The Weekend

October 11, 2026; 9am: With just 23 days until the midterms, organizers of the widely popular No Kings movement are preparing for its next big day of action next Saturday.  Organizers say they already have more than 2 thousand events planned across all 50 states, with a focus on “supporting nonpartisan voter participation by making sure people are ready to vote early to choose their leaders.” Past days of action have seen millions of people take to the streets to protest President Trump and the actions of his administration. Antonia Hylton, host of 'The Assignment' on MS NOW and Adrienne Elrod, Former Senior Advisor and S...

October 11, 2026; 8am:  The New York Times is reporting that the Justice Department is investigating five television networks - FOX, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC - for potentially violating federal antitrust laws after the networks temporarily declined to provide pool coverage of President Trump. The networks' move came in response to Trump’s attempts to bar CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House grounds last month.  When CNN was removed from its spot in the television press pool, the other networks acted. In a statement to the Times, Justice Department spokeswoman Emily Covington wrote, “The Antitrust Division is simply...

October 11, 2026; 7am: A missile attack on Saudi Arabia's International airport in Riyadh left 12 people dead, including an American, and more than 300 injured. A Saudi-led coalition blamed Iran-backed Houthi rebels for the attack, and President Trump indicated that he is weighing whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes against the Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen. Two Saudi Arabian government officials have told MS NOW Contributor Inzamam Rashid that the Kingdom is requesting "urgent defense support" from the U.S. following multiple attacks on airports in the capital, Riyadh. MS NOW Senior National Security Reporter David Rohde joins “The Weekend” to d...

October 10, 2026; 9am: The Trump administration is reportedly investigating over 150 voter registration groups over concerns that they may be recruiting non-citizens to vote. And in a first in over two decades, the administration is turning down international election monitors.  President Trump reportedly met with Tina Peters, the former Colorado elections clerk who was convicted of a scheme to tamper with the state’s voting system in 2020. MS NOW has not confirmed the meeting took place but a White House spokesperson said: “We do not comment on private meetings that may or may not have happened.” Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massach...

October 10, 2026; 8am: This week, President Trump announced he is establishing a “committee of inquiry” to investigate allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook made false statements in connection with her mortgages. Plus, MS NOW has learned the Department of Justice is seeking a criminal indictment against Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House aide who testified before the January Six committee, for charges that she lied to Congress. A source familiar with the story tells MS NOW that the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division brought evidence to a federal grand jury on Tuesday and is expected to present more evidence and...

October 10, 2026; 7am: President Trump continues to rally for Republicans with just 24 days left until the midterms. But a new poll by Pew Research Center finds that just 30% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing as president, which is among the lowest ratings of his second term so far. Plus, new reporting from Politico states that “Republican campaign groups are shifting money away from races they no longer believe to be winnable.” Elena Schneider, national political reporter for The Washington Sun, and Jessica Taylor, Senate and Governors Editor for The Cook Political Report, join “The Weekend” to discuss.

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October 4, 2026; 9am: This week, President Trump headed to what would be considered Republican “safe spaces” – Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama. Last night he took to a more competitive territory in Ohio, and tomorrow he will head to Nebraska. With just one month away from the midterms, the latest polls show Trump’s overall job and economic approval ratings are at a new low, raising questions about the motive behind this latest campaign blitz. Democratic Nominee for Alabama Governor, former Senator Doug Jones, joins “The Weekend” to discuss.

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October 4, 2026, 8 AM;Vice President JD Vance this week urged voters to turn out for Republican candidates in the state where Trump won three times, as polling shows Florida's senate race could be tighter than expected. However, in stumping for Republican Ashley Moody, the vice president unleashed a shocking attack on Moody's Democratic challenger Angie Nixon, calling on her to leave the country. Nixon joins The Weekend to discuss her campaign and the latest attack by Vice President Vance.

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October 4, 2026; 7am: With the midterms just 30 days away, there’s growing concern about election interference. In President Trump’s TIME Magazine interview this week, he declined to rule out declaring a national emergency around the midterms. MS NOW has confirmed the Republican-led George state election board is asking the Justice Department to intervene in the state’s voting systems. And this week, House Democrats held a hearing on election security. Democratic Congressman Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia, a member of the House Oversight Committee, and Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, join “The Weekend” to discuss. 

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October 3, 2026, 9 AM; In two federal civil lawsuits, Good’s family asserts a wrongful-death claim against the U.S. government, and accuses the ICE officer who shot her and other federal officials of violating her civil rights. Antonio Romanucci, attorney for the Good family joins The Weekend to discuss the suit.

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October 3, 2026, 8 AM; When President Trump took office, he promised to fix the economy. Now, 65%, of Americans blame Trump's policies for persistently high costs. He promised no new wars and now 8 months into his war with Iran, 71% of Americans disapprove of the way Trump is handling the conflict. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joins The Weekend to discuss the U.S. economy and how Trump's policies have impacted Americans.

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October 3, 2026; 7am: In a new court filing last night, the administration argued against the motion MS NOW, CNN and Politico filed on Monday seeking a longer-term block on trump's media ban, again reiterating their belief that the move is lawful under the First Amendment and not retaliatory or viewpoint discrimination. The filing came just a day after the White House blocked CNN for a second time from traveling with the president on Air Force One. Next Thursday, the judge will hear arguments in the media companies' request for the longer-term injunction against the ban. That is the same day...

September 27, 2026; 9am: President Trump’s false claims of noncitizen voting collided hard with reality in Nevada after the state pressed DHS for evidence. DHS’ initial claim of 16,000 noncitizen voters got downgraded to a list of just 185, but it appears to be zero cases. This comes as the Supreme Court handed the president a legal win this Friday, clearing the way for voter screening ahead of the midterms. Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar joins “The Weekend” to discuss.

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September 27, 2026, 8 AM;During his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in January, he defended the investigations he led into Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election as well as Trump taking classified documents to Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House. Smith faced hostile questions from Republican lawmakers, who accused him of political bias and overzealous prosecution. They also accused him of spying on members of Congress after it was revealed that prosecutors obtained telephone toll records of certain Republican lawmakers surrounding the events of January 6th. We are likely to see more of the same accusations from Se...

September 27, 2026; 7am: On Saturday, President Trump said he had rejected Iran's latest proposal for a ceasefire and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Before rejecting the proposal, the president posted an image of the Strait of Hormuz on Truth Social labeling it as the “Trump Strait.” And as the war enters its 8th month of fighting, there are new reports about the human toll of the war on American service members. The Washington Post reports the Pentagon quietly added 37 Sailors and Marines to its tally of troops wounded during the Iran War this week without explanation, bringing the tota...

September 26, 2026, 9 AM; ICE arrested 43K people in June, more than 50K in July, and nearly 51K in August, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Now, a shooting in Austin, Texas, is drawing renewed attention to the extremes of Trump's immigration crackdown. And a warning: some of the footage may be disturbing. Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a Venezuelan immigrant, was working as a DoorDash driver on Sunday afternoon when he was shot in the back by an ICE officer during a traffic stop. The Department of Homeland Security says Gracés Pérez was the subj...

September 26, 2026, 8 AM; The dismal picture for Republicans in the midterms has led to an increasing number of Republicans breaking from the president on a host of issues. most notably the Iran War. Despite claims they want an end to the conflict, this week Senate Republicans blocked a measure to direct Trump to end the war, but in the face of voter anger over high fuel prices a chorus of Republicans from competitive battleground states have joined calls to end the war. It all comes as more and more Republicans sound increasingly resigned about their party's chances this fall. MS...

September 26, 2026; 7am: CNN announced last night that the White House is barring the network from flying on Air Force One today as part of the White House TV press pool. Instead, the White House has replaced the network with Lindell TV and Real America’s Voice. This comes after a federal judge ordered the administration to restore White House press access, at least temporarily, to the three news outlets the president banned from the White House this week: MS NOW, CNN, and Politico. MS NOW White House reporter Akayla Gardner and former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori join “The Weekend” to dis...

September 20, 2026; 9am: “It's a very inexpensive price to pay for what we've done.” That's what President Trump said about the rising cost of gas due to the war in Iran. The war has sent the national average up 50% since its start in February, and analysts warn huge jumps in the prices of gasoline and diesel are yet to come. New York congressman and combat veteran Pat Ryan, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, joins “The Weekend” to discuss.

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September 20, 2026, 8 AM; FBI Director Kash Patel is suggesting that federal agents could be sent to polling places. A top Justice Department official warned that prosecutors would be fired if they do not go after cases of alleged voter fraud. The DOJ has denied that. Election officials across the country say they are ready to combat the chaos and are taking steps to protect voting systems. Fulton County, Georgia Commissioner Dana Barrett and Jackson County, Oregon County Clerk Christine Walker join The Weekend to discuss how they are preparing to protect their voting systems.

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September 20, 2026; 7am: Iranian-backed Houthi rebels say they fired a barrage of missiles and drones at Riyadh and Saudi oil facilities, landing the first strikes on the Saudi capital in months. This comes on the heels of President Trump telling Axios he faces a big decision on Iran, "Do I want to go in and annihilate them, or do I not?" Axios says the president was referring to the Iranian regime. This question comes just days before he meets with Gulf leaders, including Saudi Arabia, at the UN General ­Assembly. The State Department is reportedly granting Iran's leaders travel documents t...

September 19, 2026, 9 AM; As the Wall Street Journal points out, mortgage rates are apprroaching 7%, gas prices are near their highest level since 2022, and the Federal Reserve just raised interest rates for the first time in three years. For millions of Americans, keeping up with everyday expenses is getting harder. While this is screaming trouble for Republicans in the polls, the Trump administration has done very little to address the issues voters care about. Rep. Melanie Stansbury joins The Weekend to discuss current state of the economy. 

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September 19, 2026, 8 AM; This week, Open-AI disclosed six new instances in which artificial intelligence systems hid mistakes, made up data and moved files onto the open internet without permission. In one case, during the development of a specific A.I. model, the system wrote hidden notes to remind itself to hide errors from users. Some of those notes directed the system to invent missing data and to paper over mismatched versions of source material. A new Politico poll finds that 63 % of Americans say the technology poses at least a moderate risk of *destroying humanity*. With the midterms quickly approaching, Democrats...

September 19, 2026; 7am: As early in-person voting for the November midterms gets underway, there are new signs that President Trump and his economy are dragging down his party's chances of keeping the majority in both chambers of Congress. Two new polls from The New York Times and Fox News show that voters trust Democrats more than Republicans on the economy. And this week, MS NOW added Kansas and South Carolina, two states that previously looked safely Republican, to its list of Senate races to watch. Mike Allen, co-founder of Axios, and Dana Milbank, columnist for The Washington Sun, join “The We...

September 13, 2026; 9am: New alarms are being raised about what could happen after all the results are counted on Election Night in November. Retired Judge J. Michael Luttig, who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, joins “The Weekend” to discuss what he is calling the final battle for America's democracy.

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September 13, 2026, 8 AM; In a 3,800-page essay released Saturday, Dario Amodei the chief executive at the AI research company Anthropic warned. "We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is greater than 10% within the next decade." Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, and Elon Musk even took to social media, agreeing that the pace of AI growth needs to slow down. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam joins The Weekend to discuss the recent warnings from tech leaders about AI.

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September 13, 2026; 7am: President Trump is wrapping up his two-day trip to Ireland with an appearance at the Irish Open at his golf course. Thousands of Irish citizens took to the streets in protest yesterday, making clear their opposition to Trump's agenda and anger at the Irish government for welcoming him to their country. MS Now’s International Reporter Ines De La Cuetara joins “The Weekend” from Dublin with the latest.

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September 12, 2026, 9 AM; That was his message to Republicans in Dallas this week as he closed out a two day, so-called Trump-a-palooza convention that was ostenibly supposed to gin up enthusiasm for Republican candidates. One of the realities Republicans now have to live with is Trump's promise of a payment to Americans if Republicans hold Congress. Those government checks have not been authorized by Congress and Trump hasn't explained where the money would come from. Rep. Madeleine Dean and Gina Hinojosa join The Weekend to discuss the latest on the GOP's strategy and Democrats momentum for the midterms.

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September 12, 2026, 8 AM; The captured island is a key alternative shipping route for Saudi oil. It comes after Saudi Arabia said it shut down its crucial East-West oil pipeline on Friday as a "precaution" from being targeted by drones launched in Iraq. Despite having knowledge of the sobering information, Vice President J.D. Vance along with President Donald Trump and other top White House officials are still choosing to downplay the war. This week the President even said he expects the war will end after the midterms. Adm. John Kirby and Alex Ward join The Weekend to discuss the current...

September 12, 2026; 7am: As Republicans attended the ‘Trumpapalooza’ midterm convention in Dallas, Democrats provided a counter message to voters. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker was among those calling out President Trump's historic unpopularity and voters' growing dissatisfaction with the war in Iran and high prices. The Weekend’s Eugene Daniels spoke exclusively with Governor Pritzker about what Democrats need to do to succeed in November and how he plans to protect the right to vote in his state.

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September 6, 2026; 9am: As mail-in ballots are already being sent out to voters, the Trump administration is still trying to change the rules over those very ballots. A federal judge on Friday extended her temporary injunction barring the USPS from advancing Trump’s new vote-by-mail restrictions. But, now the Justice Department is appealing that decision, while its earlier appeal of the judge’s original temporary injunction remains at the Supreme Court. Ranking member of the House Administration Committee Rep. Joe Morelle joins “The Weekend” to discuss.

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September 6, 2026, 8 AM; The event dubbed "Trump-a-palooza" by some kicks off Wednesday in Dallas, with the President the star of the show he's called "a rally like none other!” With just days before the two day event starts, it's already plagued with concerns about turnout and Trump fatigue. Michael Scherer and Jake Traylor join The Weekend to discuss the convention.

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September 6, 2026; 7am: Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv for their first visit to Ukraine as part of a renewed push from the Trump Administration to end Russia's war. Just yesterday, Witkoff and Kushner met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow for more than three hours. Former DHS Chief of Staff Miles Taylor and Former Congresswoman Susan Wild, join “The Weekend” to discuss.

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September 5, 2026, 9 AM; The President is urging Republicans to run on his record and says he is going to hit the road for candidates despite his sagging popularity. If he can’t win over skeptical Americans, he seems determined to block some of them from casting their ballots. But so far the courts are standing in his way. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) joins The Weekend to discuss the the final stretch of the midterms.

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September 5, 2026, 8 AM; The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the U.S. added 162,000 jobs in August - far more than expected - while the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1%. But with midterm elections less than two months away, Americans continue to sour on what President Donald Trump calls a "roaring" economy, as his tariffs and the ongoing war with Iran threaten to increase costs even more. Courtenay Brown and Dan Koh join The Weekend to discuss the latest on the U.S. economy.

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September 5, 2026; 7am: President Trump suggests all Republicans have to do ahead of the midterms is talk about his record but his actions from the Iran war to his trade war with Canada have become increasingly unpopular. MS NOW has confirmed President Trump will speak Wednesday and Thursday night at next week’s convention in Dallas. However, some congressional Republicans are planning to skip the $25,000 ticket event. Andrew Desidario, senior congressional reporter for Punchbowl News, and MS NOW political contributor Mark Leibovich join “The Weekend” to discuss.

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August 30, 2026; 9am: Republican lawmakers are privately admitting that Trump is being described to them by Republican voters as exhausting. Plus, Trump continues to center himself in midterms, even as his approval rating sinks. Former Democratic Washington Governor Jay Inslee and former Republican Ohio Governor and MS NOW Political Analyst, John Kasich join “The Weekend” to discuss. 

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August 30, 2026; 8am: President Trump is feuding with a top ally that could lead to price hikes for Americans. After Trump’s trade with Canada collapsed, and both countries hit each other with tariffs, the trade war took a bizarre twist. Not only did Trump sign an executive order to formally rename ‘Lake Ontario’ to ‘Lake America,’ he also shared an AI generated video on Truth Social depicting an army of heavily armed Canadian geese with Trump wigs. Chrystia Freeland, the former Deputy Prime Minister and former Foreign Minister of Canada, and Democratic Rep. Tim Kennedy of New York, whose district i...

August 30, 2026; 7am: Yesterday, Michigan Democrats put up a united front in their first convention since their contentious primary. Democratic candidate for Governor Jocelyn Benson and Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed took the stage and called on the people of Michigan to fight against the actions of the Trump Administration. And in Texas, Democratic Candidate James Talarico has taken a slight lead over Republican candidate Ken Paxton, according to polls. Aaron Parnas, author of "The Parnas Perspective" on Substack, and MS NOW political analyst Eugene Robinson join “The Weekend” to discuss

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August 29, 2026; 9am: The Trump administration has appealed a ruling temporarily blocking his efforts to restrict mail-in voting, after a Massachusetts federal judge prohibited the U.S. postal service from carrying out Trump’s plan. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who is part of the lawsuit over Trump’s mail-in ballot order, and Brendan Ballou, former federal prosecutor and former lawyer with the DOJ National Security and Antitrust Division, join “The Weekend” to discuss.

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