Good evening. I’m British Chris, and this is Raw America. Before we get to the news, do us a quick favor: click the ❤️ and restack this newsletter. That’s the quickest and easiest way to make sure these stories show up in more news feeds.
Pranksters are circulating a fake GOP midterm convention website that redirects to the Justice Department’s Epstein files library. First Lady Melania Trump is skipping her husband’s midterm convention right when he’s trying to convince everyone how important it is to attend. Pennsylvania voters and fellow Democrats are calling for John Fetterman to resign after a bombshell report on his apparent allergy to doing any actual work. And former Kentucky Republican Governor Matt Bevin is sitting in jail tonight after getting arrested as an extra on a Christian movie set. Let’s dive in.
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Pranksters Create Fake GOP Midterm Convention Website That Redirects to Epstein Files
The Republican Party’s midterm convention hasn’t even kicked off yet, but the Republican National Committee is already having to deal with a dummy site that’s reminding the GOP of Trump’s most pervasive scandal.
On September 9th and 10th, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance will be in Dallas, Texas, holding a first-ever midterm convention aimed at motivating Republican voters to turn out in November. But right as the RNC is trying to sell tickets and gin up excitement, they’re contending with an inconvenient problem: somebody built a decoy site called GOPDallas2026.com, and that’s the first result that shows up when you Google “GOP 2026 convention.” But as soon as users click through, they’re sent straight to the Department of Justice’s Epstein files library.
The RNC’s official convention site is running fine on a different URL. And it remains to be seen whether this entirely separate page is confusing people who are wanting to attend the convention. So far, the GOP hasn’t addressed the decoy site.
It’s a relatively small act of mischief, but it’s happening right when Republicans are trying to turn around what is expected to be a bloodbath of an election, and right at the center is a truly radioactive scandal the Republican Party is desperately hoping everyone will forget come November.
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Trump Humiliated as Melania Announces She’s Skipping His Big Event
Speaking of the convention, First Lady Melania Trump announced she will not be in Dallas next week to support her husband. A White House official confirmed Melania’s plans to skip the convention in a comment to the Washington Examiner.
Melania isn’t the only one doing something else on those days. Dozens of Republican members of Congress have also said they’re skipping the event. Some have cited scheduling conflicts with their own campaigns, and some are grumbling about the $25,000 entrance fee. Others are likely aiming to keep a vastly unpopular president at arm’s length as his approval numbers continue to plummet.
One House Republican told Politico the convention felt pointless at this point in the election cycle, saying the party should instead try courting independent voters instead of rallying the MAGA base that’s already all-in for Trump.
Melania has been largely absent for the bulk of her husband’s second term. The Daily Beast found she’d made public appearances on just 40 days of 2026 so far. Her last appearance was the IndyCar event in Washington on August 23rd. She was noticeably absent at both the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner in July and the official funeral for the late Senator Lindsey Graham a few weeks later.
Trump is continuing to double down despite scant support from his party and even his own wife. While he was initially scheduled to speak on just one night of the convention, he’s now headlining both nights. One GOP official told Reuters the president is aiming to set the tone for the whole event with the two speeches. It also shows just how nervous Republicans have become about turning out their voters. And it doesn’t help that the convention is competing against the kickoff of the NFL season, with most Americans likely opting to watch football instead of the president.
Pennsylvanians Demand John Fetterman Resign After Bombshell Report
In Pennsylvania, Democratic Senator John Fetterman is now facing a wave of calls from his own party to resign following an explosive report from the Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday on how Fetterman has all but given up on his actual duties as a senator like meeting with constituents and attending committee hearings. Leaked text messages show one unnamed aide telling Fetterman about a meeting with representatives from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who were worried about vaccine and Medicaid cuts. Fetterman wrote back that he wasn’t concerned, and then suggested the group just wanted a free trip to Washington.
One state legislator told the Journal that he made an effort to bring constituents from a flood-prone Philadelphia neighborhood to meet with their members of Congress. Every single member showed up save for Fetterman, who was available, but simply chose not to go. He also blew off a funeral for three police officers killed in the line of duty because an aide told him it would be three hours long, which Fetterman called a “nonstarter.”
The reaction from fellow Democrats has been sharp. Former Congressman Conor Lamb told Fetterman to “just quit.” Congressman Brendan Boyle called the freshman senator a disgrace. Congressman Chris Deluzio argued that Fetterman simply isn’t capable of serving in the office any longer.
Fetterman isn’t exactly the most popular politician in Pennsylvania. His approval rating is almost entirely propped up by Republicans, with virtually every Democrat polled strongly disapproving of his job as senator. A recent Quinnipiac poll found just 19 percent of Democrats approve of Fetterman, compared to 77 percent of Republicans. The senator insists he has no plans to change party affiliation, but this report may end up triggering a 2028 primary challenge he won’t be able to overcome.
Former Republican Governor Jailed After Being Arrested on Movie Set
Former Kentucky Republican Governor Matt Bevin is now sitting in a jail cell, serving a 60-day jail sentence. A judge found Bevin in criminal contempt of court in an ongoing child support case tied to his divorce for deliberately refusing to turn over financial documents.
The one-term ex-governor who served between 2015 and 2019 was arrested on a movie set, working as a featured extra on a Christian film being shot in Paris, Kentucky. Officers from the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office showed up and took him into custody in full view of his fellow actors and crew members.
The case dates back to 2023, when Bevin’s ex-wife filed for divorce. One of the couple’s adopted children intervened and said his adopted father owed him additional support linked to abuse suffered at boarding schools for troubled teens. Bevin was initially found in contempt this May after he missed an in-person hearing, opting to appear via Zoom instead. Bevin avoided going to jail by paying a small fine and agreeing to turn over financial documents. However, he later missed the deadline for those documents, and the judge overseeing the case denied his request for more time. He was then issued a bench warrant, which finally resulted in his arrest on Thursday night.
At Thursday’s hearing, the judge was unsympathetic, reminding Bevin — who was clad in an orange jumpsuit — that he’d never turned himself in and hadn’t shown any good faith efforts throughout the divorce proceedings. She left the door open to relief after 30 days depending on his behavior, but as of right now he’s been ordered to serve the full 60-day sentence.
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You won’t find half of these stories in the pages of Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post, or see them covered on David Ellison’s CBS. The MAGA billionaires who want to be the sole deciders of what you get to know don’t want you knowing about the GOP being embarrassed by a decoy site drawing attention to the Epstein files. And they won’t mention that a Republican ex-governor is now sitting in jail in an orange jumpsuit for the next two months. But we’re able to cover those stories, because we don’t answer to a wealthy owner. We answer to you.
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I’m British Chris, with Raw America. If you haven’t done so already, please click the ❤️ and restack this post so we can break through to the people who need these stories the most. Thanks for reading, thanks for supporting independent media, and have a great weekend.
Here are some stories you may have missed:
Nearly Half of Americans Say Natalie Harp Deserves More Scrutiny. A plurality of Americans say 35 year-old White House aide Natalie Harp — known as “the human printer” for her job of printing out flattering articles and social media posts to hand to President Donald Trump — should be further scrutinized. A new poll conducted by the Daily Mail and J.L. Partners found that 42 percent of Americans believe the Trump administration needs to be more forthcoming about Harp’s role in the White House. 36 percent said they were unsure, while 22 percent they were satisfied with what the White House has said about Harp.
Tetris Hints at Copyright Lawsuit Against White House Over Racist Adaptation. The Tetris Company issued a new statement on Friday in response to the White House’s “Arcade” addition to its official .gov website, which features a Tetris-like game in which the user uses blocks to build a border wall. The company stated it was “not involved” in the development of the game, and that it “take[s] copyright infringement very seriously.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Made $250 Million Last Year. New ethics forms submitted by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick show he made in excess of $250 million in income last year, mostly from his ownership in the firm Cantor Fitzgerald. Lutnick is one of the central figures embroiled in the Epstein scandal, after he was caught lying about cutting off relations with Jeffrey Epstein — who was once his neighbor — following a 2005 visit to his Manhattan townhouse. Epstein was later photographed on Epstein’s Little Saint James Island in 2012 with several other men.
