Trump and Xi reject tolls on international waterways.
Today's events
Trump–Xi state visit.
Trump and Xi agreed Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and that no country or institution may impose tolls on international waterways; Trump urged Xi to raise refined-petroleum output to stabilize global supply.1Sep 25 · WHTelecom hacking sentence.
Former Army soldier Cameron Wagenius drew 70 months and $294,978 in restitution for hacking telecommunications databases and extorting the companies; prosecutors said he sought to traffic stolen data to a foreign intelligence service.2Sep 25 · DOJSanctions penalty rules.
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control consolidated into one new part of its regulations the enforcement procedures and civil penalties that apply across every U.S. sanctions program it administers.3Sep 25 · TreasuryColorado coal plant.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright ordered Craig Station Unit 1 kept available to run from September 27 through December 25 — the fourth emergency order for the plant since December 2025.4Sep 25 · DOENatural gas prices.
Henry Hub gas averaged $2.93 per million British thermal units this summer, 6% below last year, with production on course for a record 111.2 billion cubic feet a day, Permian-led.5Sep 25 · EIAQuantum roadmap.
The Energy Department released a milestone-driven national roadmap aiming to demonstrate a scientifically useful, error-corrected quantum computer by 2028 and to establish a dedicated Quantum Computing User Facility.6Sep 25 · DOENavy shipyard program.
Government auditors put the Navy's four-shipyard rebuild above $200 billion and more than 50 years, and faulted the service for sending Congress no consolidated account of total cost or risk.7Sep 25 · GAOTax-fraud estimate.
Auditors put annual federal tax-fraud losses at $116 billion to $304 billion — 2% to 6% of taxes owed — and found the IRS has no antifraud strategy or lead office.8Sep 25 · GAOArtemis Accords.
San Marino became the 76th signatory of the U.S.-led space-exploration accords at a ceremony in Rimini attended by NASA and State Department officials.9Sep 25 · NASA
This week
Permanent Arctic basing.
Trump signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland on September 22 granting the United States permanent basing rights on the island and barring any U.S. adversary from a base, military presence or sensitive investment there without American approval. The signing followed Rubio's meeting a day earlier with eight Arctic foreign ministers, who agreed the region needs sovereign military capability and resilient critical infrastructure. (Sept. 22–23 briefs.)2Sep 22 · WHAndes-Atlantic Corridor.
The United States and Argentina launched a corridor on September 23 directing U.S. financing into rail, ports, pipelines and power that carry Vaca Muerta oil and gas and critical minerals to Atlantic markets. It was one of three resource deals in the week: a critical-minerals memorandum with Italy on September 21, and a U.S.–Japan–Korea plan to speed small modular reactor exports, behind a consortium promising $150 billion in European reactor investment. (Sept. 23–24 briefs.)3Sep 23 · StateShield of the Americas.
The United States and 14 Western Hemisphere governments announced on September 22 asset freezes, visa restrictions and criminal liability for supporters of 24 narco-terrorist organizations, and said they would ask the Organization of American States to convene the region's mutual-defense treaty. Trump told the General Assembly the same day that strikes on cartel boats had destroyed 97 percent of drugs arriving by sea. (Sept. 23 brief.)4Sep 22 · StateU.S. enters a European court.
The Justice Department filed on September 24 to intervene at the European Union's General Court supporting X Corp. and Elon Musk's bids to annul a €120 million digital-services fine, the first U.S. intervention in that court. It landed in the same week the trade office held a hearing on Germany's drug pricing and opened a labor case against a Yokohama tire plant in Mexico. (Sept. 25–26 briefs.)5Sep 24 · DOJStablecoin framework.
The Federal Reserve Board proposed on September 24 that Board-supervised stablecoin issuers fully back their coins with short-term Treasury bills and other high-quality liquid assets, and set capital, risk-management and application standards under the GENIUS Act stablecoin law. Comments close in 60 days. Treasury's sanctions office made a parallel consolidation the same week, folding enforcement procedures and civil penalties for every U.S. sanctions program into one new part of its regulations. (Sept. 25–27 briefs.)6Sep 24 · FedExternal balance.
The current-account deficit widened by $33.4 billion, or 15.7 percent, to $246.0 billion in the second quarter, 3.0 percent of output, and the net international investment position fell to negative $22.42 trillion, Commerce reported September 24. The figures arrived as the administration agreed easier tariff treatment for $30 billion of goods each way with China, moved to strip Canadian goods from federal procurement, and advanced dumping cases on Chinese tin plate and graphite electrodes. (Sept. 25–26 briefs.)7Sep 24 · BEA
Allied Governments
Astute-class submarine.
HMS Agamemnon, the Royal Navy's sixth Astute-class attack submarine, sailed from Barrow-in-Furness for sea trials, backed by £6 billion of government investment in Britain's submarine industrial base.aSep 25 · UK MoDOccupied-Ukraine ballots.
Britain, Canada, Iceland and Norway told the security body in Vienna that holding Russia's Duma elections in occupied Ukrainian territory violates Ukraine's sovereignty and the UN Charter.bSep 25 · UK FCDOBoardroom threat briefings.
Two UK ministers will give closed-door intelligence briefings on Russian cyber attacks and sabotage to chief executives from defence and critical-infrastructure sectors.cSep 25 · UK MoD
Voices
“They agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and that no country or institution can be allowed to impose tolls on international waterways.”
White House fact sheet on the China state visit · Sep 251
“He targeted U.S. and foreign telecommunications companies, compromised the sensitive data of countless people, and even sought to traffic stolen information to a foreign intelligence service.”
AAG A. Tysen Duva, DOJ Criminal Division · Sep 252
“For over the past decade, state and federal leaders have harmed Coloradans' wallets and energy security with efforts to force reliable generation off the grid.”
Energy Sec. Chris Wright · Sep 254
“Our goal is not simply to build the largest quantum computer; it is to solve problems that are otherwise completely intractable.”
DOE Office of Science, national quantum roadmap · Sep 256
“While the IRS is working to safeguard taxpayer dollars, it doesn't have an antifraud strategy.”
Government Accountability Office, Report 26-107810 · Sep 258
“San Marino joins a growing coalition of like-minded nations committed to the peaceful, transparent, and responsible exploration of space.”
NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson · Sep 259
Sources
- White House, “Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Advances a Fair and Reciprocal Relationship with China While Hosting Historic State Visit,” September 2026. whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/…/china-state-visit
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Former U.S. Soldier Sentenced for Hacking and Extortion Scheme That Exposed Sensitive Data of U.S. Government Official,” September 25, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/wagenius-sentencing
- U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, “Sanctions Penalties Regulations” (final rule, 91 FR 60821), September 25, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/sanctions-penalties-regulations
- U.S. Dept. of Energy, “Trump Administration Mitigates Blackout Risks by Keeping Colorado Coal Plant Online,” September 25, 2026. energy.gov/articles/…/craig-station-emergency-order
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Henry Hub natural gas prices this summer were 6% lower than last summer” (Today in Energy), September 25, 2026. eia.gov/todayinenergy/…/id=68204
- Fermilab / U.S. Dept. of Energy Office of Science, “DOE releases national quantum computing roadmap following field-wide effort led by SCAC subcommittee,” September 2026. news.fnal.gov/2026/09/…/doe-quantum-roadmap
- U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Naval Shipyards: Complete Information Needed for Decision-Making on Multibillion-Dollar, 50-Year Infrastructure Program” (GAO-26-107830), September 25, 2026. gao.gov/products/gao-26-107830
- U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Tax Fraud: The Federal Government Loses an Estimated $116 Billion to $304 Billion Annually” (GAO-26-107810), September 25, 2026. gao.gov/products/gao-26-107810
- NASA, “NASA Welcomes San Marino Signing the Artemis Accords,” September 25, 2026. nasa.gov/organizations/oiir/…/san-marino-artemis-accords
- UK Ministry of Defence, “Sixth powerful attack submarine departs Barrow-in-Furness for sea trials,” September 25, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/hms-agamemnon-sea-trials
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, “UK and others condemn Russia's failure to uphold OSCE commitments: joint statement to the OSCE,” September 25, 2026. gov.uk/government/speeches/…/osce-joint-statement
- UK Ministry of Defence, “CEOs from sensitive sectors to receive briefings on Russia threats,” September 25, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/russia-threat-briefings