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Sept. 10 (UPI) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Wednesday banning sales of hemp-based THC products to people under the age of 21 amid an ongoing push for state lawmakers to establish THC regulations.

Abbott called the order “safety for kids, freedom for adults,” in a post on X.

The order directs the Department of State Health Services and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to ban sales of hemp-based THC products to those under 21 years old and requires retailers to verify age with a government-issued ID. Retailers that don’t follow this law will lose their retailer’s license.

Additionally, the DSHS must review existing regulations on hemp-based THC products, including labeling requirements. The DSHS, TABC and the Department of Public Safety must also partner with local law enforcement to increase enforcement of the new law.

Though the Texas Senate — backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — approved of a more sweeping ban on the sale of THC products in any form, lawmakers failed to agree on a final law to regulate the products. Abbott vetoed the full ban, seeking a less restrictive law.

“Texas will not wait when it comes to protecting children and families,” Abbott said in a statement announcing his executive order. “While these products would still benefit from the kind of comprehensive regulation set by the Texas Legislature for substances like alcohol and tobacco, my executive order makes sure that kids are kept safe and parents have peace of mind now, and that consumers know the products they purchase are tested and labeled responsibly.”

Abbott also directed the DSHS, TABC and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service to study a framework for wider THC regulations based on Texas House Bill 309 filed in August. The legislation, submitted by Texas Rep. Briscoe Cain, a Republican, seeks to create a Texas Hemp Council to regulate products derived from hemp, including food items and beverages.

Poland has intercepted Russian drones that were flying over its airspace after completing a mission in western Ukraine. It’s the first time a NATO member nation has fired shots in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration and the conservative movement were stunned Wednesday by the shooting of Charlie Kirk, a disruptive leader in GOP politics who accomplished what was once thought a pipe dream, expanding Republican ranks among America’s youth.

Inside the White House, senior officials that had worked closely alongside Kirk throughout much of their careers reacted with shock. It was a moment of political violence reminiscent of the repeated attempts on Donald Trump’s life during the 2024 presidential campaign, one official told The Times.

“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!”

Kirk, a founder of Turning Point USA, was instrumental in recruiting young Americans on college campuses to GOP voter rolls, making himself an indispensable part of Republican campaigns down ballot across the country. That mission made his shooting on a college campus in Utah all the more poignant to his friends and allies, who reacted with dismay at videos of the shooting circulating online.

His impact, helping to increase support among 18- to 24-year-old voters for Republican candidates by double-digit margins in just four years, has been credited by Republican operatives as driving the party’s victories last year, allowing the GOP to retake the House, Senate and the presidency.

Democrats have recognized his prowess, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom hosting him on his podcast earlier this year in an appeal to young, predominantly male voters lost by the Democrats in recent years.

“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form,” Newsom said on X in response to the news.

As videos of the shooting circulated online, a number of prominent Republicans, including senior members of the Trump administration, reacted to the news by asking the public to pray for the young activist.

“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” Vice President JD Vance said in a post on X.

Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi said federal agents were at the scene of the shooting in Utah. FBI Director Kash Patel added the FBI will be helping with the investigation.

Wilner reported from Washington, Ceballos from Tallahassee, Fla.

Sept. 10 (UPI) — Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem.

Kirk, 31, initially was reported as being in critical condition after being removed by his security team while bleeding from his neck. But President Donald Trump announced he has died from his wounds. Other media has since reported the same.

“The great and legendary Charlie Kirk is dead,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

“No one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States better than Charlie,” the president continued. “He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and now he is no longer with us.”

Trump expressed sympathy on behalf of himself and first lady Melania to Kirk’s wife, Erika, and their family.

University officials initially had said a suspect was in custody, but no suspect has been detained, NBC News reported in an update.

“Today at about 12:10 p.m. [local time] a shot was fired at the visiting speaker, Charlie Kirk,” University officials said in a statement released to media.

“He was hit and taken from the location by his security. Campus police is investigating, [and] a suspect is in custody.”

The reported suspect was not the alleged shooter and since has been released from custody.

The shooter was positioned on top of one of the university’s buildings and about 200 yards from where Kirk was speaking when he suffered a single gunshot wound to the neck, the BBC reported.

Kirk was a co-founder of Turning Point USA, which is a conservative non-profit that promotes conservative causes and viewpoints at colleges, universities and elsewhere and supports Trump.

Trump in an earlier Truth Social post called Kirk a “great guy from top to bottom” and concluded his post with, “God bless him!”

Kirk was a father of two and spoke during the 2024 Republican Convention in Milwaukee shortly after a would-be assassin tried to shoot and kill Trump.

He was taken to Intermountain Health Utah Valley Hospital, which is located near the university.

Utah Valley University is located about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City and told students to shelter in place after the shooting occurred.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for more developments.

Charlie Kirk was one of the most high-profile conservative activists and media personalities in the US and a trusted ally of President Donald Trump.

Kirk, 31, who the president said died after a shooting at a Utah college on Wednesday, was known for holding open-air debates on campuses across the country.

In 2012, at the age of 18, he co-founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a student organisation that aims to spread conservative ideals at liberal-leaning US colleges.

His social media and eponymous daily podcast often shared clips of him debating with students about issues such as transgender identity, climate change, faith and family values.

The son of an architect who grew up in the well-to-do Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights, Kirk attended a community college near Chicago before dropping out to devote himself to political activism. He applied unsuccessfully for West Point, the elite US military academy.

Kirk often referred tongue-in-cheek to his lack of a college degree when engaging in debates with students and academics on esoteric topics such as post-modernism.

His role in TPUSA took off after President Barack Obama was re-elected in 2012.

Kirk toured the country speaking at Republican events, many popular with members of the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement. TPUSA now has chapters in more than 850 colleges.

An avid public speaker, Kirk addressed the Oxford Union earlier this year, and wrote a 2020 best-seller The Maga Doctrine.

TPUSA played a key role in the get-out-the-vote effort for Trump and other Republican candidates in last year’s election. The millennial was widely credited with helping to register tens of thousands of new voters and flipping Arizona for Trump.

Kirk attended Trump’s inauguration in January in Washington DC, and has been a regular visitor at the White House during both Trump terms in office.

The president and his aides valued Kirk’s political antenna for the grassroots of the Make America Great Again movement.

He’s spoken at Republican conventions and last year Donald Trump repaid the favour by giving a big speech at a Turning Point conference in Arizona.

Earlier this year, he travelled with Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, to Greenland, as the then-incoming president was arguing that the US should own the Arctic territory.

Kirk’s evangelical Christian religion and family – he married a former Miss Arizona, with whom he had two children – were front and centre in his politics, and he was seen as both the future of conservative activism and a highly polarising figure.

Perhaps the biggest tribute to his contribution to Republican politics came from Trump himself in a clip played at the beginning of Kirk’s podcast.

The president says: “I want to thank Charlie, he’s an incredible guy, his spirit, his love of this country, he’s done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organisations ever created.”

Kirk discussed numerous political and social at his events and on his podcasts – gun control is one of them.

The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle, powered by multibillion-dollar orders, sent Oracle stock shooting up.

Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison has wrested the title of the world’s richest person from longtime holder Elon Musk.

On Wednesday, as stock in Ellison’s software giant rocketed more than a third in a stunning few minutes of trading, Ellison’s net worth surpassed the Tesla CEO, according to wealth tracker Bloomberg. As of 3pm in New York (19:00 GMT), Oracle stock is up 34.4 percent for the day.

Ellison, 81, is now worth $393bn, according to Bloomberg. That is several billion more than Musk, who had been the world’s richest person for four years running. Stock in one of Musk’s biggest holdings, Tesla, has been moving in the opposite direction of Oracle’s, dropping 14 percent so far this year as of Tuesday.

The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle, powered by multibillion-dollar orders from customers as the AI race heats up.

Ellison’s net worth is largely derived from his 41 percent stake in Oracle.

Another news organisation with a long history of tallying the world’s richest, Forbes, still has Musk at the top, at $439bn. Bloomberg put his net worth at $385bn. The difference is in how the two estimate the value of Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, among other private holdings.

It comes as Tesla shareholders have offered Musk a $1 trillion compensation package.

With Ellison’s surging fortune on Wednesday, he could fund the lifestyles of five million US families for a year, about the entire population of Florida, allowing them to all quit their jobs, assuming the US median household income.

Weather forecasts suggest Maiduguri and surrounding communities in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, are set for reduced rainfall in the coming days, offering some relief to a city haunted by last year’s Sept. 10 devastating flood.

The chance of rain, which stood at 74 per cent last week, is expected to drop to 11 per cent today, easing pressure on the city’s fragile drainage systems and flood-prone neighbourhoods. ​According to AccuWeather, scattered showers are still expected, but without the intensity that typically triggers flash floods.

For residents, however, the reassurance is tempered by painful memories. Nearly half of Maiduguri was affected last year, with at least 150 lives lost, according to the National Emergency Management Agency, and over 400,000 people displaced. Critical infrastructure was damaged, livelihoods destroyed, and many survivors are still struggling to recover. 

The improved forecast offers hope, but Maiduguri’s long history of flooding means residents remain wary. Last year’s calamity was not caused solely by rainfall but by inadequate infrastructure, blocked drainage systems, and the dam’s failure. HumAngle reported extensively on the series of events that led to the flood. 

Babagana Zulum, the state governor, who visited the Alau Dam recently, assured residents that water levels are now stable after controlled releases since July.

“Based on current engineering analysis, there is no cause for alarm,” he told journalists.

Yet not everyone is convinced. Timothy Olanrewaju, a resident who was affected by last year’s flood, said the government’s assurance should be taken with a grain of salt.

“We can’t assume that just because the rain is easing compared to last month that we won’t experience flooding,” he said. “Two communities, 505 Housing Estate and Fori Layout, were flooded last weekend, even though there was no heavy rainfall in the city. The Ngada River simply overflowed its banks, and the water made its way into those communities.”

Like many residents, Timothy said he has yet to replace most of the items he lost in the last flood. “Even my car, which was submerged in the water for over a week, is still in terrible shape. I’ve spent a lot of money on it, but it’s not fully repaired,” he said, adding that he is still traumatised. 

“Every time I hear the sound of rain, I start to panic, thinking the flood is coming. A few days ago, I learned that some communities in the city were flooded, and it made me anxious. I began to worry that we would experience the same things we did last year.”

Residents take precaution

In the absence of certainty, some communities are taking matters into their own hands. At the State Low-cost Estate, one of the hardest-hit areas last year, residents have begun desilting their clogged drains during environmental sanitation exercises.

“We were blamed for the flooding we face here because of blocked drainage,” said Abdulkareem Mai Modu, a resident of the estate. “So, in order not to take any chances, we decided to pool our resources and clear all our waterways to avoid any disaster.”

Others, like automobile mechanic Yahaya Garba, remain displaced. ​“We are still taking temporary abodes at the homes of our relatives. I hope there will be a permanent solution to this annual calamity that comes to our homes,” he said. Yahaya’s home in Bulunkutu is still submerged from the recent excessive rainfall.

In the 505 Housing Estate, where floodwaters recently breached perimeter fences, resident Babagana Wakil described wading through knee-deep water.

​“Many residents to relocate as quickly as possible,” he said.

“The government needs to step up and ensure they monitor the flow of water and, when they see danger, pass on information to residents as quickly as possible so people can evacuate from flood-prone areas,” Timothy added.

Sept. 10 (UPI) — The exit of 300 Korean workers detained in Georgia has been delayed due to “a cause from the U.S. side,” according to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The detainees were scheduled to board a Korean Air charter plane from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to head home Wednesday afternoon. The ministry hasn’t said what is causing the delay, The Korea Times reported.

“The government is continuing consultation with the U.S. for as swift a departure as possible. We will provide further updates once a new schedule is confirmed,” it said.

Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement conducted the raid on Thursday and said those who were detained are not authorized to work in the United States.

Three of those detained are from Japan, and others were from Central and South American nations.

The electric battery plant in Ellabell, Ga., near Savannah, is still under construction. It’s a joint project by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution to provide batteries for Hyundai electric vehicles.

Many of those working at the plant had B-1 visas, which are issued for short-term business travel, The Korea Herald reported.

Many others got electronic travel authorization to visit the United States, but neither B-1 visas nor the travel authorizations allowed their respective holders to work.

The Korean government has stressed that the workers will leave under the rules of voluntary departure, which don’t have the same legal consequences as deportation. But, U.S. immigration law allows for bans depending on the length of the unlawful stay, so individual penalties are possible.

Complicating matters, some detainees signed forms early on that included a $1,000 payment for voluntary departure to avoid a 10-year entry ban, The Korea Times reported.

Adding to the confusion, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Monday that the Korean nationals detained in the raid will be “deported.”

In South Korea, people are upset, said James Kim, chair and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Seoul.

“The sentiment is obviously very, very negative,” James Kim, told CBS News. “In my office, I usually have my TV turned on to the news — and this is obviously covered from morning to evening constantly. But everyone who I speak to, they view America as its number — one partner here from South Korea. Yes, we’re going to have some challenging times.”

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun heard demands from angry lawmakers during a parliamentary session in Seoul on Monday, before he departed for meetings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. officials, CBS News reported.

Lawmaker Kim Joon-hyun demanded that Cho respond to the ICE raid by launching investigations into every U.S. national teaching English in South Korea who could be working illegally on a tourist visa.

“Are we giving our money, technology, and investment to the United States only to be treated like this?” CBS News reported that Kim Joon-hyun said.

During his meeting Wednesday in Washington with Cho, Rubio said, “the United States welcomes ROK (South Korea) investment into the United States and stated his interest in deepening cooperation on this front,” according to a readout shared by the State Department.

Rubio and Cho discussed advancing U.S.-South Korean ties “through a forward-looking agenda” that “revitalizes American manufacturing through ROK investment in shipbuilding and other strategic sectors, and promotes a fair and reciprocal trade partnership,” the State Department said.

Seoul and Washington have clashed over administrative and technical procedures, including the terms under which the Koreans are released and the conditions for their transfer to the airport, The Korea Herald reported.

Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, on Tuesday also said that “(U.S.) law enforcement authorities have their own methods they insist on when it comes to transporting detainees by bus.

“They insist on certain practices, such as handcuffing detainees again, but we are making every effort in the final administrative negotiations to ensure that such methods are not applied,” Kim Yong-boem said.

“We are working to complete the procedures so that our nationals can safely return in the form of voluntary departure, not deportation, and are striving to conclude this within a timely period – within a day or two.”

The drive from the ICE detention facility in Folkston, Ga., to the Atlanta airport takes about four and a half hours.

The fintech company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Klarna, the Swedish buy-now-pay-later company, has made its highly anticipated public debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the latest in a run of high-profile initial public offerings this year.

Klarna sold 34.3 million shares to investors at $40 a share late on Tuesday and was listed on the exchange on Wednesday. That is above the forecasted range of $35 to $37 a share and values the company at more than $15bn. The stock is expected to start trading once the NYSE is able to initiate the first batch of trades.

The amount of money raised in Klarna’s initial public offering, approximately $1.37bn, is the largest IPO this year, according to Renaissance Capital. That’s notable because 2025 has been one of the busier years for companies going public.

Other IPOs this year include the design software company Figma and Circle Internet Group, which issues the USDC stablecoin. Investors are also looking forward to the expected market debuts of the ticket exchange StubHub and the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, which is majority-owned by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

Founded in 2005 as a payments company, Klarna entered the United States buy-now-pay-later market in 2015 in partnership with department store operator Macy’s. Since then, Klarna has expanded to hundreds of thousands of merchants and embedded itself in internet browsers and digital wallets as an alternative to credit cards. The company recently announced a partnership with Walmart.

Klarna will trade under the symbol “KLAR.” While the company was founded in Sweden and is a popular payment service in Europe, company executives said they made the decision to go public in the US as a signal that Klarna’s future growth opportunities lay with the US shopper.

“It’s the largest consumer market in the world, and it’s the biggest credit card market in the world. It’s a tremendous opportunity, from our perspective,” said CEO and co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the IPO.

Over the years and in multiple interviews, Siemiatkowski has made it clear that Klarna wants to steal away customers from the big credit card companies and sees credit cards as a high-interest, exploitative product that consumers rarely use correctly.

Split purchases

Klarna’s most popular product is what’s known as a “pay-in-4” plan, where a customer can split a purchase into four payments spread over six weeks. The company also offers a longer-term payment plan where it charges interest. The business model has caught on globally, particularly among consumers who are reluctant to use credit cards. The company said 111 million consumers worldwide have used Klarna.

Klarna and other buy-now-pay-later companies have attracted increased public interest in recent years as the business model has caught on. State and federal regulators, as well as consumer groups, have expressed some degree of worry that consumers may overextend themselves financially on buy-now-pay-later loans just as much as they do with credit cards.

Siemiatkowski says the company is actively monitoring how consumers use their products, and the average balance of Klarna users is less than $100. Because the company issues loans that are six weeks or less, Klarna argues it can more easily adjust its underwriting standard depending on economic conditions.

Klarna reported second-quarter revenue of $823m in August before going public and said that it had an adjusted profit of $29m. The delinquency rate on Klarna’s “pay-in-4” loans is 0.89 percent, and on its longer-term loans for bigger purchases, the delinquency rate is 2.23 percent. Those figures are below the average 30-day delinquency rates on a credit card.

Klarna will now be the second-largest buy-now-pay-later company by market capitalisation behind Affirm. Shares of Affirm have surged more than 40 percent so far this year, putting the value of the US-based company around $28bn, helped by a belief among investors that buy-now-pay-later companies may take away market share from traditional banks and credit cards. Affirm fell slightly on Wednesday.

Klarna’s primary underwriters for the IPO were JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.

Fox News is launching a new Sunday program with its senior White House correspondents Peter Doocy and Jacqui Heinrich, the network announced Wednesday.

The new Washington-based program called “The Sunday Briefing” will replace “MediaBuzz,” the long-running media criticism show hosted by Howie Kurtz that airs at 11 a.m. Eastern.

Heinrich and Doocy will rotate as solo hosts of the “The Sunday Briefing.” Both have covered the White House for Fox News since 2021.

In a statement, Fox News said the new program, which debuts Sept. 21, “will tackle all facets of the White House beat, including the President of the United States’ national and international moves as well as the key issues impacting the administration.”

The son of “Fox & Friends” host Steve Doocy, Peter Doocy, 38, gained notoriety for his combative questions in the White House briefing room during the Biden administration.

Fox News senior White House Correspondent Peter Doocy.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Heinrich, 36, is a highly respected Washington correspondent known for straight reporting on the conservative-leaning network. Her fact-driven approach has occasionally annoyed the Trump administration and opinion hosts at the network who ardently support the president.

Kurtz has anchored “MediaBuzz” since 2013. He will remain at the network as a political media analyst and continue to host a podcast. His final TV program is Sunday.

Kurtz came to Fox from CNN, where he was the original host of “Reliable Sources.” The media criticism program was canceled in 2022 when it was hosted by Brian Stelter.

Fox News is also adding a new weekend program with former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. “Saturday in America with Kayleigh McEnany” will air for two hours at 10 a.m. Eastern.

McEnany joined Fox News in March 2021 as a commentator and was later named as a co-host on the daily daytime talk show “Outnumbered.” She will continue in that role.

Fox News also named Griff Jenkins as the new co-host of the weekend edition of “Fox & Friends.” The program has used rotating co-hosts since Pete Hegseth departed to join the Trump administration as Secretary of Defense.

Jenkins, a Fox News correspondent since 2003, will sit alongside current “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-hosts Rachel Campos-Duffy and Charlie Hurt.

Fox News also named conservative commentator Tomi Lahren and Iraq war veteran Johnny Jones as permanent co-hosts for its weekend panel program “The Big Weekend Show.”

Sept. 10 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General announced Wednesday that it will conduct a review of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ collection and reporting activities for the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index.

In a letter to the BLS’s acting director, William Wiatrowski, the OIG announced the intent to review the department.

“Our focus will be on the challenges and related mitigating strategies for (1) collecting PPI and CPI data, and (2) collecting and reporting, including revising, monthly employment data,” said the letter from Laura Nicolosi, assistant inspector general for audit.

The announcement arrives just weeks after President Donald Trump fired the BLS administrator Erika McEntarfer in August after a weak monthly jobs report. He has nominated conservative economist E.J. Antoni to replace her, but the nomination hasn’t yet been confirmed by the Senate.

The letter said that the BLS recently issued “a large downward revision of its estimate of new jobs in the monthly Employment Situation Report.”

The Labor Department in a preliminary report Tuesday revised jobs data sharply downward for the year ending March 2025 — a drop of 911,000 from initial estimates. The revisions were the largest in more than 20 years.

The BLS has long said that lower survey response rates and other trends have made it harder to measure the state of the U.S. economy, the New York Times reported. But experts inside and outside the agency say a lack of resources slows its efforts to mitigate those challenges.

Israeli air strikes hit Yemen’s capital Sanaa a day after Israel targeted Qatar’s capital Doha. Initial reports say several people were killed and dozens injured. The Israeli military says a Houthi missile was fired at Jerusalem yesterday following the Israeli attack on Qatar.

Two of boxing’s greatest fighters, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Terence “Bud” Crawford, will put their legacies on the line when they meet in a contest being called the “Fight of the Century”.

The pair will clash in a fascinating unified super middleweight title matchup in the United States that sees Alvarez, the reigning super middleweight champion at 76kg (168lb), defend his titles against Crawford, an American who has won 10 world titles boxing at lighter weight classifications but has never fought in excess of 70kg (154lb) and is jumping up two weight classes to fight his Mexican opponent.

Here’s what you need to know before the fight:

When is the Alvarez-Crawford fight?

The ring walk for Saturday’s main fight in Las Vegas, Nevada, is scheduled for 8pm (03:00 GMT Sunday), and the bout will begin a short time later.

Where is the Alvarez-Crawford fight taking place?

The venue for the match is the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium, home to the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team.

The venue is being used because it has a much larger capacity than other indoor boxing venues typically used, namely T-Mobile Arena, which holds 20,000 people for boxing and UFC contests.

Where can I follow and watch the fight live?

You can follow Al Jazeera’s build-up and live fight text and photo coverage here.

The bout will be streamed live globally on Netflix. A subscription is required to watch the event.

What are the pre-fight events?

Building up to the fight, the main news conference will occur at 3pm (22:00 GMT) on Thursday at T-Mobile Arena.

The official weigh-in will take place on Friday at 3pm (22:00 GMT), also at T-Mobile Arena.

What titles are Alvarez and Crawford fighting for?

Alvarez and Crawford are fighting for the Mexican’s WBO, WBA, IBF and WBC super middleweight world titles as well as the Ring Magazine title.

If Crawford beats Alvarez, he will become the first male boxer to be a three-weight-class undisputed champion in the four-belt era.

How much weight does Crawford have to gain to fight Alvarez?

Crawford, the current WBA super welterweight champion, will jump up about 6kg (14lb) to reach the 76kg (168lb) weight limit for the super middleweight bout against Alvarez.

The American will have a slight height advantage over Alvarez, standing 1.73 metres (5ft, 8 inches) vs his opponent’s 1.71 metres (5ft, 7.5 inches).

Crawford also has a 10cm (4-inch) reach advantage over the Mexican fighter (188cm/74 inches vs 178cm/70 inches).

Is Crawford carrying a shoulder injury?

There has been constant speculation in recent days that Crawford is struggling with a shoulder injury heading into Saturday’s huge fight.

In a Fight Hub TV interview broadcast on Tuesday, he denied the injury rumours.

“Where I got the shoulder injury from, I don’t know. I see people coming up with all their own antics, you know ‘Terrence Crawford got a shoulder injury,’ ‘Terrence Crawford is out of shape,’ ‘Terrence Crawford’s slow.’ They coming up with all kinds of stuff,” he said.

Who is Canelo Alvarez?

Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs), is Mexico’s biggest boxing star and a winner of 11 boxing world titles over an illustrious 20-year career.

The orthodox fighter never enjoyed a sterling amateur career, having turned professional at just 15 years old.

The 35-year-old is a four-division world champion: light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight.

In 2021, Alvarez became the first and only boxer in history to become the undisputed super middleweight champion when he knocked out Caleb Plant.

His two career losses have come against fellow legends Floyd Mayweather Jr and Dmitry Bivol but did little to dent Alvarez’s enormous popularity with boxing fans across the world.

Who is Terence Crawford?

Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) from Omaha, Nebraska, began his boxing career in 2008 and is undefeated as a professional.

The 37-year-old southpaw, who has won 10-world titles in total, is a former lightweight champion, junior welterweight undisputed champion and welterweight undisputed champion. Crawford is the current unified welterweight champion and WBA junior middleweight champion.

For his career, he is a four-division world champion and has held undisputed titles in two weight classes: super lightweight and welterweight.

Who is on the undercard?

The preliminary card is scheduled to begin at 3:30pm (22:30 GMT) and the main card at 6pm (01:00 GMT on Sunday).

Main event:

• Alvarez vs Crawford (super middleweight)
• Callum Walsh vs Fernando Vargas Jr (super welterweight – co-main event)
• Christian Mbilli vs Lester Martinez (super middleweight)
• Mohammed Alakel vs John Ornelas (lightweight)

Preliminary card:

• Serhii Bohachuk vs Brandon Adams (middleweight)
• Ivan Dychko vs Jermaine Franklin (heavyweight)
• Reito Tsutsumi vs Javier Martinez (super featherweight)
• Sultan Almohammed vs Martin Caraballo (super lightweight)
• Steven Nelson vs Raiko Santana (light heavyweight)
• Marco Verde vs Marcos Osorio Betancourt (super middleweight)

What is the fight purse?

The total prize money has not been revealed, but it has been calculated as high as $150m, according to multiple media reports.

Alvarez will have a career-high payday with the Mexican earning a minimum of $100m for this fight thanks to signing one of the most lucrative boxing contracts in history: an astronomical five-fight, $400m deal with Saudi promoter Turki Al-Sheikh’s Riyadh Season.

Crawford is guaranteed a minimum of $10m although his final figure is likely to be substantially higher with bonuses and other payments.

Crawford, when asked about rumours of a $50m payday during a recent interview on the Ring Champs podcast, rejected the figure.

“I got $10m for that fight [with Alvarez],” Crawford said of his guaranteed prize purse.

What has Alvarez said about the fight?

Alvarez, speaking at the Grand Arrivals event in Las Vegas on Tuesday, asked whether Crawford’s team have underestimated moving up two weight classes.

“No, they don’t [underestimate the weight class]. Maybe they know, but if not, then I’m going to remind them September 13 I can do a lot of things in the ring, and I’m going to put everything there on Saturday night,” he said.

When asked about Crawford’s recent social post that appears to reveal extra muscle mass on the American fighter, Alvarez commented that he thought that bodes well for a competitive contest.

“I feel happy because you know that you realise it’s going to be a good fight. So we expect a good fight.”

What has Crawford said about the fight?

Crawford is calling the matchup the biggest fight in boxing in “probably a decade” as he bids to become the first male boxer to be undisputed in three weight classes.

“Canelo don’t want to lose to a guy moving up two weight classes,” Crawford said. “You know, he don’t want a smaller guy dethroning him from his undisputed status. Terence Crawford wants to move up and do all those things.

“He’s got a lot to lose. I got a lot to win. I got a lot to lose. He’s got a lot to win.”

The American praised Alvarez’s experience and career while backing his own tools to carry the night.

“Canelo is very experienced. I’m very experienced as well. You got two experienced fighters going head-to-head. The best man is going to win,” he said, adding that his footwork and speed could be decisive.

“I admire his whole career. He and his team have done a tremendous job,” Crawford said, adding that after he wins the battle, he will wish Alvarez “nothing but the best”.

Crawford predicted how the bout would end: “Victory. A good victory… They’re going to be saying that I’m the greatest of this generation and this era.”

Who is the favourite to win the match?

Multiple betting agencies around the world have Alvarez as the favourite to win the fight – but not by a wide margin.

On average, the Mexican pays out $1.60 for the victory vs Crawford’s $2.60 across several well-known betting pools.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Israeli military targeted Hamas leaders in Doha, drawing near universal condemnation and, according to analysts, crossing all previous red lines.

The attack reportedly targeted Khalil al-Hayya, the group’s exiled Gaza leader and main negotiator, who has risen up the ranks after Israel assassinated Yahya Sinwar in Gaza and Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last year. Qatar has hosted Hamas’s political office since 2012 at the request of the United States, according to Qatari officials.

The attack came as Doha, which hosts the US’s largest military base in the region, hosted ongoing ceasefire talks to try and end Israel’s war on Gaza, which has now killed more than 64,600 people and wounded more than 163,000 since October 2023.

Immediately after Israel’s attack, a wave of conflicting information and speculation emerged, particularly over whether or not the US had been informed of the attack.

How was the attack planned, who knew about it, and why did it happen now?

What do we know?

Israel admitted to the attack almost immediately.

“Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility,” a statement by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Israeli media claimed the operation included the use of 15 Israeli fighter jets that dropped 10 bombs. It also included the use of drones.

The attack targeted Hamas leadership, who were meeting to discuss US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire proposal, but they survived. However, six others, including a Qatari security officer, were killed.

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani called the assault “state terrorism”, promising to respond to the strikes, which he said “must not be overlooked”.

How long had it been planned for?

Israeli media claims the operation, which was labelled “Summit of Fire”, took “months of preparation”.

Israeli officials also told CNN that the decision to attack Doha was taken a while ago, while planning took place over two to three months, accelerating in recent weeks.

During the actual attack, Netanyahu was stationed in the Shin Bet domestic intelligence headquarters.

Until now, Qatar has been the base for negotiations between Hamas and Israel. Due to that fact and the presence of a US military base in Doha, many believed it to be off limits to Israeli attacks.

But that veil of safety seems to have been part of Israel’s plan, defence analyst Hamze Attar said.

“Israel [has been] incubating that Doha is a safe zone for Hamas leadership to gather,” Attar, who is based in Luxembourg, told Al Jazeera. “This is not an operation that happens in a day or two. This is something you create for many years in order to create a safe haven for someone so they keep going there and [eventually] eliminate them in a way they do not expect.”

Whose airspace did Israel use to travel to Qatar?

It’s not entirely clear.

When Israel attacked Iran earlier in the year, its planes used Syrian and Iraqi airspace, since neither country has the capacity to shoot down Israeli planes.

Jordan, which does have air defence systems, claimed Israel did not use its airspace for the attack.

Why did Israel attack now?

While the operation had been planned for months, Netanyahu said it was a response to a shooting in occupied East Jerusalem that killed six people on Monday.

But some analysts doubt Netanyahu’s explanation.

Right before the attack, Trump was ramping up his calls for a ceasefire. Netanyahu, however, may not be interested in a deal.

“I think the bottom line here is that Israel clearly is not interested in any kind of ceasefire or negotiations for a ceasefire, that the reports about Trump’s proposal negotiating with Hamas, whatever this revised new offer was, was all a ruse and theatre and clearly a coordinated Israel-US attack in Doha,” Mairav Zonszein, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst on Israel, told Al Jazeera.

Other patterns have also emerged that cast doubt on Netanyahu’s explanation.

For months, Israel’s premier has also launched military attacks that coincide with demands that he appear in court. Netanyahu is currently on trial over corruption charges.

And on Wednesday, Netanyahu returned to court to testify in his corruption trial. Footage showed Netanyahu entering the courtroom in Tel Aviv as proceedings in the trial resumed for the first time in more than a month.

The attack also came amid Israeli demands that Palestinians leave Gaza City in the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands are taking refuge from Israel’s war on Gaza. Many Palestinians have been displaced multiple times and can no longer afford to evacuate, which could lead to many more civilian casualties amid already growing international pressure over what scholars and human rights groups are calling Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, where famine has been declared.

Did the US know about the attack?

The White House, including Trump himself, said the US government was informed about the attack, but did not give many details.

“The Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas, which, very unfortunately, was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Leavitt said that Trump told US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff to “inform the Qataris of an impending attack”.

With the US Al Udeid airbase in Qatar, analysts said it would be difficult for Israel to pull off such an attack without being detected by the Americans.

Still, despite the advanced knowledge, the US expressed discontent over Israel’s actions.

Trump said he was “not thrilled” by the attack when interviewed by reporters.

“This was a decision made by [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

This sentiment was bolstered by Leavitt, who told reporters during a press conference: “Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals. However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”

Was Qatar informed?

Qatari officials said that by the time they were informed of the preplanned attack, explosions were already ringing out across Doha.

Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said the call from the US came 10 minutes after the attack had already begun.

Furthermore, Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said claims that the government had been “pre-informed of the attack are completely false”.

“The call that was received from an American official came during the sound of the explosions that resulted from the Israeli attack in Doha,” al-Ansari wrote in a statement on X.

Sept. 10 (UPI) — Wholesale prices dropped just a bit in August, potentially allowing the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its September meeting.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Producer Price Index on Wednesday, which measures input costs of goods and services. It reported wholesale prices dropped 0.1% for the month, below Dow Jones estimates of a 0.3% gain, while on a 12-month basis, the headline PPI saw a 2.6% gain.

The core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, was also off 0.1% after being expected to climb 0.3%. Excluding food, energy and trade, the PPI posted a 0.3% gain and was up 2.8% from a year ago.

The July figure was revised down to 0.7% — after reporting 0.9%.

Stock market futures gained after the release while Treasury yields were slightly negative.

The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee is expected to release its decision on its key overnight borrowing rate when it meets on Sept. 16-17.

Odds for a larger half percentage point reduction rose slightly after the PPI release to about 10%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch gauge.

The index for final demand services fell 0.2% in August, the largest decline since moving down 0.3 % in April. The August decrease can be traced to a 1.7% drop in margins for final demand trade services. Conversely, the indexes for final demand services less trade, transportation, and warehousing and for final demand transportation and warehousing services increased, 0.3% and 0.9%, respectively, the BLS said.

Three-quarters of the August decrease in prices for final demand services can be attributed to a 3.9% decline in margins for machinery and vehicle wholesaling. The indexes for professional and commercial equipment wholesaling, chemicals and allied products wholesaling, furniture retailing, food and alcohol retailing, and data processing and related services also moved lower. In contrast, prices for portfolio management advanced 2%. The indexes for truck transportation of freight and for apparel wholesaling also increased.

Prices for final demand goods rose 0.1% in August, the fourth consecutive advance. Leading the August increase in the index for final demand goods, prices for final demand goods less foods and energy rose 0.3%. The index for final demand foods moved up 0.1%. Conversely, prices for final demand energy declined 0.4%.

A major factor in the August increase in the index for final demand goods was a 2.3% advance in prices for tobacco products. The indexes for beef and veal; processed poultry; printed circuit assemblies, boards, modules and modems; and electric power also rose. In contrast, prices for utility natural gas decreased 1.8%. The indexes for fresh and dry vegetables, chicken eggs, and copper base scrap also fell.

The United Kingdom, France, Canada and Australia are among a new wave of countries planning to recognise Palestine as a state at this year’s United Nations General Assembly meeting. What does this actually mean? And what, if anything, does it change?

This episode features:

Shibley Telhami | Professor for peace and development at the University of Maryland

Diana Buttu | Palestinian lawyer and analyst

Michael Lynk | Professor emeritus of law at Western University and former United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories

If you want to go deeper on this topic, watch Start Here’s explainer on the two-state solution.

Sept. 10 (UPI) — Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez will testify before the Senate about the organization she briefly ran.

Monarez will appear on Sept. 17 before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, along with Deb Houry, the former Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science at CDC. Houry resigned her position to protest Monarez’s termination.

The two are slated to discuss their time at the CDC to offer testimony regarding their take on the state of the agency.

“To protect children’s health, Americans need to know what has happened and is happening at the CDC,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairperson of the HELP Committee, in a press release Tuesday. “They need to be reassured that their child’s health is given priority. Radical transparency is the only way to do that.”

“[Susan Monarez] is a public health expert with unimpeachable scientific credentials,” Kennedy had said of her at the beginning of August after she was sworn into her role. “I have full confidence in her ability to restore the [CDC’s] role as the most trusted authority in public health and to strengthen our nation’s readiness to confront infectious diseases and biosecurity threats.”

However, Monarez only held her position at the CDC for about four weeks, before allegedly being pushed out because she wouldn’t echo the agenda of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. or remove scientists from the agency because of his plans.

She was fired after refusing to resign.

“Susan Monarez is not aligned with the president’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement to media in regard to her being axed.

“Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC,” he added.

“Parents deserve a CDC they can trust to put children above politics, evidence above ideology and facts above fear,” wrote Monarez in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal last week. “I was fired for holding that line.”

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who formerly led the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and Dr. Daniel Jernigan, who headed the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, also quit the CDC as Kennedy has worked to reshape the vaccine advisory panel to meet his own vaccine policies.

Kennedy, who cancelled approximately $500 million in contracts for mRNA vaccines last month, changed the recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women to receive COVID-19 vaccinations and led the reduction of approval for updated COVID shots this fall to only cover people over 65, or younger Americans with underlying conditions, via the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA.