Washington — President Trump on Monday announced that the company Mesabi Metallics will build a $15 billion steel plant in Iowa over the coming years, in what would be the largest of its kind in U.S. history. “There’s a company known as Mesabi,” the president said in the Oval Office. “And they’re going to make a big investment in a place called Iowa. I love Iowa. I won Iowa every time. Today, we’re thrilled to announce that Mesabi Metallics will be building the largest steel plant in American history in the great state of Iowa.” The president and the Minnesota-based Mesabi Metallics unveiled the company’s plans for what the White House is calling a mega steel plant, alongside Mesabi executives and Iowa officials. The announcement comes as several Iowa Republicans face competitive elections in the November midterms, including the party’s candidates for Senate and governor. Although Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Monday the steel plant won’t receive direct federal support, he acknowledged that the government-run Export-Import Bank financed Mesabi’s iron ore plant in Minnesota, which will provide the raw materials essential to making steel.Once it’s up and running in 2030, the plant is expected to produce 7.5 million or more tons of steel per year. A White House official said the plant is expected to create 1,750 permanent jobs in Iowa. The plans for a new plant mark the Trump administration’s latest move to boost domestic steel manufacturing in the face of overseas competition, a centerpiece of the president’s trade agenda. Last year, he doubled tariffs on imported steel to 50%, and steel levies have been part of the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada. He also approved a deal for Japan-based Nippon Steel to buy U.S. Steel, an arrangement that calls for new investments in the iconic Pittsburgh-based company.Mesabi has not announced where in Iowa the steel plant will be, but Energy Secretary Chris Wright mentioned that it would be in the southeast part of the state. A White House official said this will be the first mega steel plant built in the U.S. since the 1960s. The Trump administration expects the steel could support U.S. defense projects in the future. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the president’s anticipated announcement of the new steel plant. The Export-Import Bank’s board approved a $770 million direct loan to Mesabi Metallics for its iron ore endeavors on Sept. 24, a spokesperson for EXIM told CBS News. The board was initially considering up to $10 billion in support, according to a March news release.Mesabi Metallics is owned by India-based Essar Group, but its operations haven’t always been known as Mesabi Metallics.In 2008, the Essar Group’s Essar Steel Minnesota LLC began work on a massive iron mine and processing facility in Minnesota. But after years of delays, missed deadlines and financial challenges, Essar Steel Minnesota LLC filed for bankruptcy in 2016. Frustrated with the delays, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources took steps in 2019 to potentially bar Essar Global from working with the state, although the company sued over that move, and the state ultimately did not complete the debarment process.”This is a step in the right direction after northern Minnesotans have waited patiently — too patiently, in fact — for economic gains that have been dangled in front of their eyes for many years,” Democratic state Reps. Julie Sandstede and Rob Ecklund said in a statement at the time.What was known as Essar Steel Minnesota LLC was eventually reborn from the ashes of bankruptcy and was bought by Chippewa Capital Partners. But Essar Group eventually regained control starting in 2019.CBS News has reached out to Mesabi Metallics and the Essar Group for comment.State aid could potentially be on the way for Mesabi Metallics, too.  The Des Moines Register reported state lawmakers are being alerted they may need to return to the statehouse to approve tax breaks for Mesabi. CBS News has reached out to top members of the Iowa statehouse for comment. “I’m so excited about this project,” Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst said, thanking Mr. Trump and Essar.It’s not clear why the steel plant is in Iowa, instead of Minnesota, closer to the iron ore mine. Iowa Republicans are facing competitive races for the U.S. House, Senate and governor’s mansion. Republicans, who currently hold the governor’s mansion and both Senate seats, are trying to fend off Democrats from changing that. In the governor’s race, Democratic Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand is facing off against Republican businessman Zach Lahn in what’s expected to be a close race. In the open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Joni Ernst’s departure, Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson faces Democratic state lawmaker Josh Turek. In the House, there are closely watched races in two Iowa congressional districts, between Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democratic former state Rep. Christina Bohannan, and between Republican Rep. Zach Nunn and Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott.Mr. Trump gave Hinson a shoutout in the Oval Office Monday, saying she will be “hopefully elected to the Senate, and she’s outstanding.” The president said he’ll visit Iowa for a “great rally” there before the midterms. A reporter asked the president why Republicans are having to work so hard to win seats in Iowa, a state he won by 13 points. The president said he thinks the polls, which show close statewide races in the Hawkeye State, are inaccurate. “I don’t know, I love Iowa,” he said. “I’ve always been very strong with Iowa.”This article originally appeared on CBS News at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-steel-plant-iowa/

John Yeley is the seventh generation to run his family’s farm in Illinois. – Courtesy John Yeley John Yeley has spent the last 26 years working on his farm, which his family has owned since 1852. Yeley is the seventh generation to run his farm in Illinois, just over the state line from Indiana. Although he plans to keep doing so, he’s not sure he wants his 16-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter to take over because the current economics are so rough. “Right now, the way all of this is now, no, I wouldn’t wish it on them,” he said about farming. Farmers like Yeley as well as agriculture experts agree that the farming sector is in a painful recession. Farms are dealing with record-high diesel prices, a fuel that is critical to their equipment. Trade disputes have cut off access to vital markets. Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have sent fertilizer costs soaring, just as farmers pay higher interest rates on the loans needed to get from planting to harvest season. Yeley is not sure he’ll earn a profit this season, even with prices up for for his corn and soybeans. “We’re not a big county, but we’ve had three farmers go under this year,” said Yeley. “I know that’s on the minds of everybody, is it really worth it to keep going on? The stress level is pretty high.” Record high costs to power the farm Currently, the price of diesel is the most pressing problem for farmers. Diesel is a workhouse fuel that powers farming equipment, like tractors and combines. The national average for diesel has accelerated faster than the price of gasoline and is now near its recent all-time high of $6.53. In many states in the Midwest farm belt, the cost is even greater: The average price in Illinois, for example, was $6.82 as of Friday. Sue Ferreri, executive director of Rockland Community Farm Network, drives a tractor at a community farm in New York on April 8, 2026. Farm owners face soaring fuel prices. – Diane Desobeau/AFP/Getty Images Farmers generally buy thousands of gallons each year. Yeley usually buys 8,500 gallons twice a year to run his equipment. “This is the first year in my adult life that we have not bought an entire transport load either spring or fall due to fuel cost. We’ve been buying it piecemeal … 1,000 or 1,500 gallons at a time, hoping that we’d see a price drop,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s not happening.” ‘You work so hard not making money’ Sammy Tookey grows all manner of produce — tomatoes, corn, melons, peppers, squash, lettuce and chiles — on 10 acres in northern California’s wine country. He sells about half his harvest to a food co-op and the other half at three farmers’ markets each week. He’s feeling the squeeze from higher prices for diesel, as well as cardboard boxes and fertilizer – costs of which have also increased by double digits over the past year. Russia’s war with Ukraine first cut off supply of some of the raw materials needed to make fertilizer, boosting prices. That only got worse this year, when the war in the Middle East cut off fertilizer exports. Fertilizer prices are as much as 50% higher in the last year, according to experts and farmers. Sammy Tookey, left, and his stepfather, George Kibby, grow vegetables and fruits on Tookey’s farm in northern California. – George Kibby/Sammy Tookey Tookey has raised his prices but not enough to keep up with ballooning expenses. He said he doesn’t want to scare off customers. While he plans to plant again in the spring, he’s uncertain how long he’ll remain a farmer. Tookey is getting married in late October and worries about how he’ll support children. “Being able to have a family and a farm seems almost impossible,” he said. Tookey’s stepfather, George Kibby, has a bleaker view of the current state of farming. He retired in July after 40 years in the industry because the land he leased in Orange County, California, was sold for housing. The cost of land, equipment, labor — along with the instability of prices for essentials, such as diesel and fertilizer — makes it impossible to earn a living these days, he said. “Us little farmers don’t have much of a chance,” said Kibby, who moved north with his wife this summer to help Tookey. “You work so hard not making money.” Mounting losses, bankruptcies Besides the cost of raw materials, there are many other factors squeezing farmers. Most farmers take out short-term loans to cover costs between planting and harvest. Interest rates are higher as central banks raise rates to tamp down inflation, pushing up borrowing costs. Various US trade wars, particularly with China, have cut off critical markets for products like soybeans. That’s driving down prices in the short term, and farmers worry that market share will be lost in the long term. “Our farm and the vast majority of the farms (I know) are anticipating they’re going to be losing money this year, and the vast majority lost money last year,” said Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union and a fifth-generation farmer. “Farming does have ups and downs naturally, but when it happens year after year after year, eventually you’re no longer a good credit risk, and you can’t borrow money to keep farming,” added Lehman, who grows corn, soybeans, oats and hay. Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union, grows corn, soybeans, oats and hay as a fifth-generation farmer. – Courtesy Aaron Lehman The number of farm bankruptcies rose 20% in the 12 months ending in June compared to a year ago, according to federal bankruptcy filing data. But the worst is yet to come, said Tom Ajamie, an attorney active in the farming sector. “A lot of these farmers are on the edge,” he said. “So yeah, It’s a 20% increase right now, but what happens in the next two, four, five months? A lot of farmers are just barely clinging on right now. You will see that number increase, I guarantee it.” Some congressional members from farm states, like Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, have pressed the Trump administration to ban US diesel exports as a way to get immediate relief. But many energy experts doubt that will lower diesel prices. The American Farm Bureau Federation and other agriculture groups seek the passage of a new farm bill, which has cleared the House. The proposed legislation includes help for farmers, like raising federal farm loan limits that haven’t changed since 2018. “You get into the lame duck session, and I think we can find a bipartisan path forward on a lot of things,” said John Newton, vice president of public policy and economic analysis for the American Farm Bureau Federation, referring to the period after midterms and before the new Congress begins. Even if a bill eventually passes, even if diesel comes down later this year, that won’t help the farmers harvesting crops right now. Many told CNN that they feel like victims of things set in motion around the globe over which they have no control. “Farmers are used to dealing with unpredictability with weather, you know, soil conditions, livestock,” Lehman said. “Policy decisions that have put farmers at the right in the front of economic damage – that’s what’s very frustrating.” For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.comThis article originally appeared on CNN Business at https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/28/business/american-farmers-economic-pain-diesel

The conservative firebrand whom the Trump administration installed as a No. 2 at the FBI announced Monday that he is resigning from the bureau. Andrew Bailey, the former Missouri attorney general who has supported debunked claims that the 2020 election was stolen, told bureau employees in an email that he was leaving to spend more time with this family, according to three people familiar with the personnel move who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a matter they were not authorized to speak about. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Bailey, who was hired for the leadership role about a year ago, confirmed his departure in a social media post. “With great pride in what we have accomplished, I am announcing that I am stepping down to return to my family in Missouri,” Bailey wrote on social media. “I am confident Director Patel will continue to reform the FBI, combat violent crime, defend the homeland, ensure strong organizational accountability, and restore public trust in this institution of excellence.” The departure marks a dramatic turn for Bailey, a loyalist of President Donald Trump who had been floated as a candidate early in the administration to run the FBI or Justice Department. It is also the latest shake-up at the federal law enforcement agency under FBI Director Kash Patel. Bailey was hired to serve as the co-deputy director alongside Dan Bongino, a conservative podcast host and former Secret Service officer. Neither Bongino nor Bailey had FBI experience, which made them highly unusual picks for a position that typically goes to a veteran of the bureau. The position does not require Senate confirmation and is tasked with running the day-to-day operations of the FBI. Earlier this year, Bongino quit amid frustrations about the demands of the position, The Washington Post previously reported. He was replaced with Christopher Raia, a career FBI official. During Bailey’s tenure, the department has seen an unprecedented wave of dismissals and transfers of experienced FBI agents. Last week, for example, the top two agents running the counterterrorism division in the Washington field office were transferred because of their work investigating threats against Katie Miller – a conservative podcaster who is the wife of top Trump aide Stephen Miller – according to three people familiar with the matter. The officials were transferred because top officials felt work on the probe was moving too slowly, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter. Bailey resigned from his position as Missouri attorney general last September to assume the role as FBI co-deputy director. He is a military veteran who as Missouri’s chief legal officer mounted high-profile legal fights aligned with Trump’s agenda. He sued Starbucks over its diversity, equity and inclusion policies; fought transgender care policies; and waged legal battles against “sanctuary city” policies. Among the most notable parts of Bailey’s short FBI tenure was his presence on the scene as the FBI executed search warrants in January to seize 2020 ballots and other election material from Fulton County, Georgia. It is rare for an FBI deputy director to personally oversee such a routine development in an investigation, but Bailey’s presence was also notable given the political tensions surrounding the probe and Trump’s repeated insistence, without evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen. The FBI has said it is investigating whether what it has described in court filings as “deficiencies” in the 2020 vote tabulation in Fulton County, home to Atlanta, were the result of intentional wrongdoing that could constitute a crime. Related ContentThis article originally appeared on Washington Post at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/andrew-bailey-no-2-fbi-161002023.html

SpaceX (SPCX) put Starship into Earth orbit for the first time on Monday and deployed all 26 Starlink V3 satellites on board, despite an engine going out during ascent, a SpaceX representative said during the company’s live broadcast.”Payload deploy complete. All 26 @Starlink V3 satellites are in orbit,” SpaceX posted on X at 9:54 a.m. ET, about half an hour after the ship began releasing them.Ship 41 lost one of its six Raptor engines during ascent but finished its ascent burn and coasted on what SpaceX called a “passively safe suborbital trajectory” while engineers checked the ship’s systems. At 9:11 a.m. ET, the company gave the “Go for orbit!” call.SpaceX stock fell 2.2% on Monday, falling in sympathy with the broader tech trade.Starship then fired a single Raptor engine for its orbital insertion burn. SpaceX said the burn put the ship “in orbit of Earth for the first time.” The company had said it was targeting an orbit of about 275 kilometers. Super Heavy Booster 21 successfully separated from Starship and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.Every previous Starship flight stopped short of orbit, flying suborbital paths that ended in splashdowns or, on several tests, the loss of the vehicle.Starship’s payload included 26 Starlink V3 satellites, built to fly on Starship because they are too large for Falcon 9, which is SpaceX’s workhorse rocket. SpaceX has said each V3 satellite will carry more than 1 terabit per second of downlink capacity, well above the V2 Mini satellites now in service. Starship releases them in sequence through a door in the side of the ship.Starship has begun deploying its payload of 26 @Starlink V3 satellites. This deployment sequence will take ~30 minutes pic.twitter.com/ycIdAx5Lbe— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 28, 2026 Monday’s deployment marks the first time Starship has delivered an operational payload to orbit.Starlink is SpaceX’s largest business, and a working Starship is central to how the company plans to expand the network’s capacity and reduce the cost of launching each satellite into orbit.Monday’s flight also comes as SpaceX is now a public company, putting the rocket program under investor scrutiny. Shortly before launch, SpaceX posted that it is “building the infrastructure of the future, from supercomputers to Terafab to Gigasat to a new Starbase in Louisiana.”Recently, SpaceX’s AI compute business has helped push the stock higher, after it dipped below $100 shortly after its IPO. Pras Subramanian is Lead Transportation Reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market.Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo FinanceThis article originally appeared on Yahoo Finance at https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/article/spacex-starship-test-reaches-earth-orbit-26-starlink-satellites-deployed-141955092.html

A New York state prosecutor has reopened a criminal investigation into an alleged gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity in 2024 after a civil lawsuit filed last week by the alleged victim drew national attention.In a lengthy statement released on Monday, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced that he had started pursuing criminal charges against seven fraternity members and would present the case to a grand jury. He also sought to explain why he initially decided not to prosecute them.According to Van Houten, the woman identified in the civil lawsuit as “Jane Doe” did not say that she was “drugged against her will or gang raped” in her 2024 sworn statement to police.“On the contrary, Jane Doe’s statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual,” Van Houten said. “My office obviously did not and could not have based our November 2024 decision on the allegations in a civil lawsuit that would not be filed until nearly two years later.”Cornell University issued a statement saying it supports the district attorney’s decision to reopen the case while pushing back against claims that the school did not thoroughly punish those involved in the alleged assault following its own Title IX investigation.“Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” the university said. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”What does the lawsuit allege?The Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., is seen on Sept. 28.AP Photo/Heather AinsworthOn Sept. 14, Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit against Cornell University and seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, alleging that she was the victim of a “gang rape” at the fraternity house when she was incapable of consent — and that the school failed to protect her from “sexual predators” on its campus.The defendants named in the lawsuit include Cornell, the seven fraternity members, the Chi Pi fraternity, the woman’s own sorority, Delta Delta Delta, and an off-campus bar that allegedly served her alcohol.She is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages resulting from “sustained psychological injuries, severe emotional distress, along with pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.”According to her lawsuit, Jane Doe was a 20-year-old student at the school in October 2024 when she went to visit a friend at the fraternity house on Cornell’s Ithaca, N.Y., campus while intoxicated. Shortly after arriving, Jane Doe alleged that she was pressured by two fraternity brothers into snorting what they said was ketamine before sexually assaulting her. One of the men then allegedly sent a message to the fraternity’s Snapchat group chat suggesting that she was available for sex. According to the complaint, multiple other members of the fraternity showed up, and she was raped for hours.During the alleged assault, the fraternity members “began pouring lines of Ketamine all over her body and snorting them,” according to the complaint.“At around 5:45 AM, this assault concluded and Plaintiff lost consciousness,” the lawsuit stated.About three weeks later, on Nov. 8, 2024, Jane Doe reported the incident to the university’s police department.What was Cornell’s response?A student walks past a Cornell University sign in Ithaca, N.Y., on Sept. 28.AP Photo/Heather AinsworthAccording to the lawsuit, the accused fraternity members were temporarily suspended while Cornell conducted a months-long Title IX investigation that included at least 12 hearings. According to the suit, the accused fraternity members were “afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell.”Two of the seven accused fraternity members were ultimately expelled, while the others received lesser sanctions, according to the complaint. Jane Doe dropped out of school.Last week, Cornell issued a statement saying it is “aware of a lawsuit concerning the deeply disturbing allegations of sexual assault involving members of the student community that occurred in 2024.”The school said it concluded its Title IX investigation but would not disclose individual sanctions, citing federal privacy laws.“The Cornell Office of Civil Rights and the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards investigated and adjudicated the allegations consistent with university policies. The Xi chapter of Chi Phi fraternity remains barred from our campus,” the statement said: “Federal privacy law prohibits Cornell from disclosing specific information regarding individual students and we therefore are unable to make a public statement on any other disciplinary response. Violations of university policies could lead to sanctions up to and including suspension or expulsion. We will respond in detail through the legal process.”The university also pointed out that it launched a task force on campus sexual assault in the wake of the incident and issued a report in March with recommendations for “an environment that fosters sexual health and safety.” “Several of the recommendations have already been implemented, while others are in development with oversight by a university implementation committee,” Cornell said.Reactions to the allegationsFlorence Pugh attends an event for Netflix’s “East of Eden” in New York City on Sept. 27.Jason Mendez via Getty ImagesThe lawsuit and its harrowing allegations prompted reactions from several celebrities, including Florence Pugh, who posted a lengthy response on Instagram calling for men to speak out against sexual violence.“This is really the moment where we need our men to be as horrified and as sickened as us,” Pugh wrote. “You need to be leading conversations about how we change the allowance and complicity of this behaviour as much as we are. How can you expect us to trust that it’s ‘not all men’ when in moments like this, many of you stay quiet?”Toby Morton, a former South Park writer, launched a website, TheCornell7.org, dedicated to holding the school and the accused fraternity members accountable.“Accountability is coming,” Morton wrote on Instagram.Van Houten, the district attorney, said that “over the past two weeks, many people have called my office, left voicemails, and sent emails about this case.”“Some people have understandably sought answers,” he said. “Others have simply insulted and sometimes threatened my office and my staff.”This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/article/prosecutor-reopens-criminal-investigation-into-cornell-gang-rape-allegations-183826467.html