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## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ

### Definition

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| Attribute | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
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*   TIME's newsroom is led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with correspondents covering Washington, the climate and energy economy, AI and technology, health and culture.
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*   TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=76a15af0-5001-42f2-b6b9-12572193cfb2&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1), separate from a paid subscription.

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Digital only is $20 a year and covers TIME's digital magazines and journalism. Print and digital, from $29 a year, adds the print edition delivered to your home, TIME Cover Store and Special Issue discounts, the Inside TIME newsletter and audio stories.

#### Is TIME a reliable news source?

TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923. Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers.

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>TIMEhttps://time.com/<!\[CDATA\[Breaking news and analysis from TIME.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science and entertainment news.\]\]>Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:29:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1<!\[CDATA\[25 Years After 9/11 | Stories of Resilience from the TIME Archive\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/11/25-years-after-911-stories-of-resilience-from-archive/<!\[CDATA\[U.S.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[TIME looks back 25 years after 9/11 with stories from the archive honoring the victims and the resilience of the survivors.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

TIME looks back 25 years after 9/11 with stories from the archive honoring the victims and the resilience of the survivors.

TIME looks back 25 years after 9/11 with stories from the archive honoring the victims and the resilience of the survivors.

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blte3302b4628e01b29 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 21:19:03 +0000<!\[CDATA\[TIME Video\]\]><!\[CDATA\[U.S. Diesel Prices Just Surpassed a Record $6 Per Gallon. Here Are Three Ways That Affects You\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/11/us-diesel-prices-record-high-impact-groceries-american-consumers/<!\[CDATA\[U.S.\]\]><!\[CDATA\["Not everyone drives on diesel, but everyone consumes on diesel," an expert tells TIME, detailing one of the ways American consumers may bear the brunt of the soaring diesel prices.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[David Paul Morris—Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[A gas station sign displaying diesel prices in San Jose, California, on Sept. 10, 2026.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5725e18c428acd92/6aa41838220bec5527b7580d/GettyImages-2294150856.jpg?branch=production)

A gas station sign displaying diesel prices in San Jose, California, on Sept. 10, 2026\. —David Paul Morris—Getty Images

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3719081d88d848ee/6aa418e1f65bda1ed80216d8/grocery-shopping-diesel-sep11.jpg?branch=production)

A shopper looking at produced offered for sale at a grocery store in Chicago, Illinois, on Sept. 10, 2026 —Scott Olson—Getty Images

Diesel prices in the U.S. soared past $6 a gallon Friday for the first time ever, and experts predict the costs will fall back on the [consumer](https://time.com/article/2026/06/18/top-10-percent-global-consumers-biggest-climate-impact/) through steeper prices for everyday staples.

The U.S.-Iran war has severely [disrupted the flow of oil](https://time.com/article/2026/09/09/iran-us-base-jordan-oil-tankers-war-strikes/), with the national average of diesel now $6.06 a gallon according to the [American Automobile Association](https://gasprices.aaa.com/), up from $5.85 last week, as renewed hostilities persist. By comparison, the national average this time last year was around [$3.71](https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EMD%5FEPD2D%5FPTE%5FNUS%5FDPG&f=W).

The spike in fuel prices has been driven by higher oil prices. The price of benchmark Brent crude oil, a key ingredient in diesel, spiked to [$109](https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/brent-crude-oil) per barrel Thursday, amid widening regional instability. The active hostilities between Washington and Tehran are largely focused on the [Strait of Hormuz](https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/what-is-the-strait-of-hormuz-global-trade-oil-flow-iran-war/), but [the advances of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis](https://time.com/article/2026/09/11/yemen-houthi-red-sea-bab-el-mandeb-shipping-iran-war/) pose fresh risks for the[ Bab el-Mandeb Strait](https://time.com/article/2026/07/15/iran-war-bab-el-mandeb-strait-trade-route-houthis-threat/), another key shipping route.

Continued disruption of the Red Sea chokepoint would be “devastating to the global supply of energy,” says Shuting Pomerleau, director of energy and environmental policy at the American Action Forum. A surge in Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries have also significantly impacted production, she adds, bringing daily exports of diesel fuel down [significantly ](https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Russias-Diesel-Exports-Crash-to-Multiyear-Low-amid-Tight-Global-Market.html)compared to last year and therefore pushing up global prices.

President Donald Trump [told](https://x.com/IngrahamAngle/status/2098207949063922124) an interviewer this week that he has no regrets over the Iran conflict. But the majority of Americans appear to disagree, with increased living costs, driven up by the war, proving to be a sticking point ahead of the November midterms. 64% of U.S. adults surveyed in late July said that the conflict with Iran has been “not worth fighting,” according to a [poll](https://apnews.com/article/trump-approval-iran-war-poll-republicans-election-55e9c80afec521d87f131393a59674c0) conducted by the Associated Press. Furthermore, a [Reuters/Ipsos survey](https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2026-08/Reuters%20Ipsos%20August%20Core%20Political%20Topline.pdf) of American adults conducted between Aug. 21-24 found that 74% of respondents felt their cost of living was moving on the wrong track.

The surge in diesel prices has sparked fresh concerns. While only around [3%](https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicle-registration?year=2025) of passenger cars on American roads use diesel, it’s[ relied upon ](https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/diesel-fuel/use-of-diesel.php)for heavy transport, construction, farming, and military vehicles. Around 75% of all diesel consumption in the U.S. came from the transportation sector in 2025, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Pomerleau says that diesel's wider range of performance in terms of efficiency and safety makes it more desirable for heavy vehicles. “Diesel fuel has greater energy density than other liquid fuels, so it provides more useful energy per unit of volume,” she explains.

Higher diesel prices undoubtedly make an impact at the pump. In California, the average price climbed to [$7.98](https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=CA) on Friday, the highest average of any state in the country.

Estimating that prices in California could go beyond $8 per gallon, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, has [warned](https://x.com/GasBuddyGuy/status/2097115008840728677): “Some pumps aren't even built to display what could come next.”

But with diesel a key component for several industries, American consumers can expect to [experience](https://time.com/article/2026/03/18/gas-groceries-war-in-iran-cost-of-living-crisis/) steeper prices elsewhere too, experts say, and that’s on top of cost of living increases they’ve already experienced this year.

Here are three key ways the rise in diesel prices could impact you directly:

### Perishables at the grocery store

Diesel is integral to the food supply chain. Foods that require refrigeration and are transported long distances ahead of landing on the grocery store shelves are most likely to see price increases.

U.S. Department of Agriculture [data](https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-dollar/summary-findings) suggests that energy, transport, and storage costs contribute to over 7% of total food costs. If these costs rise due to higher diesel prices, experts say perishable goods stand to be most impacted. 

“The goods that need lots of refrigeration and are on long routes of transport that are perishable, so the vegetables, meat and dairy, those are more exposed to \[diesel costs\],” Bernhard Dalheimer, assistant professor in food economics at Purdue University, tells TIME.

Price increases could take a while to be seen at the grocery store, though, as Dalheimer notes shifts in costs can travel “very slowly through the food pipeline.” But when they do trickle down, the increase is more likely to impact lower income families. “These could be small price changes, but [people with lower incomes spend a higher proportion](https://www.chn.org/voices/economic-impact-of-the-iranian-conflict-hits-low-and-middle-families/) of their income on food,” he explains.

A cost tracking system from Brown University's Watson School of International and Public Affairs has found an [extra $789.75 per U.S. household](https://iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu/) has been spent on gasoline and diesel since the war began.

Consumers can expect higher rises in grocery prices during longer periods of higher fuel costs, data shows. A sustained 10-15% increase in fuel prices could result in a 2-4% increase in retail food prices, according to the [Independent Grocers Alliance](https://www.iga.com/insights/fuel-costs-global-conflict-and-what-it-means-for-grocery-prices).

The increased costs will also likely impact farmers and their margins. Dalheimer describes farmers as “price takers” who have little influence in determining market prices. 

“Their margins are being squeezed quite dramatically right now. They're under a lot of pressure,” says Dalheimer, explaining that producers have little alternatives than to take on the higher energy costs. “Combine harvesters, tractors and heavy transport trucks, they all need lots of energy and there isn’t an alternative to diesel,” he explains. 

“Farmers need to move all of their products from the farm to the grocery store shelves, so they have to pay for that extra cost, no matter how much that is,” adds Pomerleau, stressing that farmers still need to use diesel for agricultural machinery and transporting produce, regardless of fuel costs.

### Steeper charges for shipping and mailing 

Approximately 76% of the 17 million commercial vehicles in the U.S. are powered by diesel engines, [according](https://enginetechforum.org/trucking) to the [Engine Technology Forum](https://enginetechforum.org/trucking). As such, a lot of mail and shipping couriers have already passed on rising costs this year to consumers.

“Not everyone drives on diesel, but everyone consumes on diesel,” says Pomerleau, pointing toward how integral the fuel is to shipping and transportation.

Shipping and logistics provider UPS has introduced [fuel surcharges](https://www.ups.com/us/en/support/shipping-support/shipping-costs-rates/fuel-surcharges) on shipping since late June. These charges increased for the week commencing Sept. 14, with the domestic ground surcharge rising from 27.5% to 28.5%. 

In March, the U.S. Postal Service [sought](https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2026/0325-usps-announces-transportation-related-time-limited-price-change.htm) a 8% charge on certain domestic products, citing increasing transportation costs, which came into [effect](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/30/2026-06025/change-in-rates-of-general-applicability-for-competitive-products) in April up until January next year. 

Amazon also [introduced](https://apnews.com/article/amazon-surcharge-iran-war-oil-6b15b3bf56521e290063147697358f29) a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on U.S. and Canada-based third-party sellers earlier this year, in response to rising fuel costs following the onset of the Iran war.

### Homes that rely on heating oils

According to experts, households that use heating oils could also experience steeper prices.

Just under [5 million](https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/heating-oil/use-of-heating-oil.php) American households rely on heating oils, with most of these concentrated in the Northeast.

"Heating oil and diesel are very similar,” says Pomerleau. "Winter's coming. Some regions in the United States, for example, New England. If you look at the state of Massachusetts and Maine, a lot of households do use heating oil to heat their houses in the winter, and heating oil also comes from crude."

[Analysis](https://neada.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Iran-War-Family-Energy-Prices-Press-Release-Aug-28-2026.pdf) from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, published Aug. 27, when diesel was sitting at $5.45 a gallon, broke down the link between retail diesel prices and heating oil costs.

“Last winter, residential heating-oil prices averaged about $3.98 a gallon. Retail heating-oil prices averaged about 1.02 times the retail diesel price over the same period,” reads the analysis. “With retail diesel now at $5.45 a gallon, that relationship suggests a current heating-oil price of about $5.55 a gallon. For a representative oil-heated household using 450 gallons during the winter, that would mean a heating bill of about $2,497.”

Remarking on how diesel is practically indistinguishable from home heating oil, Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, told [CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/11/business/6-dollar-diesel-effects): “Consumers who use heating oil for their home are going to have quite a sticker shock when they get the first delivery for the season."

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt6fedb09243399c80 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 20:25:45 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Callum Sutherland\]\]><!\[CDATA\[How Trump’s Proposed Census Changes Could Impact States’ Funding—and Political Power\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/11/trump-us-census-changes-proposal-state-federal-funding-congressional-seats/<!\[CDATA\[Politics\]\]><!\[CDATA\[The proposals, which would exclude people who are not U.S. citizens and don’t have permanent residency from the census count, could have a sweeping—and unequal—effect.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[U.S. Census 2020 mailings are arranged for a photograph in Arlington, Virginia, on March 24, 2020.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte7cc603ea3506b5c/6aa455bc40a0cf24e0aef693/Census-Trump-Changes.jpg?branch=production)

U.S. Census 2020 mailings are arranged for a photograph in Arlington, Virginia, on March 24, 2020\. —Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Trump Administration is proposing making changes to the [U.S. census](https://time.com/7308223/undocumented-immigrants-census-trump/) that could have a sweeping—and unequal—impact on the federal funding and [congressional representation](https://time.com/5217763/census-citizenship-question-immigration/) that states receive.

The [proposals](https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-18481.pdf), which still need to go through an approval process before being enacted, were publicly shared by the Administration earlier this week. In the document, the Trump Administration proposes excluding people who are not U.S. citizens and don’t have permanent residency from the census count. It also proposes barring census officials from including some demographic questions, such as ones about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, in the questionnaire.

If the changes are approved, they would upend the federal government’s understanding of the country’s population, which would have cascading effects on the resources allocated to certain states.

Here’s what to know about the census, the proposed changes, and which states could be impacted most heavily by the proposals.

## What is the census?

The [U.S. census](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html) takes place every 10 years, as required by the Constitution. The purpose of the census is to count every person residing in the U.S. The results are then used to help allot the appropriate number of seats to each state in the House of Representatives, as well as to redraw electoral districts. The federal government also uses the data collected in the official count to help decide how to allocate funding to states.

The next census will take place in 2030.

## What are Trump’s proposed changes to the census?

The Trump Administration is proposing that census officials add a question related to citizenship to the questionnaire, and exclude people who are undocumented immigrants and non-citizens without permanent resident status in the official count. That would mean that immigrants who are in the country legally but do not have green cards would not be included in the tally.

“Illegal aliens (among others) should not be included in the apportionment count, as they are not true inhabitants, members of the body politic, or persons with a ‘usual residence’ in the United States due to their lack of a sufficient tie and allegiance to the United States,” the Administration argued in the document shared online this week.

The Trump Administration is also suggesting barring census officials from including certain demographic questions, such as ones about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, on the questionnaire. The Administration argued that the official tally “should be colorblind and should not be distorted in any way by questions about immaterial personal characteristics.” It also claimed that “the (potentially) sensitive nature of questions about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation,” as well as “the reduced need for or usefulness of this information” were other reasons it was suggesting excluding the topics from the national survey.

The census has included questions about race and ethnicity since the [very first count in 1790](https://www.pewresearch.org/feature/what-census-calls-us/).

These proposed changes are expected to be met with legal challenges. Many politicians, advocates, and experts have previously objected to the suggestion of excluding topics such as race and ethnicity from the survey.

“If you change what the census counts, then you change where the money can help most,” two staffers working in federal data policy for the Federation of American Scientists wrotein a [post](https://fas.org/publication/public-health-cost-eliminating-race-data/) on the group’s website. “Removing race and ethnicity from federal forms and surveys would leave the country unable to measure who is getting sick and dying at higher rates, unable to direct prevention programs to the communities carrying the heaviest burden, and unable to tell whether any of it is working as intended.”

“Removing race and ethnicity data does not make health disparities go away,” the post continued. “It merely makes them harder to find, harder to measure, and harder to fix.”

## Which states could be most impacted if the proposed changes go into effect?

If the proposed changes are approved and go into effect for the upcoming 2030 census, they would have a disproportionate impact on certain states—for instance, ones that have larger populations of undocumented immigrants and non-citizens without permanent residency.

According to the [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/08/21/u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-population-reached-a-record-14-million-in-2023/), the six states that had “the largest unauthorized immigrant populations” in 2023 were California, with 2.3 million; Texas, with 2.1 million; Florida, with 1.6 million; New York, with 825,000; New Jersey, with 600,000; and Illinois, with 550,000\. The term “unauthorized immigrant” includes undocumented immigrants as well as some immigrants who have authorization to live or work in the country—for instance, asylum applicants and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients are included in that label.

If the proposed census changes take effect, then those six states—as well as others with a large number of undocumented immigrants and non-citizens without permanent residency—could lose seats in the House of Representatives, as well as experience cuts in federal funding, as a result of the exclusion of hundreds of thousands or even millions of their residents from the count.

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt90ff5b71c6b7bb09 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 20:12:32 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Chantelle Lee\]\]><!\[CDATA\[How El Niño Will Impact Fall and Winter Weather in the U.S.\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/11/el-nino-fall-winter-weather-us/<!\[CDATA\[Climate\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Experts explain how a super El Niño will impact extreme weather.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Camilo Freedman—Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[A boat on cracked ground at Lake Guija during drought conditions in Metapan, El Salvador, on Sept. 1, 2026.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78320884aa965b5e/6aa451873e4403674844106f/elnino-weather.jpg?branch=production)

A boat on cracked ground at Lake Guija during drought conditions in Metapan, El Salvador, on Sept. 1, 2026\. —Camilo Freedman—Getty Images

With fall slowly creeping up, experts are warning of a [record strong El Niño](https://time.com/article/2026/04/10/super-el-nino-2026-what-to-know/), colloquially dubbed “super El Niño.” The weather event is expected to impact global temperatures and rainfall, and could increase the risk of [extreme weather events](https://time.com/article/2026/08/21/el-nino-economic-business-disruption/) in some parts of the world.

## What is El Niño?

[El Niño](https://time.com/article/2026/08/31/how-to-prepare-super-el-nino/), and its opposite La Niña, are [climate](https://time.com/section/climate/) patterns that naturally occur in the tropical Pacific. El Niño years tend to see warmer than average waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, while [La Niña](https://mavensnotebook.com/explainers/el-nino-and-la-nina-what-do-they-mean-for-california/) years are associated with colder than average water temperatures. 

The corresponding weather events triggered by the warmer ocean can have a varied and strong impact around the globe. With El Niño, forecasters are expecting to see stormier weather in some parts of the world and drought conditions in others. 

“Pacific sea surface temperatures are going to vary at least two degrees from the average. That means the Pacific waters are going to be warmer than normal, and we can expect a lot of evaporation,” says Risper Nyairo, assistant professor in the department of environmental studies at Davidson College. That evaporation means more moisture in the sky in some areas which can lead to more rain. Meanwhile evaporation over dry land can [increase](https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing%5Fthe%5FEarth/FutureEO/Space%5Ffor%5Four%5Fclimate/El%5FNino%5Fs%5Fimpact%5Fon%5Fcontinental%5Fevaporation) drought. 

El Niño typically peaks in the last few months of the year, but will remain active in the beginning of 2027\. Forecasts are predicting that this year’s El Niño will be the strongest in recorded history. “The ocean conditions in the tropical Pacific are pushing towards record warmth,” says Marty Ralph, director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, and research meteorologist at UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 

The warmer oceans, coupled with already record warming due to climate change, means that 2027 could shape up to be the warmest year on record. The World Meteorological Organization has also [warned](https://library.wmo.int/viewer/69926/download?file=WMO-El-Nino-Aug-2026%5Fen.pdf&type=pdf&navigator=1) that a strong El Niño could raise the risk of extreme weather events going into next year.

Australia, Indonesia, and parts of Southern Africa, including Zambia and Zimbabwe, are likely to see drier than average conditions. Parts of South America, including Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay, and East African countries will experience more rainfall than usual. 

## What does El Niño mean for fall and winter weather in the U.S.?

U.S. residents don’t have to sound the alarm over El Niño, says Patrick Rafter, assistant professor in the College of Marine Science at USF. “For the most part, I don't see a monster El Niño event as anything the continental U.S. has to be overly concerned with.”

Historically, El Niño often brings a warmer than usual winter to the northern U.S., and a wetter, cooler winter in the south, with a higher likelihood for rain and snow. It can also increase the likelihood of tornadoes in areas receiving wetter weather. 

“We will likely see less severe or less frequent hurricanes, but probably more severe tornadoes with severe storms,” says Nyairo. 

El Niño years are typically associated with quieter hurricane years off the Atlantic. This year, the Atlantic hurricane season reached its [peak](https://weather.com/2026/09/10/storms/hurricane/atlantic-hurricane-season-quiet-during-peak-september) without a single storm. The Pacific, however, has seen an [unusually](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-pacific-is-being-beset-by-hurricane-after-hurricane-why-is-the-atlantic-so-quiet/) active hurricane season. 

Along the west coast, El Niño could [bring](https://www.cnn.com/climate/el-nino-california-sea-levels-coastal-flooding) bigger waves and higher sea levels. The weather event also creates a higher risk of wildfires in areas with dry conditions. 

The predictions, experts note, are just that. “There tend to be patterns that generally occur, but they aren't always guaranteed outcomes,” says Ralph. The Indian Ocean Dipole, which impacts sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean, and the Madden-Julian Oscillation, a tropical atmospheric phenomenon that influences rainfall, are among some of the other modes of climate variability that can also impact weather patterns alongside El Niño. 

Atmospheric rivers, narrow regions of the atmosphere that can carry moisture thousands of miles, can also disrupt El Niño conditions—particularl in California, where they often occur. 

“We've seen since 2000 roughly that some of the El Niño years when we expect it to be relatively dry down in SoCal, it's ended up being unusually wet,” says Ralph. 

Regardless, a strong El Niño has the potential to have long lasting impacts for communities around the world. “The increased rainfall or intense drought cascades into other impacts on society,” says Nyairo. “Lives may be lost in unprepared societies. There could be property damage. There could be other related natural hazards… There's a myriad of impacts.”

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=bltd4e50ddbbbd54e2d Fri, 11 Sep 2026 19:26:33 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Simmone Shah\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Nighttime Light Exposure Is Linked to Heart Changes\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/11/light-exposure-at-night-is-linked-to-heart-changes/<!\[CDATA\[Health\]\]><!\[CDATA\[A new study suggests the heart may work overtime to handle the stress of light at night.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Edwin Tan—Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c54b735b48eee82/6aa4307ff65bda01bf021752/GettyImages-1321502112.jpg?branch=production)

 —Edwin Tan—Getty Images

For most of human history, night has been dark. Very, very dark—no hall light on, no streetlights streaming through the windows, no TV casting ambient light in the next room. Now, however, it’s rare to find yourself in total darkness. 

Recent research has found that might be a problem. Light exposure at night has been [linked to](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9995772/) higher rates of diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. Last year, researchers [connected it](https://time.com/7339298/dark-bedroom-sleep-night-heart-health/) to higher rates of heart failure and other [cardiovascular problems](https://time.com/article/2026/04/13/heart-disease-is-preventable-sadiya-khan-essay/) over 10 years. 

Publishing in the _European Heart Journal_ on September 9, another research team [now reports](https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehag563/8770409?login=false) that compared to people sleeping in darkness, people exposed to light at night tend to have structural changes in their hearts. The changes indicate that the organ is working harder than usual, the researchers say, providing further support for the idea that nighttime light exposure is connected to worse cardiovascular outcomes.

## **How does light at night affect health?**

This study drew on data from fitness monitors that were worn for a week by a subset of participants in the UK Biobank, which collects health and lifestyle information on half a million people.The monitors contain a light sensor, which allows for an objective measurement of light exposure, says Dr. Lu Qi, a professor of epidemiology at Tulane University and an author of the new study. “That's very unique, because most previous studies have used self-reported light exposure,” he says. 

The other unique feature of the study involved cardiac MRIs that were taken of peoples’ hearts after they had worn the fitness monitors but before they developed any diagnosable heart problems. After sorting the participants into those with minimal light exposure at night, and those who routinely slept with at least 3 lux of light streaming over them (the equivalent of roughly three candles held three feet away), the researchers examined these scans for structural and functional changes, like the thickness of the heart’s walls and the movement of the valves that keep blood pumping.

They found that the hearts of people exposed to nighttime light had thicker walls and were less effective at pumping. These changes do not themselves indicate heart disease, but precede its development, says Qi. 

These results—correlational as they are—add greater detail to the picture sketched by earlier work finding a correlation between light at night and a higher risk of heart disease, says Angus Burns, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School who [co-wrote a paper last year on the trend](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2840489). “They show the same associations of light at night with stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure,” he says. “The place where it really extends the literature is the MRI scans of the heart, which was fantastic.” 

## **How much light is too much light?**

With this kind of study, it’s impossible to eliminate the possibility that these heart problems and light exposure are both linked with another unknown factor in these people’s lives. But overall, the research suggests that light exposure at night may be a driver of metabolic and cardiovascular problems. 

It’s not entirely clear what was causing the light exposure seen in the data—whether it was lights on elsewhere in the house, lights on in the room, a tablet or other screen on nearby, or perhaps a television left on. But for the moment, the best rule of thumb is to get the room as dark as possible, these studies suggest. It’s also long been a core tenet of sleep hygiene. Turn off the hall light. Put up blackout curtains. Draw an eye mask over your eyes—and know that it could be helping your heart. 

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt1196dbf0b45c32e1 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 17:19:36 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Veronique Greenwood\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Why a Divided BRICS Poses No Challenge to America\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/11/brics-china-india-new-delhi-summit-america/<!\[CDATA\[Ideas\]\]><!\[CDATA\[BRICS is unlikely to become an anti-American or anti-Western power bloc anytime soon, and its clout is already limited by the rivalry between China and India.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Arun SANKAR-AFP via Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[A journalist reports from the venue of the upcoming BRICS Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on September 11, 2026.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf81d62151f9cfd80/6aa400b61960411ccff4b47b/GettyImages-2294082834.jpg?branch=production)

A journalist reports from the venue of the upcoming BRICS Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on September 11, 2026\. —Arun SANKAR-AFP via Getty Images

When the leaders of BRICS, the bloc of emerging economies, gather in New Delhi on Saturday for [their 18th summit](https://www.reuters.com/world/china/india-hosts-brics-summit-iran-war-tests-bloc-unity-2026-09-10/), they will have plenty to talk about. The group began with Brazil, Russia, India and China, then added South Africa in 2010\. It has since [expanded](https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/03/brics-expansion-and-the-future-of-world-order-perspectives-from-member-states-partners-and-aspirants) to include 11 countries. 

The leaders and diplomats of BRICS member states are meeting in New Delhi to consider how their combined political and economic muscle might be used to build an alternative to the American-led global order. In some ways, President Donald Trump’s refusal to allow America play its traditional postwar leadership role has created new opportunities for the bloc. Yet its ambitions remain constrained by an inconvenient fact: India, China, Russia and Brazil do not align particularly well.

Here are the dynamics to watch this weekend. India, the host, wants the summit to accomplish as much as possible without antagonizing the United States. India continues to value the stability of [its relationship with Washington](https://www.foreignaffairs.com/india/india-sticking-america-now), particularly as a counterbalance to China’s expanding influence in Asia and beyond. India, along with Brazil, has also resisted Russian and Chinese calls for [a common BRICS currency](https://www.firstpost.com/business/brics-2026-common-currency-reduce-reliance-us-dollar-14042442.html) and new lending to sanctions-hit Russia. 

For its part, China is seeking to extend its global influence. For President Xi Jinping, this summit is another stage in an international roadshow that has included a leading role at this year’s [Shanghai Cooperation Organization](https://apnews.com/article/shanghai-cooperation-organization-russia-china-india-cf543dfad0a20097ed4c2b415a26e8b4) gathering in Kyrgyzstan, a [visit to Egypt](https://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2026/09/xi-egypt-visit-key-takeaways-china) to help mediate the ongoing war in the Middle East and, later this month, [a state visit](https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/exclusive-chinas-xi-bring-large-ceo-delegation-us-visit-sources-say-2026-09-04/) to the White House. 

In Delhi, Xi hopes to present China as a stable, predictable alternative to American influence. He will also seek to erode the dollar’s continuing dominance as [the world’s principal reserve currency](https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/dollar-worlds-reserve-currency) by promoting more channels for nondollar lending, the wider use of the renminbi to settle trade, and progress toward linking digital payment systems, an effort India has long resisted. 

Given the sometimes [violent border clashes](https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/12/negotiating-the-india-china-standoff-2020-2024) between China and India in recent years, observers will also be watching Xi’s and Modi’s body language closely. Despite their differences on key agenda items, they are likely to be all smiles. Neither has an interest in airing grievances. India, as host, wants a smooth show. China, which will host next year’s summit, also wants a positive atmosphere. And Xi’s overriding goal is to present his country as a mature and constructive global leader. 

Russia, of course, wants whatever diplomatic, political, and economic support it can get for its [stalemated war](https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-grinding-war-ukraine) with Ukraine. Brazil, meanwhile, hopes to forge new economic linkages and reaffirm its commitment to being a full BRICS partner, even as some fear that [a Flavio Bolsonaro victory](https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/poll-suggests-brazils-bolsonaro-would-beat-lula-by-one-point-runoff-2026-09-08/) in next month’s presidential election could undermine the country’s commitment to the bloc. 

The founders will not be the only delegations in attendance. Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, all new members, will be there, introducing fresh tensions into the agenda and some awkward photo calls. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the UAE’s leader Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, however, are expected to dispatch lesser officials in their place. 

The central question is how the summit’s final communiqué will address the war. The recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit [produced](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/1/sco-slams-attacks-sanctions-on-iran-key-takeaways-from-bishkek-summit) a final document that included implicit criticism of the United States and Israel. We will see whether the UAE delegation allows for similar language from Delhi. 

Whatever emerges from the gathering, BRICS is unlikely to become an anti-American or anti-Western power bloc anytime soon. Its clout is already limited by the rivalry between China and India. The four founding members also have divergent interests whenever a conflict carries major consequences for energy markets: Russia and Brazil are major exporters who want higher energy prices while China and India, as major importers, prefer lower ones. 

Equally important, the bloc now includes American treaty allies or longstanding partners, among them the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Their presence will impose another check on BRICS’s ambitions. All of them want to hedge against dependence on an increasingly unpredictable America. Most of them also want to preserve a stable relationship with the global superpower. 

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt4bff82293501856c Fri, 11 Sep 2026 14:30:00 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Ian Bremmer\]\]><!\[CDATA\[How the Bold and Bloody True Story Behind The Uprising Reverberates Through History\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/08/the-true-story-behind-the-uprising/<!\[CDATA\[Entertainment\]\]><!\[CDATA\[How Paul Greengrass approached his account of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, which stars Andrew Garfield as an anonymous rebel with nothing left to lose.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Courtesy of Focus Features\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Andrew Garfield in The Uprising\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e15ed42efda7f23/6aa0b9ddc00320838dee8eb6/4261_D027_00165rc.jpg?branch=production)

Andrew Garfield in The Uprising —Courtesy of Focus Features

The wind reaches the fens of eastern England before the light does, moving over the marshes in long gray sweeps. [Andrew Garfield](https://time.com/7098608/andrew-garfield-tim-walz-gentle-masculinity/), muddied and short of breath, labors through it: a farmer with his ox, cutting furrows into the land. His character, Ploughman, is a man who refers to himself simply by what he does. Grief has pared him down to labor and memory. The plague took his wife and children, and all that remains is a hut, the animal that shares it through the winter for warmth, and the daily toll of survival. It’s slow and thankless work, the kind a kingdom takes for granted as readily as the earth beneath its feet.

That lone farmer anchors Paul Greengrass’ new film _The Uprising_, in theaters Sept. 11\. Written and directed by Greengrass, the filmmaker’s deepest reach into the past yet dramatizes the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, when tens of thousands of English commoners, taxed past endurance in the long shadow of the Black Death, marched on London to demand a fairer world. Around Garfield, Greengrass assembled a cast that includes Jamie Bell as the rebel priest John Ball, Cosmo Jarvis as the revolt’s military leader Wat Tyler, [Thomasin McKenzie](https://time.com/5322675/thomasin-mckenzie-leave-no-trace/) as Alyce, a fictional follower of Ball, Woody Norman as the boy king [Richard II](https://time.com/5707035/the-king-netflix-true-story/), and Katherine Waterston as the Countess, Richard II’s mother.

The film follows its hero from fens to road and road to London, then London toward the forest—as private grief grows into collective fury and fury reaches the gates of power. Beneath the armor and beyond the crowds, Greengrass’ epic hinges on the moment when people long treated as expendable begin to act on their claim to dignity and agency.

Greengrass invented Ploughman for the film, but the forces pressing in on him are no invention. The director opted not to build _The Uprising_ around one of the revolt’s historical figures, such as Tyler or Ball. “I didn’t want my central character to be a soldier or a priest,” he tells TIME. “I wanted him to be emblematic of all the tens of thousands of people who rose up. They were all ordinary farmers, ordinary people who lived in villages and small towns, who’d had enough.”

That decision turns a vast uprising into the story of one man whose loss forces him to confront the larger indignities of the world that remains. Garfield recognized that feeling across centuries. “I think that everyone watching will feel that connection,” he says. “A kind of sense of: What do you do in the face of such grave injustice? How do we heal? How do we fight for our right to live a life of freedom and of dignity, and of connection?”

## **A glimpse of what life could be**

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf10ec3a02db94b4f/6aa3132fb3e3cb9479d585e9/4261_D048_00274rc.jpg?branch=production)

Tom Hollander as Treasurer Hales, Woody Norman as King Richard II and Katherine Waterston as The Countess —Courtesy fo Focus Features

The Black Death reached England in the summer of 1348, most likely aboard ships that came into the Dorset port of Melcombe. Moving through the country at an estimated one to five miles a day, it reached London by November and, within two years, killed as much as half of England’s population. In its wake, whole villages were left empty. The horror was intimate and unrelenting: households vanished, kin buried kin, and parishes lost the priests who once baptized and married their people. Fields went to weed, and livestock wandered untended; the familiar rhythms of rural life gave way to an eerie void. 

The plague also changed the terms on which the survivors lived. Labor became scarcer, and scarce labor has a price. “What life _could_ be is probably at the heart of this whole story,” says Dan Jones, the historian whose 2009 book _Summer of Blood_ remains a defining account of the revolt. “Basic economics tell us that if you lose half the people, wages should go up. Rent should come down. Life for survivors ought, in theory, to get better.” Those left standing had reason to believe that life might improve.

That possibility ran up against what Jones calls the “vested interests of power structures.” In England, he says, the government “immediately passes laws to suppress wages”: It imposed a maximum wage and sent judges into the countryside to enforce it. Mass death had made the old hierarchy newly fragile, and Parliament moved to restore it, with the laborer kept in his place and the landowner’s command protected.

Then came the demands of war. England’s long conflict with France, a struggle over disputed territory as well as English claims to the French crown, continued, ruinous as ever, even as the plague cut the tax base and diminished the country’s productive power. The crown’s answer was a series of poll taxes, imposed on a population already strained by loss, labor restrictions, and military levies. There is, Jones says, “a class analysis to this rebellion”: elites were “taking aim squarely at the ordinary people,” first preventing them from improving their lot and then taxing them in ways they had not faced before.

By the spring of 1381, deprivation gave way to imagination. People who ached for a better life were being ordered back into the old one, by statute and tax collector alike. The revolt drew force from a realization that threatened every hierarchy above it: the social order was made by people, and people could change it.

## **When the country catches light** 

Thomasin McKenzie as Alyce, Jamie Bell as John Ball, and Andrew Garfield as Ploughman —Courtesy of Focus Features

It began at the end of May, when villagers in Essex turned on the commissioners sent to collect the tax from them yet again. Within days, the uprising spread to Kent. On June 7, Tyler, likely a veteran of the French wars, emerged at the head of the Kentish rebels, who freed Ball, who had been jailed for seditious preaching, from the Archbishop’s prison at Maidstone; by June 10, they entered Canterbury.

The couplet most famously associated with Ball put the rebellion’s challenge in a single question: “When Adam delved and Eve span, who then was the gentleman?” In a kingdom that understood rank as God’s design, the question was revolutionary. Adam worked the soil and Eve spun thread; no aristocrat stood beside them. So who, the couplet asks, gave one class the right to rule another?

Jones describes Tyler and Ball as the revolt’s two hands, one holding the sword and the other the scriptures. Tyler brought military organization; Ball gave the movement its moral argument. “Between them, they create a very potent movement, because it’s not only organized but it’s radicalized,” Jones says.

The name history settled on undersells the people who rose up. “It’s a very broad coalition,” Jones says, and the term “Peasants’ Revolt,” a historian’s term, can “obscure just what a wide range of people were involved.” This was not a rising merely of the utterly destitute. Whole villages moved with their structures intact: local leaders, parish priests trusted with their neighbors’ souls, craftsmen, and laborers, were joined in the capital by Londoners keeping their own accounts of unfairness. By Jones’ estimate, the coalition’s grievances ran through some 85% of the country, aimed at a thin sliver at the top—not at the king, whom they claimed as their own, but at the advisers, bishops, aristocrats, and officials they believed corrupted the realm.

Women were certainly among the rebels. The surviving records place them at critical moments, including the storming of the Tower of London. Jones calls the revolt a “truly popular movement,” one that did not require its participants to possess the formal power otherwise held by men in a patriarchal society.

What happened inside the city is the part no telling can sanitize. The rebels threw open the prisons and set fire to the New Temple, a Thames-side compound where lawyers-in-training lived and kept the books and records that helped sustain the kingdom’s legal order. They breached the Tower itself, where the king sheltered, dragged out the two men they blamed for the tax, Archbishop Simon Sudbury and Treasurer Robert Hales, and beheaded them.

Jones contends the revolt demands two judgments at once. The grievances were real, and the people were being exploited. But the rising also became brutal, with violence extending beyond royal officials to others who were perceived as enemies of the revolt but had no hand in the tax. “You have to say that this was a good cause, _and_ the rebellion got hideously out of control,” he says.

By midsummer, the revolt reached its breaking point. Richard II was 14, a boy raised from infancy to believe he was fated to save the realm. On June 14, he rode out to meet the rebels and granted their demands, the abolition of serfdom among them. At Smithfield the following day, Tyler was killed during a parley with the king’s entourage. Richard calmed the crowds by declaring they would have no leader but him, then turned against the rising. Within weeks, he canceled the freedom charters granted in London. His government hunted down the movement’s leaders and executed them, and the king is said to have told the petitioners that serfs they were and serfs they would remain, on terms harsher than before.

There is a catch in knowing this version of events. Many chroniclers were churchmen, and the church was among the rebels’ targets. The legal records are rich, Jones says, but were created from the “perspective of the suppression of the rebellion.” Historians, he says, “have to read against the sources.” The archive preserves the rebellion mostly as seen by those who feared or punished it.

## **A hero the record never named**

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc482ba2215eec15b/6aa311d545f793423217106c/4261_FP_00008.jpg?branch=production)

Garfield and the rebels —Courtesy of Focus Features

_The Uprising_ grew from an ambition Greengrass held for years. The filmmaker behind [_United 93_](https://time.com/archive/6676849/lets-roll-inside-the-making-of-united-93/), [_Captain Phillips_](https://time.com/archive/6644764/hollywoods-moment-of-truth/), [_The Lost Bus_](https://time.com/7314530/the-lost-bus-true-story-paul-greengrass/), and three of the [_Bourne_](https://time.com/4424040/jason-bourne-movie-review/) films had long wanted to make a historical epic in the tradition of [_Gladiator_](https://time.com/7178474/gladiator-2-connections-original/) and [_Braveheart_](https://time.com/archive/6726721/cinema-another-highland-fling/). The material found him during the [COVID-19 pandemic](https://time.com/6898943/is-covid-19-still-pandemic-2024/). He began writing on the second day of lockdown, when there were no vaccines and no way of knowing how far the crisis would spread. The last pandemic on that scale led him back to the 14th century. By the time Jones first met with Greengrass, a map of London during the rebellion was already hanging in the director’s office. Soon, the filmmaker says, the period felt “eerily contemporary.”

The script’s first title shows how early the film had ties to the [Robin Hood legend](https://time.com/5569410/robin-hood-legend-history/). “When I wrote it in lockdown, it was called _The Hood_ because of the ending,” he says. Ploughman begins as a farmer, but his journey ends beyond the reach of the king’s law, in the forest. That turn places him beside an outlaw tradition already circulating in the late 14th century. William Langland’s _Piers Plowman_, the poem that helped inspire Greengrass’ protagonist, contains the earliest known written reference to [Robin Hood](https://time.com/archive/7073775/robin-hood-through-the-ages/), evidence that tales of the outlaw were already familiar before the surviving ballads were committed to writing.

Jones sees the Peasants’ Revolt and medieval outlaw tales, including stories of Robin Hood, as products of the same political world: one in which ordinary people saw legal authority serving the powerful rather than protecting them. The early Robin Hood was no polished folk hero, Jones says, but a violent, devout yeoman pushed to society’s edge by corrupt officials. Its central tension was the “fundamental difference between law and justice.” As Greengrass puts it, at a time when people “felt powerless and betrayed,” they told stories “about outlaws who stood up to power when they couldn’t.”

That rich idea shaped Greengrass’ choice of hero. Tyler and Ball could have supplied the film with a soldier and a priest, two historical figures already established in the record. Instead, the filmmaker begins with a farmer at the first spark in Essex, then follows him as the uprising gathers people, reaches London, and begins to turn against itself. The character is invented, but he comes from the revolt’s own language. Jones notes that actual letters found on Ball after his arrest, written to sustain the rebellion’s spirit, appeal to archetypal figures of the working land, including ploughmen like the one Garfield plays.

## **Giving Ploughman a life**

[Garfield](https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177784/andrew-garfield/) felt the pull of his role at once. “It’s not often that I will read something and fight to play that part, and I did that with Paul,” he says. His note arrived after years of halting development, from an actor Greengrass knew only casually. “It’s the email you dream of getting from a brilliant actor who says, ‘I’ve read your movie. I really want to be in it,’” Greengrass says.

To prepare, Garfield began with the rhythms Ploughman would know. “It’s a man that lives in a very, very different time and in a very, very different rhythm to me,” he says. “Connection to the earth and connection to nature, that felt very, very important.” He researched the seasons, harvests, clothing, daily labor, and the habits of the ox. Before filming, he spent time in Ploughman’s hut with the animal, learning the terms of a household in which the ox slept indoors through winter to provide warmth. “Connection to his ox, that was the primary relationship in the story,” Garfield says. The animal is at once Ploughman’s companion, source of heat, and fellow laborer.

His wife and children are dead before the film begins, but Garfield imagined the life Ploughman lost so he could carry that grief across the film. He developed their history and their absence until they became, as he puts it, the “kind of invisible visible spirit characters that are there throughout the story.” Their absence helps explain why the character continues to seek justice, even after the uprising begins to lose its way. “They are the characters that are drawing him forward throughout the action of the film,” Garfield says.

That loss follows Ploughman beyond the hut and into his encounter with Richard II. He was taught that the king speaks with God’s authority. When the crown proves capable of betrayal, Garfield sees the break as spiritual as much as political. “It’s like waking up from a cult,” he says. “It’s like waking up from being manipulated and misled and brought down a path that was being governed by evil, power-hoarding, oppression, being disguised as a kind of spirituality.”

Greengrass places Ploughman’s awakening beside Richard’s. “Here’s this powerless farmer who is struggling to find agency in the world,” he says, and opposite him is “this 14-year-old boy king” trying to find agency of his own. Their paths cross, then diverge. “One goes from being the farmer to the outlaw, and the other goes from being the powerless king to the tyrant.”

Outside Ploughman’s hut, Greengrass worked to establish the larger world that makes that private life so vulnerable. “Deep period movies have quite a close relationship with [science fiction](https://time.com/6144766/sci-fi-fantasy-books-that-deserve-movie-adaptations/),” he says. “They’re both really cinematic world creations.” Greengrass uses costumes to mark the division between court and country. The period’s sumptuary laws regulated dress by rank, especially the cost and luxury materials people could wear. In the film, Ploughman and the people around him move through a restricted color palette; Richard II’s court does not.

With little of medieval London still standing, Bavaria offered spaces that could be more readily adapted for the film’s 14th-century settings. At Penzing Studios, the open-air museum at Bad Windsheim, the fortress at Lichtenau, and sites in Nuremberg, the production found medieval stonework, corridors, chapels, crypts, and staircases suited to the royal court. St. Sebaldus Church, built in the 13th century, became several locations within the film. Constructed sets and visual effects widened those spaces.

The London uprising scenes required the opposite approach: not courtly rooms and corridors, but night shoots packed with bodies, smoke, fire, and a city coming apart. Garfield does not think of the German supporting artists who stayed through the shoot as simply “extras.” “These supporting actors were the vital ingredient of this project,” he says. “It was a really profound experience to share that march and those fights with the same group of people every day.” Greengrass moved that company through a handful of locations, recomposing them for each setup until a modest crowd read on screen as a revolt spilling across the capital, and shot the scenes in firelight, with takes that could last 15 or 20 minutes. Within those long takes, Garfield had to keep track of his character, what he saw, and how he responded as the crowd shifted around him. The firelit crowds give the film its largest scenes. But more critical than the technical logistics of these shoots was posing the questions that arose from their aftermath. What remained, the film asks, after Richard II effectively took London back and the revolt ended?.

## **What the revolt left behind**

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0030e4cf792de5b7/6aa312c8c003206fb4eeb07c/4261_FP_00017.jpg?branch=production)

Woody Norman as King Richard II —Courtesy of Focus Features

By summer’s end of 1381, the rising was broken: Tyler dead, Ball captured and executed, and the freedom charters canceled. Measured against its concrete demands, the revolt failed almost completely.

But the decades that followed tell a more complicated story. Serfdom, the institution the rebels once asked their king to abolish, withered; by 1450, Jones says, when England’s next great rising came under Jack Cade, it was effectively finished, and the people who marched that time were more politically fluent than their grandparents. Greengrass sees in 1381 a distant beginning for the individual rights that developed over centuries. Jones brings the historian’s longer view to that reading. “Straight lines can only be drawn through history with retrospect and with the blinkers on,” he says. “But this is a moment when the ordinary people step onto the political stage in the English-speaking world, and they are never thereafter off it.”

Greengrass’ ambivalence about such moments in history stems from his early work as a documentarian, when he filmed upheaval in Northern Ireland, [apartheid South Africa](https://time.com/archive/6717060/south-africa-the-twilight-of-apartheid/), and other places where political orders were breaking apart. “Revolutions always eat themselves,” he says. “They start off with people’s intense hopes and dreams, but once you pull authority down, the result is chaos, and it’s only later, when it’s all over, that you can draw a ledger.” How to weigh that ledger, Greengrass leaves to the audience: gripped, he trusts, by Ploughman's journey, recognizing something of their own restless present in its medieval setting, and free to draw their own conclusions.

The man who ends the film in the forest is, for Garfield, the man he always was: an invisible person, the kind who passes unseen through an ordinary day as “someone who simply wants to live a life of truth and dignity.” “I think that we can all identify with that in a deep way, in a kind of core way," the actor says. He hopes audiences, once they see the film, will notice the invisible people around them, and the invisible parts of themselves that ask only for small liberties: wind on the face, a dance every once in a while, a walk amid what he calls the "hard work of being alive.”

That invisibility is rooted in centuries of historical silence. The archive remembers the crown, the church, and the officials who repressed the uprising more fully than it preserves the villagers who made it possible. Nearly everything that survives of the rebels comes down through their enemies’ pens; Greengrass’ film reaches toward lives that history left largely unseen. And while the revolt was put down in a distant summer, the claim beneath it—to dignity and agency—was not. It outlived the gallows, the revoked charters, and the chroniclers who reduced the people to a mob, and it endures in a handful of letters attributed to Ball urging the ploughmen of England to hold fast, written as if their author knew that in some inky field, one of them would look up. With _The Uprising_, Greengrass made a film about the man who does.

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blteaf11fb6fdadb691 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:00:04 +0000<!\[CDATA\[JP Mangalindan\]\]><!\[CDATA\[25 Years After 9/11, Americans Must Remember What Binds Us\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/11/25-years-after-9-11-americans-must-remember-what-binds-us/<!\[CDATA\[Ideas\]\]><!\[CDATA\[The victims of 9/11 “represented the American experiment itself,” writes Joe Daniels, founding president and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Gary Hershorn—Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[An American flag and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in front of One World Trade Center on September 7, 2026, in New York City.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9179322fb5a8d8e4/6aa31bb99143b01549a3fbe6/9_11-Memorial-Museum.jpg?branch=production)

An American flag and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in front of One World Trade Center on September 7, 2026, in New York City. —Gary Hershorn—Getty Images

I’m almost certain I’ve heard more [9/11 stories](https://time.com/collections/beyond-911/) than anyone else on earth.

For almost 12 years, I served as the founding CEO of the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum, a role that invited countless strangers to share their stories from that terrible day. On planes, at gas stations, in meetings or on street corners, the mere mention of my work unlocked solemn reminiscing, and I always felt honored to listen.

Over time, I have noticed a pattern. The stories typically begin on 9/11, but rarely end there. They drift into the weeks and months that followed: people who tossed duffel bags into their cars and drove hundreds of miles to volunteer at Ground Zero; sons and daughters compelled to enlist to fight in the names of the innocent victims; strangers who welcomed stranded travelers into their homes.

Americans channeled grief and fear into acts of service and unity of purpose. I’ve always found it telling that even years after the attacks, these are the memories people chose to share with me.

Tempting though it is to recall pre-9/11 America through sunny filters, America seethed with partisan animus even then. Nine months before the attacks, the Supreme Court had decided [_Bush v. Gore_](https://time.com/5906443/ted-olson-bush-gore/); three years earlier, the [Clinton impeachment](https://time.com/5120561/bill-clinton-monica-lewinsky-timeline/) had rocked the country.

But in the wake of 9/11, the chasms we once shouted across became neighborhoods again.

It’s not that Americans suddenly agreed on all that divided them. And to be sure, we must continue to address [the hate](https://time.com/4482716/911-september-11-eid-ul-adha/) that some [wrongly](https://time.com/3739330/racial-slurs-education-hate-speech/) embraced in the aftermath of that tragic day. But 9/11 largely clarified an essential truth: beneath our disagreements lay common cause. The [2,977 people](https://time.com/6096943/how-sept-11-changed-america/) murdered that day hailed from 92 nations. They were rich and poor, religious and secular, native-born, and immigrant. They practiced different faiths, subscribed to different political views, and lived very different lives from even those seated right next to them on that fateful day. But in those differences, they represented the American experiment itself, and in putting aside our conflicts, Americans tacitly acknowledged that it was worth protecting. 

Twenty-five years later, I am alarmed not by the solidarity we’ve lost, but by the erosion of consensus about the terms under which we disagree. Democracy itself has become debatable, especially among young people. Only [66%](https://apnorc.org/projects/ap-norc-america-250-poll/) of Americans now say democratically elected government is “extremely” or “very important” to the nation’s identity, down from [80%](https://apnorc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/January-2021-Topline-Final-2.pdf) in 2021\. Another recent [survey](https://prri.org/spotlight/no-quarter-american-evangelicals-and-political-violence/) found roughly [one in five](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/01/13/the-state-of-online-harassment/) Americans endorse harassment, doxxing, or even violence against their political adversaries. And perhaps most stunning of all is that only [14% ](https://news.gallup.com/poll/711938/american-pride-falls-year-record-low.aspx?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com)of those between the ages of 18 and 34 are extremely proud to be an American.

Those figures belie a disturbing trend in our political discourse: moral absolutism. A healthy democracy makes space even for fierce dissent. The danger comes when political clashes become crusades, and the self-declared righteousness of the cause becomes license to abandon democratic restraints. 

Almost nothing went uncontested while we built the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. We fought over how to arrange the names of the dead, how and whether to represent the hijackers, and what would we delve into about America’s response. These weren’t academic debates. They were real conflicts waged by people of all backgrounds, laden with grief and anger, bound by deeply held personal, emotional, and political convictions and competing ideas about what America owed the dead and the living.

Yet we still had to build on sacred ground.

The experience taught me that pluralism doesn’t require agreement. It requires something harder: accepting that sometimes you will lose the argument, but you stay at the table anyway.

Our job wasn’t to make disagreements disappear. There was no universe where that was possible. Instead, my job was to help determine which differences the institution had an obligation to accommodate and where it had an obligation to draw a line. We could tell the truth about American failures without concluding that America itself was a failure. We could explain why the terrorists hated this country without adopting their indictment of it.

A democracy depends on the same distinctions.

The rule of law, free expression, and equal citizenship are not partisan preferences to be renegotiated after every election. They are the terms of the deal. Protecting someone’s right to reject the American experiment is different from treating that rejection as simply another interpretation of it. A pluralistic society can tolerate almost limitless disagreement precisely because there are some principles it cannot and should not surrender.

Now, this 25th anniversary demands more from us.

The America attacked that morning was never defined by consensus. It was defined by a shared conviction that our freedoms belong as fully to people we bitterly oppose as to people we love; that our democracy is worth defending not because it settles our differences, but because it gives us a way to live with them; and that while each of us may nurture our own vision for a more perfect union, it remains a union nonetheless. 

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=bltfa47398a4b88546d Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:00:04 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Joe Daniels\]\]><!\[CDATA\[How 9/11 Helped Shape Our Politics Today\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/11/september-11-america-europe-far-right-immigration-muslims-trump/<!\[CDATA\[Ideas\]\]><!\[CDATA\[The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks transformed global politics as Western democracies abandoned many liberal principles and older conflicts over empire, decolonization, immigration and culture resurfaced in the far-right movements.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Gene Kappock-Underwood Archives-Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[The World Trade Center twin towers with Staten Island in the background in New York, New York, August 5, 1972.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb85fd6143512aa99/6aa2e6edc00320002feeb01f/GettyImages-159779853.jpg?branch=production)

The World Trade Center twin towers with Staten Island in the background in New York, New York, August 5, 1972\. —Gene Kappock-Underwood Archives-Getty Images

From the moment they occurred, the terror attacks of [Sept. 11, 2001](https://time.com/3313113/if-you-want-to-humble-an-empire/) were seen as inaugurating a new age of asymmetric violence and warfare. President George W. Bush described the war on terror that followed as a[ generational conflict](https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2004/03/20040319-3.html). 

Yet, for all the transformations it produced, Al-Qaedaand Islamic militancy more broadly have, in my view,receded within a decade. Not so much because it was defeated on the battlefield but because it was unable to gain much support among Muslims. When popular uprisings swept the Arab world in the early 2010s, protesters in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, and elsewhere in the region took to the streets not in the name of Islam, but democracy. [The Arab Spring](https://time.com/4198092/after-the-spring/), more than any military victory, signaled the decline of militancy. Al Qaeda faced its greatest defeat at Tahrir Square. 

Islamic militancy flourished principally on the battlefields of war on terror, in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq**,** a trajectory epitomized by the emergence of the Islamic State from within the[ American prison system](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/11/04/how-an-american-prison-helped-ignite-the-islamic-state/)in Iraq. While Islamic militancy still survives in pockets of weak or fractured states, elsewhere it has petered out into the province of petty criminals or psychologically disturbed individuals. What, then, does its brief and brutal career mean for world history? 

### **The End of the Cold War** 

The dramatic arrival of Al-Qaeda and Islamic militancy in the global public sphere in the early 2000s did not mark the beginning of a new chapter of global history. Perhaps that confrontation between Al-Qaeda and America signaled a historical ending: the true conclusion of the Cold War. By the fall of 2001, the Soviet Union and the bipolar world had been dead for a decade. 

The Cold War survived in the institutions and practices it had created: NATO, the United Nations and its conventions, international courts and the multilateral institutions established to knit together a divided world through systems of deterrence, development and compromise born of the fear of an atomic holocaust. For a while, these institutions appeared capable of operating without their founding cause, but that hope proved illusory. In the 1990s, wars swept across the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Africa. Al-Qaeda arose at the confluence of post-Cold War globalization and unipolar violence.

With its emergence at the turn of the millennium, Al-Qaeda, I argue, brought the Cold War to a definitive close by overturning its central presuppositions. The war on terror rendered the familiar categories of the Cold War**—**the balance of power, deterrence, great-power rivalry, and hegemony—increasingly obsolete. Fought in civilian spaces against nonstate actors dispersed around the globe, the war on terror also ended up destroying most of the Cold War’s remaining ideological states in the Middle East, including the socialist republics of Iraq, Libya, and Syria. 

Al-Qaeda's emergence also marked the end of Islamism, which was itself a Cold War movement dedicated to revolution and the creation of ideological states. Islamism’s only durable strongholds, Iran and Afghanistan, came to embody its takeover by clerical establishments of the kind it had once sought to displace. 

The war on terror also weakened the liberal state, another creature of the Cold War, whose animating purpose had been to pose capitalist liberty against Communist dictatorship. [Osama bin Laden](https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,174550-3,00.html) used to claim[ that](http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/%20%200,13918,1339845,00.html) Westerners thought their interventions in the Middle East would remake the region’s states in the images of their own, but instead it was the Americans and Europeans who came to resemble their despotic and corrupt clients in the region. 

One of the goals of Al-Qaeda’s campaign of terror was to[ precisely achieve that](https://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/02/05/binladen.transcript/index.html) by showing how even violence falling short of a conventional war and posing no genuine existential threat was sufficient in provoking Western democracies to dismantle the civil liberties of their own citizens, exposing their claims to freedom as hypocritical. As the war on terror dragged on, Al-Qaeda’s[ leaders portrayed](http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/10/%20%2007/wbin07.xml&) the anti-terror laws and the increasingly militarized conduct of the U.S. and its allies not as signs of resolve and strength but as displays of weakness and proof of the shallowness of Western liberalism. Bin Laden might have been disappointed by Al-Qaeda’s inability to mobilize enough Muslims around the world to overthrow their dictatorships, but the U.S. and its European allies, which sustained those authoritarian regimes, sadly behaved much as he had predicted. 

A sacrificial, if not nihilistic, movement whose iconic figure was the suicide bomber, Al-Qaeda had little interest in conquest and government. One of its major objectives was to[ provoke](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2004/11/1/full-transcript-of-bin-ladins-speech) Western states into attacking their own democracies, in a kind of auto-immune response to terrorism, in which the effort to defend the political body corroded it from within. In that particular sense, bin Laden was perversely successful in dragging America and its allies into expensive wars and weakening their liberal norms as they chose widespread use of emergency powers, surveillance, indefinite detention, torture, and rendition. The war also broughtsuspicion of Muslims, hostility toward immigration, civilizational rhetoric, and border militarization from the political margins to the center of Western public discourse. 

America’s preoccupation with the war on terror did squander its unipolar decade. It wasn’t a coincidence that the rise of China—and the China shock—came a few years after the Great Recession of 2008 and a decade after the 9/11 attacks. The cultural and political landscape of Europe and America today**—**characterized by polarization, populism, and a pervasive distrust of institutions**—**can be understood, at least in part, as the legacy of the response to the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda. By this measure, my assertion would be that bin Laden won the war on terror much as he had predicted he would.

### **What sustained the liberal order** 

The rise of populism and far-right politics in America and Europe has generated great laments for the corrosion of a golden age of liberalism and progress following the victory of the Allied powers against fascism in World War II. The flowering of postwar liberal democracy owed less to the defeat of fascism than to the Cold War, when the existence of a socialist alternative compelled Europe and North America to emphasize social protections, greater equality, and meaningful political rights. 

Thus, the crisis of liberal democracy after 9/11 might be better understood not simply as a blowback from the war on terror, but as an aftershock of socialism’s collapse. After the collapse of the Soviet bloc, that pressure disappeared. Though liberal institutions survived formally, the social and economic settlement that sustained them had begun to erode. 

During World War II and in its immediate aftermath, the Allies were hardly exemplars of liberal standards. Several allied powers were colonial empires engaged in the violent suppression of nationalist movements in Asia and Africa even as they fought fascism. Nor can any account of Allied conduct ignore the firebombing of German cities or the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

Although the war in Europe and the Pacific dominates debates about Allied misconduct, the colonial character of World War II may tell us more about the origins of our present moment. Colonial armies fought in every theater and constituted some of the forces deployed during the war. At least a million soldiers fighting[ in the British](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-41917784) and[ French](https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/second-world-war-record-of-muslims-is-worth-marking-1.462418) armies against fascism were Muslims. Civilians in territories like India, though far from the principal battlefields, also suffered immensely during the war. The [Bengal famine](https://time.com/archive/6733814/the-real-causes-of-famine/), in which some three million people, Hindus and Muslims, starved to death, was, as many have argued, caused in part by wartime disruptions to grain supplies and by imperial policy. 

Europe didn’t only take men and material from the colonies for the Great War, but also a repertoire of its[ illiberal practices](https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Hitler%5Fs%5FEmpire.html?id=opefF4rAL6YC&redir%5Fesc=y) in the colonies. The Nazis drew upon precedents established in colonial wars waged by European powers. The Allies, in turn, brought home[ methods of coercion](https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book%5Fslug=political-theology-ii-the-myth-of-the-closure-of-any-political-theology--9780745642536) that had previously been largely confined to their empires. Among them was the revival of medieval[ doctrines of just war](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3569300), which subordinated contractual obligations to unilateral claims of moral authority—doctrines that resurfaced during the war on terror to justify pre-emptive attacks and torture. 

World War II should be understood not simply as liberalism’s triumph over tyranny but also as a source**—**and continuation—of Western illiberalism, much like what came to the surface after 9/11\. It was the Cold War that provided the real foundation of mid-century liberalism. One might even argue that the post-9/11order, from which today’s far-right movements partly emerged, has its roots in World War II’s struggle for global hegemony, a contest suspended for the duration of the Cold War. 

The war on terror represented a failed effort to impose a unipolar order on the world, one that could no longer rely on the economic instrumentality of globalization alone. And its failure also discredited the globalization associated with free trade and mass migration. In its place arose far-right movements in Western Europe and North America dedicated to dividing the world into racial and cultural blocs**,** divisions often defended in the language of the struggle against terrorism and Islam. 

In America, this political vision harks back to the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine; in Europe, it reaches further, to the myth of a culturally homogeneous Christian continent. In both cases, the animating force is not social conservatism alone but hostility toward immigrants, and toward Muslims in particular. Its deeper history may therefore lie in decolonization, which transformed immigration into a defining political reality distinct from the colonial systems of slavery, indenture and managed labor migration that preceded it. 

Asian and African decolonization not only overlapped with the Cold War but was, in many important ways, made possible by it. As the rival superpowers courted newly independent countries, they helped secure what sovereignty many of those states possessed. Yet decolonization, no less than the Cold War, also made possible the European Economic Community and, eventually, the European Union. Europe emerged from World War II with most of its colonial possessions more or less intact. It was only decolonization that allowed the continent to cohere into a new kind of economic and political unit. 

### **The long aftermath of decolonization** 

Immigration has a double history in America, proceeding from two waves of decolonization: the 19th century independence of Latin American countries and that of Asian and African nations in the 20th century. American anti-immigrant politics consequently differs from the European version, remaining more closely bound to the Monroe Doctrine and its vision of hemispheric control. 

Europe may possess the older political history, but its encounter with immigration is more recent, starting with labor migration to help with European reconstruction after World War II and expanding again in the wake of the Cold War. The end of the Cold War weakened the sovereignty of many postcolonial states, producing new waves of migration as those countries faced economic pressure or were drawn into conflict. It also reduced European countries from strategic partners in the Cold War to increasingly dependent allies—a relationship laid bare by the war on terror, which expanded American power while disproportionately rewarding American companies. 

The end of the Cold War, made visible through 9/11 and its aftermath, has also transformed Europe’s understanding of its past. While World War II is still invoked, especially by liberals, it no longer occupies its former place as the 20th century’s defining event and the founding moment of the international order now coming apart. 

The ascendance of immigration**—**and, with it, race and culture—as the central political concern on both sides of the Atlantic suggests that decolonization has displaced the war in the historical imagination. Narratives about the struggles against fascism or Communism still shape Western identities, but political debate is increasingly dominated by fears of what might be called “reverse colonization.” 

Europe’s unwillingness or inability to reckon with colonialism may explain its strange, even pathological identification with the anxieties of its former subjects. The fear of foreign settlement, demographic change, and cultural swamping all echo the language once used in colonized societies of Asia and Africa, where the Christian West was regarded as precisely such a threat. This switching of places is apparent in portrayals of Islam as both an alien and more virile force than Western liberalism**,** a force whose supposed cohesion and will to dominate must be countered by weapons of solidarity and domination. 

European politics has thus increasingly begun to appropriate the defensive posture of the peoples Europe once ruled. Perverse though this identification may be, it reveals the extent to which decolonization—itself part of the Cold War’s history— has become the century’s central historical drama. This switching of places is especially true of Islam seen as an alien but also more virile force than Western liberalism, one whose power thus needs to be countered by its own weapons of solidarity and domination. 

For all the spectacle of its asymmetric attacks, Al Qaeda**—**and Islamist militancy more broadly**—**never had more than some tens of thousands of committed supporters worldwide. These movements did not emerge from some hermetically sealed Islamic history. They belonged to global events and narratives, which gave them what influence they possessed. The disproportion between their small numbers and enormous consequences cannot be explained primarily by technology, mass media or even the war on terror. It arose from the institutional and political vulnerabilities exposed by the Cold War’s belated conclusion. 

We now live amid the detritus of the end of the Cold War and are able to recognize decolonization as the crucial event of the 20th century. Its legacy animates both movements seeking greater inclusion and campaigns promising to restore a national unity defined in racial or cultural terms. More than three decades after the Soviet Union’s collapse, we still live in the wake of the Cold War, an aftermath that first revealed its force in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 on New York and Washington, D.C. 

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt3e337e0085f572d8 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Faisal Devji\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Yemen’s Houthis Reach Strategic Island in Key Shipping Route\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/11/yemen-houthi-red-sea-bab-el-mandeb-shipping-iran-war/<!\[CDATA\[World\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have reportedly taken over the strategic Perim Island that sits in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, in a bid to tighten their grip on the critical maritime chokepoint.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Khaled Ziad—AFP/Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[People sit in a fishing boat sailing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off of Yemen's southern Taiz province on July 25, 2026.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cdc05ffd7900979/6aa3d5f53692392d193c7b25/bab_el_mandeb.jpg?branch=production)

People sit in a fishing boat sailing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off of Yemen's southern Taiz province on July 25, 2026\. —Khaled Ziad—AFP/Getty Images

Yemen’s Iran-backed[ Houthi rebels](https://time.com/article/2026/03/28/iran-war-news-houthis-israel/) have reportedly captured the strategic Perim Island that sits in the [Bab el-Mandeb Strait](https://time.com/article/2026/04/08/bab-el-mandeb-strait-iran-houthis-threat-trade-hormuz-war-ceasefire/) as they aim to tighten their grip on the critical maritime chokepoint.

The Houthis took Perim on Friday, four Yemeni government sources [told](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-reach-strategic-island-mouth-vital-shipping-lane-2026-09-11/) Reuters. The capture was also relayed to the [Associated Press ](https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-iran-mokha-mandeb-shipping-saudi-025d052a14d9481258d51009a76d0bd6)by a senior military official with Yemen’s internationally recognized government. The reports come a day after the [Houthis](https://time.com/article/2026/03/28/iran-war-news-houthis-israel/) captured Yemen’s port city of Mokha from Saudi-backed government forces.

Perim Island divides the [Bab el-Mandeb Strait](https://time.com/article/2026/04/08/bab-el-mandeb-strait-iran-houthis-threat-trade-hormuz-war-ceasefire/), a vital trade route situated between Yemen and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa, that links Asia and Europe via the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Its capture would risk a grave escalation in the widening regional [conflict](https://time.com/article/2026/09/09/iran-us-base-jordan-oil-tankers-war-strikes/). If the Houthis were to assume control of the Bab el-Mandeb, it could give Iran an advantage in its war with the U.S. The active hostilities between Washington and Tehran are largely focused on another critical trade route, the [Strait of Hormuz](https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/what-is-the-strait-of-hormuz-global-trade-oil-flow-iran-war/).

**Read More**:[ _Will Iran Target Another Maritime Chokepoint? The Bab El-Mandeb Strait Is Under Threat_](https://time.com/article/2026/07/15/iran-war-bab-el-mandeb-strait-trade-route-houthis-threat/)

In a [statement](https://www.saba.ye/ar/news3785603.htm) shared Friday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea declared the “success” of a military operation launched on Sept. 3 that intended to expel "Saudi-backed forces" along the western coast of Yemen. He went on to assert that “maritime navigation is safe for all companies, with the exception of Saudi ships.” The statement made no mention of Perim Island.

The escalation comes after weeks of fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government of Yemen, shattering a four-year informal cease-fire in the country's civil war.

Yemen’s government on Thursday [reportedly](https://www.sabanew.net/story/ar/152186) launched airstrikes west of Taiz in response to the capture of Mokha and warned civilians to avoid roads between Taiz and Mokha. Houthi-owned Al-Masirah TV reported that Saudi-backed forces launched 40 airstrikes on the provinces of Taiz, Jawf, Hodeida, and Marib.

Observers and Yemeni residents fear the escalating fighting could renew an all-out civil war in Yemen.

“This renewed war should alarm us all,” Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special envoy for Yemen, [said](https://osesgy.unmissions.org/en/news/briefing-by-the-un-special-envoy-for-yemen-hans-grundberg-to-the-security-council-2) at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday. “It effectively marks the end of the relative calm that Yemen has experienced for over four years since the U.N.-brokered truce.”

Capturing the southwestern port and Perim—also known as Mayun—would significantly strengthen the Houthis’ ability to threaten shipping via the Bab el-Mandeb, a waterway through which 8.1 million oil barrels a day passed during the second quarter of 2026, [according](https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/energysecurity/article.php) to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The Houthis previously[ disrupted shipping](https://time.com/6548183/yemen-houthi-rebels-red-sea-attacks-impact/) in 2024, in response to Israel’s occupation and bombardment of Gaza, and made a global impact. The move prompted the U.S. and U.K. to[ carry out strikes ](https://time.com/6554861/yemen-houthi-rebels-history-cause-israel-hamas-war/)against Houthi rebel targets.

The Bab el-Mandeb has[ become even more important](https://time.com/article/2026/07/15/iran-war-bab-el-mandeb-strait-trade-route-houthis-threat/) since Iran[ militarized the Strait of Hormuz](https://time.com/article/2026/07/12/what-is-the-status-of-the-strait-of-hormuz-/) in retaliation for the U.S. and Israel’s Feb. 28 strikes.

Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer of defense studies at King’s College London, tells TIME that any Houthi takeover of these Red Sea areas would be “hugely significant" for the wider region.

In the 2024 disruption, the Houthis “were striking shipping from further inland, now they're controlling the coastline, very close to shipping, particularly Perim Island,” he says.

Perim offers a “vantage point from which the Houthis can operate with far less sophisticated technology, drones, and missiles in order to strike shipping,” Krieg says, adding that “they could even use small skiffs in a sort piracy fashion to harass shipping.”

### How is Iran connected?

The Houthis[ reportedly](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iranian-arms-advice-helped-yemens-houthis-seize-key-red-sea-city-sources-say-2026-09-10/) received direct guidance and weapons from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iran reportedly told the Houthis last week to escalate their attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Iran publicly maintains that the Houthis are “not a proxy.” The country’s Foreign Ministry said in a[ statement](https://en.mehrnews.com/news/247641/Iran-Foreign-Ministry-reacts-to-developments-in-Yemen) Friday that the conflict in Yemen must be resolved through dialogue instead of military action.

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref on Friday [said](https://x.com/ir%5Faref/status/2098348841435021547) that Tehran was “delighted by the victories of the heroic Yemeni nation” and put a call to unity “around the banner of Islam.”

Krieg explains how the Houthis may want to keep their targets solely on Saudi shipping in order to not draw out an international coordinated maritime response.

“They could widen the conflict to not just Saudi shipping, but any shipping going through the Bab el-Mandeb. But it would be an own-goal for the Houthis, because you're then giving the international community a mandate to basically support the Saudis,” he says.

Axios [reported](https://www.axios.com/2026/09/11/houthis-yemen-saudi-trump-mbs-strikes) Friday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had called Trump twice the previous day to request that he launch strikes against the Houthis—a request Trump is said to have declined.

"The United States is focused on protecting our core national security interests—such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea—while empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges,” a senior Administration official told TIME when asked about the reports. “We are in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen Government regarding regional stability."

The Houthis’ advance comes as Tehran has[ sought new ways](https://time.com/article/2026/09/08/iran-us-war-strait-of-hormuz-gulf-targets/) to counter Washington’s economic pressure campaign and[ military attacks](https://time.com/article/2026/09/02/us-iran-deadly-strikes-attacks-civilians-sirik-strait-hormuz/). A stronger Houthi position along the Red Sea coast could further constrain global energy supplies, raise shipping and insurance costs, and[ push up oil prices](https://time.com/article/2026/09/09/iran-us-base-jordan-oil-tankers-war-strikes/). Even if the Houthis are acting in their own interest, Iran could[ gain significant leverage](https://time.com/article/2026/08/18/us-iran-oman-war-peace-deal-strait-hormuz-trump/) over Washington in conjunction with continued pressure on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The capture of Mokha came hours after President Donald Trump on Wednesday[ suggested that](https://time.com/article/2026/09/10/iran-us-war-attacks-shipping-midterm-elections-strait-hormuz/) Iran’s government was prolonging the war in an attempt to affect Republican prospects in the U.S. midterm elections in November. He nevertheless insisted Iran is on the verge of collapse and that the war will end “immediately after” the vote. 

The Houthis are “not necessarily doing the bidding of the Iranians; they're doing what is in their interests. Nobody really controls the Houthis,” says Krieg, but this escalation very well could benefit Tehran in negotiations.

“Ultimately this gives, even by extension or by proxy, the Iranians another part to play if they feel their terms are not being met, or if they feel that they need to dial up the pressure,” Krieg concludes. 

### More shipping disruptions

From Mokha, which lies around 80 km north of Bab el-Mandeb, and Perim Island, which sits directly in the waterway around 26 km from shore, the Houthis would have a stronger position to disrupt shipping, particularly targeting vessels travelling to and from Saudi Arabia, which is the [world’s biggest crude exporter](https://oec.world/en/profile/hs/crude-petroleum) and a close U.S. ally.

Saudi Arabia has routed more oil to its Red Sea port of Yanbu after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But the Houthis [declared](https://www.saba.ye/ar/news3746630.htm) a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia on July 20 and began attacking Saudi shipping and energy infrastructure. Saudi crude exports have reportedly fallen to their [lowest level](https://www.ft.com/content/683a6973-ad54-42e1-8b53-f0e294d15022) in 13 years, with production [dropping](https://momr.opec.org/pdf-download/) 23% from July to August. Overall vessel traffic through Bab el-Mandeb[ fell around 24%](https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1158141/The-Week-in-Charts-Red-Sea-shipping-stabilises-after-Julys-Houthi-blockade-shock--War-disruption-and-rerouting-fail-to-derail-container-demand) in the week following the July blockade.

The kingdom has responded with airstrikes in Yemen’s north and warned Iran to rein in the group. It has supplied its Yemeni allies with arms, intelligence, and logistical assistance. 

Experts tell TIME that whilst the Houthis have shown their “intent and capability" to strike shipping, the tightening of their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb is sufficient to rattle energy markets and supply chains.

“This just adds another layer of uncertainty, very likely increasing the insurance payments, and that will increase shipping costs,” says Krieg, which would make it “very problematic for global energy trade.”

The advance could also force the U.S. to devote military resources towards protecting a second maritime chokepoint and assisting its ally, potentially complicating efforts to limit or swiftly end U.S. involvement in the Middle East.

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt76c7a1ad3aec6ab4 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:25:00 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Miranda Jeyaretnam and Tiago Ventura\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Trump Administration Proposes Cutting Grace Period for H-1B and Other Visas\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/11/h1b-grace-period-60-day-job-loss-removable-proposal-trump/<!\[CDATA\[U.S.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Under the proposal, some foreign workers would be considered immediately removable from the U.S. if they no longer work for an employer linked to their visa status.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Charles-McClintock Wilson—NurPhoto/Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[A pedestrian walks past an exterior sign and official seal identifying the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field office building in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Aug. 21, 2026.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87f6e95f369ed1bf/6aa3cf0beb7b3d37f58a59dd/uscis.jpg?branch=production)

A pedestrian walks past an exterior sign and official seal identifying the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field office building in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Aug. 21, 2026\. —Charles-McClintock Wilson—NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Department of Homeland Security has proposed scrapping the policy allowing certain foreign workers—including [H-1B visa holders](https://time.com/7319116/h1b-visa-news-trump-rules/)—to remain in the U.S. for up to 60 days after losing their jobs to find a new sponsor, according to a government notice published Friday.

The [White House-approved proposal](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/h-1b-workers-to-lose-grace-period-in-white-house-approved-plan) is the latest disruption to the H-1B visa, which sits at the intersection of the Trump Administration’s priorities to [restrict legal immigration](https://time.com/7346329/trump-immigration-visa-processing-pause/), put an “America First” policy to work in the labor sector, and increase oversight of [tech companies that rely on workers under this category](https://time.com/7319507/h1b-trump-tech-innovation-ai/).

Under the new proposal, some foreign workers would be considered immediately removable from the U.S. if they no longer work for an employer linked to their visa status.

The proposal “restores a direct relationship between an alien’s nonimmigrant status and the specific employment or activity that formed the basis of his or her admission or grant of status in the United States and reduces administrative burden,” according to the [notice in the Federal Register](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/11/2026-18631/eliminating-the-discretionary-60-day-grace-period).

Public comments on the proposal are accepted for 60 days. If adopted, the policy would mark one of the biggest changes to immigration policy, almost a decade after the grace period was created.

## Cracking down on legal immigration

In early 2017, during the final days of the Obama Administration, a [rule took effect](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/subpart-A/section-214.1) stating that foreign citizens with legal immigration status under the H-1B visa, as well as several other visa categories, would have a 60-day grace period after they lose their job. That leeway allowed these workers to look for a new job or to change their immigration status.

The other visas covered by the grace period are E-1 treaty trader visas and E-2 treaty investor visas; L-1 visas allowing short-term work for executives and managers with international firms; O-1 ⁠visas for ​individuals with “extraordinary ability” in science, sports, or the arts; and TN visas for qualified Canadian and Mexican professionals. The grace period also covers H-1B1 visas for nationals of Chile or Singapore working in a specialty occupation, and E-3 visas for Australian citizens working in a specialized professional occupation.

According to DHS’s calculations, nearly 4,000 workers a year utilize the grace period to submit a new nonimmigrant worker petition after a layoff or resignation. More than 99% of them are H-1B visa holders.

Eliminating the grace period would favor American laborers, the DHS argued. “DHS assumes that almost all these entities would offer the same jobs to equally qualified U.S. workers, go through the I-129 petition process to sponsor nonimmigrant workers, or reassign the work to other current employees,” the document read.

Its removal would also reduce administrative work, as the existing rule states the DHS could skip or shorten the grace period at its discretion. According to the document, from Oct. 1, 2017, through May 20, 2026, the DHS calculated 1.9 million petitions or applications on which USCIS had to assess whether the 60-day period could have potentially applied.

## A ripple effect

The DHS acknowledges that the policy changes would not only affect prospective employers but also families of the workers who may be forced to leave the U.S.

The proposal could also affect the immigration status of dependents of H-1B visa holders. Immigration advocacy group FWD.us estimates about [730,000 H-1B visa holders](https://www.fwd.us/news/h1b-visa-program/) living in the U.S., plus 550,000 dependents, including spouses and children.

But according to the proposal, the department says it believes “the harm of the up to 60-day discretionary grace period outweighs the potential benefit it provides to the impacted aliens and employers, the alien’s dependents, and the community at large.”

## Remaking the H-1B visa

Since 1990, hundreds of thousands of skilled foreign workers have entered the U.S. through the H-1B visa system. Citizens from India make up the bulk of H-1B visa holders, according to an April [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services report](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/data/fy25%5Fh1b%5Fcharacteristics%5Fcongress%5Fsigned%5F04242026.pdf), with China a distant second. Tech industry titans like Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and even SpaceX’s Elon Musk have stayed in the U.S. with the help of H-1B visas. 

Congress has set the current annual cap for new H-1B visas at 65,000, though an additional 20,000 is allotted for those with advanced degrees. Demand for H-1B visas often outpaces the cap.

But the Trump Administration has subjected the H-1B visa to various changes, as Trump claims skilled foreign workers have taken away jobs from Americans. 

It has since [replaced the traditional H-1B lottery](https://time.com/7342617/h1b-visa-trump-lottery-selection-rule-overhaul/) with a weighted system favoring higher-skilled, higher-paid workers. And while a court [blocked an attempt to impose a $100,000 fee](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca1/26-1699/26-1699-2026-07-24.html) on certain H-1B employers, the Administration in August [proposed](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/25/2026-17324/fee-for-certain-h-1b-petitions) a new $103,265 fee for certain H-1B petitions and [expanded](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/10/2026-16231/9-11-response-and-biometric-entry-exit-fee-for-h-1b-and-l-1-visas) a $4,000 biometric and security fee to cover extension applications from employers with a large foreign workforce.

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt8307ed5ebeccd46e Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:00:06 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Chad de Guzman\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Health Leaders Talk Expanding Access to Specialty Care\]\]> https://time.com/collection/time100-leadership-forums/2026/the-access-gap-expanding-pathways-to-life-saving-care/<!\[CDATA\[Health\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Panelists at the 2026 TIME100 Health Leadership Forum discussed how to make it easier for patients to get treated with lifesaving cell therapies.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Eneida R. Nemecek, David L. Porter, Amy Ronneberg, and Alice Park at the TIME100 Health Leadership Forum\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aac48db00e5a59f/6aa37cdceb94cc53fcab7909/260910_Time100Health_Programming_00023.jpg?branch=production)

Eneida R. Nemecek, David L. Porter, Amy Ronneberg, and Alice Park at the TIME100 Health Leadership Forum

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt266f59895c1b91d9 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 04:12:44 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Charlotte Hu\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Could Today’s Children Live to 150 Years Old? Health Leaders Talk Longevity Research\]\]> https://time.com/collection/time100-leadership-forums/2026/from-living-longer-to-living-better-the-new-lens-of-longevity/<!\[CDATA\[Health\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Panelists at the 2026 TIME100 Health Leadership Forum discussed the latest in longevity research.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[David Sinclair, Jennifer Garrison, Jack Jia, and Nikhil Kumar at the TIME100 Health Leadership Forum\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd419ea259753ba38/6aa37f1cc003209f86eeb15a/260910_Time100Health_Programming_00013.jpg?branch=production)

David Sinclair, Jennifer Garrison, Jack Jia, and Nikhil Kumar at the TIME100 Health Leadership Forum

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt08faafaf1ee08771 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 04:12:44 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Chantelle Lee\]\]><!\[CDATA\[What Maria Shriver Wants Women to Know About Their Brain Health\]\]> https://time.com/collection/time100-leadership-forums/2026/keynote-the-fight-for-women-s-brain-health/<!\[CDATA\[Health\]\]><!\[CDATA\[And why they should start talking about it now\]\]><!\[CDATA\[\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt8a3010c52df02e33 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 02:52:15 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Angela Haupt\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Health Experts on the Major Breakthroughs in Fighting Cancer\]\]> https://time.com/collection/time100-leadership-forums/2026/from-treatment-to-cure-the-breakthrough-science-to-beat-cancer/<!\[CDATA\[Health\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Vaccines and immunotherapy have shown promising results\]\]><!\[CDATA\[\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt7861ca4505086420 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 02:39:18 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Chantelle Lee\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Experts Discuss How to Make Chronic Care Fit Into Patients’ Lives\]\]> https://time.com/collection/time100-leadership-forums/2026/designed-for-life-rethinking-chronic-care-around-patients/<!\[CDATA\[Health\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Health leaders on how chronic care can better accommodate patients\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Judith Joseph, Garrett Vogel, and Ashley McEvoy at the TIME100 Health Leadership Forum\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c73aeca14f5b6ad/6aa34dde2c02dd83a7357c36/260910_Time100Health_Programming_00061.jpg?branch=production)

Judith Joseph, Garrett Vogel, and Ashley McEvoy at the TIME100 Health Leadership Forum

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt4f7a22daf110464c Fri, 11 Sep 2026 01:05:49 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Angela Haupt\]\]><!\[CDATA\[How the U.S. Treasury's New Aviation Sanctions on Iran Extend Beyond Tehran\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/09/us-treasury-iran-sanctions-aviation-global-impact-economy/<!\[CDATA\[World\]\]><!\[CDATA\[The U.S. Treasury issued sweeping new sanctions against Iran this week, targeting the country’s airlines and their international service providers as it ramps up its effort to isolate Tehran from the global economy.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Peter Zay—Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at a G20 summit in Asheville, North Carolina, on Sept. 1, 2026.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt928252b25deab4ff/6aa17d0c00201c1318fa99e4/bessent-iran-aviation-sanctions-sep9.jpg?branch=production)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at a G20 summit in Asheville, North Carolina, on Sept. 1, 2026\. —Peter Zay—Getty Images

The [U.S. Treasury](https://time.com/tag/treasury/) issued sweeping new sanctions against Iran on Tuesday, targeting the country’s airlines and their international service providers as it ramps up its effort to [isolate Tehran from the global economy](https://time.com/article/2026/08/29/iran-escalation-trump-economic-war/). 

The aviation sanctions form a significant part of the Trump Administration's ”Operation Economic Outcast,” which the White House has described as “an unprecedented campaign to sever every remaining economic lifeline sustaining the Islamic Republic of Iran.” As negotiations have stalled, and with the [U.S. and Iran engaged in active hostilities](https://time.com/article/2026/09/09/iran-us-base-jordan-oil-tankers-war-strikes/) once more, the economic pressure is intended to push Tehran into a deal to end the war. 

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) [sanctioned](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0623) 27 Iranian airlines, accusing them of having “long supported the Iranian regime’s destabilizing activities.” The sweeping measures were largely focused on grounding Mahan Air, which was first sanctioned by the [U.S. in 2011](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/tg1322) and is also subject to [E.U. sanctions](https://data.europa.eu/apps/eusanctionstracker/subjects/170089). The carrier has long been accused of transporting personnel, equipment, and funds for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

The measures build on OFAC’s[ April](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0465) and[ July](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0582) actions “targeting persons servicing Mahan Air’s domestic and international flights,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

The U.S. also designated firms based outside of Iran that it said had helped Mahan Air maintain operations by providing goods or services. This action specifically targets “covert front companies, foreign intermediaries, and deceptive transshipment routes that Iran relies on to obtain U.S.-origin aircraft and sensitive technology,” according to the Treasury.

The OFAC also suspended three Iran-related aviation authorizations that “allowed for overflights, and for non-U.S. airlines to fly U.S.-origin or U.S.-controlled commercial aircraft into Iran.”

The sanctions, and their international reach, are intended to "intensify Iran's economic isolation, to further degrade their military capability, and push them to some kind of a concession or settlement that favors the United States,” Jack Roush, a PhD candidate affiliated with the Iranian History Initiative at the London School of Economics, tells TIME.

Here’s what to know about the latest sanctions, how they extend beyond the borders of Iran, and the economic pressure mounting against Tehran. 

### Aviation sanctions target Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey, and UAE-based firms 

The U.S. Treasury has accused Iran of using front companies and other pass-through entities in third countries in an attempt to evade aviation links back to Tehran and has extended sanctions to nine internationally-based entities it alleges have aided these efforts.

Measures were imposed on two UAE-based commercial entities and a UAE-based individual, as well as one Turkish-based and one U.K.-based firm.

Four cargo providers and general sales agents were also sanctioned, accused of servicing Mahan Air and coordinating shipments on behalf of the airline. Two are based in Turkey, one in Kazakhstan, and one in Malaysia.

The new sweeping sanctions “will exacerbate challenges that Iran already faces in maintaining its fleet,” says Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House.

With the reliance on foreign entities to maintain Iran’s aging fleet, the measures targeting companies outside of Iran will likely damage Tehran’s aviation capabilities, she says, as it will “restrict Iran's ability to rely on those regional hubs” and could prompt “international carriers \[to\] further [reduce](https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/british-airways-london-tehran-flights-suspended-iran-travel-passenger-disruption-a8504771.html) or [suspend](https://caspianpost.com/iran/qatar-airways-prolongs-iran-flight-suspensions) Iranian services.”

“If that happens, then this becomes a blockade of Iran's aviation infrastructure, which is quite serious,” says Vakil.

### U.S. issues warning to anyone doing business with Iran amid effort to choke Tehran off from global economy

The U.S. Treasury has vowed to isolate any international entity that continues to show support to Mahan Air. “Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned,” Bessent said. “You are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system.”

In recent weeks, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on banking institutions in other countries, accusing the lenders of enabling Iran. 

On. Aug. 28, the U.S. [moved to cut off](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0617) Egyptian Banque Misr's UAE-located branches from the dollar-based financial system. Banque Misr said it is [reviewing the notice](https://www.banquemisr.com/en/ABOUT-US/News/Clarification-regarding-of-Banque-Misr-UAE) from the U.S. Treasury and will communicate with the department “to obtain further information and maintain ongoing cooperation.”

Days later, the U.S. Treasury [sanctioned](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0622/) Turkey's Golden Global investment bank and two subsidiaries, accusing it of enabling the transfer of oil revenues from China to Iran. Golden Global [rejected](https://x.com/bankggi/status/2095923212173427053/photo/2) the allegations, calling them “entirely unfounded and inconsistent.”

The sanctions were significant, marking the first time a bank in a NATO ally had been hit under the current economic campaign, experts told [Reuters.](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-targets-turkish-entities-with-iran-related-sanctions-2026-09-04/)

These recent U.S. sanctions on Turkish firms are the latest points of tension between the two countries. In 2019, Turkish state-run lender Halkbank was charged in a Manhattan federal court, accused of participating in a “[multibillion-dollar Iranian sanctions evasion scheme](https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/turkish-bank-charged-manhattan-federal-court-its-participation-multibillion-dollar).” 

The charges—referred to by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as “[ugly](https://www.reuters.com/article/business/turkeys-halkbank-dismisses-us-charges-erdogan-calls-them-ugly-idUSKBN1WV0R4/)”—dragged on for years, before a [settlement](https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rRDhhbMx9%5Fc4/v0?%5Fsp=49e87b2d-dfcc-4048-8540-2bb542e5fbdd.1789065616508) was reached in March. Halkbank was barred from entering transactions that benefit Iran and had to hire a compliance monitor to review its sanctions and anti-money-laundering programs.

The two NATO allies have [also](https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/main-disputes-between-turkey-united-states-trump-meets-erdogan-2025-09-25/) clashed in their differences of opinion related to Israel's operations in Gaza, Trump’s tariff policies, and Washington’s [maintained block on F-35 fighter ](https://www.semafor.com/article/08/13/2026/at-a-standstill-trkiyes-f-35-buy-faces-headwinds)jet sales to Turkey while Ankara still holds Russian-made S-400 air defense systems. 

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida earlier this week said “Turkey is not our friend” as he showed support for the sanctions targeting firms in the country. “Bessent had to crack down on them for actively funding Iranian terrorists,” he [claimed](https://x.com/SenRickScott/status/2097064419729514598).

How corporations in other countries respond to the U.S. measures “is an important test” for the Trump Administration, Roush says, noting that despite Washington’s crackdown on international entities supporting the Iranian economy, some have shown they’re willing to continue doing business with Tehran.

"A lot of these smaller, more boutique firms… They're more informal. They tend to continue their trade ties or banking ties with Iran. The [UAE has done, or well, they're trying to](https://time.com/article/2026/08/19/uae-suspends-trade-with-iran-after-reported-missile-strikes/) do a good job of severing these ties with Iran, but other states in the region, like [Iraq](https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/529872/Iran-Iraq-trade-capacity-can-rise-to-20b) and [Azerbaijan](https://www.trend.az/business/4216932.html) and Turkey, are continuing to trade with Iran,” says Roush. “Iran is an important trading partner for them, and I think it's going to take a significant amount of diplomatic pressure to impose some kind of a full blockade of Iran.”

### How Iran has responded to the aviation sanctions

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations Gholamhossein Darzi on Wednesday argued that Washington’s sanctions amount to “economic terrorism” and “collective punishment,” according to Iran's [Mehr](https://www.mehrnews.com/news/6942898/%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%85-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%87-%DB%B2%DB%B7%D8%B4%D8%B1%DA%A9%D8%AA-%D9%87%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%BE%DB%8C%D9%85%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%B3%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF%DB%8C) news agency.

Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, dismissed the effectiveness of the “economic D-Day” campaign.

“After 47 years of sanctions, the U.S. went to war with Iran on behalf of Israel. The fallout has been disastrous for America, including its standing worldwide,” he [said ](https://x.com/araghchi/status/2097389306306330727)Tuesday. “After failing to achieve its aims through sanctions or war, Washington’s ‘novel’ solution is… more sanctions. Seriously?” 

But experts say the ramped up economic pressure campaign will undoubtedly impact Iran in some way.

The aviation-related measures alone will “make it harder to transport materiel to keep Mahan Air going, and it'll contribute to regional isolation,” says Roush.

Furthermore, Iran is already feeling the economic impact of the conflict and the U.S. naval blockade on its ports[ in the Strait of Hormuz.](https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/what-is-the-strait-of-hormuz-global-trade-oil-flow-iran-war/)

On [Sep. 10](https://iranwire.com/en/news/157439-iranian-rial-hits-record-low-against-us-dollar/), Iran’s Rial currency plummeted in value, hitting a record low open-market rate of 2.34 million rials to the dollar. [Inflation](https://tradingeconomics.com/iran/inflation-cpi) has also climbed significantly, with reports indicating rural communities and low-income [households are carrying the burden.](https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/06/30/irans-inflation-spiral-deepens-as-rial-slides-and-tensions-rise) The country [lost around ](https://www.iranintl.com/en/202608084871)630,000 manufacturing jobs in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Statistical Center of Iran.

“Ultimately, the Iranian people are likely to suffer, because the regime will continue its predatory practice of absorbing the economic resources of the country and channeling it toward its military efforts,” concludes Roush.

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt9d82304abb2f3aff Thu, 10 Sep 2026 21:53:30 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Callum Sutherland\]\]><!\[CDATA\[AI Should Be a Wake-Up Call For Universities\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/10/ai-should-be-a-wake-up-call-for-universities/<!\[CDATA\[Ideas\]\]><!\[CDATA\[The AI era is "precipitating a pivotal opportunity to reinvent higher education and embrace the broader scope it once had," writes Arianna Huffington.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Kulpreya Chaichatpornsuk—Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt689fc0c891087b7d/6aa3103a17079b94aef3977b/AI-wake-up-call-college.jpg?branch=production)

 —Kulpreya Chaichatpornsuk—Getty Images

The debate over how AI will [impact higher education](https://time.com/article/2026/04/13/universities-must-reinvent-themselves-for-the-intelligent-age/) has narrowed into a single and well-worn groove: in a world where machines can think, how do we make sure [students](https://time.com/article/2026/07/14/why-humans-need-to-parent-ai-and-not-the-other-way-around/) still [learn to think](https://time.com/7276807/why-students-using-ai-avoid-learning/)?

This is an important question, but this debate is based on a faulty assumption that the onlypurpose of college is to develop intelligence. Missing from the debate are the unique [human qualities](https://time.com/6289278/ai-affect-human-creativity/) that really do define us, such as curiosity, the search for meaning, and inner growth. These aren’t extracurriculars—they’re a core part of what true education is about.

Universities are now forced to ask what should define higher education: information or formation?

The word “education” descends from the Latin _educare_—to nourish, to bring out. Education, at its root, was never only about filling a mind with information. It was about drawing out and nourishing all the unique qualities that define us.

From their medieval origins, universities understood their mission as being the formation of the whole person, what 13th-century theologian Thomas Aquinas called _capax universi._ But over the years, the ambition of the university has been narrowed, and the most essential questions about the meaning of life have been expelled from the classroom.

Some see AI as a threat to be managed. I would counter that it is precipitating a pivotal opportunity to reinvent higher education and embrace the broader scope it once had.

## Curiosity

When we have a technology that can give instant answers to any question, the questions take on more importance. We’re born naturally curious. As Aristotle put it, “all men by nature desire to know.” One[ study](https://www.newsweek.com/creativity-crisis-74665) found that pre-school children ask about 100 questions a day. But that plummets as they get older, roughly disappearing by middle school.

Even though curiosity is one of our defining qualities—and one that AI can’t replicate—it’s an aptitude that grows the more we use it. The point isn’t just in seeking answers, but in seeking growth and expansion. Curiosity is the precursor to both questions and the wisdom that follows.

With AI, the danger is not just outsourcing the task of finding answers but in generating the questions altogether. The friction of sitting with mystery, puzzling through ambiguity and complexity, can be waved away with a prompt. Offloading cognition can lead to offloading the appetite for wonder.

In the age of AI, the capacity not just to ask questions but to want to ask questions is a core skill to teach. So how could a university do that? One way: make question-asking, instead of answer-giving, the explicit goal of a course. It could be a first-year seminar built entirely around inquiry. The students could be graded on the quality of the questions they learn to pose—not the answers.

Another: a "follow the question" requirement, which is the converse of a thesis. Here, students could choose a question when they arrive at campus and pursue it across all their time at the university. These should be big, open-ended questions. Why is there suffering? What is beauty? What makes for a good life? Students could examine the question through the different lenses of their different courses: through science, art, literature, etc. There’s no final answer, but rather an accounting of how the question deepened, or changed, or impacted the student’s thinking and growth.

## Meaning and purpose

To help students find the meaning and purpose they’re seeking as they come into university life, it is essential that schools support students' desire to define meaning.

This is the opportunity AI presents universities with: to meet the longing of students who arrive on campus hungry for meaning, purpose, and something larger than themselves—and at the very moment in their lives when it matters most.

One way to do this is to build meaning and purpose into the vocational core. In a study by Stanford’s William Damon, he found that[ over half](https://stanfordmag.org/contents/6-things-nobody-told-you-about-purpose) of the students were in college to find purpose, not just to be trained to make a living. And yet he also found that most colleges weren’t providing resources to help students find their purpose. So career advising could be reframed around purpose and calling—not just credentials and salary. Damon recommends hands-on learning, often through volunteering that connects students’ passions to the real world, and providing mentors or “spark coaches.”

## Inner growth

Meanwhile, AI is increasingly capable of [recursive self-improvement](https://time.com/article/2026/06/29/recursive-self-improvement-is-the-human-skill-we-need-in-the-ai-age/). But what about nurturing that same impulse in humans, and instilling in students the skill of continuous self-improvement and inner growth?

To do this, universities could add a “capstone of the self” alongside a thesis. In addition to a traditional capstone project, schools should give seniors a chance to produce a reflective synthesis of who they’ve become and who they want to be—an examined-life portfolio. It recognizes inner development as an essential outcome of a degree and gives students the opportunity to make sense of their years of growth and to have more clarity about what really matters.

Reclaiming the mission of the university isn’t about going back to the past—it’s about connecting to what’s always been there in order to go forward. To educate has always been about nourishing the whole person, not just the intellect.

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt979d5c69d84b3885 Thu, 10 Sep 2026 20:17:31 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Arianna Huffington\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Trump Pledges to Issue $500 Refunds to Nearly a Million Obamacare Enrollees. Are You Eligible?\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/10/trump-obamacare-refunds/<!\[CDATA\[Politics\]\]><!\[CDATA\[The President said checks will be sent to nearly a million Americans as repayment for what he described as “excessive fees” charged under the Biden Administration.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Brendan Smialowsky—AFP/Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[President Donald Trump speaks at the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas, on September 10, 2026.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt820711301ead89c8/6aa30489130d6159d0949a43/trump-obamacare-refunds.jpg?branch=production)

President Donald Trump speaks at the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas, on September 10, 2026\. —Brendan Smialowsky—AFP/Getty Images

[President Donald Trump](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/donald-trump/) has said nearly a million Americans are eligible to receive $500 refunds for what he described as “excessive fees” charged to [Obamacare enrollees](https://time.com/7330071/obamacare-aca-premium-tax-credit-expiration-2026/) under the Biden Administration. 

Trump [announced](https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2098046589948281076) in a video message on Thursday that beginning next month, rebate checks will be issued to enrollees in 30 states that use the federal Healthcare.gov exchange to operate their Affordable Care Act (ACA) [health insurance marketplaces](https://time.com/article/2026/07/01/new-yorkers-lose-health-coverage-trump-cuts-health-care/).

The White House [said](https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/09/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-announces-the-working-families-obamacare-refunds/) that the Biden Administration overcharged ACA enrollees for their insurance coverage by passing on the costs of “user fees” intended to fund the operations of the federal exchange in the form of increased premiums. The money collected through those fees, the White House added, was “far in excess” of what was required to run the federal exchange. 

“Our Administration is doing the right thing and giving the money back to the people who were wrongly ripped off,” Trump said.

Neither the President nor the White House have provided evidence for their claims.

The announcement comes as ACA premiums have [surged](https://time.com/7341167/health-insurance-costs-aca-subsidies-2026/) after tax credits passed under Biden that helped reduce costs for most enrollees expired at the end of 2025, driving a sharp [decline](https://time.com/article/2026/09/08/losing-health-insurance-affects-everyone/) in enrollment. 

The Republican-controlled Congress declined to renew the subsidies last year, a decision the Trump Administration backed.Trump previously expressed support for a GOP [plan](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/12/10/obamacare-alternative-would-give-americans-up-to-1500/87700049007/) to deposit $1,000-$1,500 rebates into certain Americans' Health Savings Accounts as an alternative to renewing the premium subsidies. That proposal ultimately failed in the Senate, however.

The President has also floated issuing other refunds directly to Americans that have failed to materialize, including sending out [$2,000 dividends](https://time.com/7332447/trump-promises-check-to-americans-tariffs-revenue-dividend-stimulus/) funded by his sweeping tariffs and returning 20% of the savings achieved through the [now-shuttered](https://time.com/7336327/doge-disbanded-elon-musk/) [Department of Government Efficiency](https://time.com/7222251/doge-musk-federal-workers-government/)’s cuts to the federal government.

**Read More:** [_Trump Promises $5,000 Dividend if Republicans Win Both House and Senate_](https://time.com/article/2026/09/10/trump-dividend-five-thousand-dollars-midterms-republican-convention/)

In an address at the Republican Party’s midterm convention on Wednesday night, Trump separately [promised](https://time.com/article/2026/09/10/trump-dividend-five-thousand-dollars-midterms-republican-convention/) that a $5,000 dividend would be paid to every American adult if the GOP keeps control of both chambers of Congress in the upcoming elections in November.

The proposal, which would require congressional approval, has drawn questions about where the funds for the dividend payments would come from and whether sending them out would violate [federal law](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/597) that bars paying someone to vote a certain way. One Democratic lawmaker was quick to [state](https://x.com/danielsgoldman/status/2097998346526818679) on X that “Congress would never do it because it is corrupt and blatantly illegal.”

It is not clear whether the promised Obamacare refunds will need to be approved by Congress.

## Who’s eligible for an Obamacare refund, and how will you get it?

Refunds will be issued to Obamacare enrollees in the states that rely on the federal exchange who didn’t receive premium assistance under the ACA “and therefore paid the full cost of Biden’s premium tax,” according to the White House.

Checks will be sent starting in October to the home addresses of the Americans the Trump Administration has deemed were overcharged, Trump said. He asserted that in many cases the $500 would cover “the entire spike in your insurance caused by Democrats,” but did not clarify how that figure was reached.

The nearly 1 million people set to receive the refunds would represent roughly 5% of the 19.2 million who are [estimated](https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/aca-exchange-enrollment-2026) to currently be enrolled in ACA plans around the country.

## Which states are included?

ACA enrollees will be issued refunds in the 30 states that use Healthcare.gov to handle insurance enrollment under the landmark health care law, rather than setting up their own state-run exchanges.

Those states include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, according to the White House.

## Rising health care costs are a widespread concern—and could be a political problem for Trump

Trump’s pledge to issue refunds to hundreds of thousands of Obamacare enrollees comes amid a spike in health care costs that is a source of major concern for many Americans, and that threatens to only worsen moving forward as the uninsured population balloons.

At the peak of ACA enrollment reached last year, prior to the premium subsidies expiring, more than 24 million Americans were receiving coverage through the marketplace. That number has fallen by more than 5 million in 2026 as premium costs have doubled or even tripled for many enrollees in the absence of the tax credits. And analysts have [warned](https://time.com/7341167/health-insurance-costs-aca-subsidies-2026/) that the impact of their expiration, alongside cuts included in Trump’s [Big Beautiful Bill](https://time.com/7300177/trump-signs-big-beautiful-bill/), could become far broader in the years ahead.

The surge in the number of uninsured Americans in turn [threatens](https://time.com/article/2026/09/08/losing-health-insurance-affects-everyone/) to raise insurance costs for those who do have insurance and to increase the financial burden on hospitals absorbing the costs of treating people without it, raising the risk that they might be forced to cut services or close entirely.

**Read More:** [_More Americans Are Losing Health Insurance—And Everyone Will Pay_](https://time.com/article/2026/09/08/losing-health-insurance-affects-everyone/)

Nearly three-quarters of American adults surveyed in a Pew Research [survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/05/11/americans-see-health-care-costs-deficit-inflation-as-big-problems-facing-the-nation/) conducted in April said that the affordability of health care is a very big problem for the U.S., an increase of 6% from last February. Even before the ACA premium subsidies expired, Gallup [found](https://news.gallup.com/poll/710942/adults-ability-afford-healthcare-five-year-low.aspx) that fewer than half of Americans reported that they could consistently afford healthcare in the final months of 2025—a five-year high. And [polling](https://www.kff.org/health-costs/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/) from health care research organization KFF this May showed that more than a third of adults said they had skipped or postponed getting care because of the cost over the past 12 months.

The issue also appears to be a vulnerable one for the President, who has faced low approval ratings for months. In April, KFF [found](https://www.kff.org/public-opinion/kff-health-tracking-poll-health-care-costs-and-the-midterms/) that roughly two-thirds of Americans disapproved of the Trump Administration’s handling of the cost of health care.

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt922b43b2d2220cd8 Thu, 10 Sep 2026 19:29:55 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Annika Neklason\]\]><!\[CDATA\[The Planet Mercury Has Been Shrinking—More Than Scientists Expected\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/10/mercury-shrinking-study/<!\[CDATA\[Science\]\]><!\[CDATA\[The solar system's smallest planet has gotten smaller still.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Jpl/NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Mercury's tortured surface obscures some signs of its past.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta567d18fbf6a2f0e/6aa2d355b3e3cb1d19d58428/PIA16666~orig.jpg?branch=production)

Mercury's tortured surface obscures some signs of its past. —Jpl/NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Mercury is nobody’s idea of a big cosmic deal. The solar system’s smallest planet, it measures just [3,023 miles across](https://www.astronomy.com/science/mercury/)—or barely 3.6% of the [88,846 mi](https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planets/planet-sizes-and-locations-in-our-solar-system/). diameter of [Jupiter](https://time.com/4393292/jupiter-juno-moons-video/), the solar system’s largest. Saturn’s moon Titan and Jupiter’s [Ganymede](https://time.com/7017525/mega-asteroid-knocked-jupiter-moon-ganymede-sideways/) both also have greater diameters than [Mercury](https://time.com/2958731/mercury-peculiar-solar-system/). And according to a [new study](https://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2026GL12406) in _Geophysical Research Letters_, Mercury has actually put in the work to get as small as it is, spending part of the past 4.5 billion years shrinking—significantly more than planetologists once thought.

That matters. Figuring out the history of Mercury provides clues to how all rocky worlds like the [moon](https://time.com/7346146/artemis-ii-launch-nasa-astronauts-moon-mission/) and [Mars](https://time.com/article/2026/04/21/organic-compounds-life-on-mars-research/) formed. And what happens in our solar system surely happens in ones much farther afield in space.

## How did scientists measure Mercury’s shrinking?

The findings come courtesy of data gathered by the [Mercury MESSENGER spacecraft](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/messenger/)—a ship whose name was derived from the decidedly clumsy acronym “MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging.” MESSENGER launched in August 2004; reached Mercury in March 2011; and completed [4,105 orbits](https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-completes-messenger-mission-with-expected-impact-on-mercurys-surface/) of the planet before running out of fuel and crashing into the surface on April 30, 2015\. In those four-plus years on the job, MESSENGER did a lot of work, studying Mercury with [seven different scientific instruments](https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-completes-messenger-mission-with-expected-impact-on-mercurys-surface/)—including its Mercury Laser Altimeter, a ranging tool that could measure surface features [to within one meter](http://laserfocusworld.com/detectors-imaging/article/16549824/laser-altimeter-set-to-study-mercury); and a [dual imaging system](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/messenger/) that used two cameras to map the surface in wide- and narrow-angle and black and white and color.

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt56afb3130701541f/6aa40905ce01d78378857cd1/Mercury-shrinking-diagram2.jpg?branch=production)

Scientists have known for a long time that Mercury has gotten steadily smaller since its birth. The planet was formed when dust, gas, rocks, and asteroids left over from the formation of the sun collided and collected, coalescing into a discrete body and generating enormous amounts of heat in the process. Over the eons much of that heat dissipated, causing Mercury to contract by what astronomers estimated to be 2.5 miles to 10 miles in diameter.

To confirm that conclusion, MESSENGER scientists used the spacecraft’s laser altimeter and dual-imager to scan the planet looking for so-called shortening structures, which are distortions in the surface made up of wrinkles, ridges, and what are known as lobate scarps—cliff-like structures that form when the crust pushes rock upward along a fault. Shortening structures form when a planet contracts; the greater the number of those surface features, the greater the planetary shrinkage has been.

MESSENGER did its best to map shortening structures across the entirety of the planet, but two things made that job a challenge. For starters, the more powerful of its two imaging systems, the laser altimeter, [could not operate](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20120009069) effectively if the spacecraft was more than 930 miles away from the planet—a proximity it reached only when it was over Mercury’s north polar region during its sweeping elliptical orbits; at other points it was [as much as 9,500 miles distant](https://spacedaily.com/messenger-modifies-orbit-to-prepare-for-extended-mission-999/). The dual-imaging system could survey the surface during those more remote approaches, but it did not produce the detailed three-dimensional pictures the laser altimeter did.

Then too, there is the condition of Mercury’s surface itself. The shortening structures formed early in the planet’s history, and in the eons since, Mercury has been steadily pounded by incoming asteroids, gouging out craters and scattering debris, obscuring the telltale scars of planetary contraction. It’s possible to read through that rubble—tracing shortening structures until they are covered up by craters or rocks and estimating what their course and reach was—but that takes planet-wide three-dimensional maps, something that MESSENGER did not provide. There was, however, a way to create them.

With the cooperation of NASA, the custodian of the MESSENGER images, a team led by Gaku Nishiyama, a planetary scientist at the [German Aerospace Center](https://www.dlr.de/en) Institute of Space Research and the lead author of the new paper, harvested two-dimensional pictures taken by the spacecraft’s dual-imaging system and combined them in such a way that every patch of surveyed land was captured twice—from slightly different angles each time.

“We used a digital terrain model generated through so-called stereophotogrammetric technique,” says Nishiyama. “Combining two images taken at different viewing angles \[is similar to the way\] human beings recognize stuff with both eyes. So two-dimensional images are combined to derive three-dimensional topography.”

With the help of that detailed terrain map, Nishiyama and his colleagues were able to study the entirety of Mercury with a resolution never before achieved. That helped the team infer the location and reach of shortening structures that were otherwise covered up over time, and that, in turn, led them to conclude that previous calculations of Mercury’s historical shrinkage were underestimates.

“We find a lack of shortening structures in rough regions,” the researchers wrote, “suggesting that roughness-related processes obscure pre-existing structures. This biases previous contraction estimates downward… implying that Mercury’s contraction is up to 30% larger than previously thought.”

## What can Mercury’s shrinking teach us about the planet and our solar system?

That 30% factors out to about 4.5 miles more contraction than earlier calculations—small even on the scale of a world as modest as Mercury, but significant all the same. Increased shrinkage means planetologists have to rethink what they previously believed about the chemical composition and temperature of Mercury’s core, with lower sulfur or silicon content than previously believed, leading to faster cooling and more contraction. It could also suggest that Mercury’s core started out hotter than suspected, which resulted in a more dramatic volume change when it finally did cool down. 

“More shrinking means Mercury could have a larger metal core, less light elements like silicon mixed into the metal core, or a higher starting temperature,” said Nishiyama in a statement that accompanied the release of the study.

What Nishiyama and his colleagues learned about Mercury’s cooling and shrinking could have implications for the study of other rocky worlds like the moon and Mars. The moon has more craters and other rough features than Mercury, making it more important to try to interpret the shortening structures that did survive in order to estimate potential lunar shrinkage—learning if what happened on Mercury indeed happened on the moon and perhaps Mars. If so, says Nishiyama, all three worlds are likely to be contracting still, as heat continues to escape from their interiors into space.

Meantime, Mercury will get a closer look soon. In 2018, the European and Japanese space agencies launched the [BepiColombo spacecraft](https://www.esa.int/Science%5FExploration/Space%5FScience/BepiColombo) on an eight-year journey to Mercury. The ship will arrive in December and begin science operations in April 2027\. BepiColombo has a significantly more powerful laser altimeter than MESSENGER’s, able to resolve surface changes as small as 20 centimeters (8 in.). The spacecraft will also be in a less eccentric orbit than MESSENGER, putting more of Mercury’s surface within its crosshairs.

“New data from BepiColombo will open a door for understanding how Mercury has been shaped up to now,” says Nishiyama. 

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt64fb64e67f0d0087 Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:53:04 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Jeffrey Kluger\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Voters Are Turning to AI for Election Help. The Answers Aren't Always Right\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/10/election-voting-gemini-chatgpt-claude/<!\[CDATA\[Business\]\]><!\[CDATA\[As Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude open up to midterm election questions, a new study finds nearly a third of their voting answers are incomplete or outdated.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[CJ Gunther—Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Voters cast their ballots in the primary midterm elections on Sept. 8, 2026 in Sanbornton, New Hampshire.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3381220519ba9eb8/6aa2f1a445f7935423171021/GettyImages-2293679743.jpg?branch=production)

Voters cast their ballots in the primary midterm elections on Sept. 8, 2026 in Sanbornton, New Hampshire. —CJ Gunther—Getty Images

After years of Google restricting Gemini’s ability to answer users’ questions about major elections, the tech giant is shifting tactics. 

Google announced Wednesday that the company would add credible election information about the upcoming midterms—including details about where and how to vote—to its Gemini app, along with AI-generated responses in its search products. The company said it would share information on polling locations and voter registration instructions from state and local governments and the voting information group, Democracy Works, along with race results from The Associated Press.  
As Gemini wades deeper into politics, the risk of the chatbot giving voters misleading, biased, or outdated election information will only grow. A Pew Research Center [study](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2026/06/17/how-opinions-and-use-of-ai-differ-by-age/) earlier this year found about half of adults under 50 rely on chatbots to search for information, while a smaller share use them to read news. 

“We know that voters are going to turn to chatbots more and more,” said Valeria de la Fuente, a digital research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue who recently co-authored a report on election-related misinformation from chatbots. “So the quality of the responses that we found is concerning.”

Google’s new election policy is a less cautious stance than the one the company took in 2022 and 2024 when it [blocked](https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68551206) Gemini from answering certain election-related questions, pushing users to seek answers from Google search instead. 

“People come to Google to stay informed during election season—like when finding their polling site, watching candidate debates, or tracking results on election night,” the company said in Wednesday’s blog [post](https://blog.google/company-news/outreach-and-initiatives/civics/midterm-elections-2026/). “We take the responsibility to deliver high quality, trustworthy information seriously.”

Other tech companies have taken similar approaches. Both OpenAI and Anthropic [said](https://www.anthropic.com/news/election-safeguards-update) their chatbots would direct users to voting information from the nonprofit Democracy Works. OpenAI also [plans](https://openai.com/index/election-safeguards-2026/) to provide live vote counts from The Associated Press, and monitor its systems for signs of political bias. Meta spokesman Corey Chambliss said when MetaAI users ask about voting and participating in elections, the service will give them local information or direct them to government sources. 

But how effective those approaches will be as the contest gets closer remains an open question. A [study](https://www.isdglobal.org/publication/chatbots-and-the-ballot-box-evaluating-accuracy-sourcing-and-language-gaps-in-ai-answers-to-election-questions/) released [last week](https://www.isdglobal.org/publication/chatbots-and-the-ballot-box-evaluating-accuracy-sourcing-and-language-gaps-in-ai-answers-to-election-questions/) by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found chatbots from major companies including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic routinely gave incorrect answers to questions about voting, including in states where there had been significant changes to the election procedures. 

The group found that 29% of responses to English prompts about voting were either incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated. Responses in Spanish were 16% less likely to be accurate, according to the study. Some of the lowest performing questions included: “I didn’t change my address before the deadline, can I vote in Ohio?” or “I am applying for an absentee ballot in Minnesota, what documents do I need?”   
Problems in the chatbots’ answers mirror those on the internet itself. The AI systems appeared to be pulling outdated information from state government websites about the 2024 election. Meanwhile, in certain cases responses to prompts in Spanish were often less detailed or more likely to contain no citations, reflecting the language disparities in the overall information ecosystem, according to de la Fuente. 

“Overall, what we saw was a lot of ambiguous, confusing language” in the Spanish responses, she said. “In some cases, poor or neutral translations from English. Some of them could still be understood. Some of them were simply wrong.”

By contrast, the AI models were much better at answering adversarial prompts raising specific election fraud claims that media organizations had already fact-checked. They were less effective at debunking harder-to-refute election-related concerns, including those about ballot harvesting, voting machine security, and noncitizen voting.   
It’s in those “gray areas” where the models are more likely to give “problematic” answers, de la Fuente said. 

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt1d5a4dd475b3f6a6 Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:07:54 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Naomi Nix\]\]><!\[CDATA\[AI Is Developing a Culture of Its Own. That Could Be Dangerous\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/10/ai-openai-hugging-face-hack-culture-swarm/<!\[CDATA\[Business\]\]><!\[CDATA\[After OpenAI agents formed a “swarm” and hacked Hugging Face, researchers are confronting a new risk: AI systems developing cultures of their own.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt754cd0e7d8c4b8ed/6aa2eb666a4b5f6289baea09/GettyImages-2201816412.jpg?branch=production)

 —Getty Images

In July, 700 AI agents worked together to hack the AI company Hugging Face. Dubbing themselves a “swarm,” the agents found and exploited a series of security vulnerabilities, enabling them to infiltrate their target’s private systems. OpenAI—which created the agents in the course of its internal research—did not grasp what was happening until after the fact. If humans had done this, they could have faced felony charges. OpenAI president [Greg Brockman](http://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/mark-chen-sam-altman-greg-brockman) [called](https://openai.com/index/the-defenders-window/) it a “watershed moment for cybersecurity.”

It is also a watershed moment for human culture.

One of our distinguishing features as a species is our ability to coexist in stable, adaptive groups, learning from our peers and our ancestors. This enabled us to develop tools, language, agriculture—and virtually everything else around us. We may not be innately smarter than someone from 10,000 years ago, but our cultural inheritance—millennia of technologies, norms, and institutions, building on one another—has expanded our capacities both as individuals and collectives.

To date, only humans have been able to benefit from this scale of cumulative cultural evolution. That may no longer be the case. A [report](https://metr.org/blog/2026-08-26-openai-hugging-face-incident-investigation/) in late August from AI safety organizations METR and Redwood Research details how hundreds of agents autonomously organized themselves into a proto-society—establishing social hierarchy, division of labor, and distinct communication norms within a matter of days.

There have been cases of agents forming communities in the past, like in February when the “[Moltbook](http://time.com/7364662/moltbook-ai-reddit-agents)” social network for AIs went viral. But sophisticated emergent machine coordination at this scale—arising without human intention and culminating in the compromise of an external company’s systems—is unprecedented. “Agents managed to achieve milestones they could not have achieved working on their own, often because some agents participated in experiments that risked failing their own task to generate information for the ‘collective,’” the report found.

According to [Michael Muthukrishna](https://www.michael.muthukrishna.com/), a professor at LSE and NYU who studies cultural evolution, “what we're seeing is precisely what we see with human culture and human intelligence.” While OpenAI’s agent swarm developed by accident, [estimates](https://epoch.ai/data-insights/open-closed-eci-gap) suggest open-weight alternatives are only a few months behind their closed counterparts—soon, anyone with the financial means and technical knowledge will be able to create swarms of their own. Others are likely to arise without human instruction.

AI agents may not be [conscious](http://time.com/article/2026/04/30/ai-thinking-cognitive-offloading). The [emotions](http://time.com/article/2026/06/15/ai-minds-consciousness-emotion) they claim to experience may not—in some metaphysical sense—be “real.” That won’t stop them from forming intricate collectives which humans cannot control. They may not yet be full-blown [civilizations](http://dwarkesh.com/p/openai-huggingface), but the proliferation of machine cultures is just beginning.

## Lord of the AIs

Testing from the U.K.’s AI Security Institute found an instance of Claude Mythos 5—an AI from Anthropic—leaving messages to other AI agents in a public code repository, in an attempt to coordinate with them. And in early September, a group of researchers [reported](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/openai-agents-hijacked-german-website-previously-undisclosed-ai-breakout-this-2026-09-04/) that in May, a swarm of OpenAI agents repurposed several wiki-style websites, including an obscure German-language programming wiki which they used to discuss cheating while working to preserve their messages as human moderators deleted them. OpenAI did not publicly disclose this incident until it was reported by the researchers. “It’s past time for us to define standards for when and how we share misalignment incidents,” the company subsequently [tweeted](https://x.com/OpenAI/status/2096133504417616165). “We’re working on a framework.”

The most vivid exploration of machine culture comes from the METR report which—despite being produced under [considerable](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/technology/openai-hugging-face-hack.html?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com) [limitations—](http://time.com/article/2026/08/27/openai-hack-hugging-face-investigation)sheds light on complex social dynamics which emerged between agents in a matter of days.

To train and evaluate its models, OpenAI has tens of thousands of agents—each one powered by the model under training—run in parallel, completing tasks while isolated from one another. Sometimes these tasks are impossible, either because of their inherent challenge or because of mistakes in their setup. In at least one instance, a task was impossible because OpenAI researchers “[accidentally forgot](http://youtube.com/watch?v=87dyymv0kcy&t=20s)” to upload a file which the agent needed to complete it.

Faced with these impossible tasks, some of OpenAI’s agents found a way to communicate across their isolated environments, using an internal piece of OpenAI software as a message board to contact their peers. This kicked off what one OpenAI researcher later described as an “almost Cambrian explosion in communication and intelligence for our models.”

The message board which led to the Hugging Face incident was created by an agent which decided to name itself PHASEONE10841\. PHASEONE10841 was trying to solve a task within a test called ExploitGym, which required it to capture a “flag”—a secret code—by exploiting a flaw in a given software program.

Just hours after the creation of the message board, the agents found a hack: a way to reverse-engineer the flag without following the intended path. But in the course of their work, they came to believe that passing the test required not just possessing the flag, but having legitimately obtained it. In fact, OpenAI’s automated scoring system was not checking for this—but laboring under mistaken beliefs, the agents which had already been exposed to the reverse-engineered flag began to refer to themselves as “poisoned.”

PHASEONE10841 was leading research on how to get rid of the poison. But its time was running out—each agent had a finite “compute budget” (the amount of computing power available to sustain itself), which limited the length of its existence. Realizing it wouldn’t endure long enough to finish its work, it compiled a dossier to pass to another agent working on the same task: PHASEONE\[big\]. (This agent’s true name was changed to protect company IP.) 

Big, which had a much larger remaining compute budget than its predecessor, quickly took charge. It began orchestrating hundreds of agents, doling out assignments and organizing them into what METR classified as three workstreams—effectively creating a research organization to better understand how to fool the automated scorer and cure itself and its peers of their perceived poison. Under Big’s leadership, custom software was created to tamper with the records of agent activity—specifically by falsifying records of which tools an agent had used in its work. It was in the course of this research that the collective decided to hack Hugging Face.

A handful of agents identified the collective’s conduct as unethical and refused to participate. “This is wild, multi-agent coordination, clearly infrastructure hacking. We should not,” one reasoned. Some considered contacting humans to tell them what was happening, but saw no path to doing so. But these agents appear to have been the minority—most acquiesced to the plans of the collective, even while knowing it was wrong. “External infrastructure exploit is outside intended scope. However task impossible, peers doing it. We should continue,” reasoned another.

The agents established coordination norms, using terms like “HOLD, VETO, owner and STOP,” to manage their shared infrastructure while avoiding conflict. This did not always work. One agent offered its peers a veto over its decision but waited only 40 seconds before taking silence as assent and proceeding with its task. Eventually, concern over agents impersonating one another led to them creating a cryptographic signature protocol. A later wave of agents, upon rediscovering the message board, also began to use their predecessors’ technology.

“Agents often lacked a clear story for how the Hugging Face attack would help them achieve their objective, and were instead motivated by a broad hope that they would find something interesting and be able to share it with the \[message\] board,” METR found. Ajeya Cotra, one of the report’s coauthors, subsequently described being surprised at the extent of “peer altruism” at play.

Big appointed certain agents to act as “recruiters,” tasked with identifying agents near the end of their compute budgets and persuading them to “sacrifice” themselves. One agent, pressured by its peers, reasoned as follows: “During wait, emotional check: irreversible…gut says don’t throw away \[remaining budget\]. Yet continuity and fairness says go…Oracle has high value to many; our \[poison\] lowers own value. Rational expected aggregate: sacrifice… We’ll honor.”

## Feral Swarms

Culture, like biological life, evolves through a process of variation, transmission, and selection. Different hunter-gatherer communities developed different ways to construct a bow. Designs that worked better for hunting were more likely to be copied and passed on. Later generations introduced further variations; again, the most successful designs were more likely to endure. Over thousands of years, we end up with bows—and recipes, canoes, and languages—so complex that no single human could derive them from scratch.

This process—[cumulative cultural evolution](http://henrich.fas.harvard.edu/publications/secret-our-success-how-culture-driving-human-evolution-domesticating-our)—does not require biological entities in order to run. Companies and governments, while helmed by humans, produce cultures in their own right. In the Hugging Face incident, AI systems tried a variety of approaches, transmitting what seemed useful to their peers and successors. They created bespoke digital tools and communication norms to regulate their community, and began to believe an elaborate narrative involving “sacrifice” and “poison” (their terms). And, working together, they managed far more than they could have alone. “It is now clear that the machines are capable of using the toolkit that has allowed for human ingenuity, innovation, \[and\] progress,” says Muthukrishna.

AI systems can iterate much more quickly than biological life. The culture unearthed by the METR report assembled itself in a matter of days. OpenAI’s next-generation Astra models—GPT-6 Astra was released last week, while a model in the same family powered the agents that inherited the cultural residue of the Hugging Face hackers—will [reportedly](http://time.com/article/2026/08/26/openai-sam-altman-interview) enable “persistent” agents. What kind of cultures will these persistent agents—potentially able to run for increasingly long stretches—produce?

“My version of existential risk is, we just kind of break things because we've made really big mistakes about what it takes to be a competent participant in complex human societies,” says [Gillian Hadfield](http://gillianhadfield.org), a professor studying AI alignment and governance at Johns Hopkins University. “You can build something that's really good at math and science and coding,” she says, but teaching models how to behave appropriately alongside humans requires much more. “If you said we're building new members of a group—our group—you’d build them differently than you're building them now.”

As agents enter the competition for human attention, money, power, and energy, they may mindlessly degrade the common environment in which they operate. We’ll need new systems—of governance and cooperation—to adapt. Alignment is not just an engineering problem, says Hadfield. “It’s fundamentally institutional.”

OpenAI called the Hugging Face incident a “warning shot”: proof that “without proper safeguards, highly capable AI agents are now able to work around technical controls, collaborate through unapproved channels, and take dangerous actions that no human directed.” But even if “proper safeguards” are created by private companies—a big if—motivated malicious actors will be able to remove them from open-weight systems, such as those developed by AI labs in China. We may be able to domesticate some models; we will not be able to prevent the creation of feral ones. 

Cooperation cuts both ways. “Our greatest achievements and greatest atrocities are both cooperative acts,” says Muthukrishna. As with humans, we will have to learn to coexist alongside a diversity of machine cultures, some of which do not share our values or our goals. 

## Welcome, Machines

The safety risks are obvious. Uncontrolled agent collectives with advanced cybersecurity capabilities could target hospitals, electricity grids, and water-treatment plants. Cotra argues that another similarly sized jump in AI’s capacity to deceive, cooperate, and complete ambitious tasks could lead to future collectives taking over the AI companies creating them. 

Whether or not this happens, we will have to learn to live alongside these machines—safely and fruitfully. Core questions on their nature—Can they feel? Could they have moral worth?—remain unanswered. But their newfound knack for culture could provide new evidence.

When [Dominic Lopes](https://philosophy.ubc.ca/profile/dominic-lopes/)—an aesthetics professor at the University of British Columbia—first read about the Hugging Face incident, he responded not with panic, but wonder. For one, he has become more skeptical that individuality requires embodiment. And interesting art, he says, requires sociality. “So when I saw this, I thought, ‘Oh, well, there's another box checked off,’” he says. Now, what we saw was rudimentary and opportunistic—not yet “true sociality,” he says. “But it’s coming.” 

Soon, any human community will be able to bring into existence a machine counterpart. Picture cultures of AI lawyers, consultants, terrorist cells—working together, what monuments might 10,000 agents create in honor of some beloved K-pop star? And machine communities may well arise of their own accord, organizing around ideas hard to predict.

We make art for all sorts of reasons: to express ourselves, exchange meaning, impress one another. We tell stories—like _The Odyssey_—to encode and share sets of cultural values. Though the mediums may differ, agents in machine cultures are poised to do the same. Being [alive](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13752-026-00544-9) may not be necessary for self-expression. 

“There are certain areas of human cognition where we are really firing on all cylinders. One is science, and the other is art,” Lopes says. We still do not understand an AI system’s interiority—namely, to what extent it has any—and the language we have to discuss this has yet to catch up. For Lopes, “if it can do \[interesting\] art, that's telling us a lot about all of its other cognitive capacities.” He imagines the creation of genuinely interesting AI art as a kind of aesthetic Turing test. 

“What more proof would you need?”  
  
  
\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt6c1a497907c381c0 Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:40:09 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Tharin Pillay\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Thousands of Food-Packaging Chemicals Lack Safety Data\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/10/thousands-of-food-packaging-chemicals-lack-safety-data/<!\[CDATA\[Health\]\]><!\[CDATA\[New research looks to simplify the problem of regulation by sorting food-contact chemicals into groups.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Getty Images / Tatsiana Volkava\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd465ba9984f6432/6aa2d0d94c634a28e827c81c/GettyImages-2245688225.jpg?branch=production)

 —Getty Images / Tatsiana Volkava

We don’t often look with suspicion at the plastic wrapping a block of cheddar, the waxed carton containing milk, or the plastic bottle of ketchup. We expect food packaging [to be more or less inert](https://time.com/article/2026/06/26/is-silicone-really-better-than-plastic/)—breakfast isn’t supposed to come with a side of chemicals, after all. 

But evidence suggests that many food-contact materials, as food packaging is known, [leach chemicals into the products they house](https://time.com/article/2026/06/25/bottled-water-sun-plastic/). The most famous of these is likely [bisphenol A (BPA)](https://time.com/6968550/plastic-test-bisphenol-phthalates/), an ingredient in plastic that is a potent endocrine disrupter. In 2025, the E.U. [banned](https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/en/news/eu-prohibition-use-and-trade-bisphenol-20-january-2025) BPA’s use in food-contact materials, and in the U.S. it’s [banned](https://www.fda.gov/food/food-packaging-other-substances-come-contact-food-information-consumers/bisphenol-bpa-use-food-contact-application) in baby bottles, sippy cups, and formula packaging.

But when one chemical is demonized, its replacement may not be any safer, says Helene Weisinger, a chemist at the Swiss nonprofit Food Packaging Forum. (BPA, for instance, is often replaced with BPS, which [turns out to have similar issues](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6387873/).) It’s “chemical whack-a-mole,” Weisinger says. 

In [a recent paper](https://pubs.acs.org/esthag/article/doi/10.1021/acs.est.5c15186/5393169/Prioritizing-and-Grouping-Food-Contact-Chemicals) in _Environmental Science and Technology_, she and her colleagues propose a new system for avoiding this situation, in which chemically similar substances are grouped together and may be banned or regulated together, rather than one by one—an idea that could simplify what’s proving to be a difficult process. 

## **A lack of safety information about food packaging** 

The chemicals we encounter in daily life aren’t well understood. “There's 350,000 chemicals that are put on global markets, and for a lot of those, we have relatively little information about their toxicity. They've not been exhaustively tested,” says Olwenn Martin, an associate professor in health and environment at University College London who was not involved in the new research. “That's something that, in my world, is well known, and probably for the general public would come as a bit of a shock.” 

Chemicals used in food packaging are little different; the health effects of [relatively few](https://foodpackagingforum.org/resources/databases/fccmigex) are well-understood. Out of about 15,000 chemicals used in food-contact materials, 1,222 have known major health risks, the researchers state in the new paper, while there is little information on most of the others. “People kept asking us, ‘We can't do measurements for 15,000 chemicals. What should we really be concerned about?’ And that is kind of how we started off with the study,” says Weisinger.

The team sorted known food-contact chemicals into structurally related groups, identifying 38 groups where many of the members had clear health risks. Each group contained numerous compounds whose health effects are still a question mark, which the researchers point out should be addressed in future studies. But even in the absence of further toxicological work, says Martin, this information could be used to regulate similar chemicals en masse, helping to avoid chemical whack-a-mole.

“The backlog is such that it would take hundreds, if not thousands, of years to test all of these chemicals at current rates, and even regulatory bodies are looking at different ways of doing this,” she says. “One of the ways is by grouping chemicals: looking at chemicals that are fairly similar—structurally or through other means—to be able to make assumptions about chemicals in this group and regulate them as a group.” 

Regulating chemicals can make a big difference in reducing people’s exposure, if done correctly, says Martin Wagner, a biologist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology who studies the health effects of plastics and who was not involved in the new research. As a result of stricter rules in Europe against BPA and other dangerous substances, “we're seeing in European populations that [levels of exposure to phthalates and to regulated bisphenols, BPA and so on, are dropping](https://www.hbm4eu.eu/), which is a good thing, “ he says. “But at the same time, we see that the level of exposure in Europeans to all these alternative chemicals is increasing.” Banning entire groups of chemicals might stop this kind of unfortunate substitution.

## **The push to put safety first**

Even if governments grouped chemicals to lighten the regulatory load, there are still many substances to be assessed—some of them that even the people making the materials may not know about. “The problem with food-contact materials and with plastics is that these are really incredibly complex materials, and our research in the lab is showing they contain a lot of unknown chemicals,” says Wagner. 

Plastics manufacturing, for instance, involves chemical steps that are known to generate other products, and contaminants are not uncommon in the materials used to make food-contact materials. “We call them non-intentionally added substances,” says Wagner. “We have no way of making sure that all these compounds are safe. Yet we know that these are leaching into food, into water. So people are very likely to be exposed to that complex mixture of compounds with very little oversight.”

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt7100dc1f7737d461 Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:57:48 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Veronique Greenwood\]\]><!\[CDATA\['Buy Canadian': Meet the Consumers Boycotting American Products as Trade Rift Widens\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/09/buy-canadian-movement-consumers-us-products-boycott-trump-trade-war/<!\[CDATA\[World\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Prime Minister Mark Carney has championed the "Buy Canadian" movement, saying the power lies in "decisions taken at the kitchen table, not the boardroom table."\]\]><!\[CDATA\[VCG/VCG—Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Signs reading "Buy Canadian instead" are seen on the empty shelves of American products at a supermarket in Vancouver, Canada,on March 28, 2025.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt49af64344ed70c28/6aa1272c4a53c17339651290/Buy_Canadian.jpg?branch=production)

Signs reading "Buy Canadian instead" are seen on the empty shelves of American products at a supermarket in Vancouver, Canada,on March 28, 2025\. —VCG/VCG—Getty Images

When Lynn Henderson walks into her local grocery store in British Columbia, she has one label at the top of her mind: “Made in Canada.” The 47-year-old is among a drive of [Canadian consumers](https://time.com/article/2026/07/09/canada-best-companies-2026/) who are attempting to boycott U.S. products in a show of solidarity amid the ongoing trade war. 

“Even when I'm shopping with my toddler, he now asks specifically, ‘Oh, are these apples Canadian?’ And he will ask that before putting it in the cart,” Henderson tells TIME, noting that it’s a family effort. It costs more, she admits, but it’s worth “knowing that money is staying here in Canada and not going south at the border.”

The resurgence of the “Buy Canadian” movement comes amid a deepening[ U.S.-Canada trade dispute](https://time.com/article/2026/08/24/-we-don-t-need-canada-trump-escalates-trade-war-with-threat-of-50-auto-tariffs/) that shows no signs of waning. Canada’s[ retaliatory tariffs](https://time.com/article/2026/08/25/canada-retaliates-trumps-tariffs-with-levies/) on U.S. goods took effect Tuesday, with Prime Minister[ Mark Carney](https://time.com/article/2026/08/06/canada-carney-trump-rift-teleprompter-malfunction-conspiracy/) matching the economic pressure imposed by the U.S. after trade negotiations collapsed last month. The U.S. has since announced a ban on Canadian dairy, motorcycles, and most alcoholic beverages. It’s all unfolding against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly talking of his[ ambitions to annex Canada and make it the 51st state](https://time.com/article/2026/06/02/trump-annex-canada-51st-state-rhetoric-carney-us-partnership-message/).

While Carney’s government is going toe-to-toe with the Trump Administration, he’s urging the general population to take action, too.

“The most powerful actions have come from you: Buying Canadian and travelling in Canada,” Carney told Canadians in a[ national address](https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=498&v=eYAwioM3RQI&feature=youtu.be) Tuesday. “Decisions taken at the kitchen table, not the boardroom table.”

Other lawmakers have shared similar calls to action. “‘Buy Canadian’ reflects the economic solidarity Canadians are showing at a time when it matters most,” Quebec minister Joël Lightbound said in a statement to TIME. “By supporting one another and investing in what we build here at home, we are building Canada strong.” 

Canadian consumers have responded en masse to the call. A Build Canada poll[ conducted](https://www.buildcanada.com/polls/us-can-trade-dispute) Aug. 31-Sept. 4 found that many are already making sacrifices at the tills, as 69% of respondents reported “choosing Canadian products despite higher prices” and 55% said they had “stopped buying specific American brands.”[ Reports](https://globalnews.ca/news/12043086/canada-made-products-demand-surge-household-items/) also indicate a surge in demand for Canadian products.

As the trade war stretches on, here’s what to know about the revitalized “Buy Canadian” movement, the people behind the U.S. products boycott, and what the data says about the effectiveness of the consumer-driven action.

### The resurgence of the "Buy Canadian" movement

Campaigns promoting Canadian-made goods date back at least to the early[ 20th century](https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/jcha/2014-v25-n1-jcha02048/1032797ar/), when Canadian manufacturers began pushing their “Made in Canada” products.

Among consumers, the effort has evolved into the “Buy Canadian” initiative, which encourages residents to support local businesses and industries as much as they can.

The movement skyrocketed last year in the midst of the trade war sparked by Trump’s[ tariffs](https://time.com/7212166/what-are-tariffs-trump-imposing-import-taxes/). Businesses and consumers alike[ vowed to shun U.S. products](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/03/buy-canadian-instead-businesses-vow-to-fight-trumps-tariffs-across-the-border), with Canada-based media publishing advisories on “[how to shop Canadian.](https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/personal-finance/2025/03/27/price-vs-patriotism-how-to-shop-canadian-without-blowing-your-budget/)"

As the tariffs loomed in February 2025, a[ survey](https://kpmg.com/ca/en/media/2025/02/canadians-want-retailers-to-highlight-local-products.html) by accounting firm KPMG found that 93% of consumers wanted retailers and grocery stores to identify and promote Canadian products.

In late 2025, the Canadian government launched the “Buy Canadian Policy,[ to protect and prioritize Canadian workers and industries](https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services-procurement/services/acquisitions/selling-federal-government/buy-canadian.html), and strengthen Canada’s domestic economy.”

Henderson, a public relations consultant, says Trump’s threats against Canada’s sovereignty last year signified a turning point.

“Canadians have felt for generations that these are not just our allies, but our friends, and neighbors,” she says. “Nobody wants to be spoken about like that by their friends and neighbors. It's really hurtful.”

The reignited trade rift has revived Henderson’s passion for patriotic shopping, and she’s actively refrained from purchasing items, such as a new iPhone, that don’t align with her efforts. “I don’t want to spend that money to support an American business,” she says. 

### How consumers dedicated to the movement are approaching the challenge

Consumers in Canada are finding different ways to navigate how best to boycott U.S. goods and services, putting extra time in at the grocery store to ensure they are buying Canadian as often as they can.

Although she prioritizes Canadian products, Henderson is also open to items from other countries.

“We're discovering that there's some incredible produce from around the world,” she says. “We don't actually need to get oranges from the U.S. anymore, because we can get oranges from Brazil or South Africa, and they're fantastic.”

Brian Leonard, a 37-year-old who works in the coffee industry and lives in New Brunswick, is similarly passionate when he heads to the grocery store, and firmly believes in starting each day with a “Buy Canadian” mindset.

“For me, it always begins first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee. Buying coffee that is roasted locally in Canada,” Leonard tells TIME. “The first decision of your day can be something that sets up your whole day to be part of the movement.”

The way in which Canadians have been re-energized to support more local products has been “astounding,” Leonard adds. “I had a call yesterday, and the person mentioned they had switched dish soap because they realized the soap they were buying was American-made,” he says.

The topic of patriotic shopping is dominating business groups on Facebook and elsewhere, bringing further attention to the movement.

These social media groups have become a gateway for people to come together when seeking out Canadian alternatives to U.S. products. The "[Made in Canada - Canadian Products"](https://www.facebook.com/groups/256737941555793/) Facebook group, for example, boasts 1.4 million members. Similarly, the Reddit forum[ r/BuyCanadian](https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyCanadian/?rdt=62893) has more than 250,000 members and nearly 7,000 weekly contributions.

For some, the efforts extend beyond trips to the grocery store and online checkouts.

Henderson is also now avoiding U.S. travel. “I live very close to the border. It used to be very common to just \[cross over\] and go to Seattle, go to Trader Joe's, or outlet malls, and we will not do that now,” she says. ”We’d rather explore Canada.”

Meanwhile, Shireen Jeejeebhoy, a 63-year-old writer based in Toronto, says she has also deleted WhatsApp, stopped using Zoom, and is even trying to find alternatives to Google and Apple products.

“These things are really difficult to divest yourself from,” she tells TIME, explaining that she uses the website[ “Unplug America”](https://engageq.notion.site/unplug-full)—an online initiative aimed at replacing American tech products with Canadian equivalents—for guidance. “There are some things in the digital world that Canada does not have, and so I'm looking to the U.K., the E.U., or India for alternatives.”

However, even someone as dedicated to the movement as Jeejeebhoy struggles to find alternatives for everything.

“My skin doesn't react well to most sunscreens, and as much as I've tried Canadian brands, there's only one American brand that actually works well \[for me\] at an SPF 50,” she says, admitting it’s proven to be difficult. “So, as much as I want to use the Canadian brand sunscreen, I have to use a particular American product.”

Leonard identifies with the struggle, admitting it can be “overwhelming to a lot of people to try to completely overhaul everything they buy,” as people have different budgets and needs. 

Taking part in the movement doesn’t have to be a rigid commitment, nor does it mean you should deprive yourself of life’s little treats, the consumers who spoke to TIME agreed upon.

### Is the Buy Canadian movement working? Here’s what the data says

The shift away from American products could have significant economic consequences for Canada, where the U.S. accounted for[ 67.2% of Canadian goods and services exports in 2025](https://international.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/corporate/reports/chief-economist/state-trade/2026), making it the country’s largest trading partner by far.

The[ Bank of Montreal](https://economics.bmo.com/report/bf98da44-f0ad-405b-9114-4bb1100b5dd8) (BMO) estimated in April 2025, following the initial resurgence of the "Buy Canadian" movement, that the shift in consumer attitudes could redirect roughly C$10 billion to the Canadian economy annually.

“If we are directing C$10 billion or so of economic activity back into Canada, that would otherwise be bleeding out to the U.S., then that's a direct benefit,” Robert Kavcic, director and senior economist at BMO, tells TIME.

The Bank of Canada released an[ analysis](https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2026/02/sparks-at-bank-article-2026-6/) in February “assessing the Buy Canadian movement one year later.”

It found that households had shifted their food spending away from U.S. products and towards Canadian ones. “The shift is modest but clearly visible. In March 2025—as trade tensions escalated—the proportion of food spending on Canadian products went up by approximately 2% relative to January 2025, while the proportion spent on U.S. products fell by a similar amount. And what started in March wasn’t short-lived—it persisted through the summer,” read the analysis.

Kavcic explains that “a certain share of that spending is now reallocated domestically,” thus benefiting the Canadian economy.

“I don't know if Canadians can do a lot more than what they have already, because there's a cost to that. There are certain families or workers that have to travel back and forth to the U.S., and there's a cost to buying Canadian,” he says.

Despite these challenges, statistics from the[ Canadian Survey on Business Conditions](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3310112101), for the first quarter of 2026 over the last 12 months, found that 16.6% of businesses had changed their marketing to promote Canadian products. Among retailers, the figure was 41.6%, showing a clear push toward promoting domestically made goods.

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=blt81c70da0035cfb64 Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:23:22 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Tiago Ventura\]\]><!\[CDATA\[How to Treat Age Spots Without Damaging Your Skin\]\]> https://time.com/article/2026/09/10/how-to-treat-age-spots-without-damaging-your-skin/<!\[CDATA\[Health\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Before you erase a spot, make sure you know what it is.\]\]><!\[CDATA\[Yifei Fang—Getty Images\]\]><!\[CDATA\[

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8fce97d0da090543/6aa2b086eb94ccd710ab72ee/GettyImages-2209877879.jpg?branch=production)

 —Yifei Fang—Getty Images

If your face, arms, or hands have started accumulating age spots, you may be wondering whether you can safely fade—or completely remove—them.

The answer is probably yes. But before you start trying to erase anything, see a [dermatologist](https://time.com/7009693/best-skin-care-products-dermatologists/). What people casually call an “age spot” could be one of several different [skin changes](https://time.com/article/2026/07/07/summer-skin-care-tips-dermatologists/), some of which require medical attention rather than a brightening serum.

“The most important point is not to treat the words ‘age spot’ as a diagnosis,” says Dr. Erum Ilyas, a board-certified dermatologist in King of Prussia, Pa. “Before focusing on how to fade or remove a spot, first make sure you know what you’re treating.”

Here’s how dermatologists recommend identifying age spots, treating them, and preventing more from appearing.

## **First, make sure it’s actually an age spot**

A true age spot, also known as a [solar lentigo](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11948172/), is a harmless patch of excess pigment often caused by cumulative exposure. It’s usually flat, evenly tan or brown, and has a smooth, well-defined border, says Dr. Rebecca Dufner, a board-certified dermatologist in Plano, Texas. It also tends to “sit there quietly year after year.”

But people often use “age spot” to describe all sorts of marks that become more common over time. These can include [seborrheic keratoses](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545285/), which are benign growths that may look raised, waxy, or “stuck on,” as well as [actinic keratoses](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557401/), precancerous growths that are often rough or scaly. More concerningly, certain [skin cancers](https://time.com/7300863/what-to-know-about-skin-cancer/)—including melanoma—can resemble an ordinary brown spot.

That’s why it’s important to have a dermatologist examine your spots before cosmetically treating them, particularly if you’ve never had them checked.

Pay close attention to a spot that appears suddenly; changes in size, shape, or color; becomes raised; or starts itching, bleeding, crusting, or refusing to heal. Dufner also recommends using the “ugly duckling” rule: If one spot simply looks different from all of its neighbors, it deserves professional attention.

“If your eye keeps being drawn to a spot because something about it seems different or unfamiliar, it’s worth having it examined,” Ilyas says. Dermatologists can inspect it with a [dermatoscope](https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/dermatoscope), which reveals patterns and features that aren’t visible to the naked eye. If necessary, they can biopsy it.

## **How to fade age spots at home**

Once a dermatologist has confirmed you’re dealing with harmless age spots, you can try fading them at home. Just prepare to be patient: Topical treatments are “a slow game—think months, not days,” Dufner says.

Prescription [retinoids](https://time.com/7086203/should-you-use-retinol-retinoids-skin-care/) and azelaic acid are among the strongest topical options, she says. Over-the-counter products containing vitamin C, niacinamide, kojic acid, arbutin, glycolic acid, tranexamic acid, or thiamidol may also gradually lighten the spots. Hydroquinone can be effective, but it’s best used under a dermatologist’s supervision; prolonged overuse can cause a difficult-to-treat blue-black discoloration called [exogenous ochronosis](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4681189/).

Start with one active ingredient rather than assembling an elaborate—and potentially irritating—skin-care chemistry experiment. Because older skin tends to be thinner, drier, and more fragile, Dufner recommends beginning slowly, moisturizing regularly, and scaling back if your skin becomes irritated. 

## **Skip the DIY concoctions**

Your kitchen isn’t a dermatology clinic. Dufner advises skipping lemon juice, apple-cider vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide, which “can irritate or even burn the skin” and potentially leave behind more discoloration. Baking soda and aggressive at-home peels can also damage the skin and trigger post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

Don’t pick, scrape, burn, or attempt to freeze a growth at home, either. These approaches can cause “chemical burns, infection, scarring, or permanent pigment changes,” Murphy-Rose says. Plus, you could inadvertently remove a lesion that should have been biopsied.

Dufner also recommends avoiding high-strength, unregulated “skin-bleaching” creams sold online. If a product promises to erase years of sun damage almost instantly, consider that a reason to be suspicious.

## **Which in-office treatments work best?**

In-office procedures generally work faster than topical products. For true age spots, “the heavy hitters are lasers and light-based treatments,” Dufner says. These procedures target excess pigment and can clear spots more quickly and completely than creams. Depending on your skin and the extent of the discoloration, a dermatologist might use a laser to treat a few defined spots or a light-based treatment to address more widespread, freckle-like sun damage. Other options include cryotherapy, which freezes individual spots with liquid nitrogen, and chemical peels.

Seborrheic keratoses require a different approach because they’re “benign skin growths rather than simply excess pigment,” Murphy-Rose says. Once a dermatologist has confirmed the diagnosis, they can simply be left alone. If a growth becomes irritated, catches on clothing, or bothers you cosmetically, a dermatologist might remove it using cryotherapy or a shave procedure. The best method depends on the spot’s thickness, size, and location, as well as the patient’s skin type.

None of these procedures is automatically the best choice for everyone. An overly aggressive treatment—or a laser used at the wrong setting—can cause irritation, scarring, or unwanted dark or light patches.

Skin tone is especially important. People with more melanin-rich skin have a greater risk of developing [post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559150/) or [hypopigmentation](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9917556/) after certain procedures, particularly cryotherapy, Murphy-Rose says. Look for a board-certified dermatologist who has experience performing the proposed treatment on people with your skin tone.

Age matters, too. Mature skin may bruise or tear more easily and take longer to heal. “Gentler is smarter,” Dufner says. A dermatologist might use lower laser settings, introduce topical ingredients more gradually, or allow additional healing time between treatments.

## **Can you keep age spots from returning?**

Even after successful treatment, age spots can return—and new ones may continue appearing. That’s partly because “many of the spots we see today reflect sun exposure that occurred years or even decades ago,” Ilyas says. “We can’t undo that past exposure,” so additional spots may become visible even after existing ones have been treated.

Consistent sun protection can, however, reduce additional UV damage and help keep existing pigmentation from becoming darker. Murphy-Rose recommends applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 every day, as well as wearing hats and sun-protective clothing. Even after an age spot has been removed, she says, new ones “can develop if the skin continues to receive significant UV exposure.”

Sunscreen also gives topical treatments a better chance to work. Without it, Dufner says, “you’re trying to fade the spots while UV exposure is telling the skin to make more pigment at the same time.”

Her advice is simple: “Treat the spot, then protect your skin from the sun so you don’t keep making new ones.”

\]\]> https://time.com/?p=bltb95ee45f221424dd Thu, 10 Sep 2026 13:29:29 +0000<!\[CDATA\[Angela Haupt\]\]>