After a summer which has seen literally dozens of Ukrainian cross-border attacks on Russia’s vital oil and energy infrastructure, President Putin is increasingly going gloves off, hitting ‘decision-making centers’ in Ukraine with drone and missile strikes, something previously not seen in well over three years of war.

Russia launched its largest-ever aerial assault on Ukraine early Sunday, sending over 800 drones across the country, which included decoys. The prior largest strike, which happened in July, saw around 730 drones sent. At least nine missiles also made impact on Sunday, local officials said. Some sources say the fresh assault may be seen up to 1,000 projectiles launched.

Crucially, this is the first ever aerial strike directly targeted Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers, a major government complex in the heart of central Kiev. Government buildings in the capital have thus far been sparred in the Russian ‘special military operation’ (SMO) – but Sunday’s attack suggests the Kremlin could be turning toward all-out war.

It certainly at the very least is a loud warning at a moment Ukraine has been escalating its own cross-border drone attacks on oil refineries, defense sector factories, and Russian airbases. At least five Ukrainians were killed in the new nation-wide, broad drone assault – including a woman and child in the capital, the NY Times reports.

AFP has said that one of its correspondents witnessed flames engulfing the roof of the cabinet building, verified in emerging photos, with thick smoke rising above the center part of the capital. Several high-rise apartment buildings also were reportedly struck and suffered damage.

The same report noted that for the first time of the conflict, emergency crews are battling blazes at a central government complex, with helicopters seen overhead doing water-drop runs. This government area of the city is typically well-guarded by anti-air defenses, and it looks like the Russians overwhelmed these systems.

The most devastating impacts likely came from the over dozen cruise and ballistic missiles fired by Russia, as tallied by Ukraine’s defense ministry. Only a few of these were intercepted or failed to reach their targets.

The Kremlin is not immediately owning up to hitting the government building, instead claiming that within the Kiev area it only struck a plant and logistics hub connected to the Ukrainian military:

The Russian Defense Ministry said “no strikes were carried out on other targets within the boundaries of Kyiv,” explicitly denying responsibility for the government building strike.

Police cordoned off the area surrounding the building, the roof and upper floors of which sustained damage.

“We will restore the buildings. But we cannot bring back lost lives. The enemy terrorizes and kills our people every day throughout the country,” Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. She later posted a video from inside the damaged floor showing shattered offices and burned walls.

There remains the possibility that an errant Ukrainian anti-air defense missile fell on the building, or else that it caught fire due to intercepted rocket or drone debris falling. Still, the overwhelming nature of the attack from Russia is signaling a strong message and warning of severe escalation.

Sunday’s attack will certainly cause European leaders to ramp up pressure on Washington go ahead and unleash Trump’s threatened secondary sanctions on Moscow and its trading partners.

Russia always dreamed of striking “decision-making centers.” Now the Cabinet of Ministers in Kyiv is burning. How will the world respond? They are watching. pic.twitter.com/cJb7pHSgOw

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) September 7, 2025

Writing further of the significance, NY Times describes:

Rising on a hill and crisscrossed by leafy, cobblestone streets, the government district in Kyiv lies at the center of rings of air defenses. But early Sunday, flames leaped from the windows of the building where the Cabinet of Ministers convenes, and firefighters flew in a helicopter to douse the blaze.

Smoke billowed from the large, colonnaded building, a landmark in the city, near Parliament and the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has quickly chimed in, writing on social social media, “Once again, the Kremlin is mocking diplomacy, trampling international law and killing indiscriminately.”

🔴 As a result of another massive Russian attack on Ukraine, the building of Cabinet of Ministers in Ukraine in Kyiv was damaged, according to local authorities. pic.twitter.com/ewVLqKbAka

— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) September 7, 2025

This will serve to boost the more hawkish members of Macron’s ‘coalition of the willing’ which just met in Paris last week.

The condemnations kept rolling in, with France’s Macron decrying that Russia “is locking itself ever deeper into the logic of war and terror” – the UK’s Starmer slamming “cowardly strikes” which further affirm that Putin “is not serious about peace.”

The Trump effort to get the warring parties to achieve a quick peace settlement now appears completely in tatters – though it was already limping along for weeks.

This puts pressure on Trump from within his own administration too, as hawks will seize and will argue for more major military hardware to be shipped to Kiev.

Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times,

The United States is in “very deep negotiations with Hamas” to bring an end to the current conflict in the Gaza Strip, President Donald Trump announced on Sept. 5.

Hamas, which continues to hold hostages taken from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has so far rejected any deals to end the nearly two-year Israeli military campaign across the Gaza Strip, despite widespread death and destruction throughout the territory.

Addressing the ongoing hostage situation and the surrounding conflict, Trump reiterated calls for Hamas to release all of the remaining hostages in a bed to end the carnage.

“We said let them all out right now. Let them all out, and much better things will happen for them. But if you don’t let them all out, it’s going to be a tough situation. It’s going to be nasty. That’s my opinion. Israel’s choice, but that’s my opinion,” the president said during a White House press briefing.

In recent weeks, Israeli forces have been ramping up operations in Gaza City, which is located towards the northern end of the embattled strip of territory. The Israeli military has claimed responsibility for strikes targeting high-rises in the city, and footage has shown strikes toppling at least one tower there.

As many as 20 captives may still be alive, though Trump said “there could be some that have recently died, is what I’m hearing.”

“I hope that’s wrong,” he added.

The bodies of around 30 more captives also remain in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas released a video on Sept. 5 with Israeli hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal. In the video, apparently dated Aug. 28, Gilboa-Dalal states that he and other hostages are being held in Gaza City and fear they will be killed in the intensifying Israeli operation.

Trump offered few specifics about what Hamas is requesting in negotiations for the release of the remaining hostages.

“They’re asking for some things that are fine,” Trump began, when asked about Hamas’s demands, but said the initial Hamas attack on Israel—in which around 1,200 were killed and thousands more were wounded—must be taken into consideration in the negotiations.

Throughout the conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has articulated a goal to ensure Hamas is defeated and that the Gaza Strip can never become a haven for the group or similar militants opposed to Israel.

In an Aug. 10 speech, Netanyahu said the Gaza City takeover plan is not part of an indefinite Israeli occupation of the strip. At the same time, he indicated the plan is for Israel to have “overriding security responsibilities” for the territory, while allowing a “non-Israeli, peaceful civil administration.”

Netanyahu said Gaza’s post-Hamas civil authority must be one that “doesn’t educate its children for terror, doesn’t pay terrorists, and doesn’t launch terrorist attacks against Israel.” Netanyahu said these terms would disqualify the Palestinian Authority—which has partial governing authority in the West Bank—from stepping in as Gaza’s eventual civil authority.

In a Sept. 6 statement, Hamas representatives said, “The movement affirms its openness to any ideas or proposals that achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, unconditional entry of aid, and a real prisoner exchange through serious negotiations via mediators.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed back Sunday against growing concerns that the U.S. economy is sliding toward a “jobs recession,” defending the administration’s trade policies, tariffs, and fiscal strategy while signaling confidence that growth will accelerate by year’s end.

In a wide-ranging interview on NBC’s Meet the Press (full interview at the bottom), Bessent rejected forecasts from economists at Moody’s Analytics and elsewhere who have warned that slowing hiring trends and manufacturing job losses point to deeper weakness. Instead, he argued that recent data is noisy, revisions are likely, and that President Donald Trump’s economic agenda remains on track to deliver a “substantial acceleration” in the fourth quarter.

Host Kristen Welker opened the interview by citing Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi, who recently described the U.S. slowdown as a “jobs recession.” Asked if he agreed, Bessent pushed back:

“We’re not going to do economic policy off of one number,” Bessent said. “Good policies are in place that are going to create good high-paying jobs for the American people.”

He added that August is “the noisiest month of the year” for employment data and stressed that significant revisions are common: “We need good data before we jump to conclusions.”

Tariffs at the Center of the Debate

Pressed on manufacturing job losses since the April rollout of the administration’s new tariffs, Bessent urged patience, noting that factories “can’t be built overnight” citing a “record amount of investment intentions” already underway.

He highlighted July’s passage of the administration’s flagship tax and infrastructure package – the One Big Beautiful Bill, which included full expensing for factories and equipment. According to Bessent, many companies were “holding back” investment until the bill passed and are now planning major capital expenditures and expansions.

Still, U.S. manufacturing employment has declined by 42,000 jobs since April, even as the White House has promised a “manufacturing renaissance”” Bessent attributed some of the perceived weakness to flawed data collection and suggested that upcoming revisions could wipe out hundreds of thousands of jobs previously reported under the Biden administration.

“We’re going to get revisions next week that may be as big as an 800,000-job downward revision,” Bessent said. “I’m not sure what these people who collect the data have been doing, but we need good data.”

Scott Bessent is now claiming Biden’s jobs will be revised downward by 800,000 next week.

Is this why they are sending their own people to the BLS? pic.twitter.com/udOZKfHSdj

— Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) September 7, 2025

Clash Over Tariff Costs

The interview grew tense as Welker pressed Bessent on widespread reports from U.S. manufacturers that tariffs are increasing costs and forcing layoffs.

Companies including John Deere, Nike, Black+Decker, and the Big Three automakers have warned investors that tariffs are adding hundreds of millions – in some cases billions – in unexpected expenses. Goldman Sachs recently estimated that 86% of tariff costs have ultimately been borne by U.S. companies and consumers.

Bessent rejected those conclusions outright.

“For every John Deere, we have companies telling us the tariffs have helped their business,” he said, citing meetings with executives at Treasury. “They’re increasing capital expenditures and expanding employment. And if things are so bad, why was GDP up 3.3% and why is the stock market at a new high?”

When asked directly whether tariffs amount to a tax on U.S. consumers, Bessent responded flatly: “No, I don’t.”

He also dismissed Goldman Sachs’s analysis, quipping: “I made a good career trading against Goldman Sachs.”

🚨 HOLY SMACKDOWN! Scott Bessent just obliterated NBC’s Kristen Welker – this is one for the ages.

“Kristen, if things are so bad, why was the GDP 3.3%? Why is the stock market at a new high? […] You’re quoting big companies, but the big company index, the S&P, is at a new… pic.twitter.com/eflkLxwMxE

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 7, 2025

Did he though?

Oh well. pic.twitter.com/718tYDdmzo

— iBankCoin, A Reliable Source (@iBankCoin4tw) September 7, 2025

Legal Battle Over Reciprocal Tariffs

Beyond the economic debate, the administration faces a significant legal challenge. An appeals court recently ruled that the administration’s use of reciprocal tariffs violated the Constitution, concluding that only Congress can impose taxes unless specific authority is granted to the president.

The administration has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, and Bessent expressed confidence that the justices will uphold the tariffs, citing President Trump’s authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

“I’m not sure on what planet, with 100,000 to 200,000 Americans dying every year from fentanyl, the president shouldn’t be able to use tariffs to stop poison coming across the border,” Bessent said.

🚨 JUST IN: Scott Bessent GOES OFF and says President Trump is CLEARLY in his right to use tariffs because of the fentanyl crisis.

The Supreme Court better uphold the tariffs, or we’ve got issues.

“I’m not sure on what planet this fentanyl crisis with 100, 200,000 Americans… pic.twitter.com/0HhQJJPwhg

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 7, 2025

If the Supreme Court rules against the administration, Bessent acknowledged that the Treasury would be required to refund roughly half the tariff revenues collected — a move he warned would be “terrible for the Treasury.”

Setting Interest Rates and the Search for a New Fed Chair

The administration has also begun the search for a successor to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May. Bessent confirmed that interviews began Friday and emphasized that the White House is seeking a leader with an “open mind” and a willingness to adapt to what he described as an “AI-driven productivity boom.”

“Alan Greenspan saw the impact of the internet in the 1990s,” Bessent said. “We believe we’re in a similar period now.”

Bessent also criticized the Federal Reserve’s forecasting record, accusing it of consistent bias.

“The Fed has overestimated GDP when Democrats were in office and underestimated GDP when Republicans are in office,” he continued. “We need to get rid of the orthodoxy that has led them to so many mistakes.”

Asked directly whether President Trump would control interest rates, Bessent clarified:

“The Fed chair doesn’t set interest rates. The FOMC sets interest rates. So it is a board.”

He added that President Trump would “make his views known” on policy direction, much like President Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren did when they publicly pushed for rate cuts during the prior administration.

NBC: “Will the Fed chair set interest rates or will President Trump?”@SecScottBessent: “The Fed chair doesn’t set interests rates. The FOMC sets interest rates, so it is a board…”

🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/HdAJde3ppV

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 7, 2025

Escalating Pressure on Russia

The interview ended with foreign policy developments following Russia’s largest aerial attack on Kyiv since the start of the war. Bessent said the administration is coordinating closely with European allies on a package of expanded sanctions and secondary tariffs targeting nations that continue purchasing Russian oil.

“We’re in a race between how long the Ukrainian military can hold up versus how long the Russian economy can hold up,” Bessent said. “If the U.S. and the E.U. move together, the Russian economy will be in full collapse – and that will bring President Putin to the table.”

.@POTUS Trump and @VP Vance had a very productive call with EU President @vonderleyen on Friday.

We are prepared to increase pressure on Russia, but we need our European partners to follow us: further economic pressure can drive the Russian economy towards a full collapse, and… pic.twitter.com/HfKIyC2WU5

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) September 7, 2025

The Bigger Picture

Bessent’s interview underscored the high stakes surrounding the administration’s trade, fiscal, and monetary policies. Despite warnings from Wall Street, U.S. manufacturers, and some Federal Reserve officials, the Treasury chief doubled down on tariffs as a central pillar of the administration’s strategy and expressed confidence that the economy will reaccelerate later this year.

The Supreme Court’s pending decision on tariff authority, upcoming revisions to jobs data, and the White House’s Fed chair nomination could all shape market sentiment heading into 2025.

“President Trump was elected for change,” Bessent said. “And we are going to push through with the economic policies that are going to set the economy right.“

Full interview below:

*  *  *

Psst – we’ve got cool velcro-backed patches now. 

Authored by Athena Thorne via PJMedia.com,

And just like that, it’s over for the Dems in the 2026 midterms. Maybe even the 2028 general election. Maybe this is even the final nail in their creaky, splintering, mentally ill, Marxist coffin.

Right now, they’re trying to ignore it, the way they tried to pretend Hunter Biden’s laptop didn’t exist back in 2020. They were successful enough that time to push their vote machine over the finish line in Biden/Harris’s favor, but that won’t happen this time. This story, this image, is already out there.

Still, they’re trying to ignore it, hoping it goes away:

0 AP stories on this deadly attack
0 PBS stories on this deadly attack
0 NYT stories on this deadly attack
0 NPR stories on this deadly attack
0 WSJ stories on this deadly attack
0 BBC stories on this deadly attack
0 CNN stories on this deadly attack
0 WAPO stories on this… pic.twitter.com/962qmFOBNm

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 7, 2025

The only explanation I’ve seen anywhere is, “Oh, it was never covered nationally because it was only a local story.” Sure. Like George Floyd’s overdose in police custody was only a local story. Good luck with that dodge, lefties.

In all fairness to Democrats, their policies have made this situation so common that it may well have disappeared into the din. A violent lunatic with fourteen previous arrests under his belt but who still freely roamed the streets randomly and viciously stabbed a young woman on the train, killing her. The murder occurred over two weeks ago, and they had every reason to believe the “local crime story” was as dead as the beautiful young victim. 

But then, the video emerged. It’s chilling and terrifying, the horror that every urban female (and plenty of males) fears. The still image of the moment the madman’s knife begins its descent is the most damning optic I’ve seen in years, and it will now become the face of the modern Democrat party.

It gets worse for Democrats: The victim was not only young, female, and stunning, but she was a refugee from Ukraine — one of their fetish victims. 

She ran from war in Ukraine. She came here for safety.

And America FAILED her.

23-year-old Iryna Zarutska was butchered on a Charlotte light rail, her throat cut open by a violent repeat offender who had been arrested 14 times and was STILL free.

Zero news yet. pic.twitter.com/6rddKPmMTp

— Stanlee (@stanleedrawss) September 7, 2025

The New York Post is one outlet that covered the story:

Haunting new video revealed the terrifying moment a homeless ex-con allegedly fatally stabbed a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee in what police said was a random attack on a Charlotte light rail train.

Iryna Zarutska, who fled war-torn Ukraine for a safer life in America, was on the Lynx Blue Line just before 10 p.m. Aug. 22 when she was ambushed, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

The surveillance footage, released Friday by the Charlotte Area Transit System or CATS, shows Zarutska boarding the train in her pizzeria uniform at 9:46 p.m. and sitting, looking at her phone, unaware of the danger behind her.

Just four minutes later, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr. allegedly whips out a folding knife and lunges forward, stabbing her three times, at least once in the neck, police said.

Those eyes, that brave smile, her courageous backstory — fleeing war-torn Ukraine for a chance at safety and freedom in America, taking a humble job as a pizza clerk in Charlotte, N.C.

Laken Riley, the young nursing student murdered by one of then-President Joe Biden’s illegal aliens, became a poster child for stopping the invasion. The description of her murder was shocking to the public consciousness, but still, it was only words. 

Robin Westman’s murder and maiming of young Catholic school kids at prayer was a shocking and tragic story. It was powerful enough to finally spark the public debate about what kind of medications are given to youth with gender dysphoria and whether they are sane enough to own guns. But still, that story was also only told in words.

Here, we have the video of the savage act committed by another Democrat sacred cow, a black, homeless man — you know, the kind of sweet, innocent victim those awful racist cops are always trying to murder.

Even as Democrats surge in the streets of Washington, D.C., protesting the president’s crackdown on crime, this chilling video and this electrifying still image have hit the internet. The left could not be caught further out on the wrong side of the issue. They are exposed as the heinous morons they are.

🚨 BREAKING: Leftists are STORMING the streets of Washington DC to protest against the drop in crime, currently marching to the White House to tell President Trump “free DC!”

People came in from VERMONT and other blue states for this.pic.twitter.com/k4YashfsQO

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 6, 2025

A confession: I do occasionally worry about Trump’s over-the-top rhetoric and willingness to push the bounds of executive power even further than former President Barack Obama did. I know he’s doing the right things, but every time he calls out the guard or sics the FBI on someone or blows up a boat of our enemies, I can all too easily picture the next rabid Democrat president goring my ox in the same way. 

But then I see something like this, and I thank God for the man in the White House who has climbed athwart history, yelling, “Stop!” (With apologies to the Buckleys.)

Because in the end, Democrats champion mental illness, crime, and the breakdown of civil order; they champion evil. Republicans fight it. Period.

It’s over, Democrats. Begone with you.

*  *  *

Get your Rancher-Direct orders in for shipment tomorrow!

Top sellers this week:

Steak Lover’s Bundle (order by tonight)

Rancher’s Classics (order by tonight)

Rancher’s Seasoning Trio

Raw Organic Honey

For much of the past two months, ever since the historic loss of Japan’s LDP in July’s parliamentary elections, we have mocked the highly unpopular Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba, who was clinging to the post despite record disapproval and a clear shift in popular sentiment that had clearly stripped him of mandate to be Japan’s leader. 

Japan’s PM Ishiba: Have No Intention of Clinging to Post

… he says as his coalition lost the majority in both houses of Japan’s parliament, a humiliating blow to a PM who just keeps on clinging and refuses to quit

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 3, 2025

Japan’s PM Ishiba: Have No Intention of Clinging to Post

… he says as his coalition lost the majority in both houses of Japan’s parliament, a humiliating blow to a PM who just keeps on clinging and refuses to quit

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 3, 2025

A few hours ago, Ishiba finally decided to prove us wrong and announced he will step down – following weeks of calls for his departure – a decision that will set in motion a leadership race that may generate concerns for investors. 

“While I feel there are still things I wish to do as premier, I have made the difficult decision to step down,” Ishiba said at a press conference in Tokyo on Sunday. “Having seen the US trade negotiations through, I felt that now is the right time to stand down and give way to my successor.”

“I felt that if I continued amid a vote on an early leadership race, it could have created an irreversible division within the party, which is certainly not my intention.” He will stay on as prime minister until his successor takes over.

Ishiba’s resignation brings to an end a tenure marked by humiliating election results that stripped the Liberal Democratic Party’s ruling coalition of its majorities in both chambers of parliament and left market participants unsure of Japan’s fiscal plans. His departure is likely to fuel uncertainty among investors over the coming weeks until a new leader is chosen. It will also likely spark debate among market participants whether his replacement will follow through with the trade deal that Japan reach with Trump.

How soon until Japan’s next real prime minister – Ishiba is just a lame duck now – renegs on this deal? https://t.co/CDuk3dAmdr

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 22, 2025

As Bloomberg warns, the risk of further instability could weigh on the yen and longer-term bonds when trading opens Monday in Asia. Japan’s currency was one of the weakest performers among its Group of 10 peers last week, while yields on longer-term Japanese government debt reached fresh multi-decade highs.

“Prime Minister Ishiba was known for his strict stance on fiscal discipline,” said Katsutoshi Inadome, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management, flagging the likelihood of upward pressure on super-long yields. “While it remains unclear who will become the next prime minister, it’s difficult to envision anyone with a fiscal discipline stance better than or even equivalent to his.”

Which, in a country best known for the short tenure of its prime minister, more easing to placate the masses is on deck, even if it means another surge in inflation, and even higher prices in gold and crypto as the local population protects what little is left of its purchasing power.

The LDP was set to hold a vote Monday if it should bring forward a leadership election by two years, but that had looked increasingly likely to turn into a vote of no confidence in the premier. That vote will now be canceled, and instead the LDP will hold a leadership race, Ishiba said.

Lawmakers jockeying to position themselves as the next premier will need at least 20 other members of parliament to support their candidacy in order to enter the race. Whoever emerges top in the party contest will then have to win a vote in parliament to become prime minister in a fractured Diet.

Potential candidates within the ruling party include Sanae Takaichi, 64, a former internal affairs minister who finished second to Ishiba in an LDP leadership race last year. If chosen, Takaichi would be Japan’s first female prime minister.

A party veteran who has held a variety of roles, including economic security and internal affairs minister, she is known for conservative positions such as revising the pacifist postwar constitution; Takaichi is a regular visitor to the Yasukuni shrine to honor Japan’s war dead, viewed by some Asian neighbors as a symbol of past militarism.

She is a fan of Abenomics economic policies and favors stimulus measures which means any hope for a rate hike by the “independent” Bank of Japan would be quietly put to pasture under her leadership (we leave the discussion of BOJ “independence” to an other time). 

A member of Japan’s largest nationalist organisation Nippon Kaigi and known as a hard-line conservative, Takaichi opposes same-sex marriage and supports a requirement for couples to share a surname after marriage. She has also stated that a government gender equality plan could “destroy the social structure based on family units” has voiced opposition to proposals to change the law so that a woman could become the Emperor of Japan.

Takaichi supports imprisoning those who damage Japan’s national flag, and is considered a China-hawk when it comes to foreign policy and supports revising article 9 of the Japanese constitution which prohibits Japan from entering armed conflict.  She’s also a vocal critic of Chinese economic practices such as intellectual property theft and calls on Japan to lessen its economic dependence on China.

Most notably, she believes that immigration to Japan risks destabilizing Japanese society and argues that Japanese heritage must be protected. As such, should she replace Ishiba, she would become the latest hard-line conservative to take charge in blowback to the catastrophic policies unleashed by the liberal left in recent years.

Among other possible candidates, Takayuki Kobayashi, a former economic security minister, is on the right-wing of the party and would be a possible rival to Takaichi in garnering support from that section of lawmakers. Yoshimasa Hayashi, the current chief cabinet secretary, as well as Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato, might also show interest in succeeding Ishiba. 

“If Ms. Takaichi is appointed, bond selling could intensify due to the risk of a credit rating downgrade,” Sumitomo Mitsui Trust’s Inadome said. In that scenario, “we could see a triple dip: falling bond prices, a weaker yen, and declining stock prices.” 

A Koizumi or Hayashi win is more likely to return the yield curve to its previous shape, he added.

Traditionally, the LDP’s dominance in parliament all but assures that its leader will become prime minister. With no majority in either house, there’s only a slim chance the leader of the LDP could fail to clinch the premiership, though that decision is still some weeks away.

The next premier will have to navigate challenges ranging from global trade headwinds to simmering resentment at home over soaring costs of living. Ishiba had called for fresh cash handouts to support consumers, while opposition parties sought tax cuts or higher spending, proposals that have given investors cause for concern.

In the press conference held Sunday, Ishiba said that consumers and businesses will need more support and pressed the need to maintain momentum for wage hikes. He indicated that he essentially decided to step down following the July election setback, but saw a need to make more progress on the trade deal with the US first.

US President Donald Trump signed his trade agreement with Japan and put it into effect with an executive order on Thursday. Although current tariff rates will be lowered with the new order, Japan will still have to pay a maximum 15% tariff on its products, including exports of cars and auto parts.

Still, the signing of the deal leaves Ishiba with some kind of legacy to walk away with after a troubled year at the helm.

OPEC+ agreed to accelerate the return of another chunk of oil that it’s been withholding from the market, as the group sticks with a strategy of prioritizing market share over prices.

After an online meeting Sunday, eight OPEC+ members said they will boost production by 137,000 barrels a day in October, beginning to roll back some voluntary cuts they had previously put in place.

The alliance, which comprises OPEC and other top oil producers including Russia, had been expected to keep output steady until recent days. 

It’s the first sliver of a bigger 1.65 million barrels a day tranche of supply that was meant to be held back until the end of next year, suggesting cautious optimism about the market.

OPEC+ members said Sunday the barrels may be restored in part or in full “subject to evolving market conditions.”

While the production increases have prevented prices from rising sharply amid heightened geopolitical tensions, The Wall Street Journal reports they have sparked fears of an impending glut among investors. 

This has yet to show in inventory data, largely because of robust summer demand and only modest stock buildups in OECD countries, according to market watchers. 

Actual OPEC+ production also has fallen short of pledged volumes in recent months, as some members had to restrict output to compensate for earlier overproduction.

The decision is likely to put a renewed spotlight on the unused production levels available in different OPEC+ members, as countries that can’t pump more won’t fully benefit from the increased quotas, while they face the added pressure of lower prices. 

The group’s next meeting will be October 5.

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times,

The South Korean government on Sept. 7 said that the more than 300 South Korean workers who were detained during a federal immigration operation at a Georgia Hyundai plant will be released and sent home.

The South Korea and U.S. governments finalized negotiations on releasing the workers, said presidential chief of staff, Kang Hoon-sik. South Korea will send a charter plane to bring the workers back once the remaining administrative steps are concluded, he added.

On Friday, U.S. immigration authorities said they had arrested 475 people at the worksite, most of whom were South Korean nationals. Hundreds of federal agents had conducted an operation at the Korean automaker Hyundai’s large Georgia-based manufacturing plant, where it builds electric vehicles. More than 300 South Koreans were part of the group detained, said Cho Hyun, South Korea’s Foreign Minister.

In video footage released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Saturday, a caravan of vehicles can be seen approaching the site before federal agents direct workers to form a line outside. Agents told several detainees to put up their hands against a bus before frisking them. Some of the workers were shackled around their hands, ankles, and waists.

The plant, which is still under construction, is a partnership between Hyundai and LG Energy Solution to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. The Hyundai campus is one of Georgia’s largest economic development projects.

The majority of the detainees were sent to an immigration detention center in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida border. 

Steven Schrank, the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Security Investigations, said during a news conference on Sept. 5 that none of the arrested workers have been charged with crimes yet, as the investigation is still ongoing. The Sept. 4 operation was the largest federal immigration worksite operation in Homeland Security Investigations’s history, he said. 

The South Korean government, a key U.S. ally, said it felt “concern and regret” regarding the operation targeting its citizens and has sent diplomats to the plant. 

The effort continues the Trump administration’s focus on illegal immigration and deportations at businesses and workplaces that allegedly employ illegal immigrants.

Last week, ICE agents arrested dozens of illegal immigrants in the New York townships of Cato and Fulton.

The operation was carried out at a factory run by Nutrition Bar Confectioners, a local food processing company. Between 40 and 70 people were arrested.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul criticized the arrests.

“I am outraged by this morning’s ICE raids in Cato and Fulton, where more than 40 adults were seized—including parents of at least a dozen children at risk of returning from school to an empty house,” Hochul wrote in a statement.

“New York will work with the federal government to secure our borders and deport violent criminals, but we will never stand for masked ICE agents separating families and abandoning children.”

Russian state media sources have of late been alleging a secret Western plot to replace Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. These reports have continued through August and into September, but the scenario has obviously not come to fruition.

A prime candidate to replace him would be former chief of the armed forces, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny – who Zelensky fired last year and shipped off to London to be ambassador there. Since then, Ukraine’s military has been doing even worse on the battlefield, according to The Wall Street Journal and many other reports.

Russia’s TASS has claimed there’s a specific plot afoot, reporting a so-called “triumvirate” consisting of Andriy Yermak (head of the Ukrainian presidential office), Kyrylo Budanov (military intelligence chief), and Gen. Zaluzhny (former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the UK), are actively working with the US and UK to replace President Zelensky with Zaluzhny.

Ukrainian media has also picked up on this, but has dismissed it as Russian wartime propaganda:

The SVR said the “conspiracy” was the underlying cause “…of the recent scandalous attempt by ‘Kyiv’s president’ to restrict the powers of the local anti-corruption mechanisms.” This was in reference to the proposed legal attempts to limit the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.

But Zelensky has, under pressure from Western partners, dutifully reversed his legal move against said anti-corruption bodies. 

Several reports by the end of July indicated he “backtracked” amid domestic and international criticism. Still, the Russian media reports claimed this revealed cracks in his support base, emboldening those plotting against him.

But given Zelensky’s recent appearance in Paris for a collective defense conference alongside President Macron, and given he’s readying a plan with NATO allies for ‘security guarantees’ – it doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere soon.

President Putin has repeatedly called Zelensky out as ‘illegitimate’ – but still while in Beijing this past week indicated he’s open to inviting him to Moscow for talks.

Putin caveated that this would have to be premised on real progress at the negotiating table, however. He actually appeared to throw out an open invitation, at least according to US officials who informed Zelensky of the overture. 

Watch: Zelensky rejects the invite…

Putin invited Zelensky to Moscow, offering personal security guarantees. Zelensky refused.

In reality, he would’ve been absolutely safe – Russia had more than 3.5 years to vaporize him into fine powder and never did.

Even in the far-fetched scenario where he’s arrested upon… pic.twitter.com/KqEKrfHhNv

— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) September 5, 2025

Zelensky countered by saying Putin should come to Kyiv, but practically speaking that’s not going to happen, given it would be a security nightmare for the Kremlin, and given it would be seen as bowing to Ukraine’s demands.

“He can come to Kyiv,” Zelensky said. “I can’t go to Moscow when my country’s under missiles, under attack, each day. I can’t go to the capital of this terrorist.”

*  *  *

Get your Rancher-Direct orders in for shipment tomorrow!

Top sellers this week:

Steak Lover’s Bundle (order by tonight)

Rancher’s Classics (order by tonight)

Rancher’s Seasoning Trio

Raw Organic Honey

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

The long bond verdict is finally in. Jobs and growth outweigh inflation.

US Treasury Yield Notes

• Between August 5 and August 21, bond yields for US treasuries of 2 year duration or longer all rose.

• The period between August 21 and September 2 was very painful for 30-year long bond holders but favorable for the rest.

• Starting September 2, there was a bond market rally across the board.

Treasury Yield Changes Since September 2

What Happened?

• The ISM report on September 2 showed weak hiring.

• The BLS JOLTS repot on September 3 revealed unemployment was above job openings for the first time since the pandemic.

• The ADP report on September 4 was weak, especially small businesses.

• The nonfarm payroll report on September 5 was a disaster.

The trend on the 10-year treasury note and the 30-year long bond are back in sync. Both are headed lower.

The discrepancy resolved to job weakness over inflation concerns, but Powell will be cautious unless there is a collapse.

CBS News has announced it will no longer edit guest interviews on its flagship Sunday program “Face the Nation,” moving to a live or live-to-tape format following days of criticism over its handling of a sit-down with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The change comes after Noem accused the network of “shamefully” cutting portions of her Aug. 31 interview in order to “whitewash the truth.”

As Tom Ozimek reports for The Epoch Times, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the broadcaster removed over 23 percent of her answers, “exposing the truth about criminal illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia, President Donald Trump’s lawful actions to protect the American people, and Secretary Noem’s commitment to fight on behalf of the American people and their tax dollars.”

CBS initially defended its actions, saying that the unedited version was posted online, but the backlash continued to grow on social media and beyond.

Noem and others circulated clips of the missing passages online and accused the network of trying to manipulate public opinion by withholding harsh truths—like when Noem said that Abrego Garcia was a “known human smuggler, MS-13 gang member, an individual who was a wife beater.”

Then, on Sept. 5, CBS said that it will now only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews, meaning guests’ answers will not be edited in any way—except in situations where legal or national security reasons require it. The broadcaster said it was changing its editorial policy “in response to audience feedback.”

“This extra measure means the television audience will see the full, unedited interview on CBS and we will continue our practice of posting full transcripts and the unedited video online,” a CBS spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

The Noem interview is the second time in less than a year that CBS has figured into disputes over alleged selective editing.

Last fall, then-presidential candidate Trump sued CBS, alleging that a “60 Minutes” interview with Democratic challenger and then-Vice President Kamala Harris had been manipulated to improve her image and boost her chances in the 2024 election.

CBS defended the editing of the Harris interview, saying that transcripts and videos of the full interview showed that the broadcast “was not doctored or deceitful.”

The uncut transcript showed that some of Harris’s answers were cut roughly in half while also clarifying her full response to a question about the Israel–Hamas war, which Trump’s campaign alleged was deceptively edited to make her look better to potential voters.

Later, Trump amended his complaint to include CBS parent company Paramount Global as a defendant, while doubling the amount of damages sought to $20 billion.

Paramount ultimately settled that case in July for $16 million, while denying any wrongdoing.