Good morning, it's Tuesday, Sept. 22. Major TV networks are boycotting the White House press pool. First time reading? Join millions of insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
Also in today's Digest: a 13-year-old swimmer is poised to become an Olympic star (Sports, Ent., & Cult.), tracing the origins of coffee (In-Depth), why today is the first day of fall (Etc.), and much more.
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ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox yesterday suspended TV coverage of presidential events in response to President Donald Trump barring CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House over reporting he characterized as fake news.
The move came shortly after CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a lawsuit against Trump, arguing his decision violates the First Amendment. The three banned outlets are members of the White House press pool, alongside ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and others. The pool was established in 1937 and has covered every president's daily activities since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Outlets rotate traveling with the president, sharing footage, photos, and quotes with one another. The White House Correspondents' Association has historically selected the pool, but the Trump administration began exerting greater control last year, restricting wire services such as the Associated Press and adding startup media outlets.
Last night, the White House launched a 24/7 streaming platform called "Trump TV" to broadcast real-time updates and highlights from major events. |
The United Nations opens the high-level General Debate of its 81st General Assembly in New York City today, with speeches from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President Donald Trump. Artificial intelligence headlines the agenda for the first time, with the Security Council holding a high-level meeting on the issue tomorrow.
The conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran will also be focal points. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak tomorrow, seeking support as Russia's invasion enters its fifth year; Russian President Vladimir Putin is absent for the 11th straight year. On Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will speak via prerecorded video after the US denied him a visa for the second consecutive year. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak later that day, with his remarks expected to address Israel's actions in Gaza and Iran. See full speaker schedule here.
The gathering is Guterres’ last as secretary-general. Costa Rican diplomat Rebeca Grynspan has a narrow lead after three informal polls to succeed him and would become the UN’s first female secretary-general if selected. |
MIT researchers have developed tiny batteries that can safely dissolve inside the body, potentially expanding the use of ingestible devices. Such devices can monitor vital signs, deliver drugs, or detect medical emergencies, but conventional batteries can pose risks if damaged.
Researchers made two versions: a pencil-eraser-sized disc and a 1-inch-long rectangle (scroll for photos). Both are made from magnesium and molybdenum trioxide (metals considered safe for humans in small amounts), gel, and chemically treated paper wrapped in wax to protect them from the gut. In animal tests, the disc powered a small wireless tracking device that transmitted data from the digestive tract up to 5 feet away; the rectangle powered a stomach-stimulating capsule, boosting a hunger hormone by roughly 50% after 20 minutes.
Separately, tests in simulated stomach fluid found the batteries worked for up to three days before gradually losing power and breaking down within weeks. Researchers have also explored other ways to power swallowed electronics, including using stomach acid to generate electricity. |
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🫶 Humankind: Mother stuck in traffic on her way to the hospital delivers her baby on the side of the road with help from a doula, coincidentally also stuck in traffic. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Cindy Crawford's son, Presley Gerber, dies in a rehabilitation facility at age 27; police are investigating his death as a suspected overdose (More) |
> Taylor Swift will receive inaugural Artist Director Honors at the MTV Video Music Awards, breaking a tie with Beyoncé to become the most decorated musician in VMA history (More) | Taylor Swift’s dominance, explained (More, via YouTube) |
> Yu Zidi, a 13-year-old Chinese swimmer, wins two gold medals at the Asian Games, emerging as a potential podium contender in the 2028 Olympics (More) | Watch her record-breaking 200 m butterfly swim (More) |
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> NASA's Perseverance rover finds rocks showing evidence of ancient lakes, groundwater, and hydrothermal fluids on early Mars (More) | Previous research suggests Mars once experienced massive floods (More) |
> Alzheimer's disease is no longer an "untreatable" condition as drugs slow decline and studies reveal promising risk reduction strategies, according to a new report (More) | Certain areas of the country have more known cases of Alzheimer’s (More) |
> Female infants spend more time looking at human faces, while male infants spend more time looking at non-human objects hours after birth, suggesting biology—not only culture—influences attention differences (More) |
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> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +1.5%, Dow +0.7%, Nasdaq +2.3%) as tech stocks surge ahead of a White House dinner with AI leaders and Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday (More) |
> Paramount settles antitrust lawsuit with 12 states, clearing final major hurdle for $111B Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition; agrees to create journalist board, release at least 30 films a year, and invest $1.5B in film production over five years (More) |
> Novo Nordisk shares fall 8% as the drugmaker outlines plan to launch at least five new obesity and diabetes drugs by 2030, two years before patents for Ozempic and Wegovy expire; the two drugs accounted for two-thirds of last year's sales (More) |
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> Equipment failure at Philadelphia air traffic control facility halts flights at Newark and Philadelphia airports, with more than 1,000 flights canceled nationwide and over 6,000 delayed (More) | How air traffic control works (More, w/video) |
> WHO begins testing existing Ebola vaccine against latest strain driving outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo; more than 7,600 cases and 3,670 deaths reported as of this writing (More) | Scroll for outbreak map (More) |
> Vermont man convicted of attempted murder in 2023 shooting of three Palestinian American college students in Burlington; one student was left paralyzed (More) |
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> The Price of Convenience
Longreads | Gabe Bullard. We might pay more to have restaurant food delivered colder, soggier, and later than if we picked it up ourselves. How we came to accept that trade-off reveals a much bigger story about our pursuit of convenience. (Read) |
> How Coffee Took Over the World
1440 Explores | Sony Kassam. Coffee's rise from an obscure berry to a global obsession is tangled up in religion and slavery. Where does coffee actually come from—and what does it really do to your brain? (Listen) |
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Clickbait: Forget Ken. Barbie's new beau is a rock star.
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Historybook: President Abraham Lincoln issues preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (1862); Peace Corps formally authorized by Congress (1961); Iraq invades Iran, beginning the Iran-Iraq War (1980); “Friends” debuts on NBC (1994); Baseball great Yogi Berra dies (2015). |
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"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." |
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