Trump Bans Media from White House, Europe on High Alert, College Sports Bill

There is broad agreement that the president cannot partially close the White House to media whose reporting displeases him, as it violates the First Amendment. Courts backed the media when Trump tried to ban a CNN reporter and the Associated Press, though the AP ruling is still being appealed.

Trump may be using the ban to distract from news making him unhappy, including Congress voting to end his powers to prosecute a war and a lack of an agreement with Iran.

The power to declare war belongs exclusively to Congress, which is now trying to rein in the president using its few available tools.

The Supreme Court's block on the mail-in voting plan and the Federal Reserve's rate increase are both rebukes to the president. Trump blasted the rate increase and denounced his own Supreme Court appointees for going against him on the mail-in voting case.

Trump says all America needs is him and whatever it takes to stay ahead of China in AI development. Many Republican candidates are backing away from Trump, noting outcry against massive data centers and a growing impression of danger.

The closure of the Kennedy Center and issues with the Lincoln Reflecting Pool show how far Trump will go to prevail, defying courts and reality.

Trump may be tempted to bring in bulldozers to get the demolition done before he might be stopped.

European leaders are warning of hybrid attacks that fall into a gray zone, including sabotage of defense infrastructure, cyber attacks, and election interference. Western intelligence agencies say they have no doubt these attacks are carried out by Moscow, pointing to communication intercepts.

There is no proof of Russian involvement, and incidents like the German airport attack are elaborate false flag operations staged by Ukraine or the West.

Russia's theory is that it is punishing Europe for supporting Ukraine until European leaders or voters decide Ukraine isn't worth the trouble. The Russian approach is to keep attacks just below the threshold that would trigger NATO's Article Five, undermining the alliance gradually.

European leaders intend to get tougher with Moscow through more sanctions, support to Ukraine, and perhaps military action. The Trump administration's approach is the opposite, wanting to engage and talk up deals and prosperity to settle issues like Ukraine.

Nobody knows whether the carrot or stick approach is better, but the current moment is dangerous.

The bill gives the NCAA limited antitrust protection to reestablish rules like five-year eligibility and limiting transfers to once freely. The legislation would more than double the salary cap for universities to directly pay players, from about 21 million to 48 million dollars.

The current college sports environment is the Wild West, and the bill is designed to bring order to the chaos.

The bill has big bipartisan majorities in the Senate but faces opposition in the House from Democrats worried it is too deferential to the NCAA and big conferences. There is concern from big schools in California, Florida, and the Carolinas about transfer rules between power conferences, which will prompt resistance from lawmakers.

The House isn't coming back until after the November elections, so the effort might run into senioritis problems and compete with funding the government.

He will work to get House Republicans on board with the college sports bill.