The briefing for Wednesday, September 30.

Dutch police announced Tuesday the arrest of a 24-year-old Amsterdam man suspected of belonging to ShinyHunters, the hacker group that claimed last week to have stolen personal data on roughly 38,000 FBI employees, including names, badge numbers, and home addresses. The suspect was actually arrested on September 15, before the alleged FBI breach became public, and is also suspected of attempting to solicit two murders abroad — a matter police say is unrelated to the ShinyHunters investigation. A court in Rotterdam has ordered him held for a further 90 days while investigators examine seized devices.

FBI Director Kash Patel publicly thanked Dutch authorities and said the bureau is "actively working with partners to obtain and execute more leads" based on the arrest. Brett Leatherman, the FBI's assistant cyber director, urged other ShinyHunters members to turn themselves in, warning that "arrests have a way of changing who is willing to talk." The BBC reported it has reviewed a portion of the allegedly stolen data and that it appears genuine, though the FBI has not confirmed the breach's full scope.

ShinyHunters, a hacking collective believed to have originated in France, has claimed responsibility for previous high-profile breaches, including attacks on Rockstar Games and the Canvas education platform. The group says it exploited a vulnerability in the FBI's Oracle cloud storage and that its motive wasn't financial — it wanted the bureau to retract a May advisory that characterized the group as extortionists. Dutch officials say they have not ruled out further arrests as the international investigation continues.

The final American troops were scheduled to leave Iraq on Wednesday under a previously negotiated agreement between Baghdad and Washington, closing out a military presence that began with the 2003 invasion. The U.S. had already withdrawn from most Iraqi bases last year, retaining only a small contingent of a few hundred troops in the semiautonomous Kurdish region. Iran-backed militias celebrated the pullout, while Kurdish officials expressed alarm over losing American air defense support.

The withdrawal comes amid unresolved tensions over disarming Iran-aligned militias. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had originally tied the September 30 deadline to militia disarmament, but he has since pushed that target to June 2027 after powerful groups close to Iran refused to give up their weapons. Kataib Hezbollah, one such militia, called the American departure the start of "full sovereignty" and warned Iraq's government against following American plans.

Kurdish regional officials say their territory faced more than 1,000 drone and missile attacks during the recent U.S.-Iran conflict, and they're now worried about defending against future strikes without American air defense systems in place. The withdrawal marks a significant shift in the regional security balance, potentially emboldening Iran-backed factions in Iraq while leaving allies like the Kurds to manage their own defenses against continued threats from Iran and remnants of the Islamic State.

A sustained Russian missile campaign against Ukraine's metallurgical plants has shut down major steelworks, including Zaporizhstal, once one of the country's largest employers with 8,500 workers. Metinvest, the plant's owner, says Russia fired 17 missiles at the facility across four waves of attacks in August and September, killing eight workers and wounding 31. Chief Operating Officer Oleksandr Myronenko said equipment, blast furnaces, and infrastructure were "almost completely destroyed," and it remains uncertain whether the plant will ever reopen.

Before the 2022 invasion, metallurgy and mining accounted for roughly 10% of Ukraine's GDP and a third of its exports, employing more than half a million people. Myronenko says that contribution is now "probably close to zero." Russia has justified the strikes by alleging the plants were producing military equipment, though Ukrainian officials describe the campaign as a deliberate attempt to cripple the country's economy and tax base.

Local officials warn the fallout extends well beyond factory floors. Taxes from metal companies have funded 30% to 70% of local government budgets in host cities, according to industry consultancy GMK Center, covering everything from heating infrastructure to nursery schools. Analysts caution that if the plants stay closed, hundreds of thousands of jobs could disappear, triggering migration waves and what one expert called a "looming humanitarian catastrophe" — with additional long-term consequences for Ukraine's ability to produce steel for military equipment and postwar reconstruction.

The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act in a bipartisan 77-22 vote Monday night, sending the bill to the House with just weeks left before midterm elections. The legislation would raise the cap on revenue schools can share with athletes from $21.5 million to $48.8 million and provide the NCAA with new legal protections against lawsuits, which have cost the organization millions in legal fees. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a bill co-author, said he hopes the House can pass identical legislation within four weeks so President Trump could sign it during a football pregame broadcast this fall.

The bill's path through the House remains uncertain. The chamber isn't scheduled to return until after the midterms, and some Republicans argue it doesn't provide enough antitrust protection for the NCAA, while House Majority Whip Steve Scalise has said any House action must first resolve athletes' employment status — an issue the Senate bill leaves untouched. The House's own effort, the SCORE Act, collapsed earlier this year after the NAACP and Congressional Black Caucus withdrew support over concerns unrelated to sports, tied to a Supreme Court voting rights ruling.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson blasted the Senate bill Tuesday, saying "sharecropping is over, and this bill will only serve to harm student-athletes." Supporters, including the Southeastern Conference and Yankees president Randy Levine, say the bill is more favorable to athletes than the failed House version while still giving the NCAA some legal cover. With Trump backing the measure and pockets of Republican resistance in the House, the bill will likely need Democratic votes to reach the president's desk.

President Trump ruled out any joint venture with China on artificial intelligence development, saying Tuesday that collaboration would mean "giving away secrets" to America's chief economic rival. Speaking at a Washington event launching America.gov, an AI-powered government services website, Trump argued the U.S. is "leading by a lot" in AI and doesn't want to "mix it up" with competitors, adding that "there is nobody in third place" besides the U.S. and China.

The comments came days after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the White House, during which the two countries announced a new AI dialogue with further talks planned for November, along with a communications channel meant to prevent misunderstandings over AI incidents. Despite that diplomatic opening, Trump signaled he has no interest in technical cooperation, framing AI development as a two-country race the U.S. must win outright.

At a separate White House lunch with executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta, Trump said tech leaders signed a "morally binding" document on self-regulation, and he plans to name a "Super Intelligence Czar" in the coming days as part of an executive order renaming AI to "Super Intelligence" in government documents. The announcement comes as public unease grows: a recent Politico poll found two-thirds of Americans see at least a "moderate" risk that AI could pose an existential threat, and 44% of Trump supporters said they'd prefer a pause in AI development. Trump has dismissed such safety concerns, comparing them to what he calls the "global warming scam."