The Varni Daily

Morning News Brief
Vol. 1 · No. 5 Sunday, September 13, 2026
Front Page

Reno

SBA disaster loans open for Bug and Hawk fire survivors

Physical-damage applications due Nov. 10; EIDL deadline June 11, 2027.

The U.S. Small Business Administration declared a disaster for Nevada on Sept. 11 for the Bug and Hawk fires. Homeowners, renters, businesses and private nonprofits may apply for low-interest loans for losses not fully covered by insurance. Physical damage loan applications are due Nov. 10, 2026; Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications are due June 11, 2027, via the MySBA Loan Portal.

Read on FOX5

Red Flag warning and wind advisory run into Sunday morning

Gusts up to 65 mph flagged for wind-prone Washoe Valley areas.

A Red Flag warning covered Carson City plus Douglas, Storey, Lyon, western Mineral and southern Washoe counties through 2 a.m. Sunday, with southwest winds of 20–30 mph and gusts of 45–55 mph. A separate wind advisory for the greater Reno–Carson City–Minden area warned of gusts up to 65 mph in Washoe Valley.

Read on 2 News

Mother reunited with special-needs children during Hawk Fire

Reno police officer entered smoke-filled home after roads closed.

KOLO reported Saturday that Vanessa Tillinghast was cut off from her home by Hawk Fire road closures while three children, including two with severe disabilities, remained inside as smoke filled the house. A Reno Police Department officer entered the home and delivered the children to their mother; Tillinghast said she is sharing the story to push for safer evacuation measures for families with special needs.

Read on KOLO

Washoe deputies seize guns and drugs in Friday arrests

Charges include prohibited-person firearm possession and controlled substances.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office said multiple people were arrested Friday night in a gun-and-drug investigation. Deputies said those booked face counts including possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, possession of controlled substances, assault constituting domestic violence with a deadly weapon, and felony parole-condition violations. A location was not released.

Read on KOLO

Stolen-car chase ends in Churchill County after spike strips

Adult driver and juvenile passenger arrested Saturday morning on I-80 / U.S. 95.

Nevada State Police said a stolen-car pursuit began about 6 a.m. Saturday east of Reno with Storey County assistance on I-80. Officers pursued into Churchill County, deployed spike strips on U.S. 95, and took an adult male driver and a juvenile passenger into custody after a brief foot chase. Initial driver charges included felony eluding, child endangerment and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Read on KOLO

Bay Area

SF Opera cancels opener and Opera in the Park amid strike

Orchestra walked out Saturday night after contract expired July 31.

San Francisco Opera canceled Saturday’s season-opening performance of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra after orchestra musicians announced a strike. Sunday’s free Opera in the Park in Golden Gate Park was also canceled. Musicians said management had proposed large pay cuts; General Director Matthew Shilvock said he was disappointed the orchestra chose to strike rather than continue negotiating. Ticket holders were offered account credit, donation or refunds.

Read on KQED

Judge pauses ICE facility construction near Gilroy

Preliminary injunction follows suit by California AG and Santa Clara County.

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Friday night temporarily blocking construction of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on a 24-acre site east of the Gilroy Premium Outlets. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County argued the project violated environmental and immigration laws. A final resolution is not expected until October.

Read on ABC7

PG&E outage suspends BART between Fruitvale and Bay Fair

Service halt near Oakland Coliseum; AC Transit buses substituted.

BART suspended service between Fruitvale and Bay Fair stations Saturday after a PG&E power outage near the Coliseum station in Oakland. Officials initially cited a fire and later an equipment problem before clarifying the PG&E outage. Alternative AC Transit bus service was made available.

Read on NBC Bay Area

Sonoma County vegetation fire destroys barns, damages home

About 1.5 acres burned Saturday; fuel tanks suspected in explosions.

The Schell-Vista Fire District said a vegetation fire Saturday at 1365 Napa Road destroyed two barns, motorcycles and an RV and badly damaged a home. The blaze burned about one and a half acres. Officials said reported explosions were likely fuel tanks or cans; the cause remained under investigation.

Read on NBC Bay Area

SF Opera ticket holders offered refunds, credit or donations

Box office guidance issued after Saturday cancellation; Sept. 16 status unclear.

After canceling the Sept. 12 opener, the Opera told ticketholders they could hold ticket value for a later 2026–27 performance, donate the value, or request a full refund by contacting the box office. As of Saturday night it remained unclear whether the Sept. 16 Simon Boccanegra performance would proceed.

Read on NBC Bay Area

Nation

Judge rules FEMA staffing cut order illegal

Northern California court says DHS acted arbitrarily on contract renewals.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said Friday a Trump administration order that would have cut Federal Emergency Management Agency staffing nearly in half was illegal. She found the Department of Homeland Security acted arbitrarily and capriciously in revoking FEMA’s authority to renew contracts for on-call disaster response teams, and rebuked officials for deleting Signal messages that could relate to the case.

Read on CNN

Republican AGs press courts on Trump mail-voting rules

Election officials in half of those states say they cannot comply in time.

CNN reported Saturday that Republican attorneys general are pressing courts to greenlight President Donald Trump’s proposed crackdown on mail voting, including U.S. Postal Service mandates. Election officials in at least half of those states have said they will not be able to comply in time for the midterms, according to court filings and interviews. The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on related USPS ballot-delivery rules.

Read on CNN

Appeals court to test interim U.S. attorney appointments

4th Circuit hears effort to revive Comey and James prosecutions Tuesday.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear the Trump administration’s effort to revive prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after a judge found interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed. The administration is separately asking the Supreme Court to take up a related dispute with nationwide implications.

Read on Washington Examiner

August CPI still frames Fed week after Friday print

Headline +0.4% MoM / 3.4% YoY; core +0.3%; hike odds still elevated.

Friday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics release showed the Consumer Price Index up 0.4% in August and 3.4% year over year, with core CPI up 0.3% monthly and 2.4% annually. Gasoline rose 3.9% over the month. CME FedWatch odds of a 25-basis-point hike at the Sept. 16 meeting remained in the mid-to-high 80s to near 90% over the weekend.

Read on Reuters

Election officials warn of federal midterm friction

Seven weeks to Election Day; disputes cover mail ballots and voter data.

The Washington Post reported Sunday that election administrators nationwide are preparing for clashes with federal agencies over mail ballots, voter lists and polling-place rules with about seven weeks until Election Day. Coverage cited disputes over Postal Service envelope requirements and federal requests for state voter data.

Read on Washington Post

World

Russia launches more than 450 drones overnight

Ukraine says 409 intercepted; 13 locations hit; nine civilians killed Saturday.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Russia launched 453 drones overnight, of which 409 were neutralized, while 13 locations were struck. Separately, Ukrainian officials said Russian airstrikes Saturday killed at least nine people and injured dozens. Russia said a Ukrainian drone attack killed two and injured 12 at an industrial site in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan; Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence said it hit the Slavyansk-ECO oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai.

Read on Euronews

Zelenskyy offers Miami G20 meeting; Kremlin says impossible

Peskov repeats demand that any Putin meeting be in Moscow.

In a Deutsche Welle interview released Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would be willing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Dec. 14–15 G20 summit in Miami. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called that option “impossible,” repeating that such a meeting could only take place in Moscow. Ukrainian official Kyrylo Budanov said a new round of U.S.-Russia-Ukraine talks could occur in October.

Read on RFE/RL

Houthis claim new missiles and drones toward Saudi base

Claim follows seizure of Mokha, Dhubab, Perim and Zuqar along Red Sea.

Houthi forces said Sunday they launched missiles and drones toward a Saudi military base near the Yemeni border after seizing Mokha, Dhubab, Perim Island in Bab el-Mandeb, and Zuqar. About 1,400 refugees arrived in Djibouti from Yemen within 24 hours, Djibouti’s economy minister said Saturday. Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline remained shut after a drone attack launched from Iraq.

Read on The National

New Hormuz ship-attack report raises oil-supply fears

Trackers flag Sunday incident after Saudi pipeline shutdown; oil above $100.

Reuters reported Sunday that maritime trackers received a new report of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, adding to concerns after Saudi Arabia shut its East-West pipeline. Oil had climbed back above $100 a barrel. Iran and Gulf Arab states are due to meet in Oman on Monday on the strait’s future; an Iranian official played down chances of a breakthrough.

Read on Al-Monitor / Reuters

Ukraine braces for difficult winter amid energy strikes

Economy minister cites nearly $10B in infrastructure damage this year.

Ukrainian Economy Minister Oleksandr Kravchenko said damage to infrastructure and fixed assets from Russian airstrikes was estimated at close to $10 billion this year, with port blockages and attacks cutting about 1.5 percentage points from growth. Officials said intensified attacks on power plants and export industries are compounding a budget crisis ahead of winter.

Read on The Guardian

Business

Wall Street heads into Fed week after Friday rebound

Dow 52,573; S&P 7,657; Nasdaq 26,333; markets closed for the weekend.

U.S. stocks finished Friday higher, snapping a four-day losing streak: the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98% to 52,573.29, the S&P 500 gained 0.86% to 7,656.98, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.96% to 26,333.04. Markets are closed Sunday; Wednesday’s FOMC decision is the week’s main catalyst.

Read on Kiplinger

FedWatch still prices high odds of Sept. 16 hike

Futures imply about 85%–90% chance of a 25 bp increase.

After Friday’s CPI, CME FedWatch odds of a quarter-point hike jumped toward 90%. Weekend week-ahead notes put the probability around 85%. Attention will turn to the policy statement, Summary of Economic Projections, dot plot and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Read on Seeking Alpha

Dell and HPE led Friday’s AI-hardware surge

Dell +12% to $567; HPE +12.4% to $62 after Oracle supplier comments.

Dell Technologies rose about 12% to $567.29 on 14.5 million shares, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise gained about 12.4% to $62.09 on 39 million shares Friday after Oracle’s results and CFO comments naming them as AI-rack suppliers. Oracle itself closed about 1.7% lower after reversing an early jump.

Read on Swingfolio

Oil eased Friday but stays elevated above $99

WTI near $100; Brent near $105; diesel average topped $6.

West Texas Intermediate fell roughly 2%–2.7% Friday to about $99.68–$100.30 a barrel, while Brent settled near $104.77. Despite the session pullback, crude remained up sharply for the week and month. Coverage cited the U.S. average diesel price topping $6 a gallon for the first time Friday.

Read on Investing.com

Week-ahead earnings: PLAY, Trip.com, Lennar, Carnival

Dave & Buster’s Monday; Lennar Wednesday after FOMC; Carnival Thursday.

Seeking Alpha and TradingKey week-ahead calendars flagged Dave & Buster’s (PLAY) on Monday, Trip.com after the close midweek, Lennar (LEN) on Wednesday after the Fed decision, Carnival (CCL) on Thursday, and VinFast later in the week. Salesforce also hosts Dreamforce investor sessions Wednesday.

Read on Seeking Alpha

Markets

Highest volume: Dell posts roughly $8B session turnover

Dell volume about 14.5M shares; HPE about 39M shares Friday.

Market notes said Dell’s Friday dollar volume reached about $8.07 billion, among the session’s heaviest, as shares jumped nearly 12%. HPE traded about 39 million shares on its parallel AI-hardware rally. Broader exchange volume tallies for Friday were limited beyond these heavy names in checked sources.

Read on AInvest

Biggest percentage movers: HPE and Dell lead gainers

HPE +12.4%; Dell +12.0%; nuclear names SMR and OKLO among losers.

Friday’s standout percentage gainers included HPE (+12.44%) and Dell (+11.98%), with Heartflow, Forgent Power Solutions and Hut 8 also up sharply. NuScale (SMR) fell about 15.7% after a UBS downgrade; OKLO and related nuclear names also dropped.

Read on Swingfolio

VIX drops as equities rebound into the weekend

VIX fell 11.2% to 15.84 on Friday’s relief rally.

The Cboe Volatility Index fell 11.21% to 15.84 Friday as stocks snapped their four-day slide. The drop accompanied in-line CPI digestion and softer oil, though rate-hike odds for next week still rose.

Read on Stock Market Watch

Unusual activity: AI-rack suppliers catch Oracle flow

Oracle named Dell and HPE as vendors amid $90–95B fiscal 2027 capex plan.

Traders piled into Dell and HPE after Oracle reiterated heavy AI infrastructure spending and its CFO named both as suppliers of AI racks. Oracle itself reversed an early gain to close lower as investors weighed free-cash-flow and capex math.

Read on Swingfolio

Technical confirmation: indexes reclaim short-term ground

S&P snapped longest losing streak since June; Russell +0.45%.

The S&P 500’s 0.86% Friday gain ended a four-session losing streak, its longest since June, while the Russell 2000 rose 0.45% to 2,903.94. Breadth was positive on the NYSE and Nasdaq, though the advance remains under a cloud of higher near-term rate odds.

Read on AP / Washington Post

Earnings calendar: Fed day overlaps Lennar print

PLAY Monday; Trip.com midweek; LEN Wednesday; CCL Thursday.

With markets closed Sunday, the live catalyst set opens Monday with Dave & Buster’s. Lennar reports Wednesday after the FOMC statement, keeping housing and rate-sensitive names in focus alongside the Fed decision.

Read on TradingKey

Economic data: retail sales and industrial production ahead

August retail sales, industrial production and housing data due this week.

Beyond the FOMC, week-ahead calendars list August retail sales, industrial production and housing releases that will test consumer and goods-sector resilience after Friday’s CPI. Markets are closed today; futures reopen Sunday evening U.S. time.

Read on TradingKey

Fed & central banks: Sept. 15–16 FOMC decision looms

Statement and SEP at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday; press conference at 2:30 p.m.

The Federal Reserve meets Tuesday–Wednesday, with the rate decision, economic projections and dot plot due Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET. Futures still price a high probability of a 25-basis-point hike; the statement tone and Warsh press conference will drive post-decision volatility.

Read on Seeking Alpha

Industry catalyst: dual chokepoints keep energy premium high

Hormuz attack report plus Houthi Red Sea push and Saudi pipeline shutdown.

Sunday’s reported Hormuz ship attack, Houthi claims of new Saudi strikes, and the still-shut East-West pipeline keep oil and shipping equities sensitive into the Monday Oman talks. Crude’s Friday pullback left prices still elevated above $99 WTI.

Read on Al-Monitor / Reuters

Corporate actions watch light on the Sunday calendar

Limited verifiable details from checked sources on major splits or ex-divs today.

Limited verifiable details from checked sources on large-cap stock splits or high-profile ex-dividend dates for Sunday; traders’ focus remains on Fed week, Middle East shipping headlines and the AI-hardware follow-through from Friday’s Dell/HPE surge.

Read on Checked sources
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