The Secret Service took three outlets'
badges at the gate.
Officers turned away CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters at a West Wing gate Saturday, Sept. 19 and collected their hard passes — a day after Trump posted that the outlets were banned over "constant reporting FAKE NEWS". He named no story, citing "cumulative stories over the last two years."
All three outlets say they will sue. The hard-pass rules adopted in May 2023 require a written warning first — and courts blocked both earlier single-reporter revocations.
September 20, 2026 · Six stories, illustrated
- Taken at the gate
- CNN
Betsy Klein — denied entry
hard pass taken - MS NOW
Akayla Gardner — denied entry
hard pass taken - Politico
Cheyenne Haslett — denied entry
hard pass taken
- The process on paper
- A written warning first
The hard-pass rules adopted in May 2023 require one, except for Secret Service security concerns.
- Basis, answer, decision
Sherrill v. Knight (1977) required a factual basis, a chance to answer, and a written decision.
- Two revocations blocked
Courts blocked the pass pulls of CNN's Jim Acosta in 2018 and Playboy's Brian Karem in 2020.
An MS NOW producer entered the same morning — the stop is per-badge, not per-gate, per NBC News.
All three outlets say they will sue. What written basis the White House produces for the revocations is the open question.
Read the reporting
Houthi missiles set a Riyadh fuel depot on fire —
the capital's first sirens since July.
Missiles and drones hit a fuel depot near King Khalid International Airport early Saturday, Sept. 19, delaying flights. The Saudi-led coalition said it downed one ballistic missile over the city and stopped attacks on Yanbu, Taif, Baysh and Farasan.
The same fighting displaced 104,796 people, per the UN's International Organization for Migration — and killed 48 on Saturday alone.
a fuel depot on fire near King Khalid International Airport; flights delayed
the capital's first air-raid alert since July — one ballistic missile downed over the city- Claimed stopped
- Yanbuattack stopped, per the coalition
- Taifattack stopped, per the coalition
- Bayshattack stopped, per the coalition
- Farasanattack stopped, per the coalition
- Sept. 9
four Saudi cities hit; 73 wounded
- Sept. 16
Yanbu loadings suspended — the last open terminal
- Sept. 19
sirens in the capital
The UN's International Organization for Migration counts 104,796 people displaced by the recent fighting; 48 were killed in Houthi-government fighting Saturday alone, per AFP.
Read the reporting
The oil squeeze moved downstream —
JPMorgan says it has no baseline.
The shock has shifted from crude supply to refining and shipping. An attack on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline cut the main route around the blockaded Strait of Hormuz; supertankers are scarce and some long-haul trades now lose money. JPMorgan says it no longer has a baseline view for oil markets.
The U.S. diesel average hit a record $6.29 a gallon on Sept. 14 — and the U.S. has set no retail fuel price caps or subsidies.
- Strait of Hormuz
blockaded
- East-West pipeline
hit — the main route around the strait
- Refineries & tankers
supertankers scarce; some long-haul trades lose money
JPMorgan says it no longer has a baseline view for oil markets — the Iran war, Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries and Chinese demand.
- $6.29
the record U.S. diesel average, Sept. 14, per the EIA
- No caps
the U.S. has set no retail fuel price caps or subsidies
Dozens of nations have capped, subsidized or cut fuel taxes, per the IEA, and are curbing demand with remote work and travel limits. The U.S. has set neither.
Read the reporting
Both governments say the pact keeps their sovereignty —
the text is still unreleased.
Danish and Greenlandic leaders backed the pact but said it recognizes their sovereignty and Greenlanders' right to self-determination — language that cuts against Trump's "permanent control." They expect to sign in New York during next week's UN General Assembly; both parliaments must still approve it.
Per the leaders' description it gives the U.S. permanent access and overflight rights, bars non-NATO bases and limits adversarial investment — and hands over no territory.
“permanent control over security, and all other needs”his description of the deal, Friday
“recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination”Greenland PM Jens-Frederik Nielsen
- permanent U.S. access and overflight rights
- bars non-NATO bases
- limits adversarial investment
- hands over no territory
- Sign
expected in New York during next week's UN General Assembly
- Approve
both parliaments must still approve it
Analysts say the described terms mostly restate basing rights the U.S. has held under a 1951 defense treaty. Greenland's population is roughly 56,000; Trump says the deal carries no cost to the United States.
Read the reporting
Ballots are already in the mail —
45 days to Election Day.
Twenty states are mailing ballots — including Texas, Michigan and North Carolina, the three most contested Senate races — and in-person early voting opened Friday, Sept. 18. Advisers say Trump has privately accepted blunt assessments that Republicans are in trouble; the cost of living is the issue voters keep naming.
The midterm baseline favors the party out of power: presidents below 50% approval lose 37 House seats on average, versus 14 above. Control of Congress through January 2029 is the stake.
- By mail29%
- Early in person30.7%
- On Election Day39.6%
- TexasSenate race — already voting
about 3% of 2024 ballots came by mail
- MichiganSenate race — already voting
60% voted early in November 2024
- North CarolinaSenate race — already voting
58.1% voted early in 2022
In-person early voting opened Friday, Sept. 18 in Virginia, Minnesota and South Dakota. The baseline favors the party out of power: Gallup's average, presidents below 50% approval lose 37 House seats, versus 14 above.
Read the reporting
Pennsylvania counts four measles deaths —
the federal count is still zero.
The state logged two more measles-associated deaths Tuesday, Sept. 15, for a total of 4 this year. The CDC dashboard still shows 0: the National Center for Health Statistics has no 2026 record listing measles as an underlying cause. The emergency aid Gov. Josh Shapiro wants requires the CDC to recognize the deaths first.
U.S. measles cases are the highest since 1991, with more related deaths than any year since 1992 — in a country that declared measles eliminated in 2000.
measles-associated deaths this year — two more logged Tuesday, Sept. 15
no 2026 record lists measles as the underlying cause
the emergency assistance Gov. Josh Shapiro wants requires the CDC to recognize the deaths first.
- Highest since 1991
U.S. measles cases
- Eliminated 2000
the U.S. declaration
- Since 1992
most related deaths in a year
Trump called Shapiro “close to incompetent,” and Kennedy accused him of refusing to cooperate. Shapiro, with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. behind Trump in the Oval Office: “Incompetence is standing right behind you, Mr. President.”