For the week 9/22-9/26

[Posted 4:30 PM ET, Friday]

Note: StocksandNews has significant ongoing costs and your support is greatly appreciated.  Please click on the GoFundMe link or send a check to PO Box 990, New Providence, NJ 07974.

Every little bit helps.

Edition 1,379

A government shutdown seems increasingly likely with both the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) and the Democratic alternative that includes the health care subsidies having failed in the Senate. The CR would keep government funding at its current level through Nov. 21, while one Democratic proposal would fund the government for a month but also extend health care premium subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.

House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.) warned that premiums will skyrocket next year if funding isn’t restored.  House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that Democrats are “a hard No” on what Republicans have presented.

Republicans say, pass the CR and continue to negotiate through the appropriations process into November.

Any measure requires 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster.  It’s in their court when they return from recess Monday.

The administration already appears to be making plans for a shutdown as a memo from the Office of Management and Budget indicates that widespread firings could occur across federal agencies.  The memo urges federal agencies to “use this opportunity to consider reduction-in-force (RIF) notices” for all employees if certain conditions are met, such as the lapse of discretionary funding starting mid next week.

—

Wall Street and the Economy

The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) will be picking over today’s personal consumption expenditures index (PCE) report for August, the PCE being the Fed’s preferred inflation barometer.

And the figures came in exactly as expected (PCE being easier to predict than the producer and consumer price data, because the PCE calculation is largely from components of the CPI, PPI and other data reported earlier).

The PCE price index rose 0.3%, 2.7% year-over-year, while the core figures were 0.2% and 2.9%.  The 2.9% is the key number for the Fed.

So while no surprises, 2.9% is not 2%…as in inflation remains very sticky.  That’s the Fed’s conundrum.

Separately, personal income in August rose a stronger than expected 0.4%, while consumption was a solid 0.6%, also beating consensus.

The Fed’s internal debate over the path of interest rates continues to preoccupy, and worry, markets.  In a speech Tuesday, Chair Jerome Powell warned of the “two-sided risks,” the upside threat to inflation and the downside risk to the labor market.

Recent data show economic growth moderating, unemployment edging up, weak housing data, and slowing consumer spending*, Powell said.  In his speech in Providence, R.I., he offered no hints on whether he might support a rate cut at the October FOMC meeting (Oct. 28-29).

*Since Powell’s speech, consumer spending metrics from the GDP report and PCE argue the consumer is not exactly slowing down.

Other Fed governors, such as Chicago Fed President Austen Goolsbee warned against a rapid series of rate cuts, citing a “mostly steady” labor market and inflation “heading the wrong way.”

On the other side, Fed governors such as Michelle Bowman and Stephen Miran have called for lower rates, with the market still betting on two more cuts this year.

Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, one of the great investors of all time, expects the Fed to cut interest rates one more time this year, Griffin giving an interview to CNBC.

“I think the Fed is nervous about the labor market because we did see this decline in the number of jobs being created, and in terms of balance of risks they chose to focus on the unemployment side rather than on the inflation side,” Griffin said.

[Griffin also insisted the costs of tariffs, largely eaten by businesses thus far, will eventually be passed on to consumers.]

In other data…we had a sharp upward revision in second-quarter GDP to 3.8% from 3.3% prior, thanks to an upward revision in consumption, now 2.5%, which is strong.  First-quarter GDP was revised to -0.6%, all because of the surge in imports in Q1 as companies tried to beat the tariffs (imports being a negative in the calculation of GDP).

New home sales for August came in at a much better-than-expected 800,000 level (annualized), up 20.5% from a month earlier (though this is a volatile figure and subject to big revisions), while existing-home sales for the month were 4.0 million, -0.2% month-over-month, and up 1.8% year-over-year.  The median home price of $422,600 was up 2.0% from a year ago.

Certainly lower mortgage rates are helping some overall, Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is at 6.30%, vs. a high of 7.04% in January.

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow barometer for third-quarter growth is up to 3.9% after today’s PCE data.

Meanwhile, on the tariff front, Thursday night, President Trump said he will be imposing “a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless the Company is BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America.  ‘IS BUILDING’ will be defined as, ‘breaking ground’ and/or ‘under construction.’ There will, therefore, be no Tariff on these Pharmaceutical Products if construction has started.”

And… “We will be imposing a 50% Tariff on all Kitchen Cabinets, Bathroom Vanities, and associated products… Additionally, we will be charging a 30% Tariff on upholstered Furniture. The reason for this is the large scale ‘FLOODING’ of these products into the United States.”

And… “I will be imposing…a 25% Tariff on all ‘Heavy (Big!) Trucks’ made in other parts of the World.”

All of these are to take effect Oct. 1.

Europe and Asia

We had flash PMIs in the euro area for the month of September this week, courtesy of S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank, and the composite reading for the EA20 is 51.2, vs. August’s 51.0, a 16-month high.  Manufacturing was 50.7, with services at 51.4 (50 the dividing line between growth and contraction).

Germany: manufacturing 52.2; services 52.5
France: mfg. 45.9 (7-mo. low); services 48.9

UK: mfg. 45.4; services 51.9

Dr. Cyrus de la Buria, Chief Economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank:

“The outlook for manufacturing is a bit cloudy. Production is still growing, but the pace is being dragged down by France, where the government shake-up in early September likely threw a wrench into companies’ production plans. Apart from this, hopes for an acceleration in growth are not justified as new orders have dropped significantly in both Germany and France.  In the medium term, higher defense spending could drive up demand for industrial goods.  A more immediate impact might come from Germany’s so-called investment booster and the infrastructure package.  Still, according to the survey, confidence in rising output has actually dipped in both Germany and the eurozone overall….

“Cost inflation in the services sector, which the European Central Bank watches closely, has eased slightly but remains unusually high given the fragile economic backdrop. Selling prices have cooled more noticeably, which might just prompt the ECB to consider whether a rate cut before year’s end could be back on the table.”

Turning to Asia…nothing from China this week on the data front worth mentioning. We get their September PMI readings next week.

Japan’s flash PMI readings for September had the manufacturing index at 48.4, services 53.0.

Street Bytes

–For much of the week, the market dropped on concerns over the sustainability of the AI boom, but today, stocks took solace from the PCE data that was in line, while a poor consumer sentiment number argued, perhaps, for more rate cuts.

On the week, the major indices suffered fractional declines; the Dow Jones falling 0.2%, the S&P 500 0.3% and Nasdaq 0.7%.

—U.S. Treasury Yields

6-mo. 3.85%  2-yr. 3.65%  10-yr. 4.19%  30-yr. 4.78%

Yields keep edging up after their intraday lows of about two weeks ago, which were 3.49% on the 2-year, 3.99% on the 10-year.  The economy is strong and inflation is sticky.  Not exactly a call for further cuts in the funds rate, despite what the equity bulls believe.

—Crude oil staged its best rally in weeks, finishing at $65.00, and at least temporarily, break through its $63-$64 range.  Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure prompted Moscow to curb fuel exports and consider cutting crude output.

—Last Friday night, President Trump signed a proclamation that will require a new annual $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, among other changes to the program for highly skilled foreign workers that has come under scrutiny by the administration.

H-1B visas are meant to bring the best and brightest foreigners for high-skilled jobs that tech companies find difficult to fill with qualified U.S. citizens and permanent residents.  The program instead has turned into a pipeline for overseas workers who are often willing to work for as little as $60,000 annually.  That is far less than $100,000-plus salaries typically paid to U.S. technology workers.

Trump on Friday insisted that the tech industry would not oppose the move.  “I think they’re going to be very happy,” he said.

The H1-B program was created in 1990 for people with a bachelor’s degree or higher in fields where jobs are deemed hard to fill, especially science, technology, engineering and math.  Critics say they allow companies to pay lower wages with fewer labor protections.

U.S. businesses that sponsor skilled foreign workers had a roller-coaster weekend trying to understand how they would be impacted by the proclamation.  Many companies rushed to warn employees with H-1B visas against foreign travel.  Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com and other tech companies sent messages to affected employees telling them to return to the U.S. on Saturday and cancel any plans to depart the country after the White House said that the new rules would go into effect on Sunday.

The government then altered its messaging on the order over the weekend when Trump’s team offered an apparent 180-degree turn on key specifics, such as whether this fee will be annual and whether it will ever be paid by existing visa holders.  A White House official clarified Saturday that the fee only affects new visas – not renewals or current visa holders – and will be applied in the upcoming lottery cycle.

Later Saturday afternoon, a White House account on X posted a message saying that Trump’s announcement doesn’t apply to current visa holders.  It added, “The Proclamation does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to/from the U.S.”

But the uncertainties surrounding how the change will be applied and enforced caused confusion across corporate America.

The argument over the years has been that the H1-B program takes jobs from American workers, while others have faulted the program, saying it can be used to exploit workers from overseas.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Tuesday the country’s largest bank will “be engaging with stakeholders and policymakers” on the administration’s visa order.

“That caught everyone off guard,” Dimon said in an interview with India’s CNBC affiliate.  “We had a lot of phone calls over the weekend – what does this mean?”

Dimon, who has previously expressed support for the administration’s move to secure the southern border, said he believes in “merit-based immigration” and wants to “engage with the government on the issue.”

“I believe in merit-based immigration, and as a matter of fact, I would beg the president, he has accomplished border control – that’s great.  I think all nations want real border control.  It helps make a nation. But after that, we should have good immigration,” Dimon said.

In 2024, JPMorgan ranked as the eighth-largest corporate sponsor along with tech giants Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and retail giant Walmart, according to U.S. government data.

“For us, visas matter because we move people around globally – experts who get promoted to new jobs in different markets,” Dimon told the Times of India newspaper.

–I discuss in detail President Trump’s pronouncements Monday on autism and the administration’s warning about the use of Tylenol down below.  But for the purposes of this section, Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol and whose headquarters is literally at the other end of my street, saw its shares crater anew.

Kenvue now is preparing for an explosion of litigation as the finding by Trump’s health officials provides ammunition to plaintiffs’ attorneys who are seeking to reverse losses in older lawsuits alleging the medicine caused neurodevelopmental disorders.  And it could unleash thousands of new lawsuits in the coming year.

Kenvue is the over-the-counter products company that was spun out of Johnson & Johnson in 2023. Tylenol, one of the most widely used OTC medicines, is a top-selling product for Kenvue, generating an estimated 10% of the company’s $15 billion in annual sales, according to analysts.

But, pregnant women’s use of Tylenol makes up only a small part of the product’s sales.

About 500 lawsuits were filed against J&J and later Kenvue – and other companies selling private-label products – starting in 2022 alleging prenatal exposure to acetaminophen caused autism or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.  Kenvue inherited the Tylenol-related litigation as a stand-alone company.

But to date, Kenvue has been successful in fending off the lawsuits.  In 2023, a federal judge ruled there wasn’t sufficient evidence that acetaminophen caused autism, and the lawsuits were dismissed.

Kenvue issued a statement Monday that I cover below.

Initially, Kenvue shares fell 7.5% in trading Monday, but rose about 5% in after-hours trading after Trump released the news.  The reason was the Department of Health and Human Services released written statements about the moves that used more tempered language than Trump’s and Kennedy’s comments.

—Micron Technologies reported fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $3.03, beating the Street’s estimate, with revenue reaching $11.3 billion, also above consensus.  The company also offered excellent guidance for the current quarter on revenue and earnings.

“We have strong momentum entering fiscal 2026, with a robust fiscal Q1 demand outlook led by data center, and the most competitive position in our history,” CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said in his prepared remarks for the earnings call.  “Over the coming years, we expect trillions of dollars to be invested in AI, and a significant portion will be spent on memory.”

The company makes memory and storage, which are important components for computers.  High-end AI chips such as those made by Nvidia, require increasing amounts of high-tech memory called high-bandwidth memory, which Micron makes.

—Spirit Airlines plans to furlough a third of its flight attendants as it seeks to cut costs in a bid to survive.

The airline, which in August filed for its second bankruptcy in a year, said on Monday that it plans to put about 1,800 of about 5,200 flight attendants on extended leave by December.  The airline had said previously that it would use the bankruptcy to retrench, cutting its fleet of planes and limiting flying to its most important markets.

“We recognize the impact of this decision on affected team members, and we are committed to treating them with care and respect during this process,” the airline said in a statement.

—Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s national carrier, has announced plans to add 225 Boeing aircraft to its fleet.  The announcement, Friday, was made a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with President Trump in the Oval Office, with Trump signaling the U.S. may soon lift its hold on the sale of advanced fighter jets to Turkey, a NATO ally.  During Trump’s first term, the U.S. removed Turkey from its flagship F-35 fighter jet program in 2019 following Ankara’s purchase of a Russian-made air defense system.

—Boeing received some good news from federal regulators, specifically the Federal Aviation Administration, which is lifting a few of its restrictions, allowing Boeing to deliver some of its newly produced aircraft to customers.

The aerospace giant is regaining authority from the FAA to perform final safety checks on its 737 MAX jets starting next week, the agency said.  FAA inspectors will remain involved in issuing so-called airworthiness certificates, which are required for each aircraft to be able to fly with passengers, while Boeing employees would regain authority to perform the safety signoffs themselves on alternating weeks.

This is an important step for Boeing after a string of crises.

—TSA checkpoint numbers vs. 2024

9/25…122 percent of 2024 levels
9/24…105
9/23…75
9/22…89
9/21…135
9/20…78
9/19…102
9/18…126

—Nvidia stock jumped nearly 4% on Monday, hitting an all-time high at one point, as the chipmaker announced it will invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI as part of a new partnership.

Nvidia said in its announcement that the partnership will allow OpenAI to deploy “at least 10 gigawatts” of compute capacity from the chipmaker’s AI systems to train and run the ChatGPT maker’s next generation of artificial intelligence models. The first phase of that compute capacity utilizing Nvidia’s latest platform (Vera Rubin) is set to come online in the second half of 2026.

AI apps are widely powered by Nvidia’s AI systems built on its GPUs, or AI chips, that fill remote data centers across the country.

The OpenAI-Nvidia deal is an ambitious undertaking for the two.  For reference, Meta’s mammoth 4 million square foot AI data center under construction in Louisiana is set to deliver about two gigawatts of compute capacity – around one fifth of the power OpenAI and Nvidia are promising to deliver.

The goal of deploying 10 gigawatts of computing power will likely require dozens of new data center clusters, which would take years to build.  And then there is the issue of how do you power them and how much water is used, this second point seldom brought up in the discussion, but it is critically important.

OpenAI has been moving to secure more AI data center capacity despite concerns over the company’s ability to grow profitably, such as the deal referenced below with Oracle.

Some people are questioning whether Nvidia is investing heavily to prop up the market and keep companies spending on its products.

“The action will clearly fuel ‘circular’ concerns,” Stacy Rasgon, an analyst with Bernstein Research, wrote in an investor note after the deal was announced.

—Oracle announced longtime chief Safra Catz is transitioning to a new role as executive vice chair.

The company announced Monday that Clay Magouyrk, president of Oracle’s cloud infrastructure business, and Oracle Industries President Mike Sicilia are now Oracle’s chief executive officers.

They are taking the reins from Catz, one of the most prominent female executives in the tech sector who became Oracle’s co-CEO in 2014 and its sole CEO in 2019.

“At this time of strength is the right moment to pass the CEO role to the next generation of capable executives,” Catz said.

Catz, who is 63, didn’t anticipate being chief executive for much longer, and the company wanted to act in a moment of strength.

The leadership shift comes less than two weeks after Oracle blew investors away with forecasts for its cloud-infrastructure revenue to climb 77% this fiscal year to $18 billion on the back of multibillion-dollar contracts that are ballooning the company’s backlog.

It also comes after Oracle said it had added $317 billion in future contract revenue from three different customers during the quarter ending Aug. 31, with OpenAI responsible for the bulk of it.

Oracle is referring to the new duo as CEOs, rather than co-CEOs.

The stock rose more than 6% Monday as the White House confirmed that the software giant is part of a consortium of investors that will control TikTok’s U.S. operations.

Oracle and Venture Private Equity firm Silver Lake are set to lead the new venture, with China-based tech giant ByteDance holding a less than 20% equity stake.

The venture will receive a copy of TikTok’s valuable content recommendation algorithm, which will be “fully inspected” and “retrained” by Oracle – the group’s security provider – on U.S. user data.  The algorithm will be regularly inspected by U.S. government officials.

“We feel [this] meets every security requirement that we need for the algorithm to make sure it’s behaving appropriately,” a senior White House official said.

Data from U.S. users would be stored in a secure cloud managed by Oracle with controls established to keep out foreign adversaries, including China, the official said.  Beijing-based ByteDance would not have access to information on TikTok’s U.S. subscribers, nor would it have any control over the algorithm in the U.S.

During his first term, Trump was a leading proponent of banning TikTok in the U.S.  Like many, he was concerned about China using the platform for spying and spreading disinformation.  Banning the popular video app, or forcing China to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations, was seen as a matter of national security.

But China refused to give American investors control of the platform and its powerful recommendation algorithm.  And so, in the spring of 2024, Congress passed a law: ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, had to sell by a certain deadline or its app would be banned.

But then Trump publicly opposed Congress’ move, as he found out during the campaign TikTok was helping him connect with young voters, and one of his biggest donors, a Wall Street financier, was a major investor in ByteDance.

Since taking office in January, Trump has issued one executive order after another to extend TikTok’s deadline.

And then Thursday afternoon, Trump signed a deal that divests the app’s U.S. operations from ByteDance.

CNBC reported earlier that Abu Dhabi-based MGX, Oracle and Silver Lake were to be the main investors in TikTok U.S. with a combined 45% ownership, citing sources.  Trump said Thursday that a list of the “sophisticated” investors taking over the app would soon be released, though he mentioned Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Fox Corporation’s Rupert Murdoch, and Michael Dell, head of Dell Technologies yesterday.

The investors will hold six of the seven seats on the board of directors which will oversee it.

China has yet to comment itself.

According to new data from Sensor Tower, TikTok had 66 million daily average U.S. users in the third quarter, putting it in fourth place among social media apps behind Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram.

So why would China so willingly give up TikTok?  Some believe it’s buying itself room to negotiate on the matters it cares about most: tariffs, technology and Taiwan.

—BYD’s sales in Europe tripled in August, a sign that customers are embracing its lineup of electric and hybrid vehicles as the Chinese auto giant continues to expand in the continent.

New-car registrations for BYD models, a reflection of sales, tripled vs. a year ago to 9,130 vehicles across the EU last month, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.  When including the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, sales more than tripled to 11,455 vehicles.

SAIC Motor, the Chinese state-owned automaker, also logged robust sales growth, with August registrations for its models jumping 59% to 12,822 vehicles in the EU, according to the ACEA.

Tesla’s European sales, on the other hand, fell 22.5% from a year ago in August to just 14,831 units, the eighth straight month of declining Tesla sales in Europe.

—Amazon has agreed to pay what the Federal Trade Commission has called a “historic” $2.5 billion settlement after it was accused of manipulating customers into getting and keeping Prime subscriptions.

The FTC filed an antitrust lawsuit against the retail giant in June of 2023, alleging that it had enrolled millions of consumers in Prime subscriptions without their consent and then made the subscriptions exceedingly difficult to cancel.

The company settled the case just as the Seattle trial was beginning.

According to court documents, some eligible customers will automatically receive up to $51 in relief, while others will have to submit a claim.

—Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show returned to ABC on Tuesday night after a tense standoff from remarks he made about the Trump administration’s response to the killing of Charlie Kirk. But about a quarter of the ABC stations in the United States didn’t air it.

Nexstar, a major owner of local ABC stations, said on Tuesday morning that it would pre-empt Kimmel’s show indefinitely. Sinclair, another owner of local affiliates, said the same on Monday evening, hours after Disney announced “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” would return, saying it would replace the show with news programming, pending further “discussions with ABC.”

Reminder, Nexstar needs the favor of the Trump administration as it tries to close a $6.2 billion merger with another TV station owner, Tegna, which requires the FCC’s approval.

Kimmel, in an 18-minute opening monologue, visibly emotional at times, recounted the support he received and echoed sentiments about the necessity for free speech.

“I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind, but I do want to make something clear, because it’s important to me as a human, and that is, you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.

“Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make. But I understand that to some that felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both, and for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset.  If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I’d have felt the same way.”

At one point, Kimmel said, “This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.”

He went on to rip FCC Chair Brendan Carr and President Trump, while agreeing with Sen. Ted Cruz’s remarks (which I note below) on a podcast saying that Carr sounded like a mobster with his threat to “do this the easy way or the hard way” in comments directed at Disney and ABC affiliates.

Kimmel concluded his monologue with a tearful acknowledgement of Erika Kirk’s speech at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, during which she forgave her husband’s accused killer.

“That is an example we should follow.  If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as I do. There it was.  That’s it.  A selfless act of grace and forgiveness from a grieving widow that touched me deeply,” Kimmel said, choking up.  “And if there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that, not this.”

Minutes before Kimmel’s show, Trump railed against ABC lifting the suspension in a post on Truth Social.

“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back.  The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE.  He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this.  Let’s see how we do.  Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative.  A true bunch of losers!  Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”

Kimmel had a record-breaking 6.3 million viewers on Tuesday, making it the most-watched regularly scheduled episode in the show’s more than 22-year history, per Variety.

It was also a 343% increase from the previous season’s average of 1.4 million viewers, according to preliminary data from Nielsen.  And this was without Nexstar and Sinclair affiliates.

Kimmel’s YouTube account clocked 14 million views in just the first 15 hours.

[I stayed up to watch it ‘live,’ and it screwed up my sleeping pattern for days after.]

Sinclair Broadcast Group this afternoon announced it is bringing Kimmel’s show back, beginning tonight.  No word on if Nexstar will follow as I go to post.

Separately, Walt Disney is raising prices for its streaming packages, with the ad-supported Disney+ increasing by 20% to $11.99 monthly.  The price adjustments go into effect Oct. 21.

This marks Disney’s fourth price increase for its streaming platform, following previous hikes in 2021, 2023, and 2024.

Foreign Affairs

Russia/Ukraine:

In his speech Tuesday to the UN General Assembly, President Trump actually criticized the European Union far more than he did China, Russia and Iran, hardly mentioning our traditional enemies.

Aside from blasting the EU for its climate and migration policies, he said the bloc had to stop buying Russian oil, even as the EU has a plan in place to wean itself off Russian oil and gas.  The thing is, the three biggest buyers of crude from the Kremlin are Hungary, Slovakia and Turkey, and he didn’t mention them, the three being supporters of Trump.

[Appearing with Turkish President Erdogan in the Oval Office, Thursday, Trump did say, ‘I would like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues this rampage against Ukraine.”]

But afterwards, the president met with Ukrainian President Zelensky and when asked by reporters if he thought NATO should shoot down Russian aircraft breaching the airspace of the likes of Poland, Estonia and Romania, Trump responded: “Yes, I do.”

Continuing to take questions, a rather surprised Zelensky sitting next to him, Trump said “the Russian economy is terrible right now…it is crashing.”

“Ukraine is doing a great job at stopping this frankly large army. It is pretty amazing,” Trump added.

“It is a war that should have ended in three days, people were saying it was going to be very quick – but you have got to hand it to the Ukrainian soldiers, and everybody involved.

“Russia doesn’t look very distinguished. Taking three-and-a-half years of very hard fighting and it looks like it is not going to end for a long time.”

Then, in a Truth Social post after meeting with Zelensky:

“After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.  With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option.  Why not? Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win.  This is not distinguishing Russia.  In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’  When the people living in Moscow, and all of the Great Cities, Towns, and Districts all throughout Russia, find out what is really going on with this War, the fact that it’s almost impossible for them to get Gasoline through the long lines that are being formed, and all of the other things that are taking place in their War Economy, where most of their money is being spent on fighting Ukraine, which has Great Spirit, and only getting better, Ukraine would be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that!  Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.  In any event, I wish both Countries well.  We will continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them.  Good luck to all!

“DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”

Trump appears to have been influenced in the past week by some of his advisers, including Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg and new ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz.  They updated him on current battlefield conditions, noting that Russia has made little progress in recent years.

But as the Wall Street Journal reported, Trump only made a rhetorical shift.  He is still restricting the use of American-made weapons to attack within sovereign Russian territory.

And Trump has so far proved unwilling to impose significant sanctions on Russia, despite his constant threats to do so, or provide the kind of surge of weapons that Ukraine would need to retake significant territory and protect its cities from Russian aerial bombardment.

“The reversal is one of analysis and not policy,” said Richard Fontaine, the chief executive of the Center for New American Security and a former aide to Senator John McCain.  “Trump is oscillating between extreme views of the situation – previously, Ukraine couldn’t win because Kyiv didn’t have the cards to play, and now it can win all of its territory back because Russia is merely ‘a paper tiger.’”

“Either view seems to minimize America’s role in the war,” concluded Fontaine, who has written extensively about strategies to help Ukraine.  “He suggests no change in U.S. policy. There is no new call for a cease-fire or peace agreement, no new sanctions, no new deadlines and no new military support for Ukraine, beyond the weapons NATO buys from the United States.” [David Sanger / New York Times]

Editorial / Wall Street Journal

“President Trump has the world’s attention with his social-media post on Tuesday that Ukraine could ‘fight and WIN’ back all of its territory. His remarks this week are his best and toughest to date on the war. But is this another stall tactic – or is the President at last ready to raise the military and economic pressure on Vladimir Putin to end his conquest?

“ ‘With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this WAR started, is very much an option,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.  He called Russia a ‘paper tiger’ in ‘BIG Economic trouble.’

“He also told reporters that he had thought Ukraine would be an easy war to mediate ‘because of my relationship with Putin. But unfortunately, that relationship didn’t mean anything.’  Asked if European allies should shoot down Russian planes that violate NATO airspace, the President offered a clear ‘Yes.’

“For the first time, Mr. Trump is articulating that a Ukrainian victory is in the West’s interests and refuting those in his circle who say Ukraine’s capitulation is inevitable…

“Yet for eight months Mr. Putin has watched Mr. Trump do nothing, and the Russian seems to have concluded that he could escalate against Ukraine and test NATO.  Mr. Trump’s Alaska summit with Mr. Putin was in retrospect a mistake, not unlike John F. Kennedy’s 1961 Vienna summit with Nikita Khrushchev that convinced the Russian he cold get away with deploying missiles in Cuba.

“It’s a deep hole for U.S. credibility, but Mr. Trump can start digging out.  Table stakes for seriousness would be asking Congress to pass Sens. Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal’s bipartisan sanctions bill that has more than 80 Senate co-sponsors….

“A paradox of the war is that U.S. support for Ukraine has degraded Russian military power but also hardened Mr. Putin’s resolve to rebuild a force that could threaten NATO’s eastern front.

“That’s one reason it’s in the U.S. interest to avoid a Ukrainian collapse, and why Americans were wise to tire of President Biden’s strategic muddle that feared Ukraine’s victory as much as its defeat.  But Mr. Trump will have to sell Ukraine more U.S. hardware that can be deployed without Pentagon micromanagement.

“Mr. Trump’s remark this week that Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky is a ‘brave man’ who is ‘putting up one hell of a fight’ is a reminder that the President doesn’t share the animus for Ukraine that some of his adviser’s hold.  First lady Melania Trump’s concern for Mr. Putin’s kidnapping of Ukrainian children has also affected the President.

“Mr. Trump doesn’t want to be dragged into a European war, and understandably so.  But that danger is far less likely if Ukraine survives as a sovereign state allied with the West.   After hardening his rhetoric, Mr. Trump will now have to harden his policy.”

In his own address to the UN General Assembly, President Zelensky cautioned more countries would be met with Russian aggression unless allies displayed a united front and ramped up support.

He said all nations were threatened by a global arms race, as military technology advances, adding that “weapons decide who survives” and called for global rules on AI.

“We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history,” he said.

Zelensky argued that “stopping Russia now” was cheaper than “wondering who will be the first to create a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead.”

A rather scary thought.

—Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack targeting regions across Ukraine early last Saturday, killing at least three people and wounding dozens more, Ukrainian officials said.

“The enemy’s target was our infrastructure, residential areas and civilian enterprises,” President Zelensky said, adding that a missile equipped with cluster munitions struck a multi-story building in the city of Dnipro.

“Each such strike is not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy by Russia to intimidate civilians and destroy our infrastructure,” he said on Telegram.

Zelensky said over the past week [week of 9/14] Russia fired more than 1,500 strike drones, 1,280 glide bombs and 50 missiles of various types at Ukraine.  More than 132,000 foreign components were found in those weapons from dozens of countries, he said.

Ukraine’s own drone attacks on Russian-controlled territory killed at least six, according to Russian officials.

—Ukraine has been successful attacking Russian oil refineries, with Russian fuel exports close to their lowest level since 2020, as Ukrainian drones have disrupted more than one million barrels of oil per day from Russia’s refining capacity, the Financial Times reported.

“Sixteen of Russia’s 38 refineries have been hit since the start of August, some of them multiple times,” the FT reported.

Israel/Gaza: A number of nations, including the UK, Australia, Canada and France said they would formally recognize a Palestinian state, a significant shift in longstanding foreign policy among Western governments and a reflection of growing global dissatisfaction with Israel after nearly two years of war in Gaza.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the various countries were making the move to recognize the long-held aspirations of the Palestinians for a state of their own and to try to breathe new life into the two-state solution to the long-running conflict. The UK government echoed the sentiment.

“We are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.  Starmer’s government months ago laid out an ultimatum, saying it would recognize Palestine unless Israel stopped the fighting in Gaza and halted the creeping annexation of land in the West Bank through the building of new settlements.  Starmer said those conditions had not been met.

The move by the British government especially is a symbolic win for the Palestinians, given that it is a longstanding ally of Israel and was instrumental in the country’s modern creation.

The announcements mark the reversal of a longstanding position among most Western allies that recognition of a Palestinian state would be dangled as a reward to Palestinians for abandoning violent confrontation with Israel as part of an eventual two-state solution.  But what was being used as a carrot for Palestinians could now be seen as a stick against an Israeli government that has grown increasingly hardline and shows little interest in a two-state deal…make that zero interest.

The Israeli government criticized the moves, saying it rewarded terrorist actions by Hamas, who still hold dozens of Israelis hostage.  The Trump administration said it is against the move.

Members of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition have said Israel should annex the occupied West Bank in response.

President Trump told White House reporters ahead of Netanyahu’s address to the UN General Assembly today: “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank… It’s not going to happen.”

Netanyahu, in his speech, then struck a defiant tone, lashing out at countries that recognized a Palestinian state this week amid the crescendo of international criticism over the country’s conduct in the war.

The prime minister accused his critics of turning against Israel under pressure from their domestic populations, rising antisemitism and a biased media.

“When the going got tough, you caved,” he said to the nearly empty room, a mass of delegates exiting just before the speech began.  “Instead of fighting the terrorists who murdered many of your citizens, you are fighting us.”

—Hamas ominously released what it called a “parting image” Saturday of the remaining 48 Israelis being held captive in Gaza (an estimated 20 of the 48 still alive), as Israel’s ground troops prepare to close in on Gaza City.

Hamas blames Netanyahu for rejecting a last-minute cease-fire and hostage deal, and Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Stagg Eyal Zamir for agreeing to carry out the prime minister’s military takeover of Gaza City – despite his own opposition.

“Because of Netanyahu’s refusal, and Zamir’s capitulation, a parting image as the military operation in Gaza City begins,” reads the text above the twisted propaganda image.

Gaza City is considered Hamas’ last remaining stronghold.

—More than 80 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, most of them in Gaza City, local hospitals said.  The Israeli military (IDF) said it struck two Hamas fighters and that the number of casualties did not align with its own information.

—At least 20 people were injured in southern Israel after the IDF said a drone was launched from Yemen. Two of the injured suffered “serious limb injuries.”

The Israeli military said the drone struck the resort town of Eilat on the Red Sea coast, with attempts made to intercept it.

The Iranian-backed Houthis claimed responsibility.

Israel then struck Yemen, killing a reported 50 people

—On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said President Donald Trump had presented a “21-point plan for peace in the Mideast and Gaza” to a group of Arab and Muslim leaders.

Witkoff gave no details about the plan but said it addressed “Israeli concerns as well as the concerns of all the neighbors in the region.”

“We’re hopeful, and I might say even confident, that in the coming days we’ll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough,” he added.

Trump and Netanyahu are meeting Monday. Trump said Thursday, “We’re getting pretty close to having a deal on Gaza, and maybe even peace.”

North Korea: A top South Korean official said Thursday that North Korea is operating a total of four uranium enrichment facilities, adding to outside assessments that it has multiple covert atomic plants along with the widely known site near the capital of Pyongyang.

Kim Jong Un has called for a rapid expansion of his country’s nuclear weapons program and recently said he would never make the arms a negotiating point in response to overtures by President Trump.

The South’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said uranium enrichment centrifuges at the four facilities – which would include the known site at Yongbyon, about 60 miles north of Pyongyang – are running everyday and stressed the urgency to stop the North’s nuclear program.

Chung did not elaborate further on the location of the other, undeclared nuclear sites.

Venezuela: President Trump posted on Truth Social Friday evening:

“On my Orders, the Secretary of War ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility.  Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans. The strike killed 3 male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel, which was in international waters.  No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike.  STOP SELLING FENTANYL, NARCOTICS, AND ILLEGAL DRUGS IN AMERICA, AND COMMITTING VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM AGAINST AMERICANS!!!”

There are more than a few legal experts questioning the legality of these strikes.  U.S. and Dominican Republic officials did reportedly pull 13 bales containing more than 370 packages of “suspected cocaine” from the waters of the Caribbean near a site where the U.S. destroyed a boat – though it wasn’t know if this is from the third strike.

Trump on Saturday….

“We want Venezuela to immediately accept all of the prisoners, and people from mental institutions, which includes the Worst in the World Insane Asylums, that Venezuelan ‘Leadership’ has forced into the United States of America.  Thousands of people have been badly hurt, and even killed, by these ‘Monsters.’  GET THEM THE HELL OUT OF OUR COUNTRY, RIGHT NOW, OR THE PRICE YOU PAY WILL BE INCALCULABLE!”

Random Musings

–Presidential approval ratings….

Gallup: New numbers…but virtually the same as the last ones…40% approve of President Trump’s job performance, while 56% disapprove (same split as before).  32% of independents approve, down from 35% (Sept. 2-16).

Rasmussen: 49% approve, 50% disapprove (Sept. 26).

A recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll had Trump’s approval rating at 43%, 56% disapproving, a slight uptick from the pollster’s last survey in April, which saw a hear-historic low approval of 39%, with a similar 55% disapproval.

The RealClearPolitics polling average stands a few points higher, with an average approval of 46% and a 52% disapproval, as of Sept. 21.

—Democrat Adelita Grijalva won the special election Tuesday in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, further narrowing the razor-thin Republican House majority. Adelita is filling the seat of her father, Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva, who died earlier in the year.

Once she is sworn in, Democrats will hold 214 seats in the House to the Republicans’ 219.  Two more special elections are scheduled for later this year to replace Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), who died on March 5, and Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), who resigned on July 20.

—In the New Jersey gubernatorial race, a new Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey had a rather shocking finding…43% of voters support Democrat Mikie Sherrill and 43% support Republican Jack Ciattarelli. Heretofore, the polls I have been quoting had the race at about 8 points for Sherrill.

Young voters, under 40, break for Sherrill by a large margin, 58-24.  Ciattarelli leads among voters over 50, 52-36.

—President Trump used the platform of the presidency Monday afternoon to promote unproven ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism without giving new evidence.  Venturing into uncertain scientific territory (yet again), he called to limit the use of Tylenol while pushing to expand access to another medication being studied as a potential therapy.

“Taking Tylenol is not good,” Trump said during a briefing at the White House.  “I’ll say it. It’s not good.”

U.S. health officials warned that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol and more than 600 other medications, should be avoided in early pregnancy except in cases of high fever – a sharp pivot in public health guidance on a medication that many major medical associations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, say is safe.  The administration said that the Food and Drug Administration would be updating the drug’s labeling and that a letter would be sent to all physicians in the country.

Trump also highlighted leucovorin – a drug used to treat the side effects of certain cancer medications – as a potential autism treatment.  Early trials involving small groups of children have shown encouraging gains in speech.

The president called the moves “historic,” but the announcement was met with sharp criticism and concern from doctors, scientists and autism advocates.

What alarms many in the scientific community is the politicized rush to present these drugs as solutions, bypassing the slow, careful work that research demands.  They warn that drawing broad conclusions from incomplete evidence isn’t just premature but reckless.  And it risks undermining the public trust that is the foundation of public health.

“It’s wild,” said Colin Killick, executive director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. “They are playing loose with facts to show the appearance of a connection rather than doing responsible science.”

Theresa Miskimen Rivera, president of the American Psychiatric Association and clinical professor of psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, expressed concern about the mixed messages reaching the public and creating anxiety.  Rivera urged individuals to talk with their doctors when deciding whether to take the medication – just as they would with any other drug.

The administration’s announcements are “very, very premature,” she said.  “When you do that it’s endangering not only physical health but mental health.”

The American Psychiatric Association’s formal statement read: “Vaccines do not cause autism. Claims of any such association have been repeatedly discredited in peer reviewed studies.

“Autism is a complex disorder, and it is incorrect to imply that a handful of studies have established causation. A strong base of evidence shows that acetaminophen, when taken as directed, is safe for use during pregnancy. Any decisions around a course of treatment should be determined by a patient and their doctor.

“Leucovorin (folinic acid) has not been a recommended treatment for autism. It will require many more years of research before we know if leucovorin is an appropriate treatment for individuals with autism.”

Trump throughout the event kept warning pregnant women to avoid taking Tylenol and to not give it to newborns, while conceding he was going further than medical advisers and scientists would support.

“This is based on what I feel,” he said in one instance.

“There’s a rumor – and I don’t know if it’s so or not – that Cuba, they don’t have Tylenol because they don’t have the money for Tylenol,” he said in another.  “And they have virtually no autism.  Okay?”

He said he was giving “a very strong recommendation” while also saying it was “maybe stronger from me than from the group because they’re waiting for certain studies.”

But he was emphatic in issuing the warning, at one point on the verge of shouting.

“Don’t take Tylenol!” Trump said.  “There’s no downside. Don’t take it!  You’ll be uncomfortable. It won’t be as easy, maybe.  But don’t take it!”

As alluded to above, Kenvue, the company that makes Tylenol, said in a statement Monday that research shows the medication does not cause autism: “The facts are that over a decade of rigorous research, endorsed by leading medical professionals and global health regulators, confirms there is no credible evidence linking acetaminophen to autism… We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers.”

Research into a potential link between Tylenol and autism has produced some conflicting findings. The largest study to date – a 2024 analysis published in JAMA that tracked siblings across Sweden – found no evidence of a connection.  Yet a comprehensive review released this August, which pooled all existing studies, did uncover a link, claiming there is a “positive association” between prenatal exposure to acetaminophen and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.  But the study’s authors also said that they “cannot establish causation for any single exposure.”  They recommended a “precautionary” approach to taking the drug.

“Patients who need fever or pain reduction during pregnancy should take the lowest effective does of acetaminophen, for the shortest possible duration,” Andrea Baccrelli, one of the authors and a professor of environmental health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a statement.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April pledged that his team would know by September “what has caused the autism epidemic” and work “to eliminate those exposures,” sparking skepticism from researchers and former officials who said a five-month timeline was unrealistic given that decades of careful study have not produced definitive answers.

But Trump ventured into other vaccine topics, urging Americans to not give the hepatitis B vaccines to babies and to “break it up” by taking different vaccines at different times – an approach that is not recommended by medical groups.

And Trump repeated debunked claims linking autism to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. This myth stems from a 1998 article by Andrew Wakefield that the journal Lancet retracted in 2010 but nonetheless continues to be popular among vaccine skeptics.

Trump suggested without evidence that people be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella separately.

He said newborn babies should not receive the hepatitis B vaccine because the virus is typically sexually transmitted so it is not necessary to vaccinate before the age of 12. However, there are other ways that hepatitis B can be spread and there are long-term health consequences to contracting it.

“I’m just making these statements from me, I’m not making them from these doctors,” he said.  “It’s too much liquid.  Too many different things are going into that baby.”

But the actual letter the Food and Drug Administration is sending to physicians on the likes of Tylenol, signed by FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, is much milder than Trump’s critique.

“In the spirit of patient safety and prudent medicine, clinicians should consider minimizing the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy for routine low-grade fevers.  This consideration should also be balanced with the fact that acetaminophen is the safest over-the-counter alternative in pregnancy among all analgesics and antipyretics.”

Today one in 31 U.S. 8-year-olds has been identified as having autism spectrum disorder, according to the most recent CDC data, up from one in 150 in 2000.

Dr. Arthur Caplan, renowned bioethicist, NYU School of Medicine, posted on X:

“The announcement on autism was the greatest display of ignorance, unfounded blather, dangerous advice, recycled nonsense and outright malpractice advice since Trump recommended bleach for Covid. A total laughingstock and embarrassment.”

But wait…there’s more!  This morning, for some unknown reason, Trump posted the following on Truth Social:

“Pregnant Women, DON’T USE TYLENOL, UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DON’T GIVE TYLENOL TO YOUR YOUNG CHILD FOR VIRTUALLY ANY REASON, BREAK UP THE MMR SHOT INTO THREE TOTALLY SEPARATE SHOTS (NOT MIXED!), TAKE CHICKEN P SHOT SEPARATELY, TAKE HEPATITAS [Ed. sic] B SHOT AT 12 YEARS OLD, OR OLDER, AND, IMPORTANTLY, TAKE VACCINE IN 5 SEPARATE MEDICAL VISITS! President DJT”

—The federal prosecutor weighing mortgage fraud claims against New York state Attorney General Leticia James should be fired, President Trump said last Friday.

“I want him out,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office in response to a question about Erik Siebert, whom he nominated to the post for the Eastern District of Virginia back in May.

Siebert had yet to be confirmed by the Senate, but Trump said he changed his mind after he learned that Democrat Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner had expressed support for him.

“When I saw that he got two senators, two gentlemen that are bad news, as far as I’m concerned, when I saw that he got approved by these two men, I said, ‘Pull him,’ because he can’t be any good,” Trump claimed.

Trump administration allies have been pushing for James to be rung up on charges that she falsified mortgage information for Virginia and New York properties – with Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin set to meet with Siebert Monday to discuss the case, according to the New York earlier Friday.

Siebert then submitted his resignation Friday evening, according to the Washington Post, moments after Trump’s comments in the Oval.

Siebert recently determined that there was insufficient evidence to pursue a mortgage fraud indictment against Leticia James, according to the Post.  Siebert also declined to prosecute former FBI director James Comey over allegations that he lied to Congress.

Siebert’s decision in the James case fueled calls for his removal among some Trump advisers, including Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency who has been targeting prominent figures who have run afoul of Trump.  But others, including Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, were lobbying the White House in his defense, according to Post reporting.

James’ attorney, Abbe Lowell, described the pressure on Siebert over the James case as “a brazen attack on the rule of law.”

“This prosecutor did exactly what justice required by following the facts and the evidence, which didn’t support charges against Attorney General James,” Lowell said in a statement.  “Firing people until he finds someone who will bend the law to carry out his revenge has been the President’s pattern – and it’s illegal.  Punishing this prosecutor, a Trump appointee, for doing his job sends a clear and chilling message that anyone who dares uphold the law over politics will face the same fate.”

Early Saturday morning (12:14 AM), President Trump posted this on Truth Social:

“Today I withdrew the Nomination of Erik Siebert as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, when I was informed that he received the UNUSUALLY STRONG support of the two absolutely terrible, sleazebag Democrat Senators, from the Great State of Virginia.  He didn’t quit, I fired him!  Next time let him go in as a Democrat, not a Republican. Thank you for your attention to this matter.  MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DJT”

Trump then appointed Lindsey Halligan, who has been serving as special assistant to the president as a member of his legal staff, to be the new U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Trump posted this Saturday evening:

“Pam Bondi is doing a GREAT JOB as Attorney General of the United States.  She is very careful, very smart, loves our Country, but needs a tough prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, like my recommendation, Lindsey Halligan, to get things moving.  What we don’t need is a Democrat Endorsed ‘Republican.’….”

An hour earlier, Trump wrote:

“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action.  Nothing is being done.  What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia???  They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.’  Then we almost put in a Democrat supported U.S. Attorney, in Virginia, with a really bad Republican past.  A Woke RINO, who was never going to do his job.  That’s why two of the worst Dem Senators PUSHED him so hard.  He even lied to the media and said he quit, and that we had no case.  No, I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so.  Lindsey Halligan is a really good lawyer, and likes you, a lot.  We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.  They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING.  JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!! President DJT”

The Senate’s Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Trump is turning the Justice Department “into an instrument that goes after his enemies, whether they’re guilty or not, and most of them are not guilty at all, and that helps his friends. This is the path to a dictatorship.  That’s what dictatorships do.”

Thursday, a federal grand jury in Virginia then formally charged former FBI Director James Comey with two offenses related to his testimony to Congress, the first FBI director to be indicted in U.S. history.

Responding to the indictment, Comey declared himself innocent and said he had “great confidence in the federal judicial system.”

Attorney General Bondi said in a statement that the indictment “reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people.”

Comey, long a target of the president, has been charged with one count of making false statements and another of obstruction of justice.

The first count relates to Comey’s telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had not “authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports” regarding his conversations with Trump over an FBI investigation into whether Russia meddled with the 2016 presidential election.

The second count alleges that Comey “did corruptly endeavor to influence, obstruct and impede” the Senate Judiciary Committee investigation by making false statements to it.

The Justice Department asked the grand jury to consider a third count of making false statements, but it could only agree that two of them were backed by enough evidence to be tried in court.

Trump posted on Truth Social:

“JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI. Today he was indicted by a Grand Jury on two felony counts for various illegal and unlawful acts. He has been so bad for our Country, for so long, and is now at the beginning of being held responsible for his crimes against our Nation.  MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Today, on his way to the Ryder Cup, Trump told reporters on the South Lawn that he expects more people whom he views as enemies to face criminal indictments.

“There’ll be others,” he said.  “I mean, they’re corrupt. These were corrupt radical left Democrats.”

—Editorial / Wall Street Journal

“Most Republicans are afraid of uttering even a syllable of disapproval about the Trump Administration, so kudos to Ted Cruz for noticing the danger from Brendan Carr’s use of regulatory threats to stifle free speech.

“The Texas Senator used his podcast to criticize Mr. Carr, who runs the Federal Communications Commission, for his threats against Disney, its ABC network and its station affiliates if they didn’t punish Jimmy Kimmel.  Disney then pulled the late-night host off the air ‘indefinitely.’

“Mr. Carr ‘says, ‘We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way,’’ Mr. Cruz told his listeners, quoting Mr. Carr.  ‘That’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’  That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have there.  It’d be a shame if something happened to it.’’

“The Senator added that he’s no fan of Mr. Kimmel, but he warned conservatives that government power abused in this way won’t hurt only the left.  ‘What [Mr. Carr] said there is dangerous as hell,’ Mr. Cruz continued.  ‘It might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it.’

“That’s exactly right.  Mr. Carr used to understand this too, and he criticized Democrats for using government power to censor conservatives when he was a commissioner in the FCC minority.  But now that he’s chairman, he follows the whims of the White House.

“In more good news, Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick backed up Mr. Cruz’s remarks on X.com on Friday evening.  ‘Agree with Senator Cruz.  Good riddance to Jimmy Kimmel and his disgusting rhetoric.  Ted also raises important concerns about the comments of the FCC chairman,’ Mr. McCormick wrote.

“These are Senators with solid conservative credentials defending an important principle of liberty that conservatives embraced before President Trump’s second term….

“As Mr. Trump and his appointees escalate their use of government to punish opponents and coerce business, Republicans will have to decide if they want to rubber stamp this misuse of regulatory and prosecutorial power.  If they do, they won’t have grounds to complain when the same screws are turned on them by the next Democratic President.”

—Editorial / Washington Post

“The most senior leaders of the U.S. government assembled Sunday in Arizona for what was essentially a Christian revival. That such an event took place in 2025 reflects the historical achievement of Charlie Kirk during his short life. Speakers honored his sense of grace and willingness to engage political adversaries on the battlefield of ideas.

“Too bad President Donald Trump didn’t live up to the moment.

“The president honored Kirk but also rambled extensively about autism, the 2020 election and Joe Biden’s mental acuity, among his other favorite topics.  The most telling moment came when Trump explained how his approach to politics differed from Kirk’s.  ‘He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them,’ Trump explained.  ‘That’s where I disagreed with Charlie.’  These kinds of comments would be the end of any other politician’s career.  Not Trump’s.

“The president allowed that neither left nor right has a ‘monopoly on disturbed or misguided people,’ but he suggested that only the left believes it has a ‘monopoly on truth.’ Trump blamed that dogmatic mentality for the murder of Kirk, but hardly modeled political tolerance in his own remarks.  As Trump put it during another digression in his speech: Those who challenge his sweeping tariffs ‘hate our country.’

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave an address that evinced genuine concern for the country’s political stratification. He noted that Americans are ‘moving into neighborhoods with other people that agree with them politically.’  Vice President JD Vance, in an improvement from his vengeful call last week to crack down on left-wing organizations, recognized that ‘for every hateful voice celebrating [Kirk’s] murder there are a thousand people mourning it.’

“The most powerful eulogy came from Kirk’s bereaved wife, Erika. She spoke about her husband’s preoccupation with young men ‘wasting their lives on distractions, and the men consumed with resentment, anger and hate.’  Her husband, she said, wanted to give those men’s lives direction and meaning, including through Christianity.  ‘He wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life,’ Kirk said.  ‘That man.  That young man.  I forgive him.  I forgive him because it was what Christ did.’

“The heartfelt grieving for Kirk highlighted the tension between Trump’s brand of hardball politics and the spirit of Christian charity that Kirk imperfectly espoused.  The young activist helped change that trajectory of American political history.  Trump’s speech wasn’t worthy of Kirk’s efforts.  But at least the event showed the possibility of a different direction under the president’s most likely successors.”

Editorial / New York Post

“The massive gathering for Charlie Kirk on Sunday was more than just a funeral – it was a message.

“A 200,000-person crowd inundated the stadium inside and out, and millions around the world watched live.  They prayed for, celebrated and mourned a man who brought them all together.  Multitudes in red, white and blue.  Yet these faithful, and Kirk himself, have been mostly disregarded by the mainstream media – or worse, slandered by it – for their Christian faith and conservative values.

“They scream, ‘We are here!’  They elect Donald Trump – twice.  They rise together in shock after Kirk’s assassination.

“Yet Democrats and the media pretend this silent majority is a minority, a fringe group.

“But that is starting to change. The near monopoly liberals have on college campuses was busted open by Kirk’s Turning Point USA. Since Democrats rule nearly all TV networks, talk shows and late night, conservatives turned to podcasts. And when Jimmy Kimmel crossed the line, it was affiliates in Middle America who pulled him, demanding an apology.

“Was Kimmel watching Sunday?  Was ABC?  Do they understand the bubble they’ve created?  Not only do they not speak to or for these people, they deny they exist.  It is unsustainable.

“Speaker after speaker said Kirk will serve as an inspiration, a beacon for the silent majority to speak up. This is not about one man, this is about a movement.

“This was the message: They can no longer be ignored.”

Editorial / Wall Street Journal…on Marco Rubio’s remarks:

“Mr. Rubio…said too many Americans ‘are moving into neighborhoods with other people that agree with them politically’ and isolating ‘themselves from people that do not agree with them.’ But Kirk ‘understood that we were not created to isolate ourselves from one another, but to engage. The irony in all this is that what our nation needs, one of the many things it needs, is the ability to discuss our differences openly, honestly, peacefully, respectfully.’

“These core principles might seem banal to an older generation.  But they need repeating now as too many voices preach that America is either a colonialist oppressor (the left) or a debased culture no longer worthy of admiration (the right).  Mr. Rubio also honored Kirk’s message, particularly to young men, that the ‘highest calling we are called to is to be in a successful marriage and to raise productive children.’

“This mix of patriotism, faith and personal responsibility linked to a larger civic revival could be a potent political message.  It’s likely to be far more effective in creating a bigger coalition than the message of retribution or grievance that animated the memorial’s low lights.  Mr. Rubio is an ambitious man who may want to inherit MAGA after President Trump exits the stage.  He could do worse than build on the pillars of his Sunday remarks.”

A shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas on Wednesday killed one person and injured two others, renewing fears over political violence in the country. The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The victims were detainees but officials said the shooter had “specifically intended to kill ICE agents,” citing a trove of writings retrieved from the 29-year-old’s home. He had been planning the attack for months.

—The Secret Service found and seized an illicit network of sophisticated equipment in the New York region that was capable of shutting down the cellular network as foreign leaders prepared to gather nearby for the annual UN General Assembly, the agency announced on Tuesday.

Officials said the anonymous communications network, which included more than 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers, could interfere with emergency response services and could be used to conduct encrypted communication.  One official said the network was capable of sending 30 million text messages per minute, anonymously.  The official said the agency had never before seen such an extensive operation.

Initial analysis of the data on some of the SIM cards has identified ties to at least one foreign nation, as well as links to criminals already known to U.S. law enforcement officials, including cartel members, Secret Service officials told reporters.

Investigators found the SIM cards and servers in August at several locations within a 35-milie radius of United Nations headquarters.

—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth late last Friday unveiled unprecedented new restrictions on building access for Pentagon reporters that prompted worries among media outlets that the policy would be used to crack down on independent reporting and limit the flow of information on military operations.

The sweeping new rules to access the building prohibit “unprofessional conduct that might serve to disrupt Pentagon operations,” as well as “attempts to improperly obtain” classified or unclassified information deemed “controlled,” according to a memo released to reporters.

Reporters who decline to agree to the terms or are found violating the rules would lose access to the building, the memo states.

“The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon – the people do,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X.  “The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules – or go home.”

Reporters would still be allowed to visit the building so long as they were accompanied by an escort and stated a reason for their visit.

Outgoing GOP Rep. Don Bacon, who is not seeking re-election, wrote on social media Saturday: “This is so dumb that I have a hard time believing it is true.  We don’t want a bunch of Pravda newspapers only touting the Government’s official position,” adding, “A free press makes our country better. This sounds like more amateur hour.”

The National Press Club, in its statement, said: “If the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reporting.  It is getting only what officials want them to see.  That should alarm every American.”

Back in February, Sec. Hegseth wrote in a social media post: “This will be the most transparent administration ever.”

President Trump seemed to break with the Pentagon on the issue. Responding to a question from reporters, “Should the Pentagon be part of deciding what reporters can report on?  No, I don’t think so. But nothing stops reporters, you know that.”

This week, Hegseth ordered hundreds of the U.S. military’s generals and admirals to gather on short notice next Tuesday at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia.  No reason was given for the rare and urgent meeting, which is scheduled as a government shutdown looms.

One U.S. official told the Washington Post, “All of it is weird.  Are we taking every general and flag officer out of the Pacific right now?”

There are about 800 general-level officers in the armed forces, including 44 at the most senior, four-star level.  In May, Hegseth ordered a 20 percent reduction in four-star officers, continuing the broad job reductions and firings that have marked the first several months of his tenure.

As an aside, Hegseth hasn’t given a press conference in three months.

—Trump on Truth Social:

“If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!! President DJT”

The Taliban then rejected Trump’s desire to retake Bagram.  The group’s deputy spokesman posted a rebuttal on social media Sunday, reminding White House officials, “It is worth recalling that the Doha Agreement clearly stipulated the United States’ commitment ‘to refrain from the use of force or threat against the territorial integrity and political independence of Afghanistan, and non-interference in its internal affairs,’ and therefore, they are obligated to fully adhere to these commitments.”

It was Trump that ordered that agreement signed in Doha, which was finalized in the final year of his first term in office.

—As reported by the Wall Street Journal:

“The Trump administration is canceling an annual government effort to gather data on how many Americans struggle to get enough food.

“The data, which is collected each December and analyzed by the U.S. Agriculture Department, measures food insecurity across states and demographic groups.

“The data has been collected every year since the mid-1990s, and is widely used by federal, state and local policymakers to make funding decisions for food-assistance programs, and to evaluate how well those programs work….

“Employees inside the USDA as well as economists outside the agency who work closely with the data reacted with shock and anger as word spread about the cancellation….

“Lindsey Smith Taillie, professor in the nutrition department at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, said without the study, the nation would have no real compass on a key health indicator for Americans.

“ ‘Why would you not want to measure it?’ she said. ‘I think the only reason why you wouldn’t measure it is if you were planning to cut food assistance, because it basically allows you to pretend like we don’t have this food insecurity problem.’”

—A man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump last year at his Florida golf course was found guilty on Tuesday.

The jury of five men and seven women found Ryan Routh guilty on all counts that he was facing after two hours of deliberation.

After the verdict was read, Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen.

—NASA has said it hopes to send astronauts on a ten-day trip around the Moon as soon as February.  The space agency had previously committed to launching no later than the end of April but said it aims to bring the mission forward.

It’s been 50 years since any country has flown a crewed lunar mission.  NASA will send four astronauts there and back to test systems.

The Artemis II mission is the second launch of the Artemis program, whose aim is to land astronauts there and back to test systems.

Lakiesha Hawkins, NASA’s acting deputy associate administrator, said it would be an important moment in the human exploration of space.

“The launch window could open as early as the fifth of February, but we want to emphasize that safety is our top priority.”

Artemis Launch Director, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson explained that the powerful rocket system built to take the astronauts to the Moon, the Space Launch System (SLS) was “pretty much stacked and ready to go.”

All that remained was to complete the crew capsule, called Orion, connected to SLS and to complete ground tests.

The first Artemis mission lasted 25 days and saw the launch of an uncrewed spacecraft in November 2022.  It saw a spacecraft travel around the Moon and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

—Hong Kong faced the most dangerous storm, Super Typhoon Ragasa, it has seen in decades on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Hong Kong Observatory forecast hurricane-force winds with speeds of 230km/h (143mph) and thunderstorms. [Winds in the storm overall peaked at 165mph.]

Residents from low-lying areas, facing a storm surge in the harbor of 15 feet or more, frantically moved their cars to higher ground.

At least 700 flights were due to be cancelled from Tuesday evening on.  Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways said it cancelled 500 flights.  All schools were cancelled Tuesday and Wednesday.

The death toll then started to rise, some 17 in Taiwan, scores missing, after a mountain lake burst, creating a “tsunami from the mountains,” as local officials described it.  Ten died in the Philippines.

But the typhoon didn’t end up hitting Hong Kong directly, though 90 people were injured along the coast.  Wind gusts were clocked at 150 mph, waves taller than lampposts crashing onto the promenades.

Nearly 1.9 million people were relocated across Guangdong province, the southern Chinese economic powerhouse.

—The Atlantic basin is finally heating up so Weather Channel viewership will pick up over the weekend.

—

Pray for the men and women of our armed forces…and all the fallen.

Slava Ukraini.

God bless America.

—

Gold $3804…more record highs….
Oil $65.50

Bitcoin: $109,266 [4:00 PM ET, Friday…down about $6,000 on the week]

Regular Gas: $3.14; Diesel: $3.68 [$3.22 – $3.58 yr. ago]

Returns for the week 9/22-9/26

Dow Jones  -0.2%  [46247]
S&P 500  -0.3%  [6643]
S&P MidCap  -0.5%
Russell 2000  -0.6%
Nasdaq  -0.7%  [22484]

Returns for the period 1/1/25-9/26/25

Dow Jones  +8.7%
S&P 500  +13.0%
S&P MidCap  +4.7%
Russell 2000  +9.1%
Nasdaq  +16.4%

Bulls 58.5
Bears 17.0…unchanged a third straight week.

Hang in there.  Golf fans…enjoy the Ryder Cup.  Baseball fans…tremendous final weekend for those whose teams are in the playoff chase. Good luck.  Go Mets!

Brian Trumbore