Evening Sky 9-1-26

Secret Chinese Buyer Purchased Farmland Near U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fighter Jet Hub--More than 1,500 acres belonging to a potentially CCP-linked buyer.

A corporation the U.S. Department of Agriculture classifies as Chinese-owned paid $21.2 million in cash for more than 1,500 acres of California farmland roughly 16 miles from the Navy’s principal West Coast fighter-jet base, according to federal and county records reviewed for this article.

The buyer, Long Feng International, Inc., acquired 1,513.18 acres in Kings County in November 2024, USDA’s foreign-landholding database shows. The department lists the investor’s country as “CHINA” and identifies Long Feng as a U.S.-created corporation whose primary interest is held by a Chinese owner.

Don't we have a law? There is no single federal law that completely stops foreign nationals or Chinese entities from buying private American agricultural land. Executive and congressional pushes: The Trump administration announced a National Farm Security Action Plan to restrict future purchases and evaluate existing holdings by foreign adversaries. Lawmakers have also introduced bipartisan bills like the Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites from Foreign Adversaries Act to close federal oversight gaps.

Good Night, Patriots!

Iranian al-Hami died during his speech

US Launches Surprise Attack on Iran as Senior IRGC Candidate Dies on Live TV

The United States launched what was described as a surprise attack on the Iranian regime Sunday, setting off a rapid chain of events across the region.

According to Iranian expert Tousi, the US strike was a preemptive move. The report says American officials received information that Iranian forces were preparing to launch an attack against US interests in Jordan.

The story also focuses on a dramatic moment during a regime rally. Senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps member and candidate Naemat al-Hami reportedly suffered a fatal heart attack in the middle of his campaign speech.

Al-Hami had been speaking before the event suddenly ended. The account describes the incident as an unusually striking moment because it unfolded in front of a live camera. The report argues that while propaganda can be carefully managed, a sudden medical emergency on live television is much harder to control.

The clip was circulated online with claims that al-Hami died during the speech.

See the video

Celebrated under Biden, now a National Security Threat

Under Trump, now on the Terror Watchlist and barred from the U.S.

Biden administration honored Iraqi finance minister later placed on U.S. terror watchlist and stripped of visa

The Biden administration once celebrated former Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami Mohammed as a champion of anti-corruption, but she has now been placed on the U.S. terror watchlist and barred from the country, a reversal critics say exposes dangerous lapses in White House vetting.

Taif Sami Mohammed Al Shakarchi, once hailed by American leaders as a “frontline leader against corrupt practices,” is now at the center of a national security controversy after the State Department revoked her U.S. visa and placed her on the government’s terror watchlist.

Just two years ago, she was honored at the State Department’s International Women of Courage ceremony, where both Jill Biden and Antony Blinken praised her as a model reformer in Iraq.

The State Department confirmed that Mohammed’s visa was revoked “this week,” though it did not release the specific date or publicly detail the evidence behind the watchlist designation.

In a sharply worded statement, Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson contrasted the Biden administration’s approach with that of its predecessor, saying, “While the Biden State Department shamefully celebrated and awarded foreigners who threaten our nation, the Trump State Department revokes their visas and ensures these individuals are removed from our country.”

This stunning about-face marks a rare instance where an individual celebrated by top U.S. officials, including the first lady and the secretary of state, was later classified as a national security threat. Breitbart News reported that the 2022 award cited Mohammed’s “purported role in fighting corruption and her advocacy for gender equity.”

Read about it...

Ballroom will proceed

Supreme Court lets Trump’s White House ballroom project press on as legal fight simmers

The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to let President Trump continue building his privately funded White House ballroom despite fierce legal opposition, keeping construction on track while the case plays out in lower courts.

President Donald Trump’s ambitious White House ballroom is moving forward after the nation’s highest court handed his administration a narrow but crucial win. In a contentious split decision, the Supreme Court allowed construction to proceed even as preservationists and liberal justices raised alarms about the project’s legality and process.

The emergency order, issued by a 5-4 majority, replaced an earlier temporary hold from Chief Justice John Roberts, who joined the liberal bloc in dissent. 

The order comes in the middle of an intense legal fight, with lower courts previously attempting to halt the work, and preservation groups like the National Trust for Historic Preservation pushing lawsuits to stop the demolition and construction at President’s Park, home to the White House complex in Washington, D.C.

Trump, for his part, celebrated the court’s intervention. In a Truth Social post, he declared the ballroom was “totally funded by Great Patriots and Corporations and, therefore, is a Gift, At no cost to the American Taxpayer.”

He called the lawsuit against the project “baseless,” and described the planned space as a “magnificent Ballroom and Military Complex,” claiming it would be “one of the Greatest ever constructed in Washington, D.C.” Trump projected the project would be completed by summer 2028, describing it as “something that the entire Country is very proud of.”

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Another Crook from Blue State

New Jersey councilman Anand Shah pleads guilty, banned from public office over gambling ring with mob ties

New Jersey has fallen into the abyss

Anand Shah, a Prospect Park councilman, has pleaded guilty to racketeering and money laundering for his role in an illegal gambling operation linked to the Lucchese crime family, forcing his resignation and a lifetime ban from holding public office in New Jersey.

Shah’s downfall came after prosecutors revealed he ran an illegal gambling ring across several New Jersey counties, pocketing nearly $1 million over six years. The operation, which spanned Morris, Passaic, and Bergen counties from 2017 to 2023, relied on backroom poker games and a network of subagents, with Shah collecting over $900,000 in “rakes”, the cut taken from each game.

Authorities said Shah didn’t just break the law for personal gain. He used a significant portion of the proceeds to fund his own political campaign, even forgiving gamblers’ debts in exchange for campaign contributions. As a result, Shah pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering, and official misconduct, resigned his council seat on Friday, and is now permanently barred from ever holding public office in the state.

The charges against Shah came as part of a sweeping crackdown on illegal gambling, one that officials say exposed deep ties between local politicians and organized crime.

According to the New York Post’s reporting, the state’s investigation uncovered $4.79 million in suspected criminal proceeds, led to charges against 42 people, and resulted in 38 guilty pleas, with only two defendants still facing charges.

Read about it...

Surviving a Stroke

One week from today, our friend Andy Amoroso will also be a speaker on surviving a Stroke.

Sunrise 9-1-26

Text Scams out to Get You

Crime City of Lake Worth Beach

BURGLARY RESIDENCE ARMED
Incident #: 26090280
200 BLOCK N D ST | 8/31/2026 @ 9:12 PM
Palm Beach County Sheriff


VANDALISM
Incident #: 26090194
BOUTWELL RD / 7TH AVE N | 8/31/2026 @ 3:25 PM
Palm Beach County Sheriff


BURGLARY RESIDENCE
Incident #: 26090193
3800 BLOCK MELALEUCA LN | 8/31/2026 @ 3:24 PM
Palm Beach County Sheriff


THREATS
Incident #: 26090129
1700 BLOCK LAKE WORTH RD | 8/31/2026 @ 12:08 PM
Palm Beach County Sheriff


EMBEZZLEMENT/FRAUD
Incident #: 26090087
800 BLOCK N C ST | 8/31/2026 @ 9:06 AM
Palm Beach County Sheriff


ASSAULT
Incident #: 26090062
1400 BLOCK N D ST | 8/31/2026 @ 7:52 AM
Palm Beach County Sheriff


ASSAULT JUST OCCURRED
Incident #: 26090043
1000 BLOCK S B ST | 8/31/2026 @ 4:35 AM
Palm Beach County Sheriff


DRUNK DRIVER
Incident #: 26090038
900 BLOCK WRIGHT DR | 8/31/2026 @ 2:42 AM
Palm Beach County Sheriff

Evening Sky 8-31-26

Spencer Pratt makes the uncomfortable point nobody wants to touch: the kids may be handling technology better than the adults.

Meta got hammered for engineering addiction, harvesting youth attention, and turning childhood into algorithmic feedstock. Fine. Big Tech earned plenty of punishment.

But parents in cities like Los Angeles are also using screens as blinders against a real-world horror show their leaders created: public drug use, defecation, psychosis, crime, decay, and homeless misery outside schools. Zuckerberg did not put that on the sidewalk. City Hall did.

The Kids are Fine. We are F**ked--47 States Sued Meta for Hooking Our Kids on Tech...is Reality Any Safer? [SPENCER PRATT]

Good Night, Patriots!

Bill Maher jokes about Liberal Outrage

Bill Maher Mocks Liberal Outrage Over Trump’s Lake Ontario Name Change

Bill Maher took aim at liberal outrage during Friday’s episode of his HBO program Real Time. But this time, the punchline was not aimed at President Donald Trump.

Maher focused on the reaction to Trump changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. The segment gave conservatives something they do not often see from Maher: a direct jab at the left’s political inconsistency.

The criticism from liberals has centered on the idea that a president should not rename a major geographic feature for political reasons. Yet, as the segment pointed out, many on the left have supported tearing down historic statues and changing names tied to America’s past. The source also noted the left’s enthusiasm for renaming things for George Floyd.

That contrast was the heart of Maher’s joke. He argued that the outrage over Lake Ontario was selective, especially when compared with earlier fights over statues, public symbols, and politically motivated name changes.

“Trump is so mad at Canada, he renamed Lake Ontario ‘Lake America,’” Maher said. “Now I have to buy a new globe again!” he joked. He then went after the argument that political leaders should not rename things to fit an agenda. “Liberals are very pissed at this. They say you can’t just go around renaming to suit your political agenda. Just ask any Latinx birthing person.”

Bill Maher

The audience reportedly loved the line. The joke landed because it turned a familiar liberal talking point back on its supporters. Instead of accepting the outrage at face value, Maher highlighted what conservatives see as a glaring double standard.

The segment also came as tensions between Trump and Canada remained part of the broader political debate.

Read about it...

James Clyburn and Court Packing

Clyburn calls for expanding Supreme Court to thirteen justices, citing Congress’s duty

Rep. James Clyburn publicly endorsed adding four new seats to the Supreme Court for a total of thirteen, arguing on national television that Congress must take “significant actions” to address what he described as a reversal of the nation’s constitutional progress, an idea critics warn could undermine the Court’s independence.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Rep. James Clyburn made his position clear: he wants Congress to expand the Supreme Court from its current nine justices to thirteen. Asked directly by host Kristen Welker whether he supported adding four seats, Clyburn responded, “Yes, I do.”

He called for what he described as “significant actions taken by the Congress” and insisted that “thirteen is a pretty good number. A baker’s dozen would be a good number to have on the court.” Clyburn added that he hoped (he hoped?) the new justices would “follow the constitutional underpinnings of this great nation of ours.”

Calls to expand the Supreme Court have become a rallying cry in some progressive circles frustrated with a conservative majority. But Clyburn’s remarks on a national platform escalate the conversation, placing a senior Democratic leader in direct support of a policy long viewed as a partisan power grab.

While Clyburn argued that new justices would “follow the constitutional underpinnings of this great nation,” critics have long warned that court-packing risks turning the judiciary into a tool of the party in power, eroding the very independence the Founders designed. The Supreme Court’s legitimacy depends on its ability to stand above partisan cycles and enforce the Constitution even when doing so is unpopular in Washington.

Expanding the Court would set a precedent difficult to reverse. If Congress can add seats to tilt the balance, nothing prevents future majorities from doing the same. The end result? A judiciary that follows the political winds, not the law.

Read more...

86 year old James Clyburn has been in Congress for over 33 years, having assumed office on January 3, 1993.

Letitia James NY AG targeted Trump and allies

NY AG Letitia James faces accusation her office targeted Trump allies for political reasons

Haven't we suspected/known this all along?

A prosecutor in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office says he was instructed to investigate Trump-affiliated individuals and organizations without credible cause, an allegation James’ office strongly denies.

Daniel Wiesenfeld, a former Brooklyn prosecutor now with the New York Attorney General’s Investor Protection Bureau, sent a mass email accusing his own office of ordering politically motivated investigations. The email, reportedly delivered to about 2,000 staffers and later deleted, charged that he was told to “find and pursue crimes” committed by people and groups tied to former President Donald Trump, even when there was no credible reason to do so.

Wiesenfeld’s message named names. He claimed Bureau Chief Shamiso Maswoswe had directed him to target “Trump himself, Truth Social, Hewlett Packard (DOJ approved merger)... without having a credible reason for targeting the organizations and individuals.” 

He went further, warning colleagues, “If you believe Trump is using the [Department of Justice] attorneys to prosecute his enemies and further his political interests, you should find it equally troubling that Tish [James] is doing exactly the same thing.”

The prosecutor’s warning was blunt: “I ask you that you not serve as Tish’s personal attorneys by targeting her political enemies. Instead, I hope (he hopes?) you choose to prosecute crimes and find the individuals accountable, rather than targeting individuals and then finding crimes.”

Read about it...

Trade Deficit hit $64 billion a year with Canada -- that just ended

What Canada Has Been Doing to American Farmers for Fifty Years

The numbers got so bad that by 2023, the goods deficit hit $64 billion – the worst it had been since the George W. Bush years. And Canada's weapon of choice has been the tariff. Trump called out the dairy tariff specifically, and here's what that actually looks like in practice.

Canada built a wall around its dairy market in the 1970s to protect Canadian producers, then designed a quota system so restrictive that American farmers can't get anywhere near the cap that would let them compete.

American auto workers in Michigan and Ohio built their careers on an industry Canada has been quietly undercutting for twenty years – protecting its own market with tariffs while demanding open access to ours. "Canada declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week." Fifty percent tariffs hit at midnight.

Carney's response was to call it a "miscalculation" – then announce dollar-for-dollar retaliation starting September 8.

He also told reporters Canada was "at war" with the United States. A country that has extracted sixty billion dollars a year from American workers just declared itself a victim.

That ends now.

Read about it...

Hit-and-run death in Lake Worth Beach

A male pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Lake Worth Beach on Saturday night, PBSO said Sunday

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is searching for an older-model black Honda Accord

"Deputies responded to 2405 10th Avenue North, just west of Interstate 95, at 10:52 p.m. The vehicle, a 2003 to 2007 Honda Accord, was traveling eastbound on 10th Avenue North, approaching the 2405 block, according to the PBSO crash report.

The pedestrian was walking on or near the fog line of the eastbound lanes of 10th Avenue North within the 2405 block. As the car continued eastbound, it passed a slower-moving vehicle, changing lanes out of and back into the outside lane of travel, PBSO said.

Upon returning to the outside lane, the vehicle collided with the pedestrian. During the collision, the front passenger side was struck in a sideswipe manner. The victim was vaulted into the air and subsequently into an aluminum fence. The person came to rest on the pedestrian sidewalk on the south side of 10th Avenue North, just east of the area of impact. The car continued eastbound and fled the scene, PBSO said.

PBSO said the car will have collision damage to the front passenger quarter panel, front passenger wheel well, passenger side mirror and passenger door window.

PBSO urges anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at ** TIPS, 1-800-458-TIPS or remain anonymous by downloading PBSO's new app for your Apple or Android smartphone and using the “See Something” feature." {WPBF]

Iran losing its Leverage

No, Iran is not winning: In Act IV of the war, it’s losing its leverage in Hormuz

The arc of this six-month conflict has proceeded in four acts.

• Act One began with intensive airstrikes on February 28 and lasted through six weeks of high-intensity military operations.
• Act Two began with the April 7 ceasefire and negotiations, culminating with the June 17 MOU signed by Trump and Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
• Act Three began weeks later when Iran chose once again to target commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, leading to another tit-for-tat military exchange.

Since mid-July, the US has reimposed its military blockade on Iranian ports and sanctions on Iran’s oil trade. In parallel, the U.S. military has worked tirelessly to clear shipping lanes and help protect commercial ships transiting the Strait.

The result has been an effective blockade on Iranian oil shipments, with global shipments recovering and energy prices remaining remarkably stable. Bloomberg reported this week that oil flows through the Strait have recovered to 2/3 of pre-war levels.

That means pressure is now compounding on Iran, and not the US. And if Iran loses its ability to hold the Strait hostage, its leverage dissipates rapidly.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Iran’s economy is expected to contract by more than 5% this year, with inflation approaching 70%. The value of Iran’s currency has fallen sharply. Prices for basic goods have soared. An Iranian Labor Ministry official recently estimated that more than one million jobs disappeared during the first three months of the war alone.

• But Act Four seems different. The US military has a clear objective as outlined this week by the commander of CENTCOM, Admiral Brad Cooper. It is enforcing the blockade on Iran and facilitating the movement of commercial traffic.

And that status quo — perhaps for the first time since the war began — now favors Washington, not Tehran.

Analysis by Brett H. McGurk

U.S. falling behind in National Security

Crime City of Lake Worth Beach

STOLEN VEHICLE
Incident #: 26089919
2700 BLOCK WINDSWEPT DR | 8/30/2026 @ 1:59 PM
Palm Beach County Sheriff


FORGERY/COUNTERFEIT
Incident #: 26089912
1700 BLOCK 12TH AVE S | 8/30/2026 @ 1:39 PM
Palm Beach County Sheriff


EMBEZZLEMENT/FRAUD
Incident #: 26089869
1400 BLOCK N DIXIE HWY | 8/30/2026 @ 10:02 AM
Palm Beach County Sheriff


DRUNK DRIVER
Incident #: 26089830
3000 BLOCK CONGRESS PARK DR | 8/30/2026 @ 3:07 AM
Palm Beach County Sheriff


BURGLARY VEHICLE
Incident #: 26089829
1400 BLOCK S LAKESIDE DR | 8/30/2026 @ 2:42 AM
Palm Beach County Sheriff


HOMICIDE VEHICLE HOMICIDE
Incident #: 26089814
2400 BLOCK 10TH AVE N | 8/30/2026 @ 12:44 AM
Palm Beach County Sheriff

Tonight's Sky 8-30-26

As President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans publicly move to restrict Chinese access to American farmland, Smithfield has assembled a Washington influence operation stocked with former Republican congressional aides, agriculture policy insiders, and revolving-door lobbyists.

Among them are former aides to Republican Sens. John Warner and Susan Collins, a former House Republican Conference official, and a former U.S. Department of Agriculture official. And federal lobbying filings show they have been working directly on “foreign farmland ownership restrictions.”

THE CHINA FARMLAND LOBBY--Smithfield paid Holland & Knight $270,000 during the second quarter of 2025 and paid them another $270,000 for a portfolio of lobbying issues that specifically included “issues related to foreign ownership of agricultural land.”

The lobbying campaign comes as Republican officials are describing Chinese access to American farmland as a national-security emergency. [Natalie Winters]

Good Night, Patriots!

Duwaji to travel to Portugal for third Islamic Retreat

NYC first lady Rama Duwaji heads to Portugal for third luxury Islamic retreat of 2026

New York City's first lady is set to spend nearly two weeks at a posh Islamic calligraphy retreat in the Portuguese countryside this September, her third European getaway with the same organization this year, while critics say she has shown more interest in overseas travel than in the city her husband governs.

Rama Duwaji, the 29-year-old wife of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, will serve as "artist-in-residence" at a "Journey through Islamic Calligraphy" retreat hosted by The Women Sanctuary at a manor house in Arcos de Valdevez, near Porto, Portugal. The retreat runs two sessions, September 16, 21 and September 25, 30, and costs attendees between $4,300 for a shared room and $5,260 for a private room with a private bathroom, the New York Post reported.

The manor's amenities include a heated outdoor pool, a heated indoor pool, and landscaped gardens. The retreat's website promises days spent "exploring the rich history of Islam in Portugal" alongside calligraphy workshops, picnics, poolside hangouts, and walks, all wrapped in language about "spiritual reflection" and "suhbah," an Arabic term for spiritual companionship.

Three Islamic retreats in three months, and a September packed with travel--

The Portugal trip marks Duwaji's third Women Sanctuary retreat in 2026. She attended the first on the Spanish resort island of Mallorca over the Fourth of July weekend, skipping America's 250th birthday celebration. The second ran July 9, 14 in Corsica, France, honoring what the organization described as "the legacy of Mary, the most honored woman in the Quran."

Duwaji is also slated to visit Lebanon and Syria at some point in September, though the specific dates have not been disclosed. Both countries sit on the U.S. State Department's "Do Not Travel" list for Americans.

Read more...