International News Briefs for Tuesday, September 15, 2026
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Order Restricting Mail-In Voting
Sep 15, 2026
The Supreme Court has blocked President Trump’s efforts to restrict mail-in voting ahead of November’s midterm elections. On Monday the court issued a brief, unsigned order upholding a lower court ruling that bars the US Postal Service from fully implementing Trump’s executive order, which sought to create federal lists of citizens, and to refuse delivery of mail-in ballots to people not on those lists.
Whistleblower Says Federal Agents Broke Laws in Trump-Ordered Search for “Unlawful Voters”
Sep 15, 2026
A whistleblower is alleging federal agents may have broken state laws in a wide-ranging search for alleged unlawfully registered voters. The whistleblower reached out to California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla, who made the complaint public on Monday. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned the Department of Homeland Security pulled hundreds of federal agents from their normal roles to identify supposed “unlawful voters.”
Chuck Schumer: “DHS under Trump is forcing its officials to carry out an illegal scheme, break state laws, and treat US citizens as collateral damage, all to advance his scheme to rig the election. They’re even asking people to lie about their identities so they can create this illegal scheme. We are weeks from the midterms. Americans should not have to fear being targeted by their own government because of how they registered to vote.”
Trump Rejects Calls to Regulate A.I. as a ”SICK Conspiracy” and ”HOAX”
Sep 15, 2026
President Trump has rejected calls to regulate the artificial intelligence industry, calling warnings about the threat of superintelligent machines a ”HOAX.” Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump boasted, “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades! … There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!”
Trump’s comments came after Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and other AI CEOs publicly called for a slowdown in the development of frontier AI models and for government regulations. On Monday, Trump called Jensen Huang–the CEO of the computer chip maker Nvidia–while Huang was speaking at an AI summit in Los Angeles. Huang put the president on speakerphone.
President Trump: “Well, I know about AI. I know I also have common sense about AI. Uh the robots will not be taking over. Uh the AI will not be taking over the rest of the world. The whole thing is a hoax.”
We’ll have more on artificial intelligence after headlines with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor, co-authors of the new book–“End Times Fascism And the Fight for the Living World.”
Saudi Crown Prince MBS Meets CENTCOM Chief as Houthis Consolidate Control Over Red Sea Coast
Sep 15, 2026
Image Credit: Daniel Torok
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis seized two islands in the southern Red Sea on Monday, as Saudi Arabia launched 54 air strikes over the past 24 hours. The Houthis are currently digging into positions on the Western Coast of Yemen along the Red Sea. On Monday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with the U.S. commander who oversees Middle East operations, days after President Trump dismissed the Saudi leader’s calls for help in combating the Houthis. Their meeting came as Vice President JD Vance claimed the U.S. is “on top of the situation”.
JD Vance: We’ve also been engaged in direct conversations with the Houthis themselves, so we actually feel like we are on top of the situation. It’s a very fluid and dynamic thing, but we’re going to keep on monitoring it, making sure that America’s best interests are represented.
Iran’s IRGC Claims It Shot Down Two U.S. Drones Over the Strait of Hormuz
Sep 15, 2026
Image Credit: The Islamic Republic News Agency
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it shot down two more U.S.-operated MQ-1 drones over the Strait of Hormuz, and says an oil tanker exploded and caught fire after colliding with mines. The IRGC did not provide further details; but the claim came as a fire broke out in an oil tanker off the coast of Oman. Two dozen sailors were evacuated, but two remain missing. On Monday the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council rejected President Trump’s claim that he was open to resuming discussions with Iran; declaring “No talks until Iran’s conditions are met. Period!”
Yield on 10-Year U.S. Treasury Bonds Passes 5% as Mideast War Drives Up Oil Prices
Sep 15, 2026
On Monday the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds passed 5 percent for just the second time since the 2008 financial crisis, pushing mortgage and other borrowing costs higher. Brent crude oil topped $108 dollars a barrel as officials in Saudi Arabia said it would take weeks to repair the East-West oil pipeline struck by drones from Iraq last week.
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Locked Immigrants in Outdoor Metal Cages Dubbed ‘Calming Areas’
Sep 15, 2026
Image Credit: DHS OIG
The former ICE detention camp in the Florida Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz frequently locked detained immigrants in outdoor metal cages that were no bigger than a phone booth. That’s according to the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog report. At least 79 immigrants were held in these cages known as so-called “calming areas” for several minutes to nearly two hours. Investigators also found that the ICE jail did not comply with standards related to medical care, food quality, personal hygiene and recreation. The facility eventually shut down after legal challenges and scrutiny over its abuse and inhumane conditions.
New York Leads Coalition Suing Trump Admin Over New Immigration Rule
Sep 15, 2026
A coalition of six cities and counties led by New York filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block the Trump administration’s new rule making it easier for federal officials to reject green card and visa applications from immigrants who have used public benefits. Immigrants could also be denied a green card if they or a family member received state or federal financial aid to attend college. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a similar lawsuit against the Trump administration over the new rule on behalf of New York and nearly two dozen other states around the country. She spoke yesterday.
Letitia James: “The rule would allow immigration officers to consider use of critical benefits like Medicaid and SNAP and even participation in school meal programs as part of an applicant’s circumstance. And that means immigrant New Yorkers may be forced to ask themselves impossible questions. Will getting health insurance hurt my chances of getting a green card? Will accepting food assistance when I fall on hard times be held against me?”
ProPublica: Don Jr.’s Wedding Secretly Bankrolled by Russian Oligarch
Sep 15, 2026
Image Credit: ProPublica
Donald Trump Jr.’s Bahamas wedding was secretly bankrolled by a Russian oligarch close to Putin. That’s the headline of a new ProPublica exposé which found that Russian billionaire Umar Kremlev paid the bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars of expenses during Donald Trump Jr.’s destination wedding in May, including a fireworks display and the rental of two private islands. Kremlev is president of the International Boxing Association. He’s been sanctioned by Ukraine over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who awarded Kremlev with the Order of Friendship in April.
Trump Jr. and his newlywed wife, Bettina Anderson, confirmed ProPublica’s findings, writing on social media, “Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us. … It’s unfortunate that something so personal and happy can be recast as something political or sinister simply because of who someone is or where they come from.”
Mitch McConnell Returns to the Senate Three Months After Medical Emergency
Sep 15, 2026
On Capitol Hill, Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell returned to the senate for the first time since suffering a medical emergency in June. He’d been almost entirely out of the public view for three months. McConnell used an assisted wheelchair, appeared frail and spoke slowly when talking to reporters briefly outside the Senate chamber. Reporters were barred from recording video of the 84-year-old Senator.
Turkish Authorities Detain At Least 162 People in Raids of Gay Bars and Homes of LGBTQ+ Activists
Sep 15, 2026
In Turkey, authorities have detained at least 162 people in a series of raids on gay bars and the homes of LGBTQ+ activists. Police also searched the offices of six LGBTQ+ associations in weekend raids. It’s part of an operation called “Keep My Family Safe”. Same-sex relations are not illegal in Turkey, but homophobia and transphobia remain widespread. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly blamed the LGBTQ+ community for falling birthrates.
Judge Blocks Trump’s Restrictions on Visas for International Students, Academics and Journalists
Sep 15, 2026
A federal judge in Massachusetts has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new rule that would limit the visa length for international students, academics and journalists. The new policy would have capped the stay of international students, who are usually allowed to extend their U.S. visas until their studies are completed, while limiting foreign journalists to remain in the U.S. for just 240 days.
Mahmoud Khalil Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Columbia University
Sep 15, 2026
In New York, Palestinian rights advocate Mahmoud Khalil has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Columbia University, accusing the school of failing to protect him and other pro-Palestine student activists from harassment. Khalil was arrested by federal immigration agents, who ambushed him at his Columbia University apartment building in March 2025. He spent over 100 days in an ICE jail, missing the birth of his first child.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mahmoud Khalil denounced what he called Columbia’s “deliberate indifference and discrimination, aimed at intimidating Palestinian students.”
Mahmoud Khalil: “For over two years, we pleaded with Columbia. Columbia did not care. Our safety and well-being did not serve the ideological project its board of trustees was protecting, so they traded us away. We are suing because no student, regardless of their background, should go through the hell that Columbia put us through over all these years.”
Ed Sheeran Removes Macklemore From U.S. Tour Over Palestine Advocacy
Sep 15, 2026
Music superstar Ed Sheeran has removed the Grammy-winning musician Macklemore from the rest of Sheeran’s U.S. tour following a boycott by stadium owners who cited Macklemore’s Palestine advocacy and onstage comments about Gaza and the occupied West Bank. In a statement shared on Instagram, Macklemore detailed a call between Sheeran and Robert Kraft—the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium—who rallied other stadium owners to ban Macklemore and told Sheeran to remove the rapper from the shows or he, too, would not be allowed to perform. On September 4th, Macklemore performed his song “Hind’s Hall” to a packed MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, just outside New York City. He dedicated it to Columbia University students who led a protest encampment in 2024. Hind’s Hall was named after Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza alongside six members of her family and two paramedics dispatched to save her.
Macklemore: “Free Palestine. I want those words to be loud and clear, so that the people from Gaza all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them.