“Saudi Arabia has resumed oil exports through the main pipeline extending from the east to the west of the Kingdom. According to Bloomberg, state-run Saudi Aramco was last week testing the East-West pipeline and building pressure, with the aim of resuming meaningful flows by the weekend, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named because the information is not public. The resumption will restore Saudi Arabia’s access to the alternative export route that it had been using during the Iran war, even as the Kingdom has ramped up shipments through the Strait of Hormuz this month.” (09/28/26)
“I write to you because you cannot simply walk away from Trump’s recklessness, shaking your heads silently. You have a job to do, so do it. The craven Republican Party has to find even a minimal level of guts to tell Trump, ‘No, you do not have the power to destroy Iran. Any war with Iran depends on us, and we don’t support you and our constituents want this war to stop.’ A clear majority of Americans oppose this war, and poll after poll shows that the opposition to the war is growing. A few Republicans have found that courage. Last week three more Republicans broke ranks to support ending the war. Their colleagues should follow.” (09/28/26)
“Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday boosting the size of the army by 15,500 troops in the fourth such order this year. Putin’s order comes as both Russia and Ukraine suffer mounting casualties in the more than four-and-a-half-year Ukraine war. The decree did not give a reason for the troop increase. … Putin had previously signed documents boosting the size of the army in March, June and July. The combined increase since March amounts to 47,860 soldiers. Russia’s battlefield advances have slowed this year, as widespread drone use on the front has made swift, large-scale troop movements almost impossible. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of preparing for another military call-up, a suggestion that Putin has called Ukrainian ‘disinformation’.” (09/28/26)
“Most indicators suggest that the Republicans in the House and Senate are going to face a brutal backlash from the American people in November. Polling with generic ballots suggest a big win for the Democrats and likely the loss of Republican control of both houses of Congress. There is little reason to cheer a Democratic party victory, however Republicans in charge have for the most part earned what is coming to them. They have refused to uphold their Constitutional obligation to take leading responsibility for war powers.” (09/28/26)
“Intense clashes have broken out in the Somali city of Baidoa between government forces and fighters loyal to the ousted regional president. Fighter jets and drones were reported as the hostilities flared on Monday in the South West State city after thousands of local fighters entered the city in the morning. Violence has plagued the city in recent weeks as the army seeks to maintain the control it wrested earlier this year. … A number of states in Somalia oppose President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. His government sent troops to oust the head of South West State, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen in March. Laftagareen has repeatedly attempted to retake the area, including the administrative capital of Baidoa.” (09/28/26)
“On September 3, 2026, President Trump pardoned Navy veteran Patrick Adamiak for crimes he didn’t commit. The pardon should have happened sooner, but at least it’s happened. It was especially important because in May of this year the Supreme Court declined to review Adamiak’s case. … In 2021, somebody sent a tip to the ATF about his gun collection. Adamiak ‘said he didn’t want to go to the trouble of maintaining a federal firearms license. So he only collected non-firing replica weapons.’ But we don’t need to take Adamiak’s word for the fact that they were nonfiring. In a report filed with the court, ATF agent Daniel Beasley admitted that he had to alter an inert STEN machine gun to get it to fire a bullet.” (09/28/26)
“A judge on Monday vacated a Trump administration rule that would withhold 20% of federal counterterrorism funds allocated for states unless states and certain municipalities made certain changes to how they administer elections. In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali said the Federal Emergency Management Agency exceeded its legal authority ‘by conditioning the counterterrorism grant funds on changes to routine election administration.’ Ali also said FEMA, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, had not shown how the desired changes to election administration related to stopping terrorism.” (09/28/26)
“Republican state Attorney General James Uthmeier intensified his fight with OpenAI and its founder Sam Altman on Monday by asking a Florida court to stop the tech giant from further developing its artificial intelligence technology while their legal battle plays out. In his latest push to put guardrails around AI, Uthmeier is attempting to leverage the recent panic about the technology’s unchecked growth in Washington and beyond as proof that ChatGPT and other AI models are dangerous products. Uthmeier is seeking an injunction against OpenAI that would prevent the company from advancing new AI models without third-party approved protections, and cut off minors from using its popular chatbot.” [editor’s note: Uthmeier always wants every public discussion to be about him … except, of course, the public discussion about the embezzled taxpayer funds his PACs used to rig the 2024 election in Florida – TLK] (09/28/26)
