How Trump is testing the First Amendment

Plus: NATO drill sends a message to Russia  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

T. Michelle Murphy | September 20, 2026     Hello, reader. As if we didn’t have enough to worry about as we age, we’re bringing you a story today about how our feet change shape throughout our lives. Ever noticed your shoes feeling tighter as the years go by? Now you can find out why.  We’re also looking at the First Amendment questions raised by President Donald Trump’s decision to ban three news outlets from the White House, and footage of a major drill by NATO allies Sweden and Germany in the Baltic Sea. IN TODAY’S BRIEF Trump tests the First Amendment A new immigration dilemma South Korea to approve abortion pills Are your feet still getting bigger? NATO troops conduct military drills         READ THIS FIRST Trump bans three news organizations from the White House Samuel Corum—Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images President Donald Trump announced Sept. 18 he was banning CNN, Politico, and MS Now from the White House—setting up a new test of the First Amendment’s protection of a free press as his Administration moves to punish news organizations whose coverage he dislikes. In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused the three outlets of repeatedly publishing “FAKE NEWS” and warned that other news organizations could face similar restrictions. “Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America,” Trump wrote. When asked by a reporter what exactly the ban would entail, Trump said, "I don't want them in my office. I don't want them here. I would say the ban would go as far as you can." The prohibition was enforced Sept. 19, when journalists from all three organizations were denied entry to the White House and had their press credentials confiscated. —Nik Popli         SPONSORED Daily news for curious minds. Be the smartest person in the room. 1440 navigates 100+ sources to deliver a comprehensive, unbiased news roundup — politics, business, culture, and more — in a quick, 5-minute read. Completely free, completely factual. Sign up now!         THE CONTEXT How a Trump Administration rule could restrict green card access Charles-McClintock Wilson—NurPhoto via Getty Images The Trump Administration has rolled out a new rule that experts predict will make it more difficult for immigrants to get green cards if they access public assistance programs, such as Medicaid—and it could deter those hoping to obtain the status from enrolling in public benefits. The rule, which went into effect Sept. 18, updates a policy dating back to the 19th century that the U.S. has long used to prohibit immigrants who are believed to be likely to become a “public charge” from getting green cards. The Department of Homeland Security has argued that the change “is restoring the basic principle that immigrants must be able to support themselves.” It’s the Administration’s latest effort to sharply restrict both illegal and legal immigration. Trump enacted a similar change during his first term, but the effort was subjected to court challenges and ultimately rescinded by his successor, Joe Biden. The new rule has already been challenged in court, and it’s unclear how ongoing litigation will affect its implementation. —Chantelle Lee         IN THE NEWS South Korea set to approve abortion pills next year Soumyabrata Roy—NurPhoto/Getty Images South Korea this week announced that it plans to approve abortion medication, with restrictions, for the first time in a nation that used to have one of the strictest policies against abortion among developed countries. Government officials are looking to authorize such medication seven years after the country’s Constitutional Court ruled a longstanding ban on most abortions unconstitutional. While abortion was decriminalized, the South Korean parliament has yet to enact new regulations. President Lee Jae-myung recognized this legal vacuum on social media and said the government’s decision to introduce abortion drugs in phases can improve protections for women who need access to medically safe procedures. “During that time, women have been unable to obtain safe abortion drugs and have had to rely on overseas direct purchases or illegal transactions, taking risks in the process,” Lee said Thursday. “Even while fixing a leaking roof, the floor gets wet. I believe that doing what we can now, rather than waiting for a perfect solution, is a slightly better decision.” —Chad de Guzman         SPONSORED Stop making AI decisions in the dark. Leadership is asking: where is AI delivering value for us and where is it creating risk? Right now, most teams have no idea. With Harmonic Security’s Usage Explorer, you get a complete picture of how your organization actually uses AI, automatically categorized into custom use cases with complete tool-level granularity. See it in action         HEALTH CHECK Why your shoe size seems to be changing as you get older Photo-Illustration by TIME (Source Image: Olga Yastremska—Getty Images) If you’ve always worn the same size shoe, but your sneakers and boots feel tighter now that you’re in, say, your 40s or beyond—you’re not alone. This has led many people to wonder: Do feet really get bigger with age?  “Yes, but ‘bigger’ is somewhat misleading,” says Dr. Kimberly Koury, an orthopedic surgeon at Atlantic Health. “Adult feet do not continue to grow in the same way they do during childhood. Instead, the shape of the foot can gradually change with age.” This can happen for a variety of reasons and cause feet to become wider, flatter, and slightly longer, she explains.  “Someone may notice that a shoe that fit well when they were younger now feels too tight, even though their actual foot bones have not continued to grow,” Koury says. Most important: Wear shoes that fit well. Avoid footwear with narrow toe boxes, which compress your toes (and may cause bunions), and limit high heels, which put stress on the front of the foot and may even cause a deformity, she says. —Erica Sweeney         SPONSORED How Jennifer Aniston’s LolaVie brand grew sales 40% with CTV ads The DTC beauty category is crowded. To break through, Jennifer Aniston’s brand LolaVie, worked with Roku Ads Manager to easily set up, test, and optimize CTV ad creatives. The campaign helped drive a big lift in sales and customer growth, helping LolaVie break through in the crowded beauty category. Learn more         A VIRAL MOMENT A show of strength in the Baltic Sea A video posted by Sweden’s armed forces shows 1,500 Swedish and German troops, backed by fighter jets and warships, rehearsing how NATO would rush soldiers and anti-ship missiles to Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea.       Linked In this addictive word-association game, find the steps that will unite two seemingly unrelated words in just four moves. PLAY NOW     More Newsletters from Click to sign up. D.C. BRIEF +FUTURE PROOF +HEALTH MATTERS +INSIDE TIME +IN THE LOOP +WORTH YOUR TIME + Subscribe to TIME Email us: thebrief@time.com Received this from a friend? Sign up here Connect with TIME   PRIVACY POLICY     © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved. TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508, United States Unsubscribe