DAILY NEWS Stream – September 14, 2026

Iran-aligned Houthi forces reached Yemen’s strategic Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait after government forces withdrew, while also taking the nearby coastal town of Dhubab, according to Yemeni government sources. The advance could strengthen Houthi control over a major global shipping route at a time when traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is already heavily disrupted, while Yemeni government forces say they plan to try to retake the captured Red Sea areas (Reuters)

The New Humanitarian, an independent nonprofit news organization focused on humanitarian crises, reported that a secret ceasefire between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram, an armed Islamist group that has waged an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria since 2009 has been in effect since June 2026. The truce reportedly followed negotiations that secured the release of 360 abducted villagers, but official confirmation has not been provided (Al Jazeera, The New Humanitarian)

Israel is opening its first embassy in Slovenia as relations improve under Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša’s new government. The two countries also signed a cooperation agreement covering education, science, culture, youth and sports (Reuters)

On September 10, four unidentified projectiles struck two vessels near Khasab [Oman], in the Strait of Hormuz, setting one ship on fire while the condition of the second remained unclear. The UK Maritime Trade Operations said another nearby vessel witnessed the strikes and reported the incident (Fox News)

The abbot of Wat Phutthaisawan monastery in Ayutthaya [Thailand], was arrested over allegations that he embezzled more than 92 million baht [about US$2.8 million] in temple funds and laundered money. Police say the case centers on improperly issued donation receipts and alleged transfers of temple money to a woman close to him, while investigators are continuing to gather evidence and trace related assets (The Nation)

Dates are an ancient biblical food that sustained people traveling through harsh desert conditions. They provide fiber, potassium, magnesium, and other nutrients, while limited research suggests that eating dates late in pregnancy may help the cervix open in preparation for childbirth and shorten some stages of labor (YouTube)

Taiwan (Formosa) reports 30 mpox [monkeypox] cases this year, including 10 imported infections— double last year’s figure for the same period. Six imported cases came from Thailand, with others from Âu Lạc (Vietnam), India, Hong Kong and Cambodia. The Centers for Disease Control also reported a community Clade Ib case (Taipei Times)

Natore district in Bangladesh reports a diarrhea surge, with 106 patients hospitalized in 48 hours and 516 receiving hospital care over a week. Most patients are from Natore municipality. Hospital beds and saline supplies are strained, while authorities plan further water testing amid concerns about drinking-water safety (Dhaka Stream)

Plateau State [Nigeria]’s diphtheria outbreak has killed 27 people among 303 suspected cases, with Jos North and Rikkos among the hardest-hit areas. Children account for many cases. Authorities have intensified surveillance, contact tracing, and outreach, while schools remain temporarily closed and suspected patients receive treatment at hospitals in Jos (PunchNg)

The contiguous United States records its warmest summer in the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA]’s 132-year record, averaging 23.6°C for June to August, 1.7°C above the 20th-century average. August is also the warmest on record at 24.2°C, with the highest average daytime highs recorded. Drought expands to 59% of the 48 contiguous states by September 1 (NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information)

Heavy rain floods roads across HCM CT [Âu Lạc (Vietnam)] on September 10, with more than 100 millimeters in many areas and 124 millimeters at Cát Lái — the heaviest fall this year, forecasters say. Water reaches half a meter at the An Phú underpass, stalling vehicles (VnExpress)

Indonesia’s health ministry reports wildfire-related respiratory illnesses rising from 50,891 on September 1 to 113,336 on September 9, with more than 12.5 million people exposed to haze across seven provinces. Haze reaches Singapore and Malaysia (Reuters)

New Mexico’s Elephant Butte Reservoir [US] fell to just 1.4% of capacity in late July 2026, its lowest level since 1971, after years of severe drought and record-early snowmelt reduced water flowing into the Rio Grande system. The reservoir has since begun slowly recovering after water releases for irrigation ended in late July, while NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] is using satellite data to help water managers track shrinking supplies and plan for future shortages (SciTech Daily)

Jacob Coxon, a researcher at Anthropic, resigned after three years of AI [artificial intelligence] research at Anthropic and OpenAI, two companies that develop advanced AI systems. He said both companies are racing toward self-improving superintelligence without acting responsibly. Mr. Coxon warned that increasingly powerful AI systems could become dangerous and said some executives and senior researchers privately fear they could pose catastrophic risks. He called for greater caution and for ways to slow AI development if necessary (Dawn)

Princeton [US] researchers have developed an artificial intelligence system called PACMAN [Prediction And Control using MAchiNe learning] that can predict certain dangerous instabilities in fusion plasma before they begin and adjust the plasma to prevent them from developing. In tests on a working tokamak, a machine that uses powerful magnetic fields to confine extremely hot plasma for fusion research, PACMAN predicted one tearing-mode instability about 200 milliseconds in advance and prevented it from developing, rather than reacting only after the instability had already started (SciTech Daily)

HP Hood’s brand Planet Oat launches Humble Edition, a five-ingredient chilled vegan oat milk made without gums, oils, or added sugar, rolling out now at select US Walmart stores (The Plant Base)

US vegan food manufacturer Beyond Meat expands beyond vegan meats to launch its new Phytosphere line, featuring vegan protein powders, bars, drinks, and a multi-vegetable burger to capture growing protein market demand (Food Dive)

German cosmetics brand Catrice offers an affordable vegan waterproof mascara with volume. Glam & Doll Volume Waterproof 010 Black features a 10-milliliter tube and elastomer brush designed to add volume, length and curl while separating lashes. Its fragrance-free, alcohol-free and paraben-free formula is ophthalmologically tested and designed for long-lasting wear. It is sold in Europe and the US (Ad Hoc News)

Britain has built a 45-meter tunnel to help bat- and other wild mammal-people cross the road safely. The underpass runs beneath the new 16-kilometer A421 dual carriageway between Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire [England]. National Highways added fencing, hedgerows, trees and shrubs to guide bat- and other mammal-folk toward the crossing and protect wildlife habitat (SWNS)

West Kalimantan conservation officials and the Indonesian Rehabilitation Nature Initiation Foundation rescued six orangutan-people stranded by forest fires in West Kalimantan [Indonesia]. Authorities saved two mothers with their young and two juveniles from a plantation after fires blocked access to the forest. Two orangutan-persons developed health problems but responded to treatment. All six remain under medical monitoring and will eventually be released (Antara)

Three South Korean elementary students rescued a dying wild mouse-person after finding it on a road in Gimpo. They pooled the equivalent of nearly US$15 in local currency to seek veterinary care but feared they could not afford treatment. Veterinarian Kim Joon-tae treated the mouse-citizen for free, and it later recovered and returned to the wild (Maeil Business Newspaper)

Enlightening quote of the day: “One who thinks himself lower than the grass in the street, who is more tolerant than a tree, who takes no honor for himself and is ready to offer honor to everyone else, can chant the Holy Name constantly.” – Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (vegetarian) The Most Merciful Manifestation of Lord Krishna (vegetarian) (Siksastaka verse 3)

Previously in this multipart series on Michael Florman’s near-death experience, Michael became dizzy while driving, pulled into a parking lot, and called emergency services. Soon after entering an ambulance, his heart stopped for the first of eight times. During his first remembered out-of-body episode, he traveled through a luminous valley and into the formless realm he calls “Source,” where he briefly became a musical note and later experienced a life review. After returning violently to his body, Michael left it again and watched emergency personnel working on him from about 6 meters above before being pulled higher as the scene receded beneath him.

His third remembered out-of-body episode occurred at the hospital, where he observed the medical team and saw a doctor he later recognized despite never having seen him while conscious. Michael says crossing over felt strangely familiar, and part of him would have been content to remain because the Love he experienced was so powerful. When Michael eventually awoke in the intensive care unit, the room did not feel like a hospital. Its lighting made it seem more like a cave, and he felt as though he could almost see torches around him. A tube had been inserted down his throat, his chest bore approximately seven square burns from the resuscitation paddles, and several of his ribs were fractured. Repeatedly biting his tongue during the electrical shocks had also left it severely swollen. Doctors initially warned Michael’s family that he might never walk or communicate normally and could require lifelong assistance. Hospital staff assessed his cognitive and communication abilities by asking him to write letters and spell simple words. Although hospital personnel initially wanted him to remain hospitalized for at least three weeks, Michael recalls leaving after about four days, with only eyesight and memory problems remaining.

At first, the beauty and enormity of Michael’s experience were more than he could process, so he tried to bury it and move forward. When people asked what had happened, he revealed little beyond saying that the experience had felt incredible and that he had been in space. When people asked what he had experienced after dying, Michael struggled to explain it. The image of Heaven Michael had been taught was a bearded figure with a harp beside a gate and a cloud, yet what he had witnessed seemed more like space. Unable to reconcile the two or find adequate words for his experience, he downplayed it and avoided discussing it. But the memories continually resurfaced and eventually forced him to confront what had happened.

Since his experience, Michael says his sensitivity to energy, emotion, and even other people’s auras has intensified. Michael says that when he stands near someone experiencing a problem, he can pick up on that person’s issue or emotions. The sensation disappears when he moves away. He came to believe that some of the anxiety he had experienced throughout his life had actually come from other people. Michael has also long sensed that unseen presences surround him and says he has never truly felt alone. Michael cannot see these presences and does not identify them as angels or guides. He has never heard them speak in a recognizable voice; he simply senses that they are there. Michael says his awareness of these presences became stronger and more intense after his near-death experience, to the point that he could often tell how many energies were in a room. He also says he prays three or four times a day— not as a religious ritual, but as a way of connecting with the other side and asking that energy and Love be sent to people in need.

Michael now views death as the end of the physical body rather than the end of the person. Because he believes those who cross over continue as conscious energy, he feels less sorrow for them and more for the people left behind, who can no longer speak to, touch, or physically connect with them. He believes that although the brain and body cease functioning, the energy within a person continues. Michael says dying brought no sense of becoming diminished; he remained the same person, but existed somewhere else. In his view, the afterlife is not confined to a distant place but exists everywhere, much like information in the air that remains invisible even though it surrounds us. For Michael, energy is everywhere and does not die with the physical body.

Michael describes his life now as split cleanly in two. He has privately mourned the person he was before the experience because he no longer considers himself the same man. He divides his life into what he calls “AD” and “BD”— after death and before death. His ideas, priorities, and values also changed. Money became far less important to him, even though he recognizes its practical necessity. Michael believes that what matters is not what a person has become or accomplished, but the love and understanding they have given to others. During his life review, Michael experienced events from another person’s perspective and felt their lasting emotional effects. Mindful that he may one day confront his own actions in the same way, he now spends at least 10 minutes each night reviewing his interactions and asking whether he treated people positively and became a better person. His advice is simple: live a good life and be kinder to others, because he believes people may ultimately experience their actions from the perspective of those they affected (Anthony Chene production ##YouTube channel)