American in Brief

4 days ago 6

Trump Hosts Chinese Regime Leader

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a two-day state visit amid heightened tensions between the two countries over trade and national security.

Xi’s visit to the White House was his first in a decade. Trump greeted Xi at Joint Base Andrews, and the two participated in a closed-door meeting and state dinner on Sept. 24.

China’s human rights record was also in the public conversation, as several lawmakers called for the Chinese regime to answer for its abuses, and hundreds attended a rally in Washington on Sept. 24 to call for more forceful foreign policy to rein in the Chinese Communist Party.

Global Leaders Attend UN Assembly

Global leaders attended the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this week at U.N. headquarters in New York City amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

This year’s theme delivered a message of, “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.”

Trump took the stage on Sept. 22, speaking out against globalism and global taxation. He also contrasted the overall cautious view of the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) by praising it and suggesting to rename it “super intelligence.”

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at its headquarters in New York City on Sept. 22, 2026. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Missouri Map Rejected Again

The U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 25 again ruled against the redistricting map that the Missouri Republican-led Legislature intended for the midterm elections, leaving the 2022 map in effect.

Republicans’ redraw of the map, aimed at turning Missouri’s 6–2 congressional map into a 7–1 advantage, sparked a series of legal battles instigated by a Democrat-led referendum petition in December 2025. The Missouri Supreme Court on Sept. 3 ruled the petition valid and held that the new map never took effect.

Republicans took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which rejected the appeal on Sept. 8.

Meanwhile, Republicans filed a separate lawsuit before U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark, who ruled that because the 2025 map had been used in the August primaries, it should also be used in the November midterms.

Opponents of the map asked the 8th Circuit to block Clark’s order. After that court refused, they went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which on Sept. 10 stayed Clark’s ruling pending the 8th Circuit’s decision.

On Sept. 21, the 8th Circuit sided with Clark, holding it would be unconstitutional to use a different map for the November midterms after the new map had already been used in the August primaries.

Opponents then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block that ruling. On Sept. 25, the justices did so, saying without dissent that it was too late in the election process to implement any new redistricting map, despite its use in the August 2026 primaries.

“In short, as a matter of state law, the 2022 map—not the 2025 map—must be used in the 2026 congressional election,” the court said.

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Feb. 20, 2026. (Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)

‘Tylenol Murders’ Cold Case Reportedly Solved

One of the most significant unsolved cases in U.S. history was laid to rest this week after authorities identified a man long known as the “unknown wanderer” as Dr. Matthew Bekouski, and subsequently linked him to the unsolved 1982 Tylenol murders cold case.

On Sept. 23, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office in Idaho made the announcement that Bekouski, a biochemist, was the unknown individual who had been found dead inside a Boise church in December 1992 from cyanide poisoning.

As part of this discovery, Ada County Sheriff’s Office has identified Bekouski as a possible link to a series of murders called the Chicago Tylenol murders, in which seven people were poisoned after taking extra-strength Tylenol laced with potassium cyanide.

Tylenol and acetaminophen tablets in a CVS store, in a file photograph. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Steps Down

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell, who was also serving as the state’s secretary of state, has stepped down following a probe over sexual harassment and ethics violations.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill demanded the resignation in a video on Sept. 25.

Caldwell denies the allegations. His lawyers said that the “conclusions go further than the evidence supports” in the investigation.

Sherrill has appointed acting comptroller Shirley Emehelu as acting secretary of state.

Caldwell had served as the state’s fourth lieutenant governor and its 35th secretary of state.

Then-New Jersey Democratic Lt. Governor-elect Dale Caldwell speaks during an election night party in East Brunswick, N.J., on Nov. 4, 2025. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)

Pentagon Wins Appeal Over Anthropic

The Pentagon has won an appeals court ruling over labeling AI giant Anthropic as a supply chain risk.

In a Sept. 25 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down a previous ruling in favor of Anthropic, which declared the company’s free speech had been violated. The new ruling declared Anthropic’s claims to be “without merit.”

The Pentagon in March labeled Anthropic a supply-chain risk. The government barred the Defense Department and its contractors from using its AI platform Claude for military work after the company refused to drop contract limits blocking use of its AI for autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance.

The Claude logo displayed on a smartphone and the Anthropic logo on a computer screen in Tunis, Tunisia, on May 24, 2026, in an illustration. Imen Ben Youssef/Hans Lucas via AFP via Getty Images

Harvey Weinstein Handed 15-Year Sentence

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, about two years after his former conviction for the same case was overturned.

The former movie producer was sentenced on Sept. 23 in a New York City court over the 2006 sexual assault of Miriam Haley, a former TV production assistant, after he was found guilty last year.

In 2020, the 74-year-old was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the sexual assault of two women, but it was later overturned due to improperly admitted testimony.

He is currently serving a 16-year sentence after a Los Angeles court sentenced him in 2023.

Weinstein has had numerous allegations against him since 2017, which fueled the #MeToo movement into a global phenomenon.