Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel told a gathering of Jewish Democrats that they have a “moral imperative” to place the world&#8217;s needs above &#8220;our own survival&#8221; when voting in November. 
Nessel, a Jewish Democrat who has emerged as one of the party’s most prominent critics of its handling of antisemitism and Israel, made the remarks Sunday at the Michigan Democratic Party’s Jewish Caucus&#8217; annual &#8220;Summer Simcha&#8221; in Birmingham, where she was honored.
 Members of the media were barred from the gathering, but the <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/31/dana-nessel-jewish-democrats-abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-israel/91541945007/">Detroit News</a> obtained a recording of her remarks.
“Come November, what do your Jewish values tell you to do?” Nessel asked the audience. “It’s so easy to hate people right now, especially other Democrats who seem to have thrown us under the bus, despite our lifelong contributions to our party.” 
&#8220;We have a moral imperative to place the needs of the world above even our own self-interest and, yes, even our own survival,&#8221; she continued.
Nessel then invoked the biblical story of Queen Esther, who she said was willing to sacrifice her own life to save the Jewish people. 
“It is perhaps up to us now to follow in her path and sacrifice the comfort, safety and security and even the very future of our own people in exchange for the opportunity to save the rest of humanity,” Nessel said.
Her remarks came amid a bitter divide among Michigan Democrats over Israel and the Democratic Party’s relationship with Jewish voters.
Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal critic of Israel and U.S. military aid to the country, attended the gathering. Nessel has previously criticized El-Sayed over comments he made following a March attempted attack on Temple Israel, a synagogue in West Bloomfield. El-Sayed apologized to Jewish Democrats at Sunday’s event for his earlier remarks, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mike-rogers-slams-abdul-el-sayeds-apology-to-jews-as-political-theater">though not all were impressed.</a> 
Nessel framed the decision facing Jewish Democrats as a choice between their concerns about Israel and Jewish security and what she portrayed as broader threats to humanity, including climate change, nuclear war, artificial intelligence, and economic inequality.
“What good is defending the historic homeland of our ancestors and demanding that candidates acknowledge its right to exist if the planet upon which it rests is no longer inhabitable?” she asked.
Nessel also criticized what she described as the Democratic Party’s treatment of Jewish Americans, saying many Jewish Democrats feel they “must choose between our faith and our party.”  
She acknowledged the frustration over anti-Israel rhetoric within Democratic circles, including arguments that Zionism is equivalent to racism or fascism. 
“People whose entire understanding of Jewish-Israeli history fits neatly into a 47-second TikTok produced by Qatar or Iran,” she said.
But Nessel also argued that supporting President Donald Trump and the Republican Party amounted to an abandonment of Jewish responsibilities. 
“I would argue that their support of selfishness and blind obedience to the world’s biggest and most dangerous fool is a direct abdication of our responsibilities as Jews whose traditions demand a profound obligation to the world and compassionate action toward others,” she said.
Nessel’s remarks came one day after she skipped the Michigan Democratic Party’s state convention because she feared she would be harassed or booed by fellow Democrats. 
“I feel like my presence isn’t going to be welcome,” Nessel said at the time. “I don’t want to get chased around. I don’t want to get harassed. I don’t want to get yelled and screamed at. I don’t want to get booed off the stage.”
Nessel later told The Atlantic’s David Frum that she had witnessed an “enormous amount of antisemitism within the Democratic Party” since the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel. 
She <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democratic-ag-warns-el-sayed-is-making-excuses-for-domestic-terrorism">specifically criticized</a> El-Sayed for his response to the attempted attack on Temple Israel, saying she believed his effort to connect the attack to Israeli military action risked providing an excuse for antisemitic violence.
Nessel has not publicly endorsed El-Sayed despite being a Democrat and saying she will not support his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers. At Sunday’s event, however, she urged Jewish Democrats to consider what she called their broader obligations when deciding how to vote.
The Michigan Senate race is expected to be closely watched as Democrats attempt to defend the open seat and Republicans seek to flip it.

Dana Nessel

Michigan AG Tells Jews They Have ‘Moral Imperative’ To Sacrifice Themselves For Humanity

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The military judge overseeing the long-delayed prosecution of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed recently threw out the terrorist’s confession to FBI agents, dealing a major blow to the government’s case. Now, the judge’s writings have come under scrutiny for his criticism of conservatives in the military.
Lt. Colonel Michael Schrama, an Air Force judge presiding over the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/us/politics/september11-confession-trial.html">ruled Friday</a> that statements Mohammed made to FBI agents in 2007 were not given voluntarily and could not be used against him at trial. The ruling came just days after Schrama set June 5, 2028, as the start date for Mohammed’s trial, nearly 27 years after the September 11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans.
Mohammed had previously been subjected to CIA interrogations, including 183 instances of waterboarding, after his capture in 2003. Prosecutors had already excluded statements from those interrogations. Schrama went further, finding that the effects of the earlier interrogation continued to influence Mohammed when he was questioned by FBI agents at Guantanamo in 2007.
But scrutiny of the judge has also revived a <a href="https://warontherocks.com/creating-a-codified-legal-response-to-domestic-extremism-in-the-ranks/">2023 essay</a> in which Schrama argued that the military needed new legal tools to combat what he described as a growing domestic extremism which he attributed to the military&#8217;s &#8220;conservative tendencies.&#8221;
“As an active-duty Air Force military judge, I have seen firsthand a rising population of military members engaging in extremist activities,” Schrama wrote in the essay. Schrama argued that “military institutions tend to become more conservative and isolated from civilian society.”
“These conservative tendencies are constantly reinforced, and young military members can be easy prey for the extreme right-wing groups that relate through similar conservative ideology,” he wrote. He called domestic extremism in the military “a threat to national security” and argued that Congress should create a specific offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice to allow commanders to punish such conduct.
The essay also discussed Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Hasson, who pleaded guilty in 2019 to gun and drug charges after prosecutors alleged he had stockpiled weapons and planned to murder Democratic politicians, Supreme Court justices, and journalists. Schrama argued that the case demonstrated the limitations of existing federal law because prosecutors had charged Hasson with other offenses rather than a specific domestic terrorism crime.
The essay was not written in Schrama&#8217;s capacity as a judge on the military commissions. Schrama&#8217;s ruling on Mohammed&#8217;s confession is nevertheless likely to have significant consequences for a case that has been stuck in pretrial proceedings for nearly two decades.
“The prosecution has failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Mr. Mohammad&#8217;s statements to the F.B.I. were voluntarily given,” Schrama wrote, according to the ruling&#8217;s conclusion.
The judge found that Mohammed&#8217;s treatment by the CIA had created an “unbroken continuation of the CIA&#8217;s psychological conditioning and severe coercion” that carried over into his later questioning. He also found that FBI agents failed to explicitly tell Mohammed that he had a right to remain silent and consult an attorney.
The government has five days to decide whether to appeal the ruling, with the option to request another five days. Rear Admiral Aaron C. Rugh, the chief prosecutor, said the government would review the decision before determining whether to appeal.
Without Mohammed&#8217;s FBI confessions, prosecutors will have to rely on other evidence, including documents, telephone intercepts, and transcripts of other conversations. Some of that evidence has also been challenged in the years of litigation surrounding the case.
The confession was particularly important because Mohammed is accused of developing the 9/11 plot in the 1990s, pitching it to Osama bin Laden and helping select and train the hijackers who ultimately carried out the attacks. The case has already survived repeated delays and changes in judges. Schrama became the fifth judge assigned to oversee the prosecution in 2025.
White House senior adviser Stephen Miller blasted the decision, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/judge-axed-911-mastermind-confession-blamed-military-conservative-tendencies-rising-extremism">saying</a> the American judicial system is &#8220;so badly broken it sides at every turn with predators, monsters and, in this case, a 9/11 mastermind.&#8221;
&#8220;It’s a disgrace, it’s a travesty, it’s an outrage,&#8221; Miller said.
Mohammed&#8217;s defense attorneys, meanwhile, have argued that his years of torture, isolation, and coercive treatment made his later statements to FBI agents involuntary. Gary Sowards, one of Mohammed&#8217;s attorneys, said the ruling demonstrated “why the government shouldn’t engage in such shameful conduct.”
For the families of the September 11 victims, however, the latest development represents another setback in a prosecution that has been delayed for years — and now prosecutors have to fight to restore one of the most important pieces of evidence in their case.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Judge Who Tossed Confession For 9/11 Mastermind Outed As Left-Wing Ideologue

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The doctor behind a Miami company that markets services to foreign nationals seeking to give birth in the United States was subpoenaed to testify before Congress Tuesday. He invoked the Fifth Amendment 11 times, answered none of the committee’s substantive questions, and was promptly dismissed from the hearing.
Dr. Wladimir Lorentz, founder and chief medical officer of Miami Medical Concierge Services, also known as “Have My Baby in Miami,” initially refused to voluntarily appear before the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses. Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) responded by subpoenaing Lorentz on August 26 to appear at Tuesday’s hearing, titled “Protecting American Citizenship: Confronting Birth Tourism.”
But Lorentz’s testimony lasted only a few minutes. In his opening statement, Lorentz said he was appearing in response to the subpoena and, on the advice of his attorney, would decline to answer questions related to a pending federal investigation. “I will respectfully decline to answer any questions touching the subject matter of a pending federal investigation on the grounds that a truthful answer may tend to incriminate me, and I invoke my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Lorentz said.
Lorentz invoked the Fifth in response to every substantive question brought by Task Force Chairman Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX), including questions about whether Have My Baby in Miami facilitated the entry of foreign nationals seeking to give birth and obtain U.S. citizenship for their children, how many foreign nationals had used the service, and whether the company had assisted members of the Chinese Communist Party or foreign criminal organizations.
Gill also confronted Lorentz with the company’s former website, which advertised its services to prospective international clients. The website claimed that Have My Baby in Miami had facilitated more than 2,000 deliveries involving international patients. It offered prospective customers assistance with travel preparation, medical care, housing, health insurance, and obtaining documentation for their newborns before returning to their home countries. 
After Lorentz declined to answer a series of questions, Gill asked whether he intended to invoke the Fifth in response to every question posed by the committee. Lorentz answered by pleading the Fifth. “All right. Let the record reflect that Dr. Lorentz has asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to all questions posed to him today,” Gill said. “Considering your invocation to the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination pursuant to the terms of the subpoena issued for your appearance at this hearing, I have no choice but to excuse you from the witness panel,” Gill continued. “You’re hereby excused from the witness panel, and we will continue the hearing.”
In the United States, birth tourism has developed into a cottage industry of concierge companies and other businesses that assist expectant mothers with everything from travel and lodging to medical care and obtaining their newborns’ U.S. documentation. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/travel/birth-tourism-industry-thriving-miami-supreme-court-showdown-gets-underway">Have My Baby in Miami</a> has publicly marketed itself as one such service. Its website previously told prospective customers that “the dream of having a child in the United States is closer to reality than you ever imagined.”
The company’s website provided a step-by-step guide for international clients covering their trip to the United States, arrival, delivery, the birth itself, preparation for returning home, and the process of obtaining documentation for the newborn. The practice also featured testimonials from parents in countries including Brazil and Colombia who described their experiences of traveling to Miami to give birth.
The Oversight Committee’s investigation is focused not only on the legal status of birthright citizenship but on the businesses profiting from birth tourism. In May, the committee sent Lorentz a letter seeking documents and information concerning Have My Baby in Miami’s marketing, advertising, service agreements, and medical tourism packages. The committee also contacted another company, International Maternity Services, as part of its investigation.
When <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/gill-announces-hearing-on-confronting-birth-tourism/">announcing</a> Tuesday’s hearing, Gill said that the task force would examine the prevalence of birth tourism schemes, the companies profiting from them, and the national security implications of the industry, particularly given the number of birth tourists traveling from countries such as China and Russia. “Birth tourism should appall every American citizen,” Gill said last month. “It subverts the rule of law, cheapens American citizenship, and undermines our sovereignty as a nation.”
“Dr. Lorentz originally refused to testify before our committee. So, we sent him a subpoena,” Gill <a href="https://x.com/realBrandonGill/status/2094623026801246646">wrote Monday</a>. “Tomorrow, he will be forced to answer questions about the birth tourism industry’s blatant disregard of our nation’s sovereignty.”
Instead, Lorentz appeared before Congress and unfortunately left without answering a single substantive question about his business.

Former US Special Counsel Jack Smith Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee

Birth Tourism Mastermind Pleads The Fifth, Dismissed From Congressional Hearing

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Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and CBS Sports broadcaster Tony Romo pleaded no contest Tuesday to an OWI civil offense in Wisconsin, saying chronic pain from multiple back surgeries led to his dependence on pain medication and eventual over-reliance on alcohol.
Romo released a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcv-NrGxv-b/">statement</a> following the plea, saying his football career ended earlier than he expected after multiple back surgeries left him with &#8220;constant, debilitating pain.&#8221;
&#8220;That pain led to a dependence on pain medication, and my efforts to get off those medications led to an over-reliance on alcohol” Romo wrote 
“I own this completely,” he added. “None of this is an excuse. These are my failures, and I take responsibility for them.”
&#8220;The past month has been difficult, but it has also been personally significant,&#8221; Romo said. &#8220;It has required me to confront and own my mistakes fully—to the Lord, to myself, to my family, and now to the public.&#8221;
Romo said he is working with a team of doctors to address his health. His driving privileges have been revoked for six months, he must complete an alcohol assessment program, and an ignition interlock device will be installed on his vehicle, according to court records reviewed by <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/09/01/tony-romo-says-he-pled-no-contest-to-owi/">TMZ</a>.
Romo also thanked his family, friends and members of the NFL community for their support saying, &#8220;your encouragement has meant more to me than you know.&#8221;
&#8220;As I turn my attention to my health, my family, and, in time, my return to CBS, I kindly ask for privacy during this period,&#8221; he added.
Romo, 46, retired from the NFL in 2017 after 14 seasons with the Cowboys and joined CBS Sports as its lead NFL analyst.
This is a breaking story. Stay with The Daily Wire for updates.

tony_romo_mug

Tony Romo Comes Clean In Brutally Candid Letter

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Democrats appear to be pulling some more shenanigans in Alaska as Democratic Senate candidate David Leslie withdrew from the Senate race Monday, making former Rep. Mary Peltola the field’s only Democratic candidate as three Republicans will appear on the ballot.
Leslie&#8217;s decision clears the way for a Republican who narrowly missed the top four in the state’s primary to advance to the November ballot. 
Leslie, a democratic socialist from Fairbanks who ran to the Left of Peltola, finished fourth in the August 18 primary with roughly 1.1% of the vote. His withdrawal came hours before Alaska’s deadline for candidates to leave the November ballot.
That decision elevated Republican Gerald Heikes, who finished fifth with roughly 1.1% of the vote, into the general election. Heikes finished just 109 votes behind Leslie. The change leaves Peltola as the only Democrat on the ballot and gives Republicans three candidates in the race: incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, Republican challenger Dan J. Sullivan, and Heikes. The move led <a href="https://x.com/VoteHub/status/2094529883376423178">VoteHub</a> to flip its rating of the race from “Toss Up” to “Tilt Democrat.”
The development comes as Republicans have already accused Democrats of trying to manipulate the unusual Senate contest through the candidacy of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dan-sullivan-endorses-dan-sullivan-against-dan-sullivan-in-key-senate-race">Dan J. Sullivan</a>, a retired Petersburg teacher who shares a first and last name with the incumbent Republican senator.
Republicans, including Sen. Sullivan, have accused Dan J. Sullivan of working with Democrats and the Peltola campaign to confuse voters and siphon support away from the incumbent. Dan J. Sullivan, Peltola’s campaign and the Alaska Democratic Party have denied the allegations.
Sen. Sullivan has called his namesake’s candidacy a “dirty political trick coordinated by Democrats and the campaign” of Peltola and accused him of “purposely trying to trick my constituents to rig the election for Peltola.” The allegations followed a legal fight over Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy. Alaska election officials initially removed him from the ballot, but the Alaska Supreme Court ultimately ruled that he was eligible to run. He went on to finish third in the August primary with 2.5% of the vote, securing one of the four spots in the general election.
Now, Leslie’s withdrawal has produced another unusual twist in the race. The top four candidates are relevant because Alaska uses a ranked-choice voting system. The top four finishers in the open primary advance to the general election regardless of party, where voters rank the candidates. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed according to voters’ next available choices until someone reaches a majority.
Peltola dominated the primary, receiving 49.5% of the vote to Sullivan’s 41.4%. Dan J. Sullivan received 2.5%, while Leslie and Heikes were separated by only a handful of votes for the final qualifying spot.
Leslie’s withdrawal therefore removes the only other Democrat from a race in which Peltola already enters the general election with a substantial primary showing. It also puts another Republican on the ballot, potentially giving voters who oppose Sullivan another option while creating another set of preferences that could eventually be redistributed under Alaska’s ranked-choice system.
The field is considerably different from the one Alaska voters faced in August, when 16 candidates competed for four spots. The Senate race is expected to be one of the country’s most closely watched contests as Democrats seek to gain seats in the chamber. Peltola is seeking a promotion to the Senate after serving in the House from 2022 to 2025, while Sullivan is seeking a third term representing Alaska.
For Republicans, Leslie’s departure means the Democrats’ alleged efforts to shape the race have not ended with the Dan Sullivan controversy. For Democrats, it means Peltola will enter November without another Democrat competing for first-choice votes. Either way, a Senate race that was already among the country’s strangest just became even more complicated.

Sen. Dan Sullivan

Democrats Pull Out Another Dirty Trick To Flip GOP Senate Seat

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The midterms are shaping up to be a battle of bank accounts as much as ballot boxes, and one industry in particular is putting an enormous amount of money behind its political priorities.
The cryptocurrency industry has emerged as one of the largest sources of political cash in the 2026 elections, pouring roughly $200 million into the midterm cycle as it seeks to elect a Congress willing to rewrite the rules governing digital assets.
Four major crypto interests alone — Ripple Labs and co-founder Chris Larsen, Coinbase, the Winklevoss twins, and Crypto.com — have contributed roughly $202 million during the election cycle, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/08/28/us/politics/billionaire-midterms-donors.html">New York Times</a> campaign-finance data published Friday. 
Ripple and Larsen have given $65.7 million, according to the Times. Coinbase has contributed $55.2 million, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have given $42.7 million, and Crypto.com has contributed another $38.6 million.
At the center of that effort is Fairshake, a crypto-focused super PAC whose affiliated groups operate on both sides of the aisle. Fairshake had raised nearly $137 million during the 2026 elections by July, according to <a href="https://perma.cc/9HD8-SKG9">FEC records</a>.
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/which-midterm-candidates-is-crypto-industry-backing-2026-08-03/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Reuters</a> reported in August that the industry has backed a bipartisan collection of candidates who have generally supported crypto-friendly candidates. Congress has already delivered one major victory on that front, with President Donald Trump signing the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-sends-genius-act-to-trump-passes-two-other-crypto-bills">GENIUS Act</a> last year, establishing a federal regulatory framework for dollar-backed stablecoins. 
Now, the industry is pushing for the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/what-is-us-senates-landmark-crypto-bill-2026-07-22/">CLARITY Act</a>, which would establish broader rules for digital assets and delineate regulatory authority over the industry.
The legislation has become a major priority for crypto companies, which have spent more than $225 million on lobbying since Trump returned to the White House, according to the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/352a15ac-53c4-46eb-b75e-957f0388dc79?syn-25a6b1a6=1">Financial Times</a>. 
The bill passed the House but has encountered resistance in the Senate, including from Republicans concerned about its implications for traditional financial institutions.
Not to be outdone, traditional partisan mega-donors such as Republicans Jeff Yass, Miriam Adelson, Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, Paul Singer, Ken Griffin and Democrats George and Alex Soros remain major players, pouring hundreds of millions into races across the country.
But the Times&#8217; list of the 20 largest donors shows how quickly technology and industry-specific political interests have moved into the upper echelon of campaign finance. 
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, along with their venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, lead the list with $115.3 million in contributions. Elon Musk follows with $90.5 million, while OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife Anna have contributed $50 million.
Andreessen Horowitz is a major funder of Fairshake while also backing Leading the Future, a super PAC focused on electing politicians favorable to the artificial intelligence industry. 
Reuters reported that the firm has contributed more than $81 million to political action committees focused primarily on crypto and AI, while its founders have also made personal contributions.
For all the tech dollars pouring into the political arena, however, the traditional party structures remain <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-democrats-cash-crunch-and-what-it-means-for-2026-and-beyond">the sweetest plum</a>. 
Republican committees and allied congressional super PACs entered the general election with roughly $657 million in cash on hand, compared with approximately $334 million for Democratic committees and their allied organizations. President Trump&#8217;s MAGA Inc. super PAC adds another enormous reservoir of Republican-aligned money, with more than $400 million available heading into the final months of the campaign.
With the general election approaching, the cryptocurrency industry has amassed enough political firepower to make sure lawmakers in both parties are listening.

Illustration shows representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin

Crypto Industry Becomes One Of Midterms’ Biggest Political Players

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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Troy Jackson backed millions of dollars in additional funding for a state academy while his son was simultaneously serving as the institution’s legislative lobbyist and working as a private lobbyist.
Jackson, who served as president of the Maine Senate from 2018 to 2024 and is now the Democratic nominee challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, cosponsored legislation in January 2024 that sought to substantially increase taxpayer funding for the Maine Maritime Academy.
At the time, Jackson’s son (<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/graham-platners-replacement-accused-of-having-kids-with-cousin">and third cousin</a>), Chace Jackson, was registered as the academy’s legislative designee — the employee designated to lobby the Maine Legislature on the institution’s behalf, according to a review by the <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/troy-jackson-cosponsored-bill-sending-millions-of-taxpayer-dollars-to-sons-lobbying-client/">Washington Free Beacon</a>.
The bill, Legislative Document 2092, lists “President Jackson of Aroostook” among its Senate cosponsors. A fiscal analysis projected that the proposal would require an additional $2.6 million in fiscal year 2024-5, increasing to $5.5 million the following year and $8.4 million in fiscal year 2026-27.
Chace Jackson had registered as Maine Maritime Academy’s legislative designee in December 2022, identifying himself as the academy’s “legislative affairs coordinator.” He filed another registration in January 2024, this time using the title “legislative coordinator.”
The elder Jackson had already backed a substantial increase in the academy’s funding the previous year. In July 2023, he voted for a state budget that provided the Maine Maritime Academy with an additional $2 million per year, an increase the Maine Service Employees Association described as the academy’s “single biggest” funding increase in years.
The academy thanked lawmakers for the additional funding but said it still needed more money to keep pace with rising costs. 
Jackson’s 2024 legislation would have provided the additional $13.4 million a year. The bill passed the Senate under Jackson’s leadership but ultimately did not become law.
Maine requires state departments and agencies to designate employees to lobby the Legislature on their behalf. The state Ethics Commission says an employee designated as a department or agency’s primary lobbyist must register with the commission. Chace Jackson, however, simultaneously worked as an outside lobbyist for the Resurgam Group, a lobbying firm founded by Troy Jackson’s former chief of staff and current campaign adviser B.J. McCollister.
Records reviewed by the Free Beacon show that Chace Jackson initially listed the Resurgam Group’s office as his mailing address on his Maine Maritime Academy legislative-designee registration and provided a personal email address rather than one belonging to the academy. His 2024 registration listed an academy email address, phone number, and mailing address.
A longtime Maine legislative staffer told the Free Beacon that the arrangement appeared to be an example of preferential treatment for the son of the Senate president. 
“I can’t think of another time that has happened,” the staffer said of Chace Jackson’s simultaneous roles as a legislative designee and outside lobbyist, arguing that the arrangement suggested he was “skirting the rules.”
The overlap is particularly notable given Troy Jackson’s political rhetoric. Jackson has portrayed himself as a working-class opponent of the political “system,” describing himself as a “fifth-generation logger” and saying he entered the Senate race because “the status quo isn’t working.” 
In an April gubernatorial <a href="https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2026-04-17/your-vote-2026-profile-troy-jackson-democrat-for-governor?utm_source=chatgpt.com">candidate profile</a>, Jackson blamed “special interests, high-priced lobbyists and corporate greed” for preventing legislation he supported from becoming law. 
“I’m tired of folks being told to hold on, wait a little longer or that now is not the right time,” Jackson said. “All thanks to the work of special interests, high-priced lobbyists and corporate greed.”
Chace Jackson previously worked as a lobbyist for Preti Flaherty, one of Maine’s largest government affairs firms. In 2019, while his father was Senate president, Chace Jackson <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/troy-jacksons-son-repped-oil-and-gas-company-lobbying-against-bill-that-died-in-jacksons-senate/">represented Global Partners LP</a> as the company lobbied against legislation targeting its petroleum facilities following an emissions controversy. 
One of the bills subsequently died in the Troy Jackson-controlled Senate.
In 2022, Chace Jackson joined the Resurgam Group. In 2024, the final year of Troy Jackson’s tenure as Senate president, the firm received $182,500 in lobbying compensation from nine clients represented by Chace Jackson, according to Maine lobbying records reviewed by the Free Beacon.
The younger Jackson’s political work for his father also predates his lobbying career. Troy Jackson’s 2014 U.S. congressional campaign paid Chace Jackson more than $32,000 in salary, making him the campaign’s highest-paid staffer. The junior Jackson subsequently contributed $1,833.78 to the campaign, although $1,750 of that contribution was returned.
A spokesman for the Jackson campaign defended the candidate, saying that “Troy Jackson has fought for working Mainers” and that his work is “guided by one goal: fixing our broken system so Maine’s working families stop getting squeezed while the rich get richer.”
It is unclear whether Chace Jackson still works for Maine Maritime Academy. The academy has not submitted legislative-designee registration forms for 2025 or 2026, and the Ethics Commission said it stopped requiring the academy to make those disclosures after determining it was no longer a state department or agency.

Maine Democrats Hold Senate Nominating Convention

Troy Jackson Pushed Millions For College His Lobbyist Son Represented

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Andrew Tate’s secretive online program allegedly taught members how to infiltrate the circles of wealthy and powerful people, exploit their vulnerabilities, and use compromising information to blackmail them, according to newly leaked course materials.
The massive data leak, obtained by a security researcher and provided to <a href="https://san.com/cc/manosphere-influencer-andrew-tate-faces-sexual-misconduct-charges-a-data-leak-is-exposing-his-secrets/">Straight Arrow News</a> and leak-archiving organization <a href="https://ddosecrets.org/article/tate-media-library">DDoSecrets</a>, exposes previously little-known courses inside Tate’s “War Room,” a membership program marketed as a network for men seeking wealth, influence and personal development.
One course, titled “Penetrating the Elite,” or “PTE,” instructs members to operate like intelligence agents targeting wealthy individuals. 
“Think of yourself as an intelligence officer,” one course slide says, “but instead of going out and trying to recruit foreign politicians or foreign embassy staff, you’re going out, you’re trying to recruit ultra-high net worth individuals.” 
The objective is put crudely elsewhere in the course: “Penetrate them, get paid.”
The course teaches members to identify vulnerabilities among wealthy targets, including potentially compromising sexual behavior, and exploit those vulnerabilities to gain influence or financial advantages. One slide claims that women are a particularly common weakness among members of the elite and encourages participants to engage in taboo activities with targets to establish trust. 
The material claims the techniques have been successfully used on a major Hollywood director, a famous UFC fighter, an Arab billionaire, and a Fortune 500 CEO.
The revelations come as Tate and his brother, Tristan, are being held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tate-brothers-slapped-with-38-new-charges-in-expanding-sex-trafficking-case?author=Daily+Wire+News&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Tate+Brothers+Slapped+With+38+New+Charges+In+Expanding+Sex+Trafficking+Case">they face a combined 59 criminal charges</a> that include allegations of rape, sexual assault, human trafficking and offenses involving indecent images of children and extreme pornography. Both brothers have denied wrongdoing and accused British authorities of politically motivated persecution.
The leaked data includes more than 12 terabytes of material discovered by a security researcher who asked to remain anonymous. The researcher said the information was not obtained through hacking, but rather by analyzing publicly accessible source code and files that Tate’s online infrastructure had inadvertently exposed.
The researcher found code identifying 235 privileged War Room accounts across seven levels of access, including a small group of administrators and members who had paid for access to hidden courses. 
Another course, called “Operator,” teaches participants techniques such as bribing foreign officials, resisting interrogation, and detecting surveillance.
The leaked material also reportedly contains instructions for controlling women. One section teaches members to establish “complete control” over a woman’s daily routine, clothing, friends, and diet, while describing punishment for violating the rules. Another course, the “Date Magnet System,” teaches members to categorize women into “exploitable types,” manufacture the appearance of an authentic lifestyle, and conduct large-scale outreach to women.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/andrew-tates-own-lawyers-say-his-whole-image-is-a-fraud?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Andrew+Tate%E2%80%99s+Own+Lawyers+Say+His+Whole+Image+Is+A+Fraud">Court filings acknowledged</a> that luxury cars and yachts featured in their social media content were rented, borrowed, or used for promotional purposes. The brothers’ attorneys argued that “they are playing a role” and that their exaggerated displays of wealth were part of a business model designed to attract followers who would then purchase courses teaching them how to become wealthy themselves. 
Tate’s War Room currently costs members $2,400 annually, down from a previous price of as much as $8,000. 
The Tate brothers also face separate criminal proceedings in Romania, where they have denied allegations of human trafficking and other crimes.

President Trump Attends UFC Fight At Kaseya Center In Miami

Andrew Tate’s Secret Class To Blackmail Elites Gets Exposed

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President Donald Trump issued a blunt warning Monday to communities pushing back against the construction of artificial intelligence data centers, arguing that opposition to the facilities could leave communities poorer while benefiting China.
“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” Trump wrote in a post on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117190477440173795">Truth Social</a>. “If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign.”
“The good news is that there are plenty of other places that want them,” Trump continued. “If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame.” Trump also invoked the central geopolitical argument behind his support for the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, writing, “China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement. Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!”
The president’s comments come as opposition to data centers has emerged as one of the most politically charged issues ahead of the November midterm elections. A <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/709772/americans-oppose-data-centers-area.aspx">Gallup poll</a> conducted in March found 71% of Americans opposed building a data center in their communities, including 75% of Democrats, 63% of Republicans, and 74% of independents. A <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox-news-poll-cool-your-servers-voters-reject-data-centers">Fox News poll</a> conducted last month similarly found 70% opposed to building an AI data center in their area.
Critics have raised concerns about the enormous amounts of electricity and water consumed by the facilities as well as noise. Critics also argue that data centers can place a strain on local infrastructure and question whether nearby residents actually benefit economically from their construction.
Those concerns have also been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republicans-are-turning-against-data-centers-fast">voiced</a> by Republican politicians and candidates even as Trump has remained firmly committed to the data center buildout. Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who has broadly supported data centers, recently moved to impose new regulations on the industry and has argued that data center companies need to pay the full cost of the electrical infrastructure they require. Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton supports Abbott’s pause on new data centers.
Republican Senate candidate <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/20/republican-mike-rogers-michigan-data-center-moratorium-01044140">Mike Rogers</a> in Michigan and Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial nominee <a href="https://penncapital-star.com/technology-information/garrity-and-shapiro-have-accused-each-other-of-flip-flopping-on-data-centers-are-they-both-right/">Stacy Garrity</a> have also called for halts or restrictions on certain projects. On the other side of the aisle, Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has imposed restrictions on data center development, while Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/did-a-democratic-governor-just-hand-china-a-gift-wrapped-win">ordered</a> a one-year moratorium on certain hyperscale data centers.
Trump, however, has repeatedly rejected calls for a broader pullback. In a recent <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/23/trump-data-centers-michael-cohen-interview">interview with Michael Cohen</a>, Trump argued that communities refusing data centers were “making a mistake” because the facilities bring “tremendous amounts of jobs and money.” He also claimed that data centers are increasingly being paired with their own power plants rather than relying entirely on existing electrical grids.
The administration has sought to address concerns over electricity costs through its Ratepayer Protection Pledge, under which data center operators and several governors agreed to measures intended to prevent ordinary ratepayers from being saddled with the costs of the AI buildout. Trump has also <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116924979201330474">previously called</a> data centers “one of the biggest Driving Forces in the Future for Jobs” and signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/accelerating-federal-permitting-of-data-center-infrastructure/">executive order</a> aimed at accelerating their construction.

Trump Tries To Curb Birthright Citizenship Anew After Court Loss

Trump Warns Americans Are About To ‘Kill The Golden Goose’

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Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly fears that ending the war in Ukraine without securing a victory could cost him his life, with Kremlin insiders claiming he has warned that he could be “hanged” if Russia fails to achieve its objectives.
The explosive claim was reported by the <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/08/30/cornered-vladimir-putin-plans-to-escalate-his-war">Economist</a>, which cited sources close to the Kremlin as saying Putin believes he cannot safely end the nearly five-year war without at least capturing all of Ukraine’s Donbas region. “They will hang me,” Putin reportedly told people close to him at some point during the war, according to one insider cited by the outlet. 
The reported fear could help explain why Putin appears increasingly committed to escalating the conflict rather than pursuing an end to the fighting. According to the Economist, Putin is preparing to send as many as 400,000 additional Russians to the battlefield. Russia’s September 2022 mobilization decree remains in effect, meaning Moscow can reportedly recruit additional troops without formally announcing another mass call-up. Regional authorities could be tasked with meeting recruitment quotas, allowing the Kremlin to spread the manpower costs across individual regions.
The reported escalation comes as Russia continues a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/world/europe/ukraine-kyiv-drones-russia-sirens.html">massive aerial campaign against Ukraine</a>. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched nearly 1,500 drones over a four-day period, more than half of them jet-powered, as repeated strikes disrupted life in Kyiv.
Russian forces have also increasingly targeted Ukraine’s logistics and commercial infrastructure. Ukraine’s agriculture minister said roughly 90% of the food logistics infrastructure operated by major retail chains has been destroyed, but added that alternative delivery methods would prevent Ukrainians from being left without food.
Ukraine has meanwhile expanded its own long-range drone campaign against Russian oil, energy and logistics infrastructure.
The war is also reportedly becoming increasingly unpopular among parts of Russia’s elite. One insider told the Economist that the conflict has continued largely on “inertia,” imposing growing economic and political costs on Russia. Another argued that nearly five years of war increasingly makes the conflict appear to be a failure regardless of its eventual outcome.
Despite those concerns, Putin’s grip on power remains secure, according to the report. The danger may instead be what happens if he attempts to end the war without being able to claim a meaningful victory.
Putin has continued to publicly reject the idea that Russia is preparing to wind down its campaign. During an Aug. 22 address, he <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-says-ukraine-opened-pandoras-box-with-strikes-economic-targets-2026-08-22/">accused</a> Ukraine of opening a “Pandora’s box” and threatened retaliation against what he called the country’s “most sensitive sectors.”
“The special military operation continues,” Putin told members of Russia’s ruling United Russia party. “We will move only forward.” The Kremlin has also increasingly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/27/britain-ukraine-war-russia">threatened</a> Ukraine’s Western supporters, including Britain, as Western governments expand military assistance to Kyiv.
The result is a war in which Putin may face pressure from multiple directions: growing costs at home, frustration among portions of the Russian elite and continued battlefield resistance from Ukraine. An exit without a clear victory could carry political consequences he reportedly fears could be even more severe.

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Putin Reportedly Fears That He’ll Be Hanged If He Loses Ukraine War

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Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed attempted to explain comments he made after a March terrorist attack on a Detroit-area synagogue, but Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers quickly dismissed the Democrat&#8217;s remarks as an insincere political maneuver.
El-Sayed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/us/politics/el-sayed-apology-jewish-democrats.html">addressed</a> the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus at the state Democratic Party’s convention in Lansing on Saturday, telling reporters after the convention that his response to the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township had been inappropriate. 
“My comments might have been misconstrued to be justifying something I did not intend to justify,” El-Sayed said. “To anybody who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I’m really sorry. That was not my intention.”
El-Sayed also said that he had tried to provide “context” for the attack when he should have simply condemned it. 
“What I was trying to do was offer context for why it happened, but it wasn’t the time for context, and you don’t ever want to trample somebody’s pain,” he said.
The comments came months after a Muslim man intentionally drove a truck into Temple Israel and opened fire on a security guard in what federal authorities described as Hezbollah-inspired terrorism against Jews. In his initial response, El-Sayed condemned the attack but also attempted to explain it, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/radical-senate-candidate-admits-he-struggles-to-say-israel-has-a-right-to-exist">saying</a> that “violence is a cycle” and &#8220;hurt people hurt people.&#8221;
El-Sayed continued his efforts to mend relations with Michigan’s Jewish community Monday, <a href="https://x.com/AbdulElSayed/status/2094439339681828951">posting on X</a> that he was “grateful” to join the Michigan Jewish Democrats at their Summer Simcha event. “There is so much more that we agree on than what divides us,” El-Sayed wrote. “Glad to share space with this thoughtful, vibrant community.”
Rogers, however, said El-Sayed’s latest remarks did not amount to a genuine apology. “When someone says you might have been offended by what I said, that’s not an apology,” Rogers said in an interview with Brian Kilmeade on Fox and Friends. “He has a long history, Brian, of antisemitic comments, inflammatory comments. He’s angry. He’s aggressive.”
Rogers argued that El-Sayed’s change in tone was driven by political pressure rather than a genuine change in his views, especially since El-Sayed&#8217;s campaign is attempting to attract Jewish Democrats uncomfortable with his record.
“The polling said, hey, he needed to change this,” Rogers said, pointing to what he described as a growing number of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democratic-ag-warns-el-sayed-is-making-excuses-for-domestic-terrorism?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=13&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Democratic+AG+Warns+El-Sayed+Is+Making+%E2%80%98Excuses%E2%80%99+For+Domestic+Terrorism">Jewish Democrats in Michigan</a> supporting his campaign. “We’ve had big events. That group is swelling by the day. So that was his sad attempt, I think, to try to stem that bleeding.”
“But listen, you are who you are,” he added. “This guy is so thick with that angry rhetoric about antisemitism, and it is causing real problems around the state.”
El-Sayed’s apology comes amid broader scrutiny of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hasan-piker-brags-el-sayed-is-faking-moderation-to-scam-voters">his relationship with Hasan Piker</a>, the America-hating political streamer who campaigned alongside El-Sayed during the Democratic primary. El-Sayed has said he does not plan to campaign with Piker during the general election, but has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/el-sayed-defends-alliance-with-hasan-piker-in-newly-circulated-video">stopped well short of condemning him</a>.
The Democratic nominee defeated Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the August primary despite concerns from some Jewish Democrats over his views on Israel and his associations with Piker. 
Rogers said those concerns are becoming increasingly apparent. 
“We talked to a Jewish woman the other day, University of Michigan, who has to hide her Star of David because she’s afraid to walk to class because of the aggressive behavior toward her because she’s Jewish,” Rogers said. “We’ve got to stop this.”
“Abdul’s too extreme for this state,” he added. “And we’re going to beat him in November.”

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Mike Rogers Slams Abdul El-Sayed’s ‘Apology’ To Jews As Political Theater

Islam in America

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing to spend up to $2 million on robotic dogs as the agency continues expanding its use of technology during President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
According to a Department of Homeland Security <a href="https://apfs-cloud.dhs.gov/record/75113/public-print/">funding document posted Thursday</a>, ICE could spend between $1 million and $2 million on Boston Dynamics’ “Spot” robotic dogs and related accessories.
The planned purchase comes just weeks after DHS approved up to $20 million for ICE to acquire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ice-agents-could-soon-be-wearing-electric-shock-gloves">electric shock gloves</a> that agents could use to subdue combative suspects during immigration enforcement operations.
A senior DHS official told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/ice-buy-robot-dogs-immigration-enforcement-rcna594897">NBC News</a> that the robots will not be used to make arrests. Instead, ICE’s procurement notice says the machines are intended to provide agents with a remotely operated capability for “inspection, situational awareness, and hazard assessment” in areas that could pose risks to personnel.
“This capability helps improve officer safety, supports informed operational decision-making, and enhances DHS’s ability to respond to incidents involving dangerous, confined, unstable, or difficult-to-access areas,” the notice <a href="https://abc7.com/story/ice-plans-purchase-robot-dogs/19753774/?userab=kfsn_content_recs-582*variant_b_trending_kfsn-2513%2Ckabc_content_recs-577*variant_a_control-2480%2Cwls_content_recs-584*variant_a_control_wls-2516%2Cwtvd_content_recs-585*variant_b_trending_wtvd-2519%2Cktrk_content_recs-587*variant_a_control_ktrk-2522%2Cwpvi_content_recs-586*variant_a_control_wpvi-2520%2Cotv_web_content_rec-539*variant_c_trending-2268%2Cotv_web_topic-580*variant_b_topic_redesign-2509%2Cotv_search_page_design_unification-546*variant_b_search_redesign-2300%2Cvertical_video_web-519*control-2163%2Cabcn_popular_reads_exp_followup-648*variant_c_autotagswpopularity-3458%2Cotv_mobile_web_content_recs-639*variant_b_mobile_content_recs_enabled-3431%2Ckgo_content_recs-583*variant_a_control_kgo-2514%2Cotvlink_abcnnav-576*variant_b_local-2479">states</a>. Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots are equipped with cameras and sensors capable of detecting hazards including gas, radiation and vibrations. The machines can also navigate difficult terrain and, depending on their configuration, use an extendable arm to interact with objects.
The robotic dog has already been adopted by other law enforcement agencies. Police departments in Los Angeles and New York have used the technology for various operations, while the U.S. Secret Service deployed Spot robots to help secure President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida in 2024. Boston Dynamics says its robots are not designed to be weapons. The company’s <a href="https://bostondynamics.com/ethics/">ethics policy</a> states that it will not authorize or partner with customers seeking to use its robots as weapons or autonomous targeting systems.
The increased tech spending corresponds with a sharp increase in violence against ICE agents during the Trump administration’s deportation push. DHS has said assaults against ICE personnel have increased by 1,300%, while vehicular attacks have increased by 3,300%. The new robotic dogs could provide agents with additional security by allowing them to inspect potentially dangerous locations without immediately putting a human officer inside.
The procurement document does not establish a firm timeline for deployment, and the government’s market research process does not necessarily guarantee that ICE will ultimately purchase the robots. But if the purchase moves forward, ICE agents could soon have a growing arsenal of specialized technology designed to help them assess dangerous situations, protect themselves and carry out the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda.

Spot The Robot

ICE To Spend $2 Million On Strange New Kind Of K-9 Unit

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Drew Berkemeyer