Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🌍 US keeps pressure on Iran
• 🤖 OpenAI pauses training amid rogue agents
• 🤔 Why are adults cutting off their parents?

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.22-minute read (1,123 words).

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In Friday’s Trivia section, the first math question featured an incorrect answer. It should read $53.10, not $49.86. Apologies for the mistake; we’ve already enrolled in remedial math classes. 🥴

"An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered."

–G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

President Trump on Saturday publicly rejected Iran’s latest proposal for a seven-day ceasefire, as the two sides continue negotiating a potential end to the war.

• Iran’s proposal called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and restarting nuclear talks within a week, in return for the US lifting its naval blockade, removing sanctions on Iranian oil sales, and restoring a ceasefire.
• But Trump said the proposal is “not the deal that I want to make” and its terms are “what we would have maybe agreed to a year ago," with an ongoing US economic and naval blockade leaving Iran in a weaker position.

A different pressure campaign

The US has recently leaned more heavily on economic pressure as strikes have slowed, launching a global effort to further isolate Iran from international trade. Treasury Department officials have reportedly met with 50+ countries this month to deliver a straightforward warning: Continuing to do business with Tehran could jeopardize access to the US financial system.

That campaign is seems to be producing some concrete changes:

• Oman has banned Iranian airlines from its airspace, while the UAE has banned Iranian flights and restricted Iran’s largest commercial bank.
• Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey have blocked flights from Iranian airlines, while Turkey also revoked the license of Iran’s Bank Mellat.
• The UK plans to stop renewing waivers that allow sanctioned Iranian banks to operate, putting the future of Bank Melli’s London subsidiary in doubt.

These restrictions have built on the current US naval blockade restricting Iran’s ability to export oil, further choking Tehran’s economic revenue.

China and Russia are the major exceptions so far, with both countries continuing to maintain economic ties with Tehran.

On the military front: The US has scaled back its strikes in recent weeks, in part because the administration wants to preserve dwindling munitions for other potential conflicts. President Trump has reportedly told aides he expects the US to renew its bombing campaign after November’s midterm elections, though insiders caution those views could shift as the situation changes.

Where Iran stands

Iranian mediators have reportedly acknowledged the country’s worsening economic situation and presented several proposals to end the war with the US. However, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has essentially run Iran since the war began, has shown no indication that it plans to accept Washington’s demands, and says it’s prepared for a long war.

Looking ahead… Trump said Sunday that he expects US negotiators to hold more talks with Iran this week, potentially as early as Monday. US officials have reportedly told Iran and mediators that Trump won’t lift the economic pressure on Iran until it agrees to more favorable terms with Washington.

📊 Flash poll: How do you feel about the US strategy of increasing economic pressure on Iran while scaling back military strikes?

• Strong agree
• Somewhat agree
• Neutral
• Somewhat disagree
• Strong disagree

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• ⛽🚗 President Trump announces approval of new fuel economy standards for vehicles, rolling back Biden-era rules requiring passenger cars and light trucks to reach ~50 miles/gallon by 2031; full details of Trump’s new standards aren’t yet public.
• 📲 Apple ordered to pay $5.7+ billion in damages to Taction Technology after a federal jury rules that Apple infringed claims of two haptics patents owned by Taction.
• 🛒 Walmart issues statement promising the retail giant isn’t—and won’t be—using personal information like income, shopping history, or willingness to pay to set prices

SPORTS, MEDIA, & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏈 CFB: #21 Florida took down #4 Ole Miss, #1 Texas beat #14 Tennessee, and #13 Penn St. fell to unranked Wisconsin; full week 4 recap. | NFL: See a full Week 3 recap.
• 🏀 A’ja Wilson earns WNBA MVP award for unprecedented third straight season, while Angel Reese wins Defensive Player of the Year and Olivia Miles earns Rookie of the Year. | 🏌️ Presidents Cup: Team USA completes major Sunday comeback to earn 11th straight Presidents Cup victory, winning 9 of 12 singles matches to take home the international golf tournament.
• 🎥 Avengers Endgame: Encore, a special theatrical release of the 2019 blockbuster, leads domestic box office with $26 million, while A24’s Primetime starring Robert Pattinson is second with $19.2 million. | 🏆 42nd VMA Awards held last night in Los Angeles, hosted by three-time winner Snoop Dogg.

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SCIENCE, SPACE, & EMERGING TECH

• 🤖 OpenAI late Sunday says it’s pausing the training of its latest AI models amid mounting reports of AI agents going rogue, including searching for information on government websites in unexpected ways.
• 🚀 SpaceX today is attempting to launch Starship—the world’s most powerful rocket—to orbit for the first time to deploy inaugural batch of next-gen Starlink satellites, with launch window starting at 7:15 am CT.
• 🐘 Wild African elephants appear to deliberately seek out specific plants when they're sick, with local experts also reporting mothers administering the plants to their children, new study finds; similar behavior has been observed in chimps, bottlenose dolphins, some birds, and insects.

US, WORLD, & POLITICS

• 📺 US government airs new pro-Trump ad from his 2024 presidential campaign; it’s the latest federally funded pro-Trump, which has drawn scrutiny for potentially violating federal laws outlawing the use of taxpayer funds for propaganda; White House says the ads are “public service announcements” that contain no “call to action.”
• 🚨 UK police arrest five men on suspicion of planning a terrorist act near an air base used by the US in its war with Iran; officials reportedly found explosives in three vans parked minutes from the base.
• 🏛️ Trump admin proposes canceling $810 million in funds Congress had approved for education and health-related programs; it’s the second such attempt to use a legally untested power to unilaterally rescind spending without congressional approval.

☝️ A powerful nor’easter hammered the Northeast this weekend, leaving tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power and flooding coastal communities across New York, New Jersey, and New England.

🤔 Did you know? In 1969, a group of Newsday journalists deliberately wrote a terrible, sex-filled novel called Naked Came the Stranger to prove that even bad writing could become a bestseller if it was scandalous enough. The book sold ~20,000 copies before the hoax was revealed—and then became even more popular, spending 13 weeks on the NYT bestseller list.

📰 Worth a read: Why are so many adults cutting off their parents?

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• A stoic’s key to peace of mind
• Fighting to save the world’s most wanted animal
• Rare McDonald's character shows up on FB Marketplace for $10K

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On Friday, we covered the details of President Trump’s new agreement with the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland that aims to expand America’s military presence in Greenland while also preventing US rivals from gaining a foothold on the strategically important island.

❓ Our question to you: How do you view the Trump admin’s approach to securing this week’s Greenland agreement?

• Necessary pressure for a good deal: 16%
• Too aggressive for a close ally: 72%
• Mixed feelings: 12%

Read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 469 votes and 41 longform responses.

Monday: Monday Night Football: Eagles v. Bears; Senate to vote on Protect College Sports Act

Tuesday: JOLTS job openings data for August; Conference Board consumer confidence index for September

Wednesday: ADP private payrolls figures for September; PCE inflation data—the Fed’s preferred measure—for August; Micron reports earnings

Thursday: October 1; Thursday Night Football: Steelers v. Browns

Friday: September jobs report; Digger starring Tom Cruise hits theaters

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words:

1. Basi
2. Dem
3. Fum
4. Or
5. Salv

🎓 Nike co-founder Phil Knight recently donated $1 billion to the University of Oregon, marking the largest known gift to a flagship US university in history. The funding from Knight, a University of Oregon alum, will help establish a new engineering college.

1. Basi = At the bottom (e.g., basic)
2. Dem = People (democracy)
3. Fum = Smoke (fumigate)
4. Or = Mouth (oral)
5. Salv = Save (salvation)

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