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The Washington Sun partners with Capital Weather to deliver trusted, local weather coverage

Thuy Lan Nguyen — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 13:31:18 GMT

The Washington Sun announced today an exclusive licensing agreement with Capital Weather, the D.C. region’s most credible and reliable source for weather coverage.

Capital Weather started as an independent website in 2004, partnered with The Washington Post starting in 2008, and became independent again in 2026.

As part of this new partnership, The Washington Sun will be the only news organization to host its daily forecast, updated multiple times throughout the day.

“People who live and work in Washington, D.C., deserve weather information they can trust, delivered by people who deeply understand our commitment to keeping our community informed and safe,” said The Washington Sun’s CEO, Arielle Elliott. “We’re thrilled to have the expertise of Capital Weather and their extensive track record of accuracy and trust featured on The Washington Sun.”

“We’re excited to partner with The Washington Sun to expand the reach of our local forecast across the D.C. region,” said Capital Weather founder and chief meteorologist Jason Samenow. “This partnership is another way for us to help more Washingtonians plan their day and stay safe.”

Capital Weather’s forecasts will be available on washingtonsun.com/weather.

For press inquiries about The Washington Sun, email communications manager Thuy Lan Nguyen at thuylannguyen@washingtonsun.com.

Back to Business

Martin Austermuhle, Zara Norman — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:31:00 GMT

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:31:00 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/metro-newsletter/back-to-business

In mid-October, the D.C. Council will host a roundtable on possible tax increases and other revenue raisers. (Jose Luis Magana/AP)

Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for Sept. 15, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

Good morning, D.C. In today’s newsletter: The D.C. Council’s return, a rent-inflation settlement and the DMV’s worst drivers.

Capital Weather’s Daily Digit: 10/10. Wall-to-wall sunshine, refreshingly dry air and highs from the mid-70s to around 80 — about as perfect as a September day gets. Read the full forecast.

THE LATEST

Summer break is over for the D.C. Council.

City lawmakers are back this week from their two-month summer recess, and they’ve got a busy fall ahead of them. It’s the tail end of their two-year legislative cycle, so council members will be rushing to pass their preferred bills into law. That’s even more the case this time as there will be a big turnover come January, with four current lawmakers headed for the exit — one of them, Janeese Lewis George, presumably to serve as mayor.

The city’s shaky finances will be top of mind. In mid-October, the council will host a roundtable on possible tax increases and other revenue raisers. A New York City-style pied-à-terre tax is on the agenda, as is a capital gains tax increase for wealthy households. It remains to be seen whether anything moves beyond the idea stage, though.

Waymo will be getting way more attention, too. The council is expected to debate a bill that would legalize passenger service in self-driving cars, and the fight is likely to be intense. Labor unions are against Waymo and its ilk coming to D.C., and even Uber — a later entrant in the autonomous vehicle market — is pushing to slow-roll the measure. Lewis George herself has been a self-driving skeptic, but Waymo is hoping to neutralize her with a hiring and charm offensive.

How many publicly funded stadiums is too many? That’s a question council members will have to answer as they consider a bill that would put $300 million in taxpayer money toward adding 8,000 seats and a roof to Audi Field. Mayor Muriel Bowser — who championed public money for a new Commanders stadium — is opposed, saying the larger soccer stadium would cannibalize Capital One Arena, which is also being renovated with city funds. Relatedly, the council will be asked to sign off on the master plan for the residential and retail development around the new Commanders stadium.

Speaking of Bowser, the outgoing mayor is pushing the council to take further steps to make D.C. more attractive for private investment in the housing market. To that end, she wants lawmakers to make it easier for landlords to evict tenants and give squatters the boot. A public hearing on improving housing conditions is also on the agenda.

A legacy is also on the mind of Ward 1 council member Brianne Nadeau, who will be pushing her colleagues to sign off on her bill that would introduce a refundable 10-cent deposit for bottles and cans. She says it would reduce litter, but critics say it would increase costs for cash-strapped local businesses.

FROM THE DISTRICT

Two D.C. landlords will pay $9.3 million to resolve claims that they “illegally conspired” to inflate rents across the thousands of apartments they own across the city, The Washington Sun’s Zara Norman reports. It’s the biggest settlement to date in an ongoing series of suits between the D.C. attorney general’s office and 14 local landlords accused of using RealPage software to inflate rental prices at tens of thousands of apartments across the District, which allegedly resulted in renters paying millions of dollars more than they should have.

The Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to restrict and change the process for mailing ballots ahead of November’s midterm elections, The Sun’s Adora Brown and Gavin J. Quinton report. The decision clears the way for states to stick with their processes and prevents a major headache for election officials in D.C., where every registered voter receives a ballot in the mail.

Arrests by U.S. Park Police have nearly doubled in the past year, while the number of park police officers working in and around D.C. has more than doubled, City Cast D.C. reports.

The Commanders and D.C. have unveiled the designs of two parking garages that will be built alongside the new stadium at the old RFK site. The two decks are expected to hold up to 6,000 cars, but earlier this year federal regulators expressed concern that large structures would interfere with views of the stadium.

Pressure is mounting on D.C. to explain how it has been using Flock license-plate readers, and now council member Brooke Pinto, who chairs the council committee that oversees the police, is asking interim Chief Jeffery Carroll for more details. “The public deserves transparency and must understand how this technology is being used in our communities,” she said in a public letter to the police department.

FROM MARYLAND

Takoma Park’s mayor told a resident to show “respect” and be quiet during a council meeting. Now he’s running against her in an unusually combative race, Jeff Barker reports for The Sun.

FROM THE ROAD

Are Maryland drivers really the worst? Nearly half of those who answered The Sun’s poll last week said yes. And elsewhere on the internet, Reddit declared that the driver who crashed through a U-Haul facility in Navy Yard this weekend must have hailed from Maryland.

The Sun’s Andrew Van Dam reports that, at first glance, the data seems to confirm that enduring DMV stereotype: From 2019 to 2021, Maryland drivers were at fault in more two-car crashes in D.C. than drivers from anywhere else, including D.C.

But, wait! There’s more! Maryland drivers are overrepresented. Of D.C. workers who commute by car, 48% drove in from Maryland between 2022 and 2024. Those drivers are only slightly more likely to be at fault in an accident as they are to be innocent victims, according The Sun’s analysis of about a decade of police data ending in 2021.

The real culprit? Virginians, who were 20% more likely to be at fault.

DCdrivers online notus-03.png (3034x945, AR: 3.21)

SPORTS

Look who's back. Alex Ovechkin returned to the ice with the Capitals on Monday. A few days after flying back to D.C. for his 22nd season, Ovi participated in 45 minutes of scrimmaging during an informal skate at the Caps' practice rink in Arlington, The Sun’s Emma Baccellieri reports. It was his first time sharing the ice with a number of new teammates, including offseason acquisitions Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch and Boone Jenner. Training camp starts Thursday, which is also Ovechkin's 41st birthday.

What did the Commanders learn in Philadelphia? The Sun’s Martenzie Johnson looks at the good and the bad from Sunday’s season-opening loss to the Eagles. One glaring issue? Washington had trouble getting Terry McLaurin the ball. That will have to change if the Commanders are going to take advantage of Dallas’ seemingly spotty defense on Sunday.

The Spirit’s scoring woes continued Sunday, as Washington was shut out for the third time in its last five home games. The match against Boston Legacy FC presented a prime opportunity for the Spirit to maintain momentum against one of the NWSL’s weaker teams, Nicky Wolcott writes for The Sun. Instead, Washington generated few real chances and gave up a barrage of late goals in a stunning 3-0 defeat. The Spirit remains in second place in the league table, but will surely have to pick up its offense to remain in real contention.

What to Watch Today

MLB: Nationals vs. Phillies, 6:45 p.m. (MLB.TV)

Thank you for reading! If you liked this newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please sign up — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at metro@washsun.com.

The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Michael Errigo and Nikie Johnson. Finally, yesterday’s trivia answer was B) The Ramones. Their song “Bad Brain” served as inspiration for the name of legendary D.C. punk group Bad Brains. A special shout-out to Eric Kulberg, who answered first.]]>

Don’t Worry, Be Happy With AI

Evan McMorris-Santoro, Jasmine Wright, Manuela Silva — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:01:00 GMT

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:01:00 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/newsletter/dont-worry-be-happy-with-ai

House Speaker Mike Johnson at the Capitol. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)

Today’s notice: No one can decide what constitutes being paranoid about AI. Mitch McConnell, back at work. The legal battles against Trump’s political enemies. The national Democratic Party backs more House candidates. And: Christians argue with each other in Washington state.

THE LATEST

Are you too afraid of humanity’s end? Members of Congress scrambled to respond to the wild AI news cycle, which has seen the major corporations building the advanced tech warn that they might have forgotten to carry the seven and inadvertently created a doomsday device — while at the same time moving ahead with plans to raise billions from investors to build more advanced stuff that could also annihilate civilization.

As we told you, betting against short-term congressional action is probably safe. The Washington Sun’s Igor Bobic reported on a day where many lawmakers warned that people were maybe a little too scared and should chill out. Donald Trump led the pack with a post dismissing the fears of AI as a “hoax.” Congressional leaders fell largely in line shortly after. Speaker Mike Johnson cautioned against government regulation as a mere “reflex of legislative bodies” that could stifle innovation and let China lap America in the AI race. (One assumes this is a version of the AI race that ends with humanity not getting turned into batteries à la “The Matrix.”)

Over in the Senate, Republican leader John Thune said he saw this coming back in 2023 and promised to revise his old AI legislation. But he too called for a “light touch” so as not to get in the way of AI’s aspiring growth.

A plan to thread that needle remained largely out of sight yesterday. “We’ve got to absolutely be certain that we’re not doing something to blow our own legs off. I mean, that would be pretty dumb-bunny stuff to me,” Sen. Jim Justice (R-West Virginia) told The Sun’s Manuela Silva. “But there’s so much being afraid of the dark. I’m not afraid of the dark.”

Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) offered his solution: a law requiring a kill switch on AI models. Such a move could “hopefully calm some of the hysteria,” but he acknowledged there may not be enough active concern in Washington to pass even that. “I don’t know how the White House is going to feel about it,” Kennedy said.

Democrats also haven’t decided how scared they should be. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has introduced a bill to ban AI superintelligence. So far, it has no Democratic co-sponsors.

More: Whistleblower Says DHS’s Hunt for Unlawful Voting May Have Broken State Laws • Thune’s Texas PAC Drops a Whopping $54 Million for Paxton’s Senate Race • Newsom Says He Won’t Challenge Harris if She Runs in 2028 • Democratic Congressional Candidate Defends Resurfaced Explicit Photos

Open tabs:

FROM THE COURTS

Mail-in ballot changes halted: Last night the Supreme Court ended Trump’s push to overhaul and restrict mail-in balloting, allowing state election officials to proceed with their original plans for ballot-handling, The Sun’s Adora Brown and Gavin J. Quinton report. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, wrote a concurring opinion in the majority, while conservatives appointed by other presidents, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, dissented. The ruling has the potential to be a big setback for the White House’s plans to put more federal control over mail-in balloting. Democrats were quick to applaud it. “Trump, you lost another one,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

FROM THE HILL

Return of Mitch McConnell: The elder Republican senator from Kentucky was back at work yesterday after a roughly three-month absence, The Sun’s Reese Gorman reports. “I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve assured Leader Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be present for tough votes when our Conference needs me,” a post from McConnell on X read.

FROM THE DOJ

Never-ending criminal investigations: There are “multiple ‘viable’ grand jury investigations” into Trump’s political enemies underway, according to the subject of one of the targets. The lawyer for former CIA Director John Brennan says a Trump official admitted to a number of “far-reaching” cases to probe “issues at Mar-a-Lago and beyond,” The Sun’s Jose Pagliery reports. Kenneth Wainstein, Brennan’s attorney, submitted the revelation in a filing asking a federal judge to force the Trump administration to keep all documents related to Brennan’s ongoing prosecution.

And who from Trumpworld is running point? None other than Kurt Olsen, a MAGA loyalist who helped Trump challenge 2020 election results with debunked conspiracy theories.

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Democrats expand their House target list: The DCCC added three new candidates to its Red to Blue spending program this morning, including William Lawrence in Michigan who upset the establishment in the primary and has struggled to distance himself from his far-left past.

NEW ON THE WASHINGTON SUN

Small town Christian divide: The deep political divisions among Americans — and the fears that go with them — pop up in the unlikeliest of places. The Sun’s Ellie Silverman reports from the outwardly homogeneous town of Battle Ground, Washington, where Christians are fracturing over what “Christian nationalism” means and the growing local power of a family and a company with ties to the movement.

More: Trump Scraps Biden-Era Climate Pollution Rules for Power Plants • Judge Blocks Trump Rule Limiting Student Visas to Four Years • Trump Eyes World War II Memorial as Next Makeover Project • Kennedy Center Board Lists 10 Options for Putting Trump’s Name on the Building

NOT US

Oil Executives Say the Great Fuel Crisis Is Here, by Benoît Morenne and Collin Eaton for The Wall Street Journal
Crypto campaign cash could come at a cost for Democrats, by Jasper Goodman for Politico
Are hotels people too? In this Delaware town, local businesses can cast ballots. By Dion Nissenbaum for Votebeat

Thank you for reading! If you liked this edition of The Washington Sun Newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please sign up — it’s free! Have a tip? Email us at tips@washsun.com. And as always, we’d love to hear your thoughts at newsletters@washsun.com.

The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr and Andrew Burton.]]>

Commanders All-22: What Went Wrong in Washington’s Week 1 Loss

Martenzie Johnson — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:20:00 GMT

Jalen Hurts' 22-yard scramble in the fourth quarter was one of Sunday's key plays. (Matt Slocum/AP)

There’s a lot that went wrong for the Commanders on Sunday in their 24-22 loss to the Eagles. Drops, trips and mental mistakes set Washington up for failure long before the team’s much-discussed two-point conversion attempt in the game’s final moments.

Here’s a closer look at Sunday’s season opener, with some thoughts from the game footage and coach Dan Quinn’s Monday afternoon press conference:

The blocking failed on the two-point conversion.

A lot has been said about the Commanders’ failed shovel pass to tight end John Bates on the two-point conversion at the end of the fourth quarter. But Quinn believes the play was sound, it just wasn’t executed as intended.

Sign up for The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for essential coverage of the D.C. region.

“I thought it was a good play,” he said. “It was one that we had practiced, and I thought their player also made a good play spinning out of the block with Nick [Allegretti] to stuff the play to go. I think we really got a great chance to go execute the two-point play.”

At the start of the play, right guard Sam Cosmi pulled left to serve as Bates’ lead blocker. Left guard Chris Paul simultaneously passed off defensive tackle Jalen Carter to left tackle Brandon Coleman. He and Cosmi were supposed to serve as bodyguards leading the way for Bates.

Daniels made edge rusher Jalyx Hunt bite on his fake scramble, which freed up a lane. But defensive tackle Moro Ojomo spun off Allegretti’s block, allowing him to stuff Bates near the line of scrimmage. Even if Allegretti had held his block, there’s no guarantee for success: Paul let his assignment, linebacker Jihaad Campbell, get past him as well.

Dontayvion Wicks’ 64-yard reception was caused by a misunderstanding.

The Eagles’ new wide receiver ran a deep corner route with tight end Dallas Goedert running an out route underneath. Running alongside Wicks, cornerback Mike Sainristil peeked back at Goedert, who was sprinting free after linebacker Frankie Luvu passed him off in zone coverage. Sainristil said after the game that he assumed the ball had gone underneath and so he left Wicks alone to pursue. Seconds later, the ball sailed over Sainristil’s head into the waiting hands of Wicks.

“It wasn't schematically related to him, communication error or normal things that go into a big play,” Quinn said of Sainristil. “So that's definitely the things we will identify with him, and I'm certain that he'll work on that.”

https://x.com/NFLonFOX/status/2099240337474486427

The Eagles worked hard to limit Terry McLaurin.

McLaurin, Washington’s lead receiver since 2019, had just two receptions on four targets Sunday. Quinn said Monday that it’s clear the Eagles tried to limit the wideout’s explosive plays.

“Part of their game plan was to say, ‘This is the person that we want to prevent from the deep balls down the field,’” Quinn said.

With McLaurin blanketed, the Commanders tried to take what they were given. One example from the first drive of the game: McLaurin lined up wide left, his cornerback bumped him at the line and a safety provided overhead coverage. With his top target struggling to find space, Jayden Daniels instead completed a 13-yard pass to Stefon Diggs on an in route.

Later in the game, McLaurin lined up on the right side with the cornerback in press coverage. McLaurin got off the line and built a foot of separation, but his post route ran right into the single-high safety. Daniels instead threw the ball out of bounds, intended for Rachaad White. The Commanders need to find ways to get McLaurin involved if they’re going to find an offensive rhythm this season.

Bad alignment led to Goedert’s second-quarter touchdown.

Quinn said the defense was in Cover 2 on this play, which requires the two safeties to play back while the other defenders manage everything underneath. Safeties Nick Cross and Quan Martin were back while Jeremy Reaves patrolled the middle underneath.

But with the Eagles running four vertical routes, Quinn said the middle of the field was left vulnerable. Goedert found space between Reaves and Martin to bring in the tight throw by Hurts.

https://x.com/NFL/status/2099242632262422940

In an ideal world, there would have been less of a gap between Reaves and Martin, although the Commanders had an identical issue on the other side with Eagles receiver Makai Lemon running free up the seam.

“In that down and distance you'd like to see us align differently where we could maneuver our guys into the right locations to go,” Quinn said.

With a trip to Dallas on Sunday, Washington will need to shore up its coverage plan to handle star wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.

Missed tackles led to Saquon Barkley’s 42-yard run.

On this key second-quarter play, the Eagles offensive line zone blocked to the right, which gave blitzing cornerback Amik Robertson a free lane to the Hurts-Barkley run option exchange. Robertson targeted Hurts, who then released the ball to Barkley, which made Robertson stumble and miss the tackle.

https://x.com/NFLonFOX/status/2099248388734587192

As Barkley hit the hole, Leo Chenal was there to make the stop but got pushed out of position and collided with Robertson. Sainristil was the next defender to meet Barkley, but the running back’s juke move left him behind. Barkley then stepped through Quan Martin’s shoestring tackle to turn a solid run into a big gain.

Jalen Hurts’ 22-yard scramble on third down was aided by two falls.

The Commanders had two down linemen (Charles Omenihu and Daron Payne) and two edge rushers (Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson) on the line of scrimmage. Omenihu appeared to trip over the foot of Eagles center Cam Jurgens and Payne hit the dirt as well after Jurgens pushed him back.

Linebackers Jordan Magee and Sonny Styles, who initially showed blitz, both dropped into coverage, which left the middle of the field wide open for Hurts.

https://x.com/NFL/status/2099275383841669453

When Accusations of Christian Nationalism Tear a Small Town Apart

Ellie Silverman — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:15:00 GMT

Pastor David Lindner says he initially wasn't sure what Christian nationalism meant. But he knew people were upset and says he felt called to do something about it. (Amanda Lucier for The Washington Sun)

BATTLE GROUND, Wash. — Pastor David Lindner glanced over his piano at the congregants taking their seats. He knew there wouldn’t be many, but he told himself that was OK. Smaller was better for talking, and talking was what this town needed.

“Good evening, everybody," Lindner said.

The animosity of national politics had contaminated his small city in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. City Council meetings deteriorated from discussions of roundabouts, road repairs and pickleball courts to arguments about ICE, anti-fascism, prayer at public meetings and the definition of nuclear families.

Now, people were hurling accusations that Christian nationalists were taking over Main Street.

All this, in a town called Battle Ground.

Lindner, 47, didn’t know what to think, and he didn’t know where everyone in his church stood. Many said they didn’t know what Christian nationalism meant. Lindner wasn’t sure he knew either. But he saw people — his community — fighting and felt called to do something about it.

Across the country, Christian nationalism has swept into mainstream Republican politics, seeking to center Christianity more firmly in civic life. But neighbors ultimately have to wrestle with what that means. Where does proudly practicing Christianity end and Christian nationalism begin? Do the Commandments become law? Do Christians impose their values on non-Christians? And when the backlash comes, who gets caught in it?

For 13 years, Lindner has been the pastor at SixEight, a church named for the Bible verse Micah 6:8, which asks people to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly.

He didn’t talk politics from the pulpit, but if asked, he told the truth. He was raised to support conservative candidates and voted twice for Donald Trump, with reservations. But he didn’t vote for any candidate in the last presidential election. As a part-time choir teacher and drama coach at the local high school, he comforted students who struggled to reconcile their sexuality with their love for Jesus. He told them, “We have no concept of how infinite God's love is.”

Lindner’s church, located a block off the town’s main street, rented its parking lot to the suspected Christian nationalists. His church needed the money, but around town, people balked.

“As a Christian I want to encourage you to reconsider,” one person wrote on Facebook. “Taking their money is tacit approval of their actions, esp to a world hurt by Christians.”
08302026_BattleGround_Church.jpg (4848x3000, AR: 1.62)On this Sunday night in August, Lindner turned to the Didache, a Christian document known to many as the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, written almost 2,000 years ago.

“What stands out to you?” he asked the people seated at round tables instead of pews, a trick to make the room look less empty. “Anything that surprised you?”

His four children and the rest of the congregation stared back. His wife, Bekki, was the first to call out: “You talked about how we belong to one another.”

“Yeah, we’re not just attending a group meeting together,” he said. “We have a responsibility to one another.”

* * *

Divisive political arguments used to feel far away here, in the shadow of Mount St. Helens.

In a town of almost 24,000, about 85 percent of whom are white, diversity mainly meant a variety of Christians — Catholics, Baptists, Episcopalians, United Methodists, Old Apostolic Lutherans, Presbyterians, Quakers and Evangelicals. There were more than 20 churches. The nearest mosque was 12 miles away.

The town was united in a basic belief in Jesus. A local coffee shop sold a pink guided prayer journal titled “This Mama Prays.” A boutique sold cross necklaces and a sweatshirt that said “SAVED.”

But this year, something changed. People started claiming that a local company, Maddox Industrial Transformer, and anyone associated with the people running it, were Christian nationalists.
08302026_BattleGround_001 copy.jpg (3000x4867, AR: 0.62)Those claims targeted the brothers who run Maddox, Camden and Mac Spiller; their pastor, C.R. Wiley; the town’s mayor, who works at the company; and several local businesses the brothers invested in, such as the farmer’s market, the bakery and the newspaper.

Camden Spiller said in an email to The Washington Sun that he does not identify as a Christian nationalist. Mac Spiller, Wiley and Mayor Eric Overholser did not respond to interview requests.

Now, across town, people were taking sides.

Over July Fourth weekend, thousands gathered near the Maddox headquarters as fireworks exploded across the Pacific Northwest sky.

Kids ate free hot dogs and played in the bounce house. They had their faces painted and decorated tricycles for a parade. Balloons were twisted into animals and swords. Betsy Ross mingled in the crowd.

But plenty of other people had started seeing any gesture from Maddox as nefarious.

So as soon as the Rev. Kate Lore, a retired ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, heard about the free event, sponsored by Maddox, she thought:

“It's part of the Trojan horse.”

* * *

Lindner used to watch Sean Hannity every evening at 6 p.m. and Greta Van Susteren at 7 p.m. He listened to Rush Limbaugh in the car.

But then, Bekki noticed her husband starting to sound different.

“I was listening to these angry guys all day,” Lindner said. “She called me out on my negativity.”

“We were both just sick of it,” Bekki said.

Eventually, the church could barely afford his salary, and the couple needed health care through the Affordable Care Act. Lindner realized that some of his values, such as accessible health care and fully funded public education, didn’t align with the people he listened to for hours a day.

Then Bekki read “Becoming,” former first lady Michelle Obama’s memoir, and they started to describe themselves as more purple than red.

“We don't really do any news at all anymore,” he said.

So as pundits discussed the rise of Christian nationalism across the country, the Lindners were tuned out.

They didn’t notice when then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said in a 2022 interview, “We should be Christian nationalists.”

They didn’t follow as laws were passed in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in public school classrooms.

They didn’t hear when House Speaker Mike Johnson called the separation of church and state a “misnomer” or when Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) said in 2024: “Some will say I am calling America a Christian nation. And so I am. And some will say that I am advocating Christian nationalism. And so I do.”

Or when Vice President JD Vance said in 2025: “The only thing that has truly served as an anchor of the United States of America is that we have been, and by the grace of God we always will be, a Christian nation.”

Only this year did that phrase — Christian nationalism — pop up in this small town, about 30 miles from deep-blue Portland. Lindner worried that Christianity as a whole could become collateral damage.

08302026_BattleGround_053 copy.jpg (3000x4865, AR: 0.62)He understood why devout Christians would invest in their community. A verse in Jeremiah talks about seeking the peace and prosperity of the city you live in.

“Because when it flourishes,” he said, “you flourish.”

But how, he wondered, did the Bible support imposing religion on others? Was that happening here?

He had tried to embrace the uncomfortable when he joined what he viewed as an extremely liberal community on Facebook — a local chapter of Indivisible, a national progressive group. He wanted to learn why they were convinced and scared and angry.

At first, he lurked. Then:

“I’m the pastor of a small church in BG, and I know people may make assumptions about me based on that. It's okay, I'm used to it.”

The reaction was swift.

“I'm a bit weary of christian ministers who take it upon themselves to tell people how to live their lives and how to fight the battle against christian supremacy.”

He had tried to bring people together in the broader Battle Ground Facebook group of more than 40,000. He was hosting a meeting, he wrote, for anyone who wanted to “build a hopeful future."

“Then DON'T hold in a church.”

“ANTIFA outsiders trying to hijack Battle Ground city hall.”

“You may not be the best choice to lead this.”

Lindner wondered if that was true.

* * *

Over in a local park, Shila Clark, a local resident of over 20 years, pulled a few copies of a zine out of her bag.

This, she told the women sitting around the picnic table, was a guide on who was leading the Christian nationalist movement. The women leaned forward as Clark explained how all these people were connected and why they should care.

The brothers who run Maddox kept buying properties in town. Their pastor appeared on podcasts with a recognized Christian nationalist. The mayor worked for Maddox. To them, the web was clear.

She taught them their names: Camden Spiller, the CEO; Wiley, his pastor; and Doug Wilson, a pastor in Idaho who has made headlines for saying that America should become a Christian nation and that married women should lose the right to vote. (A representative for Wilson declined an interview request on his behalf.)

And Clark referenced a years-old speech Wiley gave where he said Presbyterians bring “the resources of a public theology that helps us to govern unbelievers.”

More recently, a host on Steve Bannon’s far-right podcast “War Room” called Wiley “one of the leading thinkers in Christian nationalism.” Wiley did not correct him.

The women at the park flipped through the zine.

“The brothers have snuck up on us,” said Shari Kotzen Shelton, a 64-year-old health care analyst.
08302026_BattleGround_020 copy.jpg (3000x2400, AR: 1.25)That big party, Clark reminded them, the one with fireworks and a bounce house? Maddox sponsored it.

“My kid went to that Fourth of July party!” said Sheila Weitzel, a retiree who lives in the county. “There were free hot dogs and free stuff. They said it was great.”

Clark pushed back. At first, Clark said, she’d been happy to see Maddox invest in the community. But not anymore.

“They want to buy third spaces so they have control,” she said. “They’re like a cancer that is already spreading.”

As far as the accusations of Christian nationalism, Camden Spiller wrote in an email to The Washington Sun: “I’m not sure what that term means, but more often than not, it seems to be an ambiguous pejorative or scare-label used to marginalize people of faith as extremists. It’s not a label with which I identify.”

Spiller had already taken to the local newspaper in March to defend himself in a 2,000-word commentary explaining that his family simply wanted to invest in their hometown. His wife’s family is from Clark County, making their children the sixth generation to grow up here.

“As someone who is sincere about my Christian faith, I believe my faith calls me to use the gifts and opportunities God has given for His glory and our neighbors’ good,” his email to The Sun said. “If you’re trying to bring race into it, I’m proud of my Mexican and American heritage. If you’re trying to bring politics into it, my politics are centered on bringing local businesses and vibrancy to our Main Street in a way that elevates the quality of life for everyone in this community.”

Max Booth, Maddox’s vice president of real estate development, told the City Council last summer that the company had invested in 30 properties. In an email to The Sun, Booth said, “People are entitled to their opinion. My focus is on running a successful company, and doing my part to make my community an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.”

The crisscross of accusations had ensnared anyone associated with Maddox, including the couple running Al & Ernie’s Bakery Cafe.

A local farm had collaborated with them over the summer, providing strawberries for shortcake. But after the farm posted a photo of the pastries inside Al & Ernie’s, the comments quickly turned.

“Hey Bi-Zi farms, so are you telling all of us that you support Christian nationalism?” one person wrote. Hours later, the farm replied: “We can verify that we are not part of a Christian nationalism church or movement.”

On a recent Tuesday morning, as customers grabbed bagels, coffee and pastries, Joylyn Bowen, who runs Al & Ernie’s with her husband, was clear: “I’m not a nationalist.”

“They're speaking about something they really don't know anything about.”
08302026_BattleGround_005 copy.jpg (3008x4869, AR: 0.62)Her family has lived in this town for four generations. Her grandfather is the namesake Ernie and her grandmother taught her how to make pie crusts.

The backs of the buzzers they hand out to people waiting for their lattes include references to Psalms, including 34:8: "Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

But, added her husband, Devin Bowen, “it's not like we make you recite a Bible verse before you get your food.”

* * *

School hadn’t started yet, so Lindner had some free time.

He sat on the purple couch in his living room that August morning, below his family photos, the “It’s a Wonderful Life” sign and the cross. He couldn’t stop thinking about the arguments across town and his faith.

He opened his laptop, pulled up Chat GPT and asked it to tell him the specific biblical arguments Doug Wilson makes to support Christian nationalism.

“Talk to me about it,” he wrote, “ask me questions, challenge me.”

“Which biblical commands may government enforce against everyone,” ChatGPT asked, “and which belong only to disciples living by the Spirit?"

Easy, Lindner thought. So much about being a Christian is devoting yourself to Jesus’ teachings in quiet moments and in your thoughts, when no one is watching.

“You cannot be forced to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength,” he wrote. “That requires total surrender. And you cannot love your neighbor as yourself if you have not been empowered by the Spirit to do so.”

Yes, Lindner argued, some laws do align with the Ten Commandments: Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not steal.

But others, he thought, are clearly different: Thou shalt not covet. Thou shalt not have any other gods before God. Thou shalt not make yourself an idol. Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain. Remember the Sabbath Day.

“Maybe our country and other liberal countries have moved further away from them than we would like,” he wrote. “But forcing a nonbeliever to stay married because adultery is illegal isn’t going to produce the good fruit of the Kingdom. It will produce resentment toward the Kingdom of God.”

He didn’t understand how forcing Christian ideals could ever work. It was the opposite of what he preached — God wants people to choose to open their hearts. He gave us free will.

* * *

The local Pride organizer had a coffee date with the wife of an accused Christian nationalist.

Jessica Cole had been inspired by one of Lindner’s group discussions and introduced herself to Andrea Booth, whose husband led Maddox’s real estate development. Now they were meeting up and she wasn’t sure where to sit. Outside where everyone could see them? In a corner?

Cole ordered a hibiscus lemonade. Booth got an Americano. They chose a shady spot by the grass.

Booth made it clear she was here as a resident, not a representative of Maddox. She worried whatever she said would be conflated with her husband’s company. Still, she wanted to know: “Where did we go wrong?”

“What was the turning point that all of a sudden everybody's at each other? Because it didn't used to be that way.”
08302026_BattleGround_033 copy.jpg (3000x2400, AR: 1.25)Cole understood. People made assumptions about her, too. Most didn’t realize that she used to be very religious. She homeschooled her kids and read a handful of Doug Wilson’s books on parenting and marriage.

She didn’t adhere to Wilson’s worldview anymore, but she told Booth she was frustrated by some of the people who only recently became involved in town politics. In her view, they were grandstanding instead of looking for solutions.

“What is the definition of Christian nationalism?” Cole asked.

Booth shook her head. The avalanche of criticism, she said, had prompted her to ask her husband: “They're saying we’re Christian nationalists. What is that?”

“We never use that term to identify ourselves,” she said.

For the first time, Cole said, their Pride event this year faced threats of outside agitators. Booth’s family had been yelled at and flipped off on their way to church.

This wasn’t the environment either of them wanted for their community. Booth looked out at Main Street, nestled into the hills, and said this view made her think of her childhood home in a small South Dakota town near Mount Rushmore.

Her family had small traditions here, like ending long bike rides at a local brewery for fries and a soda. Her kids called it happy hour.

“Lord willing, we want our kids to be here so we can be around our future grandchildren,” she said. “We want to provide this great community where they can bike ride and have sweet memories.”

Cole thought of when she crossed the street with her kid, who had the nonbinary flag sticking in their hat. A man drove by, she told Booth, rolled down his window and yelled “F- - - - t go home.”
08302026_BattleGround_059 copy.jpg (3000x2400, AR: 1.25)“It’s hurtful,” Booth said, her eyes welling. “As a mom, I can't imagine having anything yelled at my child.”

“All that is to say, my kids don't want to stay here,” Cole said. She took a long pause. She thought about how the mayor did not issue a supportive proclamation for Pride month this summer and how that made her kids feel unsafe.

“So, hearing your story, I love your story for your family, and I wish that was the story for my family.”

“I hope it becomes your story,” Booth said.

They talked for hours. About local politics. About homeschooling. About the kind of town they hope Battle Ground can still be. Before leaving, Booth felt she needed to clarify something, especially in a charged environment where others see them on opposing sides.

“So,” Booth said, “I have to ask because I want to respect you. If I see you at a City Council meeting …” 

Cole interrupted:

“You can say hi.”

* * *

They were starting the Book of Joshua, which begins with God telling Joshua that Moses is dead. Lindner stood before his small congregation and reminded them about the pressure Joshua must have felt to fill Moses' shoes, to assume a new role.

The future is rarely clear, he told them, but that shouldn’t stop them from trying to lead.

“We're all going to come across situations where we feel unsettled and out of place,” he said on an August Sunday. “We're all going to have problems we've never had to solve before.”

Neighbors might keep turning on each other. The truth might blur. People might lose trust in each other, their local government, their pastor. There will be questions he can’t answer.

“You don't have to see the whole story to be able to take the next step, right?” he told them. “You just can go one frame at a time.”

So on the first Thursday in September, Lindner convened a fledgling monthly effort to bring people together.
08302026_BattleGround_007 copy.jpg (3000x2400, AR: 1.25)He’d thought through what he hoped to accomplish and had written it down. “We want to become a community that can have difficult conversations without turning each other into enemies.”

He’d made a bulleted list of rules: Listen to understand. Don’t interrupt. Be curious before being certain. Be honest without being cruel.

He’d written discussion questions. He wanted this to work, to get people to talk to each other.

He printed 10 copies of the rules, grabbed a stack of name tags and finally, he was ready.

First came a friend who had advertised the event, along with her husband. Then two others who were helping him coordinate the meetings.

Thirty minutes went by. Lindner told himself it was the first week of school. People were busy. Maybe they just didn’t want to come here. He decided to ask a local restaurant to host them next month. He kept waiting.

They sat inside his church for over an hour, but no one new walked through the door.

The Mystics Hope to Regain Their Momentum After a World Cup Break

Alex Schiffer — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:10:00 GMT

Playing for Team USA, Sonia Citron was one of three Mystics who took part in the FIBA World Cup. (Max Vincen/AP)

The Mystics will return from their summer break in full force.

Washington will play its first game in 20 days on Thursday after a nearly three-week WNBA hiatus for the FIBA World Cup. The Mystics had three players participate in the tournament: Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen for Team USA, and Alicia Florez for Spain.

All three players were absent from practice on Monday in D.C., but Mystics coach Sydney Johnson said the trio will play without restrictions Thursday against the Chicago Sky.

“Full go, full steam ahead,” Johnson said of their status.

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Prior to the break, the Mystics had won five of their last seven games, clinching their first playoff berth since 2023. With four regular season games remaining, the team sits seventh in the WNBA standings.

While the team was playing well before the hiatus, Johnson and his players agreed that a break was welcome. Rookie center Lauren Betts told The Sun that she and the other seven rookies on the team have been playing basketball for “a year straight” because they were drafted shortly after their final college seasons ended.

Betts and fellow rookie Angela Dugalic had the longest college season possible after winning the national championship at UCLA.

“I really needed a break mentally and physically from basketball,” Betts said. “So I did a lot of lifting on my own, but as far as basketball, I really tried to stay away from it for a week so I can come back and just be excited to be back and refreshed. I feel like it was really helpful.”

Mystics forward Michaela Onyenwere split her break between Los Angeles and Hawaii, staying up as late as 2 a.m. to watch her teammates play in Berlin. She compared the hiatus to an Olympic break, which she had during her rookie season in 2024. She said that Johnson’s message to the team has been “just because we took a break off doesn’t mean our identity waivers.”

“[Hoping to] to pick up where we left off,” Onyenwere said. “Last game [before the break] was kind of disappointing for us but we want to hone in on the things we were doing well — playing in transition, being a really great defensive unit.”

Citron and Iriafen were both late additions to Team USA’s roster after Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson dropped out for health reasons. Neither Mystics player carved out a large role for Team USA in Berlin, averaging roughly 11 minutes per game during the Americans’ gold medal run. Florez played about the same number of minutes for Spain.

Johnson said he wasn’t concerned about his players after their time in Berlin and is confident his team can maintain momentum after the long layoff.

“I think it's disrupted everybody’s momentum,” Johnson said. “I think we’re equally advantaged and disadvantaged. So I don't want to overthink it. I think for us as much as anything is trying to get the rust off a little bit and trying to get back into our groove. I think everybody’s gonna have to deal with that.”

In Contentious Takoma Park Race, Civility Is a Campaign Issue

Jeff Barker — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:05:00 GMT

First-term Mayor Talisha Searcy is running against attorney Tom Gagliardo in Takoma Park, Maryland. (Kainaz Amaria/The Washington Sun)

It was two hours into a Takoma Park City Council meeting, and the mayor wasn’t tolerating interruptions.

“I just ask you to respect our panelists and the people that are here, and to not disrupt this meeting,” first-term Mayor Talisha Searcy said firmly during the 2023 exchange with Tom Gagliardo, an attorney who had — unprompted — shouted an opinion about a city planning matter.

When Gagliardo asked permission to speak, Searcy told him, “No, sir, you cannot,” noting that it wasn’t the public comment period. He complied, but with a parting shot: “Just don’t diss anybody else.”

Nobody knew then that, three years later, Gagliardo, 79, a former Takoma Park city attorney, would be running to unseat Searcy, 46 — and that decorum and civility would become a campaign issue after Searcy ordered an end to clapping and booing to retain order during another meeting last February.

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“Clap-gate,” Searcy jokingly calls the flap that Gagliardo has turned into a campaign issue ahead of the Nov. 3 election in the Montgomery County city of 17,000 that borders Washington. (Because the mayoral elections are nonpartisan, so there was no primary.)

Progressive, quirky Takoma Park, a town of old bungalows and mature trees nicknamed “The People’s Republic of Takoma Park” and “Granola Park,” has long charted a unique course in emphasizing citizen participation in government. It allows non-U.S. citizens and 16-year-olds to vote in city elections. The environmentally conscious citizens’ center is named for a former activist and mayor who once stood in front of a bulldozer to block a highway and helped make the city an official sanctuary for political refugees.

But free speech doesn’t mean applauding during council meetings or shouting down political rivals, says Searcy, a federal government health policy official and former city council member. She notes that even the sharply divided Congress doesn’t permit outbursts during committee hearings.
IMG_1925 copy.jpg (6151x4032, AR: 1.53)“One of the things that my opponent doesn’t necessarily understand is that asking you to comply with the rules of order does not mean that you’re taking away someone’s freedom of speech,” she said in an interview. “In meetings following the [February] meeting, there were residents that stated they don’t like to speak at council meetings because of the behavior.”

The February meeting was marked by applause, cursing and outbursts during discussion of the city’s rent stabilization laws. One man raised a middle finger at the lawmakers after a profanity-filled speech at the microphone.

“What I witnessed this evening was blatant disrespect of me in my role as the presiding officer [and] blatant disrespect for others in this room,” Searcy said at the meeting, carefully measuring her words and pausing occasionally to collect herself.

She lamented “an environment where disrespect breeds disrespect” and where “somebody feels empowered to flip us off.”

Terry Seamens, a former council member supporting Searcy, said Gagliardo has often attended council meetings with several others, and the group “just kind of heckled people or made comments, or guffaws or boos when people were talking, and the mayor tried to stop that.”

Gagliardo, a white-haired labor and employment lawyer, said in an interview that he supports orderly meetings, but “you either value public input, whether supportive or critical, or you don't. I do. The incumbent doesn't. That's one reason why I'm running.”

Gagliardo, during a recent meet-and-greet session, sat in an armchair in a resident’s living room on a quiet, tree-lined street and told a dozen voters of his concerns with the clapping restriction in addition to a proposal endorsed by Searcy to study holding city elections every four years instead of every two.

Searcy says holding elections less frequently could save the city money and cut down on time lawmakers spend campaigning rather than legislating. Gagliardo says the change would make elected officials less accountable.

“You know, some people might say, ‘Well they’re not really that important,” Gagliardo said of the two issues, but added: “I think a lot of people are going to vote based on this.”

The volatile February meeting touched on a city-commissioned study examining possible changes to Takoma Park’s program limiting how much landlords can increase rents.
DC0A7408 copy.jpg (5840x3893, AR: 1.50)Rent control changes are sensitive topics in Takoma Park, where increasing affluence has brought higher housing costs and concerns that longtime renters, including members of large immigrant communities, could be priced out.

“Takoma Park is a diverse community. It's got many single-family homes, but it also has many multifamily homes,” said Jim Douglas of Historic Takoma, a heritage preservation group. “It has a variety of income levels and certainly a variety of races and ethnicities.”

Searcy and Gagliardo both emphasize preserving that diversity. Their race can be seen as a competition to out-Takoma-Park each other by championing the progressive, multicultural values that have long defined a city known for farmers markets with an international flavor, and a colorful Fourth of July parade lampooning politicians (mostly Republicans) with whom it disagrees.

In campaign appearances, Gagliardo has taken aim at proposals backed by Searcy to explore rent control changes, including lengthening the amount of time — currently five years — landlords are exempt from rent increase rules after a new property opens.

“She wants to triple the length of time that new construction is exempt,” Gagliardo said. “I don’t.”

Searcy said she hasn’t settled on how long an exemption period should be. But she questions whether the five-year waiver for newly constructed units provides potential developers enough revenue to recoup their initial investment and encourages new construction. Montgomery County’s exemption, which Takoma Park is not bound by, is 23 years.

“I’ve said, ‘Hey, I don’t know yet,’” Searcy said. “I know five is too short.”

Searcy said her general leadership style is to seek consensus if possible and listen to opposing views.

While she said she doesn’t like name-calling in politics, she emphasizes that she can take it.

“I have thick skin. My first job was at a Waffle House,” she said. “I’ve heard and seen it all.”

Supreme Court Halts Postal Service From Using Trump’s Mail-In Ballot Rule

Adora Brown, Gavin J. Quinton — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 23:52:03 GMT

The high court ruling sides with voting groups and nearly half the states. (Aaron M. Sprecher/AP)

The Supreme Court on Monday halted the U.S. Postal Service from going forward with a rule pushed by the Trump administration to restrict and change the process for mailing ballots in November’s election.

The decision clears the way for states to use mail ballots under their current processes, avoiding last-minute requirements that some election officials said would disenfranchise voters. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito were the only justices who dissented.

The high court sided with voting rights groups and nearly half the states, which said it would cause a mad scramble for states to comply and, in some cases, it would be impossible within the timeframe of an election now 50 days away.

“Applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act because state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections,” conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a concurring opinion.

The Trump administration had asked the justices to lift a lower court ruling that blocked key parts of the USPS rule through Election Day on Nov. 3. In the one-paragraph decision Monday, the Supreme Court said the administration is unlikely to successfully challenge that lower court’s ruling.

Alito, in a dissent joined by Thomas, wrote that some of the plaintiffs lacked the legal right to bring the case and the remainder are pursuing a type of claim the court recently called a “Hail Mary pass.”

Alito added that the government would suffer irreparable harm if it was not granted a stay on the injunction, despite the problems of implementing the rule so close to the midterm elections.

“I take that problem very seriously, but it is not enough to convince me to deny the application,” Alito wrote.

The rule stems from an executive order President Donald Trump signed in March that sought to redefine the federal government’s role in the mail-in ballot process. The president has said the policies will help safeguard elections from noncitizen voting — though noncitizen registration is illegal and rare, according to experts.

The rule requires states to submit the name, address and a unique barcode number of every eligible voter to a USPS portal, and then check that each outgoing ballot matches an entry on that list.

The USPS said in its final rule that each outgoing ballot envelope must be scanned individually, with a member of election staff present to oversee the entire process.

It also included an approval process for ballot envelopes, which many states have already purchased for their primaries, along with upgrading systems to comply with a new Intelligent Mail barcode, or IMb, for every ballot.

Postal officials previously told The Washington Sun that USPS was rushing its new mailed ballot system without proper testing, which could produce widespread errors and result in disenfranchisement.

Kavanaugh alluded to those concerns in his concurring opinion.

The League of Women Voters, the primary plaintiff in the case, celebrated the decision as a win for voters.

“This was an extraordinary attempt to interfere with voting in all 50 states, and voters should never have been put in this position,” Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters, said in a statement after the decision. “Voters should never be caught in the middle of a political power warfare.”

Following the decision, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro assured voters in his state that nothing will change about how counties administer “free, fair, safe, and secure elections.” Pennsylvania joined 24 states and Washington, D.C., to sue the Trump administration over the mail-voting rules.

“This is the final decision,” Shapiro said Monday night on X. “Donald Trump’s illegal attempt to undermine our Constitution and prevent eligible voters from making their voices heard in this election by voting by mail has failed.”

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, rejected the administration's contention that mail voting is not secure, asserting that it increases voter access and participation in elections.

Fontes said Monday that the decision unburdens election officials, who had been preparing for months to ensure the election goes smoothly, from having to adapt to quick-changing USPS rules.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Trump’s campaign to uproot mail-voting norms obscene and unconstitutional.

“Trump,” he said Monday, “you lost another one.”

Officials with the Justice Department and White House did not immediately respond to The Washington Sun’s request for comment.

This story has been updated with further information on the decision and reaction from officials.

Judge Blocks Trump Rule Limiting Student Visas to Four Years

Gavin J. Quinton — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 23:29:23 GMT

Some 38% of students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University are international. (Aaron M. Sprecher/AP)

A federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's attempt to impose a four-year limit on student visas, granting a preliminary injunction one day before the new rules were set to start.

Judge Dennis Saylor, who was appointed by George W. Bush, called the Department of Homeland Security’s rationale for the new rule "exceptionally weak" in a Monday ruling.

“The government’s contention that the rule is necessary to safeguard national security

borders on the absurd,” he wrote. “It is based almost entirely on a small handful of anecdotes, each of which involved incidents that the new rule would do nothing to prevent or even mitigate.”

The new federal rule by DHS aims to place a strict four-year limit on standard student visas. Immigration officials were set to begin enforcing the new guidelines on Tuesday.

In July, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the policy change would stop foreign students from abusing a “loophole” in the immigration system of “perpetually enrolling in courses to avoid having to leave the U.S.”

A coalition of universities, educators and labor organizations sued DHS in August to stop the rule from taking effect.

Since 1978, Saylor wrote, the United States has issued student visas to foreign students as long as they followed routine immigration rules and made normal progress toward their education goals.

“That system — which has been in place for nearly half a century — has permitted tens of millions of foreign students and researchers to come to the United States. It has also resulted in groundbreaking research in science, medicine, and technology, substantial economic growth, and a host of other benefits, often on a vast scale,” Saylor wrote.

A DHS spokesperson in a statement to The Washington Sun on Monday night called Saylor’s opinion “performative outrage,” adding that the media should be thanking Trump for “cracking down on the rampant fraud” in the student visa system.

James Percival, general counsel for the department, questioned the ruling in post on X.

"Come on a student visa, take one class per semester, and stay here for decades. According to Judge Dennis Saylor, ICE must permit this rampant abuse of our immigration system," Percival wrote.

This story has been updated with a statement from DHS.

Thune’s Texas PAC Drops a Whopping $54 Million for Paxton’s Senate Race

Jenna Monnin — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 22:55:35 GMT

Republicans are spending heavily in the Senate race in Texas to help Ken Paxton. (Julio Cortez/AP)

Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s political action committee dropped a massive $53.9 million investment into the Texas Senate race, according to a Federal Election Commission filing submitted Monday.

The investment from Texas PAC, a committee associated with Thune’s Senate Leadership Fund, divided the media spending push: Nearly $27 million will be used to support Republican nominee Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, while $27 million is set to oppose Democratic candidate James Talarico, a state lawmaker.

The Texas Tribune reported Friday that Texas PAC purchased $51.3 million in broadcast TV ads in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin media markets, citing the media tracking firm AdImpact.

This cash from Thune’s group is the largest single independent expenditure for any candidate so far this cycle. Talarico has been outraising Paxton for months, but Thune’s spending campaign could help Paxton ahead of November’s election.

On Sunday, Texas PAC — which registered through the FEC in late August — made its first $6.6 million investment in the state’s Senate race, with a combination of media and texting buys.

Thune originally endorsed Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) over Paxton in the Senate primary, and groups linked to Thune spent heavily to fend off Cornyn’s primary challengers. Once Paxton won the nomination, however, Thune backed him and has urged President Donald Trump, who made a late primary endorsement for Paxton, to use his funds in the general election campaign.

“All of our allies out there, including the president and his team and their resources, need to be brought to bear on Texas, because it’s not one that we can lose if we’re going to hang on to a Republican majority,” Thune said Sept. 1 on Fox News.

"We are certainly hopeful that the president and his team at MAGA Inc. will be engaged in some of these races," Thune said.

Asked Monday about the influx of money from Thune’s PAC into this one Senate race, Cornyn said: “Well, I mean, obviously, that's their prerogative.”

“At some point, I think you know, given scarce resources, they're going to have to figure out where the money is going to do the most good, and it may or may not be a place like as big and as expensive as Texas,” Cornyn said.

MAGA Inc., the president’s influential super PAC, spent more than $10 million on an ad buy for the Texas Senate race earlier this month in the committee’s first expenditure of the general election.

Thune’s political committee has now spent in every major battleground Senate race, while Trump’s has spent in all but one: It has yet to report dropping significant money in Maine.

Whistleblower Says DHS’s Hunt for Unlawful Voting May Have Broken State Laws

Jackie Llanos — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 22:23:23 GMT

Immigration officers working for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services were tasked with finding out whether immigrants and naturalized citizens voted illegally, the report says. (Kayla Wolf/AP)

Immigration officers are potentially violating state laws about voter data and using unreliable information to create law enforcement records stating that naturalized U.S. citizens voted before obtaining citizenship, according to a new whistleblower report.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) made the complaint public Monday and said it raises concerns about the accuracy of the Department of Homeland Security’s probe into immigration-related election fraud.

The unidentified whistleblower is a public servant with direct knowledge of the Unlawful Voter Initiative launched in August, according to the report the Democracy Defenders Fund submitted to the lawmakers last week.

Immigration officers working for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services were tasked with finding out whether immigrants and naturalized citizens voted illegally. They were trained to do so by claiming to be the subjects of the investigation or acting on their behalf on state government websites, a potential violation of state laws, according to the report.

“The Whistleblower reports that given the nature of the Initiative, the pressures put on officers, and the instructions given by headquarters, it is likely the case that no officer who has sought to access information on a state website has been truthful about his or her identity,” the report states. “The Unlawful Voter Initiative includes all 50 states and is targeted at up to hundreds of thousands of individuals.”

DHS is using publicly available data from states’ voter rolls and cross-referencing them with known immigrants in the department’s system, a spokesperson said in a statement Monday night.

“Far from being rushed or untrained, these investigative efforts are conducted diligently and professionally,” the DHS spokesperson said. “Identification and investigation of aliens who vote in our elections provides an essential guarantee in the authenticity of our election results.”

Officers received a video training on Aug. 21 and were required to begin the probe on Aug. 25, with an assigned quota of at least five reviews per hour, according to the report, meaning employees had roughly 12 minutes to determine each case. DHS in a statement denied the existence of a quota for finding criminal conduct.

The video training said some information that wasn’t in the source data for the investigations would be "brought in through supplemental magic,” according to the whistleblower complaint. “Magic is not a recognized form of record keeping under state or federal law,” it notes.

DHS has been touting arrests of immigrants it claims illegally voted.

“The only magic being performed here is the media conjuring controversy out of commonplace law enforcement,” the department spokesperson said.

The investigation swept in naturalized citizens, regardless of how recent their contact with DHS had been, the whistleblower report says. “It is irrelevant if a subject naturalized decades ago, has no current applications with USCIS, or even if they’re deceased,” the report states. “All that matters is that the DHS source data indicates that they are a subject with an alien number that registered to vote or voted.”

Schumer described the report as a “bombshell whistleblower complaint” in a Monday press conference.

“The length Trump will go to cheat, lie and steal in this upcoming election are simply beyond the pale,” Schumer said. “Apparently, agents are being commanded to violate state laws to access private voter information and fabricate law enforcement records as part of DHS's ‘unlawful voter initiative.’”

Another whistleblower complaint released this month outlined the U.S. Postal Service’s plans to implement President Donald Trump’s mail-in ballot restrictions. The complaint said this could result in millions of voters not getting ballots or receiving them late.

This story has been updated with a statement from DHS.

McConnell Returns to Senate Vowing to Be Present for 'Tough Votes'

Reese Gorman — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 22:12:51 GMT

Sen. Mitch McConnell announced he plans to return to the Senate on Monday after a three-month absence for medical reasons. (Allison Robbert/AP)

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky returned to the Capitol on Monday after a roughly three-month absence.

He announced his plans in a post on X, saying he was looking forward to seeing his colleagues.

“My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven’t made it any easier. I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve assured Leader Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be present for tough votes when our Conference needs me.”

The Kentucky Republican, who arrived in a wheelchair Monday evening, greeted reporters saying, "I'm glad to see you, time to get back to work.”

McConnell has not appeared at the Capitol since he suffered a medical incident at his home in Washington, D.C., on June 14.

The longtime Senate Republican leader spent roughly four weeks at the hospital following a fall and a subsequent pneumonia diagnosis. He went to a rehabilitation center in mid-July for physical therapy, his office said at the time.

He was discharged from the rehab center in early August.

“Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehabilitation center to continue my recovery at home,” McConnell said in a statement at the time. “On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business.”

McConnell has been inundated with questions about his future and his health status during the past three months, including from Kentucky's Democratic governor, Andy Beshear. McConnell's team has released two photos of him alongside his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

Newsom Says He Won’t Challenge Harris if She Runs in 2028

Gavin J. Quinton — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 21:31:46 GMT

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the Venn diagram of his and Kamala Harris’ supporters is “pure crossover.” (Nell Redmond/AP)

Gov. Gavin Newsom will not run in 2028 if former Vice President Kamala Harris decides to make another bid for the presidency.

Widely considered a top contender to become the next Democratic nominee for president, the California governor told CNN that a contest between him and Harris “doesn’t make sense.”

“I wouldn't run if she ran,” Newsom said. “I know her base of supporters. I know her friends. The Venn diagram on that is just pure crossover. … I wouldn't do that to people.”

Newsom has laid miles of groundwork for a 2028 presidential campaign, recently visiting early primary and battleground states like South Carolina, in a “take it back” tour to rally base voters and confront Republican policies.

He’s also positioned himself as a reliable Democratic surrogate, and has participated in media appearances to cement himself as an ideological foil to MAGA Republicans, including a televised debate against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Newsom said Monday contesting Harris for the nomination would be “a gift from God” to his political opponents.

“They’d enjoy the hell out of it — mutual assured destruction,” he said. “It services no greater good.”

Harris ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2020 and again in 2024 after then-President Joe Biden dropped out of his reelection bid.

Correction: Kamala Harris ran for president in 2020 and 2024. A previous version of this story included a wrong year.

Brennan Attorney Says DOJ Is Running ‘Multiple’ Probes Into Trump Foes

Jose Pagliery — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 21:18:03 GMT

The filing was part of former CIA director John Brennan’s lawsuit in Washington, D.C. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

The Justice Department is running not one but several criminal investigations into President Donald Trump’s political enemies, according to a court filing by former CIA director John Brennan’s attorney.

That includes a federal grand jury run out of a tiny satellite federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, where Brennan is being required to testify next month. But a new declaration filed by Brennan defense attorney Kenneth Wainstein says a Trump administration official told him there were “multiple ‘viable’ grand jury investigations.”

Wainstein’s filing noted that Kurt Olsen is taking a leading role in the investigation — meaning Olsen, a MAGA loyalist who helped Trump challenge 2020 election results by presenting conspiracy theories, is likely preparing to relitigate that election.

“Mr. Olsen fielded our inquiries and indicated there are multiple ‘viable’ grand jury investigations, including a ‘far-reaching’ investigation in Fort Pierce that includes ‘issues at Mar-a-Lago and beyond’ into whether President Trump had his civil rights violated,” Wainstein wrote.

The declaration was filed as part of Brennan’s lawsuit in D.C., where he’s asking a federal judge to order that the DOJ keep every shred of paper or email documenting the ongoing prosecution — with the expectation that the former CIA director will need it to defend himself in court.

Wainstein’s declaration says that Olsen’s comments about the nature of the investigation came up during a Sept. 11 conference call, with Brennan’s two defense lawyers on one end of the call and Olsen and three other members of the prosecution team on the other.

Olsen’s description of investigators’ interest in Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach resort, indicates two things: that the government is using its location to launch the investigation in South Florida, and that former special counsel Jack Smith’s decision to have the FBI raid the house is part of the case.

The only sitting judge in the Fort Pierce courthouse is U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump during his first term and later dismissed the criminal indictment against him filed by Smith months before the 2024 election that sent Trump back to the White House.

Prosecutors also appeared to tell Brennan’s lawyers that the former CIA director is a “target” of a narrower inquiry, but that he’s merely a “subject” of the “more wide-ranging conspiracy,” Wainstein’s filing states. However, the smaller investigation was portrayed as potentially a part of the larger one, creating a confusing distinction.

The revelations from Wainstein, who once oversaw the creation of the DOJ’s National Security Division, shed light on parts of what portends to be a wide-ranging effort by the Trump administration to exact vengeance on former government leaders. Trump has long held those leaders personally responsible for tainting his first term with politically motivated investigations into his alleged criminal ties to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Wainstein also provided a window into the chaos in the ongoing DOJ criminal probes, noting that the investigations continue despite the sudden departure last week of Joseph diGenova, a Trump loyalist who had been overseeing the effort.

According to Wainstein’s filing, diGenova signed the subpoena for Brennan’s testimony on Wednesday, and the government emailed it to Brennan’s lawyer on Thursday. But when Wainstein texted diGenova about it that same morning, diGenova responded that he would “arrange counsel” to speak to Brennan’s lawyer.

Within hours, news broke that diGenova had quit — telling the New York Post that “if you want indictments where there’s no evidence, you have an ethical problem.”

Several sources have told The Washington Sun that the ongoing probes involved an FBI unit known colloquially as the “payback squad” but carries the formal designation “Director’s Advisory Team.” According to these sources, the team includes John Charles Eckenrode, who once worked on special counsel John Durham’s probe into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, and FBI special agent Rosemaria Vasiliki Marketos, who was passed up for Jack Smith’s special counsel team and has repeated Trump’s oft-disproven conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being stolen.

In the D.C. case, Brennan’s lawyers made clear when they sued on July 1 that they will fight any criminal charges by pointing to evidence that he “is being vindictively singled out for investigation and prosecution.”

“Given these strong indicia of vindictiveness, Director Brennan expects that he will forcefully challenge any eventual indictment as the product of an unconstitutionally vindictive and selective prosecution,” they wrote in their complaint.

In court papers, the DOJ has called Brennan’s attempt an “unprecedented step of managing potential discovery” in what it called “a hypothetical future criminal case in Florida.” Prosecutors also dodged any discussion of Brennan’s concerns that the Trump administration deliberately chose to pursue criminal charges in Cannon’s courthouse — far from where most of the actions in question took place in Washington, D.C.

“The government declines to engage with speculative allegations of judge-shopping regarding a hypothetical indictment,” Jeremy Newman, the chief litigation counsel at the DOJ’s civil division, responded July 28.

Trump Calls Into a Tech Conference to Declare AI Warnings a 'Hoax'

Jenna Monnin — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 21:07:01 GMT

President Trump said the “robots will not be taking over.” (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

President Donald Trump unexpectedly called into a business and technology conference through Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s cell phone and dismissed urgent warnings from those inside the artificial intelligence industry as a “hoax.”

Trump called Huang, who has previously dismissed growing concerns about AI, while he appeared at the All-In Summit in Los Angeles on Monday.

“The robots will not be taking over,” Trump said to the crowd after Huang put the call on speaker. “The AI will not be taking over the rest of the world. The whole thing is a hoax.”

“We have to do things, and we have to do it prudently. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop an industry,” Trump added.

Trump appeared pleased that Huang shared his convictions about the AI industry.

During his brief call, the president doubled down on his view that the U.S. must not lose the AI development race to China. Nvidia, a large tech company that develops computer chips used in AI models, has found itself in the center of the tech race between the U.S. and China as each country tries to lead in the emerging field.

“We're going to make sure that everybody wins in the AI race in America,” Huang said.

Trump also called for protecting data centers alongside his call to safeguard AI from those trying to slow the pace of the developments.

“Data centers are great, and they make people wealthy,” Trump said.

The president has cast aside dire warnings from tech developers, industry leaders and lawmakers calling for the U.S. government to address the dangers of AI.

Both House and Senate lawmakers plan to discuss and focus on AI this week. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will be joining forces with former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon on Tuesday to push for “human-controlled AI,” Axios reported.

Earlier on Monday, Trump said he is the only “control or ‘guardrails’” needed for the industry and again pointed to what he deemed a “SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China.”

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google DeepMind Chair Demis Hassabis and SpaceXAI CEO Elon Musk have all called for independent oversight on AI and slowing development.

Amodei published an essay on Saturday calling for companies to partner with the federal government, which he said could serve as an “evaluator” that implements safety regulations or as a mediator between tech corporations in the process of establishing standards.

The mounting concern over AI spiraling out of control as a result of the race between the industry leaders came to a head when Jacob Coxon, an Anthropic researcher, quit his job and took to social media to issue an urgent warning.

Coxon told The Washington Sun that he felt like he was “contributing to the potential death race” through his work.

Anthropic’s alignment science lead, Evan Hubinger, backed up Coxon’s warning, writing that he believed the company “is trying its best, but we do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence and are not clearly on track to.”

Kennedy Center Board Lists 10 Options for Putting Trump’s Name on the Building

Torrie Herrington — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 21:00:06 GMT

The Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees draft resolution says the performing arts center is facing an imminent financial crisis and has exhausted its fiscal resources, putting its ability to meet payroll and routine maintenance obligations at risk within weeks. (Samuel Corum/Sipa USA via AP)

The Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees is considering 10 different ways to recognize President Donald Trump on the building’s facade as part of what it says is an effort to secure his fundraising prowess for the performing arts center’s renovation.

The options, outlined in a draft board resolution reviewed by The Washington Sun, would place language recognizing Trump on the exterior marble beneath the Kennedy Center’s name.

“The Board seeks to provide multiple options so that President Trump can be legally and appropriately recognized and acknowledged on the facade of the Kennedy Center so that he agrees to carry the burden of managing the renovation and provides the Center with a much required financial rescue,” the resolution reads.

The proposals range from relatively straightforward acknowledgements of Trump’s support to language crediting him with overseeing the center’s renovation and restoration.

One option would read: “Renovation and endowment overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.” Another would say: “With Gratitude for Support from President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.”

Other proposals would credit Trump with directing or overseeing the renovation, while several would describe the center as being sustained through his “generosity.” One option reads, “A Legacy protected through the Generosity of President Donald J. Trump.”

The board’s draft resolution says the Kennedy Center is facing an imminent financial crisis and has exhausted its fiscal resources, putting its ability to meet payroll and routine maintenance obligations at risk within weeks.

Trump, according to the resolution, has offered to raise the money needed to keep the center from bankruptcy while it undergoes a major renovation.

The board says it believes Trump’s financial support is tied to giving him an appropriate public acknowledgement. The resolution says that without such recognition, Trump is unlikely to provide the oversight of the renovation or lead the center’s financial rescue.

The proposals come as a federal court prepares to consider an emergency motion from Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), an ex officio member of the board, that seeks to block the Kennedy Center board from again adding Trump’s name to the building.

In December, after the president stocked the board with allies and made himself chairman, the trustees voted for the first time to rename the center after Trump. In August, the board voted once again to add the president’s name, this time opting to inscribe it into the marble facade after a federal judge ordered the previous signage had to be removed.

This week’s hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, shortly before the board is set to meet and vote on resolutions concerning the center’s future, including possible closure and the proposed Trump recognitions.

The draft resolution says the board intends to pursue “all legal means” to carry out one or more of the proposed recognitions, subject to the board’s vote.

Trump Scraps Biden-Era Climate Pollution Rules for Power Plants

Mara Hoplamazian — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 20:45:00 GMT

Power plants are the largest industrial source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and represent a quarter of the country’s total emissions. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

The Trump administration is gutting regulations on climate-warming emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday.

The announcement scraps the majority of the EPA’s Biden-era standards that sought to limit greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel plants. New coal and gas-fired plants would still be subject to some 2015 standards, and one Biden-era standard for new gas plants.

At the same time, the agency is proposing to repeal all remaining greenhouse gas emissions standards for power plants and remove the EPA’s ability to impose pollution controls going forward.

The rollback of standards for power plants is the latest EPA action to remove emissions controls across sectors. The Trump administration has erased vehicle emissions standards, repealed the “endangerment finding” that underpins all EPA regulations on emissions, rolled back rules limiting mercury and air toxins, and relaxed restrictions on highly potent greenhouse gases.

“It is part of an agenda that Lee Zeldin has been implementing to strip back EPA's mission regulating all forms of air pollution,” Zealan Hoover, a former EPA adviser for the Biden administration, said of the agency’s current administrator. “That's going to quite directly lead to hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths.”

Power plants are the largest industrial source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and represent a quarter of the country’s total emissions. If the U.S. power sector was its own nation, it would emit more carbon pollution than all other countries except for China, India, Russia.

Monday’s finalized rule means coal-fired power plants will no longer be required to control their carbon pollution using carbon capture and storage technology or by switching some energy generation to natural gas. New gas-fired plants will also see emissions requirements relaxed.

When carbon pollution standards were finalized in 2024, the Biden administration said they were projected to result in $370 billion in benefits, between savings in health care costs and costs associated with climate change. In 2035 alone, they were expected to prevent 1,200 premature deaths.

The Trump administration says repealing the standards would increase coal production tenfold, and save energy companies and tax payers $310 billion over two decades.

The rollbacks do not affect standards for hazardous air pollutants or criteria pollutants — common air pollutants that can harm human health. But in an EPA regulatory impact analysis, emissions of particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and mercury are projected to increase if all emissions standards disappear, compared to a baseline with carbon pollution standards.

The agency has stopped quantifying the benefits of limiting air pollution from ozone and fine particulate matter. An agency analysis says repealing all greenhouse gas standards could result in more additional premature deaths. Estimates based on a snapshot of years vary from 1,200 to 2,700 additional premature deaths.

Zeldin said emissions standards for power plants amounted to a “war on coal,” and that the repeal would help make energy more affordable.

“Americans will see a decrease in electricity prices, but this is just the beginning. We are working to go even further so that American energy can be fully unleashed. Realizing the full potential of American energy means more jobs, lower prices, and a more prosperous America,” he said.

The agency argues greenhouse gas emissions from power plants are out of its scope of responsibility because they have “no material impact” on climate change, and potential public health harms from those emissions are “uncertain, conjectural, remote and convoluted.”

Vickie Patton, general counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund, said this summer’s heat, wildfire smoke and drought demonstrate the need for regulation.

“There's an enormous, long foundation in law that's gone to the U.S. Supreme Court in a number of cases that has held that EPA has the authority and the responsibility to protect American people from dangerous climate pollution,” she said. “To try to walk away from that solemn responsibility is contrary to law, it’s contrary to the science, it’s also contrary to our lived human experiences.”

Patton said her organization feels an “urgent” need to act on the rollbacks, as power plants pop up across the country to fuel the buildout of AI data centers.

EPA officials said the proposal to eliminate all greenhouse gas emission regulations for power plants would be open for public comments for 45 days.

Trump Eyes World War II Memorial as Next Makeover Project

Kendall Staton — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 20:36:39 GMT

Rod Lamkey/AP Photo

The Trump administration is eyeing more D.C. monuments as clean-up targets in an effort to reshape the nation’s capital.

The Department of the Interior has initiated the process to revamp the World War II Memorial on the National Mall, seeking a contractor to clean granite elements, waterproof fountains, replace plumbing systems and address other deferred maintenance, according to a solicitation notice from the agency posted Monday.

President Donald Trump called for repairs to the monument earlier this year.

The monument features granite columns representing each U.S. state and territory at the time of the war, surrounding a pool filled with fountains. The 22-year-old memorial hasn’t been substantially rehabilitated since its construction, and many aspects have begun to deteriorate, according to the notice. But the memorial was closed for construction from January to May for a $3.7 million renovation, which included work on the fountains and lighting, according to the National Park Service.

Trump made his first calls to refine the WWII Memorial in the midst of work on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying the bottom of the WWII fountain was “in pretty bad shape" and should be repainted. He said the color at the bottom of the fountain would be lighter than the reflecting pool’s “American flag blue.” The botched Reflecting Pool resurfacing cost more than $14 million and took more than 60 days to complete. The new paint started peeling off the bottom of the pool less than two weeks after the project finished.

The notice from the Interior Department said the WWII fountains will receive “new waterproofing,” but makes no mention of a fresh paint job.

A tourist vandalized the memorial in August with spray paint and dish soap. It closed for one day before reopening with no permanent damage.

The WWII Memorial is not the only monument the Trump administration set its sights on in recent weeks.

Earlier this month fences went up around the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial near Arlington National Cemetery as contractors began cleaning the statue as part of Trump’s efforts to “beautify our nation’s capital,” according to a spokesperson for the National Park Service. That project, of which the scope is unclear, is expected to be completed in early November.

The Park Service did not answer questions about what work is being completed at the Marine Corps Memorial. Photos show the bronze statues have been polished.

The Trump administration has poured millions into restoring several fountains across the District, demolished the East Wing of the White House to make way for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom and continues to push for a 250-foot arch monument to the president just outside of Arlington National Cemetery.

Democratic Congressional Candidate Defends Resurfaced Explicit Photos

Raymond Fernández — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 20:27:14 GMT

Chris Gallant is vying to unseat Rep. Nick LaLota in New York’s 1st Congressional District. (Courtesy of Chris Gallant for Congress)

A Democrat running for a U.S. House seat representing Long Island said he is “not embarrassed or ashamed” after explicit photos resurfaced over the weekend.

Chris Gallant, 37, is vying to unseat Rep. Nick LaLota (R-New York), and said that the photos have no bearing on his ability to serve in Congress.

“I have always been unapologetically me," Gallant, who is openly gay, said in a message to supporters obtained Monday by Newsday. “These attacks on my identity have just made me stronger in my values and convictions."

The photos, which circulated as advertisements for a sex store in San Francisco up until 2020, depict Gallant modeling in a leather posture collar and metal chains. The pictures were first reported by the New York Post.

“The photographs are authentic and were taken during a private, consensual photo session involving Chris and his then-partner, with whom he was in a committed four-year relationship,” Gallant’s attorney told the Post of his work as a model. “These photographs have no bearing on Chris’s record, qualifications, judgment, or ability to serve.”

Some of the other images date back to 2007 and show Gallant — a retired Army officer and former Black Hawk helicopter pilot — wearing a leather harness and bartending in underwear in Fire Island.

Even before the pictures surfaced, Gallant faced an uphill battle for New York’s 1st Congressional District, which includes parts of Long Island and is rated solid Republican by the Cook Political Report. As of June 30, LaLota has outraised Gallant by over $3 million, according to Federal Election Commission records.

The images have created commotion online, but it remains unclear what role they will play in the race, which remains tight. In January, Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-affiliated polling firm, found Gallant three points behind LaLota, with 20% of voters undecided.

“He will not allow photographs from a past relationship or employment to be distorted and weaponized for political purposes or used to distract voters from the issues that matter," Gallant’s lawyer added.

Republican Candidate Doubles Down on the Racist Post Roiling Texas Politics

Gavin J. Quinton — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 20:21:25 GMT

Texas politicians condemned the social media post by Bo French, who stood by his comments. (Aaron M. Sprecher/AP)

Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas railroad commissioner, stood by a series of racist social media posts he sent targeting Asian students at the University of Texas, dismissing criticism from fellow Republicans as he campaigns for a seat that oversees the state’s oil and gas industry.

French dismissed the backlash he garnered over his post on X showing a photograph of students celebrating Texas’ football victory over Ohio State, and suggested the students pictured benefitted from discriminatory admissions practices designed to exclude American-born students.

“Social media is exposing how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners” he wrote in a subsequent post. “It’s everywhere and far worse than any of us could imagine.”

French pushed back at those offended by his posts, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), in a Monday radio interview on “The Mark Davis Show.”

“I don’t have anything against the people specifically in that picture,” French told Davis on Monday.

“The establishment raised and spent $7 million against me in the primary,” he added. “Many of the people who criticized me yesterday were some of the same people involved in that effort. It’s no surprise that the less-conservative people in Texas are the ones attacking me.”

French’s original post was quickly corrected in an X community note, which specified that Texas state law requires at least 90% of the university’s freshmen be Texas residents, and that international students comprise about 4% of the school’s newcomers.

Cornyn had urged Republican officials to condemn French’s posts, warning that intolerance and racism should not become normalized.

“This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad,” he wrote on X.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Republican, also decried the posts and called for their removal, saying opposition to immigration policies did not justify disparaging people based on race or ethnicity.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott distanced himself from French’s message, too, while reiterating his support for immigration restrictions.

French is running for the statewide Texas railroad commissioner office, which serves as the primary regulatory body for the state’s massive oil and natural gas industry.

In November, he’s set to face off against Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, a Houston lawmaker who worked for 25 years as an oil and gas engineer. French defeated the incumbent commissioner, Jim Wright, in May’s Republican runoff.

Rosenthal said in a statement to The Texas Tribune that his campaign saw $35,000 in contributions following French’s remarks.

“Bo French’s own party has said he is unfit for the office he seeks to hold — and Texans are putting their money behind the oil field engineer who is qualified for it,” he said.

Karl Rove, former adviser to President George W. Bush and longtime Texas GOP political consultant, told attendees at a private lunch that he plans to cast his vote for Rosenthal, calling French a “bigot,” according to sources who spoke with the Tribune.

Those statements drew ire from President Donald Trump late Tuesday, who called Rove “a stone cold loser” for breaking with the party.

“Karl Rove is so bad for the Republican Party, and completely wrong so often. He suffers from a major case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

Following his talk-radio appearance Monday, French attempted to flip the controversy into a fundraising push for his campaign.

“The radical left and their allies are attacking me,” he wrote on X. “Join the thousands of patriots who are supporting our campaign.”

This story has been updated to include news about Karl Rove and a post from President Trump.

With Friends Like These…

Brett Bachman, Jenna Monnin, Kelly Poe — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:59:37 GMT

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:59:37 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/afternoon-sun-newsletter/with-friends-like-these

Donald Trump Jr.’s wife, Bettina Anderson, confirmed this morning that a Russian oligarch with ties to President Vladimir Putin bankrolled part of the couple’s wedding weekend in the Bahamas earlier this year. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

Good afternoon. This is the Afternoon Sun newsletter for Sept. 14, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

Donald Trump Jr.’s wife, Bettina Anderson, confirmed this morning that a Russian oligarch with ties to President Vladimir Putin bankrolled part of the couple’s wedding weekend in the Bahamas earlier this year.

“Friendship doesn’t require a political motive. Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift,” she wrote on Instagram.

THE HILL

John Fetterman’s surprise video at last week’s Republican midterm convention came after organizers sought an “oh shit” moment featuring “walk away” figures from the Democratic party. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pennsylvania), who has become friends with Fetterman, was the one who secured his involvement.

"I want to do it. I’m sure it will make people mad,” Fetterman told McCormick, Axios reported. "But you're my friend, and I want to introduce you.”

THE ADMINISTRATION

Trump is rejecting the idea of new AI regulation, posting Monday that “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT.”

The detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” put immigrants inside small metal cages labeled “calming areas,” according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security inspector general.

The Environmental Protection Agency is repealing limits on greenhouse gas emissions created by coal- and natural-gas-fueled power plants.

The National Weather Service announced this morning that it would change the name of Lake Ontario on its maps and forecasts to use Trump’s preferred “Lake America” moniker.

THE COURTS

A second federal judge blocked the Trump administration from implementing a U.S. Postal Service rule that would tighten mail-in voting requirements.

States, cities and counties filed two lawsuits today challenging federal rules that would allow immigrants’ use of public benefits to be considered in applications to enter the country such as green cards.

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to turn over thousands of internal USAID records sought by The Washington Sun (Hey, that’s us!).

THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Former Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) endorsed Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in her close race for reelection, calling his longtime legislative partner the “soul of the Senate.”

Chris Gallant, a 37-year-old Democratic candidate vying for a Long Island House seat, said he was “not embarrassed or ashamed” in a defiant text message to campaign supporters after explicit photos of him posing in bondage gear surfaced over the weekend.

"I have always been unapologetically me," Gallant, who is openly gay, said. "These attacks on my identity have just made me stronger in my values and convictions."

SPOOKY SEASON

https://x.com/DavidWright_7/status/2099261105520447982

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Kate Nocera and Jonann Brady. If you liked it, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please sign up — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at newsletters@washsun.com.]]>

Congress Is About to Do a Whole Lot of Nothing About AI

Igor Bobic — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:23:56 GMT

House Speaker Mike Johnson. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

Tech leaders are begging Congress to step in and provide guardrails on AI development after dire warnings about the rapid advances in the technology and its risks to humanity, but lawmakers remain as divided as ever on how and whether to do so.

“We do not want to jump in,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Monday. “The reflex of legislative bodies is to cover things up with red tape and hyper-regulation. If you do that, then you lose your edge, and that is a national security concern for the American people,” he said, arguing the United States must stay ahead of China in the AI race.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Congress needs to take a “light touch” on AI regulation. “You don't want to stifle innovation, but I think you also want to make sure that the more advanced threats can be mitigated,” he said.

Johnson said President Donald Trump was summoning officials and tech leaders to a meeting at the White House late this week or early next, but Trump has already declared flat-out opposition to new laws regulating AI.

In a Monday post on his social media website Truth Social, Trump said “the only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!" He added that there “is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China.”

Last week, several Anthropic researchers warned about the existential threat posed by AI, with one going so far as putting the risk of humanity’s extinction at greater than 10%. Top AI leaders including ChatGPT founder Sam Altman, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, are also raising unprecedented warnings about the pace of development, calling for an immediate slowdown in advancing AI models.

Democrats argue legislation is needed to curb frontier AI development and put in oversight measures like independent evaluators to ensure the technology is kept in check and doesn’t go rogue like in several recent incidents. Many fear AI will enable sophisticated cyberattacks or aid the development of biological or nuclear weapons.

The Republican-controlled Congress doesn’t appear set to take meaningful action anytime soon. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is planning a caucus meeting on AI on Tuesday, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is pressing the Trump administration to hold a classified briefing for members of the Senate on the risks posed by AI.

“Warning bells are ringing louder than they ever have – and the Trump administration is looking the other way,” Schumer said in a statement on Monday. “Well, if they won’t hold themselves accountable, we will.”

Past meetings and briefings with top tech leaders have yielded little progress on AI, even when Democrats were in power.

In September 2023, for example, Schumer, who was Senate majority leader at the time, convened a bipartisan group of senators for a closed-door meeting on AI with top tech leaders, including Musk and Altman. Musk warned lawmakers at the time about the "civilizational risk" posed by AI, and voiced support for a standalone federal agency to regulate AI. The senators later released a roadmap for AI regulation aiming to balance technological growth with essential guardrails, but it went nowhere.

Democrats responded to last week’s warnings by calling for emergency action on AI, though there’s not much time to do so. The Senate is scheduled to be in session for three weeks before leaving town to allow senators to campaign ahead of the November midterm elections. The House is scheduled to be in session only for one week before doing the same.

“Congress should be on an emergency footing in the coming week,” said Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz. “We have to move at the pace of the threat, not our own habits and rhythms. People are depending on us to take swift bipartisan action that meaningfully reduces AI risk.”

Senators are set to consider legislation this week regulating crypto and college sports. The House, meanwhile, is expected to vote on bipartisan legislation sanctioning Russia over its war in Ukraine.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, has called for a moratorium on data center construction and a halt on advanced AI development. He also introduced legislation to ban AI superintelligence, but no Senate Democrats have joined him on that measure.

Other Democrats favor a less aggressive approach, proposing safety measures while allowing for AI development to continue.

Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal wrote in a post online that a voluntary system of auditors was not enough, referring to tech leaders’ vows to institute internal safeguard. “It must be a statutorily established regimen, with power to determine whether models & new products are safe & effective, just as independent scientists are authorized to do under the FDA,” he said.

One measure that could gain traction is being written by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over technology issues. Cruz has been working alongside Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota). The bill has not yet been publicly released, but Cruz said its goal is to “address catastrophic risks involving biological or nuclear threats” associated with AI.

“We cannot stick our heads in the sand and pretend this technology isn’t happening. We need guardrails,” Cruz wrote online. “But America needs to lead. If China leads the world in AI, the whole world is in trouble.”

Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the commerce committee, appeared to signal concerns with the bill over the weekend, noting Republicans attempted to pass a 10-year ban on state AI regulation in last year's tax-cut law.

“I welcome the urgency,” Cantwell wrote last week “But the answer is not a weak federal standard that becomes a backdoor for wiping out stronger state protections.”

In the House, lawmakers have introduced the Frontier Act, which would create a national framework for overseeing AI development, and the AI Kill Switch Act, which would require developers to maintain the ability to pause or shut down advanced AI systems.

Jeffries told reporters that "decisive action is necessary" and Democrats are working on new proposals that should be addressed swiftly. But he also said discussion about forming a special House committee to address AI risks would have to wait until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

“Our focus right now is on doing what is necessary so we can end this national nightmare that Donald Trump and Republicans have inflicted on the American people,” Jeffries said. “Every single policy decision that Republicans have made has made life more expensive for the American people.”

With Congress mired in gridlock for the immediate future, however, the responsibility of slowing AI development will rest primarily with AI companies themselves.

In a midnight post on X on Sunday, Altman said his support for slowing AI development doesn’t mean stopping it outright. He also urged the U.S. and China to work together to address risks posed by the technology.

“Progress has been rapid and will continue to be. But it should be slower than it otherwise could be; interventions like safety cases and monitoring have significant costs,” he said.

“Pacing will be well worth this cost; no amount of American competitive pressure should justify recklessness, or let capabilities get ahead of alignment and monitoring,” he added. “Where we will need the help of our government is for international coordination. But first we should do what we can ourselves.”

This story has been updated with new information.

National Weather Service Orders Staff to Use ‘Lake America’ in Future Forecasts

Jenna Monnin — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:15:34 GMT

A computer screen displays Lake Ontario under the name “Lake America.” (Jae C. Hong/AP)

The U.S. agency that provides weather forecasts and warnings to the public is implementing President Donald Trump’s name change for Lake Ontario, now dubbed “Lake America.”

The National Weather Service, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, announced on Monday that “work is underway to update naming conventions as quickly as possible on online maps, weather products, websites and other materials across the NWS,” in accordance with Trump’s executive order on the lake.

The NWS and the NOAA are in turn part of the Department of Commerce, and all executive branch agencies are required to follow any presidential orders.

The NWS already uses “Gulf of America” instead of the Gulf of Mexico and “Mount McKinley” instead of Denali, reflecting Trump’s previous efforts to rename bodies of water and geographical landmarks to “honor American greatness” — without securing congressional approval.

The U.S. Geological Survey, a science and mapping agency inside the Department of the Interior, also changed its maps to reflect “Lake America.”

Lake Ontario sits on the border between the U.S. and Canada, and the two countries have been locked in an escalating trade war.

“I find Canada to be the worst country to deal with,” Trump told reporters Sunday on Air Force One. “With that being said, they’re dying to make a deal.”

When asked about Canada’s willingness to make a deal, Prime Minister Mark Carney told Bloomberg, "I'd say what we've been saying all along, which is that there is a mutually advantageous agreement that's possible between Canada and the United States," adding that he welcomes the Trump’s comments and he is ready to “sit down and negotiate.”

Carney appears willing to work through trade talks with the U.S. despite Trump’s push to change the name of their shared body of water, but Ontario Premier Doug Ford has taken a much harder line against the president.

Ford erected a large, two-story billboard last month that says “Lake Ontario Now and Always” in Grimsby, a Canadian city on the shore of the lake.

“Long before President Trump, this lake was called Lake Ontario. Long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario,” Ford said standing in front of the billboard in a video posted to X on Aug. 29.

Despite Its Success, the Spirit Can’t Seem to Find the Back of the Net

Nicky Wolcott — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:10:10 GMT

The Washington Spirit huddle at home Sunday after losing to Boston Legacy FC, 3-0. (Kainaz Amaria/The Washington Sun)

Not long after the disastrous final moments of Sunday’s meeting with Boston Legacy FC, in which a narrow 1-0 deficit ballooned to a 3-0 loss in a matter of minutes, Washington Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt reflected on her team’s apparent inability to put the ball in the back of the net.

“I feel like a lot of our goals are from individual brilliance, because we have individually brilliant players,” Hershfelt said. “But I feel like it's getting to that point in the season where teams are figuring that out. We need to mix it up and work with each other in attacking moments.”

The Spirit entered Sunday’s game with plenty to feel good about. After a tough August stretch saw Washington go four games without a win, coach Adrián González’s team seemed to be getting back on track with back-to-back victories. It entered the weekend sitting in second place in the National Women’s Soccer League table, only two points behind Gotham FC in the race for the NWSL Shield. Boston came to D.C. in 14th place with the league’s third-worst defense, a perfect visitor for a team looking to maintain momentum.

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Instead, the Spirit’s recent attacking troubles were on display again as it struggled to create any clear-cut scoring opportunities in front of an eager home crowd at Audi Field. With the loss, Washington (13-7-4) fell five points behind Gotham and back into the thick of a tight playoff seeding race.

The Spirit’s only real chances came late in Sunday’s match, after Aïssata Traoré gave Boston a lead in the 81st minute. Not only did the Spirit fail to find an equalizer, it gave up a stoppage-time brace to Amanda Gutierres to seal the team’s worst home defeat since April 2025.

“We need to be better, of course, especially attacking-wise, connecting and trying to create chances,” González said. “Tough one, but as always, good learning. And I do prefer this now than obviously [at the] end of the season or in a potential playoff. We need to learn, we need to be humble and we need to accept it.”

The Spirit struggled to maintain possession while attempting to play through Boston’s press, and when it was able to get forward and find players in dangerous positions, they couldn’t execute the final ball. Washington produced just three shots on target, all of which were straight at experienced Boston goalkeeper Casey Murphy, and was shut out for third time in its last five games at Audi Field.

“They were very patient in a high block, and we probably didn't shift them left to right as much as we could have done to then open them up,” defender Esme Morgan said. “The moments where we did and we were able to find players in the pocket or Hal through the six, we were then able to progress a bit better, but then didn't really capitalize on those moments.”

Washington’s 33 goals in 24 league games is only the ninth-most of 16 NWSL teams, and its attacking output has slowed, with just 11 goals in its last 11 matches. The Spirit has been heavily reliant on Trinity Rodman to score and create goals this year and has struggled recently with other key attacking options out injured and a few newcomers forced into bigger roles.

Rodman is already up to 10 league goals and six assists, accounting for nearly half of the attacking production for a team that’s boasted a broader distribution of scoring in recent years — no individual player has notched more than 10 NWSL goals in a season for the Spirit since Crystal Dunn scored 15 times in 2015.

Forward Sofia Cantore and midfielder Leicy Santos have both netted five NWSL goals this year while midfielder Rebeca Bernal, who joined Manchester United on a transfer earlier this month, and forward Claudia Martínez, who returned on Sunday after missing two games with a lower leg injury, have scored three times. Defender Tara Rudd is the only other Spirit player to score multiple NWSL goals this year.

Despite the team’s scoring woes, González has still seen Washington get into dangerous positions in recent weeks and believes the team knows how to play to its strengths.

“Right now we are not in a momentum where you need to change the way that you create chances or you need to start implementing new things,” González said “Of course, we are always open, but I think it's a matter of knowing what we have and just exploring that.”

While the Spirit got into positive areas at times on Sunday, specifically early in the match when winning the ball high up the pitch, finding the back of the net has proven to be a challenge, especially while bringing new players into the fold and managing the return of others, like Martínez and Ashley Hatch, an experienced attacking option.

Monique Ngock and Mélissa Bethi, who joined the Spirit this summer from French league sides Fleury Merogis U.S. and Nantes, respectively, earned their second starts for their new club in midfield and have shown individual moments of quality — especially Bethi, who scored the 80th-minute winner against Portland and won a penalty kick in the 70th minute against Boston that was overturned after video review — but the duo still need time to develop chemistry with their new teammates.

“They're great players, and they give us a lot in the midfield and in an attack, but sometimes maybe they're not on the same page as the people who have been here for years,” Rudd said of Ngock and Bethi. “Those relationships come in training and playing together and knowing each other on the field and what your tendencies are.”

Washington also recently signed 21-year-old Tanzanian striker Clara Luvanga from Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr to a four-year contract, a move that could bolster its front line.

The Spirit doesn’t have an endless amount of time to form new connections as it approaches the business end of the season, but Washington remains in a strong position in the league table with six regular season games remaining. The Spirit will have a great opportunity to bounce back on Sunday when the team travels to take on the last-place Chicago Stars, who have conceded a league-high 54 goals in 24 games this season.

A Military Official Says U.S. Has Put ‘Space Control Weapons’ in Orbit

Hamed Ahmadi — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 18:19:17 GMT

“We continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exist,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said at the Air & Space Forces Association’s annual conference. (Mariam Zuhaib/AP)

The U.S. military has deployed weapons into orbit, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Monday, publicly acknowledging a capability in space that the Pentagon had kept largely secret.

“Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exist,” Meink said at the Air & Space Forces Association’s annual conference in National Harbor, Maryland, according to DefenseScoop. “This is why the United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary actions.”

Meink did not say what the weapons are, how many are in orbit or what they can do. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a statement to The Washington Sun, the Space Force said, “Space control requires both offensive and defensive actions,” including operations to disrupt, degrade, deny or destroy an adversary’s counterspace capabilities and actions to protect U.S. systems from attack.

The Space Force declined to say when the weapons were deployed, whether they are kinetic or non-kinetic, or to provide other details about the systems.

But Meink made clear that the disclosure was deliberate. Asked about the statement after his speech, Meink said his wording was “very well thought out,” according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Meink’s statement appears to be the first time the Pentagon has publicly acknowledged that the U.S. military has weapons operating in orbit.

Space Force officials had previously said they planned to field a “substantial on-orbit capability” by 2026. Senior military leaders have also openly called for putting weapons and interceptors in space. But until Monday, officials had stopped short of saying weapons were already there.

The disclosure follows a broader shift by the Space Force toward talking publicly about how it would fight in space.

In a warfighting framework released last year, the service laid out how U.S. forces could protect American satellites and disable or destroy an adversary’s systems. Those attacks could physically damage a satellite or use electronic or cyber capabilities to disrupt it or cut off its communications.

It is not clear whether the weapons Meink disclosed Monday can do any of those things.

U.S. officials have repeatedly pointed to China and Russia as the main threats driving the military buildup in space. The Space Force says both countries are developing ways to attack or disrupt American satellites, including missiles, jammers, lasers and systems placed in orbit.

Meink separately highlighted the Space-Based Interceptor program, which is being developed as part of President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile-defense system.

The interceptors are still under development. The Space Force is building a network of interceptors in low-Earth orbit and says it plans to demonstrate an initial capability integrated with Golden Dome in 2028.

Mahmoud Khalil Sues Columbia Over Its Treatment of Pro-Palestinian Activists

Associated Press — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 18:08:49 GMT

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil at his campus apartment in March 2025. (Ted Shaffrey/AP)

By Sudhin Thanawala

Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil sued Columbia University on Monday, alleging it failed to address harassment against him and other members of a pro-Palestinian campus group and retaliated against them when they reported it.

The university's “deliberate indifference” led to the doxing of multiple group members and Khalil’s detention by immigration agents, according to the civil rights lawsuit filed in federal court in New York City.

The university declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said in an email that “creating a campus environment where every member of our community feels welcome, supported, and safe is fundamental to who we are as a University.”

“Columbia is committed to protecting our community from discrimination and harassment, and responding promptly and appropriately when concerns arise,” it said.

Khalil also sued Columbia last year to block the release of student records to a congressional committee.

A former graduate student at Columbia University, Khalil gained prominence as a spokesperson for student activists protesting Israel's actions in Gaza.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him at his campus apartment in March 2025, and he quickly became the face of the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

Khalil spent 104 days in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his first child, before a federal judge in New Jersey ordered his release. His deportation case remains active.

Khalil's lawsuit says Columbia “refused to correct disinformation” about him while he was detained, “allowing a false narrative about his conduct and role to persist and further enabling peer-on-peer harassment of other Palestinian students and students with perceived shared Arab and/or Muslim ancestry.”

Instead of investigating reports of harassment, the university retaliated by characterizing events by a pro-Palestinian campus group as security risks and revising disciplinary policy to target criticism of the Israeli government, according to the lawsuit.

It accuses Columbia of civil rights violations, requests a court order restoring Khalil's access to the campus and ending the Palestinian group's suspension, and seeks damages “to be determined at trial.”

It also names the pro-Palestinian group and its president, Mohammad Zubairi, as plaintiffs.

Texas Landowners Sue to Stop Trump From Building a Wall Through Big Bend

Associated Press — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 18:00:48 GMT

Big Bend has about 500 miles of border. (Jon G. Fuller/VWPics via AP)

By Rebecca Santana

MARFA, Texas — Landowners, ranchers and business owners in the Big Bend region of Texas along with a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the region's landscape and heritage are suing to stop the Trump administration's plans to build a wall and other border infrastructure through the remote section of the state.

The lawsuit, filed by Conserve Big Bend and six landowners and with the support of dozens more people along the border, comes as the administration is ramping up a $46 billion effort to line the roughly 2,000-mile southern border with a collection of 30-foot (9-meter) steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers, and technology intended to keep out smugglers and migrants.

In Texas, the effort has run up against numerous lawsuits and bipartisan opposition from sheriffs, elected officials, tour guides, environmental groups and landowners.

Officials backing the wall “were woefully unprepared for the hornet’s nest they stirred up because they had no idea how much we love this place,” said David Keller, an archaeologist and historian who specializes in the Big Bend and lives in the region.

“For us, the Big Bend is not an empty place on the map,” he said at a press conference announcing the suit. “It is our home.”

As part of its wall-building efforts, the administration has waived numerous regulations and statutes designed to protect the environment, archaeology or wildlife, on the basis that there's an urgent need to protect the border in what Homeland Security has called areas of “high illegal entry.”

But in the lawsuit announced Monday, the plaintiffs argue that when it comes to the Big Bend region, that's not an accurate description. They've cited historical statistics issued by Customs and Border Protection showing how few people cross the border in Big Bend compared with other areas along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Big Bend has about 500 miles of border — roughly one quarter of the total length of the border with Mexico from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. But the region only accounted for about 1% of arrests, according to the lawsuit’s stats.

Laura Allen, whose family's ranch would have border wall cut right through it under the plans, noted that illegal border arrests have plunged even further since Trump returned to office.

“Thank you, President Trump. You’ve secured the border,” Allen, a two-time Trump voter and former county judge, said at the press conference. "But now let it go. It’s time.”

The plaintiffs are arguing that the Department of Homeland Security is misusing powers from Congress that allow the secretary broad authority to waive regulations in order to build border walls or other infrastructure in areas where there are large numbers of people trying to cross into the country illegally.

“That determination is legally and factually unsound and unsupported,” the plaintiffs wrote.

The lawsuit filed Monday is the latest in efforts to slow or stop the administration's plans in Texas and elsewhere.

The biggest outcry has come over Customs and Border Protection's plans for the Big Bend National Park, which sits in a far southwestern corner of Texas where the Rio Grande separates the U.S. from Mexico.

The park's remote and rugged location, its steep limestone canyon walls and crystal clear starry night views attract visitors from around the world. The government has said in court hearings that no final plans have been decided for what will be built in the park but plans made public so far have included building a new road, installing detection technology and barriers to stop vehicles from crossing the border.

When bulldozers were spotted clearing land in the park in August, people across the state were outraged. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott temporarily paused construction-related activity in the park but many activists and local residents would like to see even more changes to the administration's plans in the broader Big Bend region.

Native American groups have argued that the construction could inhibit their ability to practice their faith and is damaging important religious sites while environmentalists worry the wall will cause flooding or keep animals from migrating.

Landowners who've lived and worked along the Rio Grande for years have questioned how they'll feed livestock or water their crops if they can't access the river.

___

AP reporter Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis contributed to this story.

Judge Rules Trump Administration Must Give The Washington Sun USAID Records

Thuy Lan Nguyen — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 17:29:17 GMT

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to release thousands of internal records maintained by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which President Donald Trump has sought to shutter.

U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali ruled Thursday that USAID “shall produce records at a rate of 500 pages per month” to The Washington Sun. In March, The Sun, which at the time was known as NOTUS, sued the federal government, arguing that it illegally withheld records that are subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

The Sun’s lawsuit stems from a FOIA request Washington Sun Senior Editor Dave Levinthal filed with USAID in November 2024.

The request seeks records detailing how USAID officials anticipated and reacted to the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Shortly after becoming president in January 2025, Trump oversaw the dismantling of USAID, an agency founded during the Kennedy administration that was — until recently — the world’s largest foreign aid agency.

"The court's ruling is a clear signal that the public has a right to observe the inner workings of a government agency the president is dismantling," Washington Sun Editor-in-Chief Tim Grieve said. "We're committed to fighting for these records until we get them."

By law, USAID had 20 working days after receiving Levinthal’s FOIA to disclose the scope of the responsive documents it would produce and to detail any plans to withhold documents under legal exemptions.

But until The Sun sued USAID, the agency had done neither. It also routinely ignored requests for updates and status reports. The agency, which in a court filing this month acknowledged possessing “4,707 potentially responsive records,” continues to withhold all records responsive to the request.

The case is titled NOTUS Media LLC & Levinthal v. U.S. Agency for International Development. Law firm Ballard Spahr LLP is representing The Sun.

For press inquiries, email communications manager Thuy Lan Nguyen: thuylannguyen@washsun.com.

DHS Watchdog Says Detainees Were Put in Small Cages at 'Alligator Alcatraz'

Jackie Llanos — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 17:07:05 GMT

“The use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment.” the report states. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Staff at Florida’s now-shuttered detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” put immigrants inside small metal cages they labeled as “calming areas,” according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security inspector general.

The DHS watchdog said 79 detained immigrants spent several minutes to nearly two hours enclosed in the cages. At least two of those were outdoors and didn’t have enough space for someone to lie down, the report published Monday states.

The Office of the Inspector General described the practice as unlike anything its inspectors had witnessed at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. Florida opened the center in July 2025.

“The use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment.” the report states. “Facility staff described the small metal enclosures as ‘calming areas’ for detainees to deescalate and have time alone. Staff further maintained that detainees asked to spend time in the small metal enclosures.”

The existence of the cages was described in an Amnesty International report in December, and The Washington Sun spoke that month with detainees who witnessed others being put in “the box.”

“The mosquitoes were huge. And if someone tells you they’ll put you in the cage, you immediately get scared,” Rogelio Enrique Bolufé Izquierdo, a Cuban national who has since been deported to Ecuador, told The Sun in December.

The outdoor metal cages were 4 feet 3 inches by 4 feet 3 inches and 7 feet 9 inches tall and their use presents “significant risks to detainee health and safety,” according to the DHS OIG report.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in June the closure of the detention center in the Everglades, nearly a year after it opened. The facility had prompted several lawsuits from environmental and immigration advocacy groups and the Miccosukee Tribe.

“The left-wing media wants to focus on a confinement area for violent criminal aliens who have proven they cannot remain peaceful while awaiting deportation,” Alex Lanfranconi, DeSantis’ communications director, said in a statement. “While it adheres to all federal standards for criminal confinement, we’d make it even smaller if we could.”

Hundreds of the detainees first detained at Alligator Alcatraz didn’t have any criminal charges in the U.S., according to a Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times investigation.

The OIG team inspected the lockup in January, finding that it didn’t comply with medical care, food service, personal hygiene and other standards, according to the report. For example, detainees were only allowed to shower three times a week. There was also an insect infestation in the shower facilities.

DHS skirted responsibility for the conditions at Alligator Alcatraz, responding in a letter to the watchdog that it didn’t have a contract with the state to manage the detention space.

“Even as to a facility where a state detains aliens under 287(g) authority, the state maintains authority over the day-to-day operations of that facility,” ICE acting director David Venturella and Brian Cavanaugh, the under secretary for management at DHS, wrote in a letter.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This story has been updated to include a statement from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office.

Donald Trump Jr.’s Wife Confirms Lavish Wedding Weekend Was Bankrolled by Russian Oligarch

Jenna Monnin — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:58:17 GMT

“Friendship doesn’t require a political motive. Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift,” Bettina Anderson, right, wrote on Instagram Monday. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

A Russian oligarch financed significant parts of Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding weekend in the Bahamas, his wife confirmed on social media Monday while attempting to brush off concerns about any conflicts of interest the arrangement raised.

“It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful,” Bettina Anderson posted on Instagram. “Friendship doesn’t require a political motive. Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift.”

Trump Jr. married Anderson, a Palm Beach socialite, during a lavish three-day affair at a pair of private islands, with guests put up in oceanfront villas.

But ProPublica reported early Monday morning that Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with documented ties to President Vladimir Putin, put hundreds of thousands of dollars toward the wedding weekend.

Kremlev rented out a private island, put on a firework show and even had his team help plan the festivities for the president’s son and now daughter in-law, according to the investigative publication.

Anderson asserted that the multiday celebration was “never intended” to be their wedding weekend, and they only decided to get married that Friday because their plans changed. It’s unclear why the distinction would alleviate the conflict of interest concerns raised by the arrangement with Kremlev.

President Donald Trump notably did not attend the festivities.

A spokesperson for Trump Jr. did not dispute the wedding payments in a statement to ProPublica, though they claimed that Kremlev is “not someone he [Trump Jr.] has a business relationship with.”

The intimate guest list of around 50 people included Trump Jr.’s brother-in-law Jared Kushner, his brother Eric Trump and a comparatively large group of Russian guests, whose presence perplexed the other attendees, ProPublica reported.

Despite the limited invite list, Eric Trump’s spokesperson told ProPublica he has absolutely “no clue who this person is, nor has never heard his name” when asked about Kremlev.

Trump Jr. had emphasized the private nature and small guest list for the weekend several times on his podcast, saying it was just “really close friends” and “if you’re on that list, you weren’t talking.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida), who has campaigned with Trump Jr. and appeared on his podcast, jumped to the couple’s defense on Monday, calling the reports “gross attacks.”

“To be clear, these attacks come only a few days after the attacks on @jaredkushner regarding the peace negotiations. The fact is that this administration is actively pursuing a peace deal with Russia and Ukraine, and there are MANY people who DON’T WANT this deal to happen. So, they are now resorting to attacking @POTUS’ children,” Luna wrote Monday on X.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-California), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, is demanding answers about potential conflicts of interest related to the wedding weekend. “Umar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the President’s son. What did he get in return? We need answers,” Garcia wrote on X.

Kremlev is the head of the once Russian-state financed International Boxing Association and was reportedly part of the delegation that accompanied Russian President Vladimir Putin to China just days before the wedding weekend — though a representative for Kremlev told Propublica that he was not a part of Putin’s "official delegation” on the trip.

Kremlev’s press office calls him a businessman and philanthropist and said he “has never discussed political matters with any of his American friends and acquaintances,” including the president’s son.

Kremlev is currently sanctioned by the Ukrainian government over his ties to Putin, specifically because he is “close friend of the head of Putin's security service.” Ukraine also called out Kremlev for his advocacy for Russian athletes who have been barred from international competitions and noted that he had received a medal by Putin’s decree in 2020 for “his great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports.”

The hundreds of thousands of dollars in wedding payments came from IB Challenger, an entity linked to the boxing association that Kremlev set up in Dubai as Europe became more hostile to Russian businesses.

When asked if Kremlev’s documented ties to Putin raised any concerns, the White House sent The Washington Sun the link to Anderson’s Instagram post.

“We are fortunate to have wonderful friends from all over the world, and we will never be embarrassed or apologetic about being grateful for them,” Anderson wrote in her Instagram post.