Posts on Thursday, March 12, 2026

Rep. Kevin Kiley's, Calif., departure from the GOP this week has further narrowed the party's majority in the lower chamber and has him thinking that some lawmakers may follow his lead and create an independent block in Congress, or even a third party. Kiley formally left the GOP this week and became an independent, though he continues to caucus with the GOP. He previously announced his intent to seek reelection as an independent instead of as a Republican. The move followed California Democrats redrawing his congressional district to heavily favor their party.

The former FBI agent who ran the bureau’s warrantless spying program said this week that he personally witnessed the director and other senior officials recruiting agents based on political leanings, not qualifications, during Director James Comey’s tenure. Bassem Youssef, a retired special agent who ran the FBI’s Communications Analysis Unit from late 2004 until his retirement in late 2014, also says he warned senior officials about the potential for civil liberties abuses in the surveillance program that he oversaw, but said neither Comey nor the White House took his warnings seriously.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., says putting the SAVE America Act on the Senate floor for a “one-and-done” vote, as seemingly suggested by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., would be a “disastrous” failure. “We ignore our base at our own peril, and we don’t want to dispirit our base,” Johnson said. “And right now, that’s kind of the path we’re going on.” After an enormous amount of pressure from the Republican base and the White House, Thune announced this week that he plans to bring the SAVE America Act up for a floor vote. The legislation would require voter ID and proof of American citizenship to register to vote.

Iran could use drones to make a deadly strike on California at any time, a top US Army expert says — and we’re nowhere near ready for what could happen. Iranian forces have the technology, the ability and the motivation to launch withering drone attacks on targets in California, according to Brett Velicovich, a former US Army intelligence and special operations soldier who spent years using drones to hunt and kill the leaders of ISIS and other terrorist groups. Velicovich said America’s enemy is almost certainly trying to launch an attack on Californian shores with the use of drones. The FBI’s warning to local law enforcement,

The Trump administration has been involved in a months long fight with the University of Pennsylvania. It began when the Trump EEOC asked the university for a list of employees who had experienced anti-Semitism on campus. The school refused and the Trump administration sued to get the information last November. The administration sued the university on Tuesday, arguing that the Ivy League institution has “refused to comply” with a subpoena from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is investigating antisemitism on the Philadelphia campus. The subpoena seeks contact information for employees who have filed complaints about discrimination based on Jewish faith,

And by "shocking," I mean in a good way. It's been so long since we've seen real journalism and the actual speaking of truth to power that it's almost difficult to process. BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg sat down with Iran's ambassador to the UK to discuss the war as well as what preceded it, as Ali Mousavi learned to his surprise and displeasure. Kuenssberg started off by noting that "your country is under attack," but almost immediately pressed Mousavi to explain the massacre of civilian protesters. Mousavi seemed initially stunned by the question, attempted to deflect the blame

Will a payroll crisis impact the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the middle of a war and a currency collapse? Either the US or Israel has decided to find out. Earlier today, one or both of the forces targeted the data center that serves the IRGC's bank. The strike came after Iran threatened banking centers in neighboring states, but it's not clear whether this strike is a direct response to that threat. The hit on the Bank Sepah data center will disrupt payrolls for the rank and file, who may not be terribly inclined to fight much longer anyway: The data center of Iran's state-run Bank Sepah was hit

Huge gas lines have been reported in China this week, and Hong Kong residents are joining the logjams by rushing across the border to fill their tanks, as the threat looms of price increases or shortages from the Iran war. The gas-hungry drivers were not overreacting based on mere rumors, as the Chinese government officially announced major price increases for fuel would take effect on Tuesday. Beijing sets floors and ceilings for gas prices, and on Tuesday it raised the ceiling for retail gasoline prices by a little over $100 per metric ton, the highest increase in four years. China has rules about selling off existing retail inventories of gasoline before