When President Donald Trumps name was ordered removed from the Kennedy Center this spring, it seemed that an opening to move on from his reign over the performing arts center might have emerged. I have instructed the Department of Commerce to make all necessary arrangements with Congress to allow a full and complete transfer of this Institution, giving them the responsibility for its Operation, Maintenance, and Management, the president wrote in a late-May Truth Social post, seemingly relinquishing the control hed seized a year prior. Speculation even bubbled up among some of the more than a dozen ex-officio, board members who dont get a vote but are not allied with Trump over whether the former board chairman, billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein, could be brought back to help restore the centers fundraising and programming, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. (CNN has asked Rubenstein for comment.) But after Trump said he would remain chairman, it kind of all squelched pretty quickly, one of the sources said. The hope that his crusade to rename a monument dedicated to the memory of John F. Kennedy had ended turned out to be wishful thinking. Instead, nine months from a cold December day when cranes first placed Trumps name on the marble faade, the institution has been brought to the brink by the president still very much engaged in a fight: lights have been turned off inside, infrastructure is crumbling and protests swirl while legal battles mount. A lawsuit brought by Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, an ex-officio board member, led to a judges ruling that Trumps name had to be scraped off the building and that the board could not shut down the facility altogether. Trump has only ratcheted up his threats to tear down the building in response to the legal setbacks: The president was seen with a poster this week through the window of Air Force One that appeared to read Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED. Though the federal judge has since ordered a 30-day notice be given before any major change happens, its not at all clear where things go from here. Late Friday night, the administration argued in court that the Kennedy Center must close for two years, asking the federal judge in the case to allow it so that the dangerously dilapidated and decrepit building can be renovated. On the same day, over a dozen Kennedy Center employees were laid off, including its lead spokesperson, according to two sources familiar with the matter gutting an already skeleton staff. The Kennedy Center declined to comment on the cuts.

Trump has said previous leadership is to blame for the dire financial situation. During a contentious board call this week, he also blamed Beatty for bringing litigation that, he said, has contributed to the centers downfall. While the president and his allies on the board argue his name needs to be re-affixed to the building to revive fundraising, current and former officials, performers and industry officials say it is precisely Trumps involvement that alienated the centers donors and prompted scores of artists to cancel their performances. The Broadway productions will not come back, the artists will not come back, said a source familiar with discussions about programming. None of those donors will come back as long as Donald J Trump is the chairman. Current and former Kennedy Center officials, musicians, artists and other performers with ties to the center suggest that Trumps takeover has added a permanent imprint on the Kennedy Center, whether or not his name ultimately ends up on the building. There are wonderful theaters throughout this country, and they are certainly part of the cultural ecology, said LaRue Allen, president and executive director of the Martha Graham Dance Company, which has a 50-year history with the institution. But the Kennedy Center it is our nations capital. It is our national showcase. Another Kennedy Center source who recently left said simply: It will never be the same. CNN has asked the White House for comment.

The Kennedy Center, they do a beautiful job, an incredible job

Trumps focus on the Kennedy Center is emblematic of a notable shift from his first administration to a second one that has targeted arts, cultural and educational pillars across the country, in addition to Trumps unrelenting desire to remake the nations capital to his liking. In his first term, Trump mostly avoided the venue, skipping the Kennedy Center Honors after awardees threatened to boycott the event if he attended. The White House even said in a 2017 statement that the president and First Lady Melania Trump were not participating to allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction. And when the Kennedy Center initially received $25 million in funding in a March 2020 Covid stimulus package, Trump defended the aid, saying: The Kennedy Center, they do a beautiful job, an incredible job. Nine months later, however, he singled out a $40 million line-item for the center while criticizing a subsequent December 2020 Covid aid bill a foreshadowing of his future disaffection. By his 2024 campaign, Trump made clear that going after so-called wokeism would be a pillar of a second presidency. He didnt appear to single out the Kennedy Center on the campaign trail, but in his third week in office hed already set a takeover plan in motion. At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN, Trump wrote on Truth Social in February 2025. Trump said he had fired Rubenstein as chairman of the board as well as board trustees who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture. The takeover became the first domino in a cascade of Trump moves to remake the nations capital, including the demolition of the East Wing of the White House, the closure and remodeling of the busiest public golf course in Washington, DC, and his ongoing efforts to build a 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery projects all still being fought over in court. Though Trump has widelycriticized cultural institutions and museums, hes been able to exert only so much control over them, primarily by reducing their federal funding. The federal government has gutted the agencies that fund the arts, including the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities, and denied and rescinded tens of millions of dollars in grants to organizations that dont align with the presidents values. But the Kennedy Center is one of the few cultural institutions where the president has been able to flex more of his power by seizing control of the board. He has similarly tried to bring the federally funded Smithsonian Institution to heel, with more uneven results. A week after Trumps board takeover, the president was named as its chairman, and he installed longtime loyalist Richard Grenell as executive director.

So we took over the Kennedy Center, Trump told reporters. Im going to be chairman of it, and were going to make sure that its good and its not going to be woke. Theres no more woke in this country. His new role prompted several cancellations, including most notably the Broadway show Hamilton. Leading up to the centers Kennedy Center Honors in December 2025, which Trump himself was hosting, the president began referring to the building as the Trump Kennedy Center. On December 18, 2025, the board made that declaration official by voting to rename the facility the The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, saying that the change honored Trumps work at the center after taking over. One day later, new signage was installed to add Trumps name to the buildings faade.

A legal and financial saga

The legal battle and wave of cancellations that has ensued present particular challenges for an institution that makes part of its budget from ticket sales. Operating as a non-profit, the Kennedy Center received roughly $37 million from Congress in the last fiscal year, according to the latest appropriations legislation signed into law. But the bulk of its revenue comes from programming and private donations. In fiscal year 2024, during the Biden administration, the Kennedy Center reported $307 million in revenues, according to documents filed with the IRS. Last year, Grenell sought to revamp the centers calendar to include, in his words, more family-friendly programming. He brought in Dog Man: The Musical, based on the popular kids graphic novel series, at the recommendation of second lady Usha Vance. At the same time, the center became a place to host events that lean in to Trumpian ties, including the premiere of the documentary Melania, a Charlie Kirk memorial and the FIFA World Cup draw (where the organization gave Trump a peace prize). But after Trumps name was added to the building, a wave of performers pulled out, and ticket sales sagged. Multiple sources told CNN earlier this year that attendance at the Kennedy Center had been so low that for months it had to paper the house a theater term that means to fill seats by offering free or discounted tickets. There was a haze of despair around the performances. Nobody was showing up to performances, Carlos Simon, the Kennedy Center composer-in-residence since 2021, told CNN. Simon, who is in the last year of his residence, noted that the National Symphony Orchestra is now playing at other venues in Washington. He said hes stayed in his role at the Kennedy Center for the morale of the folks who were still there trying to do the good work of presenting music. I feel really bad that its become this political tool or pawn, but music still has to go on, he said. Amid the cancellations, Trump announced in February that the Kennedy Center would close for two years on July 4 to allow for renovations a move critics suspected was to being made more to provide cover for the shrinking pool of patrons than because of the need for such a dramatic closure. The Kennedy Center also received an influx of funding last year thanks to Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill, which contained $257 million for the center to pursue necessary expenses for capital repair, restoration, maintenance backlog, and security structures. Yet the board has argued only Trumps help can muster the funds to renovate the building and Trump has made clear his help will only come with naming rights. In the meantime, Matt Floca, Grenells successor as executive director, this week told the judge in the Beatty case that the center needs to temporarily close due to safety concerns. Even if the building survives, officials say getting the centers programming to return particularly Broadway shows would still take months if not several years. That is under the assumption, of course, that performances would be willing to return, said the source involved in the centers programming. If we started now in terms of engaging with property companies, going back and forth and getting a deal made, we could have Broadway tours back at the Kennedy Center by the basically middle of 27 into 28, the source said. Thats how long it takes for all these pieces to be put in place. CNNs Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.comThis article originally appeared on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/19/politics/trump-kennedy-center Sat, 19 Sep 2026 16:00:29 +0000

WASHINGTON The war in Iran has cost the U.S. military $43.6 billion as of Sept. 3, according to an update shared with congressional national security committees by U.S. Central Command. The cost update, which was viewed by USA TODAY, is almost certainly an undercount. It does not include costs to repair buildings at U.S. bases across the Middle East that were damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes during the war, including the U.S. Navys logistics hub in Bahrain. The Pentagon estimated that it has spent $28.1 billion to replace expended munitions like bombs and air defense interceptors since the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28. The prolonged conflict in the Middle East has caused a shortage of critical munitions that could leave the U.S. vulnerable in other parts of the world, such as the Indo-Pacific. More than 50,000 American service members have been deployed in Central Commands area of responsibility to support the war. At least 18 Americans have died and more than 800 have been wounded since the start of the conflict. The update also provided a breakdown of costs associated with each of the armed services. It has cost the Navy $2.2 billion to operate multiple aircraft carriers and more than 20 warships. The Air Force, which has lost dozens of aircraft during the war, has spent $6.6 billion. An additional $1.6 billion in costs have been incurred by the Army. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.

Exclusive: Meet 'Castle Breaker,' Iran's missile wreaking havoc in US war The latest cost estimate of the Iran war comes just days after Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of violating the Constitution by continuing military operations in Iran without congressional approval. House Speaker Mike Johnson canceled votes and sent lawmakers home on Sept. 17 to avoid a vote on Massies impeachment effort. In an interview with USA TODAY on Sept. 16, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, called Hegseth the most incompetent secretary of defense weve had in our nation's history. Hes shown through his time in office how incompetent he really is and it continues to damage our national security and cost American taxpayers billions of dollars, she said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The cost of the Iran war has risen to $43.6B, Pentagon tells CongressThis article originally appeared on USA TODAY at https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/09/18/pentagon-reveals-cost-of-iran-war/91831856007/ Fri, 18 Sep 2026 21:09:12 +0000

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed legislation to increase security for the states voting systems and protect Californians ability to cast ballots in an effort to guard against potential interference in the Nov. 3 election, including by the Trump administration. Newsom pointed to the Trump administrations recent effort to restrict mail-in voting through the U.S. Postal Service, which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, and the presence of federal monitors at California polls last year as evidence that Trump will continue his efforts to interfere with the November election.Donald Trump wont stop until he can exert dictatorial control over your free vote and disenfranchise millions of people this November. California will stop him at every opportunity, Newsom said in a statement. We have no bigger task than fighting to protect the right to vote from interference and meddling the future of democracy is on the line. These bills today build upon the wall California has built to safeguard our electoral process.The governor signed the package of bills at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, where a year earlier federal agents gathered outside a political rally he was hosting. Then-Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino, who had been leading the immigration operations in California, was among those outside the event, joined by agents in helmets, camouflage, masks and holding guns. Newsom described their presence as political intimidation. One bill Newsom signed Saturday cites efforts to weaponize law enforcement authority for political purposes, including Republican Sheriff Chad Biancos seizure of ballots in Riverside County, and the election monitors sent by the U.S. Justice Department to polling sites in five counties during a 2025 special election on redistricting.Such moves have given rise to unprecedented concerns about law enforcement interference in elections and [demonstrate] that these threats are not merely hypothetical, the bill by state Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) reads.The law, Senate Bill 884, which takes effect immediately, requires counties to open ballot drop-off locations 30 days before an election two days earlier than usual and allows counties to ban electioneering, or trying to influence voters decisions, within up to 200 feet of polling sites. It also bans police from making arrests near voting locations except for crimes against people, property, or disrupting the voting process.Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who oversees state elections, praised the bill signings and said they stood ready to defend Californians right to vote.No one should doubt the degree of our resolve in protecting our democracy, Weber said. This legislative package ensures that California voters will not be silenced or intimidated. Bianco, a GOP candidate for governor who placed fourth in the primary, drew swift condemnation and legal challenges this spring after he ordered deputies to seize more than 650,000 ballots from the Riverside County elections office. Voting rights groups and Bonta challenged the move, which is being decided by the California Supreme Court. Bianco carted off truckloads of ballots from the Riverside County Registrar of Voters in February after securing a warrant based on claims that the office allowed fraudulent votes in the special election to redraw Californias congressional districts under Proposition 50 in 2025. Earlier this year, Newsom signed a bill preventing local and federal law enforcement agencies from taking ballots without a warrant.On Saturday the Democratic governor signed a bill making it a felony to seize or order the seizure of ballots, election records or voting machines. Future seizures could be punishable by up to four years in prison.The federal administration and those seeking to spread lies about our democracy continue to call for interference in elections in ways we have never seen before in this country, Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz), the bills author and a former longtime county elections chief, said last month. AB 282 helps ensure that every lawfully cast vote can be counted, and that the will of the voters of every political party will be respected.Republican lawmakers argued in previous hearings that the bill is unnecessary because it is already a crime to steal ballots.Another bill, Senate Bill 259, makes it a crime to interfere with a mail ballot on the way to or from a voter or order the seizure of ballots that are in transit to a local elections office.Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1664, which requires elections officials to notify the attorney general and secretary of state immediately upon learning of any warrants, subpoenas or law enforcement investigations involving election records or voting equipment.Newsom also signed bills to boost protections under the California Voting Rights Act, including an explicit ban on voter suppression and expanded access to election materials in languages other than English.The governor also signed legislation to require more transparency from social media influencers who are paid by political campaigns. The measure, Assembly Bill 1130, came in the wake of a controversy in the June primary election when social media influencers took on a more visible role in the campaigns. Candidates including Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer paid thousands of dollars to influencers who posted videos endorsing Steyer or talking about him in a positive light. These videos did not always disclose that influencers were paid by a candidates campaign.
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.This article originally appeared on LA Times at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/newsom-signs-bills-shield-california-184038122.html Sat, 19 Sep 2026 18:40:38 +0000

Donald Trump reupped his battle with the FAKE NEWS media on Truth Social Friday, banning CNN, MSNOW and POLITICO for reporting LIES when theyre covering the President of the United States, with Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.POLITICO called sources in and around the administration to find out why after months of low approval ratings for the president and his signature issues now?Heres what POLITICO learned.Many senior staff were surprised by the directive, which happened while chief of staff Susie Wiles was out of town, and werent aware it was coming until they saw the post, according to three people close to the White House with knowledge of conversations in the West Wing.One person said Trump previously tried to ban certain media, at one point even trying to put the press in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, but was talked down.On Friday the press shop was blindsided and unsure of how to respond, with one aide simply pointing back to Trumps Truth Social post.Even so, theyre taking it seriously.Its real and permanent as far as POTUS is concerned, the person said.This morning, MS NOW said their journalists were denied access to the White House grounds in a statement.MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy, the statement continued.CNN said its reporters were also denied entry. CNNs mission to report on the U.S. government will continue regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House and other government buildings, or any other attempts to impede our journalism, the outlet said in a statement.Over a dozen current and former Trump White House White House officials POLITICO called, texted and Signaled granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations were also puzzled by the development. Other key White House officials reached out to us unsolicited to say it was a head scratcher.Trump spoke with reporters in the Oval Office Friday shortly after the post at a pre-scheduled event on healthcare. He took questions, but didnt offer much beyond decrying the fake news, adding that cumulative stories prompted the move.Perhaps the incident will be filed away as one of Trumps seemingly spontaneous eruptions that staff struggle to explain, from his fascination with genetics to his hatred for windmills.But perhaps not. A second person close to the White House said theres already been discussions about adding more outlets to the ban. Trump himself on Friday cited The New York Times and The Washington Post as possible additions.Fridays Truthsilade already feels different than in February 2025, when the Trump administration canceled subscriptions to the POLITICO Pro policy news services after falsely claiming the Biden administration subsidized publication. (He revived that thoroughly debunked claim Friday.) At the time White House aides doubled down on Trumps claims with prepared talking points.This time sources inside the White House were still trying to make sense of what happened.For now, there's one last bite of telling Washington intel: CNN is scheduled for TV pool duty on Monday, and the White House hasnt reached out to the other four network chiefs to change the rotation.This article originally appeared on Politico at https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/19/inside-the-white-house-media-ban-01085126 Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:22:01 +0000

Farm-state Republicans dont support President Donald Trumps move to import cheap beef but theyre still getting grilled for it.Trumps plan to combat sky-high beef prices by introducing discounted, tariff-free foreign beef has been widely condemned by ag-state Republicans who are concerned it will undercut the domestic beef industry and hurt ranchers, a normally reliable constituency.And their opponents see an opening to paint Republicans as unconcerned about voters pocketbook concerns.Our ranchers and our farmers keep getting kicked in the teeth, and we have politicians that keep telling us that everything's great, that were the hottest country, Dan Osborn, an independent running for Senate in Nebraska, said in an interview. And to be quite frank, I'm pretty pissed off about it.Osborns state is one of the top four top cattle-producing states along with Texas, Kansas and Iowa all of which have more-competitive-than-expected Senate races this cycle. And Trumps controversial plan to remove tariffs from 300,000 metric tons of imported beef, sold at 25 percent below current market prices, is doing Republicans no favors.Osborns campaign went on air with a pun-filled ad this week in which he says the import plan is selling out American farmers and ranchers, and blasts Congress for being too chicken to stand up to the corporations who bought them off. The campaign says it plans to spend at least six figures airing the spot. Its the first major spending from a campaign focused on the beef import plan. But it plays into a larger economic argument Democrats are pushing to break through with farmers and ranchers: Trump and Republicans have turned their backs on rural America, as a worsening farm crisis and spiking fuel and fertilizer prices pinch agricultural communities.Its part of a wider frustration, said an adviser to one of the farm-state GOP senators, granted anonymity to speak openly. I dont think it sways anyones vote, but it isnt a great look. It isnt fun for me to read the headline. Its frustrating.Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Osborns opponent, said in a statement he has a record of standing for his states agriculture community, no matter who is president from fighting Bidens 30x30 plan to opposing this beef import plan.Ranchers know the difference between a senator who delivers and a candidate reading a script his socialist ad agency wrote, Ricketts said.Farm-state Democrats and independents believe beef imports provide a window to speak to rural voters who have skewed red for decades but suddenly look more competitive amid Trumps plunging political standing. A strategist working on Osborns campaign, granted anonymity to discuss strategy, said Osborns ad codes as non-partisan in a way that running ads about taxes or healthcare doesnt.Trumps overall unpopularity is hurting Republicans across the map, but this policy could be especially problematic in a quartet of once-sleeper Senate races that could hand Democrats control of the upper chamber.Spokespeople for the GOP nominees in Iowa and Kansas declined to discuss the issue, pointing to their candidates statements in August, when Trumps plan was announced: Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) called Trumps plan a bad idea, while Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) said the priority should be growing the U.S. cattle herd, not flooding the market with imports.Last week, during a debate at the Kansas State Fair, Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton slammed the import plan as a slap in the face of all of our cattle ranchers, earning a raucous response from fair-goers, and hit Marshall for tepidly respond[ing] to it as opposed to shouting like hell that this is not okay.In Iowas agriculture-heavy first district, Democrats have been on the air since June with an ad hammering Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks for record-high beef prices and other cost-of-living increases under the Trump administration. The Republicans who were already getting hammered for high prices before now are now hobbled by a proposed remedy one that has infuriated their own base.When asked how Republicans should message the beef plan back home, Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, acknowledged theres certainly a lot of concern amongst our cattle producers.I think they understand what's going on. They're just not pleased with it, Boozman said. We're in contact with the administration, a lot of members are in contact, helping them understand the unintended consequences of it. We'd like to lower prices, but again, we don't want the unintended consequence of lowering cattle futures significantly.That leaves ranchers worried that the import plan will undercut their struggling industry.President Trump wants to lower the price of beef, I think that's where it's coming from, said Ben Menges, a cattle rancher in Arizonas battleground 6th District. The best way that President Trump can do that is by lowering the cost of fuel, not by importing a bunch of beef.Some Republicans have looked to turn the conversation into a culture war issue hitting their opponents for past stances on meat consumption or veganism.Vice President JD Vance, during a visit to Iowa Friday which Hinson did not attend slammed Hamilton, the pastor-turned-Democratic nominee for Senate in Kansas, for having a kind of a gee whiz, I'm a nice pastor vibe who tells his congregation to repent for their white privilege while eating beef.Its an attack Marshall made at last weeks debate, hitting Hamilton for a sermon he delivered on climate change and the impact of meat consumption.I think the senator needs to repent for not standing up for the beef industry, responded Hamilton.This article originally appeared on Politico at https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/19/trumps-beef-plan-problem-nebraska-iowa-kansas-texas-01084910 Sat, 19 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0000