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Thursday, August 27, 2026

Trump Administration Honors Heroes of Abbey Gate

The botched withdrawal of Afghanistan could have been much worse were it not for the heroic fighting of America’s finest. Yesterday marked five years since the attack. President Trump: Today, we honor the 13 brave American HEROES who were tragically killed five years ago by evil Jihadi terrorists in Kabul, Afghanistan. This catastrophe was a result of Sleepy Joe Biden’s totally botched Withdrawal from the Country, which left our wonderful Servicemen and women defenseless, and allowed the Taliban to free thousands of bloodthirsty terrorists and criminals held at Bagram Prison. This was one of the greatest atrocities in the History of our Nation, and we can never forget that it was the result of the sheer incompetence of Joe Biden and the Democrats who were in charge (Truth). Secretary of State Rubio: Five years ago today, 13 brave American service members were taken from their families and their country by an Islamic terrorist in Kabul, Afghanistan. We will never forget them, and never again allow our men and women in uniform to be so utterly betrayed (Rubio).

War Department Upgrades Military Honors to Heroes of Abbey Gate

After a review, it was determined that the heroes were not adequately recognized—perhaps to diminish the magnitude of the calamitous position the Biden administration had left them in. Task and Purpose: The Marine Corps has issued award upgrades to seven Marines who guarded Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate in Kabul when a suicide bomber struck on Aug. 26, 2021, killing 13 service members and about 170 Afghans, defense officials announced on Wednesday (Task and Purpose). War Secretary Hegseth: Today we’re here to look you in the eye and to deliver the recognition you earned five years ago because what you did at Abbey Gate was not just a display of exceptional tactical skill and bravery. It was the very definition of the warrior spirit that we’re reviving here and that preserves our nation and underpins our national defense. The mission these Marines were given was almost unfathomably unpredictable, difficult, and fraught with an unknown amount of risk, yet known at the same time, which is sort of the worst duality…. By upgrading these awards, we are stating clearly that America’s warriors will be fiercely supported and our military’s lethal edge will not be compromised by desk-bound bureaucracy or lawyers in the cheap seats (Daugherty).

Government Provides Update on Inquiry Into Abbey Gate Failures

Sean Parnell—Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs, Chief Pentagon Spokesman & Senior Advisor to SECWAR—is heading up a team of veterans who served in Afghanistan. Parnell used the fifth anniversary of the horrific incident to give an update. Parnell: I have the privilege of chairing a team with extensive military service in Afghanistan. These patriots commanded troops, they took fire, they carried the wounded, and they buried their friends. They knew how decisions in Afghanistan became consequences because they are the ones who lived with them. We are conducting a thorough review of what took place in Afghanistan and I’m going to be honest with you about what that’s turning up. The deeper we look, the more there is to look at. We are finding things that we did not expect. Recently, my team recovered highly relevant classified documents, material that should have been disclosed, stashed and hidden away in safes where they would not be found. And after the team reviewed these documents, it became clear why someone tried to hide them. I’m not going to give you a convenient version of the truth, nor will I give you a rushed one. Here is my commitment. We are following the evidence to wherever it leads and to whoever it touches. We’re not accepting incomplete or comfortable answers (Parnell). More: (Department of War).

Meta Reaches $18 Billion Settlement With States Over Social Media Impact on Youth

Notably: Meta does not want to pay out in full unless and until Tik Tok and YouTube also agree to new safety measures. Wall Street Journal: Meta Platforms agreed to an $18 billion settlement with 48 state attorneys general, bringing an end to a massive federal trial over social media’s harm to teenagers and ushering in a new era of tech companies having legal responsibility for their platforms. As part of the settlement agreement, Meta will also make sweeping changes to its services, Facebook and Instagram, including implementing a default two-hour time limit on its apps for users under 18. In a unique setup, Meta will pay out only 70% of the settlement unless TikTok and YouTube, which is owned by Alphabet, also agree to set default one-hour time limits a day on their apps for underage users and each pay the states roughly $5.3 billion. Meta will only pay the remaining 30% of its settlement, also $5.3 billion, if the two other companies agree to the terms (Wall Street Journal). Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier: Florida didn’t join the Meta settlement. The payouts are peanuts compared to the profound harms Meta’s profit-driven addictive features inflicted on kids, and a slap on the wrist for a trillion-dollar corp that’ll pay more to lawyers than to the states. We’ll see them at trial (Uthmeier).

9/11 Mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to Face Trial in 2028

The man widely believed to be the mastermind behind the attacks of 9/11 has been in U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay since 2003. The announcement comes just weeks before the 25^th anniversary of the most lethal foreign attack on U.S. soil in our nation’s 250-year history. New York Post: The mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and three other terrorists held on Guantánamo Bay will finally stand trial in 2028, a military judge ruled Wednesday. The ruling from Lt. Col. Michael Schrama came just two weeks before the 25th anniversary of the world-altering Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the head plotter, and three of his alleged co-conspirators have been held at the Cuba military base since 2003 in the long-delayed case. Government prosecutors requested a January 2027 trial date, but the judge rejected that bid and set it for June 5, 2028, citing a slew of pre-trial rulings the court needs to make before the proceedings start…. Past trial dates have come and gone several times, and Schrama is the fifth judge to oversee the case. Victims’ families have been outraged that they’ve yet to see justice done, with some relatives telling The Post Wednesday they hope the latest trial date will stand. “We have been asking for a trial date for 20 years. Hopefully, this time it is for real,” said retired NYPD officer Jim Smith, whose wife Moira Smith died responding to the attacks (New York Post).

Federal Judge in Massachusetts Lifts Nationwide Injunction on Trump’s USPS-Based Election Integrity Efforts

The judge is Judge Indira Talwani—an Obama appointee. She writes: In sum, the court finds that, in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. California, Plaintiff Organizations are not likely to prevail as to ripeness without amending their complaint to reflect the fact that a Final Rule has now issued. Accordingly, the court GRANTS Defendants’ Motion to Reconsider and VACATES its August 11, 2026 Preliminary Injunction, see Mem. & Order [Doc. No. 183] (Court Listener). The impact? The new rules on ballots for the USPS take effect (SCOTUS Wire). Nick Sortor: USPS can now ONLY mail ballots to LEGAL voters verified by DHS and SSA (Sortor).

California Attorney General Files Additional Lawsuit Purporting to Protect Election Integrity; ‘What election integrity?

The Democrat Attorney General Rob Bonta is heading a coalition of 24 attorneys general (all Democrats) trying to thwart the Trump administration and—most recently—this interim win the administration received at the Supreme Court (OAG). The new lawsuit was filed on Wednesday. Washington Examiner: The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, argues that the rule exceeds executive authority, conflicts with federal law, and intrudes on states’ constitutional power to administer elections. The states also warned that implementing the changes on a compressed timeline could disrupt election preparations and risk disenfranchising eligible voters…. The challenge follows a Supreme Court decision on Monday that halted a lower-court injunction blocking key provisions of Trump’s executive order. That decision rested on procedural grounds, with the majority concluding that the earlier case was filed before the Postal Service issued a final rule. The justices stressed that their decision did not determine whether the government’s eventual implementation measures would be lawful. “On that score, time will tell,” the unsigned decision said (Washington Examiner). U.S. Attorney Bill Assayli: What election integrity? You’re fighting to preserve non-citizens’ access to mail ballots. I’ve never seen a state AG fight this hard to shield fraudsters and illegals from accountability. Imagine if he used his efforts to protect citizens (Essayli).

Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell Doesn’t Want to Be Asked About Hasan Piker

She might as well get used to it. Washington Times: Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan says she is not interested in questions about controversial left-wing commentator Hasan Piker, a discussion she considers an attempt to divide Democrats. “Don’t any reporter ask me again about Hasan Piker. It’s not what November is about,” Ms. Dingell said at a University of Michigan event on Wednesday. At the event, she rallied alongside Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland in support of Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Ms. Dingell continued, “Republicans … are trying to divide us. And we’ve got to stop letting them try to divide us. I don’t agree with Hasan Piker on a lot of stuff” (Washington Times). Dingell yelling at reporters (DSA Watch). Hugh Hewitt: It is what November is about (Hewitt).

Is Iran Planning an October Surprise Attack?

The regime, we know, is desperate. We ought not be caught off guard. Hugh Hewitt: [Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies] warning is that Iran has to be considering one or even many “October surprise attacks” on its neighbors, Israel, the United States, and anywhere that its weapons or terrorists can reach. America’s military is certainly prepared for anything, but the public ought to be braced, too. The Islamic Republic is reeling as summer closes…. Aging revolutionaries whose dreams and fantasies lie in ruins around them are unlikely to surrender power and go quietly into exile, even as they move their vast fortunes abroad to benefit their families who survive what increasingly looks like the inevitable collapse of the regime. The junta knows that even if Trump suffered a political defeat in November’s elections, it would not change the fact that he alone runs American foreign policy for the next 26 months. They must also be able to extrapolate conditions in Iran for another two-plus years. So the idea of a grand gesture through suicidal attacks has to appeal to the remnants of the once powerful but now nearly spent regime…. Fanatics with nothing less to lose pose a specific kind of threat, and it’s not a rational one — kamikaze attacks in every direction. Americans should support Trump and the military as the Islamic Republic plays out its last few, desperate moves (Washington Examiner).

10.

Yair Netanyahu Was in Miami When Intelligence Learned Iranian Assassination Team Was ‘on the ground’

The Iranian regime has threatened the president’s son, Barron Trump (Politico). Now, we learn that an Iranian team was on the ground when Netanyahu’s son Yair was in Miami. Newsmax: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair was the target of an Iranian assassination plot while living in South Florida, Newsmax has learned, adding a dramatic new dimension to Netanyahu’s disclosure this week that Tehran sought to murder one of his children. Netanyahu revealed the plot Monday during an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 but declined to identify which of his two sons — Yair or Avner — had been targeted. “There is something here that is unbelievable,” Netanyahu said. “Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to murder him, tried to murder one of my sons.” But a U.S. law enforcement source familiar with the matter told Newsmax that the intended target was Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister’s 35-year-old eldest son, who had been living in Hallandale Beach, near Miami (Newsmax). Israeli journalist Amit Segal: He was spirited away in such haste that his belongings were left behind, after it was assessed that the Iranian cell was already “on the ground” in the Miami area (Segal).

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