What are the 10 biggest news stories from today?

I'll gather today's 10 biggest headlines for you — just pulling the latest updates.

Today is Thursday, October 1, 2026. Based on headlines published today, the 10 biggest stories are:

1. U.S. Government Shutdown Begins October 1
The U.S. federal government's fiscal year begins on October 1. Barring a last-minute deal, the government was on track to shutdown at 12:01 am. At 00:01 EDT on Wednesday 1 October (04:01 GMT), it became official: the US had its first shutdown for nearly seven years, with 670,000 federal employees furloughed or working without pay.

2. Flydubai Flight FZ1073 Cockpit Attack - Indian Pilot Hailed as Hero
Passengers intervened after a co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain and attempted to crash a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday commended Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his 'extraordinary bravery'.
US President Donald Trump hailed Indian flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar as a “hero” after he fought off a knife attack by the co-pilot.

3. U.S. Homeland Security Says No Credible Threat After Flydubai Incident
United States Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has stated that there are “no credible threats” directed at the United States following the mid-air attack aboard an Israel-bound Flydubai flight.

4. Flydubai Suspends Flights to Israel
Flydubai would be barred from operating flights to the country for six days from Thursday morning, October 1. Emirates also suspended its codeshare flights with flydubai to Tel Aviv until further notice.

5. Supreme Court Clears Way for Tennessee Execution of Christa Pike
The Supreme Court has dissolved a last-minute stay and cleared Tennessee to execute Christa Pike, the only woman on the state’s death row. Justice Brett Kavanaugh granted the application to vacate the injunction on Wednesday evening. Pike, 50, had been scheduled to die by lethal injection at 10 a.m. CDT Wednesday at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

6. Dame Esther Rantzen Dies at 86
Dame Esther Rantzen has died at 86 following a public battle with stage four lung cancer, her family confirmed in an emotional statement.

7. Student Dies After Fall at Los Angeles High School
A student died Wednesday after falling from a fourth-floor building at Benjamin Franklin High School in Los Angeles. The boy's fatal plunge was reported around 1 p.m. at the Highland Park campus.

8. Firefighting Pilots Killed Battling Yosemite Wildfire
Nina Pacchia is speaking out about her husband, firefighting pilot Ryan Cutter, after he was killed battling a Yosemite wildfire. Cutter, a Utah helicopter pilot, and Greg King, an Alaskan pilot, both died when their aircraft crashed while fighting the blaze.

9. Trump Mailing $500 Checks to Obamacare Enrollees
President Trump is mailing $500 checks to nearly a million Americans with Obamacare coverage. About 950,000 enrollees across 30 states will receive the payments as early as this week.

10. T.J. Maxx Closes Longtime Silver Spring Location / California Power Outage
T.J. Maxx has permanently closed its longtime Ellsworth Place location in Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, after roughly a decade in operation. The 24,000-square-foot storefront on Colesville Road first opened in late 2015.
Separately, San Francisco's Ferry Building sat dark for three hours Wednesday morning after an unplanned Pacific Gas & Electric outage cut power to the landmark waterfront hub.