Editor’s Note📰: Amanda is off today and tomorrow — I am traveling early AM to Michigan for our debate coverage of Rogers vs. El-Sayed
.
Result: Expect a shorter-than-usual War Notes — we will have a full First Dispatch tomorrow…expect some exclusive content for our PAID subscribers from the battleground.
Thanks to Joe and Bree for editing .
Watch! 👀: The growing riots in France over “education” appear nearly out of control.
⚠️ Prediction: The “education” facade may soon give way to Free Palestine protests and Marxist ideology.
What is the Truth? 🦠
Like the early days of COVID and Chernobyl, Russia’s account of the pneumonic plague outbreak reeks of BS.
Nobody believes someone “broke” a test tube and then contracted an aerosolized version of plague.
🦠 Pneumonic plague is airborne.
🚨 Russia says one person has died, but reports of 200 people quarantined in hospitals and temperature checks on airplanes tell a much bigger story.
🔄 Plus: Russia keeps changing its story.
Read this:
💊 Twitter medicine: Yes, plague can be treated with antibiotics — if this is ordinary pneumonic plague.
☣️ The bigger concern is whether this could involve a weaponized strain tied to Russia’s biological weapons program.
Hope🙏: Russia caught the outbreak early enough to contain it.
🥶 Cold comfort: Plague can kill quickly, which may make international spread more difficult.
The irony☢️: The outbreak allegedly began at an antiplague research facility established under Stalin.
Tonight📺: Dr. Ashish K. Jha and Lindsay Moran examine the potential public health threat and Russia’s lack of transparency.
Iran’s Drone Threat🚨
The Plot🚨: The U.S. abruptly moved 12 B-1 bombers out of RAF Fairford after intelligence indicated a potential Iran-linked attack on the base.
WSJ: “Threat of Iranian Drone Attack Prompted U.S. to Pull Bombers From U.K. Base”
Iran reportedly wanted to use a Ukraine-style drone swarm attack on the U.S. B-1 bombers in the U.K.
Reportedly, the drones were already in Iran when the warning came. Some bombers left before
🛩️The concern: A drone attack modeled on Ukraine’s tactics against Russian airbases
Look back🔙 : Ukraine already showed what this tactic can do
Check out this video to see what I’m talking about:
🚛 Drones were smuggled into Russia inside trucks and containers.
🎯 They were launched from close to Russian airbases, hitting high-value aircraft deep inside the country.
Not surprising⚠️: A large Iranian and Muslim population in the U.K. can provide terrorist groups and foreign intelligence services with potential recruitment and support networks, though that does not mean the broader community is involved.
The question now❓:
What are Iran’s next targets?
Double bounce🔄: Iran’s use of diaspora networks and increasingly sophisticated drone tactics could reshape how America and its allies think about security in Europe and, ultimately, at home.
Tonight📺: Brigadier General John Teichert assesses the security concerns surrounding U.S. B-1 bombers and the threat of potential terror attacks.
The Gimmick Economy💸
Americans want real change — not another political payoff weeks before the election. Check.
The economy may be doing better on paper, but why aren’t Americans feeling it? Why do Republicans?
Bill O’Reilly’s proposal — lift the gas tax.
Every little bit helps‼️: Sure, saving 33 cents a gallon is better than nothing.
⛽ Buy 100 gallons of gas, and that’s $33 back in your pocket … after you drive nearly 2400 miles.
💵 Great. Take the $33.
❌ But it’s not a solution.
Suspending the gas tax does not show voters “I understand what you’re going through.”
That’s the disconnect ⚠️: People don’t want politicians telling them the economy is strong. They want politicians to understand why their lives still feel expensive.
📰 The data actually gives Trump something to point to: Economic growth is solid, the labor market is relatively stable, and lower-end wages are rising.
📈 The American consumer is still spending and helping drive growth.
🛒But prices are still high.
And people live in the real economy… not the GDP report.
The economy has plenty of bright spots
Stocks
AI investment
Construction and manufacturing
💰 But prices are still high!
People are living at the grocery store, gas pump and mortgage company.
The bigger disconnect: Republicans could be talking about structural changes. Ending special tax breaks for the wealthy, lifting the Social Security tax cap, changing how capital gains are treated.
Instead, we’re getting gimmicks.
And gimmicks don’t convince voters you understand their pain.
Tonight📺: Bill O’Reilly breaks down rising prices, the economy and what it means for Americans.
The Jack Smith Problem⚠️
Jack Smith says he’s not political. The pictures say…something else
👀 Spotted: Smith wearing a Bruce Springsteen “No Kings” shirt at a “Power to the People” concert in Maryland:
Just days after telling the Senate Judiciary Committee:
🎸 The festival featured Springsteen, Foo Fighters and other prominent Trump critics.
New details🚨: A Daily Signal report: “Former special counsel Jack Smith monitored the phone communications of Susie Wiles when she was Donald Trump’s campaign chief in 2024, newly released documents show.”
And then came the Republican fumble🏀: If Republicans wanted this hearing to be about accountability, the facts needed to be airtight.
Senator Eric Schmitt tried to challenge Smith over where he was on February 3, 2024.
🚩 The problem? Schmitt confused the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Smith said he was attending an Iowa women’s basketball game in Maryland… not an Atlanta Hawks game.
🥴 Ouch! Schmitt had accused Smith of potentially lying under oath based on a basic factual mix-up.
Reality‼️: The hearing was supposed to be about whether federal power was abused.
Instead, Republicans handed Smith an opening to make the hearing about whether they had their own facts straight.
Simple and powerful message on economy and practical ideas to make an impact helping the folks . I also agree and I no longer believe the elite political leaders, in either party, will do the work for American citizens .
I’m a retired senior citizen in Pennsylvania that is still forced to pay school taxes for a school system that is extremely wasteful. The school tax annual increases far exceed my social security COLA increases . My Governor , whom I supported , does absolutely nothing to address the exorbitant school taxes and / or school waste . This state requires 76 year old retired senior to pay 4 months of social security payments annually to this local school system . He is also tone deaf to initiating a temporary suspension of the state gas tax.
Definitely need a bigger monitor! :)