diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index ae41dcc73..3799f7505 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 GNU coreutils NEWS                                    -*- outline -*-
 
-* Noteworthy changes in release ?.? (????-??-??) [?]
+* Noteworthy changes in release 9.6 (2025-01-17) [stable]
 
 ** Bug fixes