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September 25, 2026 – From My Inbox

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Canadian News

Winnipeg’s arts scene took center stage in the Winnipeg Digest, which previewed Saturday’s Nuit Blanche, a free, citywide, all-night art crawl expected to draw roughly 40,000 people to installations across the Exchange District, downtown, St. Boniface and The Forks, with free shuttles and a water bus laid on. The newsletter also reported that the NHL and the Jets have consolidated the franchise’s history, merging records from the original 1979–96 Winnipeg Jets and the Atlanta Thrashers era with the current team, restoring Dale Hawerchuk and Thomas Steen to the top of the record books, and it noted a $3.8 million provincial investment in a new French-language culinary arts training centre for St. Boniface.

The Toronto Star‘s First Up newsletter led with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s interview with the New York Times, in which he acknowledged preparing for the possibility of U.S. military action against Canada, a marked shift from his more cautious 2025 comments, alongside continuing coverage of the Belleville synagogue shooting, which police have called a hate-motivated attack, and the Toronto mayoral race, where challenger Brad Bradford is pitching a property tax freeze against incumbent Olivia Chow’s record of expanded services.

Wesley Wark’s newsletter examined the roughly $80 billion (Canadian) plan to expand the Port of Churchill, Manitoba into a year-round Arctic shipping gateway, backed by a new provincial tax break, arguing that the province’s boosterism has outrun the reality that Canada’s icebreaker fleet — currently two aging Polar-class vessels — is nowhere near large enough to support it.

  • Winnipeg gets ready for Nuit Blanche, a free all-night art festival expected to draw 40,000 people, and the NHL restores the original Winnipeg Jets’ history to the franchise’s record book. (Winnipeg Digest)
  • Prime Minister Carney tells the New York Times he is preparing for the risk of U.S. military action against Canada, a shift from his more guarded 2025 remarks, as Toronto’s mayoral race and the Belleville synagogue shooting investigation continue. (Toronto Star, First Up)
  • Manitoba’s plan to turn the Port of Churchill into a year-round Arctic shipping hub, backed by an ~$80 billion investment pitch and new tax breaks, is running well ahead of Canada’s icebreaker capacity, argues national security analyst Wesley Wark. (Wesley Wark’s National Security and Intelligence Newsletter, Substack)

US News

Coverage converged on President Trump’s state visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which multiple newsletters described as long on pageantry and short on substance. The New York Times’s The Morning and DealBook newsletters, along with the Wall Street Journal’s 10-Point, all noted the lavish state dinner attended by tech and finance titans (Bezos, Musk, Altman, Zuckerberg, Cook, Dimon and others), the exchange of a bald eagle statue for a panda-loan pledge, and Trump’s remark that he’d “never gotten along better” with Xi even as AI policy and Taiwan went largely unaddressed publicly.

A second major thread was the fight over White House press access. The Washington Post, AllSides, Columbia Journalism Review, Local News International and the New York Times’s The Morning all covered Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, the resulting show of solidarity from the rest of the press pool, a judge’s order restoring access, and the administration’s brief, apparently defiant, delay in complying.

Elsewhere, Punchbowl News reported that a Senate Republican leadership super PAC could spend as much as $200 million defending Texas’s open Senate seat for Ken Paxton, who trails Democrat James Talarico in every recent poll, and that Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) is quietly planning for a possible return to the House Appropriations gavel, including a push to claw back spending power from OMB Director Russ Vought. The Washington Post flagged a Trump-backed Nevada congressional candidate’s exaggeration of a military award, and Local News International covered a Trump UN speech in which he threatened to “annihilate” Iran, plus continuing revelations about the cost and human toll of deportations to third countries.

  • The Trump-Xi state dinner drew tech and finance leaders including Bezos, Musk, Altman and Zuckerberg; despite the AI-heavy guest list, AI policy went largely undiscussed on the record, and Taiwan and trade tensions were papered over. (The New York Times: The Morning and DealBook; The Wall Street Journal: The 10-Point)
  • CNN, MS NOW and Politico were banned from the White House, prompting an unusual show of solidarity from the rest of the press corps and a judge’s order restoring their access, though the administration briefly appeared to resist complying. (The Washington Post, AllSides, Columbia Journalism Review, Local News International)
  • A GOP super PAC could spend up to $200 million to save Ken Paxton’s flailing Texas Senate campaign, while Rep. Rosa DeLauro quietly plans a possible return as House Appropriations chair to challenge OMB’s Russ Vought over spending power. (Punchbowl News)
  • A Trump-backed Nevada congressional candidate exaggerated his Bronze Star record in campaign materials; the campaign called it an “honest mistake.” (The Washington Post, Early Brief)
  • In his UN speech, Trump threatened to “annihilate” Iran while defending his administration’s costly, controversial program of deporting migrants to third countries. (Local News International)

Finance and Markets

Rising borrowing costs were the week’s dominant financial story. The Daily Upside and The Wall Street Journal both reported that the 10-year Treasury yield touched multi-decade highs and that 30-year mortgage rates broke above 7% for the first time in nearly two years, driven by sticky inflation, high oil prices and a resilient economy that has strengthened the odds of an October Fed rate hike. New York state also sued the prediction-market platform Polymarket over unlicensed gambling, part of a wider crackdown on the sector.

Oracle’s finances drew scrutiny after the company issued a rare “force majeure” notice on its Project Jupiter data centre in New Mexico, citing permitting delays; The Daily Upside, DealBook and The Economist all covered the resulting slide in Oracle and Blue Owl Capital shares and the broader nervousness about AI-infrastructure financing. In an interview reported by the Journal’s CEO Brief, Moderna’s Stéphane Bancel said his biggest near-term worry is AI-enabled bioterrorism, and warned that China can now run clinical trials in half the time and cost of the U.S.

  • US borrowing costs are climbing fast: the 10-year Treasury yield hit its highest level in nearly 20 years, and 30-year mortgage rates broke 7% for the first time since 2024, driven by inflation, oil prices and a resilient economy. (The Daily Upside, The Wall Street Journal)
  • Oracle sent a “force majeure” notice on its $165 billion Project Jupiter data centre after permitting delays, rattling Oracle and Blue Owl Capital shares and raising fresh doubts about AI-infrastructure financing. (The Daily Upside, The New York Times: DealBook, The Economist)
  • New York sued prediction-market platform Polymarket for allegedly operating without a gambling license, the fourth such suit this year against a prediction-market operator. (The Daily Upside)
  • Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said his biggest near-term fear is AI-enabled bioterrorism, and warned China can now run drug trials at half the time and cost of the U.S. (The Wall Street Journal, CEO Brief)

International News

The UN General Assembly’s closing days produced sharp rhetoric on several fronts. The Economist, the New York Times’s The World and its Spanish-language El Times, and The Washington Post all covered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s combative address defending the wars in Gaza and Iran, which prompted a walkout by dozens of delegates, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’s video address — he was denied a U.S. visa — accusing Israel of a “genocidal war.” Iran’s foreign minister proposed a seven-day plan to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though Trump has shown little interest in reviving the earlier deal it resembles.

Multiple outlets also flagged rising Russia-related tensions in Europe: Finland and Sweden scrambled fighter jets to intercept Russian military aircraft over the Gulf of Finland for the first time, while France said it would send troops to help Saudi Arabia defend energy sites against Houthi missile fire. In a separate scandal, The New Yorker reported that aides to Netanyahu, including the ad-man-turned-political-consultant Yisrael Einhorn, are accused of running a covert, Qatari-funded influence campaign, dubbed “Qatargate.”

The New York Times’s Spanish-language El Times added Latin American context: Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodríguez promised elections without a firm date, Argentina’s Javier Milei called the UN “useless,” and a controversial eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Spain sparked nationwide protests.

  • Netanyahu delivered a combative UN speech defending Israel’s wars in Gaza and Iran, prompting a mass walkout, while Mahmoud Abbas, denied a U.S. visa, addressed the assembly by video to accuse Israel of a “genocidal war.” (The Economist, The New York Times: The World and El Times, The Washington Post)
  • Iran’s foreign minister proposed a seven-day plan to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Trump has shown little appetite for reviving the terms of an earlier, similar deal. (The Economist, The New York Times: The World)
  • Finland and Sweden scrambled fighter jets to intercept Russian military aircraft for the first time, and France will send troops to help Saudi Arabia defend energy sites from Houthi attacks. (The New York Times: The World, The Economist)
  • Aides to Benjamin Netanyahu are accused of running a covert, Qatari-funded influence campaign dating to the 2022 World Cup, in a scandal dubbed “Qatargate.” (The New Yorker)
  • At the UN, Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez promised elections without a date, Argentina’s Javier Milei called the UN “useless,” and a Madrid eviction of an 87-year-old woman triggered nationwide housing protests in Spain. (The New York Times, El Times)

Media News

Press-freedom stories dominated media coverage this week. Columbia Journalism Review and AllSides both praised the unusually unified response from U.S. newsrooms to Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico — including a joint pool blackout by ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC and an amicus brief signed by 49 media organizations — while noting skepticism about the “Editorial Independence Board” created as part of the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery settlement that will bring CNN and CBS under common ownership. AllSides also catalogued a wave of newsroom contraction: Washington Post layoffs of 300 reporters, Associated Press cuts, USA Today reorganization, and Vox Media’s partial sale to James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems. Nieman Lab flagged a new “Emergency Mode for News” website offering checklists to help newsrooms respond faster when disaster strikes.

  • U.S. newsrooms showed rare solidarity against Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, though skepticism remains high about the new “Editorial Independence Board” set up as part of the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger settlement that will unite CNN and CBS. (Columbia Journalism Review, AllSides)
  • The news industry keeps shrinking: the Washington Post cut roughly 300 reporters, the AP laid off and bought out dozens of staff, USA Today reorganized, and Vox Media sold a stake to James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, all against a backdrop of falling traffic tied to AI search. (AllSides)
  • A new “Emergency Mode for News” website offers newsrooms checklists and tools for responding when disaster strikes. (Nieman Lab)

Sports News

The Athletic‘s newsletters covered a busy sports weekend: the Falcons’ surprise 35-14 rout of the Packers, four MLB teams clinching playoff berths (Padres, Cubs, White Sox, Guardians), and 16-year-old USMNT prospect Cavan Sullivan’s rise ahead of his likely international debut. A separate edition explored whether England striker Harry Kane could realistically become an NFL kicker (experts were skeptical), covered Cody Gakpo’s highlight-reel volley for the Netherlands, and reported that Nike scrapped a planned ad campaign with Karim Benzema over his past legal troubles. The Athletic‘s college football newsletter previewed a stacked Saturday slate, including Texas at Tennessee and Ole Miss–Florida, and explained the eligibility rules letting Ole Miss’s sixth-year quarterback Trinidad Chambliss keep playing.

  • The Falcons stunned the Packers 35-14, four MLB teams clinched playoff spots, and 16-year-old USMNT prospect Cavan Sullivan is drawing comparisons to Christian Pulisic ahead of a likely international debut. (The Athletic, The Pulse)
  • Experts are skeptical that Harry Kane could translate his soccer skills into an NFL kicking career, while Nike scrapped a planned ad campaign with Karim Benzema over his past legal troubles. (The Athletic)
  • A stacked college football Saturday features Texas at Tennessee and Ole Miss–Florida, and a mailbag explains why Ole Miss’s sixth-year quarterback Trinidad Chambliss can keep playing under new NCAA eligibility rules. (The Athletic)

Health and Wellness

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s newsletter highlighted a study finding that a modest 12% calorie deficit, sustained for two years, meaningfully lowered projected heart disease and diabetes risk, plus research suggesting the earliest repetitions of a new habit do the most work in making it automatic; a reader-question segment reviewed where fish oil’s evidence is strong (triglycerides, pregnancy outcomes, heart risk in high-risk patients) and where it is not (memory, longevity). The New York Times’s Well newsletter, drawing on sociologist Sherry Turkle’s new book “Artificial Intimacy,” urged readers to keep therapy, major life decisions and heartfelt personal messages as “sacred spaces” protected from AI chatbots, which are prone to telling users what they want to hear even when their behavior is harmful.

  • A modest, sustained 12% calorie deficit meaningfully lowered projected heart disease and diabetes risk over two years, and the earliest repetitions of a new habit matter most for making it automatic. (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Pump Club)
  • Fish oil’s evidence is strongest for lowering triglycerides and supporting healthy pregnancies, and weaker for memory or longevity; most people who eat fatty fish twice a week don’t need a supplement. (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Pump Club)
  • Psychologist Sherry Turkle argues therapy sessions, major life decisions and heartfelt personal messages should stay “sacred spaces” protected from AI chatbots, which tend to validate users even when their behavior is harmful. (The New York Times, Well)

Other

Noahpinion’s newsletter offered an “anthropological” history of San Francisco tech culture across four eras, from the politically liberal “Rebel Era” of the 2000s to today’s AI-dominated moment, noting that Trump allies are now targeting Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and the effective-altruism movement as a political target. The New Yorker examined why global birth rates keep falling even though surveys show many people want more children than they end up having. And Tina Brown’s newsletter recapped her live interview with Anthony Scaramucci about his new book on the rise of Trump, and previewed her upcoming conversation with author Anand Giridharadas.

  • A history of four distinct eras of San Francisco tech culture explains how “Rationalists” and effective altruists, once obscure subcultures, became a political target for Trump allies over AI safety concerns. (Noahpinion, Substack)
  • Despite falling birth rates worldwide, polling shows many people want more children than they expect to have — a gap a new book calls a “substantial social failure.” (The New Yorker)
  • Tina Brown recapped her live interview with Anthony Scaramucci about his new book on Trump’s rise, and previewed an upcoming conversation with author Anand Giridharadas. (Tina Brown’s Diary, Substack)

Sources

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