President Trump returned to the White House around 8 p.m. Saturday, leaving his Maryland retreat earlier than planned as the administration evaluates seven conditions Iran passed through Qatar for ending hostilities. Ambassador Mike Waltz says Trump's General Assembly address this week will center on keeping Tehran from a nuclear weapon, alongside a 20-point Gaza peace plan. He's also slated to meet leaders from six Gulf states on the sidelines.
U.S. military costs for the Iran conflict have reached $43.6 billion through early September, with weapons expenditures alone up more than $6 billion. At the pump, AAA has diesel at a record above $6 a gallon and regular gas jumping roughly 20 cents in a week to about $4.29. Producer prices are running 5.4 percent above a year ago, with energy up 24.4 percent over twelve months.
A Fox News poll puts Democrats ahead of Republicans 52 to 46 on the generic congressional ballot, the widest margin recorded in this cycle. RealClearPolitics averages show Democratic Senate candidates leading in North Carolina, Minnesota, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Maine and Alaska. Republicans counter that margins are thin, the money advantage is theirs, and early voting has only just begun in a handful of states.
Trump has extended the $100,000 fee on H-1B foreign worker visas for another year, keeping in place a requirement that was set to lapse this month. Tech employers and immigration attorneys had been counting on the sunset date. The extension locks the cost structure in through 2027.
Saudi air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at the capital Saturday, then hours later a strike hit a jet fuel facility at King Khalid International Airport. The Houthis claimed attacks on both Riyadh and the Red Sea port of Yanbu using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. Riyadh is warning European refineries of fuel shortages, and the UN Security Council says the escalation risks widening the conflict.
Russia says Ukraine sent more than 1,000 drones and missiles at Moscow, damaging a major oil refinery and killing two, in what Moscow calls the biggest strike of the war. It came as Putin moved to formalize annexation of four Ukrainian provinces and Russia wrapped up parliamentary voting. A Russian strike on Kyiv Saturday night killed a mother and her three children.
Pyongyang claims its newest missile test carried a hypersonic glide vehicle, a maneuvering weapon far harder for existing missile defenses to track and intercept. The claim, if accurate, marks a meaningful step up in the North's arsenal. Analysts urge caution — North Korean test claims have outrun verified capability before.
New NASA imagery reveals a lunar crater larger than the Roman Colosseum, carved by an impact just two years ago. Fresh, precisely dated craters are rare data points for estimating how often the Moon gets hit. That matters directly for where and how NASA sites a permanent lunar base.
A Shanghai-based internet security company issued temporary web credentials to Iran's Persian Gulf Straits Authority, letting Tehran run toll collection for four days before the access was revoked following U.S. warnings. It's a rare look at how sanctions get routed around at the infrastructure layer. Separately, Fox News obtained a confidential Russian government roadmap for deepening Moscow-Tehran ties in finance, nuclear, aviation and energy.
New polling finds a plurality of Americans favor Trump's proposed $5,000 dividend for U.S. adults, funded from tariff revenue. The idea has been floated repeatedly and largely ignored by policy press — the numbers suggest voters were listening. With gas above four dollars and diesel at record highs, the timing is not accidental.
