Closing the tabs ...
TODAY: Following efforts with our interagency partners, I can report that a career Director level employee at US Customs and Border Protection has been charged with allegedly attempting to defraud FEMA, as well as lying to federal agents.
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) March 12, 2025
This is part of the new FBI’s renewed…
This is part of the new FBI’s renewed efforts to crack down on public corruption and deliver accountability for the American people.
Justice will be done.
Ed: It's a good start. The complaint alleges that a career employee at CBP manipulated FEMA relief she never needed. It's a standard public-corruption case, but not one with implications of "deep state" activities, just personal gain. But it's still a good start.
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A new four-lane highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest is being built for the COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém.
It aims to ease traffic to the city, which will host more than 50,000 people - including world leaders - at the conference in November.
The state government touts the highway's "sustainable" credentials, but some locals and conservationists are outraged at the environmental impact.
Ed: What in the actual ****? They cut down the rain forest to hold a climate conference so they could argue about the destruction of the rain forest? These people are absolutely insane. I may write more about this later, if one of my colleagues doesn't get to it first.
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NEW: Trump trolls Rosie O'Donnell for moving to Ireland, tells Irish PM Micheál Martin he is better off not knowing who she is.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 12, 2025
The comment came after Rosie O'Donnell announced that she had fled the United States for Ireland.
Reporter: "Why would you let Rosie O'Donnell move to… pic.twitter.com/IVd2ySV0Rm
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In which I…praise Rosie O’Donnell, upon her departure from America. Sort of: pic.twitter.com/KtRxLLHHav
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) March 12, 2025
Ed: I made the same point yesterday, but my pal Guy does it with more panache.
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The U.S. Military Academy at West Point recently disbanded 12 student groups on campus in response to President Donald Trump’s ban on federal “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs in the Armed Forces.
However, a free speech expert told The College Fix the academy may be “working to restore these clubs.”
Ed: I do wonder about the free-speech implications. Since the cadets are members of the military, there are some limitations that wouldn't apply on other campuses, but there is a difference between official policies and free-will association and speech even at West Point. It does show the determination at the Pentagon to put an end to all DEI programs and policies, which is encouraging.
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Rapper Lil Yachty says Black Lives Matter was a scam during a cooking show with Quenlin Blackwell.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 11, 2025
Blackwell: "How much have you spent on charitable causes this year... BLM?"
Yachty: "BLM is a scam... BLM was literally a scam. They had bought mansions."
Fact check:… pic.twitter.com/q6bosUkGOz
Ed: Literally true. That's not to say that Quenlin Blackwell doesn't care about black people -- that was unfair. But Li Yachty is undeniably correct about the BLM grift.
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CBS News is asking the Federal Communications Commission to end its investigation into the edits of its “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris when she was vice president and the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee.
The media outlet argued Monday in its request that such a probe makes the federal government a "roving censor” in violation of the First Amendment.
Ed: Unfortunately for CBS, the FCC has the authority to judge whether broadcast license holders operate in the public interest. If CBS perpetrated a fraud, that's relevant to their license status in a way that would NOT be relevant for non-broadcast platforms such as CNN, for an example (although I'm unclear as to whether CNN holds any broadcast licences in the US). I'm not entirely crazy about that authority, but it exists. I would rather let the market deal with the frauds in the media industry, but the FCC legitimately has the authority under current law.
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Tom Homan is just smiling and munching on an apple as a bunch of left-wing freaks in the New York State Capitol yell at him.
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 12, 2025
What a legend
pic.twitter.com/gv0szvyYQg
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U.S. inflation slowed last month for the first time since September and a measure of underlying inflation fell to a four-year low, even as widespread tariffs threaten to send prices higher.
The consumer price index increased 2.8% in February from a year ago, Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed, down from 3% the previous month. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose 3.1% from a year earlier, down from 3.3% in January. The core figure is the lowest since April 2021.
The declines were greater than economists expected, according to a survey by data provider FactSet. Yet inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. And most economists expect inflation will remain elevated this year as Trump’s tariffs kick in.
Ed: Most economists missed this decline, too. I'm not a fan of tariffs and not a fan of the impulsive manner in which they are being applied, but it's just too early to say how inflationary they will be. If they drive production and supply to the US, they may not be all that inflationary in the long run. Trump's other supply-side policies will have a downward impact on prices eventually, and we may already be seeing projections for that in the energy-futures sector.
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.@ScottJenningsKY wins another 4-on-1 exchange on CNN 🔥
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 12, 2025
CNN Commentator: "As a Republican strategist, you wouldn't have advised him to go in front of the White House and drive a Tesla?!"@ScottJenningsKY: "Wait, why?! Of course I would have...! Yeah, I think it would be a good… pic.twitter.com/5jHBJsKdgL
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