It’s September 1, 2026. That means it’s officially the beginning of the late 2020s, as Encyclopaedia Britannica rudely reminded me earlier. Where did all the time go?!? Anyway, here’s an overview of today’s top stories:
The U.S. has resumed strikes on Iran
Iran’s president received a hero’s welcome from Putin and Xi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit
Global bond markets are cracking…it’s getting ugly
A USPS whistleblower says the agency kept building Trump’s mail ballot rejection system in defiance of a court order
Army Secretary Driscoll resigned after clashing with Hegseth, and his deputy is reportedly following him out
Hegseth decides to mock Canadian teenage cadets online while his department is in collapse
Canada’s Liberals sweep all three by-elections
New Senate polling out of Michigan and a big ad blitz against Susan Collins in Maine
Sean Duffy and Kelly Loeffler are laser-focused on…their new reality TV shows
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Let’s get into it.
U.S. Strikes In Iran Are Back On
This morning, U.S. forces starting striking IRGC targets along Iran’s southern coastline, per CENTCOM, in cities stretching from Bandar Abbas to Chabahar. This follows overnight strikes by Iran against two oil supertankers overnight: the Saudi vessel Sidr and the South Korean-owned Senegal Prosperity. They were struck by projectiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz under U.S. escort. Trump then reposted a Breitbart headline vowing to hit back hard, while Iran’s president said that more fighting wasn’t in anyone’s interest.
This war continues to escalate at a time when the United States has never looked weaker on the world stage. While our military was launching new strikes, Iran’s president was standing shoulder to shoulder with Putin, Xi, Modi, and Erdogan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan. Putin told Pezeshkian that Russia stands in solidarity with the Iranian people and is keeping trade and economic cooperation flowing, which naturally means they are helping to fund Iran’s civilian nuclear buildout.
Xi commented that it’s historically unjust for a small number of countries to dominate world affairs and that no bloc gets to run the show alone. Hm, I wonder who he is talking about… Erdogan said that the SCO now represents something like 3.5B people and $35T in economic output. A new multipolar world is forming in real time, specifically because countries no longer trust what Washington says.
Which brings us to…Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bessent appeared on CNBC and framed this all as some kind of ultimatum — you’re either with us, or against us. Meanwhile, he was in Asheville hosting Russia’s finance minister at the G20 the same time Russia was pounding Ukraine and at the same time he was fighting with Canada. Yes, the U.S. invited Russia to the G20. Canadian Prime Minister Carney was asked about U.S. cabinet officials insulting his country’s military and he said it was beneath their office. Our adversaries and our (former?) allies are all laughing at us.
MAGA Mike’s Bigotry and Bessent’s Empty Threats
House Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson held a presser and suggested Iranians lie because it’s part of their religion. This, from a guy who enables a regime that lies constantly, covers up scandal after scandal, and still hasn’t come clean on the Epstein files.
Bessent keeps promising his “economic D-Day.” One more sanction is coming this week, he says. Here’s the objective data that cuts through their lies on the Strait: shipping there has collapsed from around 120 vessels a day pre-war to maybe 1-2 now. Oil prices are climbing, with Brent crude nearing $93/barrel. The Strategic Petroleum reserve is running on fumes. And they want us to think everything is A-OK. Speaking of…
The Bond Markets Are Sending a Warning
While the war escalates, global bond markets are melting down. Japan’s 10-year yield hit 3% for the first time since 1996. Britain’s 10-year reached its highest level since 2008. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields reached a 20-month high of 4.79%. Eurozone inflation jumped to 3.3% in August as energy costs surged. This will hit mortgages, business loans…Everything.
Trump’s Ballot Sabotage
A federal whistleblower alleges USPS rushed together an untested mail ballot screening system, in which a single flagged ballot can get an entire batch of thousands of ballots thrown out. Worse, the whistleblower says the USPS kept building this out even after a federal court ordered them to stop. Sen. Blumenthal (D-CT), who received the disclosure, says this regime is now only trying to unconstitutionally rewrite how ballots get cast, but it’s doing it in a really incompetent way. This barcode system apparently started in June, giving USPS under 3 months to build something that usually takes 9-12 months. This is all part of Trump’s voter suppression scheme ahead of the midterm elections.
Hegseth’s Pentagon Implosion
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation, as Ron reported in last night’s news bulletin. Now, we’re getting additional details. Per The Atlantic, he told Trump directly that Hegseth had fired, pushed our, or passed over so many generals that the Army could no longer transform itself in the ways it needs to. Trump apparently was “surprised” to hear how many officers had been purged. What?!? Now, others are reporting that Deputy Undersecretary Dave Fitzgerald may resign as soon as this week as well. While the Pentagon is imploding, Pete Hegseth took to Twitter to mock a photo of Canadian military cadets, kids between 12 and 18 who volunteered for a leadership program. What a tiny, insecure, incompetent loser.
Canada’s Liberals Had a Big Night
Canada’s Liberal Party swept all 3 by-elections yesterday, including flipping a seat in Quebec the Conservatives held since 2018. That pushes Liberals to 173 seats and a working majority in the House of Commons. Canada continues to push out the Maple MAGA folks who tried to suck up to Trump.
Midterm Watch
Back home, Democrats at allies are dropping $4.4M in ads against Susan Collins in Maine, tying her to the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe, the Iran war, and premium hikes. The main message is that Collins tries to act independent, but she is anything but. She is always there for Trump when needed to push through his agenda. In Michigan, fresh polling from MI State and YouGov has Abdul El-Sayed leading Mike Rogers 50-45 among likely voters, continuing a string of post-primary polls showing El-Sayed ahead almost across the board.
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As If This Regime Wasn’t Embarrassing Enough…
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, formerly of Real World/Road Rules fame (seriously, look it up), gave his personal opinion on Sydney Sweeney’s breasts on a show hosted with his wife. Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler, a billionaire who’s spent her career working against small businesses, went on Fox and Friends to promote a new reality competition show at the SBA. Here’s an idea: quit the reality shows and start working for working people.
Before I go, I’ve got an exciting announcement: Our Chief Washington Correspondent Scott MacFarlane just launched a new podcast, Scott MacFarlane Reports. Scott will be dropping new reports daily, including an exclusive podcast-only series called The Day Ahead, where he shares the stories he’s chasing in DC each morning. Be sure to add the show and listen anywhere you find podcasts!
That’s the latest for now. Ron Filipkowski will be back later with his full bulletin. Thanks again for all your support, and shoutout to the Meidas Mighty!
This is exhausting! What a shit show. Donald John Trump has brought us nothing but chaos for the past ten years. Horrible human being and amongst the very worst in human history. WTF
Look at that glassy-eyed old pig.