War and Finances Top U.S. Headlines — The Sunday Political Brunch September 20, 2026
My weekly analysis of the top political stories
‘Who wants to sign up to deal with the political pressure?’: Smithsonian faces Trump’s culture war as search for leader is on
As the Smithsonian Institution prepares to launch a nationwide search for a new leader, an unexpected question mark hangs over the position that’s long been considered a plum one in the worlds of art, science and history.
‘People are pissed off’: anger at the elite and the establishment is fueling this year’s midterms
Coming midterm elections are starting to be framed not as right versus left but instead the ‘well-fed versus the fed-up’
As White House shields the AI gold rush, Trump family and other allies strike it rich
It’s not clear that financial interests are driving White House policy, but they run parallel even as resistance mounts
Leftists make waves and Trump flexes muscles: US primary season takeaways
Candidates have been selected for November’s midterms – have Republicans and Democrats made the right choices?
Markwayne Mullin Lost His Pick to Lead ICE, as He Struggles to Prove His Toughness on Immigration
Markwayne Mullin is working to overcome hard-liners’ doubts about his leadership, his position undermined by missteps with the White House.
How President Trump Broke the Kennedy Center
Internal emails and documents demonstrate the political capture of the institution, including how officials once pursued a plan to unload much of the art collection.
Latino voters, data centers and Republican problems are giving Texas Democrats their highest hopes in 20 years
By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN Harlingen, Texas (CNN) — “Now what?” Gina Hinojosa asked, looking at the half-done house across the lot where the crew hadn’t shown up that morning. Had the workers been pulled over? Would they come tomorrow? Were they just running late? “Your guess,” said Ronnie Cavazos, the chairman of the South Texas
Iranian Academic Outlines Strategic Impacts of Confrontation with US, Israeli Regime
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – University professor Hamid Reza Moqaddamfar outlined 10 strategic consequences of Iran’s confrontation with the US and Israel, arguing that the conflict went beyond the failure of Washington and Tel Aviv to achieve their military objectives and challenged key pillars of US power.
Al Jazeera: how the network reports international and U.S. politics
Al Jazeera’s U.S. strand “This Is America” links domestic politics to global issues; the network says it is funded in part by the Qatari government.