Five men are arrested near a U.S.-operated air base in Britain as investigators probe possible ties to Iran.
Plus, a powerful nor’easter floods coastal communities across the Northeast, with more rain and flooding possible Monday.
And the White House airs government-funded President Donald Trump ads, including one that resembles a 2024 campaign spot, prompting scrutiny over the use of taxpayer money.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Monday, Sept. 28, 2026.
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Investigators look into possible Iran connection after 5 arrested near US-operated air base in UK
Authorities arrested five men in connection with a possible terrorist plot targeting a US-operated air base in the UK. Investigators are examining whether the plot is linked to Iran.
British police said they received a call just after midnight Sunday about three suspicious vehicles heading toward RAF Fairford in southwestern England. Armed officers moved in, and five men are now being held on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act.
The base belongs to the U.K., but the U.S. operates it, and American bombers have used it to strike Iranian missile sites during the war.
Tehran has previously warned that bases used to attack Iran could become targets. Trump told reporters Sunday that the suspects had been under investigation for a “long time.”
“The arrest in the U.K. was fantastic, working with Britain. It was an amazing job. We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort. And working with the British worked out great. It may have been Scotland Yard. I don’t know; I worked with a lot of them. We had them under view for a long time, and we got them.”
President Donald Trump
Security around the base had been heightened even before the arrests. A local resident told Reuters that there have been more roadblocks and armed police in the area in recent days.
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JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP via Getty Images -
Leon Neal/Getty Images -
JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP via Getty Images
U.S. military officials said personnel at Fairford “remain vigilant,” and European Command said it will take appropriate measures to keep people on the base safe.
Iran says it’s ready to fight again as Trump rejects latest proposal
After rejecting Tehran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said more U.S. strikes against Iran before the midterms are still possible.
Iran’s foreign minister told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that his country is “fully prepared” if the fighting resumes, while insisting the door to diplomacy is still open.
“We are fully prepared for the time for the war to be resumed. And I repeat, we stand firm in the face of any new aggression, even when it comes to a doomsday war. But at the same time, we are ready; we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose. He wanted unconditional surrender in the previous war in two days, and now it’s been eight months that they are fighting with no result.”
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi
Over the weekend, Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal, which could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days and restart talks toward a broader deal.
But Araghchi said Trump’s rejection had not yet been officially relayed to Tehran. He said Iran’s proposal also called for releasing frozen Iranian assets and would allow the country to resume oil exports.
Powerful nor’easter keeps Northeast on edge as flood risk lingers
A powerful nor’easter continues to cause problems along the East Coast Monday morning after a weekend of heavy rain, strong winds and serious flooding.
The Jersey Shore is just one example. Streets turned into waterways this weekend, and people used canoes and small boats to get around. One business owner in North Beach Haven told The Associated Press it’s the worst flooding she’s seen there in a decade.
The storm also hit Long Island hard. Some areas got more than three inches of rain, and winds brought down trees and power lines.
At times on Sunday, more than 100,000 customers across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic were without power. The storm has also turned deadly. A tree fell on a 56-year-old New York City housing worker Saturday in Brooklyn, killing him.
While the storm weakens, it’s not quite done. More rain is possible through Monday night, with additional flooding possible from New Jersey into New England.
Trump ads air on taxpayer dime, White House calls them public service announcements
The White House has launched a series of TV ads featuring Trump, paid for by the U.S. government.
The newest one may look familiar. The 30-second spot, called “Final Battle,” shows Trump walking down a hallway in black and white while his voice describes a fight against “globalists,” “warmongers” and the “fake news media.” The 2024 version ended by asking viewers to join Trump’s campaign; this one ends with the disclosure, “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
The “Final Battle” spot aired over the weekend during college and NFL football games and other national programming. AdImpact, which tracks advertising spending, said more than $300,000 has been spent airing it.
“We will cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media, and we will liberate America from these villains once and for all.”
President Donald Trump, ‘Final Battle’ TV ad
But here’s what’s getting attention: The ad is nearly identical to a video Trump posted during his 2024 presidential campaign. That version featured his campaign logo and a text number.
The new version drops those and adds that government-funded disclaimer.
And it’s not the only one.
At least three government-funded Trump ads have aired in recent days.
Two other government-funded ads featuring Trump have also aired recently. One promotes administration policies while showing images of Trump and ends with UFC President Dana White praising him as the “toughest, most resilient” person he has ever met. Another features nighttime images of Mount Rushmore and clips from Trump’s July Fourth speech there.
Some Republicans have questioned the ads, too.
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy was asked about them on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday: “I don’t think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on private ads for themselves. Now, the White House sees it differently.”
And it does.
The White House called these public service announcements, saying they are “very clearly not campaign ads; President Trump is not on the ballot, and there is no call to action.”
Four Democratic lawmakers have demanded the White House take the ads down and disclose how much they cost.
In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, they called it an “egregious and illegal misuse” of taxpayer money.
SpaceX attempts first orbital Starship flight
SpaceX prepares to send its massive Starship rocket into orbit for the first time. On Monday morning, Starship will attempt its first orbital flight.
The plan involves circling the planet six times before splashing down in the Pacific near Chile approximately ten hours after launch.
Starship stands 407 feet tall, making it the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. SpaceX designed it to be fully reusable, a key part of the company’s plans for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
Targeting launch for 7:46 a.m. CT
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 28, 2026
Liftoff is scheduled from SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas during a 75-minute window opening at 8:15 a.m. ET.
This isn’t merely a rocket test; if everything proceeds smoothly, Starship will also launch 26 of SpaceX’s latest Starlink v3 satellites during the mission.
Giant pandas return to Atlanta on 10-year loan from China
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping didn’t settle all their differences last week, but they did come away with one pretty cute deliverable. Two giant pandas are now in Atlanta.
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang arrived Sunday morning aboard the “FedEx Panda Express” and are settling into their new home at Zoo Atlanta.
Zoo officials said they’ve expanded the panda facilities and are ensuring there’s plenty of local bamboo on the menu.
“We collaborated with our colleagues from the panda base to make our facilities bigger, so we made more space for pandas. We also want to ensure they have good food, good bamboo, so we are collecting a lot of bamboo from the Atlanta area to make sure they have plenty of food to eat.”
Dr. Sam Rivera, Vice President of Animal Health at Zoo Atlanta
The two arrivals bring giant pandas back to Atlanta for the first time since the zoo’s last four returned to China in 2024.
This is another round of what’s long been called “Panda diplomacy.” China has used the bears for decades as a gesture of goodwill, and Xi called this pair “envoys of friendship” between the Chinese and American people.
However, the public will have to wait a bit to meet them. Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will spend about a month in quarantine, and the zoo hasn’t announced their public debut yet.
Once they’re out, they’ll have plenty of time to get comfortable. They’re on loan to Atlanta for the next 10 years.
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Despite habitat restoration, those once-in-17-year cicada broods still face extinction
The sound of cicadas, for many, is the sound of summer. Some, the aptly named annual cicadas, emerge every year.
Periodical cicadas, though, only emerge from the ground every 13 or 17 years, depending on the species. And there’s a growing risk they won’t come up at all.
Researchers at the University of Iowa said in a study published in the scientific journal Ecology this month that periodical cicadas have a chance of going extinct — just as two other broods and one other species have.
One factor researchers cited was the loss of forests in the Eastern United States.
