Nation and world news — at a glance — for September 28

Conspiracy theorists and vaccine skeptics have a new target: geoengineering

(NYTimes) — For years, the debate over geoengineering — techniques such as putting aerosols into the atmosphere to block some of the radiation from the sun — has mostly been limited to academics and environmentalists. They agree that climate change is an existential threat but differ about whether humans should try to blunt it by manipulating natural processes. Now, those critics have been joined by groups from a very different corner of American society: vaccine skeptics, conspiracy theorists and organizations motivated by a distrust of government rather than climate concern. These new geoengineering opponents are finding support from hard-right Republicans as more than a half dozen other states have introduced legislation to ban geoengineering.

Alabama carries out second execution using nitrogen gas

(NYTimes) — Alabama executed a man on death row using nitrogen gas Thursday, employing the method for the second time after some witnesses described serious problems during the first nitrogen execution earlier this year. Alan E. Miller, who was convicted in the 1999 murders of three men he believed were spreading rumors about him, was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m. in Atmore. In January, the state carried out what was described as the first nitrogen execution anywhere in the world, and other states have said they are looking into doing so as well as they continue to experience problems obtaining lethal injection drugs.

Newsmax and Smartmatic settle defamation case over 2020 election

(NYTimes) — Smartmatic settled its defamation lawsuit against Newsmax this week, the right-wing cable news channel that had spread false claims of election fraud, the companies said. The details of the settlement, reached as the jury was being selected before the trial, were not immediately disclosed. Smartmatic, an election technology company, had accused Newsmax of trying to entice viewers from its rival, Fox News, by airing false reports that Smartmatic helped swing the 2020 election for Joe Biden. Smartmatic, which was little known before 2020, provided voting services in just one county in California during that election. The lawsuit was filed in Delaware Superior Court in 2021.

New data finds sharper economic rebound from pandemic

(NYTimes) — The U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic even more quickly than previously reported, revised data from the federal government shows. The Commerce Department on Thursday released updated estimates of gross domestic product over the past five years, part of a long-standing annual process to incorporate data that isn’t available in time for the agency’s quarterly releases. The new estimates show that GDP, adjusted for inflation, grew faster in 2021, 2022 and early 2023 than initially believed. The revisions are relatively small in most quarters, but they suggest that the rebound from the pandemic — already among the fastest recoveries on record — was stronger and more consistent than earlier data showed.

Southwest Airlines stock soars after it lays out overhaul

(NYTimes) — Southwest Airlines announced a three-year plan Thursday to revitalize its operation and customer offerings as it defends against an activist investor calling for new leadership and a strategy overhaul. The plan expands on a series of changes by Southwest in recent months, including plans to add premium seats, introduce red-eye flights and replace its pick-your-own seating system with assigned seats, starting in 2026. The airline said Thursday that it would begin selling vacation packages and was partnering with international airlines next year. It also announced a $2.5 billion share repurchase program and plans for operational changes. Southwest shares closed more than 5% higher Thursday.

Cheerful fixture of NBC’s ‘today’ show says she will depart

(NYTimes) —Hoda Kotb, whose megawatt smile and convivial presence have greeted groggy viewers of NBC’s “Today” show for the past 17 years, said Thursday that she would step down from her hosting duties early next year. Her surprise decision, Kotb said, came after a period of reflection prompted by her recent 60th birthday. A one-time local news reporter, Kotb used an easy intimacy with viewers — not to mention a habit of sipping wine on-air — to transform herself into one of the most famous faces of an entire network, which she joined in 1998 as a “Dateline” correspondent.

Sudan’s army launches operation to retake capital

(NYTimes) — Sudan’s military launched a major operation in the capital, Khartoum, on Thursday, a senior Sudanese military official said, in an effort to regain territory it lost during the early months of a civil war that has torn apart one of Africa’s largest countries. The offensive began just hours before Sudan’s army chief and de facto leader, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York, blaming the opposition forces and their international backers for the devastation the conflict has caused. The war began 17 months ago, when Burhan and his rival, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, turned their forces on each other.

The global threat of antibiotic resistance

(NYTimes) — For more than a decade, antimicrobial resistance has been framed as a problem of excess. The willy-nilly consumption of antibiotics, scientists said, have rendered the drugs less effective, leading to the unnecessary deaths of millions, many of them poor. But as global health officials gathered at the United Nations on Thursday to discuss the challenges posed by antimicrobial resistance, many have been promoting a more expansive understanding of the problem. It’s one based on preventing treatable infections through improved sanitation, higher vaccination rates and increased access to anti-infective drugs in lower-income countries.

Dozens, mostly children, drown during a Hindu festival

(NYTimes) — At least 46 people drowned in the eastern Indian state of Bihar as millions of Hindu devotees were celebrating a three-day festival for the well-being of children, officials said Thursday. Thirty-seven of those who died were children and seven were women, according to a statement released by the government of Bihar state. As part of the annual festival Jivitputrika Vrat, celebrated mostly in northern India and some parts of Nepal, women fast for 24 hours and offer special prayers for the long life and good health of their children. During the hours when they are fasting, mothers travel to rivers and ponds in their neighborhood to bathe, sometimes accompanied by their children.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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