“Two women filed a federal lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, claiming their photographs were found in his vast collection of child pornography. Identified in court papers only as Jane Doe and Amy, the women allege that ‘few if any’ of those whose photos were in Epstein’s collection were informed that these photographs are in the hands of federal investigators. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, seeks class-action status and is asking for unspecified damages and requesting the court to ‘design and supervise a single, coordinated program for identifying and notifying’ the other women whose ‘unlawful sexualized images’ were part of Epstein’s collection.” (09/16/26)
“House GOP leaders have cut short the final legislative week before the midterm elections, announcing that lawmakers will leave Washington after Wednesday’s votes. … The move not only allows lawmakers to head home early for the campaign trail, it also means that lawmakers will not be forced to take a vote on impeaching Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth before the elections. Sponsored by Rep. Tom Massie (R-Ky.), the impeachment resolution was introduced on Tuesday as a privileged motion, setting a 48-hour clock for it to hit the floor. … The next time the House will be back in session after Wednesday will be Nov. 9, following the midterm elections.” (09/16/26)
“Russian air strikes injured 18 people across Ukraine while a Ukrainian drone attack damaged an oil refinery deep inside Russia early on Thursday, as both sides continued strikes despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of an energy truce. Twelve people, including two children, were wounded in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv …. In the Black Sea port city of Odesa, a child was among three people injured …. Three others were wounded in Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine, where a missile strike also caused a fire at an industrial facility. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack damaged an oil refinery in the Russian city of Yaroslavl, causing a fire that was later extinguished, regional Governor Mikhail Yevrayev said.” (09/17/26)
“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in over three years amid concerns over stubborn inflation that has been driven recently by higher energy prices. Fed policymakers voted 12-0 to raise the federal funds rate from a range of 3.5% to 3.75% to a new target rate of 3.75% to 4%. The 25-basis-point increase marks the first interest rate hike since July 2023 and comes after the Fed left rates unchanged at its first five meetings this year.” (09/16/26)
“The U.S. special envoy for Belarus said Wednesday that the country’s authorities have agreed to release 25 prisoners as part of a deal that includes the lifting of U.S. sanctions against some Belarusian companies. John Coale, President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, made the statement a day after meeting Belarus'[s] authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who pushed for the remaining U.S. sanctions against his country to be lifted. … Since Trump returned to the White House for his second term, Lukashenko has released hundreds of political prisoners in a series of U.S.-mediated deals that also lifted some U.S. sanctions.” (09/16/26)
“Officials from the US met Houthi leaders over the weekend at the country’s embassy in Muscat, Oman, it has been confirmed, leading to the US decision not to intervene to help Saudi Arabia drive back a Houthi advance inside Yemen. The Iran-backed militant group reassured the US that the ceasefire agreement between the two sides struck in 2025 still held and the movement had no intention of attacking US shipping in the Red Sea. Only Saudi-linked shipping was regarded as a target owing to its blockade of Yemen, the Houthis confirmed. … In a lightning offensive last week, the Houthis seized control of large swathes of western Yemen along the Red Sea coast.” (09/16/26)
“The Libertarian National Committee has voted to recognize the Granite State Libertarian Party as its new affiliate in New Hampshire, selecting the organization over a competing group also seeking recognition under the name of the previous state affiliate. … the LNC voted in May to disaffiliate the previous Libertarian Party of New Hampshire over its support of Republican Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election and claims that it promoted ‘anti-libertarian positions.’ The national party’s Judicial Committee later upheld that decision in a unanimous vote.” (09/16/26)
‘A Kosovo war crimes tribunal on Wednesday found former President Hashim Thaci guilty of war crimes committed during the 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia. Thaci, a former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes including murder, torture and illegal detention. He was tried along with three other former KLA guerrilla leaders in The Hague. The tribunal said Thaci was guilty of the murder of of 96 political opponents and perceived collaborators with Serbian security forces at the hands of the KLA during the conflict. He was also convicted for the illegal detention of 385 people and torturing more than 300 people.” (09/16/26)
“The family of Charlie Kirk alleges in a newly obtained notice of claim that a ‘series of stunning failures and reckless decisions’ by Utah Valley University led to the conservative activist’s on-campus assassination last year. … The notice, which preserves the family’s statute of limitations so that they can bring a lawsuit over Kirk’s death, cited high-profile incidents as recent examples of political violence …. The notice alleges that the university failed to conduct a “meaningful risk assessment” before approving the outdoor location and did not dedicate enough security resources.” (09/16/26)
“The U.K. government plans to update the Online Safety Act to clamp down on so-called ‘doxxing’— publicly sharing private or personal information about a person online without their consent — following the harassment of volunteers at a charity which helps people at sea, Digital Secretary Lisa Nandy said. ‘We’re certainly going to be tightening up the law to make sure that where people’s addresses are being published online, that is an offense, and action has to be taken swiftly,’ Nandy said on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday.” (09/16/26)
