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MIDDLE EAST WAR | Day 196.

• Saudi forces struck Iran-backed Houthi rebel sites today in the Yemeni port city of Mokha, which Houthi forces seized from government control yesterday. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,658 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• For a second straight day, Russian drone strikes targeted roadside gas stations in Kyiv today in what analysts suggest is an effort to disrupt civilian life in the Ukrainian capital. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | According to Labor Department data released today, consumer inflation in the U.S., as measured by the Consumer Price Index, rose 0.4% from July to August and 3.4% from the year-ago period. Analysts suggest the August measures increase the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will raise its benchmark interest rate next week. [full report] [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the Trump administration's policy of detaining immigrants without a chance for release on bond is illegal and compared the policy to the mass detention of Japanese Americans during World War II. Reports note that nine earlier rulings from various appeals courts have rejected the administration's mandatory detention policy, while two others have upheld it. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | A panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday upheld a lower court ruling that blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail-in voting. Reports note that the earlier ruling has already been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by the Trump administration. [more]

U.S. MORTGAGES | According to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the average interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose to a 14-month high of 6.76% this week – up from 6.71% last week and from 6.35% at this point last year. [more]

U.S. FUEL PRICES | According to motor club AAA, the average price for a gallon of diesel fuel in the U.S. rose to $6.05 today amidst continuing tensions in the Middle East – up from $5.85 last week and from $3.70 at this point last year. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline hit $4.29 today. [more]

MISSOURI | The U.S. Supreme Court, for a second time, has rejected an effort to allow Missouri to use new Republican-backed congressional maps in the state for this year's mid-term elections. No Supreme Court justices publicly dissented from the yesterday's brief order, which was followed by the state's chief election official directing local authorities to use U.S. House districts passed in 2022. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Governor Gavin Newsom signed a series of technology measures into law yesterday that, among other things, aim to penalize large social media companies if they are found to have harmed children through their platforms, ban online platforms from offering addictive feeds to anyone under age 16, and require artificial intelligence companies to perform risk assessments of their products before offering them to the public. [more]

U.S. AND ECUADOR | The U.S. State Department this week designated Ecuador's Los Tiguerones criminal gang a "Foreign Terrorist Organization." The move brings to 21 the number of Latin American and Caribbean criminal groups to receive the designation under the Trump administration. [press release] [full State Department FTO list] [more]

CONGO | Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo's South Kivu province say at least 26 students were killed, and dozens of others were injured, yesterday when a fire broke out and spread through two adjacent schools in the city of Bukavu. [more]

HONG KONG | Pro-democracy activists Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung, and Albert Ho were sentenced by a Hong Kong court today to 5-7 years in prison for organizing vigils in remembrance of China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Reports note that the three men were originally charged with inciting subversion under a Beijing-imposed national security law in 2021 and have been held in custody for years. [more]

U.K. | The House of Commons is scheduled to vote today on a renewed bill that would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel. [more]

MYANMAR | Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of Myanmar’s military-backed government, is in Cambodia today, where he is expected to meet with leaders as part of efforts to normalize relations with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that deteriorated following the ouster of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February 2021. [more]

TENNIS| Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka have advanced to tomorrow's women's final of the U.S. Open tennis tournament with semi-final victories over Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, respectively. In U.S. Open men's play, Ben Shelton faces Frances Tiafoe and Alexander Zverev will play Karen Khachanov in today's semi-final matches. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 2001, al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four jetliners in the eastern United States, crashing the planes into New York City's World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks, which sparked the U.S.’ war on terror and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. [more on the September 11 attacks] [more history]