Kitchen Briefs - July 26, 2026

• Iranian media is saying a tanker exploded after hitting a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz
• Israel says they have killed the Hamas drone commander
• Trump has decided to pause strikes to allow for diplomacy
• One woman has died and 29 were injured when a van drove into a crowd and the man then started stabbing people with a machete at the Berlin Pride parade in Germany. Authorities are saying it was an Islamic terrorist attack by a German citizen with Lebanese roots whom they’ve now shot and killed
• Ukraine has attacked an Iranian tanker in the Caspian Sea and Iran says it was done at Israel’s behest
• Brazil has denied visas to two US State Department officials who were planning on questioning the country's election system
• Russia took some satellite footage of US bases in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait on July 19 and 20th and gave the photos to Iran to plan strikes and then assess damage
• Seattle police are looking for 2 men who parachuted from the Space Needle
• The OpenAI agent that somehow crawled out of its sandbox also left notes for future versions of itself with instructions on how to break free
• The White House quietly updated their website this weekend re-adding the four service members who were killed last week and also adding 140 to the wounded list
• Katy Perry is expressing outrage over her song Firework being used in a White House tiktok video of the US striking Iran
• Trump's posting all kinds of AI images to Lies Social including fake images of attacks on Iranian facilities and a number of images of him wearing 2028 hats

Kitchen Briefs - July 25, 2026

• The Houthis are escalating attacks in Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil facilities, calling them the bread and butter of Saudi Arabia
• Israel has launched an artillery attack on southern Lebanon
• An Israeli attack on a family home in Gaza has killed at least 2 more Palestinians including the head of the Hamas-led police and a medic
• Iraq air defences have shot down a drone near the US consulate in Erbil and have also fired tear gas at journalists in the Occupied west bank
• Iran says they sold $18B worth of oil during the war and so-called ceasefire with the US
• The IRGC is claiming to have destroyed 17 reconnaissance and operational drones, one F-15 fighter jet inside a hangar, one P-8 aircraft, one C-17 transport aircraft and 8 refuelling aircraft were also destroyed at bases throughout the region
• There are now over 270,000 people displaced due to wildfires in France and Spain
• Those who went to the White House Correspondent’s do over dinner last night were treated to an hour long rambling from Trump
• The award for courage went to the three journalists from the Wall Street Journal who investigated the Epstein birthday card from Trump
• When asked about LeBron vs Michael Jordan, Trump referred to Jordan as a friend whom he plays golf with and then said LeBron might be a racist
• Trump has ordered warning signs to be posted outside of the Smithsonian that say “inaccurate information presented in the Museum.”
• Maine Democrats have officially picked Troy Jackson to replace Graham Platner
• Meta has quit the clean energy pledge
• Good news for today that I discovered thanks to V of Under the Desk News is that a new species of monkey has been discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Kitchen Briefs - July 24, 2026 PM

• Trump is now saying the massive attack on Iran that he was toying with this week might not be necessary after all
• Iran has vowed to kill one member of the US forces for every Iranian killed
• Trump claims he has been promised by China and Russia that they will not, under any circumstances give or sell weapons to Iran
• Sirens are currently going off in Bahrain and citizens are being told to remain calm and find a safe place
• The US Embassy in Jerusalem has advised US citizens to stay alert, be prepared and the possibility of flight cancellations
• 10 people were killed in a Russian attack on a drone exhibition near Kyiv
• More than 140,000 people have been evacuated in France and Spain due to wildfires. Regional emergency crews say extinguishing the fires is beyond the capacity of the fire crews
• The DOJ is suing Milwaukee over their mask ban for federal agents
• Trump wants to investigate EU trade practices for what he’s calling unethical fines on Google and Apple
• Paramount has agreed to pause the Warner Brothers deal while the case plays out
• LeBron James is heading to the Philadelphia 76ers in what he says will be his final contract in the NBA
• The Los Angeles Dodgers kissed the ring yesterday and visited Trump
• The measles has just reached a 35 year high with over 2300 confirmed cases
• In good news, Christopher Hellenthal of Jonesboro, Arkansas helped a man in a wheelchair cross the road while dressed as superman

Kitchen Briefs - July 24, 2026 AM

• Netanyahu is coming to Washington on Tuesday to see Trump
• Iran is attacking the US military base in Jordan and missiles are being intercepted in Bahrain. Here’s what Iran’s army has claimed they’ve done but is not confirmed: in Kuwait, projectiles hit a base used by the US and destroyed an ammunition depot and inflicted casualties among US personnel. In Bahrain, they targeted Amazon’s data center. In Jordan, drone strikes on several US army base facilities including maintenance and accommodation. In Iraq, a drone crash near the airport. US strikes in Iran has killed 4 and injured over a dozen people
• Israel continues to attack in the West Bank
• The Pentagon has removed the names of 4 fallen service members as part of the casualty count for the war in Iran because they say it happened after Trump called for a ceasefire. The count is 18
• Colt Gray, the 16 year old responsible for the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting that killed two students and two teachers and wounded several others is expected to enter a non-negotiated plea today
• Parsley and cilantro have now been linked to the Cyclospora outbreak
• Tonight the White House Correspondent’s dinner will have it’s do over and of course Trump will be in attendance
• Thank you to Diane for providing me with both coffee and wine today!

Kitchen Briefs - July 23, 2026 PM

• Trump says he’s considering a massive attack on Iran
• Marco Rubio is saying that Iran is begging for a deal
• An advisor to Iran’s supreme leader says the threats from Trump to hit civilian infrastructure is proof of how desperate he is
• Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker is literally mocking the US online
• Trump just posted on Truth Social that the US will use Iranian money in its possession to pay for any damages to ships and cargo
• An Israeli air strike on Gaza City has killed at least 2 people
• Trump announced today that the US will impose 10-12.5% tariffs on dozens of countries as his 10% levies are set to expire Friday
• The man who killed Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, their dog and wounded Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette was sentenced today to two life terms plus 40 years in prison
• 2 people have died in West Virginia due to flash floods
• Laura Loomer went to Ukraine and met with Zelensky and has now reversed her long held pro Kremlin stance on the war
• The DOJ is saying they’re going to withdraw the subpoenas targeting New York Times reporters after admitting legal errors
• The administration and Secretary Duffy is requesting $8B to rehab Penn Station
• Trump announced today that 23 governors have signed his Ratepayer Protection Pledge to shield consumers from data center utility costs
• The Department of Education will no longer treat policies that disproportionately harm one group of students as discriminatory unless the discrimination is intentional
• This week the American Heart Association published a new scientific statement reporting that consuming up to 5 cups of coffee daily is safe for most

Kitchen Briefs - July 23, 2026 AM

• The House just voted and narrowly passed another War Powers Resolution
• The US struck a crossing on the border of Iran and Iraq which was filled with religious travelers killing 2 and wounding 11
• The Houthis are attacking Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and Qatar is calling the actions a serious violation of international law
• Iraq and Iran leaders are meeting and are pledging to have closer ties
• Turns out the nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia comes with the condition of them joining the Abraham Accords
• In Gaza there’s now an outbreak of chickenpox
• The Israeli military is saying two “terrorists” stabbed an Israeli civilian near an illegal settlement who were then neutralized by another civilian
• Israeli forces continue to push further into Lebanon carrying out explosions, drone strikes and ground incursions
• Oil prices have hit $100 a barrel
• Trump campaigned yesterday for the Georgia Governor GOP nominee Rick Jackson
• There’s a new Cyclospora outbreak
• The United States Navy says it will no longer release sailors’ service histories citing increased security threats and harassment concerns
• Norway is set to make a formal complaint to FIFA over the red card saga
• Elon and Bezos are wanting to put millions of data centers into space

Kitchen Briefs - July 22, 2026 PM

• The US has launched a new set of strikes against Iran
• Kuwait is currently intercepting a drone attack by Iran
• Another Israeli drone strike has killed a person in Gaza
• The final vote for the NDAA passed in the House today and heads to the Senate
• The NDAA bill also included $1.15T in military spending
• Also included in the bill was the official renaming of the Department of Defense to the Department of War
• Speaker Mike Johnson has combined the Stop Insider Trading Act with the Save America Act into one bill
• U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes is asking why is testosterone replacement therapy ok but there’s a ban on transgender troops
• Trump went to Dover for the dignified transfer of our four fallen soldiers and told reporters that the four deceased servicemembers supported his position
• Israel has been inspired by the US and changed wildlife rules around crocodiles
• In Madison, Wisconsin today there was a police involved shooting where an officer shot a man 3 times in the head
• Big thank you’s this afternoon go out to Sharon and Betty for the coffee!

Kitchen Briefs - July 22, 2026 AM

• Trump told reporters that we are all not thrilled with high gas prices but we aren’t against the war
• Trump is flying this morning to attend the dignified transfer of four of our fallen soldiers. The Pentagon named 28 year old Sgt Angel Rampersad of New York as who they believe is the fourth servicemember to die by Iranian strikes on a military base in Jordan
• Trump says for any ship shot at in the Strait, the US will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant that is next to or in Tehran
• Trump said it’s been hard to negotiate with Iran while little Marco Rubio called Iran the troublemaker of the region
• Trump has just given his blessing for Saudi Arabia to have its own nuclear program
• Hamas has elected a new leader, Khalil al-Hayya who delivered his first statement today vowing to lift the harm and pain from the people of Gaza
• OpenAI is reporting that without human prompting, the artificial intelligence models independently stole login credentials and hacked into another startup company
• Oil is now at $94/barrel
• Yesterday the House passed a stopgap funding bill to avoid a government shutdown months in advance
• Modeling scout Daniel Siad whose name appears thousands of times in the Epstein files was found dead this morning in Paris
• Warren Hudson who was one of the friends of Nolan Wells and was with him the day he died chose to break his silence by going on a podcast
• Cyclospora has now been reported in 41 states
• The wreckage of a Pan Am DC-4 that went down in the waters off of Puerto Rico on April 11, 1952 has been found on the bottom of the ocean. It was this flight that changed aviation safety with passenger briefings and protocols

Kitchen Briefs - July 21, 2026 PM

• Trump is now threatening to attack the reportedly new Iranian nuclear site very heavily
• Trump posted to Lies Social today stats about the length of various wars and how many deaths there were
• What has this war cost you and I? According to Secretary Hegseth’s testimony today, it’s currently at $37.5B and he needs another $67B
• The Lebanese president met with Trump today and told him he needs Israel to leave Lebanon
• The IRGC claims they destroyed radar systems in Kuwait
• Kuwaitis are rationing electricity since their power grid was hit by an Iranian strike
• Yemen’s Houthis have declared a blockade of Saudi Arabia which has the potential to wide the war in Iran
• Speaker Mike Johnson says he wants more restrictions on relationships between lawmakers and staff
• The Senate Intelligence Committee voted 9-8 today to advance Jay Clayton as the nominee for Director of National Intelligence
• In New Jersey it was announced that the motor vehicle commission software glitched and around 6600 non-us citizens were registered to vote between 2023 and 2024
• The DOJ who can’t be bothered with releasing the Epstein files is now accusing UC San Diego medical school of bias in admissions because data shows 6.18% of Black applicants were admitted versus 2.45% of white applicants
• The current administration announced today the deferral of $1B in medicaid payments to Minnesota and California
• The US sent the first humanitarian flight to Cuba today under the new aid package with 700 packages of food and hygiene kits
• 32M in the northeast, including NYC are under a tornado watch until 9pm ET tonight as severe thunderstorms loom
• The US passport was once the most powerful in the world but has since plummeted. Today, Singapore secured the top spot
• I’m heading out tonight to be the conversation partner for my friend Elizabeth Svoboda for her new book The Art of Pacing

Kitchen Briefs - July 21, 2026 AM

• Bahrain and Kuwait are currently under Iranian attack. All citizens have been told to find a safe place. Iran again struck Kuwait’s desalination and water plants
• At least 2 more have been killed in central Gaza by an Israeli air strike on a civilian car
• The Pentagon now says nearly 100 troops were injured in the last two weeks
• Secretary Hegseth will face Congress today as he testifies his reasoning for needing billions of dollars for the current war
• The soldier killed in Iraq has been identified as 30 year old Sgt Michael Emmanuel Swinton from North Carolina. Sgt Swinton was killed while trying to disarm a drone
• Trump said Iran wants to meet with the US desperately, but the US has no interest in meeting
• Oil prices are up to $90
• The Justice Department is investigating whether Harvard University is allowing Chinese donors to create scholarships that exclude American students
• JPMorgan and other banks are set to help finance Japan’s $550B US investment
• House Democrats led by Congressman Jamie Raskin are investigating whether Epstein acted as a foreign agent
• An appeals court blocked President Biden’s bid to have audio recordings of his ghostwriter interviews released. The Heritage Foundation filed a public records request because they want to show Biden had diminished faculties and a faulty memory
• Tropical Storm Bertha is on track to reach the Gulf Coast
• We still haven’t seen Mitch McConnell since June 14th