Fed Raises Rates a Quarter Point to 3.75%-4% in a 12-0 Vote, Its First Increase Since 2023; Dow Closes Down 631 Points
The Federal Open Market Committee cited elevated inflation, its updated projections point to one more increase in 2026, and the 10-year Treasury yield closed above 5% as President Trump repeated his call for much lower rates.
U.S.
House Passes Iran War Powers Resolution 220-204 as Seven Republicans Join Democrats
The concurrent resolution, sponsored by Rep. Seth Moulton, directs President Trump to pull U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran, but it carries no legal force and does not go to the president's desk.
Pennsylvania Reports Four Measles-Associated Deaths in 2026; CDC's National Count Lists None
Pennsylvania's health department says four people who died this year had confirmed measles, while the CDC has withheld those deaths from its national tally pending its own review.
House Cancels Thursday Votes and Starts Pre-Election Recess, Leaving Massie's Hegseth Impeachment Resolution Pending
Speaker Mike Johnson scrapped the September 17 session and sent members home until after the November midterms; Rep. Thomas Massie says the move was meant to avoid a forced vote on his eight articles of impeachment, which Johnson denies.
Justice Department Unseals Indictment Charging Five With Financing Terrorism Over Alleged Russian Intelligence Murder Plots; All Five Are at Large
Prosecutors in Manhattan say a network tied to Russian intelligence recruited a Brooklyn resident to track a Russian dissident near Washington and offered $40,000 to kill the person; the recruit turned the money down, and Russia has previously denied running such plots.
FAA's Bedford Tells House Appropriators Phase One of Air Traffic Overhaul Now Costs $16 Billion, Above the $12.5 Billion Congress Approved
At a September 15 oversight hearing, the FAA administrator asked for at least $10 billion more for a later phase, while lawmakers in both parties pressed him on a 2.8% controller pay raise he has not paid out.
Lawyers Begin Filing Federal Tort Claims for More Than 300 South Korean Workers Detained in 2025 Georgia Hyundai Raid
Attorneys have started filing administrative claims with nine federal agencies — the required first step before suing the U.S. government — over the September 4, 2025 immigration raid at the Hyundai-LG battery site in Ellabell, Georgia.
N.C.
NC Court of Appeals Rules 2-1 That Elections-Board Appointments Can Stay With State Auditor; Stein Says He Will Appeal
The September 16, 2026 panel decision reversed a trial court and left Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek in control of appointments that the governor held for more than a century.
Charlotte to Host WTA Finals From 2027 to 2029 Under $14.4 Million State Grant; WTA to Move Headquarters From Florida
Gov. Josh Stein announced the Women's Tennis Association will hold its season-ending championship at Spectrum Center for three years and relocate its global headquarters to Charlotte, with $14.4 million from a state fund financed by sports-betting taxes and $5 million from the city and county.
Law Firm Gives Wake County Schools 15 Days to Grant Religious Opt-Outs Tied to Transgender Music Teacher
The Thomas More Society, representing a group of Middle Creek Elementary parents, sent a pre-suit demand letter seeking class opt-outs and pronoun protections; the district says it follows state and federal anti-discrimination law.
NWS Wilmington Issues Coastal Flood Advisory for Lower Cape Fear River on Sept. 15; Separate Flash Flood Warning Covers Part of New Hanover County
The advisory warned of up to a half-foot of tidal inundation in downtown Wilmington, while a separate warning cited 2 to 4 inches of rain in north-central New Hanover County.
Trump Rallies for Senate Candidate Whatley in Gastonia; Sept. 10 Elon Poll Put Cooper Ahead 49%-38%
President Trump held an evening campaign event at Gastonia Municipal Airport for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley, six days after Elon University released a likely-voter poll showing Democrat Roy Cooper leading by 11 points.
Finance
Generac Grants Amazon Warrants for Up to 1.69 Million Shares in Data Center Generator Supply Deal; Stock Jumps
Amazon can buy up to about 2.9% of Generac at $200.9266 a share, with most of the warrant vesting only as Amazon's payments for backup generators climb toward $8 billion.
House Panel Takes Up Bitcoin Reserve Bill a Day After Senate Blocks Crypto Market-Structure Bill 50-49
The House Financial Services Committee is marking up H.R. 8957 on Sept. 16; bitcoin, Coinbase and Circle all fell on Sept. 15 after the Senate's CLARITY Act cloture vote failed.
Lennar Reports Third-Quarter Results the Same Day as the Fed's Rate Decision
Lennar releases fiscal third-quarter numbers after Wednesday's close, hours after the Federal Reserve's September 16 announcement. FedEx, sometimes grouped into this week's earnings coverage, does not report again until its fiscal first-quarter results on October 28.
10-Year Treasury Yield Rises Above 5% on Sept. 15, Edging Past Its October 2023 Peak as the Fed's Two-Day Meeting Opens
The benchmark U.S. government borrowing rate reached about 5.02%-5.04%, its highest since July 2007, as traders priced high odds that the Federal Reserve will raise rates on Sept. 16 for the first time since 2023.
Baldwin Group Agrees to $32.50-a-Share Take-Private Deal Valued at $7.7 Billion With Sequence Holdings and Michael Dell's Family Office
The Tampa-based insurance brokerage said on September 14, 2026 that an entity formed by Sequence Holdings and DFO Management will buy a majority stake in an all-cash deal, with employees rolling over equity and closing targeted for the first quarter of 2027.
Chip and AI Stocks Fall in Seoul, Tokyo and U.S. Premarket After Amodei, Altman and Musk Call for Slowing Frontier AI Development
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay on Sept. 12, 2026 urging labs to "pace the frontier"; Sam Altman and Elon Musk backed it, and AI-linked shares fell on Monday, Sept. 14.
World
Von der Leyen Proposes 'Associate Member' Status for Canada; Trump Threatens EU With Tariffs Over Possible 'Hostile Act'
The European Commission president floated a status that does not exist in EU treaties, Carney told the European Parliament the two sides are "stronger together," and Trump warned of "very heavy tariffs" on Europe.
Italian NATO Jet Downs Drone Over Lithuania, the First Such Shootdown in Lithuanian Airspace
Lithuania says the drone crossed from Belarus and flew about 30 minutes before Italian Eurofighters destroyed it near Pratkūnai; President Gitanas Nausėda later said it was a Russian-made Gerbera apparently pushed off course by Ukrainian electronic warfare.
U.S. Military Reviews Sept. 1 Strike on Iranian Wedding; Vance Says He Is 'Extremely Skeptical' of Tehran's Account
Iran says a U.S. munition hit a wedding in Kuhestak, killing four and later five; CENTCOM opened an internal review while Vice President JD Vance questioned Iranian state media's reliability.
Iraq's Sept. 30 Deadline for Armed Groups to Hand Over Weapons Nears as Last U.S. Troops Withdraw
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi says all weapons must come under state control by Sept. 30, but the largest Iran-aligned factions have refused or set conditions, and Iraqi officials disagree over whether the date is a hard deadline at all.
Saudi-Led Coalition Says Houthi Attacks Wounded 13 Civilians in Three Saudi Cities; Houthis Claim Strike on King Khalid Air Base and Report 54 Coalition Raids in Yemen
The coalition confirmed damage in Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif and vowed a firm response; the air base damage and the count of retaliatory raids come from the two sides' own statements and are not independently verified.
Belarus Opens Four-Day Military Exercise Near Poland and Lithuania Borders, Hours After NATO Downs Drone Over Lithuania
Belarus says the Sept. 15-18 drills are defensive; Lithuania is running its own exercises, and Poland's border crossings remain open, unlike during last year's Zapad drills.
Analysis
Unbiased, evergreen deep-dives on the bigger questions — not breaking news.
What Fauci's Released Diary Documents About the U.S. COVID-19 Response — and What It Leaves Unresolved
A 1,141-page personal diary released by Sen. Rand Paul's committee is roughly one-third routine administrative logging; a minority of entries bear directly on contested questions, and a few conflict with contemporaneous public statements.
Eight Months of Mamdani: What New York's Record Actually Shows, and What It Cannot Yet Show
A claim-by-claim audit of what Zohran Mamdani has delivered, how New Yorkers judge it, and what the evidence does and does not license anyone to conclude about the rest of the country.