According to a release from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), at the direction of SOUTHCOM, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) conducted an operation where they interdicted a vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean that was being used by the narco terrorist organization, Los Choneros, as a floating refueling station. The station was in direct support of illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations. After apprehending the individuals on board and turning them over to Ecuadorian authorities, the vessel was destroyed.

Federal prosecutors and David J. Rush’s defense attorneys have been granted a third and final 21 day delay in indicting him, moving the deadline from Sept. 17 to Oct. 8, 2026, as the parties say they have made significant progress toward a plea agreement in principle.

The case involves classified information, and prosecutors say additional time is needed to prepare an agreed statement of facts, review classified discovery and obtain approvals from other government agencies. The parties also say an indictment and trial would likely require significant litigation over classified material, while resolving the case before indictment would conserve government and judicial resources. Rush has agreed to waive Speedy Trial Act objections during the extension.

Rush is currently charged with one count of theft of government money, but the filing makes clear that the government has been discussing the investigation and “likely criminal charges” with the defense. The filing does not specify what additional charges could ultimately appear in an indictment.

For background, Rush was a CIA officer who came under investigation by the agency before an FBI raid reportedly uncovered approximately $40 million in gold, $2 million in cash and dozens of luxury watches. The investigation allegedly found that Rush had invented an operation that gave him access to the gold and cash, embellished his résumé and claimed military leave during periods when he was not serving in the military. Those allegations led to the current theft charge.

The latest filing indicates that, rather than proceeding immediately to an indictment, the government and defense are working toward resolving the case before one is filed.

According to a new report from Fox News’ Trey Yingst, a U.S. contracted vessel carrying “U.S. personnel” was struck during an Iranian attack earlier this week near the Strait of Hormuz.

Yingst reports that the vessel was targeted with at least four drones and one missile, resulting in minor injuries among those aboard.

Polymarket traders are currently pricing a 65% chance that the Israel-Iran ceasefire will remain in place through December 31, up about 5 percentage points over the past day.

The market has seen more than $30 million in total trading volume, with the contract currently trading around 64 to 65 cents.

Israel remaining out of direct renewed hostilities with Iran so far may be contributing to the recent increase in the longer-term probability.

The Justice Department has unsealed charges against five alleged members of a Russian intelligence-linked network accused of recruiting people in the U.S. to conduct surveillance and assassinations.

According to the indictment, the network recruited a U.S.-based Venezuelan this summer to surveil a prominent Russian dissident in the Washington, D.C., area, offering $1,000–$1,500 for surveillance and $40,000 for the killing. When the recruit declined to carry out the murder himself, the alleged recruiters asked whether he knew someone who could do it.

The indictment alleges the network previously offered a U.S. citizen $25,000 to assassinate another Russian dissident in Lithuania, and discussed attacks against electrical substations, warehouses, fuel facilities and other infrastructure in NATO countries supporting Ukraine.

The five defendants include a former Russian intelligence colonel, an alleged FSB officer, and associates based in Russia. All remain at large.

The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The UK Ministry of Defense has identified the soldier killed in Ukraine on the 12th of September. Per the release, Major Paul Wilks was killed during a road traffic incident away from the front lines in Ukraine. May he rest in peace.

In a notable and much welcome announcement, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has announced that she is now cancer free, following reporting from CBS that she had undergone an operation earlier. Wiles announced this past March that she had breast cancer, but notably, has continued to work throughout her recovery.

The U.S. is investigating whether Iran or an Iran aligned actor cyberattacked two energy tankers bound for Texas, in what would represent an expansion of the conflict into maritime cyber operations far beyond the Middle East.

The Wall Street Journal reports the attacks occurred in early August as the vessels transited the Strait of Gibraltar. One tanker was carrying more than 2 million barrels of oil to Galveston, while the other was carrying liquefied petroleum gas to another Texas port.

After the ships reached the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard and FBI boarded both vessels to investigate indications their networks had been compromised. Coast Guard cyber teams examined systems controlling propulsion, navigation and engineering.

No injuries, environmental damage or loss of vessel control were reported.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-probes-cyberattacks-on-energy-tankers-bound-for-american-coast-33d92f3a?st=eDcevD

Mohammad Sharifullah has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for providing material support to ISIS-K, five years after the group’s suicide bombing at Kabul’s Abbey Gate killed 13 U.S. service members and roughly 160 Afghans.

A federal jury convicted Sharifullah in April of participating in a nine-year ISIS-K support conspiracy. Prosecutors said he surveilled a route to the airport and told ISIS-K leadership it was clear of Taliban checkpoints before the Aug. 26, 2021 attack.

Importantly, Sharifullah was not convicted of causing the Abbey Gate deaths. Jurors could not unanimously determine that deaths resulted from his conspiracy, and his defense argued that prosecutors failed to establish his involvement in the bombing beyond statements he made during FBI questioning.

Prosecutors also tied him to more than a dozen other ISIS-K attacks, including the 2016 Canadian Embassy bombing in Kabul and the 2024 Crocus City Hall attack in Moscow. He was captured in Pakistan in March 2025 and extradited to the United States.

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghan-man-isis-k-kabul-airport-abbey-gate-sentencing/

The House has passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by a vote of 262–159, sending the legislation forward after the Senate previously approved it.

The bill imposes additional sanctions related to Russia and Iran and includes provisions allowing tariffs of up to 100% on certain countries purchasing Russian energy. The House vote was on concurrence with the Senate’s amendments to H.R. 5334.

The measure now heads to President Donald J. Trump's desk for his signature.

As Canada makes tangible progress on increased cooperation with the EU, specifically negotiations centered on becoming an associate member (a first), U.S. President Donald J. Trump has told reporters that that should Canada follow through with the move, he may cut off trade with Europe. The president also said he was mulling levying increased tariffs on European nations as well.

According to a release from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), at the direction of SOUTHCOM, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) conducted an interdiction of a vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean that was acting as a refueling station in support of illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations for the Los Choneros narco-terrorist organization. After the individuals on board were turned over to Ecuadorian authorities, the vessel was destroyed

Following the lull in such operations, after the twin earthquakes in Venezuela and subsequent U.S. support operations there, the tempo of U.S. SOUTHCOM operations against designated organizations in known drug trafficking maritime lanes has picked up significantly.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces struck the Yaroslavl oil refinery overnight. The operation involved the SBU, Unmanned Systems Forces, Defense Intelligence (HUR), and Foreign Intelligence Service (SZR). Ukraine's Security Service also struck a military airfield in Rostov. Confirmed damage includes one An-12, two An-26s, and three helicopters.

The strike comes days after President Donald J. Trump posted to Truth Social on Sept. 14 that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt strikes on each other's energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy disputed that any deal was finalized. He said Ukraine would only pause strikes if Russia genuinely stopped hitting Ukraine's power grid and other critical infrastructure.

Russia has continued striking Ukrainian civilian infrastructure in the same window. A Sept. 12 Russian strike killed nine people and damaged infrastructure across several regions. Attacks on Ukraine's energy grid have also intensified as winter approaches.

Iran’s IRGC Aerospace Force has claimed another shoot down of a U.S. MQ-9 drone over Qeshm Island today, as losses of both Reaper and Predator drones increase.

According to Reuters, citing Iranian officials familiar with the matter, China has urged Iran to reign in the Houthis at the request of Saudi Arabia. This would be the second such communication with a third party nation acting as an interlocutor between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as Pakistan, who previously filled the role, ultimately failed when they communicated the message to Iran. Per the report, Saudi Arabia made the request after the Houthi offensive that took the southwestern coastline of Yemen and the port city of Mocha.

U.N. backed human rights experts say there are “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes in two February strikes in Iran, including a strike on a school in Minab that killed more than 150 people, many of them children.

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said the school was a clearly identifiable civilian object and found no evidence it was being used for military purposes. A preliminary U.S. assessment previously found the U.S. was likely responsible for the strike but did not intentionally target the school, potentially because outdated intelligence incorrectly identified the site as a military installation. A Pentagon investigation has not released its findings.

The mission also alleged that a Feb. 28 strike on a sports complex and residential area in Lamerd killed 22 civilians. U.S. Central Command has denied carrying out a strike in Lamerd that day. The same U.N.-backed investigation concluded that Iranian security forces committed crimes against humanity during the government's crackdown on nationwide protests.

The same mission has accused Iranian security forces of crimes against humanity during the government's crackdown on protests.

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-war-crimes-iran-possible-un/

A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the “Jolly Rogers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 103 launches from the flight deck of the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), currently operating in undisclosed regional waters in support of the U.S. naval blockade of Iran.

VFA-103 is part of Carrier Air Wing 7 aboard the George H.W. Bush, which has been operating in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility amid the ongoing maritime campaign.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says 104 commercial vessels have now been redirected since the blockade was resumed, as U.S. forces continue enforcing restrictions on maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports.

According to a release from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call today with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi. While no commensurate state department release has hit feeds at the time of writing, per the Chinese release, the two spoke about “the next stage of [U.S.-China] high level exchanges,” likely referring to the upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, although true to form, the release did not directly refer to the upcoming meeting.

According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre, a vessel 75nm east of Aden, Yemen traveling westbound towards the Bab el Mandeb Strait was pursued by a skiff that attempted, presumably unsuccessfully, to intercept the vessel. Likely a piracy incident.