World
Two weeks after catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border, the confirmed death toll has passed 1,000 and roughly 4,000 people remain unaccounted for, most of them in Nepal. The Aug. 26 disaster began when ice and debris collapsed from Lirung Peak and sent a torrent of mud and water down the Trishuli River valley, destroying villages and flooding tunnels at hydroelectric projects. More than 21,000 security personnel joined the search before officials shifted focus to rehabilitation. Scientists say the flood was nearly impossible to forecast, and a review found Nepal's official SMS alert system arrived late and lacked location-specific guidance, while community warning networks saved lives. Researchers warn that warming is destabilizing Himalayan glaciers and that similar disasters will become more common.
AP News
Politics
New Hampshire voters chose a general election matchup that could help decide control of the U.S. Senate. Former senator John E. Sununu won the Republican nomination, and U.S. Representative Chris Pappas won the Democratic side, NBC News projected. Sununu, endorsed by President Trump, defeated former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown. Pappas cleared a crowded Democratic field. The seat is open because Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen is retiring. New Hampshire has not elected a Republican senator since 2010, and the November race is seen as one of the GOP's best chances to flip a Democratic-held seat. Polls show Pappas ahead, and the outcome could shape which party controls the chamber after the midterms.
NBC News
Business
Global oil prices topped $100 a barrel this week for the first time since July, after U.S. forces destroyed five Iranian tankers carrying crude oil. U.S. Central Command said the strikes were a response to two attempts to hit a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles in as many days. Iran has vowed retaliation, and the White House has threatened a stronger response. Crude is up more than 12% over the past month as the standoff around the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carries about one-fifth of the world's oil, keeps traders on edge. Analysts say shipping insurance costs are climbing, and higher energy prices now complicate the inflation picture for central banks as consumers face rising fuel costs.
Bloomberg
Technology
Apple on Wednesday unveiled the iPhone Duo, the company's first foldable phone, at its Surprise and Shine event. The device opens book-style to a 7.8-inch display and closes to a pocket-size phone with a cover screen, running Apple's A20 Pro chip with dual 48-megapixel cameras and side-button Touch ID. It starts at $1,999 and will be available Oct. 23. The event, the first major hardware showcase under chief executive John Ternus, also brought the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max with the A20 Pro chip, new colors and iOS 27, plus AirPods 5 with an H3 chip and improved noise cancellation. The foldable marks Apple's entry into a category rivals have sold for years.
Macworld
Science
New research from the University of Reading shows that today's best weather computers, including modern machine-learning models, would still have struggled to call the weather for the D-Day landings better than Captain James Stagg did in 1944. Published in the journal Weather ahead of the release of the D-Day film Pressure, the study used AI-based models to produce 50 forecasts of the storm that forced General Dwight Eisenhower to delay the invasion by a day. Even with 80 years of improved science and modern computing power, the models produced a muddled picture. The authors say the case shows that computing power alone cannot replace human judgment when weather data is thin and the stakes are high.
University of Reading
Sports
Ben Shelton ended Carlos Alcaraz's US Open title defense in a five-set quarterfinal that finished at 3:33 a.m. New York time, the latest finish in the tournament's history. Shelton won 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(10-7) after four hours and 28 minutes, his first win over Alcaraz in four meetings. The eighth seed lost a first-set tiebreak, then took the next two sets before Alcaraz, the second seed and defending champion, forced a decider with a 6-1 fourth set. Shelton won the final-set tiebreak 10-7 as about 10,000 fans stayed in Arthur Ashe Stadium. He next faces Frances Tiafoe in an all-American semifinal.
ESPN
Health
Two people have died and more than three dozen have fallen ill in a Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Westchester County, north of New York City, health officials said. The victims included residents of White Plains and New Rochelle. At least 38 cases have been confirmed this summer. Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria, which grow in warm water and spread through mist from cooling towers, showers and fountains. It does not pass from person to person. Older adults, smokers and people with weakened immune systems face the highest risk, and the disease is treatable with antibiotics when caught early. Investigators are testing water systems to find the source. A separate Harlem outbreak earlier this year sickened 81 people and killed three.
NBC New York
Environment
The U.S. Department of Energy has closed a loan of up to $1.9 billion to help restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa, the state's only nuclear power plant. The plant in Palo shut down in August 2020 after a derecho with winds up to 140 mph damaged its cooling towers. Owner NextEra Energy aims to bring the 615-megawatt plant, which began operating in 1974, back online in 2029 pending Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval. The output would power about 500,000 homes. Google signed a 25-year deal in 2025 to buy electricity from the plant for its Iowa data centers. Duane Arnold is one of three major U.S. efforts to restart a shuttered reactor, a first-of-its-kind challenge.
US Department of Energy