The Latest: CNN, MS NOW and Politico say they’re suing over denied White House access

CNN, MS NOW and Politico say they’ve notified President Donald Trump’s administration that they’re filing a lawsuit over being denied White House access. Reporters from the three major news organizations were blocked from the White House on Saturday, a day after Trump said he was barring them because of reporting he found to be “fake news.”

Meanwhile, Trump will meet with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani when Trump travels to the city for the upcoming U.N. General Assembly. The meeting is scheduled for Monday and at Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence. The two will discuss issues affecting the city and New Yorkers. The White House confirmed the meeting will take place but did not offer more details.

Here's the latest:

For nearly four decades, Canada built its economy around closer integration with the United States. President Trump has turned that dependence into leverage, imposing tariffs, threatening Canada’s sovereignty and openly seeking to pull Canadian industrial production south.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has moved on. Rather than return to trade talks or wait for the next U.S. president to restore the old relationship, he’s urgently building a future in which Canada is less dependent on America.

Last week, Carney embraced the prospect of Canada becoming the European Union’s first associate member, not as a step toward full membership, but as a way to reduce Canada’s dependence on any single country without ceding control over its own decisions.

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“The implications extend beyond these organizations: a standard used to exclude one news outlet because of its coverage could be applied to any outlet in the future,” Jacqui Heinrich said. “The American people, through a free and independent press, must be able to scrutinize those elected to power, regardless of whether government officials view it favorably.”

The meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week in Washington could cover trade, artificial intelligence and geopolitics.

Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.7% on Monday, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8%. Nasdaq futures climbed 1.1%.

Oil prices fell more than 3% Monday as vessel traffic and energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz picked up, although the Strait has remained largely closed and uncertainty persisted over U.S.-Iran tensions. Saudi Arabia on Saturday confirmed that Yemen’s Houthi rebels tried to attack its capital with a ballistic missile, the first targeting of Riyadh since the escalation in fighting with the Tehran-backed rebels that’s opened a new front in the Iran war.

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Communism, President Donald Trump says, is the greatest threat the U.S. has ever faced.

This summer, citing similarly grave concerns, he took the rare step of delivering a primetime address to the nation, accusing China of “sinister election meddling” in 2020 and reviving his yearslong push to dispute his loss in that year’s election.

Even as Trump seeks to decry Democrats as communists ahead of November’s midterm elections, he's rolling out the red carpet this week for Chinese President Xi Jinping, the leader of the world’s most powerful communist country.

The state visit comes as the president himself has increasingly directed his administration to take large stakes in private companies to try to stimulate the economy — something even some Republicans decry as corporate socialism.

The contradictions between Trump’s words and actions risk muddying Republican attack lines on Democrats.

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Trump will meet with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani when Trump travels to the city for the upcoming U.N. General Assembly.

The meeting is scheduled for Monday and at Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence, according to Anna Bahr, Mamdani’s communications director.

Bahr said the two will discuss issues affecting the city and New Yorkers. The White House confirmed the meeting will take place but did not offer more details.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist who upset former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary before winning the general election in November, has been a favorite and frequent political foil for Republicans.

But Trump has often been warm to Mamdani and seemed charmed by the young mayor. Their first meeting after Mamdani’s election was quite cordial, with Trump saying at the White House that the then-mayor-elect would “surprise some conservative people.” The Republican president had called Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” during the 2025 campaign.

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CNN, MS NOW and Politico said Monday they’ve notified President Donald Trump’s administration that they’re filing a lawsuit over being denied White House access.

Reporters from the three major news organizations were blocked from the White House on Saturday, a day after Trump said he was barring them because of reporting he found to be “fake news.”

The actions were a clear escalation of Trump’s long-running efforts — in the courts and through administrative action — to restrict news coverage by journalists he finds objectionable and were the latest test of First Amendment protections in the United States. Trump had said Friday he would ban all three outlets because of coverage he disliked.

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The White House is seen after sunrise Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A worker waters plants on the North Lawn of the White House Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones struck the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Monday, a day after Kyiv’s forces fired more than 1,000 drones at Russia, officials said.

The relentless daily attacks underscore the lack of significant progress in diplomatic efforts to end the fighting more than four years after Russia invaded its neighbor.

There is no sign the war is abating as world leaders gather this week at the U.N. General Assembly. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expects to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the annual event in New York. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not due to attend.

Trump on Monday called the war “ridiculous” and said Moscow had “unfortunately lost control” of its diesel oil production as Ukraine targets Russian refineries with long-range drones.

“A large number of (Russian) diesel refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission,” he said in a social media post.

Earlier this month, Trump urged Zelenskyy to halt the refinery strikes, saying the attacks are causing a global shortage and price spikes.

European leaders, fearing Moscow has malicious intentions on their continent, are keen to put further pressure on Putin to withdraw from Ukraine, but the Russian leader has given no indication he is ready to give up his goals.

The Russian bombardment of Zaporizhzhia late Sunday hit apartment blocks, a university and a shopping mall, among other sites, and wounded five people, Zelenskyy said on social media Monday.

Russia also struck nine other regions of Ukraine, he said.

A Russian drone struck a home in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region on Monday, killing a 45-year-old woman and seriously injuring her 13-year-old son, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

“Russia is not backing down from its escalation and is sending many signals that it is ready to expand the war,” Zelenskyy said. “At the U.N. General Assembly, we will discuss how we can achieve peace through joint efforts.”

The Russian military overnight targeted Ukrainian logistics hubs, warehouses and ports, among other military-related sites, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Monday.

The attacks came after Ukraine launched a huge swarm of drones at Russia from Saturday to Sunday, including hundreds aimed at Moscow, as voters turned out for the third and last day of a carefully orchestrated parliamentary election.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday that its air defenses overnight downed 244 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the waters of the Black Sea.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force said Monday it shot down or suppressed 148 Russian drones in an overnight attack.

During the aerial barrages, drones have repeatedly strayed into neighboring countries, unnerving leaders who are wary of Russia and fear being dragged into conflict.

Moldova’s Ministry of Defense said Monday that part of the country's airspace in the north was temporarily closed overnight after surveillance systems detected an “aerial object” entering its national airspace shortly after midnight.

In recent weeks, Moldova’s airspace has been violated multiple times, and drone debris has been found on its territory. With electronic jamming knocking drones off course, it was not clear whether the drones were Russian or Ukrainian, though officials have often singled out Moscow for blame.

Moldova’s pro-Western President Maia Sandu has repeatedly condemned Russia for its war on Ukraine, and earlier this month said Moscow’s “brutal war is reaching our border” following Russian strikes along Moldova’s frontier with Ukraine.

Drone incursions into Romania’s airspace have also increased significantly.

AP reporters Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England and Seun Min Kim in Washington contributed to this story.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

A rescue worker puts out a fire at the Intrade trade center after a Russian drone strike on Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko) Correction: Byline corrected to Kateryna Klochko, instead of Evgeniy Maloletka

Rescue workers put out a fire at the Intrade trade center after a Russian drone strike on Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko) Correction: Byline corrected to Kateryna Klochko, instead of Evgeniy Maloletka

A rescue worker puts out a fire at the Intrade trade center after a Russian drone strike on Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko) Correction: Byline corrected to Kateryna Klochko, instead of Evgeniy Maloletka