September 13-19, 2026
NEWS DIGEST
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NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
More U.S. troops have died amid Iran war than Pentagon has disclosed publicly: More US troops have died during the US-Israeli war with Iran than the Pentagon has publicly disclosed, the Washington Post reported on Friday. The Post, citing five unidentified officials, reported that there had been at least 22 military fatalities, four more than were listed in the data available on the Pentagon's public database. REUTERS
Trump targets more news outlets, saying he will ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House: President Donald Trump said Friday that he was barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House due to what he called unfavorable coverage and “fake news,” and threatened that more such media bans could be coming — the latest salvo in the president’s increasingly aggressive response to media coverage he finds unfavorable. AP
Trump administration paid $9.5 billion in leave for federal employees in 2025, due to DOGE-era buyout program: The Trump administration spent $9.5 billion on employee administrative leave costs in 2025, a sixfold increase from 2023 that was spurred by the administration's push to cut down the federal workforce. CBS
House Passes Russia Sanctions Bill After Fight Over Trump’s Tariff Powers: The House passed a sweeping Russia sanctions bill Wednesday, giving President Donald Trump new power to punish countries that buy Russian energy. The House voted 262-159 to approve the Senate-passed legislation without changes. The bill, backed 58 Democrats and all but seven Republicans, now goes to Trump, who is expected to sign it. WASHINGTON SUN
Fed approves interest rate hike, signals one more to come this year: The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved its first interest rate hike in more than three years and indicated another is to come, as part of an effort aimed at combating inflation brought on by spiraling oil prices and other factors. CNBC
Supreme Court rejects Trump mail ballot restrictions ahead of midterms: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to restrict mail ballots for the midterm elections, capping a flurry of last-minute legal action with voting already underway. The decision allows states to continue sending out mail ballots under the same processes they’ve used for years and have accounted for nearly a third of votes cast. WHEW! AP
DESI NEWS
Knife attack on Sikh trucker in Wyoming stirs fresh fears in community: The stabbing of a truck driver at a remote Wyoming rest stop had U.S. Sikhs on edge Friday amid rising anti-immigrant vitriol against the community and its truck drivers in particular. The Sikh victim was attacked from behind early Sunday while in a restroom at the Bitter Creek rest stop on Interstate 80 midway between Cheyenne and Salt Lake City, according to court documents. He suffered stabs to the neck and chest and over a dozen other cuts but survived. AP
IMMIGRATION
Trump extends push for $100,000 H-1B visas by another year: US employers seeking to hire skilled foreign workers can use the federal government's H-1B visa program for a fee, allowing tech and other professionals from abroad to work in the United States for a few years.President Donald Trump has extended an executive order that would impose a fee of $100,000 for H-1B non-immigrant visas by another year, the White House said on Friday. REUTERS
DOS Announces Expansion of Social Media Vetting to I, TN, and TD Visa Applicants Effective 10/1/26: DOS announced that, effective 10/1/26, it will expand its online presence review to cover I, TN, and TD visa applicants. DOS instructs all applicants subject to this expanded vetting to set all of their social media profiles to "public" or "open." AILA
CORRUPTION ALERT
Donald Trump Jr.’s Bahamas Wedding Was Secretly Bankrolled by Russian Oligarch Close to Putin: The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large group of other Russian guests. PRO PUBLICA
Paid brokers tout ties to Trump's orbit to lobby for presidential pardons: President Trump? He's developed his own vetting system: pardoning political allies — including all of the Jan. 6 rioters — as well as a string of unrepentant financial conmen who argued — just like him — that they were wrongly prosecuted. How do these people get their grievances in the president's ear? Donations appear to help, and those who-can-pay hire pardon brokers: lawyers and lobbyists who sell their ties to the president, for exorbitant fees. It's a marketplace of money and mercy. CBS
SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND SAFETY
RFK Jr promises anti-vaxxers a ‘friend at the White House’ amid deadly measles outbreak: As the death toll from the worst measles outbreak in decades rises, Robert F Kennedy Jr headlined the Washington DC conference of the anti-vaccine organization Children’s Health Defense, which he led for nearly a decade. THE GUARDIAN
Pennsylvania asks CDC for emergency help as measles outbreak spreads: Pennsylvania is seeking emergency assistance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a major measles outbreak spreads across the state. The state warned the request could be withdrawn unless the federal agency publicly recognizes four measles-associated deaths reported by the state. THE GUARDIAN
Trump’s EPA must reinstate $7 billion grant program for solar panels, judge rules: The Trump administration illegally terminated a $7 billion Solar for All program intended to make solar power accessible to more than 900,000 lower-income Americans, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled Friday. AP
US military had close call after using AI for false intelligence report: The intelligence report, circulated across the US military this spring in the midst of the war with Iran, immediately set off alarm bells: A Chinese ship in the Middle East was transporting components of a nuclear weapons program. It was only just before the planned operation that officials dug deeper into the report put together by a special operations command analyst and found it had been generated with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) — and that a chatbot the analyst had used inaccurately identified the material the ship was carrying. CNN was not able to learn what the misidentified cargo was. lower-income Americans, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled Friday. CNN
‘We’re near a breaking point:’ firefighters say US government is failing them amid intense wildfire season: Firefighters battling enormous wildfires in the United States say the federal government is failing them at a time when supercharged blazes have made their jobs exponentially more dangerous. While the US continues to grapple with a critical shortage of federal firefighters – with especially large gaps in essential management positions – the Trump administration has increased pressure on firefighting forces to rapidly and aggressively contain the flames. THE GUARDIAN
FBI Builds Out National NSPM-7 Center to Track Dissent, Docs Show: The FBI has tapped employees from across federal law enforcement to crack down on dissent, including agents and analysts with the Internal Revenue Service, documents shared with TPM show
How Trump’s war on EVs derailed America’s auto-factory revival: A wave of manufacturing investment promised to revive struggling heartland towns and build a U.S. supply chain for electric vehicles and batteries. But policy changes since Trump's return to office have upended the boom, costing thousands of jobs. REUTERS.
Use of untested 'Wolverine' peptide backed by US Health Secretary Kennedy on the rise: An experimental peptide backed by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and marketed online for pain, healing and performance enhancement is being used for a wide range of ailments despite little safety and efficacy evidence from human studies, a new analysis found. REUTERS
EPA Poised to Repeal Carbon Rules for Coal, Gas Power Plants: The US Environmental Protection Agency is expected to formally rescind carbon pollution standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants. BLOOMBERG
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