World
Two shootings hours apart in South African townships left at least 27 people dead, the BBC and NBC News reported. The attacks came in communities that already live with high levels of gang-related armed violence. Police said extra units were deployed and several leads were being followed, but no full account of either attack was released. In a separate case, investigators found the body of a tenth woman as a probe into a series of killings continued. South Africa records one of the world's highest homicide rates, and illegal firearms are used in most killings. Community groups have asked for longer sentences for gang leaders and faster police response.
BBC News / NBC News
Politics
With midterm elections weeks away, some Republicans who backed the war with Iran for months are changing their tune as gasoline and diesel prices climb. The New York Times reported that the party's November picture has darkened, while MarketWatch said rising fuel costs are lifting Democrats' chances of winning the House and Senate. President Donald Trump has endorsed a ban on diesel exports, with a decision expected soon. At the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, President Beth Hammack warned that persistent inflation could condition Americans to accept high prices as normal. A POLITICO poll found cost-of-living concerns are driving a wedge inside the Republican coalition.
The New York Times / MarketWatch
Business
Amazon said it will expand its Prime Air drone delivery service to nearly 500 US cities and towns, up from 11 sites across 10 metro areas today. New markets include Chicago, Syracuse, Cleveland, Atlanta and Boise. David Carbon, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, said the company has delivered hundreds of thousands of packages by drone this year and offers delivery in as little as 30 minutes. The drones carry packages up to five pounds, which Amazon says covers more than 60% of its best-selling items. Prime members pay nothing on orders of $50 or more and $2.99 on smaller orders.
Amazon / The Wall Street Journal
Technology
The companies building America's AI data centers are now at the centre of fights over electricity, water, land and pollution, NBC News reported. AI demand has pulled billions in financing toward a handful of little-known developers. The power numbers explain why: a single AI-focused campus can draw 50 to 100 megawatts, and Brookings notes the US AI sector may need 50 gigawatts of new capacity by 2028. The IEA projects global data centre electricity use could reach 945 TWh by 2030. Protests have followed in Imperial, California, and Louisiana regulators approved three new gas plants for a Meta AI campus.
NBC News / Brookings
Science
Researchers in China developed an in-situ dual-interface treatment that improves the performance and durability of large-area perovskite solar modules. The team used 5-aminovaleric acid hydroiodide (5AVAI) as a bifunctional molecular spacer during slot-die coating. Modules measuring 10 cm by 10 cm reached 22.31% power conversion efficiency, 21.69% certified, and kept 95.6% of their initial efficiency after 2,000 hours of operation at 75°C. Small-area perovskite cells already exceed 27%, but scaling up has cost both efficiency and stability. The approach removes a post-processing step.
Nature / Perovskite-Info
Sports
The Cleveland Guardians clinched the American League Central for the third straight season, sealing the division with a win over Kansas City and a Chicago White Sox loss on Saturday. Cleveland takes the No. 2 seed in the AL and a bye through the wild card series, and will host Game 1 of the ALDS on October 3. The regular season ended on Sunday, with the wild card series starting on Tuesday. San Diego and the Chicago Cubs are set for an NL wild card rematch, and game times have been announced. Detroit's Justin Verlander made the final start of his career.
MLB.com / USA Today
Health
The European Commission granted marketing authorisation for NEZGLYAL (leriglitazone), the first approved medicine for cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare and progressive brain disease. The decision, dated 21 September, covers boys aged 2 to 12 with early, Gadolinium-negative brain lesions. Leriglitazone is an oral, brain-penetrant selective PPAR gamma agonist developed by Minoryx Therapeutics of Barcelona, assessed under exceptional circumstances on the basis of the Phase 2/3 NEXUS1 study and compassionate-use data. Neuraxpharm will commercialise the product in Europe, with a first launch expected in Germany by the end of the year.
Minoryx Therapeutics / News-Medical
Environment
Extreme heat driven by this year's super El Nino could cause as many as 451,000 excess deaths worldwide between June 2026 and February 2027, researchers at the University of Chicago's Climate Impact Lab estimated, according to Reuters. The figure lands as heat, wildfires and drought hit several regions at once. The European climate service Copernicus found August was the hottest month on record. Scientists say El Nino conditions this strong are rare, and the coming months will test heat action plans, cooling centres and early warning systems. Britain pledged 331 million pounds for climate and biodiversity risks.
Reuters / Climate Impact Lab