World
Voting in Russia's parliamentary election opened on Friday and runs through Sunday, with all 450 State Duma seats at stake. More than 111 million people are eligible to vote, and it is the first Duma election since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. United Russia, the party backing President Vladimir Putin, is expected to keep its large majority after winning 49.8% of the vote and 324 seats in 2021. Because the result is not in doubt, analysts say turnout, the size of the protest vote and reports of pressure on voters will matter more than party totals. The Central Election Commission allowed the anti-war party Yabloko to compete, a decision made in July when polling put its support near 3%.
Associated Press
Politics
A federal judge ordered the Kennedy Center to give 30 days' notice before demolishing its main building or making other major physical changes, a step that blocks quick action by the Trump administration. Judge Christopher Cooper issued the order on Thursday and denied a request from Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat on the board, for an emergency hearing. The board, chaired by President Donald Trump, voted on Tuesday to proceed with a $257 million renovation, and the building closed to the public on Wednesday. The closure was justified by structural deterioration that officials called a safety risk. A May ruling had found the center illegally added Trump's name to the building.
Associated Press
Business
Global exports of refined fuels such as diesel and gasoline were about 25% lower in late July and August than a year earlier, according to Deloitte's weekly global economic update, which estimates that roughly 75% of the decline came from the Middle East or Russia. Iranian strikes destroyed refining capacity in the Middle East, Ukrainian drones have hit Russian plants, and product tankers cannot pass the Strait of Hormuz while the conflict continues. Saudi Arabia is repairing an attacked pipeline, a job expected to take weeks. West Texas Intermediate traded near $107 a barrel, the 30-year Treasury yield reached 5.17% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.3%.
Deloitte, Bloomberg
Technology
High-bandwidth memory used in AI accelerators now takes about 23% of all DRAM wafer capacity, and the shift is tightening supply for phones, laptops and game consoles. Micron told the Hot Chips 2026 conference that HBM uses roughly three times the silicon of standard DDR5 and that the gap widens with every generation. Memory prices have roughly quadrupled over the past year, and analysts do not expect relief before new fab capacity arrives. Nvidia has raised the price of its DGX Spark desktop from $3,999 to $4,699 and warned large customers that AI server prices could rise by more than 15%. Micron reported $41.5 billion in quarterly revenue, up 345% year over year.
Tom's Hardware, TrendForce
Science
Anak Krakatau erupted for more than 24 hours in early September, sending volcanic ash as high as 50,000 feet into the atmosphere, according to ScienceDaily. The ash cloud shut eight airports, disrupted nearly 3,000 flights and affected air quality as far away as Jakarta. The volcano sits in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, in the caldera left by the 1883 eruption of Krakatau, one of the deadliest in recorded history. Ash is dangerous to jet engines because the particles melt and stick to turbine blades, which is why authorities close airspace instead of flying through a plume.
ScienceDaily
Sports
Alex Palou lifted his fifth IndyCar championship trophy at the season finale, the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca. The Spanish driver has been the benchmark of the series since his first title in 2021, and five Astor Cups put him in a small group of drivers with five or more American open-wheel championships. Scott McLaughlin won the race itself, snapping a 35-start winless run. The New Zealander arrived in IndyCar from Australian Supercars, where he won three championships, and took his first series win in 2021.
Fox Sports
Health
Medicare has launched a pilot program meant to make GLP-1 weight-loss drugs easier to obtain, with some seniors paying as little as $50 a month. But KFF Health News reports that many patients with the most serious illnesses do not qualify for the discount and face full retail prices instead. One patient, Jeff La Marca, received a prescription for Zepbound in January but could not afford the $750 monthly cost. Medicare has long been barred from covering drugs used for weight loss, so the pilot works through narrow criteria, and doctors say patients with similar conditions can end up with very different bills.
KFF Health News
Environment
Indonesia's Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni told local media that wildfires could continue until early November, because the rainy season is expected to arrive late. He urged people to stop using fire to clear land during the extended drought. Many Indonesian fires burn on peatland, where dried organic matter can smoulder underground for weeks, releasing large volumes of carbon dioxide and fine particulate matter whose smoke can cross borders. Studies have estimated that the country's 2015 peat fires released more carbon in a few months than the annual emissions of many industrialised nations.
Reuters