- Wednesday September 16th, 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
My son has narrated the last book I wrote.
Please consider listening to it and encouraging others to do so too.
(Click on Book Cover)
World & Nation
‘Worse than Watergate’ New FBI files detail agent’s push to join Trump probe, investigate Elon Musk
Grassley said the unclassified exchanges prove the 'Deep State' worked to undermine Trump and Republicans
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released a
batch of unclassified emails between FBI agents stemming from Operation
Crossfire Hurricane, a Justice Department investigation launched during
the Obama administration into whether then-presidential candidate
Donald Trump's campaign was colluding with Russia during the 2016
election.
Grassley argued that the email exchanges, which included former FBI
Special Agent Kevin Gounaud seeking to open an investigation into Elon
Musk over the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), revealed that
the "Deep State" was at work to undermine Trump.
"The previous Democrat administrations under Obama and Biden conducted
secret, insidious and downright evil operations that almost took down
our government," Grassley said during an Oversight hearing with FBI
Director Kash Patel. "That's arguably worse than Watergate."
Over the past decade, the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the direction
of Grassley, has released several rounds of documents from a few FBI
operations such as Operation Arctic Frost and Round River, alleging
that the Justice Department was being weaponized against Trump and
Republicans.
Dem fundraising giant ActBlue accused of fraudulent donation 'cover-up' in explosive report
ActBlue, which is used by a litany of high-profile Dems, is accused of accepting foreign donations
A Democrat fundraising giant used by the biggest players on the left is
being accused of covering up the acceptance of fraudulent political
donations and lying to Congress about its security standards.
Congressional Republicans are providing an update on their
investigation of ActBlue — a platform for campaigns to raise money
that's used by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Michigan Senate
candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and the Democratic leaders of the House and
Senate, among others — that alleges the company potentially accepted
foreign contributions and concealed the evidence from the GOP's probe.
ActBlue has previously denied any wrongdoing.
"The Committees’ oversight has found that ActBlue, in its own words,
decided to take 'a more lenient approach' to fraud prevention in 2024,
weakening its fraud-prevention policies at least twice even though
internal assessments showed that these changes would result in a
measurable increase in fraudulent contributions," the report said,
citing an ActBlue staff report.
RealClear: Democrats Lead in 6 of 7 Senate Toss-Ups
Democrat candidates hold current polling advantages in six of the seven
Senate races considered toss-ups, while Republicans lead by less than 1
percentage point in the seventh as the battle for control of the
chamber intensifies.
RealClearPolitics polling averages on Wednesday show Democrats ahead in Texas, Michigan, Maine, Alaska, Ohio, and New Hampshire.
GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, holds the only Republican advantage
among the seven races, leading Democrat Josh Turek by half a percentage
point.
In Texas, Democrat state Rep. James Talarico leads Republican Attorney
General Ken Paxton by 2.6 points in the latest RCP average, 47.6% to
45%. Talarico leads in eight of the 10 polls included in the current
RCP average, while Paxton leads in one, and another is tied. RCP rates
the race a toss-up.
Saudi Arabia calls attempted attack on Mecca a 'red line' as Iran-backed Houthis deny they did it
Saudi Arabia accused Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels of trying to
attack Islam’s holiest city, as the region responded with condemnation
Wednesday but no sign of military support. The kingdom, a key U.S.
ally, declared Mecca a “red line” as it slid deeper into the new front
of the Iran war.
With the world’s biggest oil exporter under fire from the rebels backed
by the Saudis' regional adversary, the kingdom needs a safe outlet for
its crude as well as military assistance. There's no clear path to
either.
A crucial Saudi pipeline has been shut down, reportedly for weeks,
after an attack by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The Houthis have
been targeting infrastructure in the kingdom and its shipping on the
Red Sea, where they have seized several islands in the Bab el-Mandeb
Strait. And Iran is still targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil
prices remain above $100 a barrel.
Republican congressman introduces articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has moved to force a House vote on
impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, marking perhaps the most
striking instance yet of a member of President Donald Trump’s own party
publicly condemning one of his top Cabinet officials.
The Kentucky Congressman introduced eight articles of impeachment
against Hegseth on Tuesday, including allegations that the Defense
Secretary is waging the war in Iran in contravention of multiple
provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
One of the articles of impeachment also alleges that Hegseth is
“suppressing free speech” by using the Defense Department’s “authority
to retaliate against and intimidate Senator Mark Kelly for
constitutionally protected speech,” after the lawmaker made a video
with other Democrats reminding members of the military and intelligence
community that they can refuse to carry out illegal orders.
Another article that Massie introduced alleges that the U.S. military
operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolas
Maduro and his wife was carried out “without constitutional or legal
authority.”
Pentagon Seeks Fittest Troops for Hegseth Speech
The Pentagon is asking commanders to nominate physically fit,
top-performing troops for War Secretary Pete Hegseth's Sept. 30 address
— along with strict grooming standards.
The Wall Street Journal reported that commanders are being asked to
nominate service members who meet physical and appearance standards for
Hegseth's "State of the Force" address.
An email reviewed by the Journal says Army nominees must pass the Army
fitness test, meet the service's waist-to-height requirement, and
maintain "impeccable grooming and uniform standards." Selected service
members also could have the opportunity to work out with Hegseth.
7 Republicans break with Trump, vote with Dems to rein in Iran war powers
The House of Representatives voted late Tuesday to direct President
Trump to end hostilities with Iran, as seven Republicans broke with the
White House to call for a stop to the conflict without congressional
approval.
The 220-204 vote was the third time the House has approved a so-called
war powers resolution since June. Neither of the prior two reached
Trump’s desk for an almost-certain veto.
“Remember when Donald Trump said that this war would last just a few
weeks?” asked Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a Marine veteran of the Iraq
War who pushed the resolution along with 14 of his fellow Democrats and
demanded the legislature “actually ask tough questions, as the
Constitution directs us to do, rather than be subservient to another
warmongering administration.”
Ukraine live: Zelensky celebrates major 'hit' against Moscow
Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had recorded some success as it tests a new weapon to intercept Russian drones.
Ukraine’s military said its forces had downed 187 airborne targets
overnight, with Ukraine’s president reporting 93 per cent of all
Russian drones had been intercepted.
"That is significant. But, of course, more is needed," he said. "Another development is undergoing testing.
“It's a Ukrainian development and it scored a hit, the 'shahed' was
destroyed," Zelensky said in his nightly video address, referring to
the Iranian-designed drones that Ukraine's military has faced.
Chevron CEO sends ominous warning to Americans on gas prices
Back in February, the United States and Israel launched strikes against
Iran, igniting concerns about the global fuel economy and sending oil
and gas prices surging. Now, oil executives are warning that we might
not have seen the worst of the high gas prices.
As conflict in the Middle East continues and another crucial pipeline
has been shut down, oil executives and industry experts are sounding
the alarm, warning that a fuel crisis is upon us.
Over the past few months, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said that over the
past several months, the oil industry has had some means to mitigate
the impacts of the oil shortage. Now, he warns, they’re out of options.
“All these mechanisms helped to mitigate the price and supply risk,”
Wirth said Friday at an energy conference in Austin, Texas, via The
Wall Street Journal. “Those have largely now played out, and we don’t
have nearly the buffers in the system that we did when it began.”
Wirth warned that he does not foresee oil prices going back down
anytime soon, which will mean increased fuel prices at the pump.
Charlie Kirk's family alleges UVU knew of rooftop security risk before his assassination: legal filing
The notice alleges campus police had no written security plan and only six officers for 3,000 spectators
Charlie Kirk's family has filed a notice of claim — a precursor to a
lawsuit — against Utah Valley University, the state and key individuals
involved in campus leadership and security decisions, alleging that
their failures led to the Turning Point USA founder's wrongful death.
"The risk of a rooftop shooter should have been especially top-of-mind
given the attempted assassination of President Trump, Charlie Kirk’s
close friend and political ally, by a rooftop shooter the previous
year," reads the filing, signed by Kirk family attorneys Loren
Washburn, Brett Parkinson and Clifford Parkinson and dated Sept. 9.
In one alleged exchange cited in the filing, Turning Point USA
organizers told UVU Police Chief Jeffrey Long that UVU students had
informed them of rooftop access to the Sorenson Center, a building
"pretty close" to where Kirk would be speaking the day he was killed —
and directly west of the Losee Center, which is where his alleged
killer fired the shot from.
Russian Drone Strike Kills 5 and Injures at Least 7 on Passenger Bus in Ukraine
A Russian drone struck a passenger bus in southern Ukraine early
Wednesday, killing five people and wounding at least seven. President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack, the latest in a series of
Russian strikes on civilian transportation, as an "atrocity."
The strike occurred in the Nikopol district of Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk
region, near the war's southern front line. Oleksandr Hanzha, head of
the regional military administration, said all five were killed at the
scene while the seven wounded were receiving medical care.
In a post on social media site X, Zelenskyy described the vehicle as a
minibus and said the strike had "no military rationale," and that the
incident was connected to Russia's targeting of logistics and critical
infrastructure that has continued "unabated."
Republicans can win the 2026 midterms — if they follow the plan
This roadmap centers on price transparency, rural healthcare, affordability, and Medicare and Medicaid reform ahead of 2026
By Newt Gingrich
Republicans can win the 2026 election.
They can expand the House majority, win Senate races, strengthen
Republican governors and state legislators, and build a much broader
national majority.
But victory will not happen automatically.
Republicans have a bad habit of assuming that if Democrats are
sufficiently unpopular, voters will simply turn to us. History does not
work that way. Elections are won by parties that understand the choice,
define the choice, and relentlessly communicate the choice. That is why
I developed a five-part series on How to Win 2026.
Gavin Newsom flounders ahead of 2028 and reminds voters why doesn’t deserve to be president
By Isaac Schorr
California Gov. Gavin Newsom continues to flounder ahead of his
seemingly inevitable campaign for president — the one he wavered on and
jeopardized during a recent conversation with CNN’s Jake Tapper.
With the pair standing in a stream casting fishing lines, Newsom
dropped a bomb: If former Vice President Kamala Harris, his fellow
Californian and longtime frenemy, runs again, he wouldn’t.
Tapper was flabbergasted.
“If she runs, you will not?” he asked incredulously.
“Of course not. Why would I?” replied Newsom.
