Today’s Top Stories from NBC News

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2026

In today’s newsletter: The Pentagon is considering a drastic plan to reduce the U.S. military’s presence in Europe. A former detainee at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center said he spent 15 hours in a phone booth-sized cage. Plus, a look at the business of styling tunnel fits for NFL players.

Here’s what to know today.

▼ The Lead

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Pentagon weighs pulling nearly a third of U.S. forces from Europe

(Sean Gallup / Getty Images file)

The Pentagon is considering a drastic plan to pull planes, ships, weapons and tens of thousands of U.S. troops from Europe, despite warnings from NATO allies about the growing threat of Russian aggression, according to seven current and former U.S. and Western officials. The reduction could be roughly one-third of all U.S. troops in Europe, or about 25,000 — or it could be even larger, as much as half, or up to 40,000 troops.

If carried out, it would be the most significant scaling back of the 80,000-strong U.S. military presence in Europe since the aftermath of the Cold War in the 1990s. Such a withdrawal could radically reshape America’s relationship with its major allies.

Countries affected would likely include Germany, Italy and Spain, sources said. The three nations host the bulk of the U.S. troops in Europe, but leaders of all the countries have also clashed with President Donald Trump over the war with Iran.

The Pentagon announced a six-month review of the American military’s presence in Europe in June. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the supreme allied commander and the head of the U.S. European Command, is expected to provide his analysis to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today, sources said. The analysis will likely include four courses of action that could include cuts and possibly shifting some forces within Europe to countries on NATO’s eastern flank.

Why some U.S. officials are skeptical of the potential cuts.

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How long does Congress have to implement AI safeguards before it’s too late? “Maybe a year, but not much more than a year,” according to Geoffrey Hinton, a Nobel laureate known as the “Godfather of AI.” Hinton and other experts spoke to lawmakers in a private briefing this week, capping a flurry of activity on Capitol Hill in the week since an Anthropic researcher resigned from his job and warned people of the threat AI poses to humanity.

Hinton’s dire warning came as the House departed Washington for the last time before the midterm elections, and there appeared to be lots of conversations but little sign of progress on any substantial AI regulation in the Senate. How lawmakers reacted to Hinton’s warnings.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is pushing the federal government to quickly pass regulations to rein in the industry, saying the warnings from tech executives is “not the time to kick the can down the road.”

More politics news:

Marco Rubio, the nation’s top diplomat, has avoided the spotlight on the unpopular Iran war, distance that could be politically advantageous. Those close to him say a future presidential run or a stint in the private sector could be on the table.

For subscribers: Attorney General Todd Blanche’s political appearances are shattering a decades-long Justice Department norm.

For subscribers: Trump administration officials have had discussions with potential replacements for Steve Feinberg, the Defense Department’s No. 2.

Former Sen. John Kyl, a longtime Republican lawmaker from Arizona, died at age 84.

Former ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detainee describes phone booth-sized cage

For around 15 hours, immigration detention officers at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” kept Raúl Suárez Herrero confined in a cage slightly larger than a phone booth, where he feared snakes and endured mosquitoes in the middle of Florida swampland, he alleged. “I feel like I was in hell,” Suárez said in a phone interview from Mexico, where he was deported. He had lived in the U.S. for more than four decades before he was detained last year during an ICE check-in.

Suárez spoke about his experience days after the Department of Homeland Security watchdog confirmed the use of cages — which measured 7 feet, 9 inches high and 4 feet, three inches square — at the now-shuttered detention camp in the Everglades. The facility staff told federal inspectors that the cages were “calming areas” and that no one spent more than two hours inside them. But Suárez said that wasn’t the case.

Find out more details from the watchdog report.

Related coverage:

The White House withdrew Trump’s nominee to lead ICE, former Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer.

King Charles issues fiery response to Princess Diana’s brother over claims in new book

Buckingham Palace has issued a rare and unusually forceful denial after the late Princess Diana’s brother claimed that the then-Prince Charles said his first wife would soon be forgotten in the days after her death.

In a soon-to-be-published memoir, Charles Spencer recounts the emotional days in the aftermath of Diana’s 1997 death in a Paris car crash at age 36.

An excerpt alleges a heated exchange with Charles, now the British king, over whether Princes William and Harry — then 15 and 12 — should walk behind their mother’s coffin in the funeral procession.

Spencer says he expressed that Diana would not want them to endure such an ordeal and claims that was met with a “stream of anger” from Charles. He writes that Charles “unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death. ‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough.’”

Buckingham Palace replied with a forceful statement denying the claims and suggesting that grief for his older sister may have affected Spencer’s memory.

“While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss,” said the statement.

Read the full story here.

▼ Staff Pick

The booming business of styling NFL players

NFL teammates look similar when they play a game: the same uniforms and helmets covering their faces. So if they want to show off their individuality, it must be done before they take the field — in the stadium tunnel. Players get off the team bus and walk to the locker room with sharp outfits of all textures and colors. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, for example, stunned last Sunday with a perfectly tailored navy blue suit with baby blue stripes.

So how do players decide what to wear each Sunday? We spoke with a handful of top stylists to find out their process.

— Greg Rosenstein, sports editor

Related coverage:

For subscribers: Why Josh Allen and new head coach Joe Brady have the 2-0 Bills looking like this could be their year.

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A woman was charged with second-degree murder in a Los Angeles city bus crash that killed two people before a news helicopter covering the incident also crashed.

Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, after more than 60 years guiding the firm that turned him into a household name for millions of investors worldwide.

Human remains found in the Grand Canyon this week were those of the last remaining person missing after the deadly flash flooding in late August, the victim’s wife said. The discovery of Timothy Allen Smith brought the death toll to three.

An Australian athlete said she regrets her decision to continue a Hyrox event, which she won, despite experiencing an involuntary bowel movement.

A new species of wild cat has been identified for the first time in a century. See photos of the spotted feline.

A U.S. F-16 fighter jet pilot safely ejected before the aircraft crashed in Michigan.

For subscribers: In a keynote speech to the anti-vaccine group he founded, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised they have a “friend at the White House.”

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