Economics & Development
Despite the war with Iran and its associated oil-supply shock, consensus forecasts compiled by the World Bank predict that the global economy will grow by around 2.6 percent in 2026, roughly equal to forecasts at the start of the year.
Idaho has cut its state administrative code nearly in half since 2018. Under a “zero-based regulation” program, rules that agencies did not identify as necessary were allowed to expire, while the remaining rules were reviewed chapter by chapter for their necessity, legal authority, costs, benefits, and whether less burdensome alternatives were available. By July 1, 2026, the state had eliminated 4,201 pages of regulations compared with 2018, reducing the length of its regulatory code by 49.1 percent.
The United States and China have agreed to lower tariffs on goods worth about $60 billion in annual trade between the two countries. Each side's list covers roughly $30 billion of imports from the other, based on 2024 trade figures. China plans to cut tariffs on US agricultural products, seafood, wood products, cosmetics, and medical devices, while the United States plans to cut tariffs on Chinese consumer goods such as small appliances, toys, holiday decorations, and children's car seats.
Energy & Environment
Sea turtles have nested on the US West Coast for the first time in recorded history, with two olive ridley turtles laying eggs on beaches in Orange County, California last month. It’s not yet known whether the nests were isolated events or signs of a northward shift in nesting patterns.
In Utah, Fervo Energy’s Cape Station enhanced geothermal power plant has started selling electricity to the grid, with its first 33-megawatt block built and commissioned in just 23 months. Fervo plans to expand the plant to 100 megawatts by early next year. Unlike conventional geothermal plants, which depend on naturally occurring reservoirs of hot water, enhanced geothermal power plants create fractures in hot rock and circulate water through them, making it possible to generate geothermal power in many more places.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a construction permit for a commercial small modular nuclear reactor, authorizing the Tennessee Valley Authority to build a 300-megawatt reactor near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Small modular reactors are designed to be simpler, more standardized, and easier to build than conventional nuclear plants, potentially reducing the cost of expanding nuclear power. The permit is the second issued for a US commercial reactor this year, following TerraPower’s Natrium reactor in Wyoming in March.
Health & Demographics
Life expectancy in the Americas has reached a record high. According to the Pan American Health Organization’s Health in the Americas 2026 report, life expectancy at birth rose from 73.2 years in 2000 to 77.1 years in 2023, surpassing the pre-pandemic peak of 76.7 years reached in 2019.
Researchers have developed an epigenetic-editing therapy that could eventually offer a functional cure for chronic hepatitis B, meaning long-term control of the virus without ongoing treatment. Using a CRISPR-based tool that chemically tags the virus’s DNA to switch it off without cutting it, the treatment left 90 percent of mice on the highest dose with no detectable signs of hepatitis B in their blood. A human trial of the therapy is now underway.
By combining its weight-loss drug tirzepatide with eloralintide, a new drug that mimics a hormone involved in signaling fullness, Eli Lilly helped people with type 2 diabetes lose an average of 23.3 percent of their body weight over 48 weeks on the highest dose, compared with 14.8 percent for patients taking tirzepatide alone.
Science & Technology
Nvidia has launched a new system designed to keep AI agents from taking unauthorized actions. The system combines software that limits what an agent can access with an independent monitor that watches the agent and can block or quarantine it if it crosses those boundaries. The monitor runs on a separate processor from the one hosting the agent, putting it beyond the agent’s direct control.
Google DeepMind has developed a way to watermark AI-designed proteins while preserving their biological function. According to DeepMind, the watermark could confirm that the genetic sequence for an unfamiliar protein came from a known AI system, letting trusted designs pass through biosecurity screening more quickly so that screeners can focus on genuinely suspicious ones.
An AI model has surpassed the best human players at the game of Stratego. The strategy game, which includes a “fog of war” mechanic that conceals crucial information about the opponent’s pieces, has long posed a difficult challenge for artificial intelligence because players must make decisions with incomplete information. In 2022, a previous model called DeepNash was able to reach the level of top human players but did not demonstrate clear superiority over the very best. This new model, Ataraxos, won 38 out of 40 games against top players during demonstrations at the Stratego World Championship and won 15 out of 20 games against Pim Niemeijer, the strongest human player.
In its latest test flight on September 28, SpaceX’s Starship reached orbit for the first time and deployed 26 Starlink satellites. The satellites are designed to add a combined 26 terabits per second of capacity to the Starlink network, roughly 10 times the capacity added by a typical launch of Falcon 9, SpaceX’s longstanding workhorse rocket.
Violence & Coercion
According to data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, vehicle thefts in the US fell 21 percent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year. The bureau previously reported that vehicle thefts fell more than 20 percent between 2024 and 2025, reaching their lowest level in decades.
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