- Wednesday August 26th, 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
Pentagon Finds 'Hidden' Files on Afghan War's End
Pentagon officials said Wednesday they had uncovered classified
documents that were "stashed" and hidden in safes that may shed new
light on the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under former
President Joe Biden.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, who chairs a special panel reviewing
the August 2021 withdrawal, said investigators found material that
should have been disclosed but was instead concealed.
"The deeper we look, the more there is to look at," Parnell said in a
video posted to social media. "We are finding things that we did not
expect."
US Pivots to Economic Pressure on Iran as Rubio Rules Out New Strikes for Now
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told U.S. allies that the Trump
administration does not currently plan to launch new attacks on Iran,
doubling down on a strategic shift toward economic pressure after
months of military action, Reuters reported Tuesday.
The reaffirmation comes as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rolls out
the administration's sweeping campaign to isolate Iran from the global
economy, a strategy President Donald Trump has described as an economic
offensive against Tehran and Bessent has called a "one-two punch"
combining military pressure with sanctions.
Bessent's initial sanctions package, announced Monday, targeted nearly 60 individuals, entities, and vessels linked to Iran.
America just handed the world a big clue that the Iran war might finally be over
The U.S. State Department is drawing up plans to return diplomats to embassies across the Middle East.
Embassies that were previously evacuated at the beginning of the war
with Iran include countries that have been targeted during the
conflict, such as Israel.
The New York Times, which first reported the story on Tuesday, 25th
August, cited an internal State Department report saying some U.S.
missions began returning to pre-war staffing levels as early as this
week.
Iranian president says Tehran prefers dialogue, US will ‘gain nothing’ from economic pressure
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that he hopes to
continue peace talks with the United States, while also cautioning that
economic pressure will not lead to concessions.
“Our approach is understanding and resolving issues through interaction
and negotiation, but at the same time, we have stood and will continue
to stand firmly against economic pressure,” Pezeshkian said, according
to the Anadolu Agency.
Pezeshkian said the U.S. will "gain nothing" from an economic crackdown.
Meta agrees to historic $16.7B settlement over claims social media platforms harm children
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has agreed to pay up to $16.68 billion as part
of a historic settlement with 29 state attorneys general who alleged
the company purposely built Instagram and Facebook to addict kids.
The agreement includes a commitment from Meta to make design changes to
the apps, including imposing daily usage limits, “nighttime blocks” on
app usage before bed and “enhanced age assurance measures” to ensure
underage kids can’t use Facebook or Instagram, according to a court
filing Wednesday.
Meta also agreed to create “additional tools to help parents and
guardians to protect their children online” as part of what was
described as a “consent judgment.” The settlement is pending court
approval.
Trump plays coy about purpose of CIA director’s mystery trip to Moscow
President Trump insisted Wednesday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s
surprise trip to Moscow wasn’t to warn President Vladimir Putin not to
“test NATO resolve” or “strike England” after the Cabinet official’s
unannounced four-hour visit on Tuesday launched rampant speculation.
Radio host Glenn Beck asked Trump about theories that Ratcliffe visited Tuesday to discuss Iran sanctions or caution Putin.
“Well, none of the above. He’s there, you know, on very sort of semi-routine — I hate to disappoint people,” Trump replied.
Harrowing footage shows moment flood hits China-Nepal border — leaving 72 dead and hundreds missing, including 3 Americans
Hundreds are missing and many more are feared dead after catastrophic
flash flooding hit Nepal — as harrowing footage shows a massive surge
of water descending from the mountains and overtaking a border crossing
building as dozens of terrified people run for their lives.
The mudslide is believed to have been caused by a wall of mud and rock
that collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border between Nepal and
China-controlled Tibet, resulting in catastrophic flooding on the
Nepali side that has left at least 72 people dead and over 300 tourists
missing.
Though the horrifying disaster is still unfolding, initial reports
suggest the floods could be the result of an avalanche triggered by an
earthquake, Nepal’s foreign minister Shisir Khanal told the country’s
parliament Wednesday.
3 Secret Service officials under internal investigation for potential misconduct
The officials were not working in law enforcement roles, and the investigation has just begun
Three U.S. Secret Service officials were placed on administrative leave
on Tuesday pending an internal investigation into potential misconduct.
The agency's Office of Professional Responsibility was just beginning
its review on Tuesday and did not offer details about what the three
officials were being investigated for.
The Secret Service public information office noted that the three
officials were not working in law enforcement roles at the agency.
Dolly Parton cause of death revealed
Dolly Parton, who died today at age 80, went through "a brief battle
with cancer," according to a statement released Tuesday evening (Aug.
25) by her team. Parton died at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in
Nashville.
"Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy,
laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched," read the
statement simply signed Team Dolly. "Her unmatched generosity reached
the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was
always there to offer a helping hand. Whether it be the hundreds of
millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or
funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around
the world, Dolly's unconditional love for all people was the guiding
force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with
cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram
Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones."
For more than 60 years, Parton has been one of country music's leading
lights and one of music's most revered songwriters. Beloved around the
world for not only her music - including such songs as "Jolene," "I
Will Always Love You" and "Coat of Many Colors" - she also left a life
filled with service, giving back in myriad ways. Parton, a member of
both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,
placed 113 tunes on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart starting in
1967. Cumulatively, those songs spent more than 28 years on the chart.
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their kids get private jet back to UK —and arrive without publicly funded security
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their children arrived in the UK on
Wednesday, flying on a private jet to start their next chapter after
abandoning their doomed Megxit to the US.
Duke and Duchess of Sussex flew privately from their recent home in
California and landed in Birmingham around lunchtime, the Telegraph
reported.
They flew from Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles on a private Bombardier
Global Express XRS luxury long-range business jet chartered from
California-based Planet Nine Private Air, according to the Daily Mail —
which said flights typically cost at least $12,000 an hour.
LA Dem candidates torched by disgusted residents after ‘disgraceful’ debate: ‘Both bad’
A frustrated resident said she wishes both candidates could lose as the city faces affordability and homelessness issues
Los Angeles’ Democratic mayoral candidates were torched by residents
after a debate night in America’s second-most populous city that one
voter described as "disgraceful."
Besides being home to Hollywood, Los Angeles is one of America’s most
economically important cities. The city, however, has struggled with
recent fires, rising living costs, homelessness and outmigration. Those
problems have fueled a particularly contentious mayoral race this year,
which included a surprisingly competitive but ultimately unsuccessful
bid by Republican Spencer Pratt.
With Pratt out of the race, Democrats Karen Bass, the incumbent, and
Nithya Raman, a democratic socialist city council member, are locked in
a competitive and bitter runoff for Los Angeles mayor. During last
week’s debate, Bass and Raman traded personal attacks and insults,
leaving some voters frustrated over what solutions the candidates could
offer.
Army vet lawmaker marks Abbey Gate anniversary with blistering message for Biden-Harris: 'Abject failure'
Rep Matt Van Epps introduced a resolution marking five years since the attack that killed 13 US troops
Former Army aviator Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., said he "vividly"
remembers the moment five years ago when he heard the U.S. was
withdrawing from Afghanistan with scant shreds of a plan in place.
"I remember my boss at the time in Tennessee state government asked me,
like, 'Hey Matt, are you OK?' And, you know, I think the frank answer
is no, I'm very upset about this," he told Fox News Digital in an
interview. "And as I talked to my colleagues, some who were serving
with me in government, others that were still active-duty Army and in
the military, I think the feeling was generally the same, that we spent
so much time and effort and to see that unfold the way that it did was
just beyond frustrating."
To this day, Van Epps believes neither the Biden administration nor
former President Joe Biden himself have been "adequately held
responsible in the aftermath of just an absolutely chaotic withdrawal
that did not have to happen."
RFK Jr. Rips Shapiro Over Vaccine 'Misinformation'
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. blasted
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro for accusing him of spreading vaccine
misinformation, saying the Democrat governor could not cite a single
example when confronted and later "gaslighted" the public.
The war of words came Tuesday after Shapiro announced that two
unvaccinated people in Pennsylvania had died from measles and accused
Kennedy and the Trump administration of "scaring people" away from
trusting doctors and vaccines.
Kennedy said Shapiro made the same accusation during a phone call between the two but came up empty when pressed for evidence.
US Says Chinese Hackers Broke Into Justice Department, NASA, Federal Reserve, Senate
The United States said Wednesday that it had disrupted a Chinese
hacking operation responsible for break-ins at the U.S. Justice
Department, NASA, the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Senate, and other
sensitive government agencies.
In a statement, the Justice Department said that it had seized
domains used by two hacking platforms, dubbed "QScan" and "QTRouter,"
which it said had been used as part the campaign.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately return a
message seeking comment. Beijing routinely denies responsibility for
hacking activity.
The no-standards left is run by scoundrels, fraudsters and morons now
By Isaac Schorr
The American left’s advocacy for tried-and-failed ideas, embrace of
fair-is-foul and foul-is-fair morality and disdain for excellence has —
surprise, surprise — rendered it incapable of rebuking its ascendant
class of scoundrels, fraudsters and morons.
Exhibit A: the celebration of Karen Attiah’s reinstatement at The Washington Post by a mouth-breathing arbitrator on Monday.
After announcing the news on X, Attiah, a race-hustling antisemite who
was let go last September over a series of jaw-dropping social media
posts about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, was greeted like a war
hero returning from the front.
Jim Acosta called it “Great news!”; George Conway congratulated her; Peter Beinart marveled at her “courage.”
Abdul El-Sayed’s wealth-tax fantasy could wreck the Michigan economy
There is a great difference between a wealth tax and an income tax
By Jonathan Turley
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is tackling a new national crisis: the excess of money held by some tragically wealthy citizens.
In his interview this week with Fox News’ Jesse Watters, the Michigan
Democratic Senate candidate not only reaffirmed his call for a wealth
tax, but suggested that wealthy people really do not have much use for
money that would be better left to the public.
El-Sayed needs money. A lot of money. He has called for massive new
programs to fund Medicare-for-All, reparations, roads and other
programs promised to Michigan voters. He is only the latest Democratic
leader to support a wealth tax, which would, in my opinion, be
unconstitutional at the federal level and disastrous at the state level.
Earlier in the week, El-Sayed expressed full support for a wealth tax,
including on non-billionaires. He declared on a podcast: "I also think
we got to start taxing wealth for people who now have over $100
million. I mean at that point like what are gonna even do with more
money?"
