Good news on electric vehicles, plane pollution, species recovery
As usual, this edition of Fix the News includes about 40 reasons for optimism and hope.
Among the many items in the section that requires a subscription:
— President Trump’s Iran war has supercharged electric vehicle sales everywhere except the United States, reports Yale Climate Connections.
The International Energy Agency reports that 50 countries set records for EV sales in the second quarter of 2026.
— The icy white cloud line we see in the sky behind planes — known as a contrail — contributes to climate change. A British effort is exploring whether artificial intelligence can help, by predicting where contrails are likely to form so planes can avoid those areas, says the BBC.
— After being declared extinct, the ancient cliff cypress — a 300-million-year-old “living fossil” — has made a comeback in Southwest China’s Chongqing reserve after a 2-decade conservation effort, reports China Daily.
I need to take Monday off while work is done on my house. I’ll be back on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Argentina poverty rate rises above 30 percent under President Milei, reversing recent decline
NYTimes: ’First detailed blueprint of Moscow’s rampant circumvention’ of Russia sanctions
Netanyahu speaks to UN General Assembly, defends wars in Gaza, Iran as ‘battle against barbarians’
Iran proposes 7-day plan to end the war
Trump-Xi summit is ‘heavy on ceremony and light on outcomes’
ICE is wasting tens of millions of dollars on ‘uninformed’ detention projects, says Government Accountability Office report
Trump administration scrambles to stop third-country deportations after court ruling, asks Supreme Court to allow the program to continue
Reporters return to White House, but TV standoff continues
Senate rejects resolution to halt Iran war, on 49-50 vote
Schumer, Jeffries sue to block armed federal agents from polling places in November
Dr. Heidi Overton, nominee to head FDA, is evasive on abortion pill but says measles vaccine is ’safe and effective’
Taxpayers are funding TV ad featuring Trump’s midterm messaging
State election officials say new federal cybersecurity plan for midterm elections is inadequate and too late
Four states will vote on abortion-related ballot measures in midterms
California Supreme Court orders Riverside County GOP sheriff to return 650,000 ballots he seized
Appeals court reinstates Ohio law requiring voters to prove citizenship when registering to vote
Some Missouri election officials tell people to hold off voting while Supreme Court deliberates on gerrymander
New York sues prediction market Polymarket, saying it’s an unlicensed gambling operation
It’s Climate Week, and AI is dominating the conversation
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson skewers court over emergency docket
Robert Reich on what foreign officials in U.S. for UN meetings are telling him about their strategizing for dealing with America
Steve Inskeep interviews Tucker Carlson on NPR’s Newsmakers podcast
Google is sending AI data center to outer space
San Francisco Currently: A new, self-described ‘unserious and frankly belligerent publication’ skewering the city
CDC allows states to order COVID vaccines for vulnerable children after nearly 1-month delay
Battle of hospital AI vs. insurer AI is increasing medical costs
You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer
Senate Majority Leader John Thune