SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

IS THIS SERIOUS? – FROM FOX:   Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday dispelled rumors that he may be running for president in 2024, referring to the buzz around the subject as "purely manufactured."  "All the speculation about me is purely manufactured," DeSantis said during a news conference to discuss a new COVID-19 treatment unit in St. Cloud, Florida. "I just do my job and we work hard… I hear all this stuff and honestly it’s nonsense."  DeSantis' remarks on the subject come just days before he headlines a Nebraska event with other potential 2024 candidates to celebrate agriculture on Sept. 12 in Nebraska City. During the gathering, DeSantis will speak alongside former Vice President Mike Pence and Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. The event will also correspond with Gov. Pete Ricketts’ annual steak fry, which is being held at Arbor Lodge Historical Park.  It's smart of DeSantis to cool the presidential talk.  He's got to get through a gubernatorial re-election election next year, and there's no guarantee, based on current polls, that he will win.  Let's take it one step at a time.

LATEST WARNING – FROM TIMES OF ISRAEL:  Iran has dramatically increased its production of highly enriched uranium in recent months, while refusing to resume full cooperation with inspectors, the UN nuclear watchdog said Tuesday.  Tehran has quadrupled its stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium since May, in open contravention of the 2015 accord with world powers that was meant to contain its nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported.  The IAEA also told member states in its confidential quarterly report that its verification and monitoring activities have been “seriously undermined” since February by Iran’s refusal to let inspectors access IAEA monitoring equipment.  The agency said it estimates Iran’s stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity at 10 kilograms, an increase of 7.6 kilograms since May. The country’s stockpile of uranium enriched to up to 20% fissile purity is now estimated at 84.3 kilograms, up from 62.8 kilograms three months earlier.  Iran’s total stock of uranium is estimated at 2441.3 kilograms as of Aug. 30, down from 3241 kilograms on May 22, the agency said.    Nothing to see, of course.  Nothing to see.

September 7, 2021