We told you Trump framed his UN speech as a choice between a deal with Iran or "annihilating the Islamic Republic." What most coverage left out: he nearly opened a whole new front over the weekend.
Hold on. Iran-backed Houthi militants expanded attacks on Saudi Arabia, hitting Riyadh's airport and oil storage. Trump considered striking the Houthis at the Saudi crown prince's request, then called it off late Saturday.
Asked what he'll do next on Iran, his answer: "Anything could happen with me."
Read that again. This is happening the same week as a new Greenland security signing, a Xi summit, and the media ban we've covered, meaning Trump's UN meetings likely won't get normal TV coverage at all.
A lot converging into one very chaotic UN week.
Source: https://t.co/hj44OnM5mQ
Weeks ago we told you Rubio was privately telling allies the US would hold off on Iran until after the midterms. Tuesday, Trump confirmed it publicly, at the UN.
Hold on. In his UN speech, Trump said he has "a big decision to make" between a deal with Iran or "annihilating the Islamic Republic," adding, "We will get it done one way or another."
He dismissed the idea Iran is waiting him out: "I gave no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran. I will be here for two-and-a-half years."
Read that again. Arab countries are actively trying to arrange a high-level US-Iran meeting at the UN right now. Rubio confirmed Trump is open to it. No meeting is scheduled yet.
Trump also claimed Iran violated the ceasefire in the Strait of Hormuz, the same waterway we've covered extensively.
Source: https://t.co/kl675cFyLE
An ICE officer shot a Venezuelan DoorDash driver in Austin Sunday. Before he was even treated, he was nearly deported with the bullet still in his back.
Hold on. He says an unmarked SUV sideswiped him, he didn't know it was ICE, made a U-turn to pull over safely, and was shot when agents got out. His attorney says there was no foot chase. ICE says there was.
The officer wasn't wearing a body camera.
Read that again. He was discharged from the hospital twice and moved toward a detention center two hours away, bullet still lodged in his back, before receiving adequate care.
A federal judge halted his deportation Tuesday, ruling he's a key witness to his own shooting.
Source: https://t.co/4l1whUmikP
Remember the media ban and pool boycott we already covered? Monday night, the White House launched its own channel, and banned a fourth outlet.
Hold on. "Trump TV: The Essentials Station" went live at 7pm ET with a rerun of Trump's July speech at Mount Rushmore, not live coverage.
Newsom called it "quite literally state-run TV." The White House defended the ban directly: "Access is a privilege, not a right."
Read that again. The Wall Street Journal was also just blocked from the press pool for Trump's upcoming Scotland trip. The White House Correspondents Association called it "deeply troubling."
A press freedom advocate put it simply: "This isn't just DC insider access journalism." Hundreds of journalists and the public rely on that pool.
Source: https://t.co/mfnK2MO19x
Cuba's delegation walked out of Trump's UN speech Tuesday. This ties directly back to the Venezuela story we already covered.
Hold on. They didn't walk out when Trump called Cuba "an absolutely failed state." They left specifically when he said, "Marco Rubio is handling a negotiation. He's deep into negotiations with Cuba. Let's see what happens."
Cuba's been running out of oil since January, when the US blockade cut off its main Venezuelan crude supply, the direct fallout of the Maduro capture operation.
Read that again. Cuba's foreign minister formally responds Friday, already previewing his line: Washington "has the right to be a fully independent and sovereign country."
Brazil's president offered the opposite read just before Trump spoke: "The world watches in horror as collective punishment is imposed on 10 million people."
Source: https://t.co/mdV7jbsLPW
Actor Jack Haven (Brigette Lundy-Paine) posted a video this week with a blunt ask: cast me in something before September 30, or I lose my health insurance.
Brigette needs to earn $4,000 by the end of the month to qualify for SAG-AFTRA coverage starting in January 2027. "I need to make $4,000 by the end of the month in order to qualify for SAG health insurance," Brigette said, adding: "I will do pretty much any job. I can sing, I can dance, I can talk softly, loudly. I can do accents." Brigette played Casey Gardner on Netflix's Atypical and has since appeared in I Saw the TV Glow.
Here's why it matters. This comes just days after Elliot (Ellen) Page said her own casting offers have dried up since her transition β "it's a little tricky for me to get cast now, for obvious, pretty obvious reasons" β despite starring in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, which has now grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide.
Two trans actors. One coming off a billion-dollar blockbuster. Both, within the same week, publicly describing the same wall.
This isn't just one actor's plea for a paycheck. This is two very different career levels hitting the identical ceiling, at the identical moment, in an industry that spent the last decade talking about inclusion.
Sources:
https://t.co/SjSyeKogvd
https://t.co/6fiuhhLi1M
https://t.co/sbvzLpiXvI
An ICE officer shot 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in the back in Austin, Texas, after sideswiping his car on a Sunday afternoon. The bullet lodged near his spine. It hasn't been removed.
Garces Perez is a Venezuelan national who entered the U.S. in 2024 through the CBP One app and was working as a DoorDash driver. The same day he was shot, he was treated at a hospital, then transferred to the South Texas Processing Center in Pearsall β about two hours from Austin. On Monday, his attorney held a news conference where Garces Perez spoke by phone. On Tuesday, a federal judge issued an emergency order temporarily halting his deportation.
Here's why it matters. Garces Perez says: "I am not doing well, and I am not receiving the medical attention that I require," describing a cold room, no bed, and no access to pain medication. DHS disputes that account directly, saying he's "receiving medical care around the clock, including pain medication," and that he does have a bed.
This isn't just a dispute over conditions in one detention cell. This is a man with an active bullet wound and a court order in his favor, and the government and the injured man telling two completely different stories about what's happening to him right now.
Sources:
https://t.co/3IumCZ4SvX
https://t.co/gyKFDdoMjv
https://t.co/T6MoIaQsxB
A discharge petition in the House now has 216 of the 218 signatures needed to force a floor vote on releasing the remaining Epstein investigation files.
It's led by an unusual pairing: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), filed back in August. Republican Reps. Ralph Norman, Lauren Boebert, and Brian Fitzpatrick have also signed on.
Here's why it matters. Massie says the Justice Department "continues to unlawfully withhold over 3 million Epstein files that should be released to the public." Separately, Attorney General Todd Blanche is facing possible contempt charges after Judge Emmet Sullivan warned him over withheld records. A companion bill, the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, would let state attorneys general, prosecutors, and victims sue the federal government over documents that are improperly withheld or redacted.
The vote itself likely won't happen until after the November midterms.
This isn't just a paperwork fight. This is a bipartisan bloc in Congress signaling that "trust us" isn't good enough anymore β and setting up a reckoning over 3 million documents just as voters head to the polls.
Sources:
https://t.co/u4JeC4aciW
https://t.co/noQ90nRC1X
https://t.co/i0EQac5sPb
A new national poll has Democrats leading Republicans 53% to 41% on the generic congressional ballot heading into the 2026 midterms. That's a 13-point swing from Trump's 2024 popular vote margin.
The survey of 1,280 registered voters was conducted September 14β15, with a margin of error of Β±3.8 points.
Here's why it matters. 45% of voters say their congressional vote is specifically a vote against Trump β including 80% of Democrats and roughly half of independents. Only 25% say they're voting for him. His overall approval sits at 39%, with 59% disapproving β and 53% say they "strongly" disapprove, the highest level recorded in either of his terms. His favorability has dropped to 37%, down from 44% in January 2025.
Democrats now poll ahead on the economy (42β38), gas prices (40β27), and foreign policy (42β36) β and have even cut into the GOP's traditional immigration advantage, which has shrunk from 42β30 in February 2024 to a near dead heat today.
This isn't just a bad poll for Republicans. This is a president whose own base is souring on him faster than the opposition is β six weeks before voters decide who controls Congress.
Sources:
https://t.co/HntvKPbaw4
https://t.co/NRP8aVazoz
https://t.co/Y3oKx5NxMZ
Trump told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that he's facing "a big decision" on Iran. His words: "Will a deal be made with Iran... or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly?"
He predicted the deal comes after the midterms.
In the same speech, he called drug cartels "the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere," labeled Cuba an "absolutely failed state," and pledged not to restrict AI development. Notably, this year's address was shorter than his past UN speeches β he skipped his usual complaints about other leaders and the UN building itself.
Here's why it matters. New polling shows 71% of voters disapprove of how he's handling foreign affairs β the worst mark of either of his presidencies. 76% say the Iran war hasn't justified its cost in American lives and money. And now the president himself is saying, in a room full of world leaders, that whether this ends in diplomacy or "annihilation" may hinge on an election six weeks away.
This isn't just a warning shot at Tehran. This is the president publicly attaching the resolution of a live war to the U.S. political calendar β and it barely made a ripple outside the wire services.
Sources:
https://t.co/5am7MquMzp
https://t.co/7DzVqz2NId
https://t.co/hj44OnLxxi
The silent divorce doesn't show up in court records. No affair, no fight, no papers filed β just two people in the same house slowly becoming strangers. New episode breaks down what Scripture says about covenant, presence, and pursuit in marriage. π§ https://t.co/5Jq9PquKQE #ChristianMarriage #PrycePodcast
YT: https://t.co/7Wt5Sfc1QK
Rumble: https://t.co/Df1robHgRd
Podbean: https://t.co/OodgUPnQcW
Axios surveyed 8 former Kamala Harris aides and advisers about a 2028 run. The results lean heavily skeptical.
Hold on. 5 said she'll probably stay on the sidelines. 2 called it a genuine toss-up. Only 1 predicted she'll actually run.
One former aide called her current activity, campaigning for candidates, podcast appearances, promoting her book, the "bare minimum" needed to stay relevant, not real campaign prep. A genuine push would mean more hires, more travel, more policy engagement.
Read that again. Her top aide recently left her team. She bought an $8 million home in Malibu. She gave up control of her own campaign social account.
She still leads early primary polling despite all of it.
Source: https://t.co/RvnuQIu8Pm
Remember the White House media ban and pool boycott we already covered? Monday, it moved into court.
Hold on. CNN, Politico, and MS NOW filed a 27-page lawsuit, naming the outlets plus three reporters denied entry Saturday. The filing argues the ban violates the First Amendment and due process, stating: "This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment."
The case landed with a Trump-appointed judge who already ordered CNN's Jim Acosta's credentials restored during Trump's first term.
Read that again. Trump himself acknowledged it on Truth Social: "They have drawn a great judge for them," adding he'd appeal "as usual."
Even NYC Mayor Mamdani pushed back after meeting Trump: "We're going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn."
An emergency hearing could come as soon as this week.
Source: https://t.co/eFJ7KnJwQA
We told you last week Trump wanted Ukraine to stop hitting Russian refineries. This week, diesel hit an even higher record, and his message shifted to ending the whole war.
Hold on. Diesel topped $6.50 a gallon Friday. Trump posted: "Russia has unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil Industry due to its War with Ukraine. This ridiculous and never ending War with Ukraine must be ended."
Zelensky echoed it: "From the very first minute, Ukraine has sought peace."
Read that again. Trump also claimed 25,000 people are being killed each month, his own estimate, not an independently verified figure.
Trump and Zelensky meet Monday in New York, reportedly to discuss a mutual pause on energy strikes.
Source: https://t.co/coYprJ4foz
Remember the CNN, MS NOW, and Politico ban from Friday? It just escalated into all five major networks, including Fox News, refusing to cover Trump at all.
Hold on. CNN was scheduled for its regular turn as TV pool Monday. The White House's guidance email listed no TV pool at all instead, swapping in a pro-Trump outlet as secondary crew.
Fox's own Washington bureau chief announced the boycott to subscribers. All five networks then issued a joint statement: "No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting."
Read that again. Trump's Monday event had zero network coverage. Photographers from the AP, NYT, and Reuters withheld their images too.
CNN, MS NOW, and Politico have now filed a formal First Amendment lawsuit.
Source: https://t.co/XGVUHPsDqZ
Converse pulled an ad this week promoting its Chuck 70 X sneaker collaboration with K-pop star Karina, after critics said the imagery evoked the KKK and lynching. The photo showed a model in a white, calf-length robe-like garment, holding black sneakers at arm's length so they appeared to dangle β with a shadow forming a triangular peak on the fabric that read, to many, as a Klan hood.
Read that again. A major, decades-old American brand ran that image, and it made it through approval.
Converse pulled it and apologized directly: "We're sorry. We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong." The company committed to removing it from every platform.
Here's why it matters. This wasn't a fringe complaint. Rep. Troy Carter condemned it publicly: "Black pain is not a marketing prop. Lynching is not a creative concept." Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt went further, pointing to a pattern: "Do better means catching this before it airs β not after we're offended."
This isn't just one bad ad. This is another case of a major brand's creative process failing to catch imagery with this much historical weight β and only getting caught after it was already in front of millions of people.
Sources:
https://t.co/XI6uspDH5f
https://t.co/HZpxDHeJEc
https://t.co/FpE7AEDQXM
Lindsay Clancy's attorney filed two separate motions this week: one to investigate the holdout juror, another to dismiss the case entirely.
Hold on. He's asking for a court-ordered forensic examination of the juror's phone during deliberation hours, and wants the juror questioned under oath about the truthfulness of his original questionnaire.
The juror, previously sealed as "Juror Doe," has since been named by his own attorney as 48-year-old Michael Desronvil. Earlier reporting found he had a dismissed domestic violence charge and an active restraining order at the time he was picked for the jury.
Read that again. A separate motion argues the judge should have removed him with an alternate mid-deliberation.
Both motions get heard September 29, the same hearing where prosecutors say whether they'll retry the case.
This case touches on postpartum mental health. If you're struggling, 988 is there by call or text.
Source: https://t.co/ENliIAV8E4
Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran's US tour after performing a song dedicated to a Palestinian child killed in Gaza and shouting "Free Palestine" during two sold-out MetLife Stadium shows in early September.
Here's what actually forced that decision. Patriots owner Robert Kraft β whose company owns stadiums on the tour route β reportedly gave Sheeran's promoters an ultimatum: drop Macklemore or lose the venues. Kraft called Macklemore's comments "hate speech" that was "deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community."
Read that again. A stadium owner, not a record label, decided which political speech was allowed on that stage.
Macklemore didn't back down: "our friendship can't change my responsibility to tell the truth." Several supporting acts β including Lukas Graham and Finneas β walked off the tour in protest. Sheeran, caught in the middle, admitted at his Philadelphia show that the situation "put me in the middle of an important and impassioned argument about freedom of speech."
Here's why it matters. Macklemore donated his entire $1 million in tour earnings to Palestinian aid groups. Kraft and Sheeran then matched it with $2 million combined. Ticket resale prices for the Philadelphia show dropped roughly 50% in the fallout.
This isn't just a concert controversy. This is a live example of who actually controls speech at scale in America right now β and it isn't the artist on the stage.
Sources:
https://t.co/ovuDeFzINB
https://t.co/N74FcEaNpi
https://t.co/IS31SxYN8a
Rep. Thomas Massie filed a discharge petition back in August to force a House vote on releasing the remaining Epstein investigation files. Discharge petitions need 218 signatures to work. As of this week, Massie has 216.
Read that again. Two signatures away from forcing the vote β and Massie says he'll have them by November.
The bill, the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, would let state attorneys general, prosecutors, and victims sue the federal government over unreleased records, and would require unredacted documents be handed to victims on request. Massie didn't mince words about what's being withheld: "The Department of Justice continues to unlawfully withhold over 3 million Epstein files that should be released to the public."
Here's why it matters. This isn't a fringe effort β Democrat Ro Khanna co-sponsored it, and Attorney General Todd Blanche has already warned people inside the department about potential contempt charges tied to the files. Former AG Pam Bondi was subpoenaed, then abruptly removed from her scheduled testimony before it happened.
The vote itself is timed for November, right after the midterms.
This isn't a story that quietly faded away. This is a bipartisan discharge petition sitting two names short of forcing the executive branch's hand β almost entirely drowned out by everything else happening in Washington.
Sources:
https://t.co/u4JeC4aK8u
https://t.co/noQ90nS9Rv
https://t.co/McutBM9W1D
On September 18, Trump announced on Truth Social that he was banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, calling them "Fake News" outlets pushing "FICTION and LIES." Two days later, reporters from all three outlets were physically turned away at the gates.
Read that again. Accredited journalists, blocked from doing their jobs, by the government they cover.
All three outlets have now filed suit, arguing the ban is unconstitutional. CNN's statement put it bluntly: "We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government." Politico and MS NOW issued nearly identical vows to "vigorously defend" their First Amendment rights.
Here's why it matters. This isn't the first time a Trump White House has tried this β courts ruled against a similar move during the Jim Acosta press-pass suspension back in 2018, and the Knight First Amendment Institute has already pointed to that precedent. The Freedom of the Press Foundation called the new ban "a blatant violation of the First Amendment," and the National Press Club warned it amounts to "an unprecedented assault on press freedom."
A federal court hearing on the case is set for this Wednesday.
This isn't just a media spat. This is a sitting president trying to hand-pick which news organizations are allowed to cover the White House β and the courts are about to decide whether that's legal.
Sources:
https://t.co/mD0OL36Dhn
https://t.co/5CdmJtJm9M
https://t.co/f5svtMccHP