Kitchen Briefs - April 15, 2026 PM

• Iran’s army has warned it will block trade through the Red Sea along with the Gulf and Sea of Oman if the US naval blockade on Iranian ports continues
• The US has blocked the 10th Iranian ship from going through the Strait
• Karoline Leavitt said she’s seeing lots of bad reporting so until you hear it from her, it’s not happening but at the same time she said there are discussions of peace talks
• For the fourth time today Senate republicans blocked a war powers resolution which could have ended the war in Iran
• House Democrats have introduced 6 articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
• Interim AG Todd Blanche says he will further investigate the Epstein files
• Speaker Mike Johnson is jumping on the bandwagon calling out the Pope
• Israel’s at it today and has killed four paramedics in Southern Lebabnon, yet five Israeli soldiers were also wounded
• There’s talks of the US starting a potential military operation in Cuba while the current US blockade is already putting the Cuban cigar in crisis.
• Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayer apologized to Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent referred to the Strait of Hormuz as the Strait of Vermouth

Kitchen Briefs - April 15, 2026 AM

• It’s tax day and how’s this for where your tax dollars are going? Indiana Governor Mike Braun announced this week that the state is investing $15million into a partnership with Israel to attract Israeli tech companies with the goal of making Indiana the US headquarters for Israeli firms
• Israeli Army General announces plans to continue strikes on Lebanon and Iran
• Once again today, Trump thinks he’s Jesus or at least touched by him. He’s also talking about RBG and contradicts himself within the same breath
• JD Vance says the Pope needs to be more careful when talking about theology
• Tom Homan has decided to offer his two cents in that the Catholic church should stay out of politics.
• Trump is threatening to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he doesn’t leave in May. Powell has 2 years of his term left and is in the midst of an investigation into the Central Bank
• Todd Blanche is proving to be just as bad as Pam Bondi. He says all of the Epstein files have been released. He’s also saying that he might just investigate certain things even if a grand jury doesn’t indict on cases. And the DOJ asked the Columbia Circuit to vacate seditious conspiracy convictions for Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders, aiming to permanently dismiss their indictments.
• Today in history: in 1947 Jackie Robinson broke baseball color barrier

Kitchen Briefs - April 14, 2026 PM

• Trump is signaling more talks with Iran in the next two days
• King Charles will not meet with Epstein survivors on his upcoming trip to the US
• A 5th woman has come forward accusing Eric Swalwell of assaulting her in 2018
• Rep Ruben Gallego say he heard rumors of flirty behavior but denies he knew of sexual assault allegations against Swalwell
• TMA has just launched a DC bureau with 3 producers
• Trump’s Truth social is filled with his endorsements for candidates, two of which are for Republicans going against two congressional reps in Nevada, Dina Titus and Susie Lee. Vote Titus and Lee!
• The California Governor Candidate Voter guide is complete! It's in my Substack or you can send me a DM to get your guide!

Kitchen Briefs - April 14, 2026 AM

• 3 entire ships have passed through the Strait including one sanctioned Chinese ship which Iran has mocked since it has a Malawi flag flying on it. Iran is dragging Trump on social media
• Israel and Lebanon talks have begun in Washington DC with the US brokering the talks and Marco Rubio in attendance
• The Red Cross said that they are asking colleagues whether they are married or have children when going on rescue missions in Lebanon or Iran because they are literally risking their lives to do so
• An appeals court is ordering a federal judge to end contempt investigation of the Trump administration deportation flights claiming the judge overstepped his authority
• A major investor with World Liberty Financial, Justin Sun is accusing the Trump family of misleading investors and improperly freezing accounts
• Swalwell and Gonzalez will still be eligible to receive their pensions and benefits from Congress. It only takes 5 years to fully vest and Gonzalez is right at the cusp of that
• Stay tuned for the California Governor Candidate Voter Guide

Kitchen Briefs - April 13, 2026 PM

• The US has started the blockade of the Strait with Trump vowing to kill Iranian ships while Hezbollah rejects Israel Lebanon talks
• Trump is lashing out at the New York Times for their reporting on the war but has also invited a staged Door Dash driver from Arkansas to the White House and instead of sticking to the script of taxes on tips, he asked her about transgender women in women’s sports. He also said he thought the image of him as Jesus was actually of him being a doctor. But what about the photo he posted before of himself as the Pope?
• Alameda County DA’s office is evaluating whether they should open an investigation into Congressman Eric Swalwell. Alameda county is the county Swalwell and his district reside in.
• Meanwhile Swalwell and Gonzalez have resigned from their positions in Congress. Meanwhile, former SF Mayor Willie Brown and former speaker Kevin McCarthy say they knew about it which makes them just as guilty. Shoutout to Mrs. Frazzled and Cheyenne Hunt for being decent human beings in all of this and putting a stop to it.
• Minnesota county is investigating the removal of ChongLy Thao, the US citizen taken from his home wearing only shorts and a blanket as a possible kidnapping. Reminder that ICE is still very much present in Minnesota.
• The California Governor’s race that has over 60 candidate names on the ballot continues to be a hot topic. Since the news of Swalwell, Xavier Becerra’s name has suddenly been popping up, whether because of the algorithms feeding it or because influencers are suddenly endorsing him but Eliza Orlins as shared on Threads some facts that should make you question whether he’s the right person for California.

Kitchen Briefs - April 13, 2026 AM

• Trump is now posting AI images of himself as Jesus while also posting messages insulting the Pope. He has since deleted the post of himself
• Pope Leo meanwhile says he doesn’t fear Trump
• Remember how JD was in Hungary campaigning for Viktor Orban? Well, Hungarians said no, we see what Trump is doing and we choose Peter Magyar instead.
• Trump continues to threaten Iranian ships in the Strait
• A US judge has dismissed Trump’s $10B defamation case against the Wall Street Journal over the birthday card he drew for Epstein
• Britney Spears has checked herself into rehab for substance abuse three weeks before her court date for her DUI
• Meta is building an AI avatar of Mark Zuckerberg to interact with employees to provide personal superintelligence and streamlining internal communications
• AP news did a great report on how the Trump family is the first presidential family to profit off their own deals while in office. Something every president in the past has avoided

Kitchen Briefs - April 12, 2026

• JD Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner failed at the peace talks with Iran
• Iran says the Strait of Hormuz is open for civilian use while Trump announced a blockade for the strait
• Iraq is sending aid to Lebanon
• CNN is reporting that Trump wants to use Magic Paint on the outside of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to make it a bright white despite warnings that such paint could damage the historic granite
• All of the endorsements Eric Swalwell had have been revoked in under 24 hours

Kitchen Briefs - April 11, 2026

• The first phase of in person ceasefire talks have concluded with the US and Iran exchanging written texts to ensure they’re on the same page
• One of the road blocks is that the US isn’t able to guarantee that Israel will stop bombing Lebanon
• The other major obstacle is around disagreements on the Strait of Hormuz
• The US military claims two US ships have gone through the Strait on a mine clearing mission but Iranian media denies that
• Strikes on Lebanon continued killing 5 and injuring a paramedic
• Manhattan DA is launching an investigation into the sexual assault accusations against Congressman Eric Swalwell while endorsements have been pulled and his fundraising page has been suspended
• Next week House Republicans will be taking a vote to expel Swalwell while House Democrats will be voting to expel Rep Tony Gonzalez who is accused of sending lewd texts to a subordinate