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The President's Daily Brief
September 8th, 2025: STAND-OFF: Venezuelan Warplanes Harass U.S. Navy Ships & Kyiv Hammered By Russia
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And yes, as a matter of fact, Ole Miss did get a win in their SEC opener against Kentucky yesterday, avenging a loss, of course, to the Cats last season. So nicely done, Ole Miss. And and one more update. The Gallagher boys smashed it last night at the Rose bowl in Los Angeles. The Mancunians were back in action as the great Oasis played another stop on their Live 25 tour. It was, as they say, one hell of a show. All right, let's get briefed. First up, a dangerous and slightly surreal standoff at sea. Venezuelan fighters have been shadowing a US Destroyer in the Caribbean with officials warning that one wrong move could spark a crisis. Oh good, another crisis. I'll have the details later in the show. Yet another indication that Putin apparently isn't interested in negotiating for peace. Russia just unleashed its largest air assault of the war, hammering Kyiv with more than 800 drones and striking a government headquarters building for the first time. Definitely the actions of a man eager to find a peace deal. Plus, an immigration raid in the U.S. state of Georgia sweeps up hundreds of South Korean workers at a Hyundai plant. Now, Seoul says it struck a deal with Washington to bring them home. And in today's Back of the Brief, major Internet disruptions ripple across Asia and the Middle east after undersea cables in the Red Sea are mysteriously cut. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. We'll start today with the latest news in the Caribbean. Over the past several days, Venezuelan fighter jets have been buzzing a US Navy destroyer in international waters off South America. Pentagon officials are calling the close flyovers highly provocative and describe the standoff as a dangerous game of chicken. The ship involved is the USS Jason Dunham an Aegis guided missile destroyer that's now part of the flotilla conducting counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean. Defense officials confirmed that Venezuelan F16s flew directly over the Dunham within weapons range. Multiple times the US Vessel held fire, but officials say the intent was clear. Disrupt American patrols targeting narco terror groups. President Trump has responded with sharp warnings. Standing alongside his top military brass in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump told reporters that if Venezuelan jets endanger US Ships, they will be shot down. Trump added that commanders on the scene have full authority to make that call in the moment. Turning to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Kane, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Trump went further, telling them bluntly, quote, you can do anything you want if they fly in a dangerous position. It was essentially a green light for commanders to act decisively. The latest confrontation comes as Washington is ramping up its presence in the region, in addition to the seven warships and thousands of Marines already on station. And the Pentagon has announced that it's now sending 10 F35 stealth fighters to Puerto Rico. Officials say the jets will join operations against drug cartels. But their deployment is also clearly meant to send a message to Caracas. The US Is prepared for escalation. The Stealth jets are built to outclass Venezuela's older F16s, of course, leaving little doubt as to who would control the skies if things kick off. Trump has tied this entire buildup to the war on drugs, pointing to the deadly flow of narcotics into the U.S. earlier in the week, the U.S. navy struck what it described as a Venezuelan drug running vessel, sinking the boat and killing 11. And Trump has doubled the bounty on President Nicolas Maduro's head, now offering $50 million for information leading to his arrest. For his part, Maduro continues to claim that the US Allegations are false. He accuses Washington of seeking to overthrow him through military intimid while portraying Venezuela as open to dialogue so long as it comes with respect. But the Trump administration continues to brand Maduro not as a political leader, but as a narco kingpin. Officials link him directly to Cartel de las Souls, a group that the US Recently Designated a global terrorist organization. Now, there's been plenty of speculation that the US Military buildup in the Caribbean is really a prelude to regime change in Caracas. But on Friday, Trump pushed back, saying flatly, not talking about that. Instead, he pointed again to Venezuela's very strange election and the flood of narcotics pouring north. In other words, the White House wants this framed as an anti drug operation, not an overt bid to topple Maduro's. Government. Still, the reality on the ground or at sea in this case, tells its own story. Stealth fighters, warships, marines, and standing orders to target any Venezuelan jets that look to engage U.S. assets. Whether Washington admits it or not, every move raises the pressure on Maduro, leaving both sides basically one wrong maneuver away from a shooting incident that could ignite a much larger confrontation. Okay, before we take a break, a quick note to those of you listening on Apple Podcasts. We've had an amazing surge of new listeners there and we'd love for that momentum to continue. If you get a moment and are so inclined, head over to Apple Podcasts, tap, follow and leave us a short review. It makes a huge difference. And, and thank you, of course, to all of you who have already done that. We really appreciate it. All right, coming up next, Russia launches its largest air assault of the war. And hundreds of South Korean workers swept up in a Georgia immigration raid are now headed home after a deal with Washington. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. 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According to Ukraine's air force, Moscow launched 810 drones, four ballistic missiles, and nine cruise missiles overnight into Sunday, most of which reportedly were intercepted. Still, 54 drones and nine missiles did break through air defenses, hitting targets across Ukraine. It was the biggest single day attack of the war, eclipsing Moscow's July onslaught. Oh, congratulations, Kremlin. Look at you. You broke your record. As we've tracked here on the pdb, Russia has escalated its aerial assault relentlessly, setting new records for the size and scope of its drone and missile attacks. As the Kremlin challenges Ukraine's air defenses in what has become a constant assault, the human toll of the weekend blitz was immediate. In Kyiv, an infant child was among at least 4 killed and 44 injured. Nationwide. The Prime Minister's office building was damaged and set on fire in the first confirmed strike on a government facility in the capital since Russia's 2022 invasion began. Ukraine's prime minister branded it a massive attack on government ministries, while President Zelensky called it vile and a deliberate Prolongation of the war. The overnight assault triggered 11 hours of air raid sirens in the capital. A nine floor apartment block was partially destroyed with four levels collapsing. Fires tore through high rises. Debris smashed into a one story tower and flames lit up multiple neighborhoods. Beyond Kyiv, A bridge over the Dnipro river in central Ukraine was struck. That's a rare blow far from the front lines. Poland, alarmed by blasts near its border, scrambled aircraft and raised defenses. All of this came just days after more than two dozen Western nations pledged to contribute troops to a possible peacekeeping mission. If a ceasefire ever materializes, I'd like to clarify that the US was not among them and Moscow has now warned that any Western personnel in Ukraine would be legitimate targets. Meanwhile, Kyiv went on the offensive as well. On Sunday, Ukraine struck two Russian energy facilities in the Bryansk region and the southern Krasnodar territory along the Black Sea. Among the targets, the Ilsky oil refinery, one of the largest in southern Russia, and the 8N Oil Pipeline Control station in Bryansk, part of the Kremlin's so called steel horse pipeline network. The refinery alone produces more than 6 million tons of oil annually, while the 8N site pumps over 10 million tons capacity critical of course, to supplying Russian troops and processing fuel from Belarus. Explosions and fires were reported at both facilities, each hundreds of miles from the front lines. Disrupting them was no small feat. Ukraine's General Staff said the operation was coordinated across missile, artillery and drone units. Kyiv's drone chief boasted that in August alone, at least 12 Russian refineries were struck, crippling more than 17% of Moscow's refining capacity. Additional Ukrainian strikes were reported against Russian troop positions in depots in the Kursk region as part of Kyiv's camp campaign to degrade Moscow's energy and logistics backbone. On the diplomacy front, President Trump has grown increasingly pessimistic about brokering an end to the war. Well, I can't see why. Still, he hasn't abandoned the effort. There appears to be essentially a bottomless well of patience at the White House. Last week, he joined a conference call with Zelensky and European leaders pressing that quote, europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war. Well, yeah, that's a good idea, but here's another thought. How about the US could slapped secondary sanctions on China, the number one consumer of Russian energy. Now, the whirlwind peacemaking push of last month has obviously stalled. Trump, of course, flew to Anchorage for a summit with Putin, which resulted in no progress. Days later, he convened Zelensky and European leaders at the White House touting a face to face meeting between the Ukrainian leader and Putin. That summit never materialized and right now there's no sign that it will. Trump could impose far stricter sanctions against the Kremlin to strong arm Putin to the negotiating table. But despite repeated threats of serious consequences, there's been no movement on that front. Okay. Shifting stateside ICE agents stormed a Hyundai LG Energy battery plant in Georgia in one of the largest workplace raids in American history, hauling away hundreds of South Korean workers, which as you might imagine, set off alarms in Seoul. The raid unfolded Thursday at the Savannah area construction site. According to Stephen Schrank, the Homeland Security special agent in charge for Georgia, it was the culmination of a months long investigation into unlawful hiring practices. Schrank cast the operation as a defense of the rule of law, saying it was designed to ensure, quote, a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law. President Trump's border czar Tom Holman drove the point home, declaring, quote, it's a crime to knowingly hire an illegal alien and vowing more raids to come. In all, 475 people were detained, roughly 300 of them south Korean nationals. Authorities said many had overstayed their visas, entered under visa waiver programs that prohibit employment or came across the border illegally. But not everyone swept in the operation fit that description. Schrank himself confirmed that some U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents were initially held before being released. The arrests blindsided Hyundai, an LG Energy solution whose joint plant has been billed as the largest manufacturing investment in Georgia state history. Hyundai stressed that none of its direct employees were detained. LG admitted that 47 of its staff, nearly all South Korean nationals, were taken into custody, along with about 250 subcontracted workers. The fallout was immediate. In response, LG suspended most of its American business travel and ordered employees to return home. Hyundai announced a review of contractor vetting practices and warned employees traveling to the US to exercise caution. Seoul, meanwhile, scrambled to defuse the crisis. South Korea's presidential office announced it had struck a deal with Washington to bring its detained workers home with a chartered plane standing by once paperwork is cleared. I want to point out though, that still unresolved is whether those detained will be allowed to leave voluntarily, sparing them a multi year US Reentry ban or face formal deportation. The raid has jolted the economic partnership between the two allies. Just over a week earlier, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung stood alongside Trump at the White house to announce $150 billion in fresh U.S. investments, including in electric vehic and semiconductors. Hyundai alone pledged 26 billion, with the Savannah plant as its crown jewel. And in late July, Seoul agreed to 350 billion in additional US investments and $100 billion in American energy purchases as part of a broader pact that lowered its tariff rate to 15% from the proposed 25%. It's a deal that the Trump administration hailed as a signature victory for American workers. For Trump, the optics underscore his determination to enforce immigration laws even when they cut across his economic diplomacy. When asked whether the crackdown risks undermining foreign investment, the president was characteristically blunt, stating, they came through illegally. They came into our country, so we have to do our job. The sight of ICE agents hauling away South Korean engineers from a flagship company may have shaken Seoul, but in Washington, it highlights the administration's continued efforts to put border enforcement first, even when it puts allies in the crosshairs. Okay, coming up next in the back of the brief, a digital blackout in parts of Asia and the Middle east after vital undersea cables in the Red Sea were damaged, possibly sabotaged. More on that story when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take a moment to talk about your health, right? That's probably the most important topic we can talk about now. By the time the Average person hits 60, did you know that many have lost and then regained several hundred pounds? Doctors call this weight cycling. And half of Americans do it. And if you do it enough, well, you're at risk of diabetes, of liver damage, heart attack and stroke. 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In today's Back of the brief, Internet access across parts of Asia and the Middle east sputtered on Sunday after undersea cables in the Red Sea were cut, stoking fears that the Houthis could be escalating their attacks on global infrastructure. Microsoft first acknowledged the disruption, warning Middle east users they quote, may experience increased latency. It sounds like it speak it doesn't IT Internet monitoring group NED Blocks confirmed degraded connectivity in India, Pakistan and beyond, pointing to failures in two major cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Pakistan state telecom giant corroborated the incident. In the uae, users complained of sluggish speeds, but officials have yet to publicly confirm the cause of the cable slice. The two critical arteries hit with the Southeast Asia Middle East Western Europe 4 cable run by Tata Communications and the India Middle East Western Europe line operated by Alcatel Lucent Consortium. As for repairs, well, they could stretch into weeks as specialized teams locate and fix the damage. The Houthis fingerprints would appear to be on this development. Yemen's exiled government accused the terror group back in early 2024 of plotting attacks on undersea cables. Several cuts at that time followed, though the rebels denied involvement. On Sunday, Houthi controlled television cited NetBlock's data to acknowledge the outages, but not again stop short of claiming responsibility. As we've often discussed here on the pdb, undersea cables are the circulatory system of the modern Internet, carrying more than 95% of global data. The Red Sea, a choke point already inflamed by war and terrorist attacks, has now become a focal point for undersea cable vulnerability. And the parallels are glaring. Think of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic or cable sabotage off Europe and Africa tied to Russia's shadow fleet. Each instance underscores how infrastructure is part of the new battlefield. The timing here is hardly Coincidental. Since late 2023, the Iranian backed Houthis have turned the Red Sea into essentially a shooting gallery, targeting more than 100 ships, sinking at least six and killing over a dozen sailors. This latest sabotage, if positively attributed to the Houthis, underscores the wider danger. The digital lifelines that knit together economies across three continents could now be the latest target for the Iranian back proxy. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily brief for Monday 8th September. Now if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me@pdbhefirsttv.com and of course to listen to the show ad Free and simple enough to do. Become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.