National

China warned world leaders to not interfere with the country's plan to reunify with Taiwan, adding that doing so would lead to severe consequences. 

The big picture: Tensions between China and the U.S. have been shaky regarding Taiwan, particularly after Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-governing island last month.

Flashback: Qin Gang, China's ambassador to the U.S., previously warned that further arms sales or official travel to Taiwan will be seen as provocations against Beijing and destabilize relations on other issues. 

What they're saying: “Only when China is fully reunified can there be true peace across the Taiwan Strait,” Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, said at the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday.

Wang added Beijing would “take the most forceful steps to oppose external interference."

Anyone that stands in the way will be "crushed by the wheels of history," he added. 

Yes, but: The message was within the realm of normal for Chinese leadership, AP writes. 

Go Deeper: Why Pelosi's Taiwan visit matters to China

China warns "external" interference in Taiwan will lead to "forceful" response

Tensions between China and the U.S. have been shaky regarding Taiwan after Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-governing island last month.

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

China

World

Hurricane-strength Fiona made landfall in Nova Scotia early Saturday and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands in eastern Canada. 

Driving the news: More than 540,000 outages were reported in Atlantic Canada, according to utility tracker Poweroutage.com. Almost all of Prince Edward Island's 86,000 customers are among the outages.

Fiona, now considered a post-tropical cyclone, is a "historic, extreme event" for Atlantic Canada, said Bob Robichaud, a warning preparedness meteorologist with the Canadian Hurricane Centre. 

Threat level: Fiona had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph — the same power of a Category 1 hurricane — Saturday morning, with its center over the Gulf of St. Lawrence after crossing Nova Scotia, the National Hurricane Center said.

It had previously hammered Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic earlier this week, leaving millions of people on the islands without power and causing at least five deaths.

What they're saying: "Across the province, we're hearing reports of damaged trees and power lines as the storm continues to pass through," the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office tweeted.

Cape Breton's Regional Municipality Mayor and Council have declared a State of Local Emergency. 

Context: Hurricanes are becoming more intense and damaging from human-caused climate change and global warming, enabling them to shed heavier amounts of rainfall and stay stronger further north.

540,000 lose power as Fiona makes landfall in Canada

Fiona is a "historic, extreme event" for Atlantic Canada, a meteorologist with the Canadian Hurricane Centre said.

hurricanes

Climate change

Hurricane-strength Fiona made landfall in Nova Scotia early Saturday and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands in eastern Canada. Driving the news: More than 540,000 outages were reported in Atlantic Canada, according to utility tracker <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Poweroutage.com" data-vars-click-url="https://poweroutage.com/ca" data-vars-content-id="43059677-2554-43fe-b548-668261c31cf8" data-vars-headline="540,000 lose power as Fiona makes landfall in Canada" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://poweroutage.com/ca" target="_blank">Poweroutage.com</a>. Almost all of Prince Edward Island&#x27;s 86,000 customers are among the outages.

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

Energy & Environment

NASA will push back its latest attempt at launching its new Moon rocket due to a tropical storm that could become a major hurricane, the agency said in a statement on Saturday.

The big picture: The delay comes as Tropical Storm Ian is expected to become a hurricane by Monday and hit the Florida Gulf Coast. The launch was originally scheduled for Tuesday.

It will be the third delay after hydrogen fuel leaks and other technical issues caused the first two scrubs. 

What they're saying: "The agency is taking a step-wise approach to its decision making process to allow the agency to protect its employees by completing a safe roll in time for them to address the needs of their families while also protecting for the option to press ahead with another launch opportunity in the current window if weather predictions improve," NASA said. 

What's next: NASA could try for an Oct. 2 launch attempt, the last opportunity before a two-week blackout period. 

But if NASA takes the rocket off the launch pad — a decision that managers will make late Sunday or early Monday — it would likely mean a lengthy delay for the test flight, possibly pushing it into November, AP writes. 

NASA delays Moon rocket launch due to Tropical Storm Ian

The launch was originally scheduled for Tuesday.

NASA

Space

NASA will push back its latest attempt at launching its new Moon rocket due to a tropical storm that could become a major hurricane, the agency said in a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="statement" data-vars-click-url="https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2022/09/24/artemis-i-managers-wave-off-sept-27-launch-preparing-for-rollback/" data-vars-content-id="46c2ef52-eb50-418b-a15d-80cca532a553" data-vars-headline="NASA delays Moon rocket launch due to Tropical Storm Ian" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2022/09/24/artemis-i-managers-wave-off-sept-27-launch-preparing-for-rollback/" target="_blank">statement</a> on Saturday.The big picture: The delay comes as <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Tropical Storm Ian " data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/24/tropical-storm-ian-intensify-florida-cuba" data-vars-content-id="46c2ef52-eb50-418b-a15d-80cca532a553" data-vars-headline="NASA delays Moon rocket launch due to Tropical Storm Ian" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/24/tropical-storm-ian-intensify-florida-cuba" target="_self">Tropical Storm Ian </a>is expected to become a hurricane by Monday and hit the Florida Gulf Coast. The launch was originally scheduled for Tuesday.

A look at the scientific breakthroughs changing the world, explorations in space and in worlds beyond our own and the threats posed to us by our own planet, both out of our control and of our own making.

Science

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Cardinals designated hitter Albert Pujols have notched historic Septembers at the plate, with Judge likely to make more history before the month is over. 

The big picture: Judge, 30, and Pujols, 42, have electrified the second half of the MLB season with their hot bats and historic home runs. 

Judge hit his 60th home run of the season on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates and is now one run away from tying the longtime American League record of 61 homers by Roger Maris with 12 games left in the regular season. 

Only five players — Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Roger Maris and Babe Ruth — have reached 60. But McGwire has admitted to steroid use while Bonds and Sosa have denied allegations that they used performance-enhancing drugs. 

What they're saying: “When you talk about Ruth and Maris and [Mickey] Mantle and all these Yankees greats, you never imagine as a kid getting mentioned with them,” Judge said. 

“It’s an incredible honor and something I don’t take lightly at all. We’re not done.”

By the numbers: Pujols, already a future Hall-of-Famer, joined baseball greats Bonds, Ruth and Hank Aaron as the only players to hit 700-plus home runs in their careers. The veteran hit No. 699 and No. 700 against the Dodgers, his former team.

He is also just the second player in league history to join the 3,000-hit and 700-home run club. 

"It's pretty special," Pujols said after the game, per ESPN. 

"When it's really gonna hit me is when I'm done, at the end of the season, when I'm retired, and probably a moment or two after that I can look at the numbers."

Between the lines: Judge's monster season comes before he enters free agency. 

The four-time All-Star turned down the Yankees' seven-year, $213.5 million extension offer and wouldn't negotiate during the season, preferring to focus on the "job on the field," ESPN reports. 

The Yankees have said they intend to keep Judge in New York.

Of note: Judge is also in the hunt for the Triple Crown — a rare achievement when a hitter leads his league in batting average, home runs, and RBIs in the same season.

The last two players to win the Triple Crown were the Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and the Boston Red Sox's Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. 

Entering the homestretch of the regular season, the Yankees (92-58) have clinched their postseason berth with the Cardinals (89-63) likely to join them as the top team in the NL Central. 

Pujols has won two World Series Championships in 2006 and 2011 — both with the Cardinals. Judge is still looking for his first ring and the Yankees' first championship since 2009. 

MLB's Aaron Judge, Albert Pujols notch a historic September

The All-Stars have electrified MLB with their hot bats and could make more history this season.

Photos by Joshua Bessex and Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Sports

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Cardinals designated hitter Albert Pujols have notched historic Septembers at the plate, with Judge likely to make more history before the month is over. The big picture: Judge, 30, and Pujols, 42, have electrified the second half of the MLB season with their hot bats and historic home runs.

Shifts in technology and media are changing the way we play, watch and understand sports. Business models are adapting and social change is forcing those in charge of teams and leagues to reconsider decades-old practices.

Intelligence officers will resume a national security risk of material seized from former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate after a federal appeals panel ruling earlier this week, Politico reports.

Catch up quick: The Department of Justice had previously been blocked from examining Trump's storage of the sensitive government records, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit granted a partial stay in a ruling on Wednesday.

It wrote that Trump "has not even attempted to show that he has a need to know the information contained in the classified documents."

The big picture:  The DOJ had argued blocking officials from examining the documents would hinder its investigation.

What they're saying: “In consultation with the Department of Justice, [Office of the Director of National Intelligence] is resuming the classification review of relevant materials and assessment of the potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure of the relevant documents,” a spokesperson told Politico on Friday.

What's next: Trump has few options left to block the criminal investigation, CNN writes. 

One of the only choices left is an emergency request to the Supreme Court, per CNN. 

National security risk review of Mar-a-Lago material resumes after court ruling

The Department of Justice had previously been blocked from examining Trump's storage of the sensitive government records.

Photo by GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump

Intelligence officers will resume a national security risk of material seized from former President Trump&#x27;s Mar-a-Lago estate after a federal appeals panel ruling earlier this week, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Politico reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/23/national-security-risk-review-of-material-trump-kept-at-mar-a-lago-resumes-after-appeals-court-ruling-00058648" data-vars-content-id="983414a6-3b33-496d-bc7b-688c94cb96af" data-vars-headline="National security risk review of Mar-a-Lago material resumes after court ruling" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/23/national-security-risk-review-of-material-trump-kept-at-mar-a-lago-resumes-after-appeals-court-ruling-00058648" target="_blank">Politico reports</a>.Catch up quick: The Department of Justice had previously been blocked from examining Trump&#x27;s storage of the sensitive government records, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="granted a partial stay" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/21/appeals-court-doj-classified-records-request-trump" data-vars-content-id="983414a6-3b33-496d-bc7b-688c94cb96af" data-vars-headline="National security risk review of Mar-a-Lago material resumes after court ruling" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/21/appeals-court-doj-classified-records-request-trump" target="_self">granted a partial stay</a> in a ruling on Wednesday.

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

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Stories

China warns "external" interference in Taiwan will lead to "forceful" response

NASA delays Moon rocket launch due to Tropical Storm Ian

540,000 lose power as Fiona makes landfall in Canada

MLB's Aaron Judge, Albert Pujols notch a historic September

National security risk review of Mar-a-Lago material resumes after court ruling