Kitchen Briefs - August 19, 2026 PM

• The UK is calling on Israel to ensure significantly more aid to Gaza
• Bahrain, Jordan and the UK have condemned Israeli attacks on Syria’s air base
• Senator Chris Van Hollen says Israeli forces must be held accountable for 500 war crimes in Gaza
• At least 3 more people have been killed by Israeli explosives in southern Lebanon
• Trump says the US might resume talks with Iran maybe at some point but right now the situation is so good
• Trump decided to show the press his new grass and a stone that even a hammer can’t break
• The US debut hit $40T and happened sooner than expected
• Eliza Orlins shared today that $68.3M is being spent on the Freedom 250 IndyCar race around the National Mall this weekend
• GreenWise Organic Frozen blueberries have been recalled for potential e.Coli
• Harry and Megan have moved back to Britain this month
• Moderna has announced initial results from an mRNA cancer vaccine stopped melanoma from returning

Kitchen Briefs - August 19, 2026 AM

• Israeli military is claiming attacks overnight in Gaza City killing 9 including the women’s police chief. Hamas is calling it a war crime
• Two men have been killed in Lebanon by an explosion of munition that Israeli forces left behind
• The Israeli Army has ordered a criminal investigation into the killing of a 5 year old Palestinian girl in Gaza along with her family and 15 paramedics but said it would not launch investigations into the attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors without Borders
• 47 Palestinian families which is over 300 people face imminent displacement from their homes in Jordan Valley due to Israeli forces and settlers severing their water pipes
• The US has sanctioned the International Criminal Court President and a Senior Prosecution Lawyer claiming it’s to protect Americans but the ICC has never charged a single American citizen. The ICC is currently looking at potential Israeli war crimes in Gaza
• Trump is pausing his 50% tariffs on Canada for 3 days on $20B worth of Canadian imports just hours before they were to go in effect
• Senator Darline Graham, said in a debate that she’s not that informed on national security
• Natalie Harp’s brother is now speaking out and seems not to be a fan of her relationship with Trump
• It was voting day yesterday and Trump mailed in his ballot
• The new White House helipad isn't just for helicopters. It's for cocktail parties too!

Kitchen Briefs - August 18, 2026 PM

• This morning I shared that the UAE had detected incoming missiles. They were two ballistic missiles that targeted maritime navigation and fell into the sea launched from Iran. Iran’s foreign ministry is dismissing the accusation as baseless
• The UAE has announced that all trade, commercial exchange and financial transactions with Iran have been halted until further notice
• At least 7 Palestinians including a child have been killed in an Israeli air attack west of Gaza City and Israel says they were targeting Hamas commanders
• Israel says their attack on Syria today was because Syria was on the verge of permitting Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase so they decided to return to the status quo
• Palm Beach County Clerk of Court Michael Caruso was arrested this morning and charged with 5 felonies including kidnapping, enticing or luring a child and child abuse involving a family member who was under 12 at the time. He was immediately suspended from office by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
• The administration has decided to move ahead with plans to rescind a quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging, road building and other development on national forest lands
• The Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison is suing the governor of Texas, Ken Paxton seeking to compel the extradition of ICE agent Christian Castro who fired a gun through the front door of a home injuring a man and then accused him of trying to attack Castro and another agent with a broom handle and snow shovel
• The Justice Department is trying to revive criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia
• ICE officers arrested a minor league coach for the San Diego Padres after arriving in Texas for work. Oswaldo Pirela has lived in the US for 12 years and applied for asylum in 2015. He is married to an American citizen and has two children. According to DHS he came to the US legally in 2014 and was granted permission to stay until 2018 and that his work authorization and pending application do not confer legal status
• Outshine Popsicles are now being recalled for glass and Oma’s Pride dog food has been recalled for salmonella
• Trump posted on Truth Social claiming that the census bureau has uncovered 24,000 noncitizens voted illegally and this helps prove he won the election
• Construction on the White House Thomas Jefferson columns has been completed and Trump says it turned out beautifully
• The University of Miami gave RFK Jr its original 1994 Ibogaine investigational new drug application which could help the FDA fast track the psychedelic's approval

Kitchen Briefs - August 18, 2026 AM

• Trump posted on Truth Social an image of the Strait of Hormuz with a circle and the title of New U.S. Territory. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson called him delusional
• Iran claims the US is begging to talk and and accused Israel of doing everything it could to sabotage and prevent the original memorandum of understanding from happening.
• The IRGC deputy commander said today that the enemy which would be the US is in a state of helplessness and does not know what to do
• Israel struck an airbase in Syria 8 times and US ambassador Tom Barrack is deeply concerned over the escalation
• Netanyahu inaugurated a major road named after him in the West Bank. Netanyahu Road is part of the Israeli government plan to construct 12,000 new units in occupied Palestine
• The UAE’s defense ministry has just posted that systems are detecting a missile threat and are telling citizens to seek shelter
• South Korea’s president is pushing to reclaim wartime operational control of the country’s military from the US and accelerate its nuclear-powered submarine program
• Russia isn’t happy with the UK as the Ukraine is using British made drones in it’s deep strike campaign
• The USS Benfold lost power for 4 days in the South China Sea rendering their generators inoperable and the crew without toilets, air conditioning or adequate water
• Disney is suing the FCC over its retaliatory campaign against ABC
• Google is buying all of Spirit Airlines’ data to feed its AI models
• OpenAI is launching a new ChatGPT for teens promising a more age-appropriate chatbot
• I read a story last night about 404 Media placing a tracking device inside of a rare book to see where it would end up. It went to an Amazon warehouse facility in Las Vegas where employees claim their receive massive shipments of printed books which they cut the bindings off of in order to scan the books more quickly. If you can today, buy a book, gift a book, read a book

Kitchen Briefs - August 17, 2026 PM

• Iranian forces have detained at least 2 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank after searching 100 buildings interrogating Palestinians on suspicion of planning attacks
• Israeli troops have stormed a rehabilitation hospital in Bethlehem in the West Bank
• Jared Kushner wrapped up his talks and went on Fox News saying if Hamas voluntarily surrenders its weapons and tunnels in the next 60 to 90 days, it will mean the removal of a major security threat and a win-win for Israel
• Senator Jon Ossoff made a comment over the weekend about how all Trump really cares about is his ballroom and flying around with his aide Natalie on the defense Qatari gifted jet
• Natalie Harp a mic said we won the 2020 election. We shouldn’t be afraid to say it because it’s true
• Trump is calling the news about the USS Abraham Lincoln fake news
• Bulldozing in Big Bend National Park has been paused so the head of CBP can do an on the ground evaluation
• Luigi’s state murder trial has been postponed indefinitely due to a double jeopardy fight
• Walmart tomato soup kits have been recalled due to Listeria
• A record number of kindergartners missed their required vaccines last year as the executive order takes aim at state mandates
• ICE is trying to lure local police officers into helping them by pitch legal insurance from possible financial consequences if they’re accused of on-duty misconduct
• Congressman Jimmy Gomez is being investigated by the House Ethics committee for alleged sexual misconduct with a staffer
• Thank you to John and Carol who over the weekend saw my obvious need for liquid sanity and more coffee!

Kitchen Briefs - August 17, 2026 AM

• Trump says Iran should wave the white flag but that he has no timeline and isn’t in any hurry
• Trump has decided to scale back military drills in South Korea
• The Houthis are claiming an attack on Saudi vessels in the Red Sea
• At least 5 more Palestinians have been killed and 18 injured in new Israeli attacks on the Gaza strip
• Russia and Ukraine continue to trade more strikes
• According to Trump vandals have struck again. This time there are large patches of grass that is dead on the National Mall near the WWII memorial which is the exact same spot as the the big stage and crows were for the Freedom 250 July 4th celebration
• Bulldozing continues at Big Bend National Park to make way Trump’s wall
• Attorney General Todd Blanche was on Meet the Press yesterday and when asked if he would act independently of the White House, he said no
• The Supreme Court just declined for a second time to hear from Trump on overturning the verdict that awarded E. Jean Carroll $5M
• Lake Powell hit a record low just a week after Lake Mead also hit a historic low last week. This elevates the ongoing crisis of the Colorado River system since it’s a key resource for wildlife, hydropower and more than 40 million people in 7 states
• World Liberty Financial, the crypto company owned by Trump and his family is collaborating with Hong Kong based WorldClaw to provide access to Chinese artificial intelligence models flagged by Washington for security risks
• Actress Hayden Panettiere has died at the age of 36

Kitchen Briefs - August 16, 2026

• The death toll in Lebanon due to Israeli invasion since March 2nd is at 4,346 and includes men, women, children and medical workers
• Jared Kushner has arrived in Egypt to meet with Hamas and discuss a peace plan before he heads off to meet with Netanyahu
• Iran has placed a $30,000 bounty for any Iranian who kills or captures an American soldier
• Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has become the longest and most expensive war at $142B
• Israeli drone attacks in Gaza have killed another 7
• Israel’s National Security Minister Ben-Gvir made a podcast appearance and publicly advocated for killing 30 to 40 in Gaza nightly
• Russia says Ukraine launched the largest scale attack of 2026 and Russia is also striking Ukraine
• In Hawaii, 1 person is dead and more than 130,000 are out of power due to what was Hurricane Lala which has been downgraded to a tropical storm
• Police arrested a 19 year old in the shooting at Virginia State University
• The Justice Department issued a legal opinion granting U.S. military personnel broader powers to detain migrants accused of trespassing near designated National Defense Areas at the U.S.-Mexico border
• Trump is posting on Truth Social more AI images of him and George Washington

Kitchen Briefs - August 15, 2026

• Iran says the waterway blockade will continue until the US accepts defeat
• At least 11 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon
• Israel is accusing Hezbollah of deliberately placing civilians in harm's way after they attacked Lebanon and are continuing to attack Lebanon right now
• A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia killing 47 people
• 5 people have been injured in a shooting at Virginia State University where multiple suspects were involved
• The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency which was appointed by Trump conditionally approved a federal trust bank charter for World Liberty Trust Co., the crypto company that Trump and his family own a 38% stake in and whose chairman is Steve Witkoff’s son
• Trump doesn’t really like the location of the “island,” the multistory command tower on its newest Ford-class aircraft carriers, so the navy is considering moving them back toward the middle of the ship like they had in World War II
• Trump yesterday went on and on at law and order rally in New York about the young and beautiful, young and gorgeous girls come up to him at the white house to thank him for what he’s done with DC law enforcement
• And at this moment, Trump’s posting to Truth Social
• So on that note, thank you to Cheryl for supplying me with wine tonight

Kitchen Briefs - August 14, 2026 PM

• Trump said today that pretty soon he’ll declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory. Iran's deputy foreign minister responded and said the strait cannot be seized by tweet.
• Trump said that gas is at $4 and he’ll never apologize
• Trump also said the USS Lincoln deployment was not nearly long enough
• An air traffic controller in Phoenix acted quickly when he heard two American Airlines flights with the same flight number which could have caused them to both fly at the same altitude with one arriving and one departing
• Homicides in the US dropped 18.1% in 2025 making it the lowest rate since 1956
• Tropical Storm Lala is expected to strengthen to a hurricane before reaching Hawaii’s Big Island this weekend

Kitchen Briefs - August 14, 2026 AM

• Treasury Secretary Bessent says the US will apply economic measures against Iran that have never been seen before
• Iranian forces say they intercepted a MQ-9 drone
• An Iranian cleric says the US failed to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities which has humiliated America and will continue to do so
• Two more Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli military gunfire leaving one in critical condition
• France is calling on Israel to arrest settlers occupying Palestinian homes
• Unprecedented rain in Japan has killed 8 people
• Trump is asking the Supreme Court to let him build his ballroom citing national security needs and architectural values
• Trump now believes he’s an expert on aircraft carriers and has ordered the Navy to return to an older system of launching jets off of them because he prefers it
• Luigi has pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges
• Melissa L. Farris has been arrested and faces 2 federal charges for vandalizing the WWII memorial in Washington DC. Farris had spray painted “Clean Hands Dirty $” and put foam in the fountain