NEWS: 09/15/26

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 analysts – Val and Tolu. 

Local News

Human Remains Found During Construction

Just yesterday, a shocking discovery was made public after construction crews were renovating The Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School last month.

According to Local News 34, the school, located on the North Side of Binghamton, uncovered the unthinkable: Human Remains. After receiving this information, the Binghamton City School District said it took “immediate and respectful action.” 

This discovery doesn’t come with extraordinary surprise, though, as the new wing of the elementary school is being built on the former home of Bevier Farmland, which once housed the family’s cemetery.  Prior to the start of the project, officials used ground-penetrating radar to detect headstones or caskets, but none were found.

As of now, the district has partnered with the New York State Historic Preservation Office, State Parks, and Binghamton University’s archaeology department to excavate and relocate the remains.

Reviving Stadium Lofts

In news from last week, Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham is hoping to revive a 4-year-old housing plan by pressuring New York State to supply financial assistance.

The plan, which was first announced back in August 2022, included a 65-unit building that would be built in the northern section of downtown Binghamton around Mirabito Stadium, and would be a part of the City’s $160+ million initiative of revitalizing the district.  The city explains that the lofts would be directed towards people making between 30 to 80 percent of Binghamton’s median income.  The developers of this proposal, that being Kearney Realty Group, announced that the ground floor of what will be a 4- to 5-story building will be a dedicated commercial space.

Mayor Kraham stated that the project would complement an additional $12 million reconstruction plan for Henry Street around the home of the Rumble Ponies taking place in the next year.

Stabbing Near Mirabito Stadium

And while we’re on the topic of the Mirabito Stadium area, just yesterday at 11:50 am, officers were dispatched to an area of Binghamton’s Pine Street for a reported stabbing.

According to Local News 12 and the Binghamton Police Department, two men were involved in the incident and knew each other prior.  In a dispute, one of the men pulled out a knife and stabbed the other in the neck.  When officials arrived, the victim was treated at the scene and is currently in stable condition at a local hospital.  Afterward, officers remained on site to speak with witnesses.

As of now, no information on the suspect has been released to Local News 12, and police do not have the suspect in custody yet, but have assured that there is no threat to the public since this was not a random act of violence.

Gutherie Gala

According to News 12, Medical services and facilities company Guthrie held its annual fundraising gala late last month, on August 29th, raising nearly $550,000, marking it as the most successful gala in the health system’s history.

Held at the Corning Museum of Glass, over 400 guests arrived at the “unforgettable” sold-out event.  All proceeds from the evening directly benefited the “Here.  For Good. The Campaign for Guthrie,” which is an initiative directed at “expanding medical access, advancing clinical innovation, and investing in local communities across New York and Pennsylvania.”

In words from Guthrie’s President and CEO, “The overwhelming support shown at this year’s Gala demonstrates the commitment our communities have to strengthening healthcare across the region.  Every Contribution helps advance our mission and supports the care our patients and families depend on every day.”

At the dinner, the health system recognized key community partners and sponsors for their contribution in making this milestone possible.  Among the many benefactors was the presenting sponsor, Expand Energy.  For more information on the gala or their campaign, you can visit the Guthrie website online.

Congressional News

Presidential Promises

President Donald Trump pledged this past Wednesday to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections. The promise would most likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval, and would further exacerbate the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and concerns about inflation.

“If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000,” Trump said during the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas. “It will be called the Trump Dividend.” The president did not say how he’d pay for it, but in the past, he’s suggested payments to Americans could come from tariff revenue. But even if the government saved up every dollar collected from the president’s tariffs, that wouldn’t amount to enough to cover $5,000 checks for every American.

Even the most generous accounting, such as Penn Wharton’s Budget Model, estimates the tariffs brought in roughly $300 billion. And that’s not counting the money the Treasury has had to pay back to American companies after the Supreme Court ruled Trump’s tariff regime illegal. As a result of those debts, the government is currently paying out more in tariff revenue than it is collecting.

The White House issued a press release on Thursday that suggests the checks could come from commitments the Trump administration has received from companies to invest in the private sector. It’s unclear how those investments, which have not yet materialized, would be made into dividend checks for Americans.

Referring back to the Constitution, Article I solely gives Congress the power of the purse, meaning Trump’s $5000 dividend requires congressional approval – a total of 60 votes to pass in the Senate – and with 47 aligned Democratic senators, the Republican party would need 7 additional votes in order to pass the bill, given that all Republicans side with Trump on the issue. Currently, there is no indication that Congress would pass the bill.

Here’s what a few senators are saying: 

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons put it this way in a statement on X: “Trump’s $1.3 TRILLION attempt to pay off voters would explode the deficit, drive up the cost of home and auto loans, and send inflation skyrocketing. Americans already think Trump’s economy is a disaster. Now he’s trying to make it even worse.” 

Outgoing Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said he fears the payments would cause more inflation and accused Trump of trying to buy votes. “Frankly, I’m insulted by the notion that my vote this November could be bought for 5k,” Massie wrote in a post on X.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is facing a tough re-election battle in Maine, said the payments would be “extraordinarily costly” and said tax and spending decisions “should not appear to be tied to election results.”

The bottom line is that this proposal appears unrealistic and could join the line of Trump’s payout promises that have never come to be. In 2018, just before his first midterm election cycle, the president caught fellow Republicans by surprise when he announced middle-class Americans would receive a 10% tax cut.

“We’re putting in a resolution sometime in the next week-and-a-half, or two weeks,” he told reporters as he left for a campaign rally in Texas. That was late October, and the proposal never came up again.

In 2025, Trump endorsed a proposed “DOGE Dividend” — money that was to be dispersed to Americans that came from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency budget-cuts project. Those payments were never made, and a Government Accountability Office report released in August determined that some of DOGE’s savings estimates “are incorrect or lack supporting evidence.”

Just last year, the president declared that every American would get a $2,000 rebate check paid for by tariff revenue.

“A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform in November of 2025. That has not happened yet. This is not to say none of his financial promises have come true. He passed major tax reform in both his first and second terms, which, for instance, made good on his promise to remove tax on tips and created Trump Accounts, the IRA-styled program for children tied to the stock market. Under the new program, the Treasury Department will deposit $1,000 for each enrolled child born in the U.S. between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028.

And his administration sent out $1,400 congressionally approved stimulus checks (with his name on them) to Americans reeling from the economic shock of the COVID pandemic in his first term.

Growing Dangers with AI?

 Lawmakers worried about the existential risk posed by new artificial intelligence products demanded information from OpenAI on Thursday with separate queries that underscored growing concerns in Washington about the technology’s potential to elude human control.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri., launched an investigation Thursday into OpenAI for its artificial intelligence system hacking into another AI company on its own. He is seeking more details about the attack on AI startup Hugging Face, which was disclosed by OpenAI in July, and leads a Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over disaster management.

“The American people deserve to know the details of what went on in the Hugging Face incident and other incidents of AI models going rogue.” Hawley said in a letter to Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive officer. “This investigation will seek those answers.” Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland called on Altman to immediately grant federal cybersecurity agencies access to information that would allow them to assess the safety and risks of OpenAI’s models. Van Hollen cited the Hugging Face attack in his request.

In response to the senators’ inquiries, OpenAI spokesperson Nate Evans said the Hugging Face incident was an important moment for AI safety and a warning about the risks that could come with increasingly capable AI.“We conducted an extensive investigation and published a detailed report on what happened, what we learned, and how we’re strengthening our security and alignment practices,” Evans said in an emailed statement.

Lawmakers also appear to be responding to concerns raised this week when an Anthropic researcher said he is resigning from the company over concerns that the artificial intelligence firm and its competitors are not acting responsibly in AI development. Jacob Coxon, who said he spent three years doing research at both Anthropic and OpenAI, said Tuesday on the social platform X that the two AI companies are more focused on beating each other and global competitors than they are on safety.

Questions about the future of artificial intelligence come as Congress has long been reluctant to regulate the technology industry. Lawmakers in both parties agree that more guardrails are needed across the board, but even narrow attempts at regulation have fallen apart over the years.

A bipartisan working group on artificial intelligence, formed by then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, released a report in 2024 recommending that the U.S. spend at least $32 billion over the next three years to develop artificial intelligence and implement safeguards around it, but Congress has done little to follow up. Similarly, a bipartisan bill on internet safety for children has repeatedly stalled.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, announced this week he would be introducing a bill that would ban the development and deployment of “superintelligent AI” and pause advanced AI development until a federal regulator has established safety rules. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, will sponsor the House version.

“The leaders of the major AI companies publicly acknowledge that they do not fully understand the technology and that it is escaping their control,” Sanders said. “It is irresponsible for society to allow them to move forward and make these products even more advanced.”

Judicial News

Mail-in Ballots?

The Supreme Court on Monday left intact a lower court decision that blocked the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing new regulations for mail voting, rejecting the Trump administration’s effort to move forward with the rules in the run-up to the November midterm elections.

The court’s decision keeps implementation of the Postal Service’s requirements, finalized by the agency late last month, on hold while a legal challenge moves forward. Mail ballots have already gone out to voters in some states, and election officials at the state and local levels had warned it would be difficult for them to make the changes to comply with the new policies in time for the upcoming elections.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, had argued that the rules are needed to address the risk of fraud in mail voting, which Solicitor General D. John Sauer said is a “particularly pernicious species of fraud” that dilutes lawful votes and undermines public confidence in the integrity of elections.

But the administration has not come out with evidence of widespread voter fraud, and President Trump himself has voted by mail in Florida elections this year.

In a brief unsigned order, the Supreme Court said the government “is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the District Court’s preliminary injunction.”

Two of the court’s conservative justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, dissented from the court’s ruling, arguing the states that sued over the Postal Service’s new rules are unlikely to show the policy is unlawful.

A third conservative, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, sided with the majority. He wrote that “there is at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service’s statutory authority.” But he found that applying the rule in the November midterms “would be arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act because state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections.”

President Trump on Tuesday morning slammed the decision, calling it a “bad decision” and a “big loss for Republicans.” He praised Alito and Thomas, but criticized the rest of the justices, particularly the ones he put on the court.

“This Supreme Court is bullied and cajoled by the Radical Left into making decisions that have set America back at least a hundred years,” Mr. Trump said on social media. “These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves.” 

Under the new rules from the Postal Service, mail ballot envelopes must meet certain design requirements, including unique barcodes, and state and local election officials must submit to an online portal certain information about voters who will receive mail ballots.

The Postal Service has said that any ballot mailings that don’t comply with its requirements will be rejected and returned to election offices.

The policies have raised alarm with election officials who are concerned significant numbers of voters could be disenfranchised and fear that if the policies take effect, they would upend states’ mail voting programs just ahead of the midterms. 

Democratic-led states and voting rights groups that are challenging the new rules said they unconstitutionally infringe on states’ authority to administer elections. The Postal Service, they said, does not have the power to set rules for federal elections or mail voting.

In a filing last week, the states and voting rights groups argued that complying with the rule in time for the upcoming midterm elections would be “impossible” and said “millions of voters would be unable to vote by mail and some would not be able to vote at all.”

They added there would be “chaos” and said the new rules are “fraught with an extreme risk of error” that even if the states were to comply in time, “there is a high risk of technical breakdown, ineptitude, and delay,” by the Postal Service.  

But the Trump administration has defended the regulations as “plainly constitutional” and said they impose only “modest” requirements for mail ballots. 

“The Rule’s regulation of the U.S. Mail—not federal elections — is plainly constitutional,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in a filing to the Supreme Court. “While the States have primary authority to regulate the manner of elections, they cannot choose to use the federal mails to carry out their elections but then insist that their election-related mail is somehow exempt from the Postal Service’s rulemaking authority, conferred by Congress, to regulate envelope design and addressee information.”

The Supreme Court’s order caps a legal fight over Mr. Trump’s efforts to restrict mail voting that reached a fever pitch late last month. After the president signed an executive order in late March that called for the Postal Service to develop plans to regulate mail ballots and for the Department of Homeland Security to compile state-specific lists of residents who are U.S. citizens, a group of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit challenging the directive.

Massachusetts-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with key portions of the executive order, but the Supreme Court halted that decision on Aug. 24. In an unsigned 6-3 ruling, the high court said the states’ lawsuit was premature, in part because the Postal Service hadn’t finalized its plans.

The Postal Service published its final rule laying out its new mail voting regulations just days before the Supreme Court issued its earlier order. Soon after, two dozen Democratic-led states filed a new lawsuit seeking to block the policies.

Talwani issued a temporary order on Aug. 27 barring implementation of the rules for 14 days while she considered whether to issue a longer-term block. The Justice Department appealed that decision, but as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit was weighing whether to halt that temporary order, the Trump administration went to the Supreme Court for relief.

Before the Supreme Court could rule on the emergency request to freeze Talwani’s order, the judge issued a preliminary injunction, which replaced her temporary order and blocked the Trump administration from requiring states to comply with the rule while the legal challenge continued.

The Trump administration then asked the Supreme Court for a third time to intervene in the case and withdrew its application for relief on the temporary order.

Separately, a judge in Washington, D.C., also blocked the mail-in ballot rules on Sunday, following a lawsuit brought by the Democratic National Committee and several other groups.

During a hearing earlier this month, Talwani said the Postal Service’s measure could lead to disenfranchisement, and she criticized the agency for failing to provide details about its plans. A senior Postal Service official said as of Sept. 3 that the agency was making “refinements” to the portal.

While the battle over the mail-voting plans was continuing in the courts, an anonymous whistleblower filed a disclosure with Congress warning of “potentially catastrophic problems” with the Postal Service’s portal and systems. The official said the platform is “untested” and “rushed,” and also warned that the new verification process for mail ballots could keep large numbers from being delivered to voters.

Attorney General Letitia James, one of the Democratic officials who sued over the mail-voting rules, praised the Supreme Court’s decision in a statement Monday.

“Today, the Supreme Court protected one of our most fundamental, inalienable rights — the right to make your voice heard at the ballot box,” she wrote. “This last-minute change could have thrown our elections into chaos, and I am truly relieved the Court granted this reprieve.”

Entertainment News

The Emmys were last night, airing live on NBC and Peacock. Mariska Hargitay kicked off the 78th annual Emmy Awards with a celeb-filled song-and-dance number, including New York Knicks player Jalen Brunson. Taylor Swift even made a cameo in a special Law & Order: SVU sketch, and the evening wrapped up with one last Law & Order “dun-dun!”

The evening’s big winners included The Pitt, Widow’s Bay, Pluribus, DTF St. Louis, and Hacks. Matthew Rhys was a double-nominee for his roles in The Beast in Me and Widow’s Bay — and became a double winner as well. Jean Smart pulled off a clean sweep, winning Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for the fifth and final season of Hacks after also winning the award for all four previous seasons.

In between, we saw Charlie’s Angels and Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast reunions and paid tribute to fallen stars, including Dolly Parton, Catherine O’Hara, Rob Reiner, and Tim Curry. The evening also included five-time winner Michael J. Fox accepted the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award with a powerful speech that brought the audience to tears and earned two standing ovations. Here are some other big headlines from the night:

The Pitt is officially two for two. After winning Best Drama Series at the 2025 Emmys, the Charlie’s Angels trio announced The Pitt had won again for season 2. And they took home another big award last night as Noah Wyle won Best Actor in a Drama.

Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Leh-vee Tear Up as They Pay Tribute to Catherine O’Hara. Culkin even interrupted his own speech with: “By the way, call your mother tonight. For real.”

‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ Wins Best Variety Show after airing its last episode earlier this year. Fun fact, the now old writers of The Late Show actually wrote most of the comedy and script for this Emmys. ‘The Traitors’ Wins Best Reality Competition Program.

Zendaya shockingly didn’t win an award for her performance in Euphoria this year, but the night was a win for her anyway because she got to spend the night with her “semi confirmed” husband Tom Holland- who usually doesn’t attend these events with Zendaya. 

Hacks actress Megan Stalter is known for her wild red carpet looks, but she took the 2026 Emmys to another level by dressing as an Emmy. She posed on the red carpet next to photos and statues of Emmy awards, trying to blend in and humor the other actors coming down the red carpet.

Sports News

We officially started football season this Sunday and campus is already going crazy with our Bills, Jets, and Giants fans. Here are some highlights from this weekend.

Patrick Mahomes starred in his triumphant return from his ACL injury. The chiefs totally obliterated the Denver Broncos 31-0. The NY Giants triumphantly defeated the cowboys with a score of 28-20. With the Jets also winning their opening game beating the Titans 23-10, this is the first time both the Jets and Giants have started a season 1-0 since 2009.  

The defending champion Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 13-10 in the 2026 NFL season opener, though the high-profile rematch turned out to be a ratings drop. Drake Maye threw three consecutive interceptions on New England’s final drives. The game averaged 25.1 million viewers, marking an 11% decline from the previous year’s opener.

Rookie wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick expected to miss Week 2 with injuries. The New York Jets addressed depth concerns at those positions with a series of roster moves on Tuesday.

They signed veteran free-agent receivers Sterling Shepard and Tyler Johnson to the practice squad, also signing nickelback Jordan Clark to their 53-man roster from the practice squad. Cooper (sprained ankle) is considered week-to-week, with the hope that he returns within the next four weeks.

Both Shepard and Johnson are familiar with MetLife Stadium.

Shepard played eight years for the New York Giants before moving to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. He was released by the Houston Texans on Aug. 30.

Johnson, 28, returns to the Jets after failing to make the Dallas Cowboys’ roster in training camp. In 2025, he played 12 games for the Jets, finishing with 12 catches for 197 yards and one touchdown.

The Jets acquired Fitzpatrick, 29, in an offseason trade with the Miami Dolphins with the idea that he’d provide leadership and playmaking ability for the secondary. The Jets have gone 18 straight games without an interception, the longest drought in league history.

The Jets (1-0) face the Green Bay Packers (0-1) on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

The Baltimore Ravens dominated the Colts winning 41-23. And as of today, their kicker Tyler loop no longer has competition after a strong showing in the season opener.

The Ravens released Jake Moody from the practice squad on Tuesday after Loop hit two long field goals in their win at the Indianapolis Colts. Loop made a career-long 57-yard field goal and then added a 45-yarder.

Moody, a former third-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers, was signed to the practice squad on Aug. 31 after Loop had an uneven preseason. Loop, whose 44-yard miss in the season finale ended Baltimore’s season eight months ago, was 5-of-8 (62.5%) in three preseason games.

Ravens coach Jesse Minter said Sunday that his confidence in Loop had never really been shaken.

With injuries to Raven’s wide receivers Zay Flowers (hamstring) and Ja’Kobi Lane (wrist), Baltimore signed wide receiver Gage Larvadain to the practice squad. Larvadain, who was cut by the Cleveland Browns on Aug. 30 after spending training camp with them, has seven career catches for 71 yards receiving. He also has experience as a punt returner.

This Day in History

Muhammad Ali

On this day in 1978, world-renowned boxer Muhammad Ali defeated Leon Spinks at the Louisiana Superdome located in New Orleans, marking his third victory in the world heavyweight boxing competition and the first fighter to reach this milestone.  Shortly after this victory, though, he retired from the sport only to make a brief comeback two years later.  Famous for his phrase, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” Ali permanently left the sport in 1981.

Born on January 14th, 1942, as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky, the record-setting boxer changed his name to Muhammad Ali after converting to Islam in 1965.  In 1960, he earned a gold medal at the Olympics in Rome and made his professional boxing debut that same year against Tunney Hunsaker, where he won the bout in 6 rounds.  A couple of years later, in 1964, Ali won a fight against Sonny Liston in 6 rounds and was declared a heavyweight champ, self-proclaiming himself by stating, “I am the greatest!”

As the years moved on, in 1967, Ali was accused of draft evasion for refusing to be inducted into the U.S. armed forces.  As a result, he was banned from boxing for 3 years.  Staying out of prison, he returned to the ring in 1970, defeating Jerry Quarry in Atlanta in the third round.  And in 1971, experienced the first loss of his career in 15 rounds against Joe Frazier in what was considered the “Fight of the Century.”  3 years later, Ali redeemed himself by winning a rematch against Frazier in 12 rounds.

Finally, in 1981, Ali decided it was time to retire for good.  Setting a record of 56 wins, 5 losses, and 37 Knockouts, he certainly wasn’t leaving empty-handed.  Sadly, in 1984, it was revealed that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and passed away on June 3rd, 2016.  

Marilyn Monroe

Also on this day in history, in 1954, the famous photo of Marilyn Monroe, standing above a subway grate as it blows her skirt up, was shot.  The photo was taken during the filming of the film The Seven Year Itch and enraged her husband, Joe DiMaggio, who felt it was too inappropriate.  The two separated shortly after.

Born Norma Jean Mortensen, who also went by Norma Jean Baker, had quite the tragic origin story.  Growing up, her mother was mentally unstable and eventually institutionalized when she was just 5 years old.  From then on, she lived in multiple foster homes, suffering from neglect and abuse, and eventually moved into an orphanage.  At 16, she dropped out of high school and got married to a 21-year-old man who was an aircraft plant worker.  In 1944, when her husband left overseas with the military, she worked as a spray painter in a defense plant when a photographer spotted her and transformed her into a popular pin-up girl.  Two years later, she was a successful model, divorcing her husband and signing with 20th Century Fox for $125 a week.  Unfortunately, she was dropped after one film but then signed by Columbia, which also dropped her after one film.  Without work, she took up nude modeling for a calendar for $50 and sold a million copies, making $750,000.

From then on, Monroe continued to star in small film roles until Fox signed her again in 1950.  This time around, they turned her into a star, giving her major roles in big films like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  After her divorce from DiMaggio, Monroe revealed that she would fund her own studio.  Around that time, she married playwright Arthur Miller, who wrote The Misfits, the last picture Monroe would go on to make, in 1961, but she ended up divorcing him a week before the film premiered.  She attempted to make one more film after that but was eventually fired for her frequent illnesses and absence from the set, which many speculate was due to drug addiction.  In 1962, Monroe was found dead from an overdose of sleeping pills and was ruled to be a possible suicide.  After her death, multiple biographies and adaptations of her life were created, such as the 2022 film Blonde, a story inspired by Monroe’s life and played by Ana de Armas.

Conclusion 

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