Regulators Cut Mileage Target to 34.9 MPG

Crews Launch Machine for First New Hudson Rail Tunnel Since 1910

Boeing Falls 7% as FAA Delays Max 10

Starship Reaches Orbit, Deploys 26 Satellites

Trump Unveils $15 Billion Iowa Steel Mill Plan

Regulators Cut Mileage Target to 34.9 MPG

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized fuel-economy rules Monday, Sept. 28, projecting a fleetwide requirement of 34.9 miles per gallon for new cars and light trucks by model year 2031, down from roughly 50.4 mpg projected when the previous rules were adopted in 2024. The target is slightly above the 34.5 mpg proposed last December and allows annual increases of up to 1%, NPR reported. The Transportation Department projects that the change will lower the average price of a new vehicle by $1,300 and save Americans $138 billion over five years. The agency's analysis also projects about 122 billion additional gallons of gasoline consumption through 2050 under its midrange scenario, according to InsideEVs. The Environmental Defense Fund, citing that analysis, estimates drivers will spend an average of $1,600 more on fuel. With the Iran war keeping fuel prices high, the rewrite changes the balance between projected savings at the dealership and higher spending at the pump.

NPR / NHTSA / InsideEVs / Roll Call / EDF

Crews Launch Machine for First New Hudson Rail Tunnel Since 1910

Crews in North Bergen, New Jersey, activated the first tunnel-boring machine Monday, Sept. 28, for the Gateway Development Commission's $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project, which will add the first new rail tunnel beneath the river since 1910. The project offers a concrete example of America building again amid debate over permitting reform and the country's capacity to deliver major infrastructure. The first of the 28-foot-wide boring machines still needs testing, with excavation under the Palisades expected to begin by Oct. 13, Gothamist reported. The work follows a court order releasing more than $200 million in federal funding frozen by the Trump administration. The existing tubes, a working legacy of an earlier era of American growth, carry more than 200,000 daily Amtrak and NJ Transit passengers despite damage from Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Expected to open in 2035, the new tunnel will allow crews to rebuild the old tubes and renew a vital link on the nation's busiest passenger rail line.

Gothamist / amNewYork / CBS News / N.Y. Governor

Boeing Falls 7% as FAA Delays Max 10

The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday, Sept. 28, that it will delay certification of Boeing's 737 Max 10 until a GE Aerospace-supplied software flaw affecting automated vertical navigation during an aborted landing is resolved. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford gave no timetable for a fix. Boeing shares closed about 7% lower. The latest setback for the already-delayed Max 10 threatens deliveries to airlines such as United and Boeing's efforts to regain ground from Airbus.

Reuters / CNBC / CP24 / Leeham News / AP

Starship Reaches Orbit, Deploys 26 Satellites

SpaceX's Starship entered Earth orbit for the first time Monday, Sept. 28, on its 14th test flight from Starbase, Texas. Earlier tests had reached space on suborbital paths designed to bring Starship back into the atmosphere, SpaceX said. The spacecraft successfully deployed all 26 Starlink V3 internet satellites into orbit, and the Starlink team established contact with each one. After one Raptor vacuum engine shut down early during ascent, flight controllers cut the planned roughly 10-hour mission short "out of an abundance of caution." Starship splashed down intact in the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii about three hours and eight minutes after launch, then tipped over and exploded. The flight advanced work on the vehicle SpaceX needs for larger Starlink satellites and NASA plans to use to land astronauts on the moon through its Artemis program.

SpaceX / NPR / Space.com / PBS / SpacePolicyOnline

Trump Unveils $15 Billion Iowa Steel Mill Plan

President Donald Trump announced Monday that Mesabi Metallics, owned by India's Essar Group, plans to build a $15 billion steel complex in Lee County, Iowa, which the White House called the largest steel plant in American history. The company and the White House said production would begin in 2030 at 7.5 million tons annually, eventually expanding to 10 million tons. They project about 1,750 permanent jobs paying roughly $49 an hour and up to 6,000 construction jobs. The federal Export-Import Bank would provide up to $10 billion in financing, tying the project's development to substantial government backing ahead of its planned 2030 opening. Mesabi plans to supply the mill from its long-delayed Nashwauk iron ore mine in Minnesota, where some officials criticized the decision to locate the plant in Iowa. The announcement follows Trump's 50% tariff on most imported steel, which industry groups credit with $47 billion in new domestic steelmaking investment.

Iowa Public Radio / CNBC / NBC News / MPR News

SEPTEMBER 29, 1982: CYANIDE-LACED TYLENOL KILLS SEVEN

The 1982 cyanide-laced Tylenol poisonings shattered public trust in over-the-counter medicines and triggered one of the largest product recalls in U.S. history. Johnson & Johnson’s response—rapid withdrawal of product, clear public communication and cooperation with investigators—became a benchmark case study in crisis management. The tragedy also pushed businesses in every consumer category to adopt tamper-evident packaging, stronger supply-chain controls and more proactive product safety practices that still define modern brand responsibility.

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Sources

1. NPR / NHTSA — 2026 Final Rule / NHTSA — 2024 Rule / InsideEVs / Roll Call / EDF
2. Gothamist / amNewYork / CBS News / N.Y. Governor
3. CNBC — Max 10 Delay / Reuters via Investing.com / CP24 / Leeham News / AP — Market Close / CNBC — Treasury Yields / CNBC — Oil Prices
4. SpaceX — Flight 14 / NPR / Space.com / PBS / SpacePolicyOnline
5. Iowa Public Radio / CNBC / NBC News / MPR News