News Outlets Sue Trump as White House TV Pool Halts Coverage

All 50 States Seek Medicaid Drug Rebates Tied to Foreign Prices

Trump and Mamdani Open Talks on 12,000 Queens Homes

Abbott Halts Data Center Permits Pending Power and Water Audits

Trump Announces Greenland Deal on US Basing Rights

News Outlets Sue Trump as White House TV Pool Halts Coverage

CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued President Donald Trump and senior White House officials in federal court in Washington on Monday, Sept. 21, seeking to reverse a ban on their reporters entering White House grounds. The outlets alleged that retaliation for their coverage violated the First Amendment and that revoking access without due process violated the Fifth Amendment. Judge Timothy J. Kelly was assigned the case and scheduled a Wednesday hearing, with no ruling reported as of Monday. Separately, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News suspended their shared television pool coverage of the president after CNN's exclusion left its rotation without a replacement crew. Because the pool supplies footage to broadcasters nationwide, the suspension disrupted television coverage of presidential events while print and radio pools continued. The White House also launched “Trump TV: The Essentials Station,” a digital stream on its official YouTube channel, on Monday evening.

NPR / CNN / CNBC / White House / Jerusalem Post

All 50 States Seek Medicaid Drug Rebates Tied to Foreign Prices

Federal officials announced Sept. 18 that all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico had applied to participate in President Donald Trump's Medicaid drug-pricing initiative. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said 40 states and Puerto Rico had signed participation agreements, with the remaining states facing a Sept. 30 deadline. Under the GENEROUS model, participating drugmakers would provide rebates intended to bring Medicaid's net prices for selected brand-name drugs down to the lowest prices paid in other developed countries. The White House said the model covers hundreds of medicines, including cancer, diabetes and asthma treatments. It projected $64.3 billion in combined federal and state Medicaid savings over 10 years. Those potential savings would reduce costs in the joint federal-state health program, but outside analysts say they cannot verify the estimate because the underlying drugmaker agreements are not public.

CMS / White House / AP

Trump and Mamdani Open Talks on 12,000 Queens Homes

President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a surprisingly friendly meeting at Gracie Mansion on Monday, Sept. 21, agreeing to expand discussions about housing at Sunnyside Yard in Queens. The two have often been political foils: Trump has called Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, a “communist,” while Mamdani campaigned against what he described as Trump's authoritarianism. Mamdani said City Hall and the White House would establish a new channel for talks about building over the active rail yards, a proposal he said could produce roughly 12,000 affordable and moderate-income homes and 30,000 jobs. Trump made no commitment to the project. Mamdani also raised disagreements over immigration enforcement, protections for Haitian New Yorkers and the administration's public-charge rule, while saying news organizations would retain access to Gracie Mansion despite the White House's press bans. The housing discussions could advance federal cooperation on financing a project the city has studied for years, even as the two leaders remain divided over immigration policy.

NBC New York / ABC7 / CNN / AP

Abbott Halts Data Center Permits Pending Power and Water Audits

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Monday, Sept. 21, to stop issuing permits for data centers until state electricity and water audits are completed. By adding environmental permits to the earlier grid-connection restrictions, the order could also reach data centers that generate their own electricity. Abbott said agencies must obtain the information sought by the Public Utility Commission, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Texas Water Development Board before granting regulatory approvals. He ordered the environmental commission to report on its compliance by Oct. 19. The broader pause could delay construction as regulators examine the projects' power and water needs and the costs associated with serving them. The move comes amid growing community opposition as Abbott seeks reelection in November, marking a shift from his earlier promotion of Texas as a hub for AI development.

Texas Tribune / Texas Governor's Office

Trump Announces Greenland Deal on US Basing Rights

President Donald Trump announced Sept. 18 that the United States had reached an agreement with Denmark and Greenland allowing it to expand its military presence and establish bases on the Arctic island. A State Department official told Reuters the accord would provide permanent access, basing and overflight rights, including if Greenland later becomes independent. Denmark and Greenland said the agreement, reached after months of tensions over Trump's demands to acquire the island, would respect the Danish kingdom's sovereignty and Greenlanders' right to self-determination. Security analysts expect intensifying Arctic competition with China and Russia and see Greenland's location between North America and Europe as a strategic advantage for U.S. surveillance and defense. The United States already operates Pituffik Space Base and holds broad military rights under a 1951 agreement with Denmark. Signing was scheduled for Sept. 22, and the full text remained unpublished as of Sept. 21, leaving the precise conditions for future basing unclear.

Reuters / CFR / CSIS

SEPTEMBER 22, 1888: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PUBLISHES ITS FIRST ISSUE

National Geographic releases its inaugural magazine issue without any photographs, relying solely on text and maps. With so few subscribers, editor Gilbert H. Grosvenor personally addresses each copy and hand-delivers the entire mailing to the post office.

This article was written using our proprietary AI system, Cronkite. The final decision to publish this article was made by a human. For more info, read our AI policy.

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Sources

1. NPR via KPBS / CNN / CNBC / White House — Trump TV / Jerusalem Post
2. CMS / White House / AP
3. NBC New York / ABC7 / CNN — Trump and Mamdani Statements / CNN — Prior Campaign Remarks / AP
4. Texas Tribune / Texas Governor's Office
5. Reuters via Investing.com — Agreement and Basing Rights / Reuters via Investing.com — Sovereignty / Reuters via Investing.com — Signing and NATO Role / CFR — Greenland’s Strategic Importance / CSIS — Arctic Competition