TKL.@KobeissiLetter

BREAKING: President Trump's capital gains tax cut discussions include "indexing" capital gains for inflation BEFORE taxes are calculated.

This would mean that taxes would be applied on gains adjusted for inflation. For example, if you purchased a stock for $100,000 and sold it 5 years later for $200,000. Under the current system, you would owe capital gains taxes on the full $100,000 gain. But, if cumulative inflation over those 5 years was 20%, your inflation-

adjusted cost basis would rise to $120,000.

This means you would only owe capital gains taxes on the $80,000 REAL gain, rather than the $100,000 nominal gain.

Trump has also suggested exemptions for sales of homes worth $2 million or less from capital gains taxes.

We expect more details soon.

7:37 PM • Aug 11, 2026 • 3M Views

BBC

US plans to cut off military aid to key Middle East ally, BBC told

Daniel Bush - Washington

Fri, August 28, 2026 at 5:23 PM

(BBC are liars)

The Trump administration is planning to cut off military aid to a key Middle East ally that helped the US defeat the Islamic State group (IS) and is now facing punishing attacks from Iran,according to four sources familiar with the matter.

The US Department of Defense has told leaders of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in recent meetings that the administration is not planning to renew an expiring agreement that provides security assistance to the Peshmerga, the Kurdish security force.

The BBC spoke to two officials who participated in the talks and two other sources with direct knowledge of the issue. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the talks, details of which have not been previously reported.

Kurdish officials fear the funding cut would create a power vacuum and embolden Iran, which has fired hundreds of missiles and drones into Iraqi Kurdistan since US President Donald Trump started the war with Tehran.

Ending the Peshmerga's security assistance would undermine a longtime partner in Iraq, analysts said, and send the message that the US cannot be trusted to back its allies in the region.

"The US would be cutting off the Kurds, who shed so much blood to help the Americans achieve their goals in Iraq and the wider Middle East," Yerevan Saeed, the director of the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace at American University, said.

"This is going to be a big win for Iran, China, and Russia if the Kurds are left so exposed."

In his second term, Trump has pledged to reduce America's foreign entanglements in regions like the Middle East. He also launched the war with Iran, which reached the six-month mark on Friday with no end in sight.

The memorandum of understanding between the Pentagon and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) is set to expire on 30 September, the same day the US and other nations are withdrawing their last remaining troops from Iraq.

The troop withdrawal will formally end the international military campaign against IS, in which the Peshmerga fought alongside coalition troops to end the jihadist group's control of parts of Iraq and Syria. The sole remaining US military base in the country, located in the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Irbil, is set to close next month once coalition troops leave.

The Peshmerga, which has approximately 180,000 troops in Iraqi Kurdistan, received $61m (£45m) in the fiscal year 2026 for weapons, military training and stipends through the Pentagon's counter-IS programme.

The Pentagon proposed cutting all the group's security aid in its fiscal year 2027 budget request - arguing that since IS was defeated the money should now be reallocated - but the spending plan is on hold amid a broader budget battle in Congress.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/us-plans-cut-off-military-194544469.html

EXCLUSIVE: State Dept reveals Portland Antifa connection to Hamas, Iran’s IRGC in sweeping terror action

Marco Rubio says Autistici/Inventati built encrypted digital tools used by Rose City Antifa, Hamas and other violent groups.

EXCLUSIVE: A State Department memo reveals that an international technology collective, now under a U.S. global terrorism designation, provided services to overseas terrorist groups and violent far-left agitators causing chaos in American cities, according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital.

"Far-left terrorism poses a profound threat to the United States and the broader West," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Today, the United States sanctioned Autistici/Inventati – a major far-left tech collective whose services are used by the most active and violent Antifa cells in the United States and across the world."

Autistici/Inventati, called the A/I Collective by the State Department, is an Italy-based group that builds highly sophisticated digital infrastructure used by violent left-wing organizations in the United States and Europe, along with Islamic terrorists, according to the State Department. The collective's services include encrypted chats and email, web hosting, secure video conferencing and streaming and anonymity shields, according to the memo.

"These tools are specifically designed to support the operations of far-left terrorist networks, built to enable them to organize, recruit, communicate, disseminate propaganda, share target information and tactics, and carry out violent attacks – all while remaining anonymous, untraceable, and beyond the reach of the law," says the State Department's memo.

A/I Collective has officially been deemed a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The designation bars Americans and U.S. financial institutions from doing business with the group and freezes any assets it has under U.S. jurisdiction. Violators can face civil or criminal penalties.

The memo identifies Portland-based Rose City Antifa, known for its violent rioting and destruction, as one of the U.S. groups that relied on A/I Collective tools and services.

Rose City Antifa is listed in the memo alongside a media organization that the State Department says uses A/I Collective tools to disseminate information to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is proliferating inside the United States, Hamas, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hezbollah and others.

The memo also accuses the militant abortion-rights group "Jane’s Revenge" — which declared "open season" on pro-life organizations and threatened escalating attacks after the leaked Supreme Court draft signaling Roe v. Wade would be overturned — of using the collective’s services.

The State Department memo says the collective provides its services exclusively to left-wing extremists, screening users for ideological alignment before allowing them access to its tools.

The collective claims to host roughly 16,000 mailboxes, 1,500 websites, 5,500 mailing lists and 10,000 "blogs" on a custom-built platform. The State Department says militants frequently use those services to disseminate target information, tactical manuals and techniques and communiqués about recent attacks.

The memo stressed that while the infrastructure is overseas, it supports domestic far-left groups that for years have wreaked havoc in the United States, mostly under the label of Antifa, or antifascism.

"There will be no refuge for violent extremists who wage war on our civilization and plot to undermine law and order, destroy critical infrastructure, assault political opponents, or conspire to conceal their crimes from authorities," Rubio said. "We will use all the tools and authorities at our disposal to fight terrorism and protect our way of life from terrorist coercion."

The memo cites several examples of violent or terrorist activity that the State Department says was facilitated through A/I Collective technology.…

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/exclusive-state-dept-reveals-portland-antifa-connection-hamas-irans-irgc-sweeping-terror-action

Homeland Security on X: "On August 27, ICE arrested Milo Yiannopoulos, an illegal alien from the United Kingdom, at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) in Kenner, Louisiana.Yiannopoulos legally entered the country on May 14, 2019, through New York City, New York. He chose to"

Homeland Security

@DHSgov

On August 27, ICE arrested Milo Yiannopoulos, an illegal alien from the United Kingdom, at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) in Kenner, Louisiana. Yiannopoulos legally entered the country on May 14, 2019, through New York City, New York. He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws.

Yiannopoulos was issued a final order of removal by an Immigration Judge on July 22, after failing to show up for his immigration hearing. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.

Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $3,000 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.

https://x.com/DHSgov/status/2093428821835796688

Mosques, Wudu Lessons And $90 Million From Saudi Arabia: Inside The New Boy Scouts

New awards include ‘Allahu Akbar’ medals and Islamophobia awareness patches.1/3

AUG 28, 2026

Islamic lessons forfour-year-olds. A mosque at Scouting’s historic headquarters. An inflatable minaret and “Allahu Akbar” medals at America’s National Jamboree. Behind the global movement:$87 millionfrom Saudi Arabia.

The Islamization of Scouting is no longer confined to Muslim-only troops.

Across American and British Scouting, Islam is now appearing in national events, children’s activities, badges, recruitment plans, family programming and permanent infrastructure. At the same time, Saudi Arabia has placed an effective $87 million behind World Scouting’s flagship Messengers of Peace program—including a Saudi-supported operation inside America’s National Jamboree.

Scouting America—the renamed Boy Scouts of America—used its official faith account to promote an Islamic booth at its 2026 National Jamboree. Attendees were invited to get henna, pose with an inflatable mosque and minaret, “learn more about their faith” and attend Friday’s Islamic service.

At another Islamic gathering during the same national event, the account announced that Islamic Booth Staff had received “Allahu Akbar (God is Great) Jamboree” medals.

This is spreading beyond one event. A North Carolina Scouting America councilinvited “our Scouting families” to a 2026 Ramadan iftarat an Islamic center, circulated a halal-food presentation and asked units to distribute the invitation.

https://nataliegwinters.substack.com/p/mosques-wudu-lessons-and-90-million

>>24983648

2/3

UK Scouts offers an optional Islamic ritual-washing lesson to every section—from Squirrels ages four to six through Explorers.

Children may rinse their mouths, sniff water into their nostrils and perform wudu together while leaders teach that the Qur’an contains the “pure word of Allah.” Leaders can invite someone from a local mosque to demonstrate “for everyone to follow.”

Its national library contains at least 15 Islam-focused activities: mosque visits, the Five Pillars, iftar, the Black Stone story and an Islamic-call-to-prayer lesson open to “all groups.” Its optional Islamophobia Awareness Month badge recommends listening to the adhan, visiting a mosque, inviting an imam or sheikh and producing awareness videos.

UK Scouts says its Muslim-engagement toolkit resulted from a three-year project literally called “Attracting Young Muslims to Scouting”, supported by Islamic Relief UK, the Aziz Foundation and Pears Foundation. It advises leaders about changing the traditional handshake, music, meeting times, uniforms and opposite-sex interaction around Islamic practices.

Muslim membership grew from 800 in 2011 to more than 6,000 in 2021. By 2022, the Muslim Scout Fellowship had formed 76 predominantly Muslim groups.

At Gilwell Park—the historic home of British Scouting—the Fellowship operates a mosque. Its archived page describes the park’s estimated 500,000 yearly visitors as a platform for sharing Islam’s message and celebrates non-Muslims learning wudu or joining a full prayer. The Fellowship separately said it opened the mosque to more than 4,000 Explorers during one event.

World Scouting now advertises a 2026 Muslim Scout Fellowship International Jamboree at Gilwell, with “thousands of Muslim Scouts” expected. UK Scouts also reported aPalestine Awareness Dayfor roughly 120 children ages four to 14 featuring Arabic calligraphy, Palestinian-colored badges and “art as activism.”

https://nataliegwinters.substack.com/p/mosques-wudu-lessons-and-90-million

>>24983654

3/3

In the background,Saudi Arabia has been deploying nearly $90 million to Scouting America.

Auditors recorded an original $37.25 million Saudi pledge, minus $250,000 that would not be received: an effective $37 million. Riyadh then signed another $50 million agreement in 2025.Total: $87 million.

World Scouting says the renewaltargets more than 100 million Scouts in 176 countriesand aligns with Saudi Vision 2030. Current Messengers of Peace grant rules require funded projects to display Saudi Arabia’s name and logo and align communications with donor requirements.

Scouting America’s publication cited that $50 million Saudi commitment under “What prompted this realignment?”before explaining why it updated its American program. At the 2026 Jamboree, its international account said Saudi-supported Scouts would assemble 5,000 disaster-relief kits through a hub whose graphic placed the Saudi emblem beside Scouting America’s branding.

The Saudi records do not prove Riyadh purchased every lesson, badge or Islamic event; most were optional.They establish the scale surrounding the transformation:

Western Scouting is teaching, recruiting around and publicly celebrating Islam while SaudiArabia bankrollsthe global machinery carrying Scouting’s new model worldwide.

https://nataliegwinters.substack.com/p/mosques-wudu-lessons-and-90-million

Intelligence for the New World Economy

Exclusive / Trump’s new affordability push runs on highways, rail

Shelby Talcott and Tim McDonnell. Aug. 28, 2026

THE SCOOP

The Trump administration is unveiling a newproposal aimed at turning the nation’s highway and rail lines into “multi-use” utility corridorsthat could hold critical infrastructure like transmission wires, fiber optic lines, and water pipelines.

The plan, dubbed“America’s Great Corridors of Commerce,”is being billed by the Transportation Department as a “voluntary nationwide opportunity,” and comes as the administration looks for ways to drive down energy costs for Americans. The initiative, according to details shared first with Semafor, will allow state-level transportation agencies and railroads to lease out land alongside roads and tracks to private sector companies to develop new infrastructure.

“America has always been at the bleeding edge of innovation. But we will lose the race to develop the technologies of the future if we cannot lower costsand get the government out of the way,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. The new plan, he added, will “make energy more affordable and fuel American industry for generations to come.”

The administration hopes that using existing “transportation land” will reduce the cost of projects while leveraging “categorical environmental exemptions to bypass lengthy reviews,” according to a release describing the proposal, which emphasizes the need to quickly build out these types of infrastructure.

KNOW MORE

The Trump administration is also billing the proposal as a way to better compete with China, arguing that the country is ahead of the US in building things like high-voltage transmission lines. One of the biggest obstacles to many new power transmission projects is opposition from local communities and zoning authorities, a problem that can be bypassed if new grid lines stick close to existing infrastructure.

In recent months, the administration has ramped up its focus on things like artificial intelligence data centers for similar reasons. The data center debate has increasingly become a focus in the midterms as voters sour on the technology infrastructure. Republican candidates across the are trying to walk the line between appeasing anti-data center voters without straying too far from President Donald Trump’s push for building them.

Notably, the new proposal follows the Trump administration’s cancellation of a number of major transmission initiatives. The Energy Department ended a $4.9 billion conditional loan commitment last year for a transmission project and scrapped three other transmission corridor proposals earlier this month. Trump’s focus on leveraging the land — which mirrors proposals that Biden administration officials, environmental groups, and congressional Democrats have advocated for years — offers an alternative to those prior cancelled projects by using highway and railroad-affiliated land.

Alan Mitchell, a senior Manager for US federal policy at the Clean Air Task Force, a climate nonprofit, commended the Trump administration’s plan as a “step in the right direction” and a “serious, practical use of existing authority.”

But Mitchell argued that the administration’s other actions — like the recent cancellations — could undercut the plan. “The administration needs to act consistently to get our country the transmission it needs where it needs it,” he told Semafor.

https://www.semafor.com/article/08/26/2026/trumps-new-affordability-push-runs-on-highways-rail