Newsweek reports that the USS Abraham Lincoln will make another port stop before returning to the United States, extending a deployment that has already lasted 286 days. The carrier was originally expected home in early summer but was diverted from the IndoPacific to the Middle East in January to support U.S. operations during the Iran war.

A family member of a Lincoln sailor told Newsweek that the additional stop is needed because the carrier still has to fulfill time originally assigned to the IndoPacific after being diverted. The Navy has not independently confirmed that explanation, and Newsweek notes that multiple port visits during a carrier's return phase are not unusual and can serve maintenance, logistical, diplomatic and crew welfare purposes. Publicly available Navy material also does not establish that carriers must “make up” a fixed number of days after a diversion.

The Lincoln arrived in Thailand on Sept. 2 after approximately 250 days without a port visit, allowing roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines to go ashore. The Navy says the carrier will return as part of a planned rotation, while congressional lawmakers have raised questions about the deployment's effect on service member well being, maintenance schedules and fleet readiness.

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/uss-abraham-lincoln-thailand-port-stop-heading-home-explainer-12402308

Photo: https://www.thainewspix.com/en/preview/55512

Boeing has delivered the 22nd F-15EX Eagle II to the U.S. Air Force, and the aircraft is the first F-15EX destined for permanent assignment to the 67th Fighter Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan.

The aircraft departed Boeing's St. Louis facility on August 28 and is currently at Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon, where it will receive additional preparation before eventually moving to Kadena. The first permanently stationed F-15EXs are expected to begin arriving at Kadena during fiscal year 2027, which begins October 1st.

The Air Force has said the F-15EX will bring advanced avionics, enhanced survivability, modern electronic-warfare systems and increased weapons capacity to Kadena, while the transition period is intended to give Airmen experience operating and sustaining the aircraft before it becomes a permanent part of the wing.

Kadena is ultimately planned to receive 36 F-15EXs to replace its aging F-15C/D fleet.

Fox News Media has confirmed that host Maria Bartiromo has separated from the company, effective immediately describing the move as a "business decision". Bartiromo began with Fox in 2013 after leaving CNBC and was most recently the host of "Mornings with Maria" as well as "Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street."

The South Korean government announced yesterday that options, including military efforts, are under review to support freedom of navigation efforts in the Strait of Hormuz. While parliamentary approval is still needed, per local news outlets, committed assets could include mine detection and clearing systems, patrol aircraft, and support vessels.

This comes amidst prior cancellations of joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises, the Trump administration’s public and private efforts for South Korea to get involved with the situation in the Middle East (Hormuz), and U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s public overtures to North Korea.

The judge presiding over the now sensational Lindsey Clancy trial has granted a stay in declaring a mistrial for 1 hour, as following 7 days of deliberations and 1 holdout juror, a verdict could not be reached.
Note: The deliberating jury is made up of 9 woman and 3 men.

According to Axios, citing U.S. officials and other sources with knowledge on the matter, the Trump administration is building out the plans for a post-war containment strategy for Iran. Per the report, the strategy is based on three main pillars, creating a regional diplomatic and security framework built to contain an aggressive Iran (the U.S. would provide yet unspecified guarantees under this framework), a renewed concerted effort to resolve and build out post-conflict frameworks in Lebanon and Gaza (Trump Gaza Plan included), and an expansion of the Abraham Accords.

However, per one U.S. official, speaking to Axios, “They are cooking it but it is not yet cooked,” as the strategy is in its nascent formation stages and it’s yet unclear if U.S. regional allies will be on board.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump has lambasted Congressional Democrat and their bases on their lacking support for operations against Iran, saying that “Radical Left Lunatics, Dumocrats, and Communists would rather have us LOSE the War in Iran, than have President Donald J. Trump WIN the War for America.”

According to the New York Times, citing officials briefed on the matter, approximately 50 members of the Joint Staff were polygraphed during investigation efforts to get to the bottom of the swathe of leaks from the Pentagon in recent months. Members of the Joint Staff were asked during polygraph sessions if they disclosed classified products to the press in August, following leaks to the press on munitions shortages as a result of operations against Iran.

U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian officials aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Reuters reports the pair were met by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who has played a key role in previous negotiations.

The envoys are expected to travel to Kyiv on Sunday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. President Trump has said they are carrying a proposal to end the war, although details of the proposal have not been made public.

Witkoff and Kushner departed the United States last night aboard a U.S. Air Force C-32A from Miami. The trip comes as fighting continues to intensify, with both Russia and Ukraine conducting long-range strikes even as Washington attempts to revive stalled negotiations.

U.S. Central Command says U.S. forces struck three Iranian crude oil tankers on Sept. 5 after the IRGC launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships operating in the region.

CENTCOM said an aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer evaded multiple Iranian attacks without American casualties. The strikes disabled the M/T Downy off Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask, while the unladen M/T Kylo, also known as the Noxen, was struck at multiple critical points and rendered inoperable after its crew was ordered to abandon ship.

CENTCOM described all three tankers as part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network funding the IRGC and its regional proxies. Adm. Brad Cooper said the strikes were intended to impose an economic cost on Iran for attacking U.S. warships and warned that the U.S. could target Iran's oil fleet if necessary.

Second half of Martin’s post covers recent developments in Yemen, as Houthi forces have made gains against the Yemeni government, prompting what the government says were their airstrikes against Houthi forces to curb their advance. However, as noted by Martin below, the lack of some of the assets used in the strikes will likely induce Houthi retaliation against the Saudis in the near-term. We saw this happen with the ‘Yemeni government’ targeting of Sanaa Airport that induced this newest round of escalation between the Yemeni government, the Houthis, and Saudi Arabia.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Center has issued an advisory after receiving a report that several vessels in the Northern Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman were subject to disabling fire as part of ongoing military operations. The locations given by UKMTO are roughly the same as those mentioned in the release a short time ago from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announcing they had destroyed 3 Iranian tankers in response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeting two U.S. Navy ships yesterday.

White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and White House Envoy Jared Kushner met today with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, and Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev in Moscow. Per Russian news reports, Putin welcomed the talks, saying “As you informed us, I know that after Moscow, you're planning to go to Kyiv. In any case, of course, no matter what happens next, contacts of this kind are certainly always beneficial.”

Despite Russia’s ostensible agreement to the standoff strike ceasefire with Ukraine during the meetings? Reports indicate that Russia did indeed strike Ukraine during the talks.

Something to note about the talks today between U.S. and Russian negotiators is that Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund, continues to take point on these talks, signaling, as we’ve assessed in the past, that Putin’s primary goals and preconditions of any ceasefire/peace deal negotiations remain concessions surrounding currently in place economic sanctions regimes.