The briefing for Saturday, September 26.

The Supreme Court's conservative majority lifted lower-court restrictions on the Trump administration's use of a federal database, known as SAVE, that flags voters suspected of being non-citizens. The ruling allows states to check individual voters' citizenship status using the system, though it does not permit broad purges of voter rolls close to an election under the National Voter Registration Act. Three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warning the decision risks disenfranchising eligible voters.

A federal judge had ruled in June that the system, expanded last year to allow bulk searches using Social Security data, violated Americans' privacy rights. A federal appeals court upheld that ruling before the Supreme Court intervened. The Court found that a 1996 law obligates the Department of Homeland Security to share citizenship data with states that request it, and that use of the program remains voluntary for the 27 states currently participating.

Voting rights groups, including the League of Women Voters, called the decision 'profoundly disappointing' and vowed to continue fighting the underlying case. Critics point to errors in states like Texas, where roughly 10% of voters flagged as non-citizens in one county turned out to be US citizens. Supporters, including Georgia's secretary of state, say the program can be run accurately with proper vetting. The ruling takes effect just weeks before the November midterms, intensifying scrutiny of voter roll accuracy nationwide.

A cybercriminal group calling itself ShinyHunters claims it breached FBI systems this week, stealing sensitive data including medical exams, blood and urine test results, home addresses, and family information for what it says could be up to 60,000 current and former agents. The FBI has confirmed a breach occurred and says it is 'aggressively investigating,' but has not verified the scope of the theft. BBC News reviewed samples of the alleged stolen records, which appear genuine and include details on senior officials such as deputy directors.

The group claims it exploited a vulnerability in an Oracle cloud storage system to access multiple FBI platforms, including systems handling background checks, medical records, and investigative case files. Unusually, the hackers are not demanding money; instead, they want the FBI to retract a May advisory they say 'offended' them, threatening to publish the full dataset within days. Reuters reports some exposed data relates to investigations involving Russia, China, and drug cartels.

Cybersecurity experts describe the breach as unusually serious because medical and biometric data cannot be reset like a password, meaning exposure is effectively permanent. Current and former agents told the BBC they fear the data could enable blackmail, identity theft, or even physical attacks, including 'swatting' incidents by criminals seeking retaliation. Officials also worry about national security risks, including foreign intelligence services using the data for recruitment efforts against agents.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has proposed a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to normal shipping within seven days if the US meets conditions laid out in a June memorandum of understanding that briefly paused the two countries' conflict. A US official told the BBC that 'positive' discussions were underway through mediators, though Washington says it is 'not in a rush' given its current control over the waterway. President Trump said this week he would 'annihilate' Iran if talks failed.

The proposal would require the US to end its naval blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen Iranian assets, and waive oil sanctions — conditions largely unchanged from the collapsed June agreement. Analysts note Iran's economy is under severe strain, with its currency at record lows, giving Tehran new urgency ahead of the US midterms, when a deal could offer Trump a political win. Separately, France is drafting a UN Security Council resolution reaffirming freedom of navigation through the strait, a move discussed by Trump and French President Macron on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Roughly a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the war, and its disruption has driven volatile global energy prices. Shipping data shows daily transits have dropped sharply from pre-war levels. Complicating matters, Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen have escalated attacks on Red Sea shipping routes, seizing strategic territory near another critical chokepoint, adding pressure on regional oil flows even as the Hormuz talks continue.

A federal judge ruled this week that the White House's ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico likely violated the outlets' constitutional due process rights, ordering their press credentials restored for at least 14 days. Judge Timothy Kelly rejected the administration's national security justification, noting Trump made no such claim when announcing the ban last week over what he called 'fake news' coverage. Regular television pool coverage resumed Friday after brief additional friction when some reporters were initially denied entry to a state dinner for Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The dispute began after Trump barred the three outlets, prompting ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC to pause their own White House broadcasts in solidarity. More than 50 media organizations across the ideological spectrum, including Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, filed a brief supporting the outlets' lawsuit. The White House also launched its own streaming channel, Trump TV, during the standoff.

Just a day after coverage resumed, the White House excluded CNN from the press pool traveling with Trump to a Tennessee football game aboard Air Force One, without naming a replacement outlet. CNN, Politico and MS NOW have said they are pursuing legal action to defend the principle that 'the government does not decide what the press reports.' The episode marks one of the most sustained clashes between a modern White House and mainstream media over press access.

The Trump administration announced Friday it is canceling nearly $1 billion in congressionally approved funding, primarily targeting services for immigrants, including nonprofits serving refugees and unaccompanied minors. The White House's Office of Management and Budget said the cuts target 'the most harmful government spending' and argued the funds are less necessary because illegal border crossings have declined.

The move relies on a 'pocket rescission,' a rarely used maneuver that lets the administration cancel funds by proposing cuts with too little time left in the fiscal year for Congress to act. The Government Accountability Office has said the tactic is illegal. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, a Republican, condemned the action as an unreported impoundment and a 'usurpation of Congress's appropriations powers,' vowing to work with colleagues to challenge it.

This marks the second time Trump has used a pocket rescission, after blocking $4.9 billion in foreign aid a year ago — a move the Supreme Court declined to block. The latest cut targets domestic rather than foreign spending, fitting a broader pattern of the administration testing the limits of executive power over federal workers, tariffs, and military action, leaving courts to referee disputes over separation of powers.

An external review released Friday found that Utah Valley University failed to conduct a formal security assessment or create a written action plan before conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on campus on September 10, 2025. The report found the university deferred critical security decisions to Turning Point USA, Kirk's organization, which insisted he speak in an outdoor courtyard surrounded by tall buildings despite school officials' reservations and suggestions of safer, indoor alternatives.

Kirk, 31, was killed by a sniper positioned on a rooftop more than 400 feet away. The review found no documented line-of-sight assessment, pre-event security briefing, or walk-through had been conducted, and there was no clear coordination between Kirk's private security and outside law enforcement. Tyler Robinson, 23, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder; prosecutors say he texted that he had 'had enough' of Kirk's 'hatred.'

Kirk's family has filed a wrongful death notice against the university, alleging officials hastened his death through a series of 'reckless decisions,' including failing to secure a perimeter or have emergency responders on standby. University President Jon Anderson said the school would 'learn from the findings' and act on the report's recommendations. Turning Point USA and its security team did not participate in the independent review.