Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo closed Sunday due to the government shutdown, with their websites urging visitors to check back for updates on when they'll reopen.
The big picture: All of the Smithsonian's institutions, including its research centers, 21 museums and the National Zoo, are affected by the temporary closure. The zoo emphasized on its site that its beloved pandas and other animals "will continue to be fed and cared for."
When President Trump announced a new deal Friday to lower prescription drug costs, it was the clearest sign yet that he'd paused his commerce secretary's push to slap 100% tariffs on pharmaceuticals that aren't manufactured in the U.S.
Why it matters: Prescription drug policy and tariffs are big priorities of Trump's administration. But after the two issues collided in a conflicting series of White House messages recently, Trump set aside the tariffs idea, which could have made drugs more expensive for many Americans.
"Today is the last day I believe anything I see on the internet," X, TikTok and YouTube commenters joked on September 30, the day OpenAI released its Sora video app.
Why it matters: The latest version of Sora has unleashed a torrent of fake videos into the feeds of every place people scroll. The sophisticated, high-quality videos can make it hard to distinguish AI from real footage.
From viral leggings to Oreo lookalikes to counterfeit toys, dupes are reshaping retail and forcing brands — and courts — to react.
Why it matters: These cheaper products have exploded into mainstream shopping, driven by consumer hunger for lower prices, plus a heavy dose of social media hype.
Everything's an economic indicator these days — from offbeat numbers on restaurant reservations and visits to the Statue of Liberty to more standard info on job listings.
Why it matters: Companies and investors are scrambling for alternatives to the data put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which halted almost all releases in the government shutdown.
