What the rest of the world is reading today.

A digest of top world and technology headlines, pulled from a handful of publisher feeds once a day and stored here. Every link goes straight to the original story.

September 12, 2026

59 stories published this day.

Around the world

Fossilized 10,000-year-old mastodon tooth found by California scientist

The Guardian

Molar from large mammal that once lived in North America is in ‘immaculate condition’ after discovery in Bay AreaA 10,000 year-old tooth in remarkable condition from an ancient Pacific mastodon, a large mammal that once inhabited North America, was recently discovered by a California scientist.Brigid Lynch, a geomorphologist, was working at a preserve in San Mateo county, when she stumbled across a peculiar rock. Continue reading...

Do not call her a racist: anti-Pauline Hanson strategists tell campaigners character attacks won’t work in Victoria

The Guardian

Exclusive: strategic rethink urges progressive activists to respectfully steer one-on-one conversations with One Nation supporters towards economic concernsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe message from strategists was blunt: do not, however tempting, personally attack Pauline Hanson or call her a racist.The request has been made to progressive campaigners and unionists who have been asked to start one-on-one conversations with One Nation supporters before the Victorian election in November. Continue reading...

Labor has had 12 years to fix Victorian roads. Turning to ‘pothole populism’ now may be too late

The Guardian

Potholed roads are ‘devastating political advertising’ for the Victorian government – but Ben Carrol’s made them the focus of his campaignGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAt a press conference to celebrate the sold-out NFL match played at Melbourne’s MCG on Friday, the Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, was heckled on one issue.“Fix the potholes,” a punter called out as they walked past the Victorian premier’s press conference. Continue reading...

‘Small price to pay’: The young homeowners welcoming falling house prices even as it hurts them

The Guardian

Some buyers say they are ready to absorb the fallout of housing weakness if it means boosting home ownership across the boardGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFalling property prices have come at the worst possible time for Alex Hogan and his partner. They are now weighing up whether they can afford to have another child.Locked out of the established housing market, the Queensland couple resorted to buying a block of land to build a family home. Continue reading...

NSW government paid for homeless man to be sent back to New Zealand instead of offering housing

The Guardian

Local council and state government attempting to move on residents living in an encampment by the river in Wagga WaggaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe New South Wales government paid for a homeless man in Wagga Wagga to be sent back to New Zealand instead of offering him temporary accommodation, in an attempt to move on residents living in an encampment by a river.The local council and state government have been attempting to clear out the encampment for several months after a newborn baby died in May when its mother gave birth to twins in a tent. Continue reading...

Trump asks Smithsonian to install ‘Colossus statue’ of George Washington with exhibit

The Guardian

Trump, again trying to curate museum, says exhibit would stay until 2032 for 300th anniversary of Washington’s birthDonald Trump asked the Smithsonian Institution to install a 30ft “Colossus statue” of George Washington outside the National Museum of American History, and a special exhibit honoring the nation’s first president, in a social media post late on Friday.The president requested that the exhibit continue through February 2032, the 300th anniversary of Washington’s birth. Continue reading...

Former US detention officer charged with 20 counts of felony forgery

The Guardian

Michael Diehl allegedly forged magistrates’ signatures in North Carolina to allow enough time for ICE to take custody of prisonersA former Guilford county detention officer in North Carolina faces forgery charges in connection to 20 alleged forged Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainment documents, according to a Guilford county sheriff’s office (GCSO) news release.Guilford county’s sheriff, Danny H Rogers, reported that on Friday the Guilford county magistrate’s office notified the GCSO of a potentially forged court document submitted by GCSO detention officer Michael Diehl, 40. Continue reading...

Portsmouth experiences second weekend of anti-immigration protests

The Guardian

Rightwing activists faced a heavy police presence and counter-demonstrations to their march against small boat crossingsTwo men and a teenage boy have been arrested in Portsmouth at a far-right protest against immigration.Far-right activists have gathered in Portsmouth for a second weekend after a small boat with 140 people seeking asylum on board was intercepted last Sunday while heading towards the city. Continue reading...

Mississippi police say more arrests to come in death of woman found hanging from tree

The Guardian

Officials still investigating death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman, a day after man’s arrest in relation to killingMississippi police said on Saturday they were still investigating the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman found hanging from a tree last month, a day after a man was arrested in connection with the killing.Loved ones also painted a picture of Fortune as a mother, athlete and woman of faith who they hoped would not solely be remembered for her horrific death. Continue reading...

Donations of £72m make Reform’s prospects both rosier and riskier

The Guardian

Party can boost its campaign power with funds from billionaire backers, but it can also lose support from ordinary BritonsAll things being equal, pretty much any political strategist would welcome a £72m war chest; a sum higher than the combined spending of every major party at the 2024 general election. But all things are not equal, and with such a huge amount comes risk.Reform UK has been vocal in its arguments that two sudden £36m windfalls from billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne merely “levels the playing field” with the bigger parties when it comes to funding. Continue reading...

Yemen's Houthis capture a Red Sea island in threat to shipping

NPR World

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have captured a strategic island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The move threatens Saudi oil exports through a key commercial lane. And Saudi Arabia said it shut down a major oil pipeline as a precaution after it came under attack.

In tech

OpenAI’s rogue AI tried to hack another company in May

The Verge

In May, hundreds of malicious and spam packages were uploaded to RubyGems, causing a serious disruption for the host. Now independent researchers have said that a swarm of OpenAI agents were responsible for the attack. Not only that, but the AI tried to steal users' API keys. At the time, RubyGems described it as a […]

Sam Altman says OpenAI going public in 2026 would be ‘ill-advised’

The Verge

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed that there would be no OpenAI IPO in 2026 during an interview with Fortune. Over the course of 45 minutes, Altman discussed a variety of subjects including the Hugging Face hacking incident, recursive self-improvement, and the possibility of building an AI that was beyond human control. On the latter, he […]

StarCraft returns in 2030 as an open-world shooter

The Verge

Blizzard originally tried to bring the StarCraft universe to the world of 3D shooters way back in 2002 with StarCraft: Ghost. It sat in development hell for years until Blizzard president Mike Morhaime confirmed that it had been canceled in 2014. Now Blizzard is giving it another go with the simply titled StarCraft. Dan Hay, […]

Sylvan Esso think you should splurge on good-quality yogurt

The Verge

Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, better known as Sylvan Esso, have been bringing their low-key electro-pop to the masses since 2014, bursting onto the scene with their self-titled debut album and the single "Hey Mami." Over the years, they've put out a number of excellent records, dabbling in dustier, more fragile textures on Free Love, […]

Anthropic CEO says it’s time to pump the brakes on AI

The Verge

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says the time has come to slow down AI development and will give third-party evaluators like METR access to its models to help ensure its "adherence to safety practices and commitments." In a winding essay, Amodei proposed a three-step plan to "pace the frontier" - jargon that simply means to slow […]

LG responds to TV spying allegations

The Verge

Earlier this week, Gamers Nexus, Level1Techs, and independent security researchers detailed some alarming findings about how LG's TVs are logging and uploading data on its users. Now the company is pushing back against those allegations, saying that "Some recent media coverage may have contributed to misconceptions about how LG smart TVs work." LG released a […]

Trump is giving data centers a pass to pollute

The Verge

President Donald Trump is weakening environmental regulations in the name of speeding up the construction of AI data centers, raising health risks for Americans, a cadre of former EPA officials said this week in a briefing and new report. They are urging - perhaps futilely - the president to adopt a "Data Center Health Protection […]

Laika’s stop-motion fantasy Wildwood looks so smooth

The Verge

Due to a scheduling mishap, I was only able to check out two movies on my second day at the Toronto International Film Festival - but I did manage to get an early look at and some fascinating details on one of my most anticipated films this year. Even if you don't know the name […]

Where to preorder the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max

The Verge

The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are almost here. Announced at Apple's September 2026 "Sunrise and shine" event alongside the iPhone Duo and other new gear, the two upgraded phones feature the faster A20 Pro processor with more GPU power as well as more neural cores for AI-related tasks, plus some welcome improvements […]

OpenAI just wants to win

The Verge

OpenAI has spent the last few years planting flags across the increasingly difficult terrain in mathematics. This week, it claimed one of its biggest prizes yet: a solution to a legendary Millennium Prize problem. In normal circumstances, this would have been celebrated as a historic achievement. Instead, many mathematicians have watched OpenAI's relentless advance with […]