News: October 21, 2026

FDA approves bepirovirsen, a new kind of treatment for chronic hepatitis B

Developing Confirmed Oct 21, 4:05 pm PT

Oct. 21, 2026 — The Food and Drug Administration approved Hibsago (bepirovirsen), an injection used with existing antiviral therapy, for certain adults with chronic hepatitis B who do not have cirrhosis, the agency said Oct. 20. It is the first antisense oligonucleotide approved for the disease. In two trials, 24% of patients who received it met the requirements to stop their existing medicine, compared with none on placebo, and 19% still had the virus under control 24 weeks after stopping all treatment. The drug carries a boxed warning for serious liver reactions and low platelet counts.

health, medicine

UN report says warming will pass 1.5°C, but deep, fast cuts could bring it back down by 2100

Developing Reported Oct 21, 4:15 pm PT

Oct. 21, 2026 — Global warming is set to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and countries must cut emissions deeply and quickly to limit the overshoot and return below that threshold by 2100, the UN Environment Programme said in its Emissions Gap Report 2026, UN News reported. The report's lowest-overshoot path limits peak warming to 1.7 to 1.8°C around mid-century and requires cuts of 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035 and 69% by 2040 from 2025 levels. Under current policies, warming could reach 2.8°C this century, the report said.

climate, environment

UN warns against an early peacekeeper exit as Sudan's war spills into the Central African Republic

Developing Reported Oct 21, 4:10 pm PT

Oct. 21, 2026 — The UN warned the Security Council on Oct. 20 against a premature withdrawal of its peacekeepers from the Central African Republic as the war in Sudan spills across the border, UN News reported. A June 30 attack on Am-Dafock, on the border with Sudan, killed civilians and security forces, displaced 17,000 people and injured six peacekeepers, said Valentine Rugwabiza, head of the UN mission, MINUSCA. The Council must decide before mid-November whether to renew the mission's mandate. Nearly two million people, 31% of the population, faced acute food insecurity from April to August.

conflict, peacekeeping

Nigeria confirms its first case of Ebola from the Bundibugyo virus, WHO says

Developing Reported Oct 21, 4:00 pm PT

Oct. 21, 2026 — Nigeria has confirmed its first case of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, the World Health Organization said, UN News reported. The patient, a woman who had recently traveled from Uganda, developed symptoms on Oct. 7, sought care in Abuja and remains in isolation; 44 contacts are being monitored. Nigeria is the fifth country to detect the disease since an outbreak was declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in mid-May. That outbreak had recorded more than 9,500 cases and 4,200 deaths as of Oct. 18. WHO has not recommended travel or trade restrictions.

health, outbreaks

California stages flood supplies at 70 sites ahead of expected El Niño storms

Developing Confirmed Oct 21, 3:55 pm PT

Oct. 21, 2026 — California has staged flood-fighting supplies at 70 locations statewide ahead of expected El Niño storms, including 6.2 million sandbags, more than 52,000 feet of portable flood barriers and 400,000 tons of rock for emergency levee repairs, the governor's office said during California Flood Preparedness Week. State agencies are also inspecting levees and water infrastructure and helping coastal communities reduce flood, landslide and coastal hazards, building on a September state of emergency, the office said.

TDD reports on public information; it does not issue forecasts or warnings. For guidance where you are, contact your local officials.

weather, safety, California