⚡ Today in History

On September 9, 2001, al-Qaeda operatives posing as journalists assassinated Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Afghan resistance leader known as the Lion of Panjshir, two days before the September 11 attacks he had tried to warn the West about. On Tuesday, with that 25th anniversary two days away, President Trump held a ceremony near the White House honoring 9/11 victims and awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom to Welles Crowther, the 24-year-old bond trader who died in the South Tower after leading colleagues to safety.

Top News

US destroys 5 tankers, Iran hits Jordan base 8 TANKERS IN 4 DAYS

Iran fired ballistic missiles at a US Navy warship twice this week, prompting US Central Command to destroy five Iranian oil tankers Tuesday in retaliation. Four were struck in the Gulf of Oman and one near Kharg Island, Iran's main oil-export terminal in the Persian Gulf. Iran responded within hours by firing missiles toward a US-linked air base in Jordan; Jordanian air defenses intercepted 18 of 20 missiles, with two landing in remote areas and no casualties. The strikes mark the fourth tanker attack in four days as the six-month war edges toward wider escalation.

Oil nears $100 a barrel, highest since spring

Fighting between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway carrying roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply, pushed Brent crude to nearly $100 a barrel Tuesday, its highest level in six weeks. Gasoline prices already hit a record high for Labor Day weekend before the latest spike. The rising cost of oil is feeding broader inflation fears, and the Dow fell more than 600 points Tuesday as investors weighed the war's economic toll ahead of Friday's inflation report.

Sununu, Pappas win New Hampshire Senate primaries

Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen's retirement opened up New Hampshire's Senate seat, drawing a crowded primary field on both sides. Trump-backed former Sen. John Sununu defeated former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown with 68% of the vote Tuesday, while Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas beat democratic socialist Karishma Manzur for his party's nod. The two will meet in the November 3 general election, a race both parties see as pivotal to control of the Senate.

NTSB combs through black boxes from Miami crash

An Amazon-contracted cargo plane overran the runway and crashed into a maintenance van at Miami International Airport on Sunday, killing five people and injuring five others. The Boeing 767, operated by 21 Air, had flown three legs that day before going down on Runway 30; investigators have recovered its flight data and cockpit voice recorders. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said Miami's runway lacks the arresting system used at roughly 70 other US airports, and two of the airport's four runways remain closed.

UK bans settlement trade, Israel shuts consulate

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament Tuesday that Britain now regards Israel's occupation of the West Bank as unlawful, joining France, Canada and nine other countries in banning trade tied to Israeli settlements there. Israel called the move an outrageous lie and retaliated by closing Britain's consulate in East Jerusalem and barring 12 elected British officials from entering the country. The US declined to join the sanctions, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying Washington did not want to add instability to the region.

World

US to ban Canadian imports amid tariff war 50% TARIFFS

President Trump said Canada was discriminating against US commerce, prompting the White House to announce a ban on imports of some Canadian goods, including alcohol, dairy and motorcycles, starting September 29. The move escalates a trade war that has already pushed tariffs between the two countries to 50%, after Canada's retaliatory tariffs on US steel, aluminum, dairy, appliances and electronics took effect this week. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to match US tariffs dollar for dollar, and no new trade talks have been scheduled.

Iran threatens new Hormuz exclusion zone

After weekend strikes on its tankers, Iran said it plans to announce a new exclusion zone near the Strait of Hormuz for vessels attempting to pass without permission. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Navy separately warned oil tanker crews near ports in Kuwait and Bahrain to abandon their vessels this week, accusing the two Gulf states of hosting the American forces behind the tanker strikes. Kuwait and Bahrain have not yet responded publicly to the warning.

Ukraine civilian deaths hit worst level since 2022

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Tuesday that civilian deaths in Ukraine have reached their highest level since May 2022, as Russia intensifies strikes on Ukrainian cities and energy sites. Speaking at the 36th Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, Rutte urged allies to speed up military aid, warning that delays are costing lives. Allies have already committed $10 billion in support this year through the PURL program and US arms sales.

Kenya orders crackdown on foreign shopkeepers

Kenyan President William Ruto ordered a crackdown this week on foreigners running small businesses in the country. Rights groups have accused the policy of unfairly targeting specific immigrant communities and called it xenophobic. The government has not yet detailed how the crackdown will be enforced.

Thieves steal $10M in Renoir paintings in France

Thieves stole several paintings by French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir earlier this month from the Musée Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer, a museum in the artist's former home in southern France. Police estimated the stolen works at 9 million euros, roughly $10 million. No arrests have been announced, and investigators are reviewing the museum's security footage.

Politics

Missouri redistricting fight thrown into confusion

Missouri Republicans redrew the state's congressional map earlier this year, hoping to use it for this fall's midterm elections. Two different courts issued conflicting rulings on the map's legality Tuesday night, throwing the fight into confusion just weeks before candidate filing deadlines. It remains unclear which map will govern the state's House races heading into November.

Smithsonian chief resigns after Trump pressure

The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized the Smithsonian Institution's exhibits, and the Interior Department threatened last week to withhold federal funds over what it called the museum's radical ideology. Lonnie Bunch, the Smithsonian's first Black secretary and first historian to hold the post, announced Tuesday he will step down by year's end after seven years leading its 21 museums and the National Zoo. Bunch, 73, said the decision was not driven by the administration's pressure.

Trump honors 9/11 heroes ahead of 25th anniversary

With the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks two days away, President Trump held a ceremony near the White House on Tuesday featuring a steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center. Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Welles Crowther, the 24-year-old bond trader who died in the South Tower after leading colleagues to safety. The beam will travel through New York's Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel on Friday, the anniversary date.

Miliband defends Israel sanctions amid backlash

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband faced criticism this week from Jewish community leaders, including the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, after announcing sanctions on trade linked to Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Miliband told Sky News he disagreed with the criticism and said anyone who holds British Jews responsible for the actions of Israel's government is engaging in antisemitism. Israel has since closed Britain's consulate in East Jerusalem in retaliation.

Ayotte, Goodlander advance in New Hampshire primaries

Incumbent New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte won her Republican primary Tuesday, while Democrat Cinde Warmington won her party's nomination, setting up a general election rematch in November. In the state's 2nd Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Maggie Goodlander defeated a primary challenger who ran to her left on Israel and healthcare. Both races are part of a broader slate of New Hampshire contests seen as early tests of voter sentiment ahead of the midterms.

Markets

Dow sheds 627 points as oil, yields climb -1.18%

Rising oil prices and climbing Treasury yields pushed stocks lower for a second straight session Tuesday, as investors weighed the widening US-Iran war alongside last week's stronger-than-expected August jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 627 points, or 1.18%, to 52,786.07, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.58% and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.32%. Traders now await Friday's inflation report, which could shape the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates.

OpenAI's newest model rattles software stocks

Investors grew worried this week that OpenAI's newest model could replace tasks handled by specialized business software, extending a broader shift in how Wall Street views artificial intelligence. Salesforce and Intuit each fell about 4% Tuesday, and ServiceNow dropped roughly 5%, while chipmakers and AI infrastructure stocks were largely spared. The divide shows AI is starting to create losers within the tech sector, not just winners.

Treasury yields hit multi-year highs on inflation fears

Rising oil prices and last month's strong jobs report fueled expectations this week that inflation could reaccelerate, pushing bond yields to fresh multi-year highs. The 10-year Treasury yield touched levels near 4.8%, last seen roughly two weeks ago when the Trump administration took the unusual step of intervening in the bond market. Higher yields make borrowing more expensive for households and businesses and increase competition for stock investors' money.

Gold, bitcoin slip as rate-hike bets grow

Traders raised their bets this week on a Federal Reserve rate hike this month following last month's stronger-than-expected jobs report. Gold fell to around $4,398 an ounce and bitcoin dropped below $79,000 as a result. The CME Group's FedWatch tool shows markets pricing in a growing chance the Fed raises rates at its September 15-16 meeting, with Friday's inflation data seen as the next major clue.

Qualcomm jumps 7% on AWS chip deal

Qualcomm and Amazon Web Services announced a partnership Tuesday to help build out AWS's artificial intelligence infrastructure, sending Qualcomm shares up more than 7%. The companies said the deal pairs Amazon's cloud computing scale with Qualcomm's power-efficient chip design, as demand grows for the compute and networking capacity needed to run AI workloads. The gain came even as the broader market fell more than 1% on oil and rate worries.

Entertainment

Clooney wins Venice's top honor, opens up about grief

The 83rd Venice Film Festival awarded its Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn this week. Clooney grew emotional discussing his sister Adelia Zeidler's death from cancer during a wide-ranging conversation tied to the honor, calling Venice "without question" his favorite festival. The festival's main competition, judged by a jury led by Maggie Gyllenhaal, wraps Saturday with 21 films vying for the Golden Lion for Best Film.

The Pitt leads Emmys into Monday's ceremony

The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will air this Monday from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, hosted by Mariska Hargitay. The medical drama "The Pitt" enters the ceremony with 25 total nominations, the most of any series this year. The Creative Arts Emmys, handed out earlier this month, already recognized some of the season's top technical and guest-acting work.

Pete Davidson reflects on father's 9/11 death

Pete Davidson, whose firefighter father Scott Davidson died responding to the September 11 attacks, said this week that becoming a father himself has reshaped how he thinks about that loss. Davidson called the approaching 25th anniversary of the attacks "extra tough" but also "extra beautiful" now that he has a young daughter. The anniversary falls this Friday, September 11.

Prince George begins first term at Eton

Prince William and Kate, the Princess of Wales, joined Prince George at Eton College on Tuesday as their eldest son began his studies at the historic boarding school near Windsor. The milestone came the same week Prince Harry's children started their own new school year, though the ongoing rift between the royal brothers has kept the two branches of the family apart. Eton has educated generations of British royals and prime ministers.

Grammy winner Cassandra Wilson remembered on CBS

Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, a two-time Grammy winner, died September 1 at age 70. CBS Sunday Morning marked her death this week with an archival profile revisiting her early influences, including Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens. Wilson was known for reinventing jazz standards and folk songs across a four-decade career.