The Paper Trail: September 15, 2026

Anxiety Over AI; ICE Quietly Firing New Hires; Russian Oligarch’s Wedding Gift to Don Jr.

September 15, 2026

Announcements

Iran War

Watchdog tallies Iran war’s hit to weapons stockpiles, military bases and more

According to the Pentagon’s inspector general, the Iran war “has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply.” The IG also found Iranian strikes damaged and destroyed hundreds of structures at U.S. bases throughout the region.

(Ben Finley and Farnoush Amiri, Associated Press)

Navy families evacuated from Bahrain are still trying to retrieve their belongings
(Natalie Oliverio, Military Times)

Epstein Files

Weaponization of the Government

New grand jury subpoenas sent in Trump-Russia conspiracy probe

The DOJ has set up shop in the home court of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida and is summoning witnesses to testify before a grand jury in an investigation seeking to establish an intelligence community conspiracy against President Trump.

(Eric Tucker, Washington Sun)

Tense phone call and resignation upend Justice Department probe into Trump’s top foes
(Evan Perez and Katelyn Polantz, CNN)

Police Misconduct

Defense and Veterans Affairs

Business and Finance

Tech

Anthropic insiders warn AI could kill all humans

Three Anthropic researchers went public last week with chilling concerns about out-of-control AI, warning it could destroy humanity in the next few years. Skeptics contend the major AI companies are stoking fear in order to cement their position as market leaders.

(Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen, Axios)

Trump dismisses AI alarms as a hoax — worrying White House officials
(Kevin Liptak, CNN)
AI boom poses growing public health threat, former EPA officials warn
(Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times)

Health Care

ICYMI

On the Lighter Side

Hot Docs

Nominations & Appointments

Nominations

Christopher Abbott: Assistant Secretary of Commerce
Samuel D. Adkisson: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
Philip Axt: Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota
Richard Breckenridge: Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Francis Browne: Under Secretary of the Treasury
Catherine Eschbach: General Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Kimberly Greenwood: Ambassador, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Austin Holmes: Ambassador, Haiti
Elliott Hulse: Chief Executive Officer, Millennium Challenge Corporation
Wesley Hunt: Ambassador, Saudi Arabia
Stephen Husk: Commissioner, U.S. Parole Commission
Christopher Walter Inabinett: U.S. Marshal for the Middle District of Alabama
Matthew Jones: Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Devin Kennington: Ambassador, Somalia
Samuel King Lee: U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee
Jane Lynch: Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom
Junaid Munir: Ambassador, Djibouti
Claire McCusker Murray: Member, U.S. Sentencing Commission
Jesus A. Osete: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
Asa Pitt: U.S. Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
James Lewis Quinn: Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
Luis Felipe Restrepo: Member, U.S. Sentencing Commission
Lee Philip Rudofsky: Judge, U.S. Circuit Court for the Eighth Circuit
Simon Peter Serrano: U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington
Joshua Shoemaker: Chief Financial Officer, NASA
Robert Stebbins: General Counsel, Department of the Treasury
William Toti: Under Secretary of the Navy
Anny Vu: Assistant Secretary of State (Emerging Threats)
Paul Watzlavick: Ambassador, Suriname
Jeremy Wiggins: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury