CNN reporting that President Donald Trump has banned it from reporting from the White House. Courtesy of CNN By Mark Mwachiro --> Top of the Ticker : CNN and MS NOW are still reporting from the White House on Friday, despite President Donald Trump saying on social media that he will ban the two networks, as well as Politico, “effective immediately” from reporting within those grounds.
BREAKING President Trump claims he is banning CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the White House.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yasharali.bsky.social) 2026-09-18T19:13:48.722Z
During a Q&A inside the Oval Office on Friday afternoon, the president, when asked why he was banning the three news outlets, said he had “no reason,” adding that it was due to cumulative stories “over the last two years.”
In a statement, CNN said that it stands fully behind its White House reporters and the network has a “right under the U.S. Constitution” to report without hindrance from the government.
“Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally-protected right,” the statement concluded.
CNN Statement on White House access: pic.twitter.com/X0rMWFfueA
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) September 18, 2026
Meanwhile, former WHCA president Weijia Jiang posted a portion of the First Amendment, which states that freedom of speech or the freedom of the press can’t be curtailed by the government.
The First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress… https://t.co/ZAdf6utVav
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) September 18, 2026
New crew : ABC News’ flagship morning program, Good Morning America, debuted new co-anchor teams for its Saturday and Sunday editions over the weekend.
The network’s senior political correspondent, Rachel Scott , joined Whit Johnson to co-anchor the broadcast on Saturdays. Scott will continue to host the streaming news program, What You Need to Know, on Disney+. Meanwhile, correspondent Rhiannon Ally has been paired with Gio Benitez to co-anchor the Sunday editions.
Also part of the weekend crew is Leslie Lopez , who was named GMA’s weekend meteorologist. She replaces Somara Theodore , who is moving to full-time on the weekday shift on ABC News Live. Lopez was previously a meteorologist for the ABC Los Angeles affiliate KABC.
In addition to their new GMA assignments, Johnson, Scott, Benitez, and Ally will, on a rotating basis, anchor ABC News Live Weekend at 10 a.m. ET on ABC News’ 24/7.
Sudden departure : NBC News is losing one of its veteran executives after Janelle Rodriguez announced she will leave the news outlet after 12 years. Rodriguez, who was the evp of NBC News programming, said in a note to staffers that it was “the right moment” for her to leave and move on to the next chapter in her life.
Following Rodriguez’s departure, NBC News president of editorial Rebecca Blumenstein revealed the new leadership structure, with Catherine Kim becoming executive vice president, editorial and content. This includes oversight of NBC News Now and specials. Matt Carluccio will expand his responsibilities to oversee the network’s editorial units, including business, health, investigations, and climate. Finally, Matt Frucci , executiv…