Week in Politics: Trump bans news outlets; Iran War; mail-in voting; interest rates

NPR | By Scott Simon,

Ron Elving

Published September 19, 2026 at 7:46 AM EDT

The Trump administration was frustrated both home and abroad this week.

Scott Simon

Scott Simon is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First.

See stories by Scott Simon

Ron Elving

Ron Elving is Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News, where he is frequently heard as a news analyst and writes regularly for NPR.org.

See stories by Ron Elving

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