Good morning, everyone. This afternoon at 2 PM, Donald Trump will make a major announcement concerning the Department of Defense — and I’ll be going live with Katie Couric at the same time as well. You won’t want to miss it.
But first, I need to say something important.
I will never lie to you. I will never peddle conspiracies for clicks. Over the past few days, I’ve seen wild rumors spread — claims about Trump’s health, supposed road closures at Walter Reed, even talk of stunt doubles. None of it backed by facts. Too many people with big platforms are cashing in on fear and speculation.
That’s not me. That’s not us. My reporting has one standard: the truth. Are there legitimate questions about Trump’s health and leadership? Absolutely. And I’ll keep asking them, relentlessly. But what I will never do is manufacture conspiracy theories to get attention. You can count on that — always.
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We are just getting started. Join us. With that, here’s the news:
Donald Trump will make an “announcement” at 2pm ET related to the Department of Defense, while also posting on Truth Social that Chicago is “the worst and most dangerous city” and promising to solve its crime problem quickly, as he claimed to have done in DC, taking aim at Governor JB Pritzker for needing “help badly.” This will be the first time Trump is seen publicly speaking with the press or the public in one week since the lengthy cabinet meeting last Tuesday. This comes amid speculation over Trump’s health.
At Labor Day rallies across the US, Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson denounced the Trump administration’s threat to deploy federal troops, declaring “No federal troops in the city of Chicago” at a “Workers over Billionaires” demonstration, where crowds chanted “No troops in Chicago” and “Invest in Chicago” amid wider nationwide protests demanding stronger social safety nets and protections for workers.
Congress returned from its summer break with less than a month to prevent a government shutdown by 30 September, as partisan tensions run high over funding disputes, Trump administration attempts to block billions in previously approved spending, and looming battles on Senate rules and House investigations—leaving uncertainty over whether Republicans and Democrats can agree on a stopgap measure to keep the government open.
Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna will hold a news conference with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse, seeking support for a discharge petition to force a House vote on releasing the Epstein files, as congressional fallout from the scandal intensifies. I will be there covering it live.
Russian president Vladimir Putin hailed ties with China as at their “highest level in history” during talks with Xi Jinping in Beijing, where they showcased unity alongside North Korea’s Kim Jong Un ahead of a massive military parade, while also signing new energy deals, deepening regional cooperation, and signaling opposition to US global dominance.
China will hold a massive “Victory Day” military parade in Beijing, showcasing new domestically made weaponry and its growing military power under Xi Jinping, with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un in attendance as a display of unity against the West, amid regional tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
A 6.0-magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan has killed more than 1,400 people and injured over 3,000, destroying thousands of homes and triggering landslides that block rescuers from reaching remote mountain villages, as the Taliban appeals for international aid despite limited recognition and strained humanitarian funding.
Representative Jerry Nadler, a Manhattan Democrat who played key roles in both impeachments of Donald Trump, announced he will not seek re-election in 2026 after 34 years in Congress, saying at 78 it is time for a younger generation of Democrats to lead, citing lessons from President Biden’s 2024 campaign exit over age concerns.
Donald Trump announced he will award Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom, praising him as “the greatest Mayor in the history of New York City” just days after Giuliani was seriously injured in a car crash, despite the former mayor’s later fall from grace through disbarment, criminal charges, and defamation judgments tied to his role in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
A former US army sergeant and Afghanistan veteran, Bajun Mavalwalla II, was arrested more than a month after a June protest against ICE in Spokane, Washington, and charged with “conspiracy to impede or injure officers”, raising alarms among legal experts and fellow veterans who view the case as an escalation against First Amendment rights, especially given his combat service, top-secret clearance, and recent plans to settle into a new home with his partner.
Missouri Republicans are set to redraw the state’s congressional map in a special legislative session starting Wednesday, called by Governor Mike Kehoe, as part of efforts to secure and maintain the party’s House majority.
Nine former CDC officials warned that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership of the US health and human services department is “unlike anything our country has ever experienced,” calling it “unacceptable” and a cause for alarm across political lines.
Guatemala’s president said the country is prepared to receive about 150 unaccompanied children weekly from the US, following a federal judge’s decision halting the deportation of 10 Guatemalan children who had already boarded a plane before being returned to US custody.
Woody Allen said he was impressed by Donald Trump’s acting in the 1998 film Celebrity, praising him as polite, professional, charismatic, and a “very good actor” with a flair for show business, adding on Bill Maher’s Club Random that he could “do wonders” directing Trump again, though he was surprised Trump chose politics over entertainment.
Gaza news:
Belgium’s foreign minister Maxime Prévot announced the country will recognize a Palestinian state at the UN general assembly later this month, citing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israeli violations of international law, joining nations like Australia, Britain, Canada, and France in increasing international pressure on Israel amid mounting accusations of genocide, war crimes, and collective punishment.
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan criticized the US decision to revoke visas for Palestinian officials and bar them from the UN General Assembly in New York, urging Washington to urgently reverse course, saying the move undermines the UN’s purpose and “would only please Israel,” while calling on the US to stop Israel’s “massacres” and “cruelty.”
Israeli president Isaac Herzog will visit the Vatican on Thursday to meet Pope Leo XIV, who has criticized Israel’s “collective punishment” in Gaza, with talks expected to focus on hostages, antisemitism, protection of Middle Eastern Christian communities, and broader political issues, alongside meetings with Cardinal Pietro Parolin and a tour of the Vatican Archives and Library.
Good news:
A Denver neurosurgeon performed a rare, high-risk surgery that gave former paramedic Russell McKeehan, paralyzed for years after multiple accidents, the chance to walk his daughter down the aisle at her upcoming wedding, with doctors praising his extraordinary determination and recovery progress.
Scientists at the University of Life Sciences in Poznań are developing the world’s first goat-inspired forestry robot, designed to navigate steep terrain like an Alpine chamois while performing tasks such as tree inventories, species counts, tick collection, and even archaeological surveying, with the first prototype expected by 2026 and a full model before 2030.