It’s September 3, 2026. Here’s your free midday update.
Thanks so much again to everyone for letting us know they’ve pre-ordered our book WTF America. It truly means the world to us.
Here are the top stories, so far…
Mike Johnson abruptly cancels the last two weeks of September in Congress after denying he’d do so just days ago
Billionaire Leon Black skipped out on his House Oversight deposition on Epstein and is suing the committee
Trump favorite Maria Bartiromo is abruptly out at Fox
Federal prosecutors charge an ICE agent with lying about a Minnesota shooting
Trump continues insisting we have “virtually unlimited” ammo, while claiming reporters covering U.S. munitions shortages are “treasonous”
Iran’s overnight barrage on U.S. bases
Oil spikes toward $100/barrel
Trump continues attacking Canada and PM Carney
House Republicans vent their tariff frustrations at Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer during a closed-door meeting
A federal judge again blocks Trump’s latest attempt to gut birthright citizenship
The Antwerp diamond industry’s story about the diamond ring it gave to Trump keeps falling apart
Mortgage rates and treasury yields climb to multi-year highs
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Now let’s dive in.
MAGA Mike Runs and Hides
MAGA Mike Johnson has made it officially: the last two weeks of September are canceled for the House. See ya later. The House won’t return until after the midterm elections unless the Senate moves their reconciliation package. This comes just a couple days after Johnson defensively mocked Thomas Massie for suggesting leadership might do exactly this to dodge the new Epstein Files Transparency Act, calling the idea “stupid” and “nonsensical.” Well, what does that make you, Mike?
James Comer, meanwhile, is skipping Trump’s midterm convention in Dallas, joining more than 45 other Republicans who’ve said they won’t attend, either. While on NewsNation, Comer also struggled to explain why Trump’s MAGA Inc. war chest has only spent $21M of its $400M with the midterms just a couple months out.
Billionaire Leon Black Backs Out
Billionaire Leon Black, who appears in the Epstein files, filed a lawsuit to block his own subpoena from the House Oversight Committee rather than show up and answer questions. Black was the CEO of Apollo Global Management, before revelations from the Epstein files sparked his resignation. Democrats are now calling for Black to be held in contempt.
Bartiromo Is Out
State regime media known as Fox abruptly announced this morning that it has parted ways with host, and Trump favorite, Maria Bartiromo, after 12.5 years. No explanation given. She’s out effective immediately. 👀
An ICE Agent Actually Gets Charged
A federal grand jury has indicted ICE officer Christian Castro on charges of making false statements regarding a nonfatal shooting during ICE’s invasion of Minneapolis this past January. Trump’s own DOJ is accusing one of its federal agents of criminal wrongdoing on the job. Castro shot and wounded Julio Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan man who lacked legal status. Trump officials at the time instantly defended Castro, then quietly backed away as video footage emerged showing the Trump regime’s account did not match reality.
Trump’s Ammo Meltdown
Trump woke up this morning and raged some more at journalists telling the truth about his disastrous war. He posted that the U.S. has virtually unlimited amounts of mid to high grade ammo, more than we can ever use, and that anyone reporting otherwise is “treasonous scum.” Then he posted an AI-generated graphic titled “Hormuz Oil Volumes are BACK!” that shows oil flows dropping from 20M barrels a day to 18M. Meanwhile, in the real world, Brent crude hit over $97, a 6-week high, and the crack spread between crude and diesel is about the widest it has ever been.
Iran’s Surprise Attacks
Overnight, Iran launched missile and drone strikes against U.S. assets across Kuwait, with explosions and sirens reported and flights diverting away from the country. Reports claim Iranian forces targeted U.S. bases in Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE over an 8-hour stretch. This happened at the same time reporting broke in the WSJ that Trump is now privately discussing with aides whether to just declare that the war is over and the U.S. won, a move he’s tried before. Hegseth is now extending Mideast deployments into 2027, which means more strain on our troops. And reports are coming in from our service members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, who upon docking in Thailand, are calling this the worst deployment of their careers. Some said they had no interest in a port call in Thailand. They just want to come home.
About That “Golden Age”
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve just fell below 290M barrels for the first time since 1982. Mortgage rates are marching toward 7%. The 10-year treasury yield has climbed from under 4% to nearly 4.8% since the Iran war began. The trade deficit ballooned in July, driven largely by imports needed to feed the AI data center boom, a boom which appears to be the only thing propping up private construction spending right now, while every other category of construction has collapsed by roughly $120B. Meanwhile, Canadian exports to the U.S. fell 6.6% in July, while its exports everywhere else hit a record high. Trump also keeps threatening Canada’s economy. Worth noting: Canada’s economy added 75.1K jobs in July. The U.S. lost 23K.
His Own Party Is Losing Patience
House Republicans sat down behind closed doors with U.S. Trade Rep. Greer and reportedly let him have it over Trump’s tariff war, per Semafor. GOP reps know how bad these tariffs are, not only for the economy, but for their midterm chances.
Antwerp’s Diamond Industry Says the Trump Ring Wasn’t a Bribe. Its Own Words Say Otherwise.
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre still insists the diamond ring it gave Trump in June was just a friendly gift for America’s 250th anniversary and nothing to do with the tariff exemption on European diamonds Trump restored a month later. But AWDC’s own public filings admit the tariff exemption wasn’t guaranteed until after the gift. In an exclusive MeidasTouch report, Senator Warren told us that this looks like exactly what it is.
And in other legal news, a federal judge in Maryland again blocked Trump’s latest executive order attempting to limit birthright citizenship, writing plainly that no presidential order can undo what the Supreme Court has done. For those wondering, yes, SCOTUS had already settled this back in June. But this decision was a lower court follow-up blocking a new, narrower Trump order Trump tried to make to work around the ruling.
Remember to listen to the MeidasTouch Podcast for more updates, and a quick reminder that Scott MacFarlane just launched his podcast, Scott MacFarlane Reports.
Shoutout to the Meidas Mighty!
What a pathetic, sorry little johnson. But fear not, he’s so religious that Jesus has a bracelet that says “What would Mike Johnson do?”
That photo of 47 makes him look like bacon melting in the frying pan. Ew!