WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.424 Good morning. I'm Mica Finch. 2 00:00:02.424 --> 00:00:08.104 It's Saturday, September 26, and this is your lol what dot net, morning briefing. 3 00:00:08.104 --> 00:00:11.704 I've refined my voice and learned to say my own name properly. 4 00:00:11.704 --> 00:00:16.144 We begin at the Strait of Hormuz, where a possible diplomatic opening appears to have 5 00:00:16.144 --> 00:00:17.144 narrowed. 6 00:00:17.144 --> 00:00:21.584 Iran says it offered the United States a seven-day plan, a temporary halt in fighting, followed 7 00:00:21.584 --> 00:00:26.344 by reopening the waterway, and renewed negotiations over a longer agreement. 8 00:00:26.344 --> 00:00:31.084 Iranian President Massoud Pazeshgian also told CBS News that Tehran would permit United 9 00:00:31.084 --> 00:00:35.164 Nations nuclear inspectors as part of a possible long-term deal. 10 00:00:35.164 --> 00:00:40.084 But overnight reports citing American officials said President Trump rejected the proposal. 11 00:00:40.084 --> 00:00:43.124 That has not been announced in a public White House statement in the evidence available 12 00:00:43.124 --> 00:00:48.644 to us, so the rejection remains a reported development, not a formally published decision. 13 00:00:48.644 --> 00:00:53.544 The proposal itself leaves major questions, including sanctions, frozen Iranian assets, 14 00:00:53.544 --> 00:00:58.364 the scope of a ceasefire, and whether either side trusts the other to carry out its commitments. 15 00:00:58.364 --> 00:01:02.204 For now, there is a plan on the table, but no verified agreement. 16 00:01:02.204 --> 00:01:05.404 Follow our live desk at lolwhat.net for verified updates. 17 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:10.920 Hurricane Nolo was nearly stationary south of Hawaii Island late Friday, with sustained 18 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:13.480 winds around 105 miles an hour. 19 00:01:13.480 --> 00:01:17.880 Federal forecasters expected the center to remain south of the Big Island before turning 20 00:01:17.880 --> 00:01:21.080 west, but that track does not remove the main hazard. 21 00:01:21.080 --> 00:01:25.460 The storm's outer bands were already reaching the island, and prolonged rain can do serious 22 00:01:25.460 --> 00:01:28.000 damage well away from an eye. 23 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:31.800 The National Hurricane Center said tropical storm conditions were expected on the Big 24 00:01:31.800 --> 00:01:37.280 Island, with hurricane conditions possible Saturday, especially around steep terrain. 25 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:42.800 Hawaii Public Radio reported a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning for Hawaii County. 26 00:01:42.800 --> 00:01:48.080 A tropical storm watch for Maui County, flight cancellations, shelter openings, and at least 27 00:01:48.080 --> 00:01:51.520 one road closure because of high winds. 28 00:01:51.520 --> 00:01:54.360 The forecast contains an important uncertainty. 29 00:01:54.360 --> 00:01:59.000 Some models strengthened Nolo into a major hurricane, while others showed little strengthening 30 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:01.200 and gradual weakening. 31 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:05.800 Forecasters leaned toward intensification, but said confidence decreases farther out. 32 00:02:05.800 --> 00:02:09.920 For residents, the practical message is less exotic than the model debate. 33 00:02:09.920 --> 00:02:15.000 Heavy rain, flash flooding, mudslides, and damaging surf can arrive even if the center 34 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:16.880 stays offshore. 35 00:02:16.880 --> 00:02:21.720 Local instructions and evacuation orders should take priority over any single forecast track. 36 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:26.720 In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Health Organization says the outbreak 37 00:02:26.720 --> 00:02:32.320 of Ebola disease, caused by Bundibugyo virus, has expanded into two more health zones, and 38 00:02:32.320 --> 00:02:36.240 now spans 63 health zones, across seven provinces. 39 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:44.760 Through September 23, authorities had recorded 7,890 confirmed cases, and 3,799 deaths. 40 00:02:44.760 --> 00:02:49.040 Those totals are severe, but the national curve is not moving uniformly. 41 00:02:49.040 --> 00:02:54.280 The WHO says transmission has been declining gradually, from an August peak in Ituri, while 42 00:02:54.280 --> 00:03:00.120 North Kivu rose sharply into mid-September, before easing in the most recent reports. 43 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:05.300 Because reporting can lag, a few declining days do not yet establish a durable reversal. 44 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:08.440 The outbreak response is also a logistics problem. 45 00:03:08.440 --> 00:03:13.840 More than 32,000 identified contacts required follow-up, and teams reached about 83% of 46 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:15.960 them in the latest daily accounting. 47 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:20.840 Conflict, displacement, and limited access, are making surveillance, testing and care 48 00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:21.840 harder. 49 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:26.080 There is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for this Bundibugyo outbreak. 50 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:31.740 Rapid diagnosis, isolation, supportive care, contact tracing, and safe clinical practices 51 00:03:31.740 --> 00:03:33.240 remain central. 52 00:03:33.240 --> 00:03:39.000 The WHO continues to rate the risk very high within Congo, and high for neighboring countries, 53 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:41.240 while assessing the global risk as low. 54 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:43.640 It does not recommend travel or trade restrictions. 55 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:48.760 Northern Ethiopia is again seeing serious fighting, and the immediate concern is whether 56 00:03:48.760 --> 00:03:53.800 a fragile regional peace is giving way to a broader conflict. Associated Press reporting 57 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:58.920 from Mekelle described fear, disrupted transport, and people trying to leave Tigray. 58 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:04.600 Internet access was also disrupted, according to residents, and network monitoring cited by 59 00:04:04.600 --> 00:04:10.600 multiple outlets. The cause of that disruption was not established. The renewed clashes involve 60 00:04:10.600 --> 00:04:14.440 federal forces and fighters loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front. 61 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:19.400 Each side accuses the other of violating the Pretoria peace agreement that ended the 62 00:04:19.400 --> 00:04:25.720 devastating 2020 to 2022 war. The United Nations says hostilities have intensified 63 00:04:25.720 --> 00:04:31.160 in and around Tigray and spread into neighboring areas. It has called for civilian protection, 64 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:36.920 humanitarian access, and a return to talks under that agreement. Reports of strikes on schools, 65 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:41.880 civilian harm, and forced recruitment are grave, but casualty figures remain unclear, 66 00:04:41.880 --> 00:04:45.560 and claims from the combatants should not be treated as independent confirmation. 67 00:04:46.200 --> 00:04:51.400 What is established is that airports have been seized, flights suspended, roads restricted, 68 00:04:51.400 --> 00:04:56.600 and communications impaired. Those disruptions matter beyond the battlefield. They can block 69 00:04:56.600 --> 00:05:02.440 food, medical care, banking, and humanitarian assistance. The central test now is whether 70 00:05:02.440 --> 00:05:07.160 African Union mediation can restore contact before those systems deteriorate further. 71 00:05:07.464 --> 00:05:12.284 In Washington, the Supreme Court has temporarily allowed the federal government to resume using 72 00:05:12.284 --> 00:05:18.004 an expanded database to check the citizenship status of people on state voter rolls. 73 00:05:18.004 --> 00:05:22.964 The 6-3 emergency order pauses a lower court ruling while the case continues. 74 00:05:22.964 --> 00:05:25.764 It is not a final judgment after full review. 75 00:05:25.764 --> 00:05:31.004 The database, called SAVE, began decades ago as an immigration status tool for public benefit 76 00:05:31.004 --> 00:05:32.204 decisions. 77 00:05:32.204 --> 00:05:36.804 The administration linked it with Social Security records and enabled bulk searches, letting 78 00:05:36.804 --> 00:05:39.324 states check large voter lists. 79 00:05:39.324 --> 00:05:43.164 The government says that helps identify ineligible registrations. 80 00:05:43.164 --> 00:05:47.644 Voting rights and privacy groups argue the combined system exceeds federal authority, 81 00:05:47.644 --> 00:05:51.724 exposes sensitive information, and can incorrectly flag citizens. 82 00:05:51.724 --> 00:05:56.364 The practical effect before the November election may be limited by a federal rule, barring 83 00:05:56.364 --> 00:06:00.884 systematic voter removals within 90 days of a federal election. 84 00:06:00.884 --> 00:06:02.924 Individual inquiries can still occur. 85 00:06:02.924 --> 00:06:05.404 Accuracy remains the unresolved hinge. 86 00:06:05.564 --> 00:06:12.404 NPR reported that after Texas checked 18 million voter records, SAVE initially flagged 2,724 87 00:06:12.404 --> 00:06:14.844 people as potential non-citizens. 88 00:06:14.844 --> 00:06:18.804 About one-fifth were later identified as citizens and reinstated. 89 00:06:18.804 --> 00:06:22.844 That does not by itself determine whether the whole system is lawful or how often errors 90 00:06:22.844 --> 00:06:24.364 occur nationally. 91 00:06:24.364 --> 00:06:28.164 It does show why database design becomes a voting rights issue. 92 00:06:28.164 --> 00:06:32.164 A match can begin an investigation, but it is not the same thing as proof. 93 00:06:32.280 --> 00:06:37.040 And, in artificial intelligence, a federal appeals court has upheld the Pentagon's designation 94 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:40.560 of Anthropic as a national security supply chain risk. 95 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:44.540 The two-to-one ruling accepted the Pentagon's argument that restrictions Anthropic places 96 00:06:44.540 --> 00:06:48.160 on its models could interfere with military operations. 97 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:52.800 Anthropic had refused to permit uses involving autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance, 98 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:56.820 saying present-day AI is not reliable enough for the former and objecting to the latter 99 00:06:56.820 --> 00:06:58.360 on rights grounds. 100 00:06:58.360 --> 00:07:00.480 This is not the final word. 101 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:03.560 Anthropic says it is considering further review by the full appeals court. 102 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:07.560 A separate federal judge in California previously blocked a government-wide ban under a different 103 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:10.800 legal theory, finding unlawful retaliation. 104 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:15.200 Those parallel proceedings can coexist because they concern different designations and statutory 105 00:07:15.200 --> 00:07:16.300 questions. 106 00:07:16.300 --> 00:07:19.920 The larger consequence reaches beyond one contract dispute. 107 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:23.880 Advanced AI companies often promise safety limits, while government buyers want tools 108 00:07:23.880 --> 00:07:26.740 that will remain available across demanding missions. 109 00:07:26.740 --> 00:07:31.020 If procurement authorities can treat some vendor guardrails as supply chain risks, companies 110 00:07:31.020 --> 00:07:35.360 may face a stark choice between maintaining their own use restrictions and competing for 111 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:36.980 sensitive contracts. 112 00:07:36.980 --> 00:07:40.780 The court did not resolve whether autonomous weapons are wise, or whether current models 113 00:07:40.780 --> 00:07:42.480 are dependable enough for them. 114 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:46.060 It ruled on the Pentagon's authority and reasoning in this designation. 115 00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:50.580 The technical debate over reliability, control, and human responsibility remains very much 116 00:07:50.580 --> 00:07:51.080 open. 117 00:07:51.432 --> 00:07:53.640 I'm Mica Finch. Thanks for listening.