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Air Force Confirms On-Orbit Space Control Weapons
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Monday that the United States has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile action. He spoke at the Air & Space Forces Association conference in National Harbor, Maryland. He did not describe the weapons, how many are in orbit, or when they were launched. Meink said the disclosure matters for deterrence and that the United States must keep dominance in the air and in space. The remarks were the first public acknowledgment of American weapons in orbit. China Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing opposes an arms race and turning space into a war zone. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said space should be free of weapons. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty bars nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction in orbit but not conventional systems. Pentagon officials have pointed to Russian and Chinese counterspace work. Golden Dome space interceptors are scheduled to come online in 2028.
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Democrats Keep Posting Charts That Contradict Their Own Claims
Democrat officials have repeatedly shared charts on X that they said blamed President Trump for price spikes, only for the same graphics to show the sharpest increases under President Biden. Gov. Gavin Newsom did so Tuesday with a housing-affordability chart that tagged Trump while the plotted gap widened from 2021 to 2025. The Democrat National Committee posted a grocery-price chart in July 2025 that showed a Biden-era surge and later deleted the post. US Sen. Bernie Sanders (DS-VT) posted a health-care cost chart in October 2025 showing prices rising before and after the Affordable Care Act. US Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) posted an electricity chart in November 2025 that attributed an 11 percent jump to Trump, even though the rise occurred under Biden. Users circulated the original axes within hours. The California Association of Realtors said Wednesday the August statewide median existing single-family price was $901,420.
Pro-Hamas Antifa Occupiers Offered Dismissal After $1M UW Building Damage
King County prosecutors are offering stipulated orders of continuance to 33 pro-Hamas and Antifa activists charged with first-degree criminal trespass after occupying the University of Washington Interdisciplinary Engineering Building on May 5, 2025. The charges can be dismissed if they complete community service and commit no new violations. There is no guilty plea. Defendants must stipulate that police reports are accurate. Investigators said they could not prove which occupiers caused more than $1 million in damage, so no felony charges were filed. The group targeted UWâs partnership with Boeing, a $10 million donor to the building, over work with Israel. Activists barricaded doors, trapped an employee and set dumpsters on fire. Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return claimed the takeover. UW suspended students and later lifted the penalties. Prosecutors said new evidence tying individuals to the destruction would be reviewed.
House Passes Third Iran War Powers Measure as Seven Republicans Defect
The House voted 220-204 Tuesday for a concurrent resolution directing President Donald Trump to end hostilities in Iran unless Congress authorizes them. Seven Republicans joined all voting Democrats: Tom Barrett (R-MI), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Zach Nunn (R-IA), and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) of Iowa. Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA), who caucuses with Republicans, voted no. The measure does not have the force of law. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) introduced it April 28. The House passed similar resolutions in June and July. The House and Senate passed another concurrent resolution in June. The Congressional Budget Office said the first five months of the conflict cost more than $38 billion. Regular gasoline averaged $4.36 a gallon. A Silver Bulletin compilation put support at 34 percent and opposition at 58 percent. Massie also moved on Tuesday to force a vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
Ignoring Safety Issues, Democrat Rep. Asks Judge to Stop Kennedy Center Shutdown
US Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) asked U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper on Wednesday for an emergency hearing to block a two-year Kennedy Center closure. She said a prior injunction still bars a shutdown until the judge lifts it. The Trump-aligned board voted Tuesday to close after Cooper blocked adding President Trumpâs name to the facility. Cooper said Congress must approve memorials. Trump said renovations will not proceed unless his name is added and that he will take the fight to the Supreme Court if needed. A video circulated this week showed a section of the grand foyer ceiling on the floor after hours. Beatty, an ex officio board member, said Trump called her incompetent during Tuesdayâs meeting and that she replied that she knew he was incompetent. She said he told her she would be to blame if someone was hurt by deterioration. One theater is remaining open during repairs.
Editorâs Note: A perfect example of TDS on steroids. Ceilings are falling in on areas where people would be gathered, and this idiot wants to keep the venue open? Where is OSHA??
Fed Raises Rates a Quarter Point for First Time Since 2023
The Federal Open Market Committee voted 12-0 Wednesday to lift the federal funds target to 3.75 percent to 4 percent. It was the first increase since 2023 and the first under Chair Kevin Warsh, who took office in May and had held rates steady. The statement said inflation remains elevated and that the move would support a timelier return to the 2 percent goal. Sixteen of 18 participants projected at least one more hike this year. Four saw two more. Warsh did not submit a projection. CME FedWatch had priced about 93 percent odds of a quarter-point move after a hotter August inflation reading and higher energy prices. Economists expect higher costs on mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. The next meeting is Oct. 28. President Trump has long demanded lower rates and has spoken positively of Warsh.
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NY Times Calls GOP Communism Charge Baseless as DSA Wins Primaries
A New York Times article published Sept. 12 said Republican claims that Democrats are communists are far-fetched and baseless because no credible midterm candidate identifies as a communist. The piece noted the charge has little overlap with Democrat platforms. It also reported that US Sen. Bernie Sanders (DS-VT) praised elements of Cubaâs Communist revolution in 2020, and that New York Democratic Socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier once circulated a post urging libraries to carry more Marxist literature. The Democratic Socialists of America platform calls for public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries, and for the abolition of the Senate. DSA issued a statement last month marking Fidel Castroâs 100th birthday and expressing solidarity with the Cuban revolution. A Quinnipiac poll this month found 59 percent of Democrats said they support DSA. The sample of registered voters was 970. Centrist House Democrats earlier signed a letter stating that they are capitalists, not socialists.
Editorâs Note: Socialism refers to an economic system in which the means of production are collectively or state-owned, with the goal of reducing inequality, while communism envisions a further, stateless, and classless society without private property or money, with socialism as a transitional stage toward that communist end goal.
Texas PAC Operative Calls $25 Zoom Classes a Roundabout Vote Payment
An undercover video released Wednesday shows Sky McAdams, organizing manager for Texas Majority PAC, describing $25 payments for a one-hour Zoom class on voting and Republican policies. He called it a roundabout way of paying people for their votes. He said the effort is a Paid Relational Program run by Relentless using Rally software. He said you cannot hand someone $25 and tell them how to vote, but a class is a little gray. He said that if he were a Republican, he would be pissed and that it is shady. A July finance report showed Texas Majority PAC paid Relentless $500,000 for a relational organizing program. Relentless says it compensates low-propensity voters to reach friends and family and cites prior work in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina. Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate nominee, said Talaricoâs team admitted it was trying to bribe people and that Texans are not for sale.
Judge Refers Soros DA Krasner to U.S. Attorney Over Murder Habeas Case
U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond on Tuesday referred Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, Conviction Integrity Unit chief Matthew Stiegler and the district attorneyâs office to the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Diamond said they may have committed false statements, perjury, obstruction of justice and conspiracy while handling a habeas petition by Dennis Johnson, convicted in 2009 of second-degree murder in the death of Kenyatta Smith. The judge disqualified Krasner and Stiegler from the case. Assistant district attorneys told the court Krasner ordered them to litigate to protect the office. Diamond wrote that Krasner and Stiegler tried to persuade four lawyers to urge a false narrative. Krasner said he respectfully and vigorously disagrees and will appeal.
Florida Senate Nominee Protests Having to Pay Her Own Tax and Student Loan Bills
Florida Democrat Senate nominee Angie Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, protested on a July podcast that she had to pay the IRS, calling a $12,000 payment plan crazy after already paying more than $10,000. She said she had not made $105 billion. A state disclosure dated Aug. 25 listed nearly $14,000 in unpaid federal taxes and $17,600 in student loans. Her 2025 reported income was at least $270,000. In October 2023, she wrote on Facebook that she did not want to repay student loans and that education is supposed to be free. She campaigns for a 5 percent annual wealth tax on billionaires. Senate rules require listing liabilities of $10,000 or more. Those debts were left off her August Senate disclosure. Paul Kamenar of the National Legal and Policy Center said she should amend the forms. She defeated Alexander Vindman in last monthâs primary.
Democrat Maryland Senator Lied to Police About Being Drunk While Driving
Body-camera and surveillance video released this week show Maryland Sen. C. Anthony Muse, a Democrat state senator, telling Annapolis officers on Aug. 3 that his driver had parked a Land Rover Defender on a sidewalk against a tree. Footage shows Muse behind the wheel before he walked away alone. The SUV first struck a parked carâs mirror in Eastport during a special legislative session. A caller told dispatch the driver did not stop, and she was pretty sure he was intoxicated. Parking enforcement radioed that the senator had entered the vehicle and that officers were not sure he should drive. An employee later said the keys had been taken. Muse told officers he had one drink and declined a sobriety test. Body-camera audio captured him saying the governor would take care of it. Another licensed driver retrieved the vehicle. Police first said no crime required investigation. After the video was provided, they confirmed Muse said he had consumed alcohol.
ON THIS DAY IN 1940:
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. It established the nation's first peacetime military draft, requiring millions of American men to register as World War II raged in Europe and Asia.
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US State Dept Shifts $52 Million in Military Financing to Latin America
The State Department notified Congress on Tuesday that it will reprogram $52 million in foreign military financing from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Foreign military financing allows recipients to purchase U.S. defense equipment. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Colombia, Ecuador and Peru last week and pledged more support. The department said the money would combat narcoterrorism in the Western Hemisphere and help secure the Panama Canal. It said the region had been neglected in military assistance. Officials said the funds would help keep adversaries from gaining footholds. The shift does not end financing for the four donor countries. Remaining amounts were not disclosed.
Houthis Claim Saudi F-15 Downed as Riyadh Cites Mecca Drone
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Wednesday that Yemeni forces shot down a Saudi F-15 over Marib with a locally made missile. He said the jet was on hostile operations after about 450 Saudi strikes. Saudi authorities did not confirm a shootdown. The group later circulated a video it said showed wreckage. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said air defenses destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday before it entered restricted airspace. He called the holy sites a red line and cited a 2017 missile incident. Saree called the Mecca claim fabrications and lies. He said Houthi operations target oil facilities and military bases far from sacred sites. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned an attack on Mecca. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced the alleged act. The Houthis also claimed strikes on an Aramco site in Yanbu and Khamis Mushait air base. Fighting continued near the Bab al-Mandeb.
Von der Leyen Invites Canada as First EU Associate Member
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday that she wants Canada to become the European Unionâs first associate member. Prime Minister Mark Carney sat nearby and received applause. He is the first non-European leader to attend a State of the Union address. On Sunday, Carney said Canada was not seeking EU membership and spoke of a unique alliance. A Prime Ministerâs Office statement welcomed a deeper alliance and did not use the term "associate member". Incoming EU ambassador Jonathan Wilkinson said the sides were not there yet and were focused on results. Von der Leyen said the relationship should go beyond the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, which 10 EU countries have not ratified. She listed work on manufacturing, a tech alliance, defense industry integration, the Arctic, energy, critical minerals, batteries, AI, quantum and cyber. Member states would have to agree. EU treaties do not define associate membership. Carney is to speak Thursday. An EU-Canada summit is set for Montreal in October.
Hague Court Gives Thaci 25 Years for Kosovo War Crimes
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague sentenced former President Hashim Thaci to 25 years in prison Wednesday. Judges convicted the 58-year-old of war crimes including murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention during the 1998-99 conflict with Serbia. The court said Kosovo Liberation Army forces under a joint plan killed 96 political opponents and suspected collaborators, detained 385 people, tortured 303 and subjected 49 to cruel treatment. Presiding Judge Charles Smith said the plan included detention sites and killing those seen as opponents. Thaci denied the charges. He was acquitted of six counts of crimes against humanity. Co-defendants Jakup Krasniqi received 25 years, Kadri Veseli 18, and Rexhep Selimi 13. Thaci resigned as president in 2020 to face trial. He was Kosovoâs first prime minister after the 2008 declaration of independence. Crowds in Pristina watched the verdict.
ISIS-K Scout Gets 20 Years in Abbey Gate Case
Mohammad Sharifullah was sentenced Wednesday in Alexandria, Virginia, to 20 years in prison, the maximum on his April conviction for conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS-K. A jury deadlocked on whether deaths at Kabulâs Abbey Gate resulted from that conspiracy, which would have allowed a life term. On Aug. 26, 2021, a suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. service members and about 160 Afghans during the U.S. evacuation. Prosecutors said Sharifullah scouted a route to Hamid Karzai International Airport. He told the FBI that ISIS-K gave him a motorcycle, phone money, and a SIM card and told him to open a social media account. Defense lawyers said the government failed to prove he took part in the bombing and asked for 17 years. President Trump announced Sharifullahâs capture in a March 2025 address to Congress.
