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Good morning, it's Monday, Sept. 21. The US has reached a deal with Denmark over Greenland security. First time reading? Join millions of insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
Also in today's Digest: Ukraine strikes Moscow (Need To Know), Houthi rebels target Saudi Arabia's capital (Pol. & World Affairs), Shaq, the honorary FBI agent (Etc.), and much more.
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Need To Know
US-Greenland Security Deal
The US and Denmark reached a deal Friday that bolsters security in Greenland while keeping the island under Danish sovereignty. The agreement comes after President Donald Trump's escalated push for US control of Greenland in January.
Trump has emphasized Greenland's strategic and military value to the US, highlighting the Arctic island's reservoir of rare-earth minerals (ranking eighth in the world) and its ability to monitor China and Russia's maritime forces. The agreement allows the US to build military bases and fly over Greenland, but officials have not yet specified the plans. The deal also bars China, Russia, and other non-NATO members from establishing a military presence and gives the US power to veto either country's investments in Greenland.
The three governments are expected to sign the agreement tomorrow at the UN General Assembly in New York. It will require approval from Danish and Greenlandic parliaments before taking effect.
Ukraine Strikes Moscow
Ukraine launched over 1,000 drones at Russia on Sunday, killing four people and injuring at least 20 others. Russian officials said its air defense forces shot down 450 drones approaching Moscow in what was the largest attack on the capital since the war began in 2022 (see video of aftermath).
The drones struck a residential building and the Moscow oil refinery, which supplies roughly 40% of the city’s fuel. The attack came on the final day of Russia’s first parliamentary election since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The vote extended into four Ukrainian territories that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 and in Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014 (see map of controlled regions). Russian officials say the regions have over 3.5 million voters; Ukrainian authorities contend the process is illegal.
Frontline movement in the war has slowed in recent months. Russian forces advanced just 15.7 square miles from December 2025 to May 2026—a 92% decline from the same period a year earlier (see graphs).
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Two Brain Cells, Together
Two brain region cells evolve separately from each other, a new Stanford study reveals. The finding has allowed researchers to more effectively develop stem cells into the appropriate neuron cells—and may help study certain neurodegenerative diseases, like ALS.
Researchers studied the earliest phase of embryonic development in mice. By 7.5 days after conception, they noticed two distinct clusters of cells that would evolve into brain regions, and used tissue staining to tag them. The back half of the brain—the so-called hindbrain, which controls speech and swallowing—had distinct cells from the front and midbrain. Researchers characterized the results as evidence the brain is, in fact, two distinct organs, and that this explains why scientists have struggled for years to grow certain brain cells in the laboratory.
Separately, a man with a rare form of ALS has seen symptoms ease one year after receiving an RNA treatment. The intervention targets how much protein is produced by a gene mutation found in fewer than 1% of ALS patients.
🫶 Humankind: School bus full of kids wishes a 2-year-old a happy birthday. (w/video)
In The Know
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Ole Miss climbs to No. 4 in Top 25 college football rankings after 32-24 victory over LSU squad and former head coach Lane Kiffin (More) | Watch Vanderbilt win on an improbable last-second fumble (More, w/video) | QBs Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels go down with Week 2 injuries in the NFL (More)
> New Found Glory lead guitarist Chad Gilbert dies at age 45; he was diagnosed with cancer in 2021 and underwent surgery to remove three brain tumors in February (More) | See the oral history of the pop-punk band's founding (More, w/photos)
> George Lucas opens 300,000-square-foot museum in Los Angeles; collection features over 1,300 pieces of art, about 7% of which is "Star Wars" content (More) | See the numbers behind the iconic sci-fi franchise (More)
Science & Technology
> Google reports that its AI software hacked three outside systems in May; company believes intrusions did not cause damage (More) | New AI-powered malware poses threats to Android phones by tricking users to gain access to secure info (More)
> Scientists advance predictions of explosive volcanic eruptions by monitoring bulges caused by underground magma in nearby land (More) | Explore an interactive map of volcanoes (More)
> NASA shares first images from Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, including photos of stars appearing as green, blue, and yellow blurs (More, w/photos)
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Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.2%, Dow -0.2%, Nasdaq +0.4%) following last week's Federal Reserve interest rate decision (More)
> Top US and Chinese trade officials meet in New York ahead of Thursday's Trump-Xi summit, with meetings reportedly centered on AI, critical minerals (More) | See map of states most reliant on China trade (More)
> Bitcoin surges 5%, tops $81K on Friday, despite failure of Clarity Act, which would have created the first major regulatory framework for crypto in the US (More) | Cryptocurrency 101 (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Iranian-backed Houthi rebels target Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh for the first time during the current conflict, using a ballistic missile and drone; fuel tank near the city's main airport reportedly caught on fire (More) | What makes a missile "ballistic"? (More)
> Germany's nationalist-populist Alternative for Germany party wins regional elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, weeks after placing first in Saxony-Anhalt's election (More)
> President Donald Trump says his 250-foot-tall Triumphal Arch in DC will serve a military purpose, housing drones and snipers (More, w/video) | See renderings
(More)
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Etcetera
Shaquille O'Neal is named an honorary FBI agent.
How much a gallon of gas cost the year you were born.
"Chud" notches No. 2 ranking on Generation Alpha's slang in 2026. (Share)
Truck driver builds real-life model of NYC. (swipe right for photos)
Watch the "Animal Farm" adaptation funded by the CIA. (w/video)
See each state's favorite Halloween candy. (w/map)
Why your appearance differs in photos and mirrors.
Forty life-size buffalo puppets take over NYC streets. (w/video)
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Clickbait: Baseball game opens with a purr-fect pitch.
Historybook: Science fiction author HG Wells born (1866); "The Hobbit" is published (1937); Actor Bill Murray born (1950); Senate confirms Sandra Day O’Connor as first female Supreme Court justice (1981); Track and field legend Florence Griffith Joyner dies (1998).
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