles from collapsed civilizations could drift through space, perhaps settling on the Moon like flotsam and jetsam washing up on a beach. 📡 Ian Crawford, a professor of planetary science at Birkbeck College, University of London, and a study co-author, tells The New York Times: "If you concede that looking for alien intelligences is a legitimate part of science ... then looking for the technological products ... ought to be just as scientifically valid as looking for their radio emissions." (Gift link.) Reality check: The Moon is littered with microscopic junk from human spaceflight, and finding something alien in origin would be a long shot, to say the least. Read the study.

🏆 Hollywood icon Rob Reiner was honored with a posthumous Emmy for his performance in the hit FX series "The Bear." Keep reading.

🇬🇱 The European Commission unveiled a $232 million investment package for Greenland as the European Union seeks to boost relations there. Go deeper.

Iran war's energy bill: $100B and rising Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images The war with Iran has now cost U.S. consumers $100 billion in higher energy prices, Axios' Ben Berkowitz writes from a real-time Brown University estimate. The bill is rising another $1 million about every two minutes. 🤑 By the numbers: The Iran War Energy Cost Tracker from Brown's Watson School says higher gasoline and diesel prices have cost the average U.S. household more than $760 since the war began Feb. 28. (Latest numbers.) Most of that is gas, though the diesel burden is rising faster lately. Stunning stat: The average national price of a gallon of regular gas was $4.15 today, per AAA. That's nearly a dollar higher than last year, and well above the previous Labor Day weekend record of $3.82 from 2012. ☢️ President Trump insists Americans are willing to pay higher prices to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon. Yet voters consistently say inflation is the most important issue. Go deeper.

Increasing SNAP error rates could be good news for Florida (really) Florida’s anticipated error rate in the federal food security program called SNAP appears to be on the rise — a move that could wind up helping the state avoid costly penalties in the short run. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/09/07/increasing-snap-error-rates-could-be-good-news-for-florida-really/?

Were the Greek Gods Actually Minoan? Long before the world of classical Greece, the island of Crete was home to the Minoans, one of the great civilizations of the Bronze Age Mediterranean. Flourishing especially during the second millennium BCE, the Minoans built impressive palace centers at places like Knossos and participated in extensive trade networks that linked Crete with the Aegean, Anatolian, Egyptian, and Levantine worlds. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/were-greek-gods-actually-minoan/? Paul and the Slave Girl in Philippi According to Greek mythology, the god Apollo killed the massive snake Python at Delphi, Greece. Some traditions claim Python to be the child of the goddess Gaea (Earth), who had a sanctuary at Delphi. Following Apollo’s victory, a temple dedicated to him was set up at the site, which replaced Gaea’s earlier sanctuary and appropriated her oracle. For more than a millennium, people sought the prophecies of Apollo’s famous oracle at Delphi: Pythia, a priestess at the temple, who was said to have the spirit of the god. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/paul-and-the-slave-girl-in-philippi/?

White House Roasted After Trump’s New Rebrand Attempt Flops The White House’s attempt to brag about the president’s narcissistic renaming streak backfired instantly. The White House is being ridiculed for trying to turn Donald Trump’s latest geographic-renaming obsession into a bragging point. The 80-year-old president returned to his favorite cartographic hobby on Truth Social Sunday, posting a crudely altered map proposing a new name for the state of New Mexico: “New America.” Trump, who went on an AI slop posting spree on Sunday afternoon, later doubled down with another post taking aim at the state, which he has never won in an election. “Many people suggested changing the name of New Mexico, one of the great vote cheating states of all time, to NEW AMERICA. So much more prestigious and beautiful for the people of that potentially incredible State. Wow, I Love It!!!” he wrote. The commander-in-chief attached an AI slop video of himself putting “America” over a “Welcome to New Mexico” sign, before doing his trademark dance to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” But the White House’s attempt to promote the president’s bonkers idea on its official X account backfired when critics turned it into ammunition against the president, who is facing mounting troubles as the midterms loom. Comments underneath the post were critical of the president and the administration, with one user posting a meme claiming the rebrands are an attempt to distract from the Epstein files, while another called it a “toddler tantrum.” The anti-Trump PAC the Lincoln Project responded on X with, “Trump’s approval rating with independents has dropped to 24%, by the way,” citing an NBC News poll. Officials took note, too. “New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate — it’s been ours since before the United States existed. What is up for debate? Who’s showing up for working families,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham responded on X. Trump has devoted a significant amount of his time in office trying to rename buildings, landmarks, and places, even as voters say the economy and the cost of living is their top concern. Michelle Lujan Grisham/X “While the President tries to distract Americans from his disastrous war in Iran, gas prices keep soaring. Americans are also spending more at the grocery store, losing access to health care and wondering if they’ll ever be able to afford a home.” New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján chimed in, “It’s New Mexico, always has been and always will be.” “Just like how you’ll always be a sinvergüenza and corrupt,” he added, using a Spanish insult that translates roughly to “shameless person” or “scoundrel.” California Rep. Ted Lieu ominously wrote, “November is coming.” “Average gas prices hit the highest monthly levels in history in August. Diesel prices hit an all time record high in September,” he continued. “What are trump and Republicans focused on? Changing the name of New Mexico to New America.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump has devoted a significant amount of his time in office trying to rename buildings, landmarks, and places, even as voters say the economy and the cost of living is their top concern. He officially changed the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” last week after negotiations with Canada over his tariffs collapsed. But even Trump-voting podcaster Joe Rogan argued that the real reason the president made the move is to “distract you from the fact that we’re in a war that we can’t win in Iran.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-house-roasted-after-trumps-new-rebrand-attempt-flops/?

MAGA Merch Retailers Admit They’re Doomed by Trump’s Economy Nobody wants to buy those red hats anymore. Vendors who made a fortune hawking Donald Trump’s tacky MAGA merch are lamenting a collapse in sales during his flailing second term as president. Donald “Whitey” Taylor, 76, told the Wall Street Journal that the president’s return to the White House has sent profits plummeting at his Trump Town USA store in Boones Mill, Virginia. “You get used to good money, and you still want to make it,” he said. “Today, the economy is just not worth a c--p anymore.” Taylor could rake in north of $15,000 on any given day throughout 2024, which he told the newspaper marked his store’s best pace of business since he set up shop more than a decade ago. Now, he says that daily rate has dropped 90 percent to just $1,500, as a direct result of pain at the pump sparked by 80-year-old Trump’s war of choice with Iran. The president’s persistent failure to tackle inflation, along with his miserable approval ratings, hasn’t helped either. Taylor isn’t alone. The Journal spoke with a raft of other vendors in the MAGA merchandising world, all of whom said they’re feeling the squeeze. The lack of enthusiasm among the MAGA base has even forced some outlets to shutter altogether. An employee at the Trump Store in Manchester, Tennessee, told the newspaper that even massive discounts failed to clear its remaining inventory, drawing only 12 customers on each of the three days before it finally closed. Suppliers, many of whom buy their goods from manufacturers in China, are now scrambling to adjust to the sales slump. Quan Ngo, who works with a souvenir wholesaler out of Washington, D.C., said the outlet has scaled right back on Trump merch. “We don’t make decisions off of emotions, we make them off of certainty and whether there is a demand,” Ngo told the Journal. “We’ve ordered less Trump merchandise because demand is down.” Independent vendor Lisa Hall, of Syracuse, New York, says the collapse started about six months ago. Demand for MAGA-branded clothing began to slacken after Trump retook office, then crashed hard after he kicked off the war on Iran at the end of February. “I used to be hearing from them; my phone would be exploding,” she said of her clients. “Now, that’s not happening.” The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment on this story. https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-merch-retailers-admit-theyre-doomed-by-trumps-economy-and-war-with-iran/?

Trump’s Big Brag Blows Up in Humiliating Reality Check The president’s boasts about the war in Iran are quickly being destroyed. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz shipping route is at its lowest level in months, even as Donald Trump desperately tries to claim otherwise. Data from analytics firm Kpler, reviewed by Reuters, found that an average of 10 commodity ships were moving through the vital shipping lane per day over the past 10 days, the lowest rate since May. The 10-day moving average was down from more than 15 on Friday and nearly 13 on Saturday, as the U.S. and Iran resumed tit-for-tat attacks in a conflict that has continued for more than six months. On Saturday, U.S. forces said they had struck vessels, including one off Kharg Island—the Iranian oil export hub that handled around 90 percent of the country’s oil exports before the war broke out—after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked U.S. warships in the region. As the fighting resumed, just two vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz, with only six moving through on Sunday. The worrying drop in the number of ships passing through the narrow passage, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passed before the war began on Feb. 28, came as the 80-year-old president insisted that the “Strait is open.” Speaking to reporters on Aug. 27, after signing an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” Trump bragged that the U.S. was in control of the Strait of Hormuz because 24 boats had managed to pass through it. “We have control and we have the blockade. Iran’s not getting anything; nothing is going through, not one ship has gotten through,” Trump said. “The Strait is open; we’re taking a lot of boats—millions and millions of barrels of oil are coming out of the Strait every day. Other countries recognize that,” he added. The president has been so confident that the U.S. is in control of the shipping route that he has suggested the unwise decision of trying to rename it the “Trump Strait.” Despite the president’s claims, the Middle East conflict is still having disastrous effects on the world’s gas and energy supply. On Friday, the average cost of a gallon of diesel reached an all-time high of $5.85, according to the American Automobile Association, breaking the previous record set in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Trump’s second term has also been plagued by rising gas prices across the U.S. as a result of the Iran war, further exacerbating the financial hardships of tens of millions of Americans. The current national average is $4.15, already slightly above the record-high gas price ever recorded by AAA for Labor Day weekend. The Daily Beast has approached the White House for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-big-strait-of-hormuz-brag-blows-up-in-humiliating-reality-check/? ps:So pathetic!!!!!

Dark Twist Emerges as Armed Republican Attacks Dem Candidate The Havas family has a history with the authorities. The brother of an armed man alleged to have attacked Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton on Sunday is a Republican political volunteer who was fired after the discovery of his sexual misconduct with a minor. The suspect behind the attack on Acton at a fair in Ohio has been identified as 38-year-old Patrick Havas, a registered Republican. The man “lunged at Dr. Acton, injuring multiple people” while Acton, 60, was attending the Canfield Fair in northeastern Ohio, a campaign spokesperson said in a statement. Acton was not injured and the suspect was quickly detained. Canfield is in Ohio’s 6th congressional district, which Trump won by 33 points in the 2024 election. Patrick Havas’ brother, Andrew Havas, spent time in jail after being charged with sexual misconduct with a minor after an incident in 2008 involving a 15-year-old in Mahoning County, according to court records reviewed by NBC News in July. Andrew Havas was 22 at the time of the incident and was accused of knowing that the minor was older than 13 but younger than 16 and also of being reckless about the minor’s age. The sexual misconduct charge was reduced to a single misdemeanor assault count as part of a plea deal. After pleading guilty to the reduced charge in 2009, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay a fine. He served his sentence in the Mahoning County jail from May to August 2009, according to records provided to NBC by the county sheriff’s office. In July, Havas resigned from his volunteer role with Republican Ohio Sen. Jon Husted’s re-election campaign after NBC News contacted the campaign about the case. He was named a county campaign chair in Franklin County by Husted’s campaign in December. Husted’s campaign said Andrew had not disclosed his criminal history and that it immediately accepted his resignation after learning about it. NBC reported that Havas introduced Husted at a Christmas party last December, addressing a crowd alongside the Republican and shaking his hand. He attended at least two events as part of Husted’s campaign in June. During Sunday’s attack, the Columbus Dispatch reported that Patrick Havas reportedly pushed through the crowd, knocking over at least two older adults. Police found two pistols and a taser in the suspect’s possession, and he was booked on charges of disorderly conduct and two counts of assault. The Dispatch reported that after Havas was detained, Acton jumped into the crowd to help injured volunteers. Campbell City Council member Mary Janek overheard Acton telling those gathered, “We are sick of the hatred.” Acton is facing Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the contest to replace outgoing Republican Gov. MikeDeWine, who is term-limited. Ramaswamy did not personally address the attack but issued a statement through a spokesperson. “Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence. What happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics, and we hope that no one was hurt,” Connie Luck, communications director for Ramaswamy’s campaign, said in the statement. DeWine posted about the attack on X, “Violence or the threat of violence at political or public events is always unacceptable. This case is now in the hands of law enforcement and will be investigated thoroughly.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/twist-to-dem-candidate-amy-actons-accused-republican-attacker-patrick-andrew-havas/?

Yet WITHOUT sin. Hebrews 4,15. A man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust for the sin (James 1,14) and we can know from the Scriptures that Jesus ALWAYS DID what pleased the Father (John 8,29). For Jesus to be tempted within himself would require that Jesus yearned to do things which would be against His Father. I understand that Ellen and the early Pioneers feverishly taught this but it goes against the most basic teachings of Scripture. In your own life you've been tempted by others to do things that you yourself did not desire to do - therefor, in those cases you were not "tempted" within yourself because you were not drawn or pulled away to commit the sin by your OWN LUST. You have also been tempted to do things you lusted after and this yearning desire (lust) Scripture calls unborn sin - this is what PULLS you (me and others) toward sin and this is why the Bible is so plainly clear that "A MAN" is only tempted when he is drawn away (or pulled) by HIS OWN LUST (lust for the sin). This concept (Jesus yearning / lusting for sins) is what the Council of Nicaea condemned as blasphemous heresy. It's also the thing that ties all anti-Trinitarian ideologies together. Believe Jesus when He says that He ALWAYS did what pleased the Father.

I'm still not seeing what specifically this pastor did. I've always heard of Spiritual Formation being spoken of in a positive light and that's what makes me interested in hearing more about how this program is the same (or different) then what I'm used to. From what little I can tell online it seems that SDA leadership isn't hostile to Spiritual Formation but there appear to be independent ministries (who also appear to be anti-Trinitarian) that are against Spiritual Formation because the Spiritual Formation programs are thought to be a vehicle by which Rome will inject more of its "wine of Babylon" directly into the SDA body. It is believed that the Church has already accepted the primary wine of Babylon by using the term "Trinity" and it's believed Spiritual Formation will ease the passage / acceptance of additional "Catholic Doctrines". Is this sort of where you're coming from?

Scripture is clear that Jesus was tempted to sin just as we are. Hebrews 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. So we have a Savior who has shared our experience with temptation. Now for Christ’s temptations to parallel our own, He must have been able to sin or how can he truly sympathize with His people. He was fully man and overcame sin in this manner to be our example. He never used the fully God part in this or Satan would have been able to lay claim to being right in saying that Gods laws were too harsh and man could not keep them.

I was upset and would not listen to them, as they took over our church from the inside. They brought in a 'pastor' who looked alright but then showed his true purpose, then brought what I quickly found out was the 'spiritual formation' formula and put in who they wanted at the church board level and everyone had to choose whose side they where on....

I feel a bit uneasy as I know each and every case is unique, so dont want to judge the merits. But I have many young people that I worked with in Pathfinders, and in the church and in family and am very hurt by the blatant lack of morality they are being given by what they see today and the indoctrination of the kids so that all kinds of 'deviations' are ok now. With the poor guidance they are getting and early introduction to what should wait till they are mature enough, its both of the sexes that have become aggressive on the sexual matters, to say nothing of the LBTQ and the rest. It is terrible and even sending them to church schools and Academies doesnt seem to protect them like it did in back in the day. I fear we are loosing our young people on this and it pains me greatly...

Years ago, when I was taking bible studies, the pastor told me, we don't drink alcohol because the first thing it effects is the Pineal gland. And that the Pineal gland was thought to be how the Holy Spirit talks to us. I have not found anything to confirm that. Search engines have a lot to say about it and mysticism. But I am curious if there is any evidence or guidance about this gland.

I don't know the details, but I heard today that Francisco de Araujo, who developed and directed the Jerusalem Passion Play and the Nativity Play of Bethlehem, two plays performed in Israel with a strong Desire of Ages influence, has died. Working as an actor in these plays were the highlight of my life. (Of course it did not hurt that while there I had some super good friends, including 3 young ladies who were to become 3 of my favorite former girlfriends. Still friends with two of them.) My condolences to his family and loved ones.

The New Testament has one God who's name is: Father, Son and Holy Sprit. The Old Testament has one God in three pictures: El or God as the great unapproachable power ruling the entire universe. YHWH, The Angel of the Lord who turns out to be the Lord, Michael the Prince, Messiah the Prince, the Fire that burned but did not consume the bush, The Captain of the Lord's Host, etc. which is God as personal and approachable. Then there is the Spirit of the Lord where we do not see an objective revelation as we do in the first two, but God working on the heart and leading the life through the subjective, existential situations. We have all of these as one God, and united in the term "Elohim" the singular plural. Yes, The God of the Old Testament who's name is El, YHWH, The Spirit of God; and the one God of the New Testament who's name is God the Father, God The Son, and God the Holy Spirit is the creator of the entire universe.

Norway is my heritage. I've seen him once when he left a church service and went to his car, and three or four times as he stood on the palace balcony for the 17th of May Children's parade. When my Grandma was a child she marched in that parade for his Grandfather King Haakon. And of course I grew up knowing about his Father King Olav. My heart breaks as he falls to sleep. My prayers to his family, his son King Haakon VIII, and to our country. While many royal families are full of scandal, this family has tended to be devote believers. I hope this continues.

I never imagined I'd see the day when open homosexuals would be welcomed into the church. Reminds me of a gay bar in W. Hollywood--grinding, shaking, loud music, topped off with sexual contact in the restroom or worse. How have the mighty fallen.

September 7, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning. It’s Labor Day. Let’s start with the cookout. In Prospect Park, Brooklyn. José A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York Times Happy Labor Day! So this is it. This is it. This is the end of the session. Summer isn’t going to be taking any more questions. We’re loading up the grill one last time for Labor Day and — who am I kidding? Where I stay, the farm stands will have tomatoes and corn through at least the end of the month. We’ve got plenty of time to mourn summer’s end at summer’s end, on Sept. 22. Today’s for cheering working people. We raise our flags and bunting high in celebration of all those who built our nation, all those who brought us the eight-hour workday and weekends off. And to celebrate, yes, we’ll get a cookout going. (My old teammates on the Cooking app have plenty of recipes for that.) It’s the American way. Steak tips I think Labor Day’s a good one for steak. If you’re lucky, you’ve been cooking outside often these last few months — easy proteins like hot dogs, burgers and brats alongside grilled ears of corn, flame-kissed baby eggplants and hobo-packed potatoes. You’ve grilled some fish, some slabs of tofu. You’re confident, know what you’re doing. You’re ready to face off with a honking big piece of beef just as Samuel Gompers intended when he championed a holiday devoted to the celebration of American workers. I’m here today to make sure you cook it brilliantly. And to do that I’m going to use words that cost me $17: reverse-searing. That is, the process of cooking a steak slowly in a warm oven, then finishing it over high heat on a grill or a plancha. Lots of people have recipes for reverse-seared steak — here’s mine. Nico Schinco for The New York Times But no matter how many times I make it, it feels new. I think that’s because reverse-searing is not a recipe so much as it is a counseling session, one that replaces the anxiety of cooking an expensive cut of meat with the peace that comes from knowing that you’ve got a sure thing. Coat the meat in a dry rub, if you like: Montreal steak seasoning, say, or a Cajun blackening situation. I go with straight kosher salt and revel in the beefiness it underscores. You’ll get a great crust regardless and, beneath it, a fantastically textured interior. And if you’ve spent a pretty penny on the meat that you’re cooking, that’s a very good feeling. You’ll need a digital instant-read thermometer. This is nonnegotiable. (Wirecutter has a guide to the best ones.) You’ll use it to track the internal temperature of your steak so that you can get it out of the oven at precisely the right moment. For me, that’s about 112 degrees. Which will take somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 30 minutes. But don’t use the clock as your guide. Mind Mr. Thermometer instead. Let the steak rest for another 20 minutes or so while you get your grill going, and then finish the meat when everything’s ripping hot, maybe 90 seconds a side, until the thermometer shows you something in the low 120s for rare. Give it a short rest, carve and serve to applause. Have an unlaborious day! THE LATEST NEWS Germany The far-right AfD party trounced its rivals in a crucial state election in eastern Germany — but it just missed a majority. The result shocked the country. The race gave fresh momentum to hard-right parties hoping to win across Europe next year, analysts said. Miami Airport Crash At least five people died after an Amazon cargo plane overran a runway at Miami International Airport. Travelers in the area should “expect significant delays and potential cancellations,” the transportation secretary said. Read what we know about the crash. Around the World The New York Times Indonesia has a microplastics epidemic. Trash often gets burned there, and tiny fragments of plastic are in the air, land and water. Click above to watch. Social media in China is getting really dark. A popular video is a guide to survive being homeless — a sign of economic pessimism among young people. Deportees arriving in Haiti from the United States say they have been left with no money, no protection from gangs and no place to go. Politics Work on a helipad at the White House last month. Andrew Leyden for The New York Times President Trump is relishing his Washington construction projects as the war with Iran drags on. Trump has reconciled with his former fixer Michael Cohen. But contrary to Trump’s claims, Cohen has not recanted testimony that helped convict his former boss. The Trump administration filed an emergency application again asking the Supreme Court to allow its plan to limit mail-in voting before the midterms. The former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani called for the current mayor, Zohran Mamdani, to skip this week’s 9/11 memorial ceremonies. “It offends me,” Giuliani said during an anti-Muslim rant. Mamdani has said he is going. SEABORNE BALLET By The New York Times Two U.S. aircraft carriers are helping to blockade Iranian ports, alongside 12 destroyers protecting them. But supplying the carriers and the other ships — and the tens of thousands of people living, working and eating on them — is incredibly complex. These diagrams explain how it’s done. OPINIONS She has an A.I. boyfriend. Her son has questions. Watch a video of them discussing it. The conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed almost a year ago. Erika Kirk, his widow, writes about what she has learned from grief. The artist Yayoi Kusama changed the world from an asylum in Tokyo. We can’t let fame obscure how singular she was, a curator at the Guggenheim Museum writes. Introducing bonus puzzles. Try these twists on our games, including Wordle in 1, Connections 3x3, Colorful Strands and more. New puzzles drop every Wednesday. MORNING READS In Los Angeles County. Loren Elliott for The New York Times We’ve made these links free for you. You just need to log in. Bear necessities: Bears are taking over Los Angeles backyards. See them claim the territory. Hello? Gen Z is picking up the phone — and saying nothing. Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about a mathematician in her nineties and her teenage neighbor. Metropolitan Diary: “Whatever you do, don’t be yourself.” Route 66: Meet the Europeans obsessed with the U.S. highway, which turns 100 this year. Along Route 66. Nick Oxford for The New York Times TODAY’S NUMBER 270 million — That’s approximately how many meat pies Australians eat each year. Last week, 16 judges tested 1,800 single-portion pies and sausage rolls seeking the country’s best. At the Official Great Aussie Pie Competition. Asanka Brendon Ratnayake for The New York Times SPORTS U.S. Open: Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka and Frances Tiafoe advanced to the quarterfinals. N.F.L.: Commissioner Roger Goodell signed a contract extension through the 2030 season. It’s likely he’s the whole league’s highest-paid employee. THE NEW SEASON Charli XCX Joseph Okpako/WireImage, via Getty Images Fall’s coming, and with it a whole bunch of exciting music. The journalists who cover pop for The Times put together a list of 33 new albums and shows they’re excited to take in over the next few months. Among the releases: tracks from Riley Green, Beck, Miranda Lambert and Victoria Monét. And on the road: Charli XCX, Phoebe Bridgers and Sombr. More on culture What’s among the most enduring pieces of 9/11 art? The musical “Come From Away,” which has already been staged more than 1,000 times worldwide, including a production now in Gander, Newfoundland, where it is set. Michael Paulson, our theater reporter, brings us one of those stories that has it all: History, musical theater, a trade war and cod! Rob Reiner won a posthumous Emmy for his work on “The Bear.” The win was announced yesterday as part of a ceremony that awards Emmys for guest appearances, variety shows and technical and behind-the-scene achievements. The writer Edward Field died at 102. His use of everyday language and embrace of gay topics made him one of the most accomplished American poets of the postwar era. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Hunter McRae for The New York Times Spend 10 minutes with Angel Oak, a centuries-old tree in South Carolina. Strengthen your happiness muscle. Basically, savor what’s good. Get one of these kitchen bins recommended by the vegetable-peeling soil enrichers at Wirecutter and you’ll compost a lot more than you did before. Read the novelist Barbara Kingsolver’s appraisal of the life of Wendell Berry, one of her most important literary mentors, who died last week at 92. It’s a beautiful essay. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were bondage and dogbane. 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

🍿 1 film thing: Hollywood's banner summer Matt Damon as Odysseus in "The Odyssey." Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures via AP It's a wrap on Hollywood's best summer in a decade. After years of new-normal ticket sales and regular spells of unease, the summer box office rallied to $4.61 billion in domestic ticket sales between May 1 and Aug. 31, according to Rentrak. 🎟️ That's a 26.1% increase from 2025 and better than every summer other than 2013. Accounting for inflation and higher ticket prices, it's less of a record season, but 2026 was still the summer Hollywood got its mojo back. (AP) Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston in "Obsession." Photo: Focus Features via AP Gen-Z audiences filled theaters and turned low-budget films, including "Obsession," into blockbusters. Global ticket sales are up 15% compared with last year. Five movies have passed $1 billion in ticket sales, Bloomberg reports (gift link). "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," the biggest movie of the summer, has grossed $2.4 billion worldwide. No. 2 — "The Odyssey" — has made $1.63 billion. 🥊 Reality check: Higher ticket prices "disguise a deeper decline in attendance," the N.Y. Times notes. "From Jan. 1 through Aug. 16, domestic theaters sold an estimated 568.4 million tickets, down 30% from the same period in 2019, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. That amounts to roughly 248 million missing admissions." (Gift link)

Blue wave math Data: The Downballot and Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios Redistricting has helped House Republicans build a seawall that can withstand a roughly 5-point Democratic wave. Why it matters: Early readings are pointing to something twice that size — enough to wash away the GOP House majority, Axios' Hans Nichols reports. Democrats have been running roughly 10 points ahead of their 2024 presidential performance in special elections this year. A swing of that magnitude would produce a comfortable 230-205 Democratic majority, according to an Axios analysis of how the battle for the House would play out under different electoral scenarios. 🖊 Between the lines: Gerrymandering since the presidential election has given Republicans more breathing room, with GOP-drawn maps creating a net advantage of roughly nine seats. But some of those newly redrawn GOP seats rest on a potentially shaky assumption: that the 2026 electorate will look much like that of 2024. A national swing toward Democrats like the one in Trump's first midterm would overwhelm the GOP's redistricting defenses. The other side: If Republicans outperform Trump's 2024 numbers by 5 points across congressional districts, the new maps would give them a massive 253-182 majority. If 2026 simply looks like 2024 — with GOP candidates winning every district Trump would've carried under the new maps, including Trump districts where Democrats held on in 2024 — Republicans would net 16 seats, producing a 236-199 majority. 🏛 State of play: Two months before Election Day, Democrats can taste the House majority, provided two conditions hold: President Trump remains unpopular, and vulnerable Republicans stay close to him. They're privately giddy that Republicans are encouraging vulnerable incumbents to attend this week's GOP midterm convention in Dallas and lash themselves to the mast of HMS Trump. 💰 Republicans are banking on their massive money advantage and a Supreme Court ruling that allows them to coordinate their campaign dollars with individual candidates.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY September 7 1813 United States nicknamed Uncle Sam After meat packer Samuel Wilson supplied barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812 that were stamped with “U.S.” for United States, soldiers began referring to the grub as “Uncle Sam’s.” Uncle Sam eventually gains widespread acceptance as the nickname for—and personification of—the U.S. government. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 1960s 1968 Protesters disrupt the Miss America Pageant American Revolution 1776 World’s first submarine attack Arts & Entertainment 1911 Guillaume Apollinaire is arrested for stealing the Mona Lisa 1936 Rock ‘n’ roll legend Buddy Holly is born Civil War 1864 General Sherman orders civilians to evacuate Atlanta Crime 1996 Tupac Shakur is shot 1876 Minnesotans attack the James-Younger criminal gang Latin American & Caribbean History 1977 U.S. agrees to transfer Panama Canal to Panama World War II 1940 The Blitz begins as Germany bombs London