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Foundation Tied to Chinese Charity Helped Fund U.S. Midterm Mail Drive
The Voter Participation Center and Center for Voter Information said Sept. 8 they will send more than 2.2 million vote-by-mail applications in 18 states, including Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Tax records cited in reporting show the Enlight Foundation gave the Voter Participation Center $5.8 million in 2020. Enlight was co-founded by Xin Liu and former husband Duan Yongping, who seeded it with $25.7 million in NetEase shares. Liu also founded Chinaâs Xinhe Foundation, which established a Communist Party branch in 2023 that states it upholds comprehensive Party leadership. Donor materials have advertised about $229 per additional vote and claimed 271,442 extra votes in 2024. Both U.S. groups are led by Tom Lopach and call themselves nonpartisan.
đď¸ News & Politics
TV Press Pool Halts Trump Coverage After White House Bars CNN From Rotation
ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX News said Monday they will not provide White House television pool coverage of President Donald Trump after the administration blocked CNN from its assigned pool shift. Trump on Friday barred journalists from CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the complex. FOX News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, who chairs the pool, said there will be no replacement pool for presidential events. Other pool coverage of Congress and selected events will continue. CNN, MS Now and Politico said they plan to sue, calling the ban a First Amendment violation. Trump said he is targeting fake news he views as a national-security threat, not the press as a whole. Monday events were closed to the press. A U.N. General Assembly speech is set for Tuesday.
Editorâs Note: There is nothingâno law, no constitutional requirementâthat the White House must facilitate media press briefings at all. They could simply issue written press releases (and they donât even have to) and be done with it. Maybe thatâs what should happen.
Senators Reject AI Giantsâ Bid for Antitrust Waivers and Liability Shields
Senators from both parties said they do not trust leading AI companies that are asking Washington to set safety rules and grant narrow antitrust waivers for joint safety talks. US Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) said some firms want Congress to lock in their monopolies. US Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said the companies created the risks, make billions, and should not write the rules. He cited Anthropic CEO Dario Amodeiâs request that the government issue a waiver for certain safety conversations. US Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said they would not approve an antitrust exemption. US Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) proposed a government risk board that includes smaller firms. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration would not give companies a liability shield. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said he would give the companies the benefit of the doubt that they want guardrails.
Newsom Signs Law Barring Other Statesâ Guard From Entering Without His OK
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed Senate Bill 1354, which requires his permission before military personnel from another state, territory, or the District of Columbia may enter California for military duty or law enforcement. Sen. Bob Archuleta authored the measure. Newsomâs office said it does not apply to federal active-duty forces under Title 10 and is meant to close a Title 32 loophole. Newsom said other state militaries should not enter without explicit consent and accused President Donald Trump of treating the National Guard as a political weapon. The signing follows Trumpâs June 2025 federalization of about 2,000 California Guard members for Los Angeles after anti-ICE protests. Newsom had sued over that deployment.
CAIR Drive Seeks Millions More Muslim Voters as Action Arm Backs DSA-Aligned Democrats
The Council on American-Islamic Relations launched Muslims.Vote to register and turn out American Muslim voters for the Nov. 3 midterms. CAIR estimates there are about 8 million Muslims in the United States and more than 3 million already registered. Its 2026 plan sets a target of 2 million net new registrations and lists 2.5 million registered voters concentrated in 12 states that can decide the House and Senate. CAIR Action has endorsed Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and others in Michigan, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan, and DSA-backed House winner Donovan McKinney. CAIR says the 501(c)(3) program is nonpartisan civic education. National Muslim Voter Registration Day events were held in more than 15 states.
Retiring Maine Democrat Endorses Lawler in New York Toss-Up
US Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), who is not seeking reelection, endorsed US Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) on Monday. Golden wrote that Lawler has been a true partner and a friend to fishing families he will never represent. He cited Lawlerâs help on the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act, which delays whale rules until 2035. Golden said the country needs fewer members who treat the job as a stage and more who treat it as work. Lawler holds one of the three Republican seats that Kamala Harris carried in 2024 and is running against Democrat Cait Conley in the 17th District. Golden and US Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) recently voted for a Republican House rule. Lawler also broke with GOP leadership last year over a larger SALT cap. Lawler called the endorsement an honor.
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Ilhan Omarâs Bill Would Shift $140 Billion From ICE and Border Patrol to Named States
US Rep. Ilhan Omar (DS-MN) introduced the Make ICE Pay Act to redirect about $140 billion previously appropriated for Immigration & Customs Enforcement and Customs & Border Protection. The money would fund a three-year Housing and Urban Development grant program for states she says were targeted by enforcement operations, including Minnesota after Operation Metro Surge, Illinois, California, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina and Oregon. Recipients could spend it on economic relief, local costs, schools, psychosocial support, investigations and memorialization. Cosponsors include US Reps. Angie Craig (DFLP-MN), JesĂşs GarcĂa (D-IL), Rashida Tlaib (DS-MI), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), and Janelle Bynum (D-OR). Omar said Metro Surge cost Minneapolis nearly $700 million. US Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) called the bill un-American and said it defunds law enforcement.
Trump-Appointed Judge Vacates EPA Cancellation of $7 Billion Solar Grants
U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy of Rhode Island, a Trump appointee, ruled Sept. 18 that the EPAâs termination of the Biden-era Solar for All program was unlawful. The $7 billion grant program, created under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, was meant to expand residential solar in low-income communities. Administrator Lee Zeldin canceled it in August 2025 after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act rescinded unobligated Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund money. An audit found recipients had drawn about $71 million, or 1 percent, of obligated funds. McElroy said Congress intended already obligated grants to continue. Plaintiffs included the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and nonprofits that were not direct grantees. The EPA said it is reviewing the decision and considering an appeal.
Virginia Released Guatemalan After ICE Detainer. He Gets Six Years for Child Porn
Roni Mendez-Escobar, a Guatemalan who entered illegally and was deported three times in 2015, was sentenced Monday to six years and five months for receiving child sexual abuse material and illegal reentry. Agents found 46 images and 65 videos on his devices. Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested him in October 2025 on state felony counts. ICE lodged a detainer Oct. 23. County officials released him Oct. 27 without notifying ICE. ICE arrested him April 22, 2026, after a court appearance. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said sanctuary officials released him and that ICE will deport him after his sentence. He reentered a fourth time on an unknown date.
Macomb Co. Michigan Clerk Says 9 of 10 Incoming Registrations Fail Local Review
Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, the Republican nominee for Michigan secretary of state, said in a Sept. 18 video that more than 5,000 voter-registration cards have arrived in the county, and more are still coming from paid collectors. He said clerks told him that 9 out of 10 are not legitimate, including people already on the roll and signatures that do not match the Qualified Voter File. One clerk told him 47 cards arrived for a single person. Forlini said processing them wastes clerksâ time and that as secretary of state he would try to close what he called a flaw in how anyone can submit registrations. He has separately reported noncitizens found through jury-duty lists. Secretary of State Jocelyn Bensonâs (D) office has said Michiganâs rolls are accurate after audits.
The Gateway Pundit, The McComb Daily
Toronto Judge Acquits Man Who Choked 7-Year-Old After Cannabis Psychosis Defense
Ontario Court Justice Mara Greene found Ahmed Baig not guilty of assault causing bodily harm and assault by choking in an Aug. 2, 2023, attack in North York. Baig did not dispute that he threw a 7-year-old girl to the ground, punched her, and choked her in her familyâs driveway after leaving home in a towel that fell off. The judge accepted a non-mental-disorder automatism defense, finding he acted involuntarily in a cannabis-induced psychosis after vaping a legal product. The mother said he referred to Allah and said both that he would and would not kill them. A forensic psychiatrist testified to grandiose and paranoid thinking. Greene said the reaction was not objectively foreseeable and that the result was not satisfying to the victims or society.
ON THIS DAY IN 1942:
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress made its first flight in Seattle, Washington. It became the premiere long-range heavy bomber for the U.S. during World War II and was the aircraft type used to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
đ International
Iran Threatens New Weapons if U.S. Attacks as Trump Weighs Options
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said Monday that if the United States launches new attacks, Iran will change the weapons and geography of the war and introduce new weapons with new capabilities. He did not name the systems or targets. President Trump said Sunday he is in deciding mode and that very big things could happen. He listed options as wiping Iran out, letting it rot economically or making a deal, and said Tehran had better behave. He said he would probably be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the U.N. General Assembly this week. Iran says it will not negotiate until hostilities end, frozen assets are released, and the naval blockade is lifted. Tehran says the Strait of Hormuz stays closed until those conditions are met. The Strait of Hormuz is open, contrary to Iranâs statement.
Saudi Central Bank Leaves China-Led mBridge After 2025 Test
The Saudi Central Bank confirmed it is no longer a participating member of mBridge, a multi-central-bank digital currency platform for cross-border payments. SAMA said it completed a planned proof of concept on May 13, 2025, and then ended membership. It joined as an observer in 2023 and as a participant in 2024. China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates remain core members. Macau joined in 2026. The platform is designed for direct transactions between central banks using digital currencies and to reduce reliance on the dollar and SWIFT. The riyal remains pegged to the dollar. SAMA said the withdrawal was part of its original plan.
Meloni Plans School Cap on Foreign Pupils and Ban on Face Coverings
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Sunday the government will soon send a Cabinet measure setting a legal maximum of foreign students per class, requiring parents of children with serious integration problems to learn Italian, and banning burqas and niqabs in schools. She said students must go to school with faces uncovered and that no tradition can require a young woman to hide. She did not give a new percentage. Noncitizen students are about 11.6 percent of enrollment. A 30 percent class and school cap has existed since 2010. The proposal needs parliamentary approval. Meloni spoke at a Brothers of Italy youth event ahead of next yearâs election.
U.S. Flies 18 Moise Assassination Suspects From Haiti to Florida
Eighteen suspects in the July 7, 2021, killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moise arrived in Florida on a military flight Sunday to face trial in the Southern District. U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quinones said 30 people have been indicted and more arrests were made in the United States and abroad. Those transferred include 17 former Colombian soldiers and former Haitian Justice Ministry official Joseph Badio. Moise, 53, was shot at his residence by a hired group of about 20 Colombian mercenaries. His security detail did not intervene. Four Florida men linked to a security firm were convicted in May. Five others have received life sentences. Prosecutors say the plot was planned in part from U.S. soil. Haiti has no president and gangs control most of Port-au-Prince.
Aleppo Army Depot Blasts Injure Four in Fourth Syrian Munitions Incident This Month
A series of explosions tore through a Syrian army ammunition depot near al-Eis, south of Aleppo, early Monday. State media said four people were hurt, including one by shrapnel. Secondary detonations kept crews from approaching at first. Authorities closed roads and evacuated nearby homes. Officials gave no immediate cause. The Defense Ministry said it was investigating several depot incidents this month. An Idlib depot blast on Sept. 9 killed 14 people. Another in eastern Syria last week killed 11. Residents heard a huge blast and saw flames from Aleppo neighborhoods. Rescue workers later began clearing unexploded munitions.
