- Friday September 4th, 2026
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
Putin’s sinking approval ratings are a warning Russians are frustrated with Ukraine war: expert
Russian President Vladimir Putin has seen his approval ratings plummet
— despite controlling the polls — in what experts said was a sign of
the growing frustration over the prolonged war in Ukraine.
Putin, who enjoyed approval numbers as high as 89% before invading his
neighbor, has seen his popularity free-fall to about 65% in the latest
state-run Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) survey.
The Public Opinion Foundation, which conducts surveys for the Kremlin,
also found that support for Putin’s performance fell from 71% to 66% in
July, the steepest fall since the 2022 protests spurred by the Russian
draft.
Vance: Iran Fight Is Not a 'War'
Vice President JD Vance on Thursday rejected the use of the
word "war" to describe the U.S. fighting with Iran and declined to
predict whether the six-month-old conflict would be over by November's
midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hold on to their
narrow majorities in Congress.
"I wouldn't call it a war," Vance said after being asked during a White
House press briefing about whether the fighting could be wrapped up
before voters cast their ballots in the Nov. 3 congressional elections.
"Right now, there is no active shooting."
Vance's comments came as Iran fired at U.S. Gulf ally Kuwait on
Thursday as it continued to retaliate for rounds of U.S. strikes on
Iran earlier in the week.
Trump trade chief reveals what preceded Canada walking away from 'best deal in the world'
Jamieson Greer details how a handshake agreement with Mark Carney fell apart over additional tariff relief demands
U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer discusses sparring between the United
States and Canada over a last-minute deal implosion, trade with China
and more on ‘Special Report.’
President Donald Trump's top trade advisor, U.S. Trade Representative
Jamieson Greer, said Canada walked away from the "best deal in the
world" after the nation declined to finalize a trade agreement with the
U.S. nearly two weeks ago.
Greer joined "Special Report" on Thursday to detail the negotiations
that preceded the contentious trade fight between the U.S. and its
northern neighbor.
"We offered them the best deal. They looked at it square in the face and turned around," he said on "Special Report."
US military took down approximately 100 suspected cartel drones at southern border in August
The Pentagon revealed for the first time how frequently counter-drone technology is being deployed against cartel threats
The U.S. military provided rare insight into its operations at the
southern border Thursday, revealing that it took down "approximately
100" suspected cartel drones in August alone, a senior War Department
official confirmed to Fox News.
The disclosure marks the first time the Pentagon has revealed how
frequently counter-drone technology, including sophisticated laser
systems, is being used at the southern border to stop suspected cartel
drones from entering the U.S.
According to a senior War Department official, Task Force–Southern
Border carried out the drone takedowns using specialized counter-drone
equipment provided and integrated by other military units.
Fox Fires Maria Bartiromo After Text to Trump
Fox News' decision to abruptly fire Maria Bartiromo, one of
the network's most prominent and popular pro-Trump anchors, is stunning
conservatives and reviving memories of Fox's previous breakups with
some of its biggest stars, including Tucker Carlson, Bill O'Reilly, and
Lou Dobbs.
Fox announced Thursday that Bartiromo was leaving after more than a
decade with the network but offered no explanation for the decision.
"We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 ½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter," Fox said.
The network separately characterized her departure as a "business decision." Bartiromo had not appeared on air since Aug. 9.
Multiple media reports say the immediate dispute involved Bartiromo
allegedly sharing confidential Fox Business editorial guidance with
senior White House officials.
Lindsay Clancy defense confirms holdout juror is male — as judge erupts on lawyer in wild courtroom outburst
Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer let slip that the lone holdout juror in her
murder trial is a man — as the judge in the case grew visibly
frustrated with the attorney over his request that the jurist deliver
his instructions to the 12-member panel more forcefully.
“I would ask that you not give [the jury] a soft inquiry. I would ask
that you specifically direct their attention to proof beyond a
reasonable doubt and re-instruct them forcefully,” Clancy’s lawyer,
Kevin Reddington, said to Judge William Sullivan in court Thursday on
the seventh day of deliberations.
“What do you want me to do? Get a brass band?” an exasperated Sullivan asked.
“I read the instruction … the fact that I perhaps didn’t give it my
full inflection, I’m sorry about that, I’m not an actor,” he hollered.
The tense dispute followed Reddington’s bombshell inadvertent
revelation that the holdout juror is a man after referring to the
panelist several times by the pronoun “he.”
Trump threatens trade with dozens of countries if Fed doesn’t lower rates post-jobs report
President Trump demanded Friday that the Federal Reserve lower interest
rates after a surprisingly strong August jobs report — despite
expectations that the central bank’s board will either maintain or
raise rates due to persistently elevated inflation.
Trump threatened to sever trade relations with dozens of countries if
the Fed didn’t heed his call, warning: “LOWER THE RATE OR I’LL STOP
TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT, which the U.S.
Supreme Court, in its ridiculous and very costly Tariff decision,
strongly acknowledged ‘the President’ has an absolute right to do.”
As of 2025, the US ran a trade deficit with nearly 100 nations —
including China, Mexico, Vietnam, Germany, Japan, India, South Korea,
Canada, Israel and most members of the European Union.
“IT’S BETTER THAN TARIFFS!” Trump went on. “The Fed Board, with its
great new leader, must get smart – BE PATRIOTS for a change. High
interest rates put the U.S.A. at a very unfair disadvantage, and I
won’t allow that to happen!”
Salacious
details of ex-Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s strip club visit,
relationship with bodyguard revealed in IG report
Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer maintained an inappropriate
relationship with her bodyguard and ordered a member of her security
detail to drop cash on “partially nude dancers” during an Oregon strip
club visit, the department’s inspector general revealed in a report
released Thursday.
Chavez-DeRemer resigned in April, three months after The Post first
reported on the inspector general probe into her relationship with
security guard Brian Sloan and allegations she abused her position as a
top Trump administration official.
“The OIG [Office of the Inspector General] concluded that a
preponderance of the evidence substantiated multiple violations of DOL
[Labor Department] policy,” the report stated.
Beleaguered WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert set to retire
Embattled WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert is set to retire at the end
of the calendar year, the league announced Friday morning.
Engelbert, 61, became the first commissioner in league history in 2019,
and has guided the WNBA through expansion, revenue growth and TV deals.
She has also faced scrutiny for the WNBA’s handling of stars and
high-profile incidents, especially during heated CBA negotiations in
2025.
Engelbert got her start at Deloitte in 1986, rising to the become the first female CEO of the multinational accounting firm.
New $2.7 Million Contractor to Tackle Reflecting Pool Algae
The Trump administration has awarded a $2.7 million contract to
Massachusetts firm American AG Energy to address algae problems at the
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, adding millions more to a troubled
renovation project that had already topped $14 million.
The Interior Department, which is overseeing the project, will pay the
renewable energy company to repair and maintain the pool's sewage and
water purification systems, CNN reported.
The one-year deal, awarded last week, can be extended for five additional years and grow to as much as $8.8 million.
Prince Harry’s plans for movie in the UK revealed — and why Prince William is furious: report
Prince Harry is reportedly planning to make a movie about his late
mother, Princess Diana — and Prince William is not happy about it.
“One of the reasons Harry [returned to the United Kingdom] is to make a
television film, his own film, about his mother,” the Daily Mail
claimed Thursday.
Daily Mail’s Senior Editor-at-Large Richard Kay alleged the Duke of
Sussex, 41, “has been reaching out to his friends and others who knew”
his mom, who died in August 1997 at 36, and “asking them to contribute.”
Chuck Schumer dealt warning sign about AOC challenge in new poll
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer received another warning sign
about his popularity relative to Representative Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez among New York voters, as the progressive congresswoman
has been floated as a potential challenger ahead of his 2028 reelection.
Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx in the
House of Representatives, is seen as a new leader of the progressive
movement, which gained significant ground in New York during this
year’s Democratic primaries. Her next steps will be closely watched
over the coming months, as some Democrats expect she will either run
for president or challenge Schumer for his Senate seat.
Some progressives view her as the best choice for the left in the 2028
presidential race, as it’s not clear who else could occupy the
left-leaning lane in the Democratic primary; but others believe she
should run for Senate against Schumer, whose popularity has waned as
Democratic voters are frustrated with what they view as a lethargic
approach to President Donald Trump’s administration.
Gun control activists demanded better data. What they got surprised the heck out of them
The 2026 National Firearms Survey also found the previous survey underestimated defensive gun use
By Amy Swearer
A Georgetown professor just taught gun control activists an important
lesson: When you criticize studies that don’t support anti-gun talking
points, be careful what you wish for — you just might get it. In this
case, they got an unprecedented amount of new data that obliterates
their narrative.
In 2021, professor William English published the findings of his
National Firearms Survey, by far the most comprehensive assessment of
gun ownership ever conducted. The data demonstrated that defensive gun
uses were commonplace, that ordinary Americans really like the weapons
gun control activists hate most and that longstanding stereotypes about
the "sort" of Americans who exercise their Second Amendment rights were
misplaced.
Gun control activists predictably hated this. They attacked the
report’s conclusions and author, blasting the survey over nitpicky
concerns. English explained how the alleged problems wouldn’t have
significantly impacted the results. Critics categorically dismissed the
report anyway.
ICE just made NY safer — despite Hochul and Mamdani’s best efforts to stop it
By Post Editorial Board
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani are bent on protecting
criminals from ICE, yet federal agents nonetheless collared a stunning
2,200 of them in July alone, and with more of that to come.
Hooray for them — and New York.
The arrested include full-on murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, gang
members, child predators and other monsters nabbed as part of ICE’s
“Operation Rotten Apple.” Again: 2,200 in all.
