Happy October! It’s a big day for AI news, with Washington pulling in two directions at once. There’s also plenty happening abroad, a surprise jobs number, and a fun origin story about bats.

What’s worth your time today

1. Trump says top tech firms have signed accord to ‘self-police’ AI development (NPR). The biggest AI companies are agreeing to internal checks and outside audits, but it’s all voluntary, so the real test is whether anyone holds them to it.
2. FTC opens probe into AI giants including Anthropic and OpenAI (BNN Bloomberg). At the same moment, the FTC wants sworn testimony from AI executives about rogue agents, which is the first serious federal look at the risk.
3. US military says its withdrawal of troops from Iraq is complete (AP via Anchorage Daily News). A 12-year mission against ISIS is over. Baghdad is celebrating, but Kurdish leaders worry about what fills the gap.
4. Iran’s currency hits record low as traders in Tehran exchange 2.5M rials per dollar (AP via Action News Jax). Ordinary Iranians are paying for the war with every grocery run, and talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are still stuck.
5. Five killed, 14 injured in Russian attacks targeting energy infrastructure in Kyiv (Ukrinform). Russia launched nearly 190 drones plus missiles at the power grid, a grim sign of how hard this winter could be for Ukrainians.
6. Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri named first female prime minister of Morocco (UPI). She’s only the third woman to lead a government in the Arab world. Now she has to stitch together a coalition.
7. Former special counsel Jack Smith defends investigation into Trump on Capitol Hill (NPR). Smith finally told his side in public, and both parties will be quoting him all the way to the midterms.
8. Private sector jobs rose by 90,000 in September, better than expected (CNBC). After three slow months, hiring bounced back. That’s a welcome bit of good news for anyone nervous about the economy.
9. Google tests paying publishers for using their content in AI Overviews and Gemini (Search Engine Land). If this pilot grows, it could change how websites survive in a world where people read AI answers instead of clicking links.
10. Bats may have first evolved in Europe 65 million years ago (ScienceDaily). The biggest bat study ever finally settles where they came from. It also shows flight and echolocation showed up almost right away.

That’s the day. Thanks for reading, and see you tomorrow.