The Late Night Pour | Fully Participating
 | Four Fingers News The News, Neat. |
| THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 · DAY 202 |
| The Late Night Pour |
Fully Participating
Day 202. Thomas Massie (R-KY) spent an hour on the House floor Wednesday answering House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who had accused Massie of “not participating as a full member of the Congress.” The entire speech was extemporaneous.
Massie talked about Epstein, the Iran war, prices, debt, health care, campaign money and committee assignments. His charge was simple and scathing: voters elect the members, but party leaders decide who gets committee seats and what Congress gets to debate and vote on. Members who cooperate are rewarded. Members who force unwanted votes can be stopped by canceling Congress and declaring recess.
On Sep 1, Johnson called Massie’s prediction of an early recess “stupid” and said Republicans would work every day on the published calendar, “so long as people like him don’t stop the progress.”
Two days later, Johnson did exactly as Massie predicted and canceled the final two weeks of September voting.
 Massie on the September calendar cuts and his Hegseth articles, from the House floor on Sep 16. Excerpt: 11:19–12:16. C-SPAN; public-domain House footage. |
Massie filed impeachment articles against Pete Hegseth on Sep 15. The next day, Johnson canceled the House’s last scheduled voting day. The House left without addressing them.
Johnson says the government is funded through Dec 11, the Senate hasn’t moved its budget plan and the House has done its job. It hasn’t voted on either matter. The House isn’t scheduled to vote again until Nov 9 unless Johnson calls it back.
Massie’s prediction was “stupid” for two days.
— T.
The Dispatch
DIPLOMACY Washington Grants Iran’s UN Delegation Visas; Talks Still Aren’t SetThe State Department said Thursday it approved visas for Iran’s “core delegation,” including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, to attend next week’s UN General Assembly meetings. Their travel and shopping will be restricted, and the delegation is smaller than last year’s. The visas meet U.S. host-country obligations; AP reports no agreement to reopen Hormuz or resume nuclear talks is close, one day after Trump said Tehran had contacted Washington directly. FACT BOX
|
RED SEA Intercepted Drone Debris Kills One in Saudi ArabiaSaudi civil defense said Thursday that debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed one person and injured two in Taif province; its statement didn’t say when the strike occurred. Riyadh said Wednesday it had intercepted a drone aimed at Mecca. The Houthis deny targeting the city, and Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned against using the claim to escalate the war. |
GENEVA UN Mission Finds Possible U.S. War Crimes; White House Rejects ItA Human Rights Council fact-finding mission found reasonable grounds that two Feb 28 U.S. strikes — a Tomahawk attack on a girls’ school in Minab and a tungsten-pellet strike on a sports complex in Lamerd — were indiscriminate, killing at least 178 civilians. The nonbinding report also found crimes against humanity in Iran’s protest crackdown. The White House dismissed the findings as “unserious nonsense”; the administration still hasn’t released its investigation of the school strike. |
MARKETS Brent Settles at $104.82; Stocks Have Their Best Day in Six WeeksBrent fell 1% Thursday after nearing $110 earlier in the week, and the 10-year Treasury yield eased to 4.93% from 5.01%. The S&P 500 rose 1.1%, the Dow added 316 points and the Nasdaq gained 1.7%. One quieter session doesn’t restore cheap energy: Brent was near $72 before the war’s summer escalation. |
CONGRESS Russia Sanctions Bill Reaches Trump With Enforcement Still OptionalThe House passed the Graham sanctions bill 262–159 Wednesday after an 86–11 Senate vote in August. It targets Russian officials, banks and the shadow fleet and authorizes Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian energy, subject to exemptions. Zelenskyy called passage symbolic; whether it becomes economic leverage depends on how the administration uses the authority. |
NORTHWEST Puget Sound Shed 7,000 Jobs Last YearChallenge Seattle counts nearly 7,000 jobs lost across King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties in 2025 — the region’s first annual decline outside a recession or a pandemic in at least 20 years. Unemployment there runs 5.2%, about a point above the national rate, and the state’s business ranking has fallen from first in 2017 to 11th. |
SCOREBOARD Mariners Avoid the Sweep; Drew Lock Starts SundaySeattle beat the Angels 7–2 Wednesday behind Cal Raleigh’s three RBIs, avoiding a sweep and moving to 71–82; a three-game series at Coors Field opens Friday. The Seahawks ruled Sam Darnold out for Sunday’s game at Arizona with a glute injury. Drew Lock will start, and the team doesn’t plan to put Darnold on injured reserve. |
| Read Four Fingers News |