Very proud "Treasury's War: The Unleashing of a New Era of Financial Warfare," is now available as an audio book. Thanks to @TantorAudio @maxbrockman @public_affairs. Great narration from @timapabon. The book is more relevant now than ever. Listen! amazon.com/Treasurys-War-Unl…

Brooklyn Rivera spent 32 months in detention with almost no contact with his family. When the Indigenous Miskito leader died in custody, there was no independent investigation or autopsy. UN experts now identify at least eight deaths in custody and 161 enforced disappearances under Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime. This is what lies behind the regime’s abolition of elections: a coordinated machinery of detention, disappearance and fear designed to eliminate every peaceful challenge to power. Nicaragua’s democratic movement, and the families still demanding answers, deserve accountability, freedom and the right to determine their country’s future. apnews.com/article/nicaragua…

Cuban activists have risked their own freedom to inspire their fellow citizens to find their voice and demand change. Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Pérez used their art to do it, while Félix Navarro spent decades organizing for democratic reform. All three were imprisoned for their efforts. Learn more about our 2026 Democracy Award honorees for Freedom of Speech.

How do you protest a regime that's willing to deploy violence on a massive scale to crush peaceful demonstrations? Nan Lin and his fellow community organizers found a way to keep Burma's pro-democracy movement alive by moving it underground. Learn more about our 2026 Democracy Award honoree for Freedom of Assembly.

Former professional tennis player Patrick McEnroe highlights how international recruits now make up over 60% of Division I tennis rosters—and over 90% at some universities. He warns that tennis serves as an early indicator of a trend now spreading across all college sports, which could increasingly displace American student-athletes.

“A new cold war is being waged against America by Beijing, Moscow, Tehran and Pyongyang — an Axis of Aggressors,” @CliffordDMay writes.

BREAKING: Pakistan's defense minister says it is time to activate Mecca military pact following Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

Four years later, the courage of Iran’s women endures—and so does the movement they inspired. Grateful to my friend @AlinejadMasih for ensuring the world remembers. Every day, you name someone killed by the Iranian regime showing everyone that behind this struggle are individual lives that must never be forgotten. Woman. Life. Freedom.

9/11 hero Welles Crowther ’99 was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom and 25 years later continues to be honored on campus, inspiring new generations. Check out the media coverage as the Man in the Red Bandanna was honored: on.bc.edu/m/WellesCrowther

90 seconds. One unforgettable night. 🌎 At George Washington’s Mount Vernon, NED’s 2026 Democracy Awards honored courageous people from Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Ethiopia, Russia, and Syria who are carrying the promise of freedom forward. Congratulations to @viasna96, @LMOAlcantara, @felixncuba, @addisstandard and @SyrianCenter Watch the highlights.

🔴 Live now | Economic security and national security have become inseparable. @DFC_CEO Ben Black, @SenatorHagerty, and @ElaineDezenski take the FDD stage to discuss what tools and capacities the U.S. needs to deploy economic power effectively: fdd.org/events/2026/09/15/us…

As the Kremlin uses religious institutions to justify its brutal war against Ukraine, Mir Vsem/Peace Unto All offers an independent religious voice for peace. Co-founders Father Andrey Kordochkin and Father Valerian Dunin-Barkovsky have worked tirelessly to defend freedom of conscience in Russia, providing critical aid to countless clergy facing persecution for refusing to bless the war or accept the political weaponization of their faith. This evening, NED Board Member and longtime religious freedom advocate Ambassador @SamuelBrownback honored their courage and moral leadership by presenting them with a 2026 Democracy Award for Freedom of Religion.

Won For Welles

In this firsthand reflection, @jdanielferrer captures something essential about the @NEDemocracy Democracy Awards: people fighting for freedom in very different places discovering strength in one another. From #LuisManuelOteroAlcántara’s call to remember Cuba’s political prisoners (#FélixNavarro, #MaykelOsorbo) to the extraordinary rendition of “Patria y Vida,” Cuban voices were powerful throughout the evening. Thank you @Yotuel007 and @elfunkycuba! Solidarity matters. When those defending freedom find one another across borders, they remind each other—and all of us—that no dictatorship gets the final word. José Daniel’s message is well worth reading: en.cibercuba.com/noticias/20… @RosaMariaPaya @johnjsuarez @FrankCalzon @OGutierrezCuba

For decades, Cubans have faced imprisonment and persecution for speaking freely and calling for change. Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Pérez found a way to use music and performance art to reject repression and voice the frustrations of an entire nation, inspiring a new generation to find their voice. Félix Navarro spent decades calling for democratic reform and organizing across rural communities. Regime officials imprisoned all three men amid historic protests in 2021. Tonight, NED Board Member Senator Mel Martínez presented a Democracy Award to Luis Manuel and activist José Daniel Ferrer on behalf of these three courageous advocates for freedom.

A tradition like no other: Tonight's Red Bandanna Game commemorates the legacy of Welles Crowther ’99, whose extraordinary courage and selfless actions continue to inspire generations. It serves as a tribute to the BC and Rutgers alumni who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Tonight at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, courage took center stage. As America marks its 250th anniversary, NED’s Democracy Awards honored people carrying forward the promise of 1776—and defending the fundamental freedoms at the heart of democratic life: ♦ The anti-war clergy of Mir Vsem/Peace Unto All ♦ The journalists of Ethiopia’s Addis Standard ♦ The pro-democracy organizers of Burma’s Spring Revolution ♦ Cuban pro-democracy activists Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Maykel Castillo Pérez, and Félix Navarro ♦ The Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression We also presented the Democracy Service Medal to Belarusian human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, and the Champions of Freedom Award to Senator Chris Coons. We look forward to presenting Representative Mario Díaz-Balart with the Champions of Freedom Award at a later date. This year’s honorees remind us that the desire for freedom that inspired America’s founding still moves people around the world—and remains one of the most powerful forces shaping our future.

I’m sorry but this is all I can manage tonight….

Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the baseball world came together through the game that we know and love ⚾️🇺🇸 📽️ “When America Took The Field” 📺 September 10th at 10pm ET on MLB Network

25 years after the September 11th attacks, President Trump presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Welles Crowther '99 posthumously. His mother, Alison Crowther, accepted the award and spoke about Welles. WATCH the full presentation: piped.video/MDl_4ObvH3w

Here are more details on the Axis of Aggressors Security Cooperation Dataset that @ralexdc's story mentions. @FDD @FDD_CMPP @L_Rolleigh @RyanBrobst_ Read: fdd.org/analysis/axis-of-agg… Watch 👇