⚡ TODAY IN HISTORY

On September 24, 1869, financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk saw their attempt to corner the U.S. gold market collapse when President Ulysses S. Grant ordered $4 million in federal gold sold. The crash that followed became known as Black Friday. Today? Gold trades near $4,322 an ounce, and the 10-year Treasury yield sits at its highest level since 2007.

TOP NEWS

Trump hosts Xi for first Chinese state visit since 2015 11-YEAR GAP

Seeking stability between the world’s two largest economies, President Trump welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for talks on Taiwan, AI chips, rare earth minerals and the Iran war. On Wednesday, the two sides agreed to extend their one-year trade truce, due to expire Nov. 10, by two more months.

Oil tops $106 as Iran warns of a Red Sea “new front” +3% BRENT

After Trump told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that he may “annihilate” Iran without a deal, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader warned that Iran and Yemen’s Houthi rebels could target Red Sea energy supplies. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 3% to $106.24 a barrel on Thursday as the war, which began Feb. 28, nears its seventh month.

Judge orders White House to readmit CNN, MS NOW and Politico

Trump barred the three outlets from White House grounds on Sept. 18, calling their coverage “fake news.” Early Thursday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a 2017 Trump nominee, ordered their press passes restored, ruling the outlets were likely to prove the ban denied them due process under the Constitution.

Hurricane Polo regains Category 5 strength off Mexico 160 MPH

Fed by warm El Niño waters, Hurricane Polo climbed back to Category 5 early Thursday with 160 mph winds off Mexico’s southwest Pacific coast. The storm’s core is forecast to stay offshore, but up to 8 inches of rain could trigger deadly floods and mudslides in the coastal states of Guerrero and Michoacán.

Russian missiles hit Kyiv hours after Moscow rejects UN truce call

Hours after Russia rejected calls at the United Nations to pause its war during peace talks, Russian ballistic missiles struck Ukraine’s capital early Thursday, killing two people and injuring at least six. Debris damaged a Kyiv maternity hospital, where one person died in the parking lot and no one inside was hurt, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

WORLD

China holds diverted F-35 parts, including a stealth canopy

A shipment of damaged F-35 fighter jet parts, sent this summer from Australia to the U.S. for repair, was rerouted to Hong Kong, and Beijing has since taken possession, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The cargo included a cockpit canopy with stealth technology shared only among the U.S. and its allies, and the Pentagon says it is working to recover the parts.

Projectile hits cargo ship in Strait of Hormuz, killing one sailor

The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged ship Cape Dao was struck Wednesday morning about 2.5 nautical miles off Oman’s Musandam coast, on the U.S.-directed route through the strait that carries Persian Gulf oil to world markets. One Indian crew member died and 27 others were evacuated, according to Oman’s navy.

Yemen fighting kills as many as 169 in three days 169 DEAD

Iran-aligned Houthi rebels are battling Saudi-backed government forces for control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, a fight that resumed in July and ended a four-year truce. Both sides’ figures put the death toll since Sunday at up to 169, as Saudi air and artillery strikes hit four northern and central provinces.

Three countries ground Iranian flights as U.S. sanctions take effect

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned this month that any country giving Iranian planes landing services could be cut off from the dollar system, and those sanctions on Iran’s air sector took effect Wednesday. Georgia banned Iranian carriers, Azerbaijan suspended their flights, and Iraq halted Iranian service to Baghdad’s airport.

51 nations reaffirm backing for Ukraine at the UN

In a joint declaration issued Wednesday at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, 51 countries including France, Britain, Japan and Canada restated their support for Ukraine. The statement raised alarm over Russian attacks in the Black Sea and accused Moscow of trying to block Ukrainian grain exports.

POLITICS

U.S. invites Putin to G20 summit at Trump’s Doral resort DEC. 14–15

Pressing for steps to reduce fighting in Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the U.S. has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to December’s G20 summit at Trump National Doral Miami. The Kremlin said it would consider the offer; Putin has not visited the lower 48 states since September 2015.

Navy discloses 8 suicide attempts in USS Lincoln strike group

Answering questions from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) about conditions aboard the carrier, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao reported eight suicide attempts during the USS Abraham Lincoln group’s record-long deployment, which began in November 2025. The Lincoln, sent to the Middle East when the Iran war began, is now heading home to San Diego.

Trump predicts an Iran deal “right after the election”

Speaking Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly, Trump said he expects a deal to end the Iran war after the Nov. 3 midterms, a vote in which high fuel prices tied to the war threaten Republican control of Congress, CBS News reported. U.S. envoys held about three hours of indirect talks with Iran that day, but Tehran says it will sign nothing until the U.S. naval blockade ends.

Taiwan’s $14 billion arms package stays on hold as Xi visits $14B

China has pressed Washington to halt all weapons sales to Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its territory. After meeting Xi in Beijing in May, Trump held off final approval of a record $14 billion arms package, and analysts expect the pause to last at least through year’s end.

Nvidia, OpenAI and Google chiefs join Trump-Xi state dinner

With AI safety on the summit agenda, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google CEO Sundar Pichai are set to attend Thursday’s dinner with Trump and Xi. Chinese state media said Xi traveled with a small entourage, and the South China Morning Post reported that slow progress on deals shrank his planned group of business leaders.

MARKETS

10-year Treasury yield climbs to its highest level since 2007 5.11%

Rising oil prices and stronger-than-expected business activity data pushed the 10-year Treasury yield, the benchmark behind mortgage and loan rates, above 5.11% on Wednesday. Stocks fell in response: the Dow slipped 0.7%, the S&P 500 lost 0.8%, and the Nasdaq dropped 1.1% after two straight record closes.

Average 30-year mortgage rate jumps to 7.26%

Following the 10-year yield higher, the average 30-year mortgage rate rose 0.09 percentage point on Wednesday to 7.26%, according to Mortgage News Daily. That puts home loan costs at their highest level in close to two years, and nearly 1 in 10 applicants last week chose a cheaper adjustable-rate loan.

Traders put October Fed rate hike odds near 70%

Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said in a Chicago speech Wednesday that further “policy adjustments” are likely needed, noting inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target. Traders then raised the odds of a quarter-point hike at the Fed’s October meeting to about 70%, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Trump backs a diesel export ban as pump prices set records

With diesel averaging an all-time high of $6.52 a gallon, according to AAA, Trump said Tuesday at the U.N. that he supports banning U.S. diesel exports. Oil industry experts warned a ban would bring only brief relief before refiners cut output and prices climb again.

Meta’s AI agent app tops the App Store, weighing on brokers and travel stocks

Meta’s Muse app, which automates everyday online tasks, rose to No. 1 in Apple’s App Store this week. Fears that AI agents could undercut fee-based businesses then pressured shares of Charles Schwab, LPL Financial, Booking Holdings, Expedia and insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher.

ENTERTAINMENT

Paramount’s Warner Bros. takeover heads for a close within days $110B

After Paramount settled a 12-state antitrust suit led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday, Warner Bros. Discovery leaders told about 500 senior staff Wednesday they expect the deal to close in roughly 10 days. The settlement requires 30 theatrical films a year and an editorial independence board for CNN and CBS News.

Taylor Swift’s new single “Patient Zero” arrives Friday

Swift revealed the song on Tuesday after a two-hour countdown on her website ended at 2 p.m. ET, confirming a Sept. 25 release. The announcement came with limited-edition CDs but no tour dates, ending fan theories about a new tour.

Dolly Parton’s estate seeks restraining order against her nephew

A month after Parton died on Aug. 25 at age 80, She’s Alive LLC, the company run by her longtime manager Danny Nozell, asked a Nashville court Tuesday to keep nephew and former security chief Bryan Seaver away from its staff. The filing accuses Seaver of an escalating campaign of threats, while Seaver told TMZ his messages were grief-driven “rage talk.”

Brad Pitt returns to San Sebastián with “Heart of the Beast”

Pitt presented the Paramount survival thriller, directed by David Ayer, out of competition Wednesday at the San Sebastián Film Festival in Spain’s Basque Country. The screening marked Pitt’s first visit to the festival since 2009, when he brought “Inglourious Basterds” with Quentin Tarantino.

Gregg Popovich marries ex-wife of his former top assistant

The former San Antonio Spurs coach wed Mary Barth Budenholzer on Sept. 16 in Texas, according to a Bexar County marriage license obtained by TMZ. Budenholzer was previously married to Mike Budenholzer, who helped Popovich win five NBA titles as an assistant coach.