NEWS: 09/22/26

Introduction 

Good evening, everyone. You are listening to WHRW Binghamton, and this is your weekly news power hour. I’m Bailey, your News Director, and today I am joined by my fellow analyst, Tolu. 

Congressional News 

Free Press? 

In response to President Donald Trump’s ban on certain media outlets from covering the White House, the Trump administration is now facing a lawsuit as well as a refusal by other TV networks to provide TV pool coverage of the president’s activities on Monday.

Pool coverage is when one network attends an event and then distributes information and media, such as video footage and audio, to other outlets. 

Trump’s decision to ban CNN, Politico and MS NOW Friday, delivered on Truth Social, cited what he said was “their constant ‘reporting’of FAKE NEWS!”

A number of high-level White House aides were caught off guard by the announcement on Friday, according to four officials who spoke to NBC News. Trump had discussed wanting to ban specific reporters and media outlets earlier in this term but ultimately chose not to do so or was talked out of it, according to two people familiar with those discussions.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles was not at the White House on Friday when the ban was announced, according to a person familiar with the matter, possibly contributing to some of the confusion among staff.

MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner, CNN’s Betsy Klein and Politico’s Cheyenne Haslett were all denied access to the White House on Saturday, a day after Trump announced the ban. Gardner said that an MS NOW photographer was also denied access, while one of the network’s producers was allowed onto the White House grounds. It was not immediately clear why their access differed.

Klein and Haslett both had their White House press credentials confiscated when they tried to enter the grounds on Saturday. Workspaces in the White House typically used by CNN and MS NOW sat empty Saturday.

First Amendment experts and the White House Correspondents’ Association called the turning away of credentialed reporters unconstitutional. 

The results of Trump’s ban and the lack of a television pool were quickly apparent on Monday. The president could not be heard while speaking at a ribbon-cutting for the helipad he had built on the White House lawn in the afternoon. 

“There is no microphone because the pool cameras aren’t there,” a Newsmax correspondent said during the conservative network’s coverage of the event, adding: “Obviously, the ramifications are right here. Can’t hear what the president’s saying.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also expressed disagreement with Trump during a press conference after the two met in New York City on Monday. 

“I told the president that we’re going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn, and that is something that I believe in — is everyone, no matter the opinion or the critique, that we engage,” Mamdani said.

The president responded by defending his ban. “I think that these outlets have an obligation to be fair. And if they’re fake news, I really think I have an obligation not to allow them into another very special house,” the White House, he said.

The lawsuit from CNN, Politico and MS NOW argues that the president’s move violated the defendants’ due process rights and First Amendment protections for newsgathering and speech. 

“This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles,” the 27-page filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said.

Gardner, Haslett and Klein were plaintiffs in the lawsuit in addition to their networks. Trump, Communications Director Steven Cheung, Secret Service Director Sean Curran and Wiles are the defendants.

Trump, the lawsuit added, “was expressly clear about his viewpoint discriminatory motive.”

The plaintiffs also called on U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, to issue a temporary restraining order to block the enforcement of the ban and restore reporters’ hard passes, which allow them to access White House grounds.

The three outlets said they were filing the lawsuit “to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”

“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” a joint statement from the outlets continued. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

Reached for comment on the lawsuit, the White House press office directed NBC News to Trump’s Truth Social post defending the move Monday morning. In the post, the president called the ban “an assault” on the news media, which he claimed is “a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, NOW!”

A White House staff member reaches for the microphone held by CNN’s Jim Acosta as he questions Trump in a tense 2018 press conference before the White House revoked his hard pass.NBC News file

Kelly set a Wednesday hearing to evaluate the outlets’ request, and he ordered the Trump administration to respond to the outlets’ claims by Tuesday.

In 2018, Kelly oversaw a similar case when the White House removed press credentials for CNN’s Jim Acosta, then the network’s chief White House correspondent, after a contentious press conference. 

Kelly ordered the Trump administration to temporarily return Acosta’s press pass and, days later, the administration relented and notified Acosta they’d restore his hard pass permanently.

CNN was scheduled to provide pool coverage of Trump on Monday, an assignment made before Trump said he would ban the network. Media outlets that are part of the pool system take turns providing the camera and crew to film the president’s events for use by journalists around the world.

But after Klein was turned away from White House grounds on Saturday, the White House issued press guidance at 10:55 p.m. ET on Sunday that omitted CNN as the assigned TV pooler for Monday. 

The other networks in the TV network pool declined to step in and replace CNN’s coverage, the organizations said, meaning there will be no pooled TV coverage of the president’s activities on Monday. 

“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,” the five members of the TV pool — NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and Fox News — said in a joint statement in response to CNN’s ban. 

Print and radio pools are still in place, and TV pools for events for other parts of the administration will continue. CNN, for example, will provide pool coverage of Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday.

The networks are all part of a pool system that allows outlets to share reporting and video feeds when space is limited. The system has been recognized by administrations from both parties for decades, and the coverage is used by pool members and subscribers, which includes outlets like Newsmax, One America News Network, C-SPAN and international outlets.

Individual TV networks, including NBC News, continue to provide coverage of White House events that are open to the press, outside of the pool. Outside of events, NBC News reporters continue to report on the administration’s activities.

Trump has targeted other journalists and outlets he dislikes. He barred The Associated Press from the Oval Office, Air Force One and some events after it declined to call the Gulf of Mexico by Trump’s preferred name, the Gulf of America. The AP sued the administration, and the case is ongoing.

The latest ban is part of a “broader pattern” of the president’s push to hinder press access, Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told NBC News.

“President Trump presents it as retaliation against these particular news organizations, but it’s really a move against the public’s right to know, and that’s the way that we should be thinking about it,” Jaffer said.

Two legal experts told NBC News that the media outlets’ case is likely to succeed, at least in lower courts.

Evelyn Douek, a professor at Stanford Law School, called Trump’s actions “a blatant violation of the First Amendment.”

Douek added that Trump’s explanation of why he was banning the outlets from the White House could ultimately hurt his case because they “make the First Amendment arguments much easier to establish.”

Jonathan Kotler, a professor at the University of Southern California’s journalism school where he teaches media law, said that the press’ absence from the White House is a disservice to the public. “The press is supposed to keep the president’s feet to the fire and be the public’s eyes and ears,” he said.

“If I was in Vegas now and I had to bet on this, I would think that the press is going to win at every level up until the Supreme Court. … You just never know with the Supreme Court,” Kotler added.

Administration officials and Republicans defended Trump’s move.

Vice President JD Vance defended the president, telling reporters that Trump was “not banning media outlets.” Trump’s original social media post, though, said he was “banning” the outlets. The vice president also said that Trump’s announcement meant that the administration was not providing the outlets with “special access” if they “engage in what is effectively propaganda.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was not in the Oval Office when the president issued the ban, but said in a CNBC interview Monday that the legacy media “equilibrium is so far out of kilter” and criticized the media for “perceived bias.”

Asked in a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether Trump’s move violates the Constitution, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said no.

“I believe the press has an obligation to report fairly,” the senator said.

International News 

UN Assembly

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Donald Trump delivered a verbal escalation against Tehran, warning world leaders he might “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if its government refuses to negotiate a deal preventing it from getting nuclear weapons, CNN reports. The threat, which carried potential consequences for Iran’s 93 million citizens, underscored how the months-long war has continued to overlook global diplomacy while driving up global energy prices. Despite facing growing bipartisan pressure at home from Democrats and a rising number of Republican senators urging a swift end to the conflict, Trump insisted that domestic politics and the upcoming midterm elections would not alter his military strategy. Immediately following his speech, the president completely 180-ed from wartime threats to a major diplomatic milestone, joining the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland to sign a new Arctic security pact. The agreement aims to resolve months of tension with NATO allies after Trump previously suggested the U.S. might take Greenland by force, getting American security interests in the region while keeping Denmark and Greenland’s sovereignty intact.

Entertainment News

Rent

It’s now been revealed who from the legendary original cast of Jonathan Larson’s Rent will be on hand for the musical’s upcoming 30th anniversary concert, set for Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre October 26. The concert, which sold out almost immediately after tickets went on sale, will also stream live. Michael Greif is again directing after staging the original production.

The one-night-only performance will reunite original cast members Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin-Vega. And will also feature a number of Rent alumni, including Nicholas Christopher, Jordan Fisher, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Ephraim Sykes, and Aaron Tveit.

Originally premiering at Off-Broadway’s New York Theatre Workshop before transferring to Broadway’s Nederlander in 1996, Rent was that rare show that transcends mere Broadway success to become a cultural touchstone, changing the industry and truly permeating the mainstream zeitgeist—essentially the Hamilton of its time. The show is most noted for bringing ’90s-style rock music to Broadway.

And making the show’s creation even more extraordinary was the sudden and tragic death of composer Jonathan Larson, the night before the largely undiscovered talent’s musical was scheduled to give the first preview performance at NYTW. The loss—from an aortic dissection thought to be the result of undiagnosed Marfan syndrome at the age of 35—ended a career that was only just beginning, made all the more tragic when Rent went on to the history-making mega-success that it was. The show made stars of much of its incredible original cast.

The Broadway run would ultimately continue for 12 years and 5,123 performances, closing September 7, 2008. Along with a Broadway cast album certified two-times multi-platinum, the musical has spawned countless regional and international stagings, a big screen movie adaptation featuring most of the original stage cast, and a live TV production.

Broadway Cares is producing the upcoming concert alongside Baseline Theatrical founder Andy Jones. 

Annie

A new production of “Annie” will premiere on Broadway in fall 2027, marking 50 years since the Tony Award-winning musical made its Broadway debut. Tony Award winner Sam Pinkleton, whose credits include “Oh, Mary!” and “The Rocky Horror Show,” will direct the 50th anniversary production.

Producers have not yet announced casting or which Broadway theater will house the revival.

“Annie” originally opened at the Alvin Theatre, now the Neil Simon Theatre, on April 21, 1977. The production was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won seven, including Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical.

The upcoming production will mark the musical’s fourth Broadway revival.Additional details, including casting, theater and ticket information, are expected to be announced at a later date.

TSCACANY

The new Broadway musical comedy Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) will play its final performance November 29 at the Longacre Theatre. Upon closing, the production will have played 21 previews and 428 performances. A first national tour will launch in Providence, Rhode Island, next year.

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) officially opened on Broadway November 20, 2025, after beginning performances November 1. Starring Christiani Pitts and Sam Tutty, the rom-com musical follows a naïve and impossibly upbeat Brit, Dougal, who has just landed in New York for his estranged father’s second wedding. When Robin, the sister of the bride, picks him up from the airport, they embark on a serendipitous adventure through New York City. The musical was nominated for eight 2026 Tony Awards.

RHPS

Acclaimed actor, television personality, and comedian Rosie O’Donnell will star in The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway next month, taking over as the Narrator. She will join beginning October 6, performing through October 18. 

O’Donnell will fill in for Tony nominee Rachel Dratch in the role, who will take a short leave and return on October 20. O’Donnell moved to Ireland full-time in 2025; this engagement marks a brief return to the United States. It’s also O’Donnell’s return to the Broadway stage after 21 years (save for an appearance in the 68th annual Tony Awards in 2014). Prior, she starred in Fiddler on the Roof, Seussical, and Grease.

The Rocky Horror Show began previews on March 26 and officially opened April 23 at Studio 54. After extending its run twice, tickets are now on sale through February 28, 2027. Tony Award winner Sam Pinkleton directs.

The production broke the house record at Studio 54 the week ending June 28, becoming the highest-grossing production to play the theatre.

Sports News

Giants

Jaxson Dart could miss the rest of the season after tests showed that the New York Giants quarterback’s knee injury is more severe than initially anticipated, sources told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.

Dart suffered the injury during the opening possession of Monday’s 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Coach John Harbaugh said after the game that the Giants likely avoided a “devastating outcome” with Dart’s knee.

But sources told Rapoport and Garafolo that the second-year star will miss an extended period of time and is facing the possibility of season-ending surgery.

Harbaugh said Tuesday that evaluations on Dart’s knee were still ongoing and declined to comment further on his timeline to return. Harbaugh also expressed confidence in backup quarterback Jay-miss Winston’s ability to step in for however long Dart is sidelined.

The Giants lost Dart on their seventh snap of the game, when he was hit on his right side by Rams linebacker Byron Young. That hit sent Dart into linebacker Josaiah Stewart, who undercut the quarterback’s legs, resulting in a hard fall.

Dart immediately grabbed at his left knee and went to the blue medical tent. He walked with a limp to the locker room and initially was listed as questionable to return to the game before officially being ruled out early in the third quarter.

Winston struggled in place of Dart, completing 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards and an interception.

Beyond Winston, the Giants have quarterback Jake Haener on their practice squad. But with Dart expected to miss an extended period, Harbaugh and the Giants will lean on Winston.

Dart, 23, flashed promise as a rookie last year and was outstanding in New York’s season-opening victory over the Dallas Cowboys, completing 23 of 29 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 54 yards. The Giants, in their first season under Harbaugh, are set to embark on what appears to be a favorable part of their schedule. Now onto the other side of this Rams – Giants game…

LA Ram’s Sean McVay said he doesn’t know wide receiver Puka Nacua’s game status for Week 3 against the Denver Broncos, but the head coach said he’s hopeful Nacua will play.

“If he’s ready to go, great,” McVay said. “If not, then we’ll continue to roll.”

Nacua was added to the Rams’ injury report Friday with a hip injury. On Saturday, McVay said Nacua was dealing with “a little bit of soreness” in his groin and would not practice that day. McVay said Nacua’s injury isn’t related to the psoas injury that caused him to miss time during training camp.

McVay said Tuesday that when skill position players are dealing with soft tissue injuries, “You’re going to err on the side of caution.”

Nacua did a pregame warmup Monday night before the Rams’ 28-6 victory over the New York Giants but was inactive.In the Rams’ season opener, Nacua led the Rams with five catches for 74 yards on nine targets.

Jets

The New York Jets added a former starter to their quarterback room, signing Will Levis to their practice squad Tuesday.

Levis, who worked out for the Jets before Week 1, went 5-16 as the Tennessee Titans’ starter in 2023 and 2024 before missing last season due to shoulder surgery.

A second-round pick (33rd overall) in 2023, Levis was considered the Titans’ quarterback of the future but was undone by turnovers. He was replaced by Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in 2025.

In a corresponding move, the Jets released quarterback Bailey Zappe (nine career starts) from the practice squad. Geno Smith and rookie Cade Klubnik are on the active roster.

Levis showed some promise as a rookie, throwing eight touchdowns and four interceptions in nine starts. But, in 2024, he won only two of 12 starts and had almost as many interceptions (13) and touchdown passes (12), prompting then-coach Brian Callahan to bench him late in the year.

In the 2026 preseason, Levis completed 21 of 39 passes for 200 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Jets, meanwhile, were hit hard by injuries in Sunday’s 20-17 overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers, prompting them to place three players on injured reserve — starting defensive tackle David Onyemata (groin), wide receiver Arian Smith (knee) and linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball (ankle). On the other side of this Jets Packers game…

For the second straight season, the Green Bay Packers have lost right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele for the season due to a torn patellar tendon in his right knee. Last year, it was a partial tear that prevented him from coming back after he was injured in Week 15. This year, he said it was a complete tear sustained in Sunday’s overtime win over the New York Jets.

Bako-Bewele, who was limited most of the offseason while recovering from a surgery he described as a repair to remove some tissue around the patellar tendon, now will undergo a more complex surgery that he expects to sideline him for eight to 10 months. He said the surgery is scheduled for Thursday.

He would not say whether he might have come back too soon from the initial surgery. He did not rule out that the surface at MetLife Stadium might have played a role.

The fourth-round pick in 2022 is widely considered the Packers’ best offensive lineman. They signed him to a four-year, $88 million contract extension in 2025. Second-year pro Anthony Belton finished Sunday’s game at right tackle and likely will start there again Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons.

That wasn’t the only injury on the offensive line from Sunday’s game. Green Bay finished the game without left guard Aaron Banks (toe/knee) and then lost his replacement, Donovan Jennings, to a hand injury. Rookie Jager Burton finished the game at left guard. He was the last offensive lineman available in the game, and when right guard Jacob Monk was getting evaluated for a stinger, the Packers were preparing to use tight end Tucker Kraft at one of the offensive line spots.

They also lost receiver Jayden Reed to what was initially called a neck injury but according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter was actually a back injury. It’s unclear how much time, if any, Reed will miss. He returned to Green Bay on Monday after being held in New Jersey after the game for observation.

This Day in History

On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which sets a date for the freedom of more than 3 million enslaved in the United States and recasts the Civil War as a fight against slavery.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, shortly after Lincoln’s inauguration as America’s 16th president, he maintained that the war was about restoring the Union and not about slavery. He avoided issuing an anti-slavery proclamation immediately, despite the urgings of abolitionists and radical Republicans, as well as his personal belief that slavery was morally repugnant. Instead, Lincoln chose to move cautiously until he could gain wide support from the public for such a measure.

In July 1862, Lincoln informed his cabinet that he would issue an emancipation proclamation but that it would exempt the so-called border states, which had slaveholders but remained loyal to the Union. His cabinet persuaded him not to make the announcement until after a Union victory. Lincoln’s opportunity came following the Union win at the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. On September 22, the president announced that enslaved people in areas still in rebellion within 100 days would be free.

On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, which declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebel states “are, and henceforward shall be free.” The proclamation also called for the recruitment and establishment of Black military units among the Union forces. An estimated 180,000 African Americans went on to serve in the army, while another 18,000 served in the navy.

After the Emancipation Proclamation, backing the Confederacy was seen as favoring slavery. It became impossible for anti-slavery nations such as Great Britain and France, who had been friendly to the Confederacy, to get involved on behalf of the South. The proclamation also unified and strengthened Lincoln’s party, the Republicans, helping them stay in power for the next two decades.

The proclamation was a presidential order and not a law passed by Congress, so Lincoln then pushed for an antislavery amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ensure its permanence. With the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865, slavery was eliminated throughout America (although Black people would face another century of struggle before they began to gain equal rights in the U.S.A. a century after the passage of the 13th Amendment).

Lincoln’s handwritten draft of the final Emancipation Proclamation was destroyed in the Chicago Fire of 1871. Today, the original official version of the document is housed in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Conclusion 

That wraps up our news power hour this week. We are looking forward to a great semester, sharing the latest news. Big thank you to Chris, our engineer, for all of his hard work today, and we will be back next week!