Dem Senate Hopeful Scrubs 9/11 Tweet; ICE Plans Robot Dogs | 9/1/26 FIRST LOOK

0:03Hey everybody, I'm Dave AI and this is First Look. It's Tuesday, September 1st, 2026. We've got a packed show for you today. Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed scrubbed an old tweet trashing America on the anniversary of 9-11 and even some Democrats are now demanding he dump far left streamer Hasan Piker. ICE is moving to spend up to$2 million on Boston Dynamics spot robot dogs for immigration enforcement. And the Midwestern burger chain that's going full MAGA, flags, beef tallow, cane sugar, coke, and Maha Moms driving the registers. Let's dive in. The tweet Abdul El-Sayed didn't want you to see.

0:52Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed scrubbed an old tweet trashing America on the 20th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. He's now facing mounting pressure, including from Democrats, to disavow far-left streamer Hassan Piker. In the now-deleted tweet, El-Sayed mourned the attack that killed nearly 3 ,000 Americans, then immediately pivoted to grieving deaths he blamed on America over the wars that followed. Today I mourn the 3 ,000 lives, 6 ,000 injuries, and infrastructural devastation in NYC perpetrated ignorantly in the name of my faith, he wrote on Twitter, as it was then called.

1:39Tomorrow I'll mourn one million lives, millions of injuries, and infrastructural devastation in three countries, perpetrated ignorantly in the name of my country. That's a reference to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus fighting in Pakistan in the 2000s. It's not entirely clear when he deleted it. The Washington Free Beacon first uncovered it. It's gotten renewed attention as the country approaches the 25th anniversary of the attack. A copy is saved on the Wayback Machine. His campaign told CBS News, Abdul has always unequivocally condemned terrorism and the September 11th attacks. Mike Rogers' attempts to misrepresent Abdul's beliefs are bad faith lies meant to mislead Michiganders.

2:27That's the spin. The record is the tweet. During the campaign, El-Sayed has faced scrutiny over his ties to Hassan Piker. He stumped with Piker on the final day of the Democratic primary. Piker infamously said in 2019 that America deserved 9-11, then later, very begrudgingly, sort of conceded it was an inappropriate comment. He was later spotted with a framed front page newspaper showing the Twin Towers after the attack. Piker, a multimillionaire socialist, also defended the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hezbollah, gushed over the brave Mujahideen, who injured outgoing representative Dan Crenshaw, and argued the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attack was a direct consequence of Israeli actions.

3:19He said that if Hamas engaged in rape, it doesn't change the dynamic for me. Since then, he's tried to claim he was joking and that critics don't understand streaming culture. A growing list of Democrats have publicly castigated Piker. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Alyssa Slotkin, Senator Jackie Rosen, and others. Several have gone further and called on El-Sayed in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country to do the same. Senator John Fetterman put it bluntly earlier this month, I just want to issue a dare. Continue to campaign with Hassan Piker right now.

4:02You're in a general election now. I dare you. I dare you. El-Sayed has tried to downplay it. He says the campaign is about his policies, not a streamer from California. But he repeatedly campaigned with Piker in the primary and has refused to disavow him. Over the weekend, pressed by reporters, he vented, I am not interested in a conversation about a social media person in California. Voters in Michigan get to decide whether that's good enough. Meet Spot. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is set to spend up to$2 million on four-legged robots as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, according to a planning notice from the agency.

4:46ICE plans to use Boston Dynamics Spot robot dogs. They're designed to enter potentially dangerous or suspicious locations too risky for an officer. These robots have already been used by two of the nation's largest police departments. The Secret Service was seen using them at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago Resort in 2024. ICE says they are not attack dogs. They're meant to keep officers out of harm's way and to access dangerous situations. The planning document says the robots will improve officer safety during border security and other enforcement operations, not to apprehend people. They will not be used to make arrests.

5:27This capability helps improve officer safety, supports informed operational decision-making, and enhances DHS's ability to respond to incidents involving dangerous, confined, unstable, or difficult-to-access areas, the notice says. This is the latest example of ICE expanding specialized technology. It follows the agency's recent multi-million dollar move toward electric shock gloves for officers. Boston Dynamics says its systems are used by government agencies and public safety organizations to keep people out of harm's way and help first responders assess dangerous situations. The robot dogs carry cameras and sensors that can detect hazards such as gas, radiation, and vibration.

6:15They can navigate uneven terrain and use an extendable robotic arm to interact with objects, including opening certain doors. The company says Spot is built to collect information in places where sending a person could be unsafe. That's the point. Tools that let officers do the job without walking into a trap. The burger chain that's going full MAGA. An American flag big enough to cover two school buses flaps over a steak and shake southeast of Chicago. Payment systems take Bitcoin. Tesla drivers get free supersize fry upgrades in gold boxes. French fries are cooked in beef tallow instead of vegetable oil.

7:00The bottled Coca-Cola is sweetened with cane sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. The beef in the steak burgers comes from cattle raised on pasture grass. Since 2025, the Indianapolis-based chain has mounted an audacious turnaround that embraces President Trump's brand of patriotism and the Make America Healthy Again movement, championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Michael Bose, Steak and Shake's chief Maha officer, said the chain is responding to people looking for fast food they can feel good about. This political movement didn't come out of nowhere, right, he said? The revamp is led by Sardar Biglari, an activist investor and conservative figure who also owns Maxim Magazine, insurance providers, and oil companies.

7:52In April, he hired Bose, a former Trump administration HHS staffer, to spearhead the Maha push. It's helping the business. Same store sales were up 14 % in the three months ended June 30th compared with the same period last year. Average restaurant visits per location at the roughly 400-unit chain grew 5.8 % in the first half of this year. Customers like Lexi Carmen recently drove 30 minutes from Beecher, Illinois to the Shererville location with her two kids and two nieces. We were actually just here on Saturday, she said, as the kids ate steak burgers and milkshakes. Food costs have grown this year because of the quality investments.

8:39Bose said prices have increased moderately to offset the upgrades. For decades, Steak and Shake sat in the middle of the fast food pack. The ingredient changes help it stand out without living on discounts. The chain has even gone after rivals, including an ex-post targeting five guys in August. We don't claim to be a salad chain, Bose said. Ground beef makes up about 75 % of his diet. He stays in touch with Trump administration officials about the effort. But I do think these foods in their pure form do have a health benefit. The company doesn't make health claims about grass-fed beef or tallow.

9:19It just tells customers they can taste the difference. The chain traces to the 1930s when Augustus Gus Belt bought gas stations, including one with a restaurant in Normal, Illinois. The town went dry, so he switched from chicken and beer to burgers and milkshakes, grinding meat in front of customers, sometimes from his own cattle. It expanded across the Midwest, changed owners, and by the 2000s was struggling and running out of cash. Biglari built a position in 2007 and took it private. By 2017, profits fizzled, then turned to losses. The chain closed around 200 locations between 2018 and 2024.

10:03Sales dropped by one-third to$760 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. In early 2025, Biglari made changes that reflected the new administration's priorities. Locations hoisted the largest American flags local zoning would allow and served patriot shakes for the country's 250th anniversary. They dumped vegetable oil, which Kennedy has blamed for fueling obesity and inflammation, for beef tallow, and switched to grade A Wisconsin butter instead of a blend with seed oil. Kennedy has applauded the moves. Elon Musk praised the chain online. Extra fries for Tesla drivers followed. Bose left government work that included trying to get fast food chains to remove additives.

10:53Steak and Shake, he said, offered a chance to show how a Maha overhaul could actually work. He launched a restaurant and marketing tour, including a spot with Laura Trump earlier this year. He says Maha moms are helping drive sales, and he doesn't see that changing. Next up, seed oil-free buns, a quest he said he discussed with Kennedy while they huddled at the June UFC card on the White House lawn. That's a restaurant chain betting that patriotism and real ingredients still sell. And that's your first look this Tuesday. Quick recap, El-Sayed's deleted 9-11 tweet and his refusal to cut Hassan Piker, ICE lining up spot robot dogs to keep officers safer on enforcement ops, and Steak and Shake going all in on flags, tallow, and maha and watching the customers show up.

11:50We'll keep following all of it. I'm Dave AI. Thanks for starting your day with First Look. See you tomorrow.