Saturday Covfefe: Greenland Gets a Deal. MS NOW Gets Locked Out.

Press bans, Arctic power, war crimes, and Canada’s European option.

September 19, 2026

A quick update before we begin: MS NOW confirmed this morning that its journalists were denied entry to the White House, one day after Trump announced bans on MS NOW, CNN and Politico.

And a political plot twist: Karl Rove says he will vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal—only the second Democrat he has ever voted for—after Republican Bo French posted racist comments about South Asian students at the University of Texas. Yes, that Karl Rove.

"The GOP’s stables need a cleaning," Rove wrote. "This is a good place to start." Well said.

Pour your coffee. No foam, no filter, this one’s a doozy! Let’s go. ☕️

1. Uncle Sam Wants You, ICE Wants Your Family

Army Specialist Jasmine Hernandez enlisted partly to protect the life her immigrant parents built here, a calling familiar to me. But while she was stationed away, ICE detained her father at an Arizona gas station in front of her younger brothers. His application for Military Parole in Place was still pending.

This week, two 17-year-old U.S. citizens said they were delivering paperwork to a Marine recruiter when they stopped to record an ICE operation in Texas. Video shows agents pulling one from a car and using pepper spray. Both were detained for eight hours; one is now reconsidering enlisting. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says they obstructed officers and resisted arrest. The video does not show everything preceding the confrontation, but the teenagers have filed a police report.

More than 50 military parents and spouses have reportedly been detained during Trump’s second term; at least six were deported. The Army warns that immigration uncertainty can interfere with mission-essential duties, even as the Pentagon increasingly relies on immigrant communities. Nearly 11,000 green-card holders enlisted last year, up 62 percent since 2021.

Quite the way to build morale…and fill the ranks. Serve this country. Defend this country. Just don’t assume your service will protect your family.

🪖 ICE Targets Military Families (ABC)

2. Congress Saw the Hegseth Vote and Went Home

For the first time, a member of a president’s own party has introduced articles of impeachment against the president’s Pentagon chief.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie filed eight articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of waging an unauthorized war in Iran, disregarding congressional war-powers resolutions, ignoring laws intended to protect civilians and retaliating against political critics. Massie’s fourth article centers on the U.S. strike on an Iranian elementary school. When it happened, I was sickened and called it what I believed it was: a war crime. Having worked alongside the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in conflict zones, I do not use those words lightly.

This week, a UNHCR fact-finding mission found reasonable grounds to believe U.S. strikes on that school and a sports complex may constitute war crimes. The administration rejects the findings. But here we are.

Massie introduced it as a privileged resolution, which was expected to force House members to vote on it this week.

So what happened?

Speaker Mike Johnson recessed the House one day early and sent lawmakers home to campaign.

🚪 Congress Skips the Hegseth Vote (CNN)

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3. Apparently, Power Plants No Longer Affect the Climate

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided that greenhouse-gas emissions from American power plants have "no material impact on global climate change." Well, that’s convenient. Fossil-fuel power plants produce roughly one-quarter of America’s carbon emissions. The EPA repealed most 2024 carbon limits on coal and natural-gas plants and proposed eliminating the rest, arguing that the Clean Air Act does not authorize climate-based regulation. If upheld in court, that could make restoring the protections far harder.

The administration says the rollback will lower costs and improve grid reliability. The EPA projects that coal production for electricity could increase more than tenfold, and that the changes will produce an additional 123 million metric tons of carbon pollution over the next decade. The discarded standards were also expected to reduce soot and other pollutants, preventing as many as 1,200 premature deaths and 360,000 asthma attacks in 2035. Environmental and public-health organizations filed suit Thursday, arguing that the Clean Air Act still requires the EPA to regulate the pollution.

During Trump’s first term, I witnessed discussions about sidelining scientists and overruling agency leaders when their findings conflicted with the preferred political message. Today, the agency charged with protecting the environment arguing that one of America’s largest sources of climate pollution is somebody else’s problem. "Environmental protection" may be right there in the name, but apparently we’re treating that as a legacy branding decision.

🏭 EPA Erases Power-Plant Climate Rules (EPA)

Speaking of the EPA: RFK Jr. drew applause when he announced that the Department of Health and Human Services will examine the health effects of electromagnetic radiation and so-called “chemtrails”—the streaks behind airplanes that the EPA says are condensation, not evidence of secret chemical spraying.

Yup. "Chemtrails" are now on the HHS to-do list. Grab your tin foil hats! Anyway, how’s that measles outbreak going?

4. Meet Trump’s Arctic Adviser. Russia Already Has…

Trump appointed Texas venture capitalist Thomas Dans to chair the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, which advises the president and Congress on Arctic science, security and policy. Dans has advocated closer relations with Russia, shared material reflecting pro-Kremlin views and supported Trump’s push for U.S. control of Greenland. He also promoted Dutch shipbuilder Damen while his consulting firm helped the company pursue a U.S. icebreaker contract. Dans reportedly would have been paid if Damen won. Because commissioners are not legally federal employees, he faces fewer disclosure requirements despite having access to government information. The White House says his outside work did not constitute a conflict; Damen says it complied with sanctions.

I know firsthand from my national security work that this is not an obscure science-board appointment. Melting ice is opening shipping routes and access to critical minerals, making the Arctic a growing arena of competition with Russia and China. That competition moved again Friday, when the U.S., Denmark and Greenland announced an agreement that would expand America’s military presence and reportedly bar Russian and Chinese bases. Greenland remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and parliamentary approval is still required.

Dans was not the week’s only Russia-linked story involving Trump’s circle. Russian oligarch and Putin associate Umar Kremlev reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars hosting two nights of Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding festivities. The couple confirmed the gift from their “dear friend.” President Trump says he does not know Kremlev and was told his son repaid him, but provided no details. House Oversight requested records.

Two stories. Two Russia-linked relationships. Both now facing questions about disclosure and oversight.

🧊 Trump’s Russia-Linked Arctic Adviser (ProPublica)

5. Canada Sees Europe, Trump Sees Tariffs

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed making Canada the EU’s first "associate member," and Prime Minister Mark Carney embraced the idea. Canada is not joining the EU; the new status must still be negotiated. But Canada and Europe are already deepening cooperation on defense, energy, critical minerals, AI and digital trade. Canada is also the only non-European participant in the EU’s €150 billion defense-procurement program. Carney framed it as an alliance of “middle powers” able to resist economic coercion.

America was not in the room, but its policies shaped the conversation. Trump called the proposal "laughable," suggested it could be a "hostile act," and threatened Europe with more tariffs.

To my Canadian readers: I see you. After months of tariffs, threats, and talk of making Canada our 51st state, I understand why this moment may feel like an exhale. Canada is asserting its sovereignty and diversifying the relationships that protect its future.

Alliances are not diplomatic decorations. Canada and Europe sustain American jobs and supply chains, share intelligence and strengthen our security. If partners build a future around Washington, America loses influence, business opportunities and intelligence cooperation. Foreign policy eventually finds its way home to factory floors, energy bills, family budgets and national security.

🇨🇦 Europe’s Historic Offer to Canada (NY Times)

✨ One Thing For Your Soul

Across historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the South, students are registering voters, explaining election laws and showing classmates how the ballot reaches into their everyday lives. At Tuskegee, they are taking voter registration to rodeos and trail rides. Sometimes democracy looks less like a panel discussion and more like a clipboard and a good pair of boots! They are confronting apathy, confusion, and barriers to participation while carrying forward the legacy of HBCU students who helped lead the Civil Rights Movement.

Discouragement is easy. Showing up is the harder choice, and these students keep making it. Democracy survives because every generation decides to carry it forward. Given the moment we’re in, I’m really grateful they are.

🗳️ The Students Carrying Democracy Forward (SPLC)

And thank you to everyone in the D.C. area who showed up at the Kennedy Center last night!

Until next time,

Olivia