Kitchen Briefs - June 5, 2026 PM

Kitchen Briefs - June 5, 2026 PM

Kitchen Briefs - June 5, 2026 PM * Lebanon’s president is accusing Iran of using them as a bargaining chip while Israel continues to strike and has killed 5 more, including another medic in Lebanon. This brings Lebanon’s death toll since March to 3,558 * Trump says after the Strait of Hormuz opens, oil prices will drop a lot * Iran’s Supreme Leader’s adviser wants $24B in frozen assets or they’ll widen the war * Zelensky has asked for a face-to-face meeting with Putin * FIFA accidentally gave away free tickets to a game in Toronto * Trump plans on attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals to root for the Knicks * Next week Trump is going to meet with the leading Tech Bros of AI to discuss the US investing in their companies * The DOJ has sent a prosecutor to Los Angeles to oversee ballot counting * A federal judge has blocked Trump’s asylum freeze on 39 countries * In an appeals court today, a DOJ lawyer said even if the ballroom is illegal, the courts can’t stop it * A former senior executive at the Social Security Administration has filed a whistleblower disclosure claiming Trump administration officials planned to falsely add 2.7 million living people to the government's master death database * NASDAQ is down 4% and is the worst day all year * Meta has quietly added facial recognition to their smart glasses * The Chicago Bears are heading to Indiana and building a new stadium

Kitchen Briefs - June 5, 2026 AM

Kitchen Briefs - June 5, 2026 AM * Despite the call for a ceasefire, strikes continue. Hezbollah claims 8 attacks on Israeli positions in southern Lebanon * Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker has rejected the ceasefire due to the conditions in which only Hezbollah is to withdraw. He wants Israel to have to withdraw from Lebanon as well * Iran is firing warning missiles and drones at the US Navy who they claim are harassing maritime traffic and seizing commercial vessels and oil tankers * Ukraine has struck 5 ships allegedly containing illegal cargo * After more than 18 hours of debates and proposed amendments, the Senate passed the $70B bill to fund CBP and ICE. They did not put a single limit on Trump’s slush fund, ballroom or immigration enforcement. * The Senate also killed the SAVE Act * The House passed the Ukraine Support Act approving new military assistance for Ukraine and tougher sanctions on Russia * ICE will stop reporting deaths of former detainees that happen within 30 days of their release from federal custody. This comes after death rates continue to rise but DHS says this is common sense, they’re not in our custody any longer, we’re not responsible * Trump is building a promenade connecting the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac River and he claims “people” want it to be called the Trump Promenade * The corporate donors for Trump’s ballroom are proving their investment is paying off to the tune of over $50B in new or expanded federal contracts and those who were already under federal investigation have had those paused or reduced * Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced that Illinois will temporarily stop processing applications for tax incentives for new AI data centers * NASA has ordered astronauts on the International Space Station to shelter in their spacecraft and prepare for potential evacuation as Russian crews attempt to repair an air leak. There are 2 US astronauts, a French astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut currently aboard * The US is weaponizing visas for FIFA players. Switzerland’s main goalscorer was blocked from boarding a flight with his teammates. The Men’s national team of South Africa had to delay their flight because 20 people in their group were still trying to get the US embassy to process their visas * Trump says Bill Pulte won’t be the permanent Director of National Intelligence * Last night in Long Beach, CA the US military conducted training exercises at 2am with helicopters, controlled explosions and simulated weapons fire * Albanians for the 4th night protesting against Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s island purchase

Kitchen Briefs - June 4, 2026 PM

Kitchen Briefs - June 4, 2026 PM * Hezbollah is dismissing the ceasefire and striking Israel and have killed at least one Israeli soldier. Trump just said he thinks progress has been made * In the closed door interview with Pam Bondi she said that it wasn’t actually her who oversaw the release of the Epstein files. It’s been Todd Blanche * Todd Blanche went on Katie Miller’s podcast where he claimed there were no security cameras in Epstein's house * Senate Republicans have rejected funding amendments that would have gotten rid of the ballroom fund and the anti-weaponization fund * Good news for Delaney Hall: Governor Sherrill has committed $20M to immigrant legal defense * In an unincorporated part of Gilroy, CA, just south of San Jose, blueprints confirm an ICE facility with detention and processing space is planned and already under construction * I have had a number of messages about HR8800 which is the National Defense Authorization Act. In section 224 of the bill, it proposes establishing a US Israel Tech Partnership * My current read is The Supper Club Saints by Claire Swinarski who will be on an upcoming episode of Read The Damn Book. I also received in the mail this week Happiness Habits by Mandie Brice and Bright Side by Kim Holden who was a guest last week

Kitchen Briefs - June 4, 2026 AM

Kitchen Briefs - June 4, 2026 AM * Yesterday Lebanon and Israel decided on a ceasefire but it was also dependent on Hezbollah. Hezbollah calls the agreement shameless and rejects it * Israeli strikes have killed 4 more Lebanese * Yesterday Congress passed the Iran War Powers Resolution * Trump says he is going to nominate acting attorney general Todd Blanche to be the attorney general * An AP News investigation has found that The Trump administration has re-separated dozens of migrant children from their families, violating a landmark 2023 legal settlement intended to protect those previously separated * Here in CA, votes are still being counted as we expected and Trump is not happy saying "they're trying to steal the election" * Last night at a graduation ceremony at Fairfield High near Sacramento, CA a shooting killed 1 and injured 3 others. No suspect description has been released * RFK Jr is looking into gaining state access to medical records to investigate possible links between vaccines, autism, and chronic illnesses * The Senate begins voting today on funding DHS and ICE. A Vote-A-Rama has started which is a marathon session of debate and amendments * Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump bought an island in Albania for a mere $1.4B

Kitchen Briefs - June 3, 2026 PM

Kitchen Briefs - June 3, 2026 PM * Iran says contact with the US has not been cut off but no progress has been made. Also according to Iran they targeted a US military vessel in the Sea of Oman but CENTCOM says that’s a lie * To help negotiations along, Trump says he called Netanyahu crazy when they spoke * In regards attack of Iran on Kuwait’s airport, Iran is claiming it was the fault of the US and a malfunctioning US patriot missile that was supposed to intercept Iranian missiles. CENTCOM says it was Iran * In unredacted Epstein files it shows Trump flew on Epstein’s plane * Today Trump said he believes a Vance Rubio 2028 ticket would be unbeatable * Trump wants the UFC installation to be permanent * Today Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with Maine Senate Candidate Graham Platner whose sexting while marriage scandal has come out * A hostage standoff in Bakersfield, CA has ended with the suspect being killed by the FBI. The suspect held 10 people hostage yesterday in an office building and they were employees of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. The suspect was Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, 41, who was a dishonorably discharged Army veteran with a history of trouble with law enforcement and was a registered sex offender. * Polymarket has cut ties with George Santos and their paid relationship after learning he placed bets against himself attending Trump’s State of The Union.