VOA Today’s Focus (October 2, 2026) — Starbucks Opens in Xinjiang; US Lawmaker Blasts: Morally Bankrupt

This episode of VOA Today's Focus primarily reports on the following content: President Trump stated that the U.S. is investigating whether the near-crash of a flydubai passenger plane is related to Iran, and does not rule out escalating military actions against Iran after the midterm elections; Trump confirmed that during the U.S.-China summit, he discussed the release of political prisoners such as Jimmy Lai and American citizens with Xi Jinping; the U.S. Department of Defense announced the establishment of an Autonomous Operations Command and launched the "Meridian Project" led by individuals like Musk; SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 crewed rocket carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station; and John Moolenaar, Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, criticized Starbucks for opening a store in Xinjiang and called for its immediate closure.

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Welcome to VOA Today's Focus for October 2. I am Fan Dongning, broadcasting live from the U.S. capital, Washington. Every day, we bring you a 15-minute quick grasp of the latest developments in the U.S. and globally. The following are the headline news for this period. President Trump stated that the U.S. side is investigating whether the flydubai incident was related to Iran behind the scenes. President Trump confirmed that he discussed the case of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong and American citizens illegally detained in China with Xi Jinping.

President Trump answered reporters' questions at the White House on Thursday, stating that he has to make a decision on whether to completely destroy Iran, and mentioning that he does not rule out escalating military actions against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections in November. President Trump made these remarks in an interview with Time magazine, stating that the U.S. might bomb Iran after the midterm elections, but did not disclose specific plans. He emphasized that the U.S. currently has sufficient ammunition to launch further military actions. President Trump also answered reporters' questions on Wednesday, stating that military action is not ruled out before reaching an agreement with Iran. Meanwhile, officials of the Trump administration emphasized that military actions and economic sanctions against Iran go hand in hand, with the goal of forcing Iran to negotiate regarding its nuclear program. As for how the U.S. will ultimately reach an agreement with Iran, President Trump stated that he might directly bomb Iran. On the other hand, Iranian President Pezeshkian stated at the United Nations General Assembly that Iran is willing to resolve disputes through diplomatic negotiations, but will not submit to sanctions and military threats.

In addition, President Trump also told the media at the White House on Thursday that the U.S. is investigating whether the flydubai incident was related to Iran behind the scenes. A co-pilot of flydubai was accused of attempting to take control of the aircraft and crash it, and the plane eventually landed safely at an airport in Saudi Arabia. President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu praised the passengers on board for working together to prevent the potential crash accident.

Let us look at the television report from Voice of America. The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday. Flight tracking data shows that this flydubai passenger plane carrying 174 people rapidly descended from an altitude of about 10,000 meters to 5,000 meters and repeatedly sent out distress signals. Passengers on the flight from Dubai to Krakow stated that they worked together to subdue the co-pilot, who allegedly attempted to attack the captain in an attempt to cause the plane to crash. We can see from the chart that the altitude of the plane at the time was 16,000 feet. Based on the situation at the moment, we realized that there might have been only 5 to 6 seconds left before the plane went out of control and resulted in a catastrophic consequence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with a passenger, an Israeli plumber who helped thwart the hijacking attempt. I ran toward the cockpit, and at that moment the nose of the plane suddenly plunged sharply downwards. This threw me out, and I was thrown to the side, landing right where the flight attendants stood, just outside the cockpit. Both pilots were in their seats, with one slumped in his seat and the other lying across the control console. Another person and I rushed in. I grabbed the attacker, basically controlled him with a chokehold, and dragged him out first. I started pulling the control stick back and then—you pulled the control stick? Yes, pulled it back, pulled it back. I took this as a proper mission briefing, Mr. Prime Minister. The plane then began to level off slightly. After two off-duty flydubai pilots took over the cockpit, the flight made an emergency and safe landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

US President Donald Trump stated that the attack looked like an act of terrorism. I did talk to Netanyahu about this for a long time. It appears the co-pilot might have been a terrorist or a lunatic. He stabbed the captain, and at the time the captain was very seriously injured. I think he is still very seriously injured now. Trump, Netanyahu, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi all praised the Indian captain of the passenger plane. Despite suffering stab wounds, the captain pressed the unlock button of the cockpit door, allowing the crew and passengers to enter the cockpit and work together to subdue the co-pilot. The patience, composure, and courage displayed by the Indian captain Smeet Mahechal are admirable. As the Israeli Prime Minister said today, this Indian man prevented another September 11 attacks from happening. Smeet's heroic actions make every Indian deeply proud. The captain of this flight is reportedly currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and is in stable condition.

President Trump also confirmed at the White House that during the US-China summit held last week, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the release of political prisoners. For details, we cross live to Voice of America reporter Xu Xiangyun to give us further introduction. Alright, Dongning. We know that when answering reporters' questions at the White House on September 30, President Trump confirmed that when he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, they discussed the release of political prisoners. When reporters further asked about Jimmy Lai and US citizen David Mingxin, President Trump stated that the two sides had discussed the matter and had some very important discussions, and he hopes these discussions will yield results. Let us listen to what President Trump said. Yes, yes, I talked to President Xi Jinping, we had a conversation, and I think we had some very, very important discussions, and hopefully those discussions will bear fruit.

So, how do Hong Kong activists view President Trump bringing the issue of releasing political prisoners such as Jimmy Lai into the agenda of this US-China summit? Regarding this issue, I interviewed Hong Kong activist Shaolan. She first welcomed this, saying that releasing political prisoners is also an important demand raised by Hongkongers, Tibetans, and Uyghurs during Xi Jinping's visit to the US. What she is more concerned about is whether the US government can continue to follow up after the meeting ends. Let us listen to what Shaolan said. These detained prisoners of conscience—besides concern and pressure, we certainly also very much hope that the US government can make good use of the existing mechanisms it has, including possibly implementing sanctions and so on, to sanction the CCP and Hong Kong officials who detain these prisoners of conscience, so as to achieve an act of exerting pressure.

Shao Lan stated that the Chinese government's human rights abuses have become increasingly severe in recent years, noting that he himself, as a U.S. citizen, received an international arrest warrant and bounty from the Hong Kong government two years ago. He believes that it is no longer just Hong Kong political prisoners who are under threat, but also U.S. citizens and their families. Let's listen to what he had to say. The government can continue to pay attention and pressure the Chinese side, demanding the release of U.S. citizens and the relatives of U.S. citizens. So, besides President Trump himself raising this issue during the talks, has there been any further response from the U.S. government? Yes. The U.S. Department of State confirmed to Voice of America on the evening of the 30th (Eastern Time) that the Trump administration is committed to facilitating the release of Ming Xin, Chen Yaolin, and all Americans illegally detained overseas. A State Department spokesperson told VOA that the U.S. has directly raised the cases of Ming Xin and Chen Yaolin with China and has called for their immediate release. Alright, we would like to thank VOA reporter Xu Xiangyun for her report.

U.S. Secretary of War Hegseth announced on September 30 that a new four-star Autonomous Operations Command will be established to accelerate the enhancement of the U.S. military's autonomous systems and robotic warfare capabilities to address new forms of future warfare. In addition, the Pentagon will launch the Meridian Project to study future warfare. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will co-lead this project with Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey and former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Let's take a look at the VOA television report. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced this future warfare research project while delivering a speech on the state of the armed forces at the Quantico Marine Corps Base on the 30th. Therefore, today we are going to leverage a unique source of U.S. strength that our adversaries do not possess. Our innovators, senior leaders, and technical experts—these visionary and action-oriented individuals—will predict creative solutions for future conflicts. Because of this, today, under my direction, I am announcing the launch of the Meridian Project, led by the best talent in the United States, to study future warfare. Under the leadership of Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Defense Emil Michael, the Meridian Project will be co-led by three of America's most outstanding talents: Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey, and Newt Gingrich. The Meridian Project focuses on future warfare, but it is not intended to formulate new strategies or new policies; we are already doing that. Instead, its purpose is to look to the future in an innovative way to identify the domains we must conquer and the capabilities we must master.

Elon Musk is the founder and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. SpaceX's new construction entered Earth's orbit for the first time on September 28, sending 26 next-generation Starlink V3 broadband satellites into orbit. Palmer Luckey is the co-founder of Anduril Industries, a defense technology company specializing in the research, development, and manufacturing of advanced autonomous defense systems. Taiwan recently announced it would purchase over 2,000 attack and reconnaissance drone systems manufactured by the company. Newt Gingrich was the first Republican Speaker of the House since 1953 and was named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 1995. Hegseth also announced the establishment of the Autonomous Operations Command on the 30th. First, today, under my direction, we are announcing the establishment of the Autonomous Operations Command, or Auto WorldCom for short. This is a new four-star combatant command that will have service-like authority, aimed at expanding the autonomous systems and robotic capabilities of the entire joint force, achieving the fastest transformation in modern military history during peacetime. VOA report from Washington.

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 manned rocket from Florida on Thursday, carrying a spacecraft named Dragon and four astronauts to the International Space Station to carry out a scientific research mission studying the effects of the space environment on human health. This Falcon 9 rocket carried two American astronauts, one Canadian astronaut, and one Russian astronaut, embarking on a space mission aboard the Dragon spacecraft. When the rocket ignited and lifted off, nine engines propelled it with full force, emitting dazzling flames and thick steam, pushing the rocket into the air. About 3 minutes after liftoff, the first-stage booster separated from the rocket. The Dragon spacecraft continued to fly toward orbit, carrying the astronauts to the International Space Station. This mission will focus on studying human physical health and work performance under long-term space environment conditions. This is the 13th long-term manned mission to the International Space Station conducted by NASA since it began using SpaceX manned rockets in 2020.

Chairman Moolenaar of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party condemned Starbucks on Thursday for opening new stores in Xinjiang, China. He called on Starbucks to immediately close its branches in Xinjiang. In a statement, Representative Moolenaar said that the Chinese Communist Party is committing genocide against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, and there is no justification for an American company to do business in a region where the CCP has detained over one million Uyghurs and stripped them of their faith, language, and culture. The House Select Committee on the CCP also attached a video produced by the committee, which introduces the situation of forced labor and genocide faced by Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Starbucks opened two branches in Xinjiang simultaneously this Tuesday, September 29: one located at the Tianshan International Airport and the other, the International Grand Bazaar flagship store, known as Star Bazaar.