Trump asks Supreme Court for emergency ruling on ballots
In an emergency appeal, the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to uphold Trump’s order giving the U.S. Postal Service sweeping power to block people from voting by mail. The emergency appeal, which leapfrogged lower courts still considering the case, is the culmination of a monthslong legal fight over an executive order the president signed in March that gave federal agencies an unprecedented role to determine who can and cannot vote in elections. Voter advocacy groups and a coalition of 23 Democratic-led states challenged that order in federal court, arguing that neither the president nor the post office should have a role in choosing which mail ballots reach voters.The conservatives on the Supreme Court already ruled once in favor of Trump by saying that plaintiffs who sued to stop what the Postal Service is doing had no standing to file their lawsuit.
Trump plans to begin building arch without getting approvals
The Trump administration plans to break ground on Donald Trump’s version of a “triumphal arch” in the next two weeks according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. Trump plans to begin construction even though a pending lawsuit aims to stop it, critics say it needs congressional approval, it hasn’t gotten the greenlight from a District of Columbia planning commission, and an FAA review of potential impact on flights hasn’t been completed. “The fact that they’re moving forward on this before any of the legal steps required is egregious,” Ed Stierli, of National Parks Conservation Association told CNN. Rep. Don Beyer, who represents a Northern Virginia district that includes Arlington National Cemetery, said the project is “plainly illegal without congressional authorization.” Nicolas Sansone, an attorney at the nonprofit Public Citizen, which is representing plaintiffs in the lawsuit said, “We’re frankly befuddled as to what sorts of legal authority the government believes that has to begin on the ground construction of the arch.”
Trump administration releases positive job numbers
The Trump administration’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) today released new job numbers that reflect positive activity and also revised old numbers that had shown the job market in trouble. According to BLS, hiring surged in August as the U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs and unemployment stayed at 4.1%. August’s job gains – which are the strongest since March – mark a sharp rebound from July’s tally, which was revised to show a 21,000-job gain instead of a 23,000-job loss. Industries such as health care continued to add jobs while local government education added 41,900 jobs, reversing a large loss from July of 57,500 jobs.
Another contractor hired to work on reflecting pool
The Trump administration’s Department of Interior has hired a second contractor to work on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which has been plagued by algae and a failed liner that had been installed by a company owned by a neighbor of Donald Trump in Florida. A new contract for $2.7 million went to American Ag Energy, a Massachusetts-based company that specializes in renewable energy technology. The contract could grow in size up to $8.8 million. Richard Rosen, the CEO of American Ag Energy, was convicted of voter fraud for casting ballots twice in the 2016 election — once in Massachusetts and the other time in New Hampshire. Rosen is a registered Republican. The conviction was overturned by the state supreme court earlier this year. Rosen said he’s in mediation with the New Hampshire attorney general’s office over the charges, which can be refiled after the case was remanded back to the Grafton County Superior Court.
Trump supporter Maria Bartiromo outsted from Fox News
Fox News has fired longtime anchor Maria Bartiromo who has been one of Donald Trump’s closest allies at the network. Fox News leadership decided to remove Bartiromo in August, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The immediate impetus was Bartiromo’s disclosure of confidential information to the Trump White House. A source told CNN that after a Fox executive directed the network not to cover certain conspiracy theories, Bartiromo sent a text message of the network guidance to White House officials, as if to say it wasn’t her fault that their false claims weren’t getting airtime on Fox. Word of Bartiromo’s disclosure got back to Fox management, and it was deemed a violation of her employment agreement. The executive producer of “Mornings with Maria,” Patrick Ignozzi, was also ousted at the same time as Bartiromo, the source familiar with the matter told CNN. Bartiromo was the first Fox anchor to promote the false claims about the 2020 presidential election that led voting machine company Dominion to sue Fox for defamation.
Vance says Iran war isn’t a war
In an appearance at the White House press briefing room, Vice President Vance could provide neither a timeline for the Iran war to end nor a date when gas prices might sink below pre-war levels. “The current hostilities shouldn’t even be called a ‘war,’” Vance argued. “Right now, there is no active shooting,” Vance insisted, despite three consecutive days this week when the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire, including around the Strait of Hormuz. Updated casualty figures from the Pentagon on Thursday showed 790 U.S. service members have been wounded and 18 killed since Donald Trump began the conflict in late February. Vance, who initially opposed going to war with Iran, played a leading role earlier this summer in negotiating a ceasefire that fell apart after two weeks. Vance said that the U.S. currently is not in peace talks with Iran.
Some material ™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
