The State Department said Secretary Marco Rubio spoke on Wednesday, Oct. 14, with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed about heightened tensions with Eritrea. The readout says Rubio pressed for de-escalation, a return to the 2018 Ethiopia-Eritrea peace framework, respect for sovereignty, and no cross-border incursions. This is the department’s account of the call. It is not a new U.S. statute, and no Ethiopian or Eritrean statement was opened.
Anthropic said Wednesday that, in a random sample of 250,000 U.S. Claude.ai consumer conversations from Sept. 21 to Sept. 27, about 5.75 percent touched politics, public policy, or social issues. About 0.51 percent of all conversations were about elections or voting. About 0.01 percent asked whom or what to vote for. Those shares are Anthropic’s. Later this month, the company said, Claude.ai will show U.S. users voting information from Democracy Works and election-night results. A TurboVote banner was already on the product.
The White House said Katie Zacharia gave her first briefing on Tuesday as the 37th press secretary. She thanked the president for the job and called Karoline Leavitt her predecessor. She said the briefing room’s New Media Seat will stay and that the White House wants to expand it. She said more midterm travel is coming, and she named Georgia, Kentucky, and Florida. The page does not say when she was appointed, only that this was the first briefing.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday posted its order list and a separate one-page order. The one-page order denies a stay for Kyle Wagner in his case against the United States. The order list’s first entries send cases back to lower courts to reconsider them in light of recent decisions. The list is 14 pages. The fight over political-ad rates is not on either document. Those dockets still end with replies filed Oct. 11. Chief Justice Roberts’s pause in that fight remains. Argument in Salazar v. Paramount Global is this morning.
The White House said Tuesday that the president travels to Alaska. The post is a list of earlier decisions the administration says helped the state, from fisheries openings to veterans clinics and base construction. It does not say he signed a new order on the trip. The presidential-actions page shows nothing dated Oct. 13 or Oct. 14.
The United States and a group of partner governments condemned Iran on Monday over what their statement calls an attempted terrorist attack at Royal Air Force Fairford on Sept. 27. The statement says Britain has attributed Iranian involvement and has concluded that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is still willing to act abroad through covert networks and proxies. The State Department names 29 governments. Britain’s page of the statement names those and three more: Iceland, Italy, and Malta. The same day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband about keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and holding Iran to account.
The Federal Communications Commission and two Republican party committees filed reply briefs on Sunday in their effort to keep a pause on a federal appeals court order. That order would force the commission to decide, within a short window, whether party committees may buy TV and radio ads at the cheap rate the law guarantees candidates. Four Democratic candidates — Sherrod Brown, Jon Ossoff, Roy Cooper, and Kristen McDonald Rivet — had answered on Saturday asking that the pause be lifted. Chief Justice John Roberts imposed the pause on Oct. 8. As of Monday morning the justices had not ruled. The applications are No. 26A476 and No. 26A477.
The International Criminal Court, the world court in The Hague that tries people for war crimes, does not count the United States as a member. On Friday the Trump administration put the court itself on the Treasury Department's sanctions list. Until now the United States had sanctioned court officials, not the institution. Property of the court that is under U.S. control is frozen, and Americans generally cannot do business with it. Treasury issued four licenses that limit that for now. One lets the court keep operating, and lets member countries keep paying it, until April 7, 2027.
By law, a member of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors can be removed only for cause. In a memorandum dated Oct. 7 and posted later, President Trump created a three-member committee to look into allegations that Governor Lisa D. Cook made false statements on one or more mortgage documents. The committee is to say whether there is cause to remove her. The memo names the members by job title only: the president's top economic-policy adviser, the head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the director of the Office of Government Ethics. It orders Cook to appear at a closed, transcribed White House hearing on Nov. 5, no longer than four hours. The allegations are unproven.
Four Democratic candidates asked the Supreme Court on Saturday to let a federal appeals court's order stand. That order would force the Federal Communications Commission to rule on whether party committees may buy television and radio ads at the cheap rate the law guarantees candidates. Chief Justice John Roberts paused the order Thursday. In their filing, Sherrod Brown, Jon Ossoff, Roy Cooper, and Kristen McDonald Rivet say the commission has been stalling to keep the question out of court until after the Nov. 3 election. They say they are already facing a deluge of party ads bought at candidate rates. They want the pause lifted. As of Sunday morning the justices had not acted.
U.S. sanctions generally bar dealings in Russian oil products. On Friday the Treasury Department's sanctions office issued a license that makes an exception for diesel. It allows the sale, delivery, unloading, and importing of Russian-origin diesel, including into the United States, until April 7, 2027. Payments still cannot be drawn on U.S. accounts of Russia's central bank, its national wealth fund, or its finance ministry. Treasury published the license without a press release. It comes four days after President Trump signed
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Emergency Tax Relief on Diesel Fuel
The order President Trump signed Oct. 5, 2026. It lets drivers use untaxed red-dye diesel on highways from Oct. 5 through Dec. 31 and tells Treasury to put off the federal diesel tax on that fuel, without interest or penalties, if 26 U.S.C. § 7508A allows it. The tax is deferred, not erased. The order is now in the Federal Register as document 2026-20855, published Oct. 9, 2026. Treasury has not posted a § 7508A finding.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot a man in his car in the Marble Hill section of the Bronx on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 8. The Department of Homeland Security says officers boxed in Oscar Bengal, a man it describes as a Dominican national living in the United States illegally with a robbery conviction, and that he rammed two government vehicles and drove toward officers. It says officers fired and a bullet or fragment grazed his neck, and that he was treated and taken to a detention center outside New York. New York Attorney General Letitia James said a 5-year-old was in the back seat. She called for a full and transparent investigation. It happened Thursday afternoon and is here on Sunday because the pages this desk checks did not carry it until Friday.
During the pandemic, state unemployment offices buckled under a flood of claims. Congress set aside $2 billion in the
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American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
The 2021 pandemic relief law. Among much else, it set aside $2 billion to help states modernize unemployment systems, per New York's attorney general. The bill page was not opened.
to modernize them, New York's attorney general says, and the Labor Department handed out grants for new computer systems, identity checks, and fraud prevention. On May 22, 2025, the department canceled the grants with letters saying the projects no longer matched its priorities. On Friday, 12 state attorneys general and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania sued in the
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U.S. Court of Federal Claims
A federal court that hears money claims against the U.S. government, including contract disputes.
to get the money back. New York says it is owed $17 million. The states say the grant terms did not allow cancellation just because priorities changed. That is their claim. The complaint was not opened.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan added torture to the case against Nicolás Maduro, the former president of Venezuela, and his wife, Cilia Flores. A new indictment unsealed Thursday says that for more than two decades the couple sat atop a system that jailed and tortured opponents. The Justice Department says the methods included electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, starvation, and threats against victims' families. Some of the victims were U.S. citizens. The couple already faced drug, narcoterrorism, and weapons charges. The charges are accusations. Both are presumed innocent.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law. The committee said she has been instrumental in seeing that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide are prosecuted. Pillay grew up under apartheid in Durban, South Africa, and defended Nelson Mandela and others. She later served as a judge at the international tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court, and as the United Nations' top human rights official.
By law, television and radio stations must sell ads to candidates at their lowest rate in the weeks before an election. Whether party committees get that discount too has been in court all fall. Four Democratic candidates, Sherrod Brown, Jon Ossoff, Roy Cooper, and Kristen McDonald Rivet, say they do not. On Wednesday a divided federal appeals court ordered the Federal Communications Commission to decide by noon Friday. On Thursday the government asked the Supreme Court to step in, and Chief Justice John Roberts paused that order while the Court considers it. The candidates must respond by 5 p.m. Saturday.
The Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Thursday they had taken over web domains behind two hacking tools, Microscan and FishHub. Court papers say hackers working for Integrity Technology Group, a company based in China that has Chinese government contracts, used them. Microscan hunted for weak spots in networks. Its targets included a South Carolina power company, airports in Japan and Poland, Taiwanese gas and power companies, and two Taiwanese universities. FishHub used targeted phishing emails to plant malware. About 20 Taiwanese universities were confirmed victims. U.S. officials call the hackers Flax Typhoon. It is the second U.S. disruption of this company's operations in two years. No one is charged.
Iran ships oil abroad on a shadow fleet of aging tankers hidden behind front companies. On Thursday the Treasury Department sanctioned 17 more of those ships, and the companies behind them. The State Department added ten companies, six people, and five vessels. Treasury said the move effectively neutralizes the vast majority of what is left of the fleet. Sanctions block any of the targets' property under U.S. control and generally bar Americans from dealing with them. It is the latest step in a pressure campaign Treasury calls Operation Economic Outcast.
OpenAI said Thursday it banned ChatGPT accounts tied to two covert influence operations, one from Russia and one from Iran. The Iranian group, OpenAI says, used seven made-up journalist names to pitch articles about the U.S.-Iran war to small and medium news sites. OpenAI found almost 100 published articles under those names. The Russian group, OpenAI says, ran a Latin American research platform through a fake persona and hired local staff who did not know who they worked for. It also spread fake stories aimed at Ukraine and at leaders in Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador. OpenAI rates the Russian operation Category 5 on a six-point reach scale, the first that high it has disrupted.
Denver has a city law that, the Justice Department says, bars federal officers from wearing masks on duty and requires them to show identification in a set way. On Thursday the department sued the city and county, Mayor Michael C. Johnston, City Attorney Michiko Ando Brown, and Police Chief Ronald Thomas. It says the Constitution does not let cities regulate federal officers, and that the law exposes agents and their families to harassment and the posting of their private information. It is the latest in a string of similar suits. A lawsuit is the government's claim. Denver has not been heard in the sources opened here.
Federal prosecutors say an 18-year-old from Richfield, Minnesota, planned to shoot people at the Mall of America on Oct. 24, during a Hmong arts celebration. Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud was arrested Oct. 6, shortly after he paid about $600 cash to an undercover FBI employee for an AK-47, four magazines, and about 200 rounds. The FBI had made the rifle unable to fire. The complaint says he spent nearly two years messaging a confidential FBI source about joining a terror group in Somalia or attacking in Minnesota. He is charged with
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Receiving a firearm and ammunition to commit a federal crime of terrorism
A federal crime to receive a firearm or ammunition knowing it will be used to commit a federal crime of terrorism, per the Justice Department’s description of the Mall of America charge. The release cites no statute section.
Foreign graduates of American schools can often stay and work in their field for a year or more under Optional Practical Training, the program that lets F-1 students work in the subject they studied. The Department of Homeland Security now proposes charging $70,000 per student for the first stretch of that work permission, and $30,000 for each later one. Schools, not students, would pay before they recommend a student. Without the fee, immigration officials would not grant the work permit. It is a proposal. The public can comment, and the department can change it before anything becomes final.
For decades the Air Force has blown up old and waste munitions in the open on Tarague Beach at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. To keep doing it, the Air Force applied to Guam's environmental agency to renew a hazardous-waste permit. A local group, Prutehi Guahan, says the Air Force first had to do a full federal environmental review under the
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National Environmental Policy Act
This law requires federal agencies to study the environmental effects of major actions before they act.
The United States restricts how Americans invest in Chinese companies working on artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and chips. On Wednesday the Treasury Department disclosed its first penalty under those rules, the
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Outbound Investment Security Program
A Treasury program in effect since Jan. 2, 2025. Americans must notify Treasury of certain investments in China-linked companies working on quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and chips, and some such investments are banned. This description is from Treasury’s Oct. 7 penalty release. The rule text was not opened.
. It fined Amidi, LLC, the parent of the startup network Plug and Play Tech Center, $200,000. Amidi's Chinese fund put about $92,478 into Noematrix, a Shanghai robotics and artificial-intelligence company, in April 2025, and Amidi never told Treasury as required. The penalty itself was issued in July. Treasury said its routine monitoring caught the deal.
David J. Rush, 49, of Ashburn, Virginia, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a
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Scheme to defraud the federal government
Federal law makes it a crime to run a scheme to cheat the U.S. government out of money or property. This charge carries up to 20 years in prison, according to the Justice Department. The Rush release cites no statute section.
of about $194 million. Court documents say he held a senior executive-level job at a federal agency and a top-secret clearance, and that he got there in part by lying about his education and military experience. Prosecutors say he invented programs that did not exist, including a fake
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Special Access Program
A Special Access Program is a real category of extra-secret government project with tighter access rules. David J. Rush admitted inventing one. It is not itself a criminal statute.
, and used them to pull in federal money. He bought gold bars and wired about $145 million toward luxury real estate, watches, and at least one car. When the FBI searched his home on May 19, agents found 298 gold bars, about $2.1 million in cash, and stacks of watches. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the agency’s own internal investigation spotted possible crimes and sent the case to the FBI.
Intel employees say their retirement-plan managers put too much money into hedge funds and private equity, and that the plan lagged the market. On Tuesday the Supreme Court took up what such workers have to show before a lawsuit can go forward. The lower court said they must point to a “meaningful benchmark,” a truly similar fund that did better. Several justices asked whether the Court should just say yes to that and stop. Justice Barrett said it seemed the workers’ lawyer was agreeing that a meaningful-benchmark standard is appropriate. Justice Kagan asked why the Court would not say what “meaningful” means. The federal government argued on Intel’s side.
Editor’s note: New York announced this on Oct. 5, and Tuesday’s edition missed it. Sixteen states and Pennsylvania’s governor are on a federal lawsuit against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over January’s change to the childhood vaccine schedule. New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday that her state had joined. The states say the change skipped the expert review and public comment the law requires. They want a judge to throw out the new schedule. The case is not new. The caption says it was filed Feb. 24, 2026.
Off-road diesel is dyed red and sold without the highway tax, for tractors, bulldozers, and furnaces. Burning it on a public road normally means the tax plus a fine. On Monday night President Trump signed an order,
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Emergency Tax Relief on Diesel Fuel
The order President Trump signed Oct. 5, 2026. It lets drivers use untaxed red-dye diesel on highways from Oct. 5 through Dec. 31 and tells Treasury to put off the federal diesel tax on that fuel, without interest or penalties, if 26 U.S.C. § 7508A allows it. The tax is deferred, not erased. The order is now in the Federal Register as document 2026-20855, published Oct. 9, 2026. Treasury has not posted a § 7508A finding.
, that tells the Treasury Department to stop that for now. If Treasury finds it has the power under
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26 U.S.C. § 7508A
Lets the Treasury secretary push back tax deadlines for up to a year after a federally declared disaster, a significant fire, or a terroristic or military action. The diesel order leans on this section, so Treasury must first decide that such an event occurred.
, drivers who use red diesel on the highway from Oct. 5 through Dec. 31 can put off the federal tax, with no interest and no penalties. The tax is delayed, not wiped away.
Eight justices spent the first argument of the term on whether Boulder, Colorado, can use state law to make Suncor and Exxon Mobil pay for climate damage. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said four past rulings, as he reads them, make it “crystal-clear” that air and water pollution crossing state lines is a matter for federal law. Justice Elena Kagan asked why the companies led with broad theories instead of the
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Clean Air Act
The main federal law on air pollution. It lets the Environmental Protection Agency set national limits on pollutants. In the Boulder climate case, the Colorado court said that once Congress passed this law, state law could still reach emissions from other states.
. Chief Justice John Roberts asked what happens if cities copy the suit. Justice Samuel Alito did not take part. The veterans’ case that followed turned on whether
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Veterans' Judicial Review Act (38 U.S.C. § 511)
A 1988 law that opened a special court path for some veterans’ benefit decisions. It keeps a rule that the VA secretary’s decisions on benefits cannot be reviewed by other courts outside that path. The public-law number was not re-checked, so it is left off.
The justices’ first order list of the term, posted Monday at 9:30 a.m., added no new cases for a full argument. It wiped out several lower-court rulings and told those courts to try again in light of decisions from this year. One was the government’s appeal in a
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Temporary Protected Status (8 U.S.C. § 1254a)
Lets the homeland security secretary allow people from countries hit by war or disaster to stay and work in the United States for a set time. The statute bars courts from reviewing many of those decisions.
Lets the homeland security secretary allow people from countries hit by war or disaster to stay and work in the United States for a set time. The statute bars courts from reviewing many of those decisions.
. Two others were suits against Washington’s top election official, sent back in light of a
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Voting Rights Act
The main federal law that bars racial discrimination in voting. Section 2, 52 U.S.C. § 10301, bans voting rules and district maps that deny or weaken any citizen’s vote because of race. The Court’s summary of Louisiana v. Callais says that section did not require Louisiana’s extra majority-minority district.
Federal agents arrested Wanying Zhang, 34, also known as Heather Zhang, of Irvine, California, on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport, before a planned flight to China. A criminal complaint charges her with acting in the United States as an
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Unregistered agent of a foreign government
Federal law makes it a crime to secretly work in the United States for a foreign government without first telling the Attorney General. The charging release in the Zhang case cites no statute section.
of the Chinese government. Prosecutors say Chinese officials tasked her in June 2025 to watch relatives of a high-ranking Taiwanese official who live in the Pacific Northwest. They say she flew there that September, watched the family’s home, and messaged a Chinese official: “Saw him, young male, it’s the young one.” She faces up to 10 years if convicted. The charge is an allegation. She is presumed innocent.
Federal prosecutors charged 16 lawful permanent residents, people with green cards who are not citizens, with voting in a federal election or with falsely claiming citizenship in order to register. Ten cases are in Minnesota, three in Louisiana, two in Florida, and one in Wisconsin. The release calls the offenses
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Voting by an alien in a federal election
Federal law makes it a crime for a non-citizen to vote in a federal election, and a crime to falsely claim citizenship in order to register or vote. The charging release does not cite a statute section.
The Justice Department said Monday it filed 40 civil lawsuits between Aug. 21 and Oct. 2 to cancel the citizenship of naturalized Americans. It says each person lied or hid a crime or a false identity to become a citizen. The tool is
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8 U.S.C. § 1451
Lets the government file a civil suit to revoke citizenship that was illegally procured, or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation. It is a civil case, not a new criminal charge.
, a civil suit in federal court, not a new criminal charge. Judges still have to rule on each case. Attorney General Todd Blanche called the batch “the largest denaturalization effort in modern history.” That is the department’s claim.
Treasury took 125 people and companies off its sanctions lists on Monday, the third cleanup since Secretary Scott Bessent started a modernization drive in May. It says many were dead, were companies that had closed, or were entries too thin to screen against. The same day, the Office of Foreign Assets Control warned foreign banks that keep doing business with sanctioned Iranian banks. Under
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Executive Order 13902 — Imposing Sanctions With Respect to Additional Sectors of Iran
Lets Treasury block property of people who operate in named Iranian economy sectors and can hit foreign banks that do significant business with those sectors.
Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations (31 C.F.R. Part 561)
Treasury rules that let the department restrict or ban U.S. correspondent accounts and payable-through accounts held for foreign banks that knowingly help Iran.
Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations (31 C.F.R. Part 561)
Treasury rules that let the department restrict or ban U.S. correspondent accounts and payable-through accounts held for foreign banks that knowingly help Iran.
The justices return to the bench at 10 a.m. Eastern. The first case asks whether Boulder, Colorado, and Boulder County can use state law to sue Suncor Energy and Exxon Mobil for harm from climate change. Justice Samuel Alito will not take part. On Sept. 28 the Court’s clerk wrote the lawyers to say so, and the docket gives no reason. The second argument is from a Florida veteran. He asks whether federal trial courts can still hear a constitutional challenge to a law that caps disability pay for veterans in prison for a felony.
On Tuesday the Supreme Court hears Intel employees who say the managers of their retirement plan picked investments that underperformed. The question is what those workers must claim to get past the first stage of the case. Must they point to a “meaningful benchmark,” a comparable fund that did better?
On Thursday, Oct. 1, the Supreme Court took three new cases. The biggest is an appeal by the federal government. It asks whether federal law requires immigration officers to detain people who live in the country but were never legally admitted, for as long as their deportation cases last. The other two cases involve a Kentucky church group’s building plans and a North Dakota divorce over a veteran’s retirement pay. The Court has not set argument dates.
In Kyoto on Sunday, the United States and 16 other countries endorsed a joint declaration, the
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Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science
A joint declaration the United States and 16 other countries endorsed on Oct. 4, 2026, at the Science and Technology in Society Forum in Kyoto. The White House says it calls for new ways to fund labs, wider use of super intelligence in research, and more training.
. Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, led the American side at the Science and Technology in Society Forum.
The State Department said Saturday that rising tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea could spill across the Horn of Africa. Spokesman Thomas “Tommy” Pigott urged both governments to respect their neighbors’ borders, hold back, and return to the talks they agreed in their
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2018 Ethiopia–Eritrea peace framework
The agreement the State Department cited on Oct. 3, 2026, when it urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to return to dialogue and cooperation. The statement calls it their 2018 peace framework and does not reprint the text.
The White House said Friday that Medicare will send a one-time payment of $90 to more than 20 million people, to help with Part B premiums. The money is to come from the
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Medicare Improvement Fund
The Medicare account the Oct. 2, 2026, White House fact sheet says will pay a one-time $90 to more than 20 million Part B enrollees. The sheet says Congress established the fund in 2008, put $2 billion in it for fee-for-service improvements, and had not used it before.
. Most people who qualify are supposed to see a direct deposit in early October. People whose premiums Medicaid already pays, and people who pay an extra charge based on income, are left out.
The United States and Japan signed a protocol in Tokyo on Friday that keeps their science and technology agreement going with no end date, and amends it. Michael Kratsios signed for the United States. Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu signed for Japan. The agreement itself dates to 1988.
The joint U.S.-Ukrainian investment fund Treasury says was created under an agreement Secretary Scott Bessent and Prime Minister Svyrydenko signed in April 2025. On Oct. 2, 2026, its board approved further minerals and energy investments.
on Friday approved another round of deals in minerals and energy. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the votes keep moving an agreement he and Prime Minister Svyrydenko signed in April 2025. The release names the projects and does not state a dollar size for the new round.
On Oct. 1, 2026, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control opened Operation Economic Outcast against Iran’s automotive and rail sectors. The release says: “OFAC is issuing two additional sectoral sanctions determinations pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13902 targeting Iran’s automotive and rail sectors.” The
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Oct. 1, 2026 OFAC automotive and rail determination
Adds Iran’s automotive and rail sectors to Executive Order 13902 coverage starting Oct. 1, 2026.
Executive Order 13902 — Imposing Sanctions With Respect to Additional Sectors of Iran
Lets Treasury block property of people who operate in named Iranian economy sectors and can hit foreign banks that do significant business with those sectors.
starting that day. Designated targets include Iran Khodro, SAIPA, rail firms, metals and mining targets, and foreign suppliers. Property of the designated persons is blocked for U.S. persons.
On Oct. 1, 2026, the White House Council of Economic Advisers posted “The Real Cost of Socialism in America.” The analysis scores seven federally scoreable pillars. It puts the net fiscal burden above $49 trillion from 2027 through 2036, about $355,000 per household. It says Medicare for All is the largest piece. This is a White House analysis. It is not an independent Congressional Budget Office score.
On Oct. 1, 2026, the State Department posted a joint statement from Shield of the Americas partners. The statement supports Bolivia’s efforts against corruption and drug trafficking.
The Justice Department sued the State of Maryland, Attorney General Brown, the police standards commission, and Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties. The suit challenges rules on masks and identification for federal officers. It is the eighth such state case. The statutes named are
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Maryland Public Safety § 3-207
A Maryland public-safety provision the Justice Department says restricts federal officers’ masks or identification. The lawsuit’s merits are not decided.
A Maryland public-safety provision the Justice Department says restricts federal officers’ masks or identification. The lawsuit’s merits are not decided.
A Maryland public-safety provision the Justice Department says restricts federal officers’ masks or identification. The lawsuit’s merits are not decided.
A Prince George’s County code section the Justice Department says restricts federal officers’ masks or identification. The lawsuit’s merits are not decided.
A Montgomery County code section the Justice Department says restricts federal officers’ masks or identification. The lawsuit’s merits are not decided.
Treasury posted a readout of Secretary Scott Bessent’s Oct. 1 meeting with Iraq’s foreign minister, Fuad Hussein. The desk notes do not carry what the two said.
On Sept. 30, 2026, the White House said the President signed
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Kay Hagan Tick Reauthorization Act (S. 2398)
Extends through fiscal year 2030 CDC programs that fight diseases carried by ticks and mosquitoes, including a national strategy, regional research centers, and support for state, local, and tribal health departments.
Extends through fiscal year 2030 CDC programs that fight diseases carried by ticks and mosquitoes, including a national strategy, regional research centers, and support for state, local, and tribal health departments.
On Sept. 30, 2026, the Justice Department said it filed a judicial-misconduct complaint against Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz, Judge John R. Tunheim, and other anonymous District of Minnesota judges who spoke to the New York Times about immigration cases. The department asks that they recuse from Department of Homeland Security matters and wants an Eighth Circuit investigation. The filing states the department’s claims. The complaint’s outcome is unknown.
On Sept. 29, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Inaugurating The Era Of Super Intelligence.” It says that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, executive departments and agencies shall use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” in place of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports, policy documents, and other non-statutory documents. Old regulations, contracts, and historical documents do not have to be rewritten. For now, Super Intelligence means the same technologies covered by the statutory definition of artificial intelligence in
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15 U.S.C. §9401(3)
The existing federal statute definition of “artificial intelligence” that the Sept. 29, 2026 terminology order uses as the temporary meaning of Super Intelligence until a new definition is set.
. Within 60 days, the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology must propose legislative language for a federal definition of Super Intelligence. This is a terminology order. It is separate from the Sept. 25 U.S.–China Super Intelligence Dialogue fact sheet already covered.
On Sept. 29, 2026, President Trump signed an order directing the General Services Administration to establish America.gov as a unified digital front door for major federal services, with Login.gov as the sign-in path. Covered services are public-facing services that serve more than 100,000 users in a 12-month period and can be used online. Tax filing at the Internal Revenue Service, Department of War services, and Intelligence Community services are excluded. The Office of Management and Budget has 90 days to issue an implementation memo. Phone, mail, in-person, and agency-specific sites stay available. America.gov is meant to be a better option, not the only one.
On Sept. 29, 2026, Treasury’s Operation Economic Outcast sanctioned 10 individuals and entities that it says helped Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics buy weapons and parts across several countries. The State Department said it is sanctioning eight entities and five individuals tied to Iran’s arms and proliferation efforts under restored United Nations restrictions, including Russian and Iranian firms named on its fact sheet, and advertised a Rewards for Justice offer of up to $15 million for information that disrupts Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps financial networks. State’s action cites
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Executive Order 13949
A U.S. sanctions authority aimed at certain people involved in Iran’s conventional arms activities.
A U.S. sanctions authority aimed at proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters. Treasury cites it for the Economic Outcast designations.
On Sept. 29, 2026, the Supreme Court granted a stay in Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D. and treated the stay application as a petition for certiorari, which it also granted. The Court put on hold a Feb. 25, 2026 order and judgment from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (case No. 1:25-cv-10676) while the case proceeds. The justices directed briefing on whether the district court had jurisdiction, whether it could issue classwide declaratory relief and
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Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. § 704)
People can sue over a government agency’s final actions. They generally cannot sue yet over a step that is still preliminary.
, and whether the government’s guidance on third-country removals is unlawful under
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8 U.S.C. §1231(b)
The statute that sets rules for where the government may remove a noncitizen, including in some cases to a country other than the person’s home country.
, the Due Process Clause, or the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act and Convention Against Torture framework. Argument is aimed at the December 2026 sitting. Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson would have denied the stay.
On Sept. 28, 2026, State Department spokesman Thomas “Tommy” Pigott announced a new visa-restriction policy aimed at foreign nationals — and their immediate family — who undermine democratically elected governments through corruption or narcotrafficking. The department said it is using
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Immigration and Nationality Act §212(a)(3)(C)
Lets the Secretary of State keep someone out of the United States when entry would seriously hurt U.S. foreign-policy interests, including by denying or revoking visas.
. Immediate steps named include visa revocations and ineligibility findings for officials in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, plus a public
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Section 7031(c), National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026
Requires designation of foreign officials, and often their families, when there is credible information of significant corruption or a gross human-rights abuse. Those designations generally bar U.S. entry.
designation of Bolivia’s Attorney General Roger Mariaca for significant corruption. A separate same-day State release announced a visa policy targeting people who impede the return of abducted American children in international parental child abduction cases, also under
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Immigration and Nationality Act §212(a)(3)(C)
Lets the Secretary of State keep someone out of the United States when entry would seriously hurt U.S. foreign-policy interests, including by denying or revoking visas.
Late Sunday night, Sept. 27, 2026, the White House posted working procedures for a U.S.–China Board of Trade and terms for a “30-for-30” framework. The two sides will consider reciprocal lower tariffs on mutually agreed import lists valued at about $30 billion each way, measured with 2024 trade figures. U.S. principals named are Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer; China’s principal is Vice Premier He Lifeng. Attached lists name Chinese goods for possible U.S. import relief (77 Harmonized Tariff Schedule lines, including fireworks, plastic tableware, textiles and linens, and household appliances) and a China-side import list of U.S. goods (1,619 Harmonized System rows in the posted PDF, opening with livestock and meat). Cuts are not automatic — they still have to clear each country’s own legal process. This is the first concrete post-visit paperwork on the reciprocal tariff dialogue after Friday’s Trump–Xi state visit; it is not a rehash of that visit alone.
On Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, the White House said President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump finished a state visit with China’s President Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan — the first Chinese presidential visit to the White House in more than a decade, and the first time a Chinese leader made two formal U.S. state visits. A same-day fact sheet said the two sides’ Board of Trade reached consensus on recommendations for more favorable tariff treatment on $30 billion of non-sensitive goods each way; China would import at least 10 million metric tons of U.S. coal in 2027 and again in 2028; and the countries set up a U.S.–China Super Intelligence dialogue plus an incident channel. The United States welcomed China’s scheduling of orphines and noted new Chinese export controls on two fentanyl precursor chemicals.
On Sept. 25, 2026, a White House fact sheet on the China state visit said the two leaders agreed to use the term “super intelligence” rather than “artificial intelligence” for applicable emerging technologies, established a U.S.–China Super Intelligence dialogue on risks and benefits with the next exchange by November 2026, and agreed to a bilateral communication channel for Super Intelligence incidents. This is a government diplomacy item, not a lab model launch.
On Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, the Supreme Court granted a stay so Missouri must keep using its 2022 U.S. House map for the 2026 election, not the 2025 map. The Court blocked lower-court orders that would have required the 2025 map. The Court’s unsigned opinion said Missouri state law keeps the 2025 map from taking effect until voters approve it in a referendum, and that changing maps mid-election would cause chaos.
Also Friday, the Supreme Court granted the government’s request to pause a D.C. federal district court order that had wiped out changes to
Legal instrument
SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements)
A long-standing federal tool that lets agencies check a noncitizen’s immigration status for benefits. The Supreme Court’s Sept. 25, 2026 opinion says 2025 modifications added Social Security data matches and bulk queries.
the Department of Homeland Security uses to check citizenship and immigration status, including for voter checks. The stay lasts through the appeal and any timely petition for review. Justices Jackson, Sotomayor, and Kagan dissented. The modified program, tied to a March 2025 executive order, lets agencies run bulk checks that pull Social Security records.
NASA said the Republic of San Marino became the 76th country to sign
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Artemis Accords
A non-binding set of principles, started by NASA and the State Department with founding partners in 2020, that commits signatory countries to peaceful, transparent, and cooperative civil space exploration and to sharing scientific data. San Marino became the 76th signatory on Sept. 25, 2026, in Rimini.
on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Rimini. NASA and the State Department took part.
Legal instrument
Artemis Accords
A non-binding set of principles, started by NASA and the State Department with founding partners in 2020, that commits signatory countries to peaceful, transparent, and cooperative civil space exploration and to sharing scientific data. San Marino became the 76th signatory on Sept. 25, 2026, in Rimini.
On Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, the President signed six bills. Most are narrow: yearly hydropower-licensing reports from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to Congress; money for the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System; a path for certain Miami Tribe of Oklahoma land claims in the
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U.S. Court of Federal Claims
A federal court that hears money claims against the U.S. government, including contract disputes.
; the General George C. Marshall House in Virginia as an affiliated area of the National Park System; a public website of ocean areas with fishing or boating limits; and a new name for a trails center in Casper, Wyoming.
On Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, the Federal Reserve Board asked for public comment on two proposals for Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers under the
Legal instrument
GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act), Public Law 119-27
Federal law that sets who may issue payment stablecoins and requires permitted issuers to keep reserves that match coins outstanding, using cash, short-term Treasuries, and similar high-quality assets. The Fed’s Sept. 24, 2026 proposals would implement parts of that framework for Board-supervised issuers.
. One would require those issuers to fully back coins with permitted reserve assets such as short-term Treasury bills and other high-quality liquid assets. The other would set a tailored application process for Board-supervised banks that want to issue payment stablecoins. Comments close 60 days after Federal Register publication.
On Sept. 24, 2026, the White House said President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump would welcome China’s President Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan for a State Dinner in the East Room that evening. The First Lady’s office posted menu, entertainment, and décor details. A separate White House statement said Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan visited the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art the same day. No joint bilateral readout was located on the White House news hub in the desk pass.
On Sept. 24, 2026, Sens. Mark R. Warner, Brian Schatz, and Andy Kim introduced the
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Artificial Intelligence Risk Management and Security Act of 2026
Senate bill introduced Sept. 24, 2026, that would create a Commerce Department Artificial Intelligence Safety Board, require advanced AI developers to share models with the Board at least 45 days before public release and follow Model Safety Plans, and set civil penalties and incident-reporting rules. The PDF number line reads “S. ll.”
. The bill would create an Artificial Intelligence Safety Board in the Commerce Department, require frontier developers to give the Board model access at least 45 days before public release, and set Model Safety Plans, incident reporting, and civil penalties. The Senate bill number was not filled in on the PDF (“S. ll”).
On Sept. 24, 2026, the Justice Department announced $25 million in competitive grants under a program it calls Assisting Neighborhoods and Governments with Enforcement of Laws, or ANGEL. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced it at a summit on victims of violent crime. The department said state, local, and tribal agencies can use the money for listed purposes that include finding noncitizens who have committed crimes, trafficking cases, and related court, detention, and transport work. The department tied the money to the
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One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Public Law 119-21
A statute that sets up grant money for states and localities. The Justice Department says ANGEL awards must be used for listed purposes such as finding and arresting noncitizens who also committed other crimes, trafficking cases, related court work, short-term detention, and transport. The department cites the BIDEN Reimbursement Fund at 34 U.S.C. § 61101.
A statute that sets up grant money for states and localities. The Justice Department says ANGEL awards must be used for listed purposes such as finding and arresting noncitizens who also committed other crimes, trafficking cases, related court work, short-term detention, and transport. The department cites the BIDEN Reimbursement Fund at 34 U.S.C. § 61101.
On Sept. 23, 2026, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States will restrict visas for owners, operators, visa coaches, and foreign medical providers who knowingly sell or enable commercial birth tourism — traveling to the United States to give birth so the child gets U.S. citizenship. He cited
Legal instrument
Immigration and Nationality Act §212(a)(3)(C)
Lets the Secretary of State keep someone out of the United States when entry would seriously hurt U.S. foreign-policy interests, including by denying or revoking visas.
On Sept. 23, 2026, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The State Department readout says they discussed the Russia-Ukraine war and the U.S.-Russia relationship. The note does not add an outcome beyond that paragraph.
On Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in New York, the United States, the Kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland signed an agreement amending and supplementing the April 27,
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1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement as amended and supplemented Sept. 22, 2026
A NATO-linked defense pact that updates U.S. basing and access in Greenland, allows new Defense Areas by agreement, bars non-NATO military bases unless the parties agree, and screens sensitive non-allied investment. It has no end date and needs Danish and Greenlandic parliamentary steps before it takes effect.
. The text lets the United States modernize and expand work at Pituffik Space Base and add Defense Areas at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig under modalities the parties agree. It bars any state outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from establishing manned or unmanned military installations or a persistent military presence in Greenland unless the parties agree. It also screens control or sensitive access by investors from outside NATO, NATO partners, and the European Union in particularly sensitive sectors. The deal has no end date and enters into force after Danish and Greenlandic parliamentary procedures and a diplomatic note to the United States. A White House release framed the signing with President Trump and Danish and Greenlandic leaders.
On Sept. 21, 2026, the State Department said it is taking steps to impose visa restrictions on 32 individuals responsible for or complicit in defrauding Americans through cybercrime and related activity. Most of those targeted, the statement says, are affiliated with the Prince Group, a transnational criminal organization already hit by earlier U.S. sanctions. The department says valid visas for those named have been revoked. It cites
Legal instrument
Immigration and Nationality Act §212(a)(3)(C)
Lets the Secretary of State keep someone out of the United States when entry would seriously hurt U.S. foreign-policy interests, including by denying or revoking visas.
, which lets the Secretary of State keep someone out when entry would seriously hurt U.S. foreign-policy interests. The department says Southeast Asian scam networks like Prince Group defrauded Americans of at least $18.2 billion in 2025. It notes Treasury sanctioned 146 Prince Group members and affiliates in October 2025 and 35 more in June 2026. The statement does not name the 32 people.
The White House proclamation that extends the September 2025
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Proclamation — Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers (Sept. 18, 2026)
Extends the 2025 H-1B entry restriction for another year so most H-1B specialty workers outside the United States need a $100,000 payment with the petition, with limited national-interest exceptions, starting Sept. 21, 2026.
took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. For the next 12 months — through Sept. 21, 2027, unless extended again — entry of certain H-1B specialty-occupation workers from outside the United States is restricted unless the petition is accompanied or supplemented by a $100,000 payment. The Homeland Security secretary can grant limited national-interest exceptions. The proclamation says the prior fee has been paid on more than 700 petitions and that large information-technology staffing firms cut combined H-1B registrations from 24,946 to 2,055 — a 92 percent drop. A companion Sept. 18 integrity executive order,
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Executive Order — Enhancing Program Integrity and Interagency Coordination in the Administration of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Program (Sept. 18, 2026)
A presidential order that steers State, Labor, and Homeland Security to check H-1B filings more tightly with other agencies and to factor employer layoffs of similar U.S. workers into petition and visa decisions.
President Trump signed two H-1B actions on Friday. An executive order tells the State, Labor, and Homeland Security departments to coordinate with Commerce, Education, and the Small Business Administration when they handle H-1B petitions, labor paperwork, and visas, and to weigh whether the sponsoring employer laid off similar U.S. workers in the past year or plans to. A separate proclamation extends the September 2025 restriction on entry of certain H-1B workers for another 12 months. Under that rule, most H-1B specialty workers outside the United States need a $100,000 payment with the petition, with limited national-interest exceptions. The new window starts at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on Sept. 21, 2026, and runs through Sept. 21, 2027, unless extended again. The proclamation says the prior fee has been paid on more than 700 petitions and that large information-technology staffing firms cut combined H-1B registrations from 24,946 to 2,055 — a 92 percent drop.
H.R. 5334 — Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026
A new statute that expands Russia-related sanctions, tariffs, and investment and energy limits, and extends the Iran Sanctions Act sunset from 2026 to 2031. It also lets early-childhood educators claim the teacher expense deduction.
H.R. 5334 — Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026
A new statute that expands Russia-related sanctions, tariffs, and investment and energy limits, and extends the Iran Sanctions Act sunset from 2026 to 2031. It also lets early-childhood educators claim the teacher expense deduction.
, on Friday. The White House says the law authorizes and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran. The enrolled text extends the
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Iran Sanctions Act of 1996
A 1996 law that authorizes U.S. sanctions on Iran. The enrolled text of H.R. 5334, signed Sept. 18, 2026, extends its sunset from 2026 to 2031.
President Trump signed two executive orders on Wednesday. The hunting order directs the Interior Department to allow hunting of animals not listed under the Endangered Species Act inside Castle Mountains National Monument and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve within 90 days. It also tells War, Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce to propose broader public-land hunting access within 180 days, generally allowing hunting unless a local closure is justified, except in national parks. The saltwater-angling order tells the Commerce Department’s ocean agency to review recreational fishing rules under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, modernize catch data (including mobile apps and possible phase-down of mail surveys), ease boating and permit burdens, and start a federal Outer Continental Shelf “reef-in-place” program for retired oil and gas platforms. Separately, the White House withdrew five pending Senate nominations the same day.
The Senate spent Wednesday on the motion to proceed to
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S. 4668 — Protect College Sports Act of 2026
A Senate bill that would set federal rules for college athletes’ name, image, or likeness agreements and give schools and conferences a limited antitrust exemption to pool and sell certain college sports media rights. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says athletes must report NIL compensation over $600 to their schools. As of the White House push on Sept. 28, 2026, S. 4668 is pending. It is not law.
A Senate bill that would set federal rules for college athletes’ name, image, or likeness agreements and give schools and conferences a limited antitrust exemption to pool and sell certain college sports media rights. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says athletes must report NIL compensation over $600 to their schools. As of the White House push on Sept. 28, 2026, S. 4668 is pending. It is not law.
, after Tuesday’s 74–24 cloture vote. The Daily Press Gallery’s Wednesday wrap says the chamber adjourned until 10 a.m. Thursday and will resume post-cloture consideration of that motion, with two votes at 11:45 a.m. and one at 1:45 p.m. Eastern. Wednesday’s floor also passed
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H.R. 7250 — Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System reauthorization
Signed into law on Sept. 25, 2026. It reauthorizes money for the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System, including, through fiscal year 2028, planning, design, and construction of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System and the Dry Prairie Rural Water System in Montana.
H.R. 7250 — Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System reauthorization
Signed into law on Sept. 25, 2026. It reauthorizes money for the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System, including, through fiscal year 2028, planning, design, and construction of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System and the Dry Prairie Rural Water System in Montana.
Signed into law on Sept. 25, 2026. It makes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission send Congress a yearly report on hydropower license applications still waiting.
Signed into law on Sept. 25, 2026. It makes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission send Congress a yearly report on hydropower license applications still waiting.
, by unanimous consent. Congress.gov’s summary for
Legal instrument
S. 4668 — Protect College Sports Act of 2026
A Senate bill that would set federal rules for college athletes’ name, image, or likeness agreements and give schools and conferences a limited antitrust exemption to pool and sell certain college sports media rights. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says athletes must report NIL compensation over $600 to their schools. As of the White House push on Sept. 28, 2026, S. 4668 is pending. It is not law.
, from the desk record, says the bill sets rules for college athletes’ name, image, or likeness deals and gives schools and conferences a limited antitrust exemption to pool and sell certain media rights. Whether the Senate actually proceeds to the bill text depends on today’s votes.
The Senate refused Tuesday to open debate on a House-passed digital-asset bill. On a 49–50 vote at about 2:19 p.m., senators rejected cloture on the motion to proceed to
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H.R. 3633 — Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act)
A House-passed bill that would set federal rules for trading digital commodities and divide oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says it establishes a regulatory framework for digital commodities.
H.R. 3633 — Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act)
A House-passed bill that would set federal rules for trading digital commodities and divide oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says it establishes a regulatory framework for digital commodities.
. Sixty votes were required. One senator did not vote. The bill does not move to full floor debate on this vote. Senator Thom Tillis then moved to reconsider, leaving open the chance of another try later. Congress.gov’s summary says the
Legal instrument
H.R. 3633 — Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act)
A House-passed bill that would set federal rules for trading digital commodities and divide oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says it establishes a regulatory framework for digital commodities.
would set federal rules for digital commodities and split oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Senate measure title on the roll-call record also notes limits on certain Federal Reserve retail products and on using a central bank digital currency for monetary policy.
Later Tuesday, the Senate invoked cloture on the motion to proceed to
Legal instrument
S. 4668 — Protect College Sports Act of 2026
A Senate bill that would set federal rules for college athletes’ name, image, or likeness agreements and give schools and conferences a limited antitrust exemption to pool and sell certain college sports media rights. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says athletes must report NIL compensation over $600 to their schools. As of the White House push on Sept. 28, 2026, S. 4668 is pending. It is not law.
A Senate bill that would set federal rules for college athletes’ name, image, or likeness agreements and give schools and conferences a limited antitrust exemption to pool and sell certain college sports media rights. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says athletes must report NIL compensation over $600 to their schools. As of the White House push on Sept. 28, 2026, S. 4668 is pending. It is not law.
, by 74–24. That clears the procedural bar to keep debating whether to take up the bill. The Senate adjourned until 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, and will resume consideration of the motion to proceed post-cloture. Votes are possible. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says the bill sets rules for name, image, or likeness deals for college athletes and gives schools and conferences a limited antitrust exemption to pool and sell certain media rights.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a new visa-restriction policy on Sept. 15. It uses
Legal instrument
Immigration and Nationality Act §212(a)(3)(C)
Lets the Secretary of State keep someone out of the United States when entry would seriously hurt U.S. foreign-policy interests, including by denying or revoking visas.
to bar foreign nationals the State Department says are responsible for, or complicit in, laws or policies that enable uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination, or incitement of imminent violence against minority groups in South Africa. Certain family members may also be covered. The announcement cites President Trump’s
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Executive Order 14204 — Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa
A presidential order the State Department cites as the policy backdrop for U.S. concern over discrimination and threats of land expropriation without compensation in South Africa.
on South Africa. Rubio said the United States remains concerned about discrimination and land-expropriation threats and urged the South African government to address them. The statement does not name specific people who are barred.
The Senate’s Monday night wrap says a cloture vote ripens this afternoon. At 2:15 p.m. on Sept. 15, the cloture motion on the motion to proceed to
Legal instrument
H.R. 3633 — Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act)
A House-passed bill that would set federal rules for trading digital commodities and divide oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says it establishes a regulatory framework for digital commodities.
is scheduled to ripen. The House-passed bill is the
Legal instrument
H.R. 3633 — Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act)
A House-passed bill that would set federal rules for trading digital commodities and divide oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says it establishes a regulatory framework for digital commodities.
. Congress.gov describes it as creating a framework for digital commodities and splitting oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The cloture motion was presented in the Senate on Aug. 8, 2026. Tuesday is when that vote is scheduled to mature — not when the bill becomes law.
The Senate calendar for Monday says a cloture vote ripens Tuesday afternoon. At 2:15 p.m. on Sept. 15, the cloture motion on the motion to proceed to
Legal instrument
H.R. 3633 — Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act)
A House-passed bill that would set federal rules for trading digital commodities and divide oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says it establishes a regulatory framework for digital commodities.
is scheduled to ripen. The House-passed bill is the
Legal instrument
H.R. 3633 — Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act)
A House-passed bill that would set federal rules for trading digital commodities and divide oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Congress.gov’s CRS summary says it establishes a regulatory framework for digital commodities.
. Congress.gov describes it as creating a framework for digital commodities and splitting oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The House passed the bill 294–134. The cloture motion was presented in the Senate on Aug. 8, 2026. Tuesday is when that vote is scheduled to mature — not when the bill becomes law.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau toured Pacific partners after the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau. A Sept. 11 State Department media note says he met Federated States of Micronesia President Wesley Simina and surveyed Typhoon Sinlaku damage in Chuuk State. There he said the United States intends to provide more than $100 million for disaster relief and reconstruction in the Federated States of Micronesia, delivering on
Legal instrument
Compact of Free Association (U.S.–Federated States of Micronesia)
A U.S. agreement with the Federated States of Micronesia that frames economic assistance and related commitments. The State Department’s Sept. 11 note says the typhoon aid is meant to deliver on those Compact commitments.
commitments. In Solomon Islands he signed an agreement with Foreign Minister Rick Houenipwela for the Peace Corps to return after a 26-year absence, announced Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation support for the Bloody Ridge battlefield, and said State intends to provide four aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicles. He also said the Millennium Challenge Corporation will assess rehabilitating the Solomon Islands Parliament. In Kiribati he attended a development partners forum on Kiritimati Island at President Taneti Maamau’s invitation.
The White House posted a presidential message dated Sept. 13 on the anniversary of the Battle of Fort McHenry. The statement recalls the September 1814 defense of Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812, when American forces held the fort through a long British naval bombardment and the U.S. flag remained flying at dawn. It is a ceremonial anniversary message, not a new statute or executive order.
Washington sent more help after deadly flooding in Nepal. A Sept. 12 State Department media note says the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs approved $1 million in forensic support for Nepal Police, including DNA analysis kits. With that money, the department says U.S. assistance after the floods now tops $5 million. The note lists $3 million in food and logistics through the World Food Program for up to three months of emergency food for 10,000 flood-affected households; $685,000 through Catholic Relief Services for shelter, food, water, and related aid; and $365,000 in health, nutrition, and water aid through Jhpiego, FHI-360, and UNICEF. FBI forensic specialists are working with Nepal Police on disaster victim identification. The U.S. military delivered 5,000 specialized recovery supplies, 500 first aid kits, stretchers, and front-end loaders.
H.R. 5366, Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act
Extends and writes into law a federal tax deduction for qualified disaster-related personal casualty losses and an exclusion for qualified wildfire relief payments.
, extends authority for a National Emergency Medical Services memorial on federal land in the District of Columbia.
Legal instrument
H.R. 5366, Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act
Extends and writes into law a federal tax deduction for qualified disaster-related personal casualty losses and an exclusion for qualified wildfire relief payments.
H.R. 5366, Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act
Extends and writes into law a federal tax deduction for qualified disaster-related personal casualty losses and an exclusion for qualified wildfire relief payments.
, extends and writes into law a federal tax deduction for certain disaster-related personal casualty losses and an exclusion for qualified wildfire relief payments.
Two House members want the National Institute of Standards and Technology to write rules for finding and controlling AI agents. On Sept. 9 Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Mike Lawler of New York introduced the
Legal instrument
Stop Rogue AI Act
A House bill introduced Sept. 9, 2026, that would have the National Institute of Standards and Technology write national standards for finding, verifying, and controlling AI agents, then apply those standards in federal buying.
. Their release says the bill would direct NIST to develop national standards for discovering, verifying, and controlling AI agents, then push those standards into federal buying rules, with coordination from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Treasury’s sanctions shop went after money and arms pipelines tied to Iranian-backed militias. On Sept. 10, under Operation Economic Outcast, the Office of Foreign Assets Control designated people and companies it says support Kata’ib Hizballah and Lebanese Hizballah. Targets include Iraqi militia commanders, procurement firms linked to Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Commission, a Dubai exchange used to move money toward Iran, and Lebanese gold and cash exchangers said to move hundreds of millions of dollars from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–Qods Force to Hizballah between May and September 2025. OFAC also said an individual agreed to pay $1,427,230 to settle Iran-sanctions liability and published a new Iran licensing policy with a presumption of denial in most cases. The designations rely on counterterrorism and Iran-sector authorities.
Marco Rubio’s South America trip ended in Peru with two concrete announcements. On Sept. 10 in Lima the State Department launched the
Legal instrument
Space Catalyst Partnership
A State Department program to deepen civil and commercial space cooperation with Artemis Accords countries through diplomacy, industry matchmaking, and targeted foreign aid, starting with a proposed $6.5 million rural connectivity project in southern Peru.
— its flagship push to deepen civil and commercial space work with
Legal instrument
Artemis Accords
A non-binding set of principles, started by NASA and the State Department with founding partners in 2020, that commits signatory countries to peaceful, transparent, and cooperative civil space exploration and to sharing scientific data. San Marino became the 76th signatory on Sept. 25, 2026, in Rimini.
countries. The department said it is working with Congress on a $6.5 million rural satellite-internet project for schools, small businesses, community centers, and public institutions in southern Peru, subject to available funds. The same day President Keiko Fujimori announced that Peru will join the Shield of the Americas, a U.S.-led group she and Rubio described as a coalition of more than a dozen countries against transnational criminal and terrorist groups. In a joint press appearance, Rubio said the Shield exists so the United States can work inside partner countries rather than act alone. Fujimori said any foreign troop entry would still need a special congressional authorization under Peru’s constitution.
The White House says refund checks are coming for people who paid full freight on the federal Obamacare exchange. A Sept. 10 fact sheet says the government will return hundreds of millions of dollars in exchange “user fees” by sending $500 per person to nearly 1 million Americans in 30 states that use the federal marketplace. Checks are to start in October 2026. The list of states runs from Alabama to Wyoming and includes Florida, Texas, Ohio, and Michigan. The sheet says the refunds go to people who do not get premium assistance. Separately, the White House also posted that President Trump signed
Legal instrument
S. 858, Hershel “Woody” Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act
A law that lets the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation put a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor Medal of Honor recipients.
Marco Rubio’s Ecuador day mixed a medal and a terrorist listing. In Quito on Sept. 9, President Daniel Noboa gave him the National Order of Merit in the grade of Grand Cross. The same day the State Department designated Los Tiguerones — an Ecuador gang tied to narcotrafficking and attacks, including a 2024 television-station takeover — as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The department also designated seven former Ecuadorian officials under
Legal instrument
Section 7031(c), National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026
Requires designation of foreign officials, and often their families, when there is credible information of significant corruption or a gross human-rights abuse. Those designations generally bar U.S. entry.
The Justice Department and the Education Department say Berkeley Law used race in admissions. On Sept. 9 they announced joint findings that the University of California, Berkeley School of Law deliberately discriminates against white and Asian applicants. They say that violates
Legal instrument
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Bars race discrimination in programs that get federal money, including most colleges.
, the 2023 Supreme Court decision. Data they cite: in 2024 and 2025 combined, half of admitted Black applicants had LSAT scores below 95 percent of admitted white applicants. In 2025, they say, Black applicants had 5.8 times the odds of admission of comparable white applicants. Settlement talks come next, then a possible lawsuit.
Marco Rubio’s South America trip got concrete on day one. The State Department’s Sept. 8 public schedule put him in Barranquilla, Colombia. At 2 p.m. local he met President Abelardo De La Espriella. At 3:25 p.m. he joined a signing ceremony for
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Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation and Critical Minerals Framework Memorandums of Understanding (Colombia)
Written deals between the United States and Colombia on civil nuclear cooperation and a framework for critical minerals. The State Department’s Sept. 8, 2026, public schedule names the signing in Barranquilla. This desk did not fetch the full memorandum texts in this pass.
with De La Espriella and Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar. Pooled press covered the signing. The broader Sept. 8–10 itinerary still runs through Ecuador and Peru, with earthquake aid, narcoterrorism cooperation, and trade on the agenda from the Sept. 4 travel note.
Federal election monitors are on the ground in New Hampshire. On Sept. 8 the Justice Department said staff from the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section are watching polls in Manchester and Nashua for the state primary. Four department people are in each city. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the work continues through primary season before midterm monitoring ramps up. U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan for New Hampshire said her office is partnering on election integrity. The department listed the
Legal instrument
Voting Rights Act
The main federal law that bars racial discrimination in voting. Section 2, 52 U.S.C. § 10301, bans voting rules and district maps that deny or weaken any citizen’s vote because of race. The Court’s summary of Louisiana v. Callais says that section did not require Louisiana’s extra majority-minority district.
and other federal voting statutes it enforces. The public can send voting-rights questions or complaints to VEM@usdoj.gov through Election Day on Nov. 3.
Marco Rubio is on the road. From today, Sept. 8, through Sept. 10 he goes to Colombia, then Ecuador, then Peru, the State Department said on Sept. 4. In Bogotá he is to meet the new De La Espriella government. In Quito, President Noboa. In Lima, the new Fujimori government. The three topics on the list are earthquake help for Colombia, a tougher joint line against narcoterrorism, and more trade. On Labor Day the building was closed, and Rubio had no public appointments.
David Steiner runs the mail. A Massachusetts court froze the mandatory pieces of his
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Ballot Mail for Federal Elections (U.S. Postal Service final rule)
This Postal Service final rule sets envelope-design and data-reporting standards for mail-in and absentee ballots in federal elections, including a Federal Ballot Mail Portal. A Massachusetts federal judge has blocked mandatory parts for the Nov. 3, 2026 midterms pending further court action.
rule before the Nov. 3 midterms. Saturday he and the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to lift the freeze. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson gave the other side until 4 p.m. Eastern Wednesday, Sept. 9. The Solicitor General withdrew an earlier stay bid the same day.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner sat with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday. Putin said he had stopped strikes on Kyiv from midnight Sept. 5. He said Ukraine had cut strikes on Russia, including Moscow. He said there was no three-day truce. The two sides did not announce a peace deal.
Pinnacle manages apartments. On Friday the Justice Department asked a North Carolina court to lock in a deal over how the company sets rent. The department says Pinnacle used competitors’ private rental data, including through RealPage software. The filing is a
This proposed court order would settle the Justice Department’s antitrust claims against Pinnacle by barring the use of competitors’ rent data in pricing algorithms and the sharing of that data with rivals. A judge has not entered final judgment.
On Sept. 3, 2026, the Justice Department said it issued a letter urging the Maryland Department of Transportation to stop collecting nonresident vehicle permit fees from servicemembers and their spouses that the department says violate the
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Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act gives servicemembers and their dependents civil and financial protections during military service, including limits on certain state and local taxes and fees on personal property such as cars when they are present only because of military orders.
. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said families already registered in a home state should not pay additional taxes or fees when relocating under military orders. The department asks Maryland to exempt those families, refund amounts already collected, and update policies and training. Press release number 26-1016.
On Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, the White House said the President signed into law
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Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (H.R. 6500)
This law keeps most federal agencies funded at current levels through Dec. 11, 2026, while Congress finishes full-year spending bills. It also extends authorities for programs including surface transportation and veteran programs.
Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (H.R. 6500)
This law keeps most federal agencies funded at current levels through Dec. 11, 2026, while Congress finishes full-year spending bills. It also extends authorities for programs including surface transportation and veteran programs.
. The White House briefing says the Act includes a short-term continuing resolution that provides fiscal year 2027 appropriations to federal agencies through December 11, 2026, for continuing projects and activities of the federal government, and extends authorities for a broad range of programs including surface transportation and veteran programs. The House had concurred in the Senate amendments 370–48 on Sept. 1 (already on Wednesday’s File). This closes the unsigned gap noted Wednesday.
On Sept. 2, 2026, the Justice Department said the Office of Legal Counsel issued a Sept. 1, 2026, legal opinion clarifying that when a state participates in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Security Income, all agencies within that state — not only agencies that administer those benefits — must report individuals known to be not lawfully present to the Department of Homeland Security. The office withdrew a 1998 opinion that had narrowed “State” to administering agencies only. The opinion applies going forward. There are no retroactive penalties for past reliance on the 1998 interpretation. The department says federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grants exceed $16.4 billion annually. All fifty states, the District of Columbia, and several territories participate. Author named: Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock. Press release number 26-1012 on the Justice Department page metadata.
On Sept. 1, 2026, the House, under suspension, agreed to the Senate amendments to
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Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (H.R. 6500)
This law keeps most federal agencies funded at current levels through Dec. 11, 2026, while Congress finishes full-year spending bills. It also extends authorities for programs including surface transportation and veteran programs.
by 370–48 (Roll 286: R 193–19, D 176–29, Independent 1–0; 14 not voting), 2:03 p.m. The Senate had passed the amended bill 90–6 on Aug. 8 and retitled it the
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Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (H.R. 6500)
This law keeps most federal agencies funded at current levels through Dec. 11, 2026, while Congress finishes full-year spending bills. It also extends authorities for programs including surface transportation and veteran programs.
. The Senate-engrossed text funds agencies at fiscal year 2026 rates through the earlier of a full-year appropriations act or Dec. 11, 2026, and extends the
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African Growth and Opportunity Act
AGOA gives eligible sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the U.S. market for thousands of products, on top of Generalized System of Preferences treatment.
through 2028. The Senate was pro forma Sept. 1 with no business. The Clerk’s roll-call index still labels the vote “
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African Growth and Opportunity Act
AGOA gives eligible sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the U.S. market for thousands of products, on top of Generalized System of Preferences treatment.
” (the original House title); this file uses the Senate-engrossed short title in the nut and notes the Clerk label. No White House signing statement was fetched. Do not treat the bill as signed.
On Sept. 1, 2026, the U.S. Treasury posted a “G20 Chair’s Statement” from the second meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Asheville, North Carolina, on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, 2026. The statement is not a consensus document of every member: footnote 1 says it “was agreed by all G20 members present except China, which objected to paragraphs 4, 10, 11, and 13.” Those paragraphs cover energy-trade disruptions and the Strait of Hormuz (4), global imbalances and non-market policies (10–11), and sovereign-debt architecture / Common Framework (13). The text says members met to advance 2026 Finance Track priorities including private-sector engagement, productivity, global imbalances, financial literacy, sovereign debt, digital assets, and financial-sector issues.
On Sept. 1, 2026, the House agreed to Ethics-reported H. Res. 1498, 413–2 (Roll 292, 6:09 p.m.: R 207–2, D 205–0, Independent 1–0; 17 not voting). The resolution adopts the July 22, 2026, Ethics report, censures Edwards (R-N.C.), and directs him to present himself in the well for pronouncement of the censure with a public reading by the Speaker. The two no votes are not named on the Clerk page fetched.
On Sept. 1, 2026, the Justice Department Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas filed a lawsuit against Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (Unified School District No. 500, Wyandotte County) seeking to stop the district’s “Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students Internal Guidance Document.” The department says the guideline directs staff to develop “transitioning” plans without informing or obtaining consent from parents, and that this violates the
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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act gives parents, and later eligible students, rights over education records that schools keep, including the right to inspect those records.
The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment governs school surveys, analyses, or evaluations of students on certain sensitive topics, and also covers marketing surveys and parental access to information. Those rights transfer to the student at 18 or emancipation.
(20 U.S.C. § 1232h). The complaint says the Secretary of Education determined the district out of substantial compliance with the
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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act gives parents, and later eligible students, rights over education records that schools keep, including the right to inspect those records.
The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment governs school surveys, analyses, or evaluations of students on certain sensitive topics, and also covers marketing surveys and parental access to information. Those rights transfer to the student at 18 or emancipation.
On Aug. 31, 2026, the Justice Department said eight U.S. Attorneys and DOJ joined the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security and the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud to announce Joint Task Force Crossroads of America, a multi-state partnership focused on fraud and criminal networks in commercial trucking. The release names U.S. Attorneys from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio districts and lists federal partners including FMCSA, FBI, DEA, HSI, ICE, and ATF. USDOT/FMCSA actions described include emergency removal of more than 110 Entry-Level Driver Training providers from the Training Provider Registry and more than 160 notices of proposed removals after investigations in 40 states. DHS/HSI said that on Aug. 31 it would conduct a synchronized surge of Notices of Inspection at more than 200 driving schools across 23 Special Agent in Charge offices. Attorney General Todd Blanche is quoted in the release. Press release number 26-1000.
The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings in Asheville continue through Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, per the U.S. Treasury host framing and the European External Action Service statement dated Aug. 31. The EEAS said the EU welcomes additional economic pressure on Iran, including through the U.S.-led Operation Economic Outcast, and remains ready to take further measures where necessary. No G20 joint statement from the Asheville meetings has been documented in sources fetched for this edition.
The Justice Department said on Aug. 31, 2026, that Ohio State University agreed to pay $2,100,000 to resolve civil allegations that it failed to disclose employees’ ties to the People’s Republic of China in applications for NASA and NSF research funding. The department said the claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
On Aug. 31, 2026, the Supreme Court, in an unsigned per curiam order in National Park Service v. National Trust for Historic Preservation, No. 26A203, stayed a D.C. district-court preliminary injunction that would have halted above-ground construction of a new East Wing, including a ballroom. The Court did not decide whether the project is legal. It held the government is likely to show the Trust lacks Article III standing. Chief Justice Roberts dissented, joined by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson, writing that the construction “is likely unlawful.”
On Monday, Aug. 31, the NRCC and NRSC asked the Supreme Court to pause a 4th Circuit decision, issued Aug. 25 in Brown v. FCC, No. 26-1785, that set aside an FCC notice extending lowest-unit-charge broadcast rates to party committees. The statutory window opens Friday, Sept. 4. SCOTUSblog reported the Court directed a response by noon Thursday, Sept. 3. The 4th Circuit majority held the
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Communications Act
The Communications Act is the main U.S. statute governing radio, television, and other communications. It includes the lowest-unit-charge rule for certain political candidate advertising on broadcast stations.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent opened the G20 finance meeting in Asheville, the first ministerial of the U.S. 2026 host year. He said the world is awash in debt and that governments must grow our way out. He told CNBC he would press counterparts to join Operation Economic Outcast. The EU issued a statement welcoming additional economic pressure, including through that campaign. No joint statement yet. The meeting runs through Sept. 1.
Xi, Putin, Modi, and Pezeshkian are in Bishkek for the SCO heads-of-state meeting. Putin met Modi on the sidelines. India’s MEA said they discussed West Asia, the Black Sea, and the safety of Indian seafarers, and that Modi reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy was the way forward.