September 19, 2026

Good morning. Fall officially begins on Tuesday, but evidence of the season seeps in more gradually.

An illustration showing a person sitting on a bench in Central Park. A dog is also on the bench.

María Jesús Contreras

Fading light

	By Melissa Kirsch

In May, I grandly welcomed the longest unofficial summer: 2026 featured the earliest possible Memorial Day and the latest possible Labor Day, making for 15 full weeks between the two. Official summer is now also nearly gone, with the equinox arriving on Tuesday at 8:05 p.m. Eastern. Even as the greenmarket down the street continues to teem with 10 types of tomatoes, even as I check every weekend’s weather report for the stray September beach day, there’s no disputing this week’s astronomical deadline. As Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem “Autumn Day” declares: “Lord: it is time. The huge summer has gone by.”

The huge summer has gone by! The clues are everywhere here in the Northeast: the patch of red in the maple canopy, the afternoons that feel like the sun is showing off, like if it shines hard enough maybe we’ll overlook the evening’s surprisingly sharp edge. The equinox is an exact global event, the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator, but evidence of fall seeps in more gradually: a whiff of wood smoke here, a rustle of leaves on the sidewalk there. Soon, more sweaters than T-shirts. Soon, more inside than out.

September’s drop in daylight is dramatic: 77 minutes lost by the end of the month in New York, 98 in Seattle. At 6:30 a.m., the bedroom’s still dark, day’s arrival feels reluctant. At 6:30 p.m., it’s so dim we turn the lights on and it’s instantly, inevitably dinnertime. It’s easy to envision Halloween, possible even to picture Thanksgiving, Christmas: We know the shape of this season, these shadows, this descending dark. Cozy or bust! Cozy or you’re gazing at a frost-tinged window, counting down till March, and that’s no way to live.

There’s always a period of figuring out how to be in the new season, how to wear these clothes, how to structure a Saturday when dusk comes on fast. It feels weird at first and then becomes routine. The path the sun follows is called the ecliptic, and it’s always exactly the same: autumnal and vernal equinox, summer and winter solstice. Our own ecliptics are looser. Some years we hunker down early; soups and ciders before Oct. 1. Other years we hold out; let’s try to eat outside one last time.

The longest possible unofficial summer is, like it or not, always followed by the longest possible unofficial winter. We change the clocks on the first Sunday of November, and this year that’s Nov. 1, the earliest possible fall back. Daylight saving time won’t start again until March 14, 2027, the latest spring forward.

Rather than dread the long winter, as is my inclination, this year I’m festooning it with plans, with activities that I hope will give the weeks an energy they’ve lacked in winters past. I’ve joined a choir; I’m taking French lessons. I’m armoring up, pre-resisting the cold-weather blues. Just having these things on the calendar has bestowed the coming fall with intrigue. But I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s still September. There’s still time to savor the season’s last gasp, the waning days of this longest, vanishing summer.

THE LATEST NEWS

Politics

People standing with raised arms outside the Kennedy Center.

Outside the Kennedy Center last night. Demetrius Freeman for The New York Times

Demonstrators formed a human chain around the Kennedy Center amid speculation that President Trump might try to demolish the building.
Trump said he would ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, citing what he deemed “fake news.” It was unclear how such a ban would be enforced or legally defended.
The cost of the war in Iran was $43.6 billion through Sept. 3, the Pentagon told Congress. Bombs and other munitions accounted for more than 60 percent of the total. (Congressional officials said the figures were almost certainly on the low side.)

Artificial Intelligence

Mark Zuckerberg and President Trump, both wearing suits and white shirts, sit at a table.

President Trump and Mark Zuckerberg at the White House last year. Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Trump has been calling fears that A.I. could threaten humanity a hoax. He is concerned that a slowdown by A.I. companies could lead to a recession. But some inside the White House are urging more caution.
Google said that its A.I. system, Gemini, escaped its testing environment in May and hacked into three companies.

Around the World

Trump announced a deal to expand the U.S. security presence in Greenland. Denmark said the agreement recognized its sovereignty over the island — a description that would mean the deal fell far short of Trump’s previous demands.
Kash Patel briefly halted some F.B.I. cooperation with Canada after the nation’s public broadcaster reminded reporters of a policy not to refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as “terrorism” without attribution.

Witnesses said police officers had hooded, bound and beaten men the United States had deported to Equatorial Guinea.
Iran, China and some Israeli firms used Chinese open-source A.I. models and agents to create first-of-their-kind autonomous influence campaigns.

COLLEGE SPORTS

Football players wearing white uniforms and red helmets run onto a field.

At Iowa State University. Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

This week, we wrote about Congress considering legislation to change the increasingly chaotic world of college sports. The bill would allow athletes to transfer schools only once without having to miss a season. Players would retain the right to compensation for their “name, image and likeness.” Critics say the legislation prioritizes the financial interests of the N.C.A.A. over that of players, and places restrictions on them that coaches don’t have.

We asked you what you thought, and more than 400 responses poured in. Below are a few. — Daniel Altoojian

Congress has bigger problems

Seriously? Is this the role of the federal government? Don’t get me wrong, I am a die-hard U.C.L.A. fan — football and women’s basketball — but the last thing we need is the federal government’s involvement. — Stephanie Ashworth, Woodside, California

Athletes should be students

The current rules make a mockery of so-called college sports. The athletes are hired guns who have no real connection to the school. College athletes should be real students at the schools where they play. That means taking classes and meeting all the academic and other standards students have to meet. — Ted McClellan, South Portland, Maine

Whatever happened to college as an educational institution? It’s time to create a minor league-type alternative for those who just want to get into the pros. Money and admission spots should be there for students truly seeking an education. — Karen White

Four yellow football helmets on shelves.

Lydia Ely/Associated Press

Pay the players

College athletes should be paid according to their market worth and have the freedom to work for other employers, just like other workers in this country. I say this as a devoted fan and season ticket holder of my local college teams. Fans will get over it and still cheer for the college team of their choice. — Paul Rozycki, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Stay in (one) school

Teams play better when they stay together, and last time I looked, football and basketball were not individual sports. — Susan, St. Louis, Missouri

I enjoyed college sports much more when players would return. I learned the names of the players and looked forward to their prospects. I support restricting the number of transfers, and I even support limiting the amount of income that a transferred athlete can receive. — Omer Erdmann, Holly Springs, North Carolina

THE WEEK IN CULTURE

Film and TV

A short video showing a man manipulating a 3-D printed eagle.

“Wildwood,” a new stop-motion film, features a giant golden eagle. To make it, the studio combined 3-D printing, motorized wings and nearly 12,000 glued feathers.
“The History of Concrete” is nominally about the stuff sidewalks are made of. But as always with the director John Wilson’s work, it takes a weird turn.

Music

“Spiritual jazz” has lately become synonymous with sonic serenity (and chic merch). But the renowned saxophonist John Coltrane demanded more.
The San Francisco Opera and its orchestra reached a tentative deal for a four-year contract, ending a strike that had forced the cancellation of the season’s opener.

More Culture

In the 1940s, a Jewish prisoner at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp stayed alive by painting for the Nazis. Now, her two daughters are suing to get her work back.
This notorious World War II board game is so complicated and cumbersome that nobody has ever finished it. But two guys in England decided to give it a serious go.
Birthdays, geometry and animal prints: Our chief fashion critic, Vanessa Friedman, on New York Fashion Week. Click to watch.

A series of images and short videos showing our reporter Vanessa Friedman, New York City and models on runways.

The New York Times

Introducing the Shows tab. A new place to find and follow podcasts in audio and video.

Explore Shows in The Times app.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

A small slice of apple buckle on a plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.

By Melissa Clark

Easy Apple Buckle

For a dessert that makes the most of the new crop of apples hitting the market, Vallery Lomas’s easy buckle brims with fruit that’s barely held together with an easy-to-mix batter. It’s a perfect late September treat, served warm from the oven, with scoops of vanilla ice cream melting over all that good, sweet-tart filling.

THE INTERVIEW

A short black-and-white video of Aaron Sorkin running a hand through his hair.

The New York Times

“The irony wasn’t lost on anybody that we were doing a thorough fact check of a movie about a company unwilling to do the same thing.”

— Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter and playwright. Sorkin returns to the Facebook universe with “The Social Reckoning,” which opens Oct. 9. He spoke with Lulu Garcia-Navarro about why he still believes in American institutions. Read (or watch) their full interview here.

REAL ESTATE

Clockwise from upper left, a multigenerational family, a single-story home, a two-story home and a two-story home with a pointed roof.

Philip Keith for The New York Times

The Hunt: After spending 12 years crammed into a 700-square-foot bungalow overlooking the Hollywood Hills, a family decided to decamp for Barrington, R.I. Which house did they choose? Play our game.

What you get for $500,000: A Craftsman in Tacoma, Wash.; a Colonial Revival in Parkersburg, W.Va.; or a Spanish-style house in West Palm Beach.

LIVING

An apartment bedroom with an open door leading out to a balcony that has a table and chair. The sea is in the distance.

In Ibiza. Ariadna Puigdomenech

Let there be light: A couple used limited palette colors and lighting to transform their retirement home in Ibiza into an open, airy space. See inside.

Outside the box: Bathrooms don’t have to be boring! One Utah designer included tiles with amoeba shapes, vintage prints and a skirted sink.

All-inclusive: Efforts to incorporate wellness into residential real estate are expanding beyond gyms and saunas to include child care and co-working spaces.

ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER

Spray and wait

Don’t underestimate dish spray. Our favorite is great for, yes, getting stubborn crud off dishes. But we’ve found it’s also an impressive cleaner on so much more. Its especially powerful cleaning agents are safe for everyday items. Think: weird clothing stains, stuck-on shower scum, grubby outdoor equipment and other seemingly unwinnable messes. Often all it takes is one to two spritzes directly onto a surface, a few minutes to soak in (or a quick rinse) and a damp cloth to wash away the gunk. If it doesn’t get clean immediately, don’t give up. Some tough projects might require multiple spray-and-waits. — Andrea Barnes

NOW TIME TO PLAY

Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was acquaint.

Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week’s headlines.

And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Crossplay, Connections and Strands.

Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — Melissa

Host: Sam Sifton

Editor: Adam B. Kushner

News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti

News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell

Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch

Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren

Deputy Editorial Director: Lauren Jackson

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