House Votes to End U.S. Hostilities With Iran — But Curb Your Enthusiasm Cause the War Does Not End Yet

IRAN WAR

September 15, 2026

The House of Representatives voted 220–204 on Sept. 15 to direct President Donald Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities with Iran. All Democrats who voted were joined by seven Republicans, the largest Republican break with Trump on the conflict so far. The resolution is the third House attempt this year to invoke Congress' war powers and halt the U.S. military campaign. 

Although the vote is significant, it does not immediately stop the fighting. The measure must still pass the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain, and the Trump administration has argued that Congress cannot use the War Powers Resolution to restrict the president's authority as commander in chief. Previous attempts have failed to produce a change in U.S. military operations.

State of U.S. democracy reaches new low, report finds

World

September 15, 20262:57 PM ET

Heard on All Things Considered

Rob Schmitz

U.S. democracy has reached its lowest levels in 50 years, according to a new global report that tracks democratic performance around the world

For several years, Dr. Seema Shah, who heads the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance's democracy assessment team, said their researchers have observed a global pattern of democratic decline: "Severe drops in scores that measure freedom of expression, freedom of the press, credible elections, effective parliament," she said.

Europe Is Becoming Canada’s Second Economic Pillar

September 15, 2026

By Yiannis Damellos

For most of its modern history, Canada has lived economically in the shadow of the United States. Geography made it mandatory: the world's largest economy sits immediately south of Canada, connected by roads, railways, pipelines, electricity grids and integrated supply chains. But under Mark Carney, Ottawa is attempting something much more ambitious than negotiating better terms with Trump's hegemonic apparatus. It is beginning to redesign Canada’s economic geography. Europe and Great Britain are emerging as the second pillar of that strategy—not as a replacement for the United States, but as a safety net, to build the foundation of a more diversified and strategically autonomous Canada.  

UK in talks about joining global defence bank led by Canada

3 hours ago

Harry Farley, Political correspondent

Kate Whannel, Political reporter

The UK government is in discussions about joining a global investment bank, aimed at raising more money for defence spending 

Chancellor John Healey is considering a bid to join the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), not long after his predecessor Rachel Reeves rejected the idea. Canada has been leading efforts to establish the bank, which supporters say would enable governments to borrow at lower costs to increase military spending.

Saudi-led coalition intercepts Houthi drone headed for Mecca

Noor Kareem, Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters

Tue, 15 September 2026 at 6:09 pm GMT-7

3 min read

Saudi Arabia has said that a drone launched by the Houthis towards Mecca has been intercepted and destroyed, in an escalation that could threaten the holy city. The Saudi-led coalition spokesperson, Turki al-Maliki, said Royal Saudi Air Defence Forces intercepted the hostile drone before it entered the restricted airspace on Tuesday evening.

Seven Months of Bombing — So Why Does Iran Still Rain Chaos onto US Bases and Its Allies?

Sources: CBS, CNN

September 15, 2026

The pictures are shocking. Smuggled out by active-duty U.S. service members on condition of anonymity due to rigid military media restrictions, the images tell a story the Pentagon has tried to downplay. A plane torn apart by Iranian strikes at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Smoke and ruins masking the aftermath of an attack on Camp Buehring in Kuwait. A shattered building at Camp Arifjan.They all check out. They aren’t fakes. They aren’t AI. They are real hits.

Kennedy Center board votes to close for renovations after chaotic call with Trump

By Kasie Hunt, Sunlen Serfaty, Tierney Sneed
Updated 13 min ago
The Kennedy Center board voted to close the center Tuesday after a tense meeting in which President Donald Trump called in to berate a Democratic congresswoman who serves on the panel, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

“It was f**king crazy,” said one source familiar with the exchange between Trump and Rep. Joyce Beatty, whose lawsuit has prevented Trump’s name from being added to the building.

The Supreme Court rejects Trump's mail voting restrictions for this year's midterms

 

Elections

Updated September 14, 2026 8:01 PM ET
Hansi Lo Wang

The Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump, rejecting his efforts to enact new mail-in voting restrictions for the midterm election.

The ruling released Monday by the high court means the U.S. Postal Service is expected to continue delivering ballots as usual.

Sweden’s political parties launch coalition talks as both blocs try to secure power

Miranda Bryant, Nordic correspondent

Centre-left bloc led by Social Democrats has narrow lead with 95% of vote counted, but faces internal policy battle

Sweden’s political parties have launched coalition negotiations as the Social Democrats leader, Magdalena Andersson, started the long and difficult process of trying to form a new government. Full results from Sunday’s election are not expected until after overseas votes are counted on Wednesday, but with 95% of the votes counted, the Social Democrats and the centre-left bloc had a narrow but growing lead of 176 seats to the right-leaning parties’ 173.

Zelenskyy says Ukraine will pause strikes on Russia if Kremlin spares critical infrastructure

World 

Sep 14, 2026 5:57 PM EDT

By Claudia Ciobanu, Elise Morton, Hanna Arhirova

Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Ukraine is ready to halt its strikes on Russian territory if allies can secure a genuine Russian commitment not to hit Ukraine's critical infrastructure. His comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed in a social media post that Russia and Ukraine had agreed "not to hit" each other's energy infrastructure, though Trump did not offer further details on the purported agreement.

Trump says AI doesn’t need guardrails, only a ‘high IQ’ president

He also alleged the existence of a ‘sick conspiracy’ against AI and data centers, at a time when Americans are increasingly concerned about the technology

Sept. 14, 2026, 8:26 AM PDT 

Updated Sept. 14, 2026, 10:47 AM PDT

By Megan Brand

President Donald Trump rejected the idea of placing guardrails on artificial intelligence, saying in a Truth Social post Monday that the only control needed is “a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!”

Donald Trump Jr.’s Bahamas Wedding Was Secretly Bankrolled by Russian Oligarch Close to Putin

Trump Administration

The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large group of other Russian guests.

By Justin Elliott, Brett Murphy, Joshua Kaplan and Alex MierjeskiSeptember 14, 2026, 5:00 am

Jamie Dimon says the American Dream is slipping away. The dysfunctional baby boomer retirement wave is a major part of the problem

American Dream

By Nick Lichtenberg

Business Editor

September 14, 2026, 5:00 AM ET

Jamie Dimon has warned since March that “the American Dream is alive, but it’s slipping out of reach for too many people—and for future generations.”

Six months later, JPMorganChase is pointing to a specific, dollar-quantified reason why: Millions of aging small-business owners are approaching retirement with no real plan for what happens to the businesses they built—and the dysfunction is only getting harder to ignore.

Second federal judge freezes Trump mail ballot order with US Supreme Court poised to weigh in

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI
Updated 10:16 PM PDT, September 13, 2026
A federal judge late Sunday ordered that the U.S. Postal Service not implement President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail balloting, adding another obstacle to the administration’s effort to rewrite election rules as the Supreme Court is poised to weigh in on the matter.

The nation’s highest court already is considering the administration’s appeal of an order by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in Boston prohibiting the Postal Service from enforcing its new rule on mail voting before this year’s midterm elections.

Europe will go it alone on Venus mission after NASA yanks radar instrument

Europe is looking inward, and perhaps to China, as the White House tries to cancel some NASA partnerships
Stephen Clark – Sep 10, 2026 12:09 PM

The European Space Agency is moving “full steam ahead” with development of a robotic mission to Venus after NASA officials determined they were unlikely to fulfill a commitment to provide a US-built radar instrument for the spacecraft, the mission’s project scientist said.

Physicists discover a hidden “curveball” in quantum light

Date: September 13, 2026

Source: Paul Scherrer Institute

Summary: Researchers have experimentally demonstrated the optical Magnus effect for the first time, revealing that a tightly focused laser interacts most strongly with an atom slightly away from the beam’s center. The unexpected shift is similar to the physics that makes a spinning table tennis ball curve through the air. Because lasers are used to control qubits, the effect could create errors in quantum computers, but it might also provide a new way to couple qubits together.

Trump downplays the need to check AI development and says he doesn’t want to cede edge to China

Politics

BY DARLENE SUPERVILLE AND DIDI TANG
Updated 3:55 PM PDT, September 13, 2026

DUBLIN (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday played down the need for his administration to check the development of artificial intelligence, saying he worried about ceding America’s edge over China in a global competition and that winning would help address the risks from the advancing technology.

Canada Discussing Joining EU As ‘Associate Member,’ Report Says

By Zachary Folk,
Forbes Staff. I cover breaking news.
Sep 13, 2026, 11:11am EDT

Topline
Canadian officials are negotiating with the European Union for closer ties with the economic bloc in response to the breakdown of trade negotiations with the United States earlier this summer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday—including potentially becoming an “associate member” of the union.