The "resource curse" — also called the "paradox of plenty" or "poverty paradox" — is a widely studied hypothesis in political economy holding that countries with abundant extractable natural resources (oil, gas, minerals, diamonds) tend to exhibit slower economic growth, weaker democratic institutions, higher corruption, and poorer development outcomes than resource-scarce counterparts.

A New York Times investigation published September 6, 2026, revealed that Inspur Group — a Chinese technology company blacklisted by the U.S. in 2023 for its work with the Chinese military — continued acquiring Nvidia's most advanced AI chips through its Silicon Valley subsidiary, Aivres Systems Inc.

On September 2, 2026, the NBA announced sweeping punishments against the Los Angeles Clippers following an approximately 11-month investigation into salary-cap circumvention.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Nuuk, Greenland on Sunday, September 6, 2026, for a two-day visit concluding September 7. The visit is explicitly framed as a show of political solidarity with Greenland and Denmark in the face of ongoing US President Donald Trump's rhetoric about annexing the world's largest island.

On September 4, 2026, Novartis and its partner Ionis Pharmaceuticals announced topline results from the Lp(a)HORIZON Phase 3 cardiovascular outcomes trial (NCT04023552).

Chinese researchers at the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), have announced a novel material called PhosCage designed to extract dissolved uranium from seawater. PhosCage is described as a sponge-like, phosphate-based molecular structure ("chemical trap") that binds selectively to uranium ions.

Prostate cancer is the most common solid organ cancer in men and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. Epidemiologic data consistently place a man's lifetime diagnosis risk at approximately 1 in 8. The American Cancer Society projects 333,830 new U.S.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Greenland on Sunday, September 6, 2026, for a two-day visit to the Danish autonomous territory. The trip is a high-profile diplomatic signal of EU solidarity with Greenland and Denmark amid repeated public statements by US President Donald Trump asserting that Greenland "should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark."

In February 2026, Lucy Ackman, the 26-year-old daughter of billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, collapsed in her Brooklyn apartment after suffering a catastrophic brain hemorrhage that left her unable to move, speak, or see. Conventional treatments could not reverse the damage to her optic pathways, and her prognosis for visual recovery was described as extremely poor.

In early September 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved three distinct therapies, each representing a regulatory or scientific first in its category.

On September 3, 2026, the FDA approved Zanvastro (zilganersen), developed by Ionis Pharmaceuticals, for Alexander disease (AxD) in both pediatric and adult patients.