Mitch McConnell en route to the Senate Agriculture Committee meeting.

NOW: Saudi forces are currently conducting airstrikes on Houthi positions in Al-Mokha, Yemen.

Al-Mokha and its port were seized by Houthi forces on September 10, securing a vital stronghold overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea.

Contributed by: @BeamTracker_

JUST IN: Approximately 30 minutes ago, at least 6 3M54-1 “Kalibr” cruise missiles were reportedly launched by Russian forces from the Caspian Sea.

If the reports are correct, we could see the first impacts in Kyiv around 02:00-03:00 local time (around 1/2 hours from now).

Contributed by: @BeamTracker_

NOW: Saudi forces are currently conducting airstrikes on Houthi positions in Al-Mokha, Yemen.

Al-Mokha and its port were seized by Houthi forces on September 10, securing a vital stronghold overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea.

NOW: Kyiv is once again under a combined Russian attack:

- x13 3M22 “Zircon”hypersonic cruise missiles
- x3 Kh-47M2 “Kinzhal” air-launched ballistic missiles
- x6 3M54-1 “Kalibr” cruise missiles (likely towards Kyiv)

Impacts have already been recorded in Kyiv’s city center.

U.S. Southern Command:

"On Sept. 16, under the direction of SOUTHCOM, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) forces successfully interdicted a floating refueling station supporting illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations in the Eastern Pacific.

Intelligence confirmed the vessel's involvement with the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization. Individuals removed from the vessel have been transferred to Ecuadorian authorities. After clearing the vessel and disembarking the crew, U.S. forces sank it. JTF-WHEM continues to conduct precise and professional operations to dismantle the logistical networks fueling narco-trafficking in the Western Hemisphere."

U.S. denies Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas entry visa to attend UN General Assembly in New York, source says. - AFP

At least 7 people injured, including a 3-year-old boy, after shooting in Baltimore, Maryland. - police

South Korea’s top diplomat Cho Hyun flew to Washington on Thursday for a three-day visit, where he is scheduled to hold talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday on bilateral economic and security arrangements, North Korea and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Yonhap News reported, citing South Korea’s Foreign Ministry.

Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors as it faces continued attacks from the Houthis and has asked France, the UK, Pakistan and Egypt for air-defense support. - AP

Ukrainian drones struck Russia's Yaroslavl oil refinery tonight, a big fire is burning at the facility.

The commander of Egypt's border guard forces, General Osama Abdelhamid Daoud, in an interview with Saudi channel Al-Hadath: coordination and cooperation with the Saudi side is taking place from all directions to secure the common borders, with particular focus on the Gulf of Aqaba area and continuing south toward the Red Sea.

U.S. intelligence has flagged the risk of Chinese technology theft tied to the proposed sale of F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia. Internal assessments, including one from the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, warn Beijing could obtain the aircraft's technology through espionage or through its cooperation with Riyadh.

NYT.

Overnight, 17 out of 19 sorties of PLA aircraft, 8 PLAN vessels, and 2 official ships crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, southwestern and eastern part ADIZ.

Source: Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense

No breakthrough was announced after Lebanon's ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamada Moawad, met Israeli Ambassador Leiter at the U.S. State Department. The two hour session covered implementation of the framework agreement signed by both countries, IDF activity and withdrawal in southern Lebanon, and possible expansion of the pilot areas. Findings were passed up to the political level ahead of the next negotiating round early next month, per Al-Akhbar, a Lebanese paper aligned with Hezbollah.

Three conditions were passed from Hezbollah to European Union representatives, per the Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

Any military or security presence in southern Lebanon is rejected unless it is identified with the United Nations and implements Resolution 1701. The November 27, 2024 ceasefire agreement is the sole basis Hezbollah accepts for any discussion on the south, including the deployment of international forces. The U.S.-sponsored Israel-Lebanon framework agreement is rejected as a source of authority for such a force.

Bypass works are underway around Saudi Arabia's damaged pumping stations to get oil moving again to the Yanbu terminal on the Red Sea. Satellite imagery shows the East-West pipeline repairs moving fast.

@SoarAtlas

18 injured in overnight Russian air strikes on Kyiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia.

Trump on Venezuela:

We're taking out millions of barrels of oil. When they say, "To the victor belong the spoils," that's one of the greatest cases anyone's ever seen in history.

Marine Le Pen on Russia-Ukraine war:

Either NATO enters this war and it will be the Third World War, or we will witness a Hundred Years’ War.

This war has already lasted longer than the First World War, and nobody is talking about it.

There are 2 million victims. This is a real slaughter. It is terrible.

Lebanon's president has landed at the Elysee for a meeting with France's president.