Sports, Entertainment & Culture — September 16, 2026

Kennedy Center board votes to close building. The Trump-aligned board voted to shutter the performing arts center's main building for renovation. The vote came after a judge again blocked adding the president's name and the center warned it is near bankruptcy.

According to Axios, the renovation project has been championed by President Trump, and the decision followed a repeated court setback: a judge had blocked the effort to attach the president's name to the institution more than once. The board's move also came against a backdrop of financial strain, with the center itself cautioning that it was approaching insolvency, linking the closure to both legal and fiscal pressures.

Axios · Read more →

Ed Sheeran's openers quit en masse. Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe all left Ed Sheeran's U.S. stadium tour after Macklemore's removal from the lineup over pro-Palestinian comments on stage.

Rolling Stone reports the departures have thrown the stadium tour into disarray, leaving Sheeran without any of his announced supporting acts for the U.S. dates. The walkout was a direct response to the decision to drop Macklemore, whose removal followed remarks in support of Palestinians delivered during a performance, suggesting the other openers left in solidarity rather than for unrelated reasons.

Rolling Stone · Read more →

Senate advances college sports overhaul. The Protect College Sports Act would create national NIL compensation rules, limit transfers and mid-season coaching moves, and cap revenue sharing.

Fox News frames the legislation as an attempt to bring order to what lawmakers have described as a 'Wild West' environment in college athletics. Beyond setting a single national standard for name, image and likeness pay, the bill targets two other sources of instability for programs: player movement through the transfer process and coaches departing in the middle of a season, while also placing a ceiling on revenue-sharing arrangements.

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Alonso hits milestone homer against former team. Pete Alonso launched his 300th career home run, a game-tying ninth-inning blast against the Mets, and got a Citi Field curtain call before Baltimore won in 11 innings.

The milestone carried added weight because it came at Citi Field, where Alonso spent his career with the Mets before joining Baltimore, and the home crowd's curtain call underscored his standing there despite the change of uniform. The homer did more than mark a personal round number: it erased the Mets' lead in the final regulation inning and set up the extra-inning finish the Orioles ultimately won.

ESPN · Read more →