McConnell Returns to Senate After More-Than-Three-Month Medical Absence

This is the morning edition of the One News Page Global Briefing, for Tuesday, the fifteenth of September, twenty twenty-six. Here is what matters now.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the eighty-four-year-old Kentucky Republican and former majority leader, returned to the Senate on Monday and cast his first vote after an absence of more than three months. He had been away since mid-June, when he was hospitalized following a fall at home; his office later said he was briefly unconscious and spent weeks in recovery. In a statement, McConnell said he was looking forward to being back on the Senate floor. The prolonged absence had fueled widespread speculation about his health and his ability to continue serving.

Meanwhile, in Washington ethics news, Donald Trump Jr. and his wife, Bettina Anderson, confirmed that Russian businessman Umar Kremlev—described as having ties to Vladimir Putin—partially paid for their wedding celebrations in May. The confirmation followed reports that Kremlev, who was born in one thousand nine hundred and eighty-two in Serpukhov and has moved through Russia’s politically connected circles for the past decade, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the festivities. The payments represent an extraordinary flouting of ethical norms for a member of an American president’s family.

In sports, Alexander Zverev of Germany won his second Grand Slam title and his first U S Open, defeating American Ben Shelton six-three, seven-six (two), five-seven, six-two in the men’s final. The victory denied Shelton the chance to become the first Black man to win the championship since Arthur Ashe in one thousand nine hundred and sixty-eight and the first American men’s champion since Andy Roddick in two thousand and three. Zverev had claimed his first major title earlier this year at the French Open.

At the seventy-eighth Primetime Emmy Awards, the best in television were honored, with Widow’s Bay dominating the ceremony and The Pitt winning a major category. Hacks and Pluribus also secured major awards.

In entertainment news, Bob Mackie, the costume designer known as the “Sultan of Sequins,” has died at the age of eighty-seven. Over five decades he created flamboyant, iconic looks for stars including Cher, Tina Turner and Elton John, winning nine Emmy Awards, a Tony Award and three Oscar nominations. A statement from his representatives said he lived his eighty-seven years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a fashion and costume designer.

In the United States capital, the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts warned that it is on the brink of bankruptcy and could close as early as Tuesday, according to board resolutions made public on Monday. The institution described itself as being in a dire financial and physical state, and its Trump-installed leaders argued that only President Trump can “rescue” it. Those leaders suggested that putting the president’s name on the center’s facade may be the only way to avoid what they called certain fiscal collapse.

In legal developments, former C I A director John Brennan has been subpoenaed to testify next month before a Florida grand jury, his lawyer Ken Wainstein said. The subpoena is part of a Department of Justice investigation into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against President Trump.

Elsewhere in Florida, Amazon said it will pause its relationship with cargo airline twenty-one Air after one of the carrier’s Boeing 767s overshot a runway in Miami, killing five people. The North Carolina-based airline had flown packages for Amazon since twenty twenty-four, and Amazon described the suspension as a pause while the crash investigation continues.

Also in Miami, Alex Saab, a former high-ranking Venezuelan government official and ally of Nicolás Maduro, is expected to plead guilty to a single count of money laundering in federal court. Court records show he is scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing on Tuesday, in a case tied to an alleged conspiracy to create fake companies and falsify shipping records. Saab could potentially cooperate against Maduro, who is awaiting trial in New York.

In U S politics, California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a forthcoming C N N interview that he will not run for president in twenty twenty-eight if former Vice President Kamala Harris enters the race, describing a contest against her as a “waste of everybody’s time.” Both Newsom and Harris are widely viewed as leading Democratic contenders. The New York Times noted that the comments could complicate speculation about Newsom’s own presidential ambitions.

In federal oversight news, a federal whistleblower has alleged that agents involved in the Department of Homeland Security’s Unlawful Voter Initiative may have broken state laws while hunting for voter fraud. The whistleblower said agents were directed by senior D H S leaders to use private information to search state voter databases, raising concerns among the agents themselves.

Finally, female Olympians and other athletes have criticized U S actor Sydney Sweeney over a viral advertisement for sports-prediction company Novig, accusing her of demeaning and sexualizing women’s sports. British sprinter Amy Hunt led the online backlash, which came after the commercial was viewed more than twenty-two million times.

That was the morning edition of the One News Page Global Briefing. Read the complete briefing and explore its supporting coverage at one news page dot com.