Congress Returns to Washington as AI Debate and Midterm Campaigns Take Center Stage

President Donald Trump says he is banning CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House for what he calls their 'fake news' reporting; President announces all 50 states will be joining a program to provide prescription drug prices to Medicaid at the same, lower costs paid for the drugs in other countries; President Trump is asked about Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) putting out an ad critical of his immigration policy; Vice President JD Vance campaigns in Iowa for Republicans in close races, including Zack Lahn running for governor against Democratic nominee Rob Sand; Planned protest by artists and their supporters tonight at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after President Trump's threat to tear the building down if his name is not added to the facade in conjunction with renovations; Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) issues an executive order to create what she calls an 'accountability framework' to increase transparency around proposed data center projects and ensure Virginians are not stuck with highest energy bills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Republican and a Democrat in the U.S. House join forces on a bipartisan bill to confront potential risks of Artificial Intelligence; White House continues to criticize the Federal Reserve and Chair Kevin Warsh for raising interest rates this week. Presidential adviser Peter Navarro calls it a 'monumental mistake' that could push the U.S. economy into recession; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomes closer ties to Europe even after President Donald Trump threatens more tariffs in response; U.S. Senate votes to advance a college sports regulation bill by a comfortable margin, almost guaranteeing a successful final passage vote next week; Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tells an anti-vaccine group that he once worked for, Children's Health Defense, that the true risks from vaccines are not known, in part because the government does not have a good enough safety monitoring system; Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Danny Danon says New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) should be arrested for calling for demonstrations when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits next week for the United Nations General Assembly; Former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has died at age 84. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) remembering him as 'a wonderful mentor' who 'taught me so much' and 'a highly effective, brilliant Senator, who made countless contributions to the state of Arizona and to our country.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal Reserve votes unanimously to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, first hike since 2023 Fed Chair Kevin Warsh says, 'The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long.' We will talk about the Fed's decision with Julia Shapero, Cryptocurrency and Finance Reporter for The Hill (6); House votes on the Russia sanctions bill related to its war with Ukraine named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) accuses House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) of cancelling Thursday's legislative session,  sending Members home a day early to campaign for reelection, to avoid having to vote on Massie's resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war with Iran; Surgeon General Nominee Dr. Nicole Saphier at her Senate confirmation hearing is asked about President Trump questioning the safety of the MMR vaccine; Senate Agriculture Committee passes a 5-year Farm Bill with the crucial vote of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who returned to Washington after more than three months recovering from health issues; White House AI Czar David Sacks talks about the warnings from the tech leaders about the dangers of artificial intelligence; President Trump heads to North Carolina to campaign for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley; House Problem Solvers Caucus proposes bills to avoid another gerrymandering war as was seen this election cycle by red and blue states. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Attorney General Todd Blanche fills in as White House press secretary for today's news conference and is asked about the Supreme Court blocking the Trump Administration's plans to restrict mail-in ballots for the midterm elections; FBI Director Kash Patel tells the Senate Judiciary Committee FBI agents may be sent to the polls on election day; Director Patel is also asked about changes to hiring standards to no longer automatically disqualify applicants who had engaged in prostitution or bestiality; More questions to lawmakers about potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence and whether legislative action is needed, after President Donald Trump called such concerns a 'hoax'; Senate does not vote to advance a cryptocurrency regulation bill amid a dispute over whether there are enough ethical safeguards to prevent elected leaders from profiting off of digital assets; Federal judge rules the Kennedy Center Board cannot put President Trump's name on the building. Then the Board, comprised of the president's allies, votes to close the center for renovations, and the president posts the renovations will not take place unless his name is added because only he can raise the money needed; Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) tells reporters he will not switch to the Republican party; Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has an official Speaker's portrait unveiled in the U.S. Capitol. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress returns to Washington with artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency legislation, college sports and Russia sanctions on the agenda. Plus, with 50 days until the midterm elections, we look at key races in Michigan, New Mexico and Alaska. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. The first-ever Republican convention took place in Dallas – and the legal fight over mail-in voting dominated the week. We begin with a discussion with Cliff Young of Ipsos Public Affairs who shared fresh polling on the national mood as the midterm campaign season kicks into high gear. Then we dive into the mail-in ballot fight – and other voting issues overhanging the midterm campaign. That conversation with former Trump administration official Ken Cuccinelli now Chairman of Heritage Foundation's Election Transparency Initiative Finally- we sit down with Carlissia Graham – President of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. We talk about how Democrats are viewing the midterm convention – and the party's messaging and strategy heading into November. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twenty-fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, with ceremonies at the Pentagon, where President Donald Trump spoke, at Ground Zero in New York City, where widow Terry Strada criticized the government for not holding Saudi Arabia responsible for the attacks, and at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, which included Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA). We also hear from: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin; candidates for U.S. Senate in Michigan, Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who is Muslim; a retired New York firefighter at a ceremony in California; Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was a White House lawyer at the time of the attack; and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Day Two of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, with the keynote speech from Vice President JD Vance. People are still talking about some of the moment from Day One: President Donald Trump proposing $5,000 for every American adult if Republicans keep control of the U.S. House and Senate and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) introducing Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA); Texas U.S. Senate race has been in the spotlight with the Republican convention in Texas; Rhode Island's governor loses the Democratic primary for reelection; President Trump visits the Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas; United Nations Security Council considers an accusation from the UN nuclear watchdog agency that Iran is failing to comply with its nuclear nonproliferation commitments; A day before the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, we hear from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) about the rebuilding of lower Manhattan, former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on the changing threat environment and former President George W. Bush about the Freedom Agenda his pursued after the attacks; White House tribute to the late Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk on the anniversary of his assassination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republican midterm convention begins in Dallas, Texas. We get a preview from President Donald Trump, a reporter, and two republican congressional candidates from Illinois who are attending, plus the perspective of the chair of the Texas Democratic Party; On the way to Texas, President Trump tells reporters high energy prices due to the war with Iran will not fall until after the midterm elections in November; In New Hampshire, former U.S. Senator John Sununu wins the Republican Senate primary over another former U.S. Senator, Scott Brown, while in the state's first Congressional District race, Stefany Shaheen, daughter of retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), wins the Democratic primary; U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro gets upset when reporters asked about the Reflecting Pool vandalism case, dropped for lack of evidence,  which President Trump wants revived; New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch calls for 'moral clarity' about who were the heroes and who were the terrorists during the September 11, 2001 terror attacks at the unveiling of a memorial of NYPD members who have died from 9/11-related illnesses, ahead of Friday's 25th anniversary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani orders the release of over 170,000 pages of documents revealing that city officials knew of severe toxic air quality risks at Ground Zero following the 9/11 terror attacks, and President Donald Trump honors 9/11 first responders at a Tunnel to Towers event in front of the White House, ahead of Friday's 25th anniversary; Canadian tariffs of up to 50 percent against $20 billion of imports from the United States take effect. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says, 'I don’t believe in escalating the conflict. But our tariffs are necessary to protect our workers, protect our companies and our communities'; It's election day in New Hampshire, where voters are choosing Republican and Democratic nominees for an open U.S. Senate seat. We get the latest from a New Hampshire Union Leader political reporter; Great Britain bans imports from Israeli West Bank settlements, citing Israel's 'ethnic cleansing' of Palestinians. It is a move praised by some of the UK's allies but opposed by Israel and the U.S.; NATO hosts another meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group to discuss Ukraine's need for anti-missile defenses; Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch is resigning after disagreements with the Trump Administration about how to present U.S. history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices