Get ready for some "warflation": higher prices for oil, gas, food (lots of fertilizer passes through Hormuz), goods made with petrochemicals (umbrellas, shampoo, toys, etc.), and pretty much anything that needs to be transported anywhere. Affordability! open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

Unironically love my opposing counsel, who called me back after a meet and confer today because he forgot to ask how my family in Israel is doing (which reminded me to ask about his extended family in Iran). He's wrong about EVERYTHING substantive, of course, but just a good human being

Damnit. And I kept snidely commenting Persia invented chess today on @nicolesandler.bsky.social's show, KNOWING someone would tell me it was Russia.

Doocy would be prettier if he smiled more.

Wow. Trump treats Doocy the way he normally treats Kaitlan Collins.

It's past 6:00pm Eastern Time. ICE once again failed to release congressionally-mandated detention statistics on its typical biweekly schedule. The last update was on February 12, 2026. Four weeks ago. www.ice.gov/detain/deten...

Now pro se plaintiffs are catching Pam Bondi's AUSAs fabricating quotes and citations. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Israeli attacks on UNIFIL peace keepers tonight. Irish service men were not directly hit, but they aided their counterparts from Ghana. This will further deteriorate Irish Israel relations.

SCOOP — Body camera footage obtained as a result of my lawsuit against the DC Metropolitan PD confirms DOGE and the Trump administration openly admitted they were entering private property when they raided the building on March 17, 2025. That didn't stop MPD from breaking down the doors. My report:

More than a month after Kyle Wagner was arrested in MN, a public defender for him points out that his alleged victim, Jayden Scott, himself commits the alleged crime with which Wagner was charged, all the time. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

On the missing Epstein files: It's not JUST that DOJ is still withholding a bunch of pages re allegation he raped a teenager. It's that they only released duplicates (those sent to Ghislaine in discovery), raising questions if the originals still exist. emptywheel.net/the-alleged-...

It's a very busy Emptywheel Friday today. We had a lot of ground to cover! Join Marcy @emptywheel.bsky.social Wheeler and me as she really ties it all up as it's all related. Strap in. Show starts at 3ET/12PT at youtu.be/MkJOfGVvuq8, nicolesandler.com, emptywheel.net, pod, nicolesandler.substack.com

Coffee, straight out of my nose.

NEW: ICE tackled + arrested Juanita Avila, an Oregon shop owner who is a legal permanent resident and had her green card in her pocket. When she asked through sobs why they didn't believe her, one masked agent replied: “Because they lie all the time.” Video + interview with her and her daughter:

Thank you, @emptywheel.bsky.social for flagging this post to me. I took a close look at another data source, and this plane appears to have made a stop in Dubai. Probably didn't show up on ADSBx bc some of their feeders are down and there is a lot of signal jamming in the region rn. HOWEVER, 1/

Let’s talk about Graham Platner’s Big Lie, finally. In 2009, at the height of the Gulf War, the Marines barred him from active duty. Platner claims it was his forearm tattoos. But his one forbidden tattoo was the Nazi symbol on his chest. He knew - and he left the Marines rather than give it up. 1/

Q: IS this the same Patriots plane that also moonlights as a deportation wagon?

This amount is double what anon MoC were saying 2 days ago. And Trump is escalating.

@whitehouse.senate.gov did a VERY long speech of Trump and Epstein's ties w/Russia yesterday. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylvT...

With Qatar raising the prospect of $150 crude, our @pippastevens.cnbc.com says that would -- theoretically -- put retail gasoline somewhere in the $5.50 range. @cnbc.com #OOTT

CBP puts the blame on legacy IT systems. To be blunt, while these problems may be completely valid, this is entirely the fault of the government.

Hypothesis: The quickest way to alter Trump's behavior might be to start betting lines on the prediction sites for when he falls under 20%.

Today's a good day to note that in his interview w/NYT Trump conveyed a real terror of becoming Jimmy Carter. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/u...

The perfect headline doesn’t exi…

Oh man we are HAVING A NEWS DAY I see *BLACKROCK’S $26 BILLION PRIVATE CREDIT FUND LIMITS WITHDRAWALS

"This woman told the FBI that Epstein and Trump discussed blackmail, and days later he suicided in prison. And after that, the FBI wanted to focus on Trump because, well, Epstein wasn’t around to be prosecuted anymore. Then, years later, DOJ attempted to withhold documents recording all that."

The Alleged Trump Victim's Claims about Blackmail Are as Important as Her Claims about Rape emptywheel.net/the-alleged-...

Something I don’t think can be emphasized enough is how fast ICE is shipping the people they detain off to another state. “Move fast and break things” but for people in potentially life or death situations. nashvillebanner.com/2026/03/05/j...

Reform have misspelt 2 out of the 3 Welsh words on their manifesto for Wales. Nigel Farage and Wales leader Dan Thomas proudly held up the manifesto at the launch yesterday. On the front cover it reads "Family, community, country," which has been translated to "Teulu, gymnued, wlad." 1/2

Hungary seized two Ukrainian cash transport vehicles with $40M, 35M euros and 9kg of gold, detaining seven Oshchadbank staff. FM Sybiha calls it "state terrorism and racketeering." GPS puts the vehicles in central Budapest near a security agency.

I double checked. This is not being reported at WaPo. www.ft.com/content/09fa...

Wondering if they’re trying to cure leprosy.

Statement from Christopher Parente, attorney for Chicago's Marimar Martinez: "Everyone involved in the spreading of lies about Marimar Martinez is out of their job. Now it is time for the FBI to do their job and investigate."

BREAKING NYT: Lindsey Halligan, the ex-U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia who brought criminal cases against Trump's enemies over the objections of career prosecutors, is under investigation by Florida's bar association, according to a letter the organization sent last month.

SCOOP: Proton Mail provided Swiss authorities with payment data that the FBI then used to determine who was allegedly behind an anonymous account affiliated with the Stop Cop City movement in Atlanta, according to a court record reviewed by 404 Media.

[Exit Murderer.]

That time Markwayne Mullin acted like he was going to fight the head of Teamsters. DHS = WWE.

Remember that Noem’s legal husband sat thru 1.5 hearings worth of cuck-shaming and Kristi still lost her job.

Markwayne Mullin, set to run Homeland Security >>

Is it too late for Stitt to file for Senate? He could do something hilarious.

I truly do think all of the "Noem out, Mullin in" posts and stories are failing American democracy right now! Trump is announcing his nominee. That's it. If the Senate majority wants to confirm him, they're a part of this—even after knowing what they know now. And that matters come November.

So does Markwayne get Corey as a fuck bunny? Or does the White House provide him with his own?

Here's her replacement

BREAKING: President Trump announces Kristi Noem is out as head of Homeland Security, picking Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her.

I mean, he needs a working bunker if his approval ratings keep going south at the rate they are.

Trump is getting his Grinch on earlier than he did last year. Poor girls will get NO Barbies this year, unless they want a slightly used ICE Barbie.

About the $200M propaganda grift that Kristi Noem claimed Trump approved, which may be his excuse to fire her: 1) Is he lying to avoid being implicated in someone ELSE's corruption? 2) Is she lying? 3) Did Stephen Miller approve it? www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...

SCOOP: In a January letter to Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), DHS says 270 DACA recipients have been arrested from January to September 2025. In addition, 174 DACA applicants have been deported, according to ICE records. Those numbers differ from what was shared with Sen. Dick Durbin in February.

Every time some right wing fucker talks about migrants who commit crimes, I go ask them why they're not commenting on the crimes that Jan6ers have gone onto commit (two have been arrested this week). This guy features prominently.

This all is very sensible. But so is the basic rule: Make sure to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. And they failed that.