đ§ LISTEN TO THE HEADLINES ON THE SUBSTACK APP
Brennan Subpoenaed for October Grand Jury in Florida Civil Rights Probe
Former CIA Director John Brennan has been subpoenaed to appear on Oct. 15 before a grand jury in Fort Pierce, Florida. Lawyer Ken Wainstein said in a Monday court filing that prosecutors delivered the subpoena last Thursday. The Justice Department is examining whether officials who investigated President Trump over a decade, including the 2016 Russia inquiry and the Mar-a-Lago records case, conspired to deprive him of civil rights. Wainstein said Brennan remains a target of a separate Washington inquiry into whether he lied to Congress in 2023, which Brennan denies. The Florida subpoena arrived the same day prosecutor Joe diGenova resigned from the grand conspiracy case. Kurt Olsen took part in a call with defense lawyers. Brennan is seeking a court order to preserve investigative records to challenge any indictment as vindictive.
đď¸ News & Politics
Trump-Appointed Judge Halts USPS Mail Ballot Portal Rule
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols of Washington, D.C., a Trump appointee, issued a preliminary injunction late Sunday blocking a U.S. Postal Service final rule on absentee and mail-in ballots for federal elections. The Aug. 21 rule required new envelope designs and delivery only to voters enrolled in a Federal Ballot Mail Portal. Nichols wrote that no statute gives the Postal Service power to impose election procedures on states, create a voter data system, or refuse lawful mail. Plaintiffs include the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee, LULAC, and the NAACP. He said the government did not show that the rule would prevent significant fraud. It is the second injunction after Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts and a 1st Circuit order leaving her block in place. The Supreme Court is weighing a related appeal before the midterms.
Vance Says 870,000 Flagged for COVID Loan Fraud Barred From New Federal Credit
Vice President JD Vance said Monday that the Small Business Administration will suspend about 870,000 borrowers tied to an estimated $39 billion in suspected Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan fraud. The action, part of Operation Heartland Surge, bars them from future SBA loans and related programs. Officials said the cases span 45 states and territories. Letters and an appeals process are planned. Vance said people who cheated taxpayers are cut off and should get a job. Attorney General Todd Blanche said more than 80 people have been charged in cases involving more than $245 million. FBI Director Kash Patel said five people on a most-wanted fraud list, tied to about $2 billion, were arrested on three continents in three months. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler called it the agencyâs largest fraud enforcement to date. Combined earlier actions, officials said, cover roughly $49 billion in suspected fraud. The suspensions do not require criminal convictions.
Hochul Mails $1 Billion Checks Seven Weeks Before Election
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) will start mailing $1 billion in energy rebate checks Sept. 21, seven weeks before she faces voters Nov. 3. About 8.2 million households get up to $200 with no application. Joint filers under $150,000 receive $200. Those up to $300,000 receive $150. Single filers under $150,000 receive $100. The money is a one-time item in the fiscal 2027 budget. It is the second straight year Albany has dropped cash in the fall before a general election. Last yearâs inflation refunds of up to $400 went out on a similar timetable. Republicans say the timing is a bid to buy goodwill rather than to fix bills that they say run far above the national average. Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra (R) called it an obvious maneuver to score political points. Hochul blamed pump prices on the war with Iran and tariffs. Republican nominee Bruce Blakeman wants the fracking ban lifted. The governor said $200 will not change lives.
Clinton Says CIA Scrapped Pre-9/11 Bin Laden Raid Over Civilian Risk
Former President Bill Clinton said Sunday on WABCâs âCats Roundtableâ that he authorized the CIA to take out Osama bin Laden before the Sept. 11 attacks and that the agency canceled a plan at the last minute. Clinton said officials feared a miss would kill many civilians. He said he did not second-guess them and still wished more had been done. He said capturing him alive would have been good, but stopping bin Laden was the priority. Clinton, then in Australia, said he immediately named bin Laden when the second plane hit the towers. His daughter was in Lower Manhattan and walking north. He said Iran would not have dared such an attack. Navy SEALs killed bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2, 2011. Clinton said another strike on New York is possible and that the United States is better prepared.
Kennedy Center Board Weighs Immediate Closure Amid $23 Million Gap
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts faces an about $23 million deficit and a warning of financial collapse within weeks. A 57-page packet for a Tuesday board meeting recommends closing the main building at once, citing a Sept. 4 ceiling collapse in the Grand Foyer. No one was injured. Programming could move to other venues. The Reach expansion could stay open. Trustees say adding President Trumpâs name to fundraising credit could keep the center solvent during a planned two-year renovation. Congress approved $257 million for repairs. US Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) sued over leadership changes and a prior closure vote. A federal judge blocked a shutdown in May, then allowed a new vote after further review. The Justice Department has said it will hold off on renaming while the court reviews the dispute.
Listen to Underground USAâs podcast:
âââââ Arenât We All Sick and Tired of the Pro-Islamic Bullshit?
BE SURE TO LIKE THE ARTICLE & SHARE IT WIDELY
đ˘ The American Fifth Column
Seattle Shooting Victim Walked Two Blocks After Street Takeover Gunfire
Matthew Lanske, 21, was shot three times early Sunday near Seattleâs Belltown neighborhood after he and friends encountered a street takeover. His family said a man and two women tried to rob a friend at gunpoint. Lanske tried to grab the gun and was hit twice in the stomach. A third round shattered his pelvis and struck an artery. Police said four people were shot and one person was killed. Lanske walked about two blocks seeking help. Relatives said bystanders filmed him, and a 7-Eleven locked its doors as he begged to enter. He texted 911. Officers found him and took him to Harborview Medical Center. He spent two days on life support. Suspects remain at large. His family asked witnesses to come forward.
Failed Transportation Secretary Buttigieg Calls High Court Nakedly Partisan and Seeks Six More Seats
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that the Supreme Court has become a nakedly partisan institution and that Congress should add six justices, expanding the bench to 15. He said the aim is not to add seats for their own sake but to reform the court to make it less partisan. In July, he proposed 13 seats, term limits, and a balanced-bench process. The larger 15-seat figure matches an academic plan by law professors Daniel Epps and Ganesh Sitaraman for party-balanced seats plus a consensus bloc. Congress sets the number of justices by statute. Buttigieg said public confidence in the court is at a historic low.
Editorâs Note: Of course, if SCOTUS had been ruling in a woke fashion, Buttigieg wouldnât be saying a damn thingâŚ
Islamist-Apologist Carlson Calls El-Sayed Right on Post-9/11 Wars, Blasts Rogers
Tucker Carlson wrote Friday that Michigan Senate Democrat Abdul El-Sayed was âobviously rightâ that the U.S. response to Sept. 11 was not an appropriate reaction. Carlson said El-Sayed did not cheer al-Qaida. He urged Michigan voters to keep US Sen. Mike Rogers (R-MI), a former House Intelligence Committee chairman, far from Washington. El-Sayed said in a 2021 podcast that 9/11 scarred America and that the aftermath scarred millions abroad. A deleted anniversary post said he would mourn about 1 million lives in three countries the next day. Rogers called the remarks disqualifying. El-Sayed has appeared with Islamo-communist streamer Hasan Piker, who once said America deserved 9/11. El-Sayed later said he would not campaign with Carlson. Rogersâ campaign declined to comment.
Congress Funded Seattle Diversion After False Recidivism Numbers
Washington Stateâs Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion was sold to Congress with false crime-reduction figures. Promoters claimed a 58 percent drop in recidivism or arrests. The original study did not show a 58 percent cut in actual arrests and found no statistically significant difference in non-warrant arrests or total charges. Co-creator Lisa Daugaard conceded that presenting the result as a 58 percent reduction in arrests was a mistake. A 2015 House hearing cited an 80 percent drop in reoffending, far above what the study supports. US Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) told lawmakers LEAD cut recidivism by as much as 60 percent. Those figures helped lock in nearly $100 million in federal appropriations plus state and local money. Zimmerman said that 91 percent of the 176 participants remained unemployed. University of Washington researchers said their published statistics still stand. Seattle still diverts some drug cases into the program.
Chinese Visitor Charged After Admitting U.S. Intelligence Work for Beijing
Jin Di, also known as Sophie Jin, a Chinese citizen from Tianjin, was charged on Sept. 11 in federal court in Michigan with acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the attorney general. FBI agents said she admitted gathering intelligence in the United States for Shanghai-based Chinese intelligence officers who helped her business in China. Customs stopped her on Sept. 8 at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after a flight from Shanghai. She said she was visiting an 81-year-old U.S. government official. That official told agents he did not know she was coming and thought she might be an informer. Agents said a think-tank story was a cover supplied by the officers. An affidavit says Chinaâs Ministry of State Security first approached her in 2012 during pilot training in Los Angeles. She entered the United States at least seven times on a visitor visa and listed herself as general manager of Tianjin Smart City Technology. She faces up to 10 years if convicted.
ON THIS DAY IN 1901:
Following the death of President William McKinleyâwho succumbed to gunshot wounds eight days after being shot by an assassinâVice President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in, becoming the youngest president in U.S. history at age 42.
đ International
German Indictment Says Hamas Aimed Oct. 7 Anniversary Hits in Berlin and Vienna
Germanyâs federal prosecutor charged seven men with Hamas membership and preparing attacks around the second anniversary of Oct. 7, 2023. A 214-page indictment says the cell planned simultaneous or closely timed strikes in Berlin and Vienna on Israeli diplomats, Jewish community centers, and pro-Israel demonstrations. Prosecutors say the group obtained an automatic rifle, 13 pistols and more than 700 rounds, moved through Denmark, Germany and Austria. One suspect recorded a claim-of-responsibility video before a Hamas flag in Vienna on Aug. 7, 2025. Domestic intelligence had an informant in the cell. The plot was disrupted. Germanyâs Verfassungsschutz report lists about 650 Hamas and 1,250 Hezbollah operatives in the country. The men remain in pretrial detention.
Finland Becomes 10th Partner in French Forward Nuclear Deterrence
Finland joined Franceâs Forward Deterrence initiative on Monday, becoming the 10th European country in the program. Presidents Alexander Stubb and Emmanuel Macron said the step strengthens Europeâs ability to manage escalation. A nuclear steering group will be set up in the coming months. Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen said the pact does not overlap with NATO nuclear sharing, does not create collective-defense obligations like NATOâs, and does not require Finland to help pay for Franceâs arsenal. Cooperation may include joint exercises and temporary deployments of the French Air Force. Stubb said Finland will not station nuclear weapons on its soil in peacetime. Nordic neighbors Norway, Sweden, and Denmark already take part. Macron launched the initiative in March. France keeps sole authority to cross the nuclear threshold.
Takaichi Ally Wins Okinawa Race, Easing Path for Japan Defense Push
Genta Koja, backed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichiâs Liberal Democratic Party, won Sundayâs Okinawa gubernatorial election with about 59 percent of the vote. He defeated two-term Gov. Denny Tamaki, who opposed Tokyoâs military buildup and the move of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko. Koja, 42, is the first conservative governor in 12 years and the first born after Okinawaâs 1972 reversion. He said the security environment around the islands is increasingly severe. Takaichi credited votersâ desire for economic growth and pledged to work with him. Tamaki had support from the Japanese Communist Party and other left-leaning groups. Japan is preparing a new national security strategy and increasing defense spending to deter China.
Ceuta Cleaners Say Mutilated Cats Found After Migrant Surge
Street cleaners in Spainâs North African enclave of Ceuta told a television program they have found cats cut in half and dismembered while collecting trash. One worker said some animals were killed for pleasure, not hunger, because food is distributed daily. Crews also reported dead seagulls and pigeons and said they face insults and threats. They said nights leave empty liquor bottles and glass. Animal-protection group Zoelandia filed a complaint after reports of missing colony cats and damaged shelters in several neighborhoods. A court is investigating. Sanitation unions said workloads have tripled since a late-July influx of migrants, with TrampolĂn Beach covered in waste and excrement. Spainâs government has said the situation is under control.
NATO Jet Downs Drone Over Lithuania After Midnight Alert
A NATO fighter shot down a drone over Lithuania shortly after midnight Tuesday, the national crisis management center said. The object was destroyed near Pratkunai village in Kaunas County. Officials said it likely entered from Belarus. Its origin has not been confirmed. An alert was issued earlier in Vilnius and nearby districts. President Gitanas Nauseda thanked allied crews for a swift response. Jets from the NATO Baltic air policing mission, based at Siauliai, have previously downed stray Ukrainian drones over Estonia and Latvia. Ukraine has said Russian electronic warfare can push its aircraft off course. Military police were sent to recover debris. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Two days earlier, a similar alert was traced to a flock of birds.
FOLLOW UUSA ON X
FOLLOW UUSA ON FACEBOOK
