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TDFP News Roundup 9/17/26

Writer: Yossi S
Yossi S
15 hours ago
5 min read





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Trump says Iran war ‘hopefully’ nearing end after direct outreach:

President Donald Trump told reporters Tehran “wants to make a deal” and that he has spoken to Iran “directly,” as the conflict nears the seven-month mark. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Iranian nuclear threat has been “taken care of” and urged Republicans to focus on bringing down gas prices ahead of the midterms.


Fed hikes rates for first time in three years, undercutting Trump’s affordability pitch:

The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate a quarter point to a 3.75%–4% range Wednesday—its first hike in three years—citing stubborn inflation from energy costs and tariffs. Chair Kevin Warsh’s move puts him at odds with President Trump’s push for cheaper borrowing less than two months before the midterms.


House GOP cancels Thursday votes, ducking Massie’s Hegseth impeachment:

Republican leaders scrapped the House’s final pre-midterm session day, kicking Rep. Thomas Massie’s privileged resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth into the lame-duck. Speaker Mike Johnson called the push a “publicity stunt,” while Democrats and Massie accused leadership of fleeing a tough vote.


Trump preps $2.8B Israel package with 40,000 heavy bombs:

The administration is informally notifying Congress of a proposed $2.8 billion transfer including MK-84 and BLU-117 2,000-pound bombs plus I-2000 penetrators—the largest such heavy-munition package for Israel in recent years. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Chris Van Hollen vowed to block it; the State Department declined comment on pending sales.


Biden-appointed judge ties ICE hands on warrantless SoCal arrests:

U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong issued a preliminary injunction barring warrantless civil immigration arrests across seven Southern California counties unless agents make an individualized escape-risk finding first. DHS said ICE’s practices track statute and the Fourth Amendment and that the Supreme Court has already vindicated them.


Kavanaugh throws Trump a lifeline after SCOTUS blocks USPS mail-ballot rule:

The Supreme Court left a USPS ballot-mail rule blocked for the 2026 midterms, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s concurrence said there is a “fair prospect” the rule falls within Postal Service authority. Election-integrity advocates say the fight is alive for 2028, while Justices Alito and Thomas dissented.


Jobless claims plunge to 196,000, beating forecasts:

Initial unemployment claims for the week ending Sept. 12 fell 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 196,000—well below the roughly 207,500 economists expected. The four-week average dropped to 203,250 as layoffs stay historically low despite modest hiring.


Nigerian noncitizen charged with illegal voting in Mass.:

The Justice Department arrested Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56, of Lynn, Massachusetts, alleging she twice registered as a citizen and voted in the 2022 midterms and 2024 presidential primary despite never applying for citizenship. If convicted she faces up to a year in prison, a $100,000 fine, and possible deportation.


Trump admin plans ideological warning signs at Smithsonian:

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Senate appropriators the administration will place temporary signs on NPS land warning that Smithsonian and National Museum of American History leaders have turned exhibits into vehicles for “personal, radical ideologies.” The move follows Trump’s July order on “Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution.”


Scandal-hit LA homeless agency abandons four key federal roles:

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority voted not to seek Continuum of Care lead roles—including the federal funding application, HMIS, the point-in-time count, and coordinated entry—amid Trump-admin and local pressure over mismanagement. The city and county are now competing to take over as HUD funding fights continue in court.


Harris joins Michigan Senate nominee El-Sayed as 2028 whispers swirl:

Former Vice President Kamala Harris will appear with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed at a Black maternal health roundtable next week after endorsing him last month. The Detroit News endorsed Republican Mike Rogers the same week, skewering El-Sayed’s radical past and scrubbed posts.


Blakeman mailers tie Hochul to socialist Mayor Mamdani: ‘Say no to socialism’:

GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Blakeman is blanketing Westchester and other suburbs with mailers linking Gov. Kathy Hochul to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s agenda and billions spent on migrants. Hochul’s campaign fired back that Blakeman is defending Trump’s gas prices and opposing her tariff and energy relief.


States retain 2024 ballots after DOJ litigation-hold notices:

Nevada and New Hampshire told localities to keep 2024 election records after Justice Department litigation holds tied to Trump-admin suits seeking voter rolls in 30 states. Federal law’s 22-month retention window for the Nov. 5, 2024 election ended Sept. 5.


Report: election-law professors lean left nearly 7-to-1:

The Public Interest Legal Foundation reviewed all 198 ABA-accredited law schools and found liberal election-law professors outnumber conservatives 76 to 12, with about 70% of such classes left-leaning. PILF President J. Christian Adams warned the imbalance floods courtrooms with lawyers challenging voter-ID and integrity statutes.


Far-left streamer Hasan Piker: U.S. commits ‘pound for pound’ more terrorism than Al Qaeda:

Michigan Senate surrogate Hasan Piker told Axios the U.S. military has committed more terrorism than Al Qaeda “pound for pound as far as the number of deaths,” citing an Iran-war school strike. Candidate Abdul El-Sayed publicly disagreed but still refused to cut ties with the streamer who once said America “deserved 9/11.”


Healey defends removing Catholic parents’ teen over gender dispute:

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said DCF took a 17-year-old from Joseph and Arlene Kutzko because of criminal charges, not gender ideology; the parents’ attorney says those charges were unfounded and that the state has pushed birth control, psych drugs, a boys’ dorm, and blocked Sunday Mass. The next custody hearing is set for Oct. 29.


Israel launches UN-bias website ahead of General Assembly:

Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry opened a digital campaign and website documenting what it calls a UN “propaganda laundering” system—from famine and genocide claims to UNRWA infiltration—timed to the Sept. 22 UNGA debate. Minister Amichai Chikli said the site shows how a narrative “receives institutional authority” and shapes governments and media.


Israeli man charged with plotting terror attack on Ra’anana data center:

Prosecutors charged Mustafa Issa of Kafr Kassem with preparing a terror attack on an Amdocs server facility, alleging he used fire-service volunteering to scout the site and researched explosives and drone delivery. The indictment covers preparation, weapons for terror purposes, and terror training; he remains in custody pending trial.


Seattle PD texts: ‘I don’t know who is in charge’ after Bite of Seattle shooting:

Newly released SPD messages show then-Chief Shon Barnes—out of town in Chicago—asking who had command minutes after the July 26 mass shooting that killed three, while officials privately floated terrorism, an “Maybe Arab male?” outstanding suspect, and FBI help. A planned media briefing was delayed for Mayor Katie Wilson and Gov. Bob Ferguson.


Carney welcomes EU ‘associate member’ pitch after Trump calls it a ‘hostile act’:

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney endorsed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal to make Canada the EU’s first associate member, framing deeper trade, defense, and tech ties as resilience—not a rival bloc. President Trump had branded the idea “laughable” and a possible “hostile act” with tariff threats attached.

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