War, runaway AI and climate shocks to take center stage as world leaders meet at UN
Under a global cloud of wars and bitter divisions, world leaders meet at the United Nations this week facing new fears that runaway artificial intelligence could threaten humanity even as climate shocks and escalating prices are already making life much tougher for hundreds of millions of people.
The annual high-level gathering at the UN General Assembly will also be consumed with major wars in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Myanmar and a persisting question: Can the leaders do anything to end them?
And what can they do about the relentless rise of global warming threatening the future of the planet, the growing inequalities within and among nations, and shocks to the global economy as blocked shipping routes and supply chains increase the cost of living and slow growth?
Germany ‘no longer safe’ for Jews, Merz says following defeat by Left Party in Berlin
German Jews are no longer safe in the country, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz claimed on Monday, following his party’s recent defeat by the far-left Left Party in Berlin’s state election.
“The fact that Jewish life in Germany is no longer safe is the most serious burden of recent years,” Merz stated in a press conference.
Iranian children to be recruited for Islamic Republic’s ‘self-sacrifice’ campaign
Children under the age of 15 will soon be offered training to join the Islamic Republic’s Janfada (self-sacrifice) campaign, the campaign’s spokesperson, Sasan Zare, confirmed to the Iranian Labour News Agency last week.
Acknowledging that individuals as young as 15 have already begun training, Zare said that, due to high demand, “special training appropriate for younger ages will also be arranged.”
Unexplained Lights Over Tehran Fuel Drone and UFO Speculation Amid US-Iran War
On the night of September 20, 2026, people filming from the Azadegan Expressway captured something they could not identify: a cluster of multi-coloured, LED-like lights hovering in the dark above Tehran. The videos spread fast. In any other context, they might have been dismissed as a hobbyist’s drone or a novelty kite, but against the backdrop of an active US-Iran war, they became something else entirely.
UK to announce new AI defence partnership with US
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham will announce a new AI defence partnership between Britain and the United States on Tuesday, part of a push for nations to use the technology to better protect critical infrastructure and detect threats.
At the United Nations General Assembly, Burnham will call on nations to work together to use the technology to enhance security and bring down cost-of-living pressures in a speech on Tuesday. It will be his first multinational meeting as prime minister, and he will meet US President Donald Trump.
Atheist Site Celebrates Talarico Pastor’s Embrace of ‘Reimagined Scriptures’
An atheist site is celebrating the embrace of Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico’s pastor of a Bible version touted as “a reimagining of the scriptures,” deeming his position “not at all” controversial.
Talarico, who supports the genital mutilation of confused children and considers protecting the innocence of children from perverted leftist goals as a “Christofascism movement,” has a controversial pastor and mentor by the name Rev. Jim Rigby, head of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. Rigby recently came under fire following the exposure of an undercover video obtained by Breitbart News, showing him saying he welcomes atheists to join his church and “If you love humanity and love nature and that’s why you hate religion, then we’re on the same team.”
White House launches state-run Trump TV
The new service launched Monday night at 7 p.m. ET, according to the White House. The Trump administration has promoted it as a way to watch the administration’s “biggest moments all in one place.”
The first piece of footage was a two-month-old speech that Trump made at Mount Rushmore, back on July 3. Kaelan Dorr, deputy assistant to the president, described the network on X as a “livestream of the Administration’s greatest hits, unfiltered.” The White House teased the launch on Monday, posting videos hinting that something new was coming. It comes after a TV star revealed Trump’s 2-word comment in his limo that left her terrified.
The Trump TV announcement almost immediately drew backlash from critics and social media users, who described the service as “state-run” or state-controlled media and drawing comparisons with the media systems of China, North Korea, and Russia.
Forget nanny state, we’re closing in on police state as MA gov. promises every new mother will get visit from state to assess her situation
Have a baby in Massachusetts, and the state wants to come visit your home. Gov. Maura Healey said as much on Boston Public Radio.
“Everybody in the state, when you have a baby, you’re going to have a home visit within days, weeks and that will be an opportunity for a healthcare provider to make an assessment to see if you need some additional support and resources.”
EPA launches drinking water study looking for traces of abortion pills
According to a report from The Hill, the Environmental Protection Agency is launching a drinking-water study that will, for the first time, test for traces of the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol—a step anti-abortion activists, attorneys general and lawmakers have pressed for years.
EPA said earlier this month it will run a “cutting edge scientific study” of “emerging” contaminants. It will sample several metropolitan water systems and screen for more than 1,400 pharmaceuticals, pesticides and other chemicals, including the two abortion pills. The same effort will look for hormones such as testosterone and progesterone and for levonorgestrel, used in some contraceptives and emergency contraception.