Andrew Callaghan visits Iran.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79AlsYgomO0

Lara Logan

@laralogan

Jennifer Griffin has long appeared to me to be a tool of the deep state & numerous sources over the years have come to me about this. But I always thought it was a real mark of her character that she was a source for a WaPo hit piece on me when I was at 60 Minutes & they came after me for my Benghazi reporting. Right before the hit piece came out, it was Halloween & I was with my young children “trick or treating” in the neighborhoods around our DC home. I ran into Jennifer that night & we spoke - the one person I saw who knew me & would have immediate access to reporters. Amazingly, the next day the article quoted an anonymous source as describing me dressed like a stripper when out with my kids for Halloween. Actually My four-year-old daughter had asked me to be the Pink Power Ranger because my children loved that show so that’s what I was - for them. And I was wearing some standard Power Ranger pink & white one piece from Walmart. It was such a personal attack that had literally nothing to do with my work. So small.

Then when I was reporting at Fox News on the disastrous Afghan betrayal/withdrawal, she complained about me to the “front office” & I was notified by my agent.

https://x.com/laralogan/status/2094983243909247201

Top military officials faced polygraphs over leaks of sensitive information on weapons stockpiles, sources say

Washington — Some of the highest-ranking officials in the U.S. military were subjected to polygraph tests as part of a sweeping leak probe after highly sensitive classified details about the nation's stockpiles of sophisticated weapons were reported in the media, U.S. officials briefed on the matter told CBS News.

President Trump was furious about the leaks, according to three of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. A very small set of people had access to the classified details on the munitions, and there was concern about whether anyone could potentially be acting as a foreign intelligence asset, one of the sources said.

Polygraph tests are often a part of the routine cadence for top military and civilian officials, but the mass volume of people who were pulled in for testing in this case was extremely rare, officials said.

Several dozen people were given the tests earlier this summer, including some U.S. Central Command officials as well as other combatant commanders.

The polygraph questions delved deeply into various national security-related matters. No one failed the questions meant to determine if these officials leaked to the media, two of the sources said.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to CBS News on Friday night: "The Department does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly. Securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and of our troops deployed around the world."

Not all senior military officials were part of the testing. For example, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, wasn't polygraphed, a senior Pentagon official said.

The New York Times was first to report on the polygraph tests.

Weeks into the Iran war, CBS News and other news outlets had reported information concerning the rapid pace at which the U.S. was expending some of its most advanced finite munitions.

In July, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Pentagon and Justice Department had formed a joint task force to identify and prosecute people suspected of leaking sensitive government information to the press, significantly expanding an effort that had begun inside his own office.

Hegseth gave the Pentagon's Office of General Counsel, led by Earl Matthews, broad authority to demand information, records and assistance for leak investigation. Pentagon officials and personnel were instructed to prioritize those requests and respond within a two-day period.

"When a leak of department information occurs today, it's critical that we provide the Department of Justice and other partners in federal law enforcement — including the FBI — with actionable information as quickly as possible," Hegseth said when he announced the task force.

He added: "Leaked information risks lives."

The move came days after the Justice Department subpoenaed several New York Times reporters over their reporting on security shortcomings aboard Mr. Trump's new Qatari-donated Air Force One.

Later, the Justice Department withdrew its subpoenas for grand jury testimony and phone records. The decision followed a contentious court hearing where a U.S. district judge grilled federal prosecutors on why they had issued the subpoenas before taking further investigative steps, according to previous CBS News reporting.

Polygraphs aren't unusual for government officials who have permission to view top-secret files or "special access programs," which place even tighter controls on sensitive national security information. Tests are given every few years to recertify an individual's clearance.

The scope of the testing this summer indicates an investigation, national security officials told CBS News. The FBI was not involved in these polygraph tests, several people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The military has its own investigators.

Secretaries of defense have the authority to direct counterintelligence investigations that can include polygraph examinations, but federal law and Pentagon regulations also impose restrictions on when polygraphs may be used and require procedural safeguards. In those circumstances, the person being examined must consent to or request the test.

That includes cases in which investigators are trying to resolve serious information uncovered during a security investigation or when someone wants to clear themselves of allegations or evidence that emerged during an investigation.

Under federal law, a defense secretary is required to ensure that polygraph examinations are used in a "responsible and effective" manner within the Defense Department and is also required to provide information to congressional bodies on polygraph use.

For Hegseth, the latest effort is not the first time he has turned to polygraphs amid concerns about leaks from inside the Pentagon.

Following the ouster of Gen. C.Q. Brown, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hegseth was reportedly furious last year after details of a planned classified briefing on China set up for Elon Musk at the Pentagon had leaked to the press, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reported that Hegseth shouted at Adm. Christopher Grady, the then-acting Joint Chiefs chairman, and demanded evidence he wasn't the source for leaking the March 21, 2025, briefing. Citing two anonymous people familiar with the exchange, the newspaper said Hegseth yelled at Grady: "I'll hook you up to a f—ing polygraph!"

The Journal reported Grady was never subjected to a polygraph examination as Hegseth accused others of leaking, including Lt. Gen. Doug Sims, who served as director of the Joint Staff and was also threatened with a polygraph.

Hegseth decided against promoting Sims to four-star general, the Times reported. He retired last September.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/top-military-officials-polygraphs-leaks-pentagon-weapons-hegseth-trump/

Federal judge extends block on new USPS mail ballot rules

The federal judge handling the legal battle over new U.S. Postal Service mail ballot rules extended her block of the rules for the November midterm elections in an order issued on Friday, again finding them likely unlawful.

Judge Indira Talwani's temporary order, which had been set to expire on Sept. 10, is now in place indefinitely unless a higher court allows the Trump administration to put the rules into effect.

The judge found that immediate implementation of the rules this close to the November election, prompted by President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at tightening access to mail ballots, "threatens disenfranchisement of millions of United States citizens who seek to vote by mail."

Talwani concluded that the rules, which mandate nationwide mail ballot design and review requirements and state submission of a voter information database to USPS, are "unconstitutional where it intrudes not only on Congress's Elections Clause powers but also that power left to the States."

The decision ups the ante for the U.S. Supreme Court, which had already been asked to weigh in on Talwani's preliminary injunction. A decision is expected as soon as next week.

Time is of the essence since some states have already begun mailing ballots for the fall election.

Trump, who has pushed unfounded claims of widespread mail ballot fraud, wants states to report to USPS basic voter information, such as a voter's name and home address, attached to a unique barcode on every mail-in ballot distributed. Postal workers would then only deliver ballots addressed to voters who appear on the state-provided list.

Following the publication of the regulations last month, dozens of Democratic state attorneys general sued the Trump administration after an earlier lawsuit was blocked by the Supreme Court, which said at the time that the challenge was premature since the regulations hadn't been finalized.

Judge Talwani wrote in her opinion Friday that the dispute was now ripe for judicial intervention. "Nothing is hypothetical," she said of the alleged harm to states, voters and voter advocacy groups ahead of the November election.

In its latest appeal to the justices, the Trump administration insisted the rules impose only "modest" ballot design and review requirements on states and that a requirement to submit name, address, and barcode information of intended recipients is not onerous or intrusive.

The states challenging the USPS rule have until Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 10 a.m. to formally respond before the Supreme Court makes a decision.

The states and voter advocacy groups have argued that the new USPS regulations are an attempt by the Trump administration to federalize elections, which are historically and constitutionally managed by each state, and make it harder to vote by mail for everyday citizens.

https://abcnews.com/amp/Politics/federal-judge-extends-block-new-usps-mail-ballot/story?id=136215058

Trump names engineering official Adam Telle as acting Army secretary, after Dan Driscoll resigns amid friction

President Trump on Thursday named Adam Telle, a civilian leader in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as the acting Army secretary, following the resignation of Dan Driscoll earlier this week.

Telle is currently the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works. But he spent more than 20 years working for Republican senators, and worked in the White House during Mr. Trump's first term, serving as the president's chief liaison to the Senate, according to an Army biography.

"He is a Great Patriot, who is respected by all," Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Hegseth echoed that in his own post on X.

"Huge congrats to Adam. Strong and whip smart," Hegseth wrote. "He is indeed a great Patriot — and will be an immediate asset to the @USArmy."

Driscoll resigned as the Army's top civilian leader this week, following months of behind-the-scenes friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It marked the latest departure of a high-level military official under Hegseth.

An Army veteran and ally of Vice President JD Vance, Driscoll had drawn up plans to transform the Army's operations. But he shared concerns with the Trump administration that Hegseth had pushed out some of the generals responsible for implementing those plans, a source familiar with the matter told CBS News.

Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, a close friend of Driscoll, to step down in April. Less than three months later, the commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa — Gen. Chris Donahue — also submitted retirement papers.

George and Driscoll rolled out a planned "Army Transformation Initiative" last year, calling for more drones and other emerging technology to be integrated into units, along with changes to force structure and the elimination of obsolete equipment.

George and Donahue were also supporters of a newly formed Army drone battalion that was tasked just last year with picking up lessons from the intense drone warfare in Ukraine. However, the Army began making plans to phase out that unit last month, CBS News has reported, following tension between the officers who supported it and acting Army Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve.

Telle will now begin overseeing the nation's largest fighting force at a time when the U.S. is still engaged in conflict with Iran and significant Army forces are stationed in the Middle East.

The war has significantly contributed to the U.S. military's shortfall in critical weapons like the Patriot and THAAD defense missile interceptor systems, which are operated by the Army.

Democrats and Republicans lamented Driscoll's departure, with some blaming Hegseth directly.

Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is retiring and sometimes has clashed with Mr. Trump, said on social media that Hegseth "is creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-adam-telle-acting-army-secretary-dan-driscoll-hegseth/?intcid=CNR-01-0623

Maria Bartiromo Denies Fox Firing, Hires Bryan Freedman As Attorney: “We Have the Receipts”

“The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false,” Freedman said.

Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo is denying reports that she was fired from the news station.

Fox News announced Thursday that Bartiromo’s last day was Thursday, after the anchor had been with the network for more than 12 years. Fox News did not give a reason for her departure, but a report from Status claimed the Mornings With Maria anchor was ousted after she shared internal communications from Fox executives with the White House.

“Effective today, Maria Bartiromo is no longer with FOX News Media,” the network said in a statement Thursday.

However, Bartiromo has now retained attorney Bryan Freedman, who recently repped Justin Baldoni in his high-profile case against Blake Lively, as well as journalists Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo after their dramatic exits from CNN as well as Tucker Carlson’s exit from Fox and Megyn Kelly’s exit from NBC. Bartiromo’s attorney denies that she was fired and further claims that she is “still employed by Fox.” Freedman suggests they may pursue the matter in court.

“For many years, Maria Bartiromo hosted three number-one-rated television shows on Fox channels. She has been, without question, one of the hardest-working journalists throughout her award-winning career,” Freedman said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

“The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false. Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise. Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth,” Freedman continued.

It is not entirely clear what argument the attorney plans to make, though TV contracts are typically “pay to play,” meaning that talent is meant to get paid through the length of the deal, regardless of whether they are still used on-air. In previous high-profile exits, talent will negotiate a settlement with the channel, giving them less cash but allowing them to pursue opportunities elsewhere. In other cases, talent continue to take pay through the remainder of their deals.

A spokesperson for Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Freedman is known for negotiating high profile exits for his journalist clients. Cuomo filed a $125 million arbitration claim against CNN after being fired by the network for giving advice to his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The case has not yet been resolved. Lemon is said to have agreed to a multi-million settlement deal after parting ways with the network in 2023.

Lemon launched a show on X and later YouTube, and said at the time that his deal with CNN continued to pay him out, as the digital programs were not determined to be competitive. Other deals may be more stringent however, especially with many anchors and journalists leaving legacy media for digital platforms.

Asked about Freedman’s tactics, his clients refer to his aggression, as well as a sense of equity. “When Freedman believes that he has a client who’s been wronged, it’s not just about relative equities,” Carlson told THR in 2024. “The media business is uglier than most things, and in a very ugly world, he has a very uncommon sense of honor. There’s something beautiful about that. That’s what makes him stand out.”

Indeed, Freedman is seen is intensely loyal to his clients.

Kelly said that she met Freedman when he took her deposition in a lawsuit involving her former agent, but that they hit it off.

“When the shit hit the fan with NBC, he was brought into my life as an option, and when everyone else had abandoned me, Bryan was on the phone and said, ‘just so you know, I don’t give an F what anyone says about me, I’ve got you,” Kelly recalled on her SiriusXM show.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/maria-bartiromo-denies-fox-firing-hires-bryan-freedman-as-attorney-we-have-the-receipts-1236690793/

Julie Kelly 🇺🇸

@julie_kelly2

So states were sharing personal data with Mark Zuckerberg's $400 million operation to identify unregistered voters ahead of 2020 election in apparent violation of federal law. More interesting findings in latest disclosures by DHS…

https://x.com/julie_kelly2/status/2095894224784769484

Nearly 100 illegal truckers, human, drug traffickers arrested in Arizona

A multi-agency sting in Arizona’s Yuma Sector led to the arrest of 95 illegal immigrant truck drivers in mid-August, and the majority of the drivers had commercial licenses issued in California, federal officials said.

In total, 143 people from 18 countries were arrested during the enforcement blitz, which targeted human and drug smuggling activity and highway safety, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

The U.S. Border Patrol carried out the operation Aug. 10-14 with local Stonegarden Law Enforcement Partners.

During the week, officers identified 95 illegal truck drivers in possession of a non-domiciled commercial driver’s license.

read moar:

https://www.deported.news/news/nearly-100-illegal-truckers-human-drug-traffickers-arrested-in-arizona/

Obama DACA recipient (dreamer) faces 20 counts of child pornography in Virginia

https://www.deported.news/news/former-daca-recipient-faces-more-than-20-counts-of-child-pornography-in-virginia/

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to clear the way for it to implement new mail-in voting rule

The Trump administration returned to the Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon, asking the justices to temporarily pause an order by a federal judge in Boston that blocks the government from implementing parts of a U.S. Postal Service rule on mail-in ballots. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court that the order by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani “partially nullifies the Postal Service’s efforts to address the risk that the federal mails will be used to perpetrate voter fraud—a particularly pernicious species of fraud that dilutes the votes of lawful voters, prevents election results from reflecting the will of the American people, and undermines ‘public confidence in the integrity of the electoral process.’”

Thursday’s filing was the second time in less than six weeks that the Trump administration came to the Supreme Court seeking to clear the way to implement restrictions on mail-in voting. In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that directed federal agencies to take a series of steps on mail-in voting. The first provision instructs the Department of Homeland Security to create lists of the adult U.S. citizens in each state and to send those lists to states at least 60 days before a federal election. The second provision tells the U.S. attorney general to “prioritize the investigation and, as appropriate, the prosecution of State and local officials … who issue Federal ballots to individuals not eligible to vote in a Federal election.” And the third provision requires states to give the U.S. Postal Service a list of voters to whom the states intend to send mail ballots, and it prohibits the USPS from mailing ballots to voters who are not on the lists of “enrolled” voters that the USPS will create.

A group of 23 states, led by California, and the District of Columbia went to federal court in Massachusetts to challenge the government’s implementation of the order. They argued that the executive order conflicts with provisions in the Constitution that give states the power to determine voter eligibility and to set the “Times, Places, and Manner” of holding congressional elections.

Talwani barred the federal government from implementing the challenged restrictions on or before Nov. 3, 2026, in the District of Columbia and the 23 challenging states.

After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit declined to pause Talwani’s order while the litigation continued, the Trump administration on July 27 asked the Supreme Court to step in – as did a group of 12 states, led by Alabama, that had joined the case on the Trump administration’s side.

Nearly a month later, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to begin implementing the executive order. In a 10-page, unsigned opinion, the majority wrote that it was too soon for courts to consider the states’ challenge because the order had not yet been carried out – and, as a result, the states have not suffered the kind of injury that would allow their lawsuit to proceed.

Shortly after the court’s ruling, Talwani lifted an injunction that she had issued in a separate challenge, brought by the League of Women Voters, to one provision of the executive order. But in an Aug. 27 decision, Talwani issued a temporary restraining order that blocked the Trump administration, for 14 days, from requiring states to comply with several provisions of the new Postal Service rule, such as ballot envelope design requirements and the submission of voter data into a USPS portal.

The Trump administration on Thursday asked the justices to freeze Talwani’s order (and to issue an administrative stay, which puts the order on hold while they consider the government’s request). Sauer pushed back against suggestions “that the Postal Service is trying to federalize the rules for mail-in voting.” Instead, he wrote, “the Postal Service’s final rule imposes only modest envelope-design and addressee-information requirements for federal-election ballots sent via U.S. Mail.” The Postal Service has the authority to create such rules, Sauer asserted, as it has done in other contexts – for example, to “impos[e] certain processing requirements on the mailing of cremated remains and replica explosives” – and “to adopt rules that specifically govern election-related mail, such as the use of the Election Mail logo and prioritizing ballot mail for delivery.”

If Talwani’s order is not put on hold, Sauer asserted, it will cause “serious irreparable harm.” Among other things, he stressed, even before the temporary restraining order expires on Sept. 14, “two States—North Carolina and Alabama—will begin sending ballots to voters, the first as soon as September 4. Once those ballot envelopes enter the mailstream, there is no retrieving them.”

The court directed the challengers to file a response by 10 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

On Friday night, Talwani granted a preliminary injunction that temporarily bars the U.S. Postal Service from requiring states to comply with the envelope and portal registration provisions of the new rule. (The preliminary injunction replaced the earlier temporary restraining order, which was slated to expire on Sept. 10.) She concluded "that immediate implementation of the Final Rule issued less than seventy days before the November 2026 election threatens disenfranchisement of millions of United States citizens who seek to vote by mail." By contrast, she noted, "the record includes no evidence relating to fraudulent mail voting to support the rushed implementation of the Final Rule."

Ian Fein, a California deputy solicitor general, notified the court of the new order. He told Scott Harris, the clerk of the court, that the Trump administration's application to pause Talwani's temporary restraining order was now moot – that is, no longer a live controversy.

https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/09/trump-administration-asks-supreme-court-to-clear-the-way-for-it-to-implement-new-mail-in-voting-/

Katie Miller Podcast w/ Secretary of Transport Sean Duffy and his wife Rachel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQtpSeYE7yw