NEW YORK (AP) — On a day of high-stakes diplomacy on the global stage, President Donald Trump began his United Nations visit by telling a prominent U.S. journalist, “You should not be here.”
“It’s an honor to be here,” Trump said as he entered U.N. doors Tuesday ahead of his speech to the General Assembly and faced Kaitlan Collins of CNN, a frequent target of his ire. “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me. You should not be here covering me. You said you weren’t going to cover me.”
As Collins noted later on air, CNN said nothing of the kind. The administration had banned CNN from White House grounds days earlier — along with MS NOW and Politico — and removed the network from pool duty. But CNN had been admitted into the U.N. as regularly credentialed media.
In any case, the tense moment was a stark reminder of how dramatically the bitter conflict between Trump and news outlets whose coverage he objects to as “fake news" has escalated in just a few days.
The current ban was the subject of a joint lawsuit filed Monday by the three outlets, asking a judge to find the administration's move unconstitutional. The White House had until Tuesday to respond, and a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Later Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his remarks and said negative coverage was dangerous for the country.
Asked whether he would allow the outlets back in if the court rules against the White House, he said, “Well, it probably will, because this is a judge who’s not a particularly fair judge.” He was referring to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom he appointed in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar case in 2018.
“So you never know,” Trump added. "I think we have a right to clean out fake news."
Trump’s comments echoed others he's made since announcing the ban Friday. He has referred to “purposely negative stories,” but cited no specific stories — only generally “fake news” — as justification for the ban.
The ban and lawsuit are part of a long-running conflict between the president — especially in his second term — and media outlets he finds unfavorable. Trump has responded in the courtroom, or with regulatory action. He's also lashed out at individual reporters in person or over social media, sometimes in strikingly personal terms — as he has with CNN's Collins, most recently in a speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
On air, after her exchange with Trump on Tuesday, Collins said: “We never said we were not going to cover the president. We will do our best to cover him each and every day.”
Tuesday began with an item missing from the daily press schedule issued by the White House: It did not list the U.S. network pool, a departure from the norm.
CNN had been the designated pool network for the president’s trip to New York, according to a schedule that divides coverage of certain events between the five major networks. But Trump's ban removed it from pool duties.
The other pool members agreed, in solidarity, not to replace CNN with another network on the coverage, and further to suspend all pool coverage until further notice. Other news outlets also took steps in solidarity. The Associated Press joined a number of news organizations, including The Washington Post and The New York Times, in a decision not to publish photographs of presidential events Monday.
It remains to be seen how long both the ban and the collective media action will continue.
In speeches and meetings Tuesday, Trump was seen plenty by global audiences, thanks to UNTV — the official United Nations broadcast arm — and pool journalists covering other international leaders.
Meanwhile, a sign was spotted in the White House workspace: “I stand with AP, CNN, MS NOW, Politico.”
One longtime TV analyst says the lack of constant coverage will prove damaging to a spotlight-loving president — which may be one reason the standoff ultimately ends.
“This ban is not going to go on forever because he doesn’t want that to happen, anymore than anybody else,” said Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University’s Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture.
In the short term, Thompson said, audiences won't feel the impact in a lasting way — after all, he noted, there are many ways people get news outside of network coverage.
“We are not going to be deprived of important civic information,” Thompson said, as might have happened years ago when outlets and options were fewer.
On the other hand, if viewers were interested in what Trump said as he inaugurated a helipad at the White House on Monday, they were out of luck: The sound of Trump’s whirring, waiting helicopter drowned out his remarks. TV network crews usually work to capture clearer audio.
On a deeper level, Thompson said, news consumers will be impacted in a more serious way. He called out Trump's remarks labeling negative media coverage "dangerous" as troubling.
“These casual remarks, not even disguised, about what we always considered basic freedoms of the press ... that, I think, is a lot more serious,” he said.
President Donald Trump attends a multilateral meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council during the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, at the UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A sign in support of news outlets is seen at the White House press room, Sept. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Manchester City rallied from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Bayern Munich in its return to the Women's Champions League at the start of the league phase on Tuesday.
Two-time European champion Arsenal needed a stoppage-time winner to defeat HB Køge 1-0 at home, while Inter Milan, making its debut in the competition proper, edged visiting Häcken by the same score.
Benfica won 2-1 at Juventus with a pair of goals by Marit Bratberg Lund, and Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain drew 1-1 in the Spanish capital, with Felicia Schröder scoring for the hosts two minutes into the match and PSG equalizing with a second-half penalty by Sakina Karchaoui.
Bayern, a semifinalist last season, got off to a quick start with Giulia Gwinn scoring in the 11th minute and with an own-goal by Kerstin Casparij in the 28th.
City began its rally before halftime, with Beth Mead netting in the 45th. Carlotta Wamser, who just joined City from Bayer Leverkusen, completed the comeback with a shot from inside the area in the 86th for her first Champions League goal.
“It feels very special. It’s a dream as a kid to play in the Champions League and play against the best players in the world," Wamser said, according to UEFA.com.
Forward Khadija Shaw missed a 62nd-minute penalty kick for City, which became the first English team not to lose away to Bayern in Europe.
“We lost intensity a bit in the second half and made too many mistakes and too easy mistakes, and at this level it goes against you, so we have to learn from it,” Bayern midfielder Linda Dallmann said. “We had the chances, especially at the end, we had two big chances. At this level, you have to score. I think we deserved it at the end. But it’s our fault, we have to work on that.”
City made it to the quarterfinals two seasons ago, being eliminated by Chelsea, but didn't qualify for the European tournament last season.
“We want to show what we’re about in Europe," Mead said. "We showed that in the second half here, now we need to do it for 90 minutes. Obviously it’s a very different competition compared to domestic football. Hopefully we can get up to speed quickly and show what we’re about against Madrid (in the next game).”
It made it back after its first year under coach Andrée Jeglertz, who helped the team end Chelsea’s dominance of the Women’s Super League to claim its first league title in a decade. City also won the FA Cup to complete a domestic double.
It was Bayern's first competitive match at its new venue, the Sportpark Unterhaching.
Arsenal, the 2024-25 champion, was headed to a scoreless draw against Danish club HB Køge at home when Mariona Caldentey converted a penalty kick three minutes into stoppage time.
HB Køge, playing in the competition proper for the first time since the 2021-22 season, withstood the Arsenal pressure for most of the match until conceding the late penalty.
“For the whole 90 minutes, we worked so hard," Arsenal midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross said. "We never give up. We are a hard-working team and we always want to score goals, create chances, but at the moment it is quite difficult. We got the three points and that is all that matters.”
Haley Bugeja scored five minutes into the match and Inter held on for its opening victory over Swedish club Häcken.
Bugeja is the first Maltese player to appear in a Champions League group stage/league phase game, men or women, UEFA said.
“It was special for us, and special to see how maturely we played. We scored early and then we took a step back, but I’m very happy about our second half,” Inter coach David Sassarini said. "I am happy about the win. We showed we can play in this competition, and the ambition now is to improve on certain things and keep it up.”
The visitors saw goalkeeper Jennifer Falk sent off in the 89th.
Inter, making its debut after advancing through a penalty shootout win over Wolfsburg, twice hit the post with headers by Elisa Bartoli and Lina Magull.
“It was so special for me to captain Inter on such a historic night," Inter captain Irene Santi said. "It was incredible, and we played so well as a team.”
Häcken defender Aivi Luik was the oldest group stage/league phase player at 41, according to UEFA.
“I don’t think about my record," she said. "I still feel young. The secret is coffee and chocolate. It wasn’t the result we wanted, we could have equalized but we didn’t and now we look forward to the next matches.”
The league phase, in its second year, has 18 teams competing over six matchdays. The top four advance directly to the quarterfinals and the clubs finishing between fifth and 12th compete in knockout phase playoffs in February.
Defending champion Barcelona hosts Paris FC in one of the four matches on Wednesday.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Bayern's Giulia Gwinn, right, collides with Manchester City's Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp, left, during the women's Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Manchester City in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Bayern's Edna Imade reacts after failing to score during the women's Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Manchester City in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Manchester City's Carlotta Wamser celebrates with Laura Blindkilde Brown, center right, after scoring her side's second goal during the women's Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Manchester City in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Bayern's Giulia Gwinn, right, collides with Manchester City's Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp, left, during the women's Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Manchester City in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Bayern's Pernille Harder kicks the ball next to Manchester City's Jade Rose during the women's Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Manchester City in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
A policeman is engulfed in colored smoke from smoke bombs thrown onto the pitch during the women's Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Manchester City in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
