September 4, 2026

00 First Filter

Blurb:

The terrorist group that claimed responsibility for the attacks on Jewish ambulances in London issued a threat to the West, saying it would carry out more similar attacks on civilians.

The new organization, called The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Righteous, has carried out terrorist attacks in other nations, including Greece and the Netherlands. It seeks to get revenge for wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, according to a statement it gave to CBS News:

A group that has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks targeting Jewish institutions across Europe told CBS News it will continue targeting U.S. and Israeli interests a day after three men were captured by security cameras torching ambulances used by a global Jewish medical organization in London.

Hours later, the little-known group claimed responsibility for another attack, in which a car was burned in a Jewish neighborhood in Antwerp, Belgium.

“We’ll keep threatening U.S. and Israeli interests worldwide until we’ve avenged every child in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, and the resistance nations,” a person representing the Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia group (which translates as: The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Righteous) told CBS News late Monday. “We urge people to stay away from Zionist and American interests and individuals to keep themselves safe.”

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia first announced its existence in early March, after the U.S. and Israel launched the ongoing war on Iran. In the 25 days since, it has claimed a series of antisemitic attacks across Europe. The group’s channel on the Telegram messaging app, where it has published a series of propaganda videos, was created just last week.

Blurb:

The United States has developed a 15-point proposal aimed at ending the war with Iran, according to people familiar with the plan.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations, several Middle Eastern officials said the plan offered extensive sanctions relief to Iran in return for the removal of all its enriched uranium material and abandonment of enrichment processing capabilities, limits to Tehran’s ballistic missile program, and the cessation of support to militant groups in the region including Hezbollah, the Houthis and Hamas.

Blurb:

President Trump voiced optimism on Tuesday that a peace deal will be reached with Iran, while insisting the war had already been won.

“This war has been won,” Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office. “The only one that likes to keep it going is the fake news.”

“We killed all their leadership,” he said when CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe asked which Iranians the U.S. was now negotiating with. “And then they met to choose new leaders and we killed all of them. And now we have a new group, and we can easily do that, but let’s see how they turn out.”

“It’s — we have, really, regime change,” the president said. “You know, this is a change in the regime, because the leaders are all very different than the ones that we started off with that created all those problems. So this was, I think we can say, Jason, this is regime change, right?”

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is the son of the former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war. While the new leader has not been seen since he was tapped to succeed his father, and he’s believed to have been wounded in the same strike, there have been no signs of a disintegration of Islamic Republic’s well-defined power structure, with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard still defiant, and seemingly in control of Iran’s war effort.

Blurb:

Democrats have once again refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which has been subjected to a lengthy 39 day shut down due to their unwillingness to come to the bargaining table.

Blurb:

The following is the prepared testimony of The Federalist’s Senior Legal Correspondent Margot Cleveland for a March 24 hearing titled “Arctic Frost: A Modern Watergatebefore the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights.

Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Whitehouse, and Members of the Subcommittee,

Thank you for the opportunity to testify concerning the grave constitutional violations inflicted as part of the Arctic Frost investigation.

After the 2020 election, an anti-Trump FBI agent named Tim Thibault attempted to use the justice department to destroy the President. Thibault’s efforts led to the launch of Arctic Frost. Soon after, Merrick Garland tapped Jack Smith, a “hyper-aggressive prosecutor,” known to “overstretch the meaning and intent of the law,” to serve as Special Counsel.

Smith proved himself true to form, indicting Trump for allegedly violating a statute enacted in the aftermath of Enron, based in part on a theory of criminal liability the Supreme Court would later hold invalid. The Supreme Court would later halt Smith’s efforts to prosecute Trump for actions that fell within the President’s official duties.

Blurb:

Nearly half a ⁠million people were left without electricity in Russia’s Belgorod region, while 150,000 consumers ‌in the city of Chernihiv and surrounding areas were without power on Wednesday.

Blurb:

Donald Trump has sent a 15-point peace plan in a bid to bring the Middle East conflict and now Iran has reportedly responded with its own list which include surprising demands

Iran has reportedly given its own peace plan list to the United States including a demand for compensation.

Donald Trump has sent a 15-point peace plan to Iran in a bid to bring the Middle East conflict to an end as it heads towards of a month since missiles were first launched. The agreement is believed to include restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme and and an agreement on keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.

Blurb:

 

Republican House Oversight Committee members announced that the committee had launched an investigation into claims of hospice fraud in California.

“Despite clear red flags, it appears California leaders have enabled hospice providers to DEFRAUD hardworking American taxpayers,” Chairman James Comer wrote on X. “The House Oversight Committee is moving to protect taxpayer funds from waste, fraud, and abuse.”

The outrage started in January when Dr. Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said California owed over $1 billion in Medicaid funds improperly used for health care for illegal aliens.

Then Leslie wrote about the hospice fraud last week, citing investigations from CBS News and Nick Shirley.

Blurb:

Russia launched almost 1,000 drones against Ukraine within 24 hours between March 23 and 24, making it one of Moscow’s largest aerial attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Following a massive barrage of missiles and drones overnight, Russia carried on its attack during Tuesday in a rare daytime wave of over 550 attack drones targeting central and western regions.

At least three people have been killed and over 30 have been injured across Ukraine during the daylight attack, following the overnight missiles and drone assault, killing at least four people and injuring 21, according to regional authorities.

Lviv in Western Ukraine got hit and 17 people were wounded when Russian drones hit civilian areas in the city not far from the border with Poland.

Blurb:

 

While the world fixates on the Strait of Hormuz, China is working to make the entire conversation obsolete.

Each flare up in US Iran tensions sends oil markets into overdrive, with prices swinging and supply fears dominating global narratives. But Beijing is not playing that game. It is building an alternative system designed to sidestep the very risks others are pricing in.

At the centre of this effort is State Grid Corporation of China, a sprawling network that already covers more than 80 percent of the country and powers over a billion people. Alongside China Southern Power Grid, it is constructing what increasingly looks like a long term energy power play. A nationwide supergrid meant to reduce reliance on imported oil and the fragile sea lanes that carry it. LIVE UPDATES

The blueprint is expansive. Ultra high voltage transmission lines are being rolled out at speed, linking inland regions rich in coal, wind and solar to the industrial coastline where demand is concentrated. The aim is to electrify more of the economy, move power efficiently across vast distances, and reduce exposure to external shocks.

Blurb:

The European Union on Tuesday postponed the unveiling of a law that would permanently ban Russian oil imports, coming amid supply disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East.

The April 15 unveiling date has reportedly been removed from the European Commission’s REPowerEU roadmap calendar.

EU Commission energy spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said a new date has not yet been determined, but stressed that Brussels remains “committed to making this proposal.”

Blurb:

With special thanks to Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Timothy Grimmett.

If wars were won by bombastic press conferences, the White House should already be planning another military parade in our capital’s streets. In America’s latest war of choice, President Trump’s styled Secretary of “War” is emerging as the head cheerleader for our misadventure in Iran. Mr. Hegseth has already mistakenly defined what constitutes victory — the destruction of various portions of the Iranian Navy and military production facilities. Unfortunately, his definition is flawed. Despite possessing some military experience as a junior officer, he has shown that he is completely out of his depth. For most intents and purposes, the war with Iran might have been lost before the first missile was launched.

Some of the lessons that Mr. Hegseth should have learned by now:

Operational excellence is not a guarantee of strategic success — The best military on the planet cannot win a war if the national strategic objectives selected by the National Command Authority are faulty. This fact was proven in both Afghanistan and Iraq, which like Iran, were wars of choice and not necessity. Does Mr. Hegseth grasp the gap between his definition of victory and that of his boss?

Mr. Trump has demanded “unconditional surrender” of Iran — That choice could cost many lives. America demanded unconditional surrender of both Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. The word “unconditional” suggests that there will be no negotiated settlement. The only means of achieving that objective in Germany and Japan was first a land invasion of the “Father Land” followed by the deployment of atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Is this where we are heading?

Blurb:

Four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity were set on fire early Monday in London in what British police are investigating as an antisemitic hate crime. Detectives are working to determine whether a claim of responsibility from a group with alleged links to Iran is authentic.

Though it has not been classified as a terrorist incident, counterterror officers have been put in charge of the investigation. No one was injured in the nighttime attack, which shattered windows in nearby homes and left the vehicles charred shells.

Blurb:

The Justice Department’s investigation of a $2.5 billion renovation project at the Federal Reserve didn’t find any evidence of a crime, a federal prosecutor privately conceded under questioning by a skeptical judge earlier this month, according to a transcript of the sealed hearing.

That admission by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Massucco came during a March 3 hearing that was closed to the public, the transcript shows. Eight days later, Chief Judge James Boasberg quashed government subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve, dealing a severe blow to the government’s investigation.

Blurb:

 

Good morning. AI is escaping the screen, and that should be setting off both alarms and opportunities in the finance function.

Deloitte’s new CFO Guide to Tech Trends 2026 explores how finance leaders can think strategically about emerging technologies and embrace what’s possible, which in turn elevates their function’s value and helps shape what’s next for their entire organization.

One tech trend on the rise is AI-enabled robotics. AI is no longer confined to dashboards and copilots. “Physical AI,” which is the convergence of AI with robotics, sensors, and real-world systems, marks a turning point. As Deloitte notes, intelligence is becoming “embodied” in factories, warehouses, and supply chains, where autonomous systems can optimize operations in real time. For example, BMW is testing humanoid robots to handle tasks that traditional industrial robots cannot perform, according to Deloitte. Meanwhile, the Bank of America Institute projects that the material costs of a humanoid robot could fall from $35,000 in 2025 to between $13,000 and $17,000 by 2035.

Blurb:

Before the U.S. and Israel launched their joint attacks on Iran 25 days ago, many Iranians said they would welcome foreign intervention if it meant the end of the Islamic Republic. The regime, in power for 47 years, had just crushed a huge wave of anti-government demonstrations, with President Trump claiming more than 30,000 were killed and vowing to come to the rescue of the protesters.

Now, two Iranians — one inside and one outside the country — tell CBS News the feeling of optimism has shifted markedly after more than three weeks of war.

The now former Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) has been confirmed by the Senate in a 54-45 vote to take over as the new head of the Department of Homeland Security. He takes over for Kristi Noem, who was reassigned to a South America project.

The Governor of Oklahoma, Republican Kevin Stitt, has chosen an energy executive, Alan Armstrong, to take the now-vacant seat. Stitt said of his selection, “He’s a strong business leader who understands the power of free markets and limited government. He’s spent his career fighting for Oklahoma’s energy industry and providing affordable, reliable energy to all of America.”

Blurb:

Oklahoma governor names political outsider to replace Markwayne Mullin – theblaze.com

Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma went outside the world of politics to fill the Senate seat of newly confirmed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

On Tuesday morning, Stitt tapped energy executive Alan Armstrong following Mullin’s Senate confirmation Monday night. Mullin is now set to be sworn in Tuesday afternoon to replace current DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who leaves the department on March 31.

 

Walid Phares faced a 12-month period between 2017 and 2018 under a scrutinizing FBI microscope empowered by a deceived FISA court. The prosecutors withheld evidence that would have exonerated Phares and rendered the FBI’s search warrant requests invalid. The prosecutors were attorneys of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating the Russian Collusion Hoax.

An investigation into why this evidence was withheld was never included in the team’s final report, even though it is directly tied to it. This deception mimics the very deception that triggered the Russian Collusion Hoax in the first place, manipulating and withholding evidence to FISA court judges to get the results the prosecutors wanted, the power to spy on domestic political opposition.

Newly released transcripts of a testimony from an unnamed FBI agent reveals his attempts to include the anomaly of the Phares case in the report was rejected by a senior member of Mueller’s team, Kevin Clinesmith. After the agent attempted to include not just the Phares FISA anomaly, but others, Clinesmith told him, “We can’t send this to DOJ.”

Blurb:

FBI Misled Court to Spy on Second Trump Campaign Adviser – American Greatness

Carter Page wasn’t the only adviser from Trump’s first campaign wiretapped by the FBI. Walid Phares was electronically monitored for a 12-month period between 2017 and 2018, according to the Washington-based FBI agent who was assigned to investigate him as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia collusion probe.

As in Page’s case, the bureau withheld evidence exonerating Phares from the court to secure surveillance authorization, according to newly declassified FBI documents.

“I had no idea any of this was happening,” Phares told RealClearInvestigations in an exclusive interview Wednesday night. “This is shocking because they told my lawyer that I was only a ‘witness’ and that they just needed some information.”

NASA has announced plans to build a moon base that will cost the U.S. $20 billion, according to NASA administrator Jared Isaacman. A moon base could replace the need for space stations. The moon base will also be a research and testing facility preparing the technologies needed for an eventual Mars occupation. It will also serve as the eventual departure point for the first landing. The race to Mars appears to be on.

Blurb:

NASA announces $20 billion moon base – washingtonexaminer.com

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced on Tuesday that his agency is rapidly progressing toward building a $20 billion base on the moon, instead of a space station that would orbit the lunar body.

At a daylong event, the NASA chief said the Trump administration’s priority for its national space policy is to “never again give up” the moon as the United States races China to establish a presence there first.

In accordance with that vision, Isaacman said a U.S.-flagged moon base is necessary to establish a lasting presence in space and will serve as a launching pad for other missions to nearby planets.

“The surface will be the technology proving ground for the capabilities required to undertake future missions to Mars, not to mention that it is safer and enables incredible opportunities for science,” Isaacman said in a message to NASA employees.

Those who were working on the Lunar Gateway space station will be redirected to developing the lunar surface base or other programs, he noted.

A study published in BMJ Open claims 14.2% of industry payments made to published authors were undisclosed in two major psychiatric journals. The findings put further doubt on the psychiatric industry’s integrity assurance standards. This finding follows a 2020 study that revealed 55.7% of U.S. psychiatrists have accepted pharmaceutical industry funding.

Blurb:

Undisclosed Industry Payments Found in Top Psychiatry Journals – madinamerica.com

Research has shown that financial conflicts of interest (COIs) are a common issue in medicine and psychiatry, with a 2020 paper finding that 55.7% of US psychiatrists accepted some form of industry payment. Studies have found that the pharmaceutical industry spends billions of dollars per year making payments to clinical trial authors, DSM panel members, and FDA committee members, creating COIs at every level of the drug approval process. A 2021 Mad in America investigation revealed that industry paid psychiatrists alone $340 million between 2014 to 2020. The same investigation also reported that financial COIs were present in the testing of every new psychotropic drug approved by the FDA between 2013 to 2017.

A new study published in BMJ Open examines undisclosed financial COIs for physician-authors in two major US academic journals, the American Journal of Psychiatry (AJP) and the Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry (JAMA-PSY). The current work finds that 14.2% of industry payments ($645,135) made to authors published in these two journals between 2020 and 2022 were undisclosed. This research, led by Francis Gesel of the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, additionally finds that nearly all undisclosed payments (96.2%) were made to authors conducting randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

The authors write:

“In our study, 14.2% of the total payments in AJP and JAMA- PSY, amounting to $645,135.70, were undisclosed. These undisclosed payments predominantly comprised research payments (82.6%), with a smaller proportion being general payments (12.6%). The high prevalence of undisclosed payments suggests that existing disclosure policies are insufficient to ensure full transparency. ”

Blurb:

The Supreme Court Just Dealt a Blow to the Dems’ Plan to Persecute ICE Agents If They Retake Power – townhall.com

The Democrats have made it painfully, frighteningly clear that they intend to weaponize the government against President Trump, his allies, and anyone who didn’t sufficiently “resist” the Trump administration if they regain power. Susan Rice said last month, “When it comes to the elites, the corporate interests, the law firms, the universities, the media…it is not going to end well for them, for those that decided…that they would act in their perceived very narrow self interest,” Rice said, “which I would underscore is a very short-term self-interest and take a knee to Trump.”

… The biggest target thus far of the Democrat’s retribution plans are ICE agents. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner vowed to hunt them down like Nazis. Eric Swalwell said he’d make their lives a living hell if he’s elected Governor of California. And several states, including Maryland and Rhode Island, have pushed legislation that would bar ICE agents from getting law enforcement jobs in the state, while Colorado advanced a bill allowing lawsuits against ICE agents.

The Supreme Court, however, has made it clear that the Democrat’s revenge plans may not pass constitutional muster, and they ruled against the Second Circuit and upheld that a Vermont officer had immunity.

Here’s more from Turley.

In Colorado, two ballot initiatives have been approved that both deal with transgenderism. One measure would prevent physicians from performing surgeries on children to change the appearance of their gender. A second measure would prevent boys presenting as girls from participating in female sports.

The Colorado Times Recorder demonstrates Progressive media agit prop with its headline “How Christian-Right Activists Got Anti-Trans Initiatives on Colorado’s Ballot.” The headline vilifies opposition with a negative term (one this same media helped vilify), “Christian right” and stigmatizes being opposed to surgically transitioning children and allowing boys to participate in girls’ sports.

From Ballotpedia:

Initiative 109

The first measure that Colorado voters will decide on — Initiative 109 — would require school- and association-sponsored athletic teams to be classified in one of three categories based on sex: (1) males/men/boys, (2) females/women/girls, or (3) coeducational or mixed. Teams designated for females, women, or girls would not be open to male students or participants. Teams designated for males, men, or boys would not be open to female students or participants unless no corresponding female team is offered for that sport. The measure would not limit participation in teams designated as coeducational or mixed.

Initiative 110

The other measure on the General Election ballot in November — Initiative 110 — would prohibit healthcare professionals from performing surgeries on minors “for the purpose of altering biological sex characteristics,” as well as prohibit state and federal funds, Medicaid reimbursements, or insurance coverage from being used to pay for such surgeries. The phrase altering biological sex characteristics would be defined as “treatment in response to a minor’s perception of sex or gender” and would exclude treatment for medically verifiable disorders of sex development or acquired physical or chemical abnormalities and male circumcision.

Blurb:

How Christian-Right Activists Got Anti-Trans Initiatives on Colorado’s Ballot  Colorado Times Recorder
from news.google.com

Last week, a set of anti-trans initiatives was approved for Colorado’s 2026 ballot. The Colorado Times Recorder has been tracking these initiatives, and the anti-LGBTQ activist group Protect Kids Colorado that has pushed them with help from conservative politicians and religious ministries, for over two years. Here’s all the news you might have missed.

‘God Is Really Using Them:’ Fort Collins Activist’s School Lawsuit Spearheaded by Christian Extremists

By Jamie O’Rourke, Aug. 22, 2023

“I’ve been working with Erin [Lee] for the last year or so on that documentary she mentioned,” former state senator Kevin Lundberg said. “And I want to assure you and all your viewers that she and her husband, John, are the real deal. God is really using them to spread the word on what’s happening.”

Lee and Lundberg would go on to become founding members of Protect Kids Colorado.

Ballot Initiatives Target Transgender Students

By Sean Beedle, Feb. 21, 2024

Relegated to minority status in the Colorado legislature, Republicans are turning to ballot initiatives in an attempt to pass laws targeting transgender people.

Proponents of Anti-Trans Ballot Initiatives Falsely Claim ‘Furries’ Run Rampant in CO Public Schools, Biting and Scratching Other Students

By Jamie O’Rourke, May 20, 2024

“A lot of children now are identifying as a cat or dog or an animal,” said Rich Guggenheim, a member of the anti-LGBTQ coalition Protect Kids Colorado, in a radio interview. “And this is part of the furry movement. And so kids are going to school. And in some schools across the country, we’re hearing stories where kids are using litterboxes and doing their bathroom duties like they would if they’re a cat or a dog.” His statement effectively rehashed stale, debunked right-wing talking points from 2022.

Anti-Trans Ballot Initiatives Fail to Collect Enough Signatures; Cannot Appear on 2024 Ballot

By Jamie O’Rourke, Aug. 5, 2024

“Well, we didn’t quite make it to the ballot with this petition effort … but I echo everything my friends at [Gays Against Groomers] said!” proponent Erin Lee posted to X shortly after. “We educated, we inspired, we built a grassroots Army, we brought people together… And we got more than 1/2 the required signatures with less than 1/2 the timeline!”

Blurb:

In a stunning turn of events, Virginia Democrats are discovering that their effort to gerrymander their state could blow up in their faces.

The April 21 special election referendum is one month away, and Democrats who once crusaded against partisan map-rigging are sweating bullets, because it looks as if voters won’t approve their plan to eliminate four Republican-held seats and make Virginia one of the most heavily gerrymandered states in the country. They assumed this would be easy.

Even Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed on to the effort, despite her past opposition to gerrymandering. Back in 2019, she said, “gerrymandering is detrimental to our democracy, and it weakens the individual voices that form our electorates,” and insisted that “opposing gerrymandering should be a bipartisan priority.”

That quote hasn’t aged particularly well, and it could prove to be her major defeat as governor.

“Some supporters of the Virginia referendum acknowledge the challenge of convincing voters to back a gerrymandered map when Democrats, who several years ago backed the formation of the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission, have criticized Republicans for similar moves,” NBC News reports. “Virginia voters are also not accustomed to going to the polls in April, when Democrats scheduled the special election, making turnout particularly unpredictable.”

Blurb:

While the Supreme Court on Monday expressed skepticism about states accepting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, an overwhelming majority of voters have already decided against the practice, according to a recent poll conducted just days before the high court heard oral arguments in Watson v. RNC.

As The Federalist’s Shawn Fleetwood reported, Watsondeals with a challenge to a Mississippi law authorizing absentee ballots to be accepted up to five days after Election Day so long as they are postmarked before or on the day of the contest.”

A survey of 1,600 likely voters conducted on behalf of the Honest Elections Project earlier this month found that 93 percent of Republicans, 83 percent of Independents, and 74 percent of Democrats agree ballots “should be received by Election Day.” While overall, 83 percent of those surveyed agree with this deadline, a significant majority — 57 percent — “strongly agree.”

The survey also found that 60 percent of likely voters agree officials should not count mail-in ballots if they are “received after polls close on Election Day.” This includes 80 percent of Republicans and, although not a majority, a significant 42 percent of Democrats.

A majority of respondents indicated that counting ballots received after Election Day polls are closed “endanger[s] public trust in elections.” Sixty percent total, including 79 percent of Republicans and 44 percent of Democrats, think this practice “makes it easier to cheat” in elections. However, an overwhelming 90 percent of Republicans and 68 percent of Democrats say requiring ballots to be received “by the end of Election Day makes elections more secure.”

Blurb:

 

More details and responses have emerged after tragedy struck New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night.

Blaze News previously reported that an Air Canada Express CRJ-900 plane operated by regional partner Jazz Aviation struck a Port Authority Airport Rescue and Firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident.

‘I feel like the pilots saved our lives.’

The incident, which occurred between approximately 11:40 p.m. and 11:47 p.m. on Sunday, according to multiple official sources, was likely caused by “multiple failures,” according to a lead investigator.

An air traffic controller could be heard saying, “I messed up,” shortly after the incident, which killed both pilots and hospitalized 41 other people, including the two workers in the emergency vehicle involved in the collision.

RELATED: ‘I messed up’: LaGuardia Airport shut down after deadly collision

The air traffic controller was coordinating the response to another, unrelated issue with a United Airlines flight across the tarmac. There were reports of a strange odor.