Welcome to today’s daily update for Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Here’s everything you need to know.
The Breakdown
United States TV networks are fighting back against Trump’s White House bans, shutting down presidential coverage to express solidarity with CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.
Several days ago, US President Donald Trump announced that these three networks would be banned from the White House due to their propagation of “fake news,” which he perceives as harmful to his administration and a threat to “national security” – an allegation that he has also used to justify his construction of a $600 million ballroom on the White House grounds and his plans to build a large arch in Washington D.C. All three networks hold a slightly left-wing view on American politics and are often critical of Trump’s decisions, sparking the move.
By Saturday, all journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico had been banned from entering the White House grounds, preventing them from providing effective coverage on the president. However, the three quickly launched a joint lawsuit against the White House, arguing that the move infringes upon their right to freedom of speech, which is established in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
By Monday, the United States’ entire press pool, which includes ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News, had halted all coverage at the White House to express solidarity with CNN, who are the fifth member of the pool. Journalists from this pool generally follow the president and attend all presidential events, meetings, and conferences while collecting statements, images, and video footage.
The pool shares the job by rotating responsibilities every day, with each network providing presidential coverage every five days. However, Trump’s ban on CNN prevents them from continuing these duties, sparking a complete shutdown of presidential coverage from all five networks.
The press pool made a joint statement in response to the ban as well: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”
However, the Trump administration doubled down on the ban after the shutdown. The White House announced their very own “Trump TV” on Monday afternoon, which they claimed would provide top-tier presidential coverage straight from the Trump administration.
The Global Snapshot
President Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a rare meeting at the mayor’s Gracie Mansion yesterday, marking an interesting show of solidarity across the party divide. Despite Trump’s staunch opposition to Mamdani’s left-wing policies – which include rent freezes, affordable housing, and labor protection laws – the two maintain a surprisingly cordial relationship, which was on display at the mayor’s mansion. The two discussed immigration and a possible affordable housing development in Queens across a one-hour conversation, which was followed by a press conference in front of the house.
At least four people are dead after Typhoon Dujuan struck Japan across the weekend and into Monday, packing sustained winds of around 80 mph. Dujuan did not make landfall – rather, it brushed past the coast, dropping torrential rain across eastern Japan. Oshima Island, located southwest of Tokyo, recorded a staggering 32.7 inches of rainfall across 48 hours, while various areas within the Greater Tokyo Area recorded between 12 and 24 inches of rain across the same period of time. Hundreds of flights were canceled across both of the city’s major airports, train routes were suspended, and the city was largely brought to a standstill as citizens and cars were forced to wade through several feet of water to go from place to place.
Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): There is a town in southwestern Indiana called Santa Claus. It has a population of around 2,600 people and celebrates Christmas 365 days a year. The local post office gets hundreds of thousands of letters addressed to Santa from all over the world every year, and a dedicated group of volunteers answers every single one.
Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries. (René Descartes)
Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Elegiac (adj, el-uh-JYE-ak) - Elegiac means “of, relating to, or comprising an elegy,” an elegy being a sorrowful poem or song, and especially one that expresses sorrow for someone who is dead. Elegiac often describes a poem, song, piece of writing, etc. that mourns something now past.
In a Sentence: The elegiac tone of the singer’s first album always leaves me in tears.
Image: Flickr / Public Domain
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