Authored by Jane Yang via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new chief expressed outrage over the Tijuana River sewage pollution that has for decades affected San Diego border communities and generated health hazards, recently causing a record of more than 1,000 consecutive days of beach closures.

“I was just briefed that Mexico is dumping large amounts of raw sewage into the Tijuana River, and it’s now seeping into the U.S.,” said EPA’s Administrator Lee Zeldin in a post on the social media platform X on the afternoon of March 8.

“This is unacceptable. Mexico MUST honor its commitments to control this pollution and sewage!” Zeldin wrote.

A few hours after Zeldin’s post, a transboundary flow of wastewater mixed with heavy stormwater was reported entering the U.S. side starting 1:30 a.m. on March 9, according to the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), the federal agency responsible for implementing boundary and water treaties between the United States and Mexico.

In a follow-up press release on March 10, USIBWC said that it had several meetings with Mexican officials, and preliminary information showed that “multiple unforeseen construction issues” at a project to replace a wastewater pipe in Tijuana resulted in the accidental flows.

“I have made it very clear to Mexico the importance of avoiding future transboundary flows to the greatest extent possible during this very complicated construction project,” said USIBWC Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner, who was appointed to head the agency in August 2021, in the statement.

“We appreciate EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s attention to this issue and will keep him as well as all our stakeholders informed of Mexico’s progress,” the commissioner added.

The agency said the transboundary flows stopped mid-afternoon on March 9.

The ongoing project aims to replace Tijuana’s largest wastewater conveyance pipe, which has been plagued by leaks that have caused pollution flows in the past, according to the USIBWC. The project is funded by the United States, Mexico, and a Mexican bank, and is under construction by the Mexico Ministry of Defense.

USIBWC spokesperson Frank Fisher told The Epoch Times in an email that the USIBWC is in regular close contact with its Mexican counterparts at all levels. But for the new regular meetings, the focus will be exclusively on the pipe replacement project and monitoring any problems.

“We continue to work on four fronts to tackle the transboundary issue: Repairs to the South Bay plant; expansion of the plant; monitoring Mexico’s commitment on projects in Minute 328; and taking urgent action to ensure zero transboundary flows during the dry season,” Fisher said.

Minute 328 is a binational agreement signed in July 2022 by the United States and Mexican federal agencies to reduce wastewater in the Tijuana River watershed and Pacific Ocean through a suite of infrastructure projects on both sides of the border.

Trash builds up along the Tijuana River outside of San Diego, Calif., on Sept. 19, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

California Leaders Ask EPA Chief for Help

John McCann, Mayor of Chula Vista, a south bay city in San Diego County, which declared a state of emergency last November due to the Tijuana River sewage crisis, told The Epoch Times through email that he had asked “a few South County leaders who are former colleagues of Zeldin” to convey the message and escalate the Tijuana River sewage crisis “to the highest level at the EPA.”

“The ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis is an urgent environmental and public health issue that requires immediate action. Accountability on the part of Mexico is essential,” McCann said in the email, “But we have to recognize that fully solving the crisis depends on a cooperative, binational approach.”

He said the most important first steps in tackling the crisis include securing at least $630 million of federal funding needed for infrastructure repair and expansion and persuading Mexico to act responsibly.

At the Jan. 16 senate hearing on the nomination of Zeldin to be administrator of the EPA, the newly elected Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) asked whether Zeldin would review a proposal that was rejected by previous EPA leaders.

Schiff asked, “Will you agree to review EPA’s January 7 decision to deny request to investigate the Tijuana River Valley for a potential Superfund designation? … Will you agree to review it and consider whether a different judgment should be reached?”

Zeldin answered “Yes.”

The Superfund site designation petition was initiated by San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer last October. One of the co-signers was Mayor Paloma Aguirre of Imperial Beach, the city most heavily affected by the sewage crisis.

The petition requested the EPA to investigate and assess the hazardous materials in the Tijuana River Valley area in San Diego for its eligibility for inclusion in the EPA’s Superfund program, which could help bring federal resources to clean up hazardous materials in heavily contaminated regions.

Aguirre also sent two letters to Zeldin, one on Jan. 22 after the Senate hearing and another on March 3, after Zeldin was sworn in on Jan. 29 as the 17th EPA head. In both letters, Aguirre asked Zeldin for a new review of Tijuana River Valley’s Superfund designation.

“I was heartened by your agreement in your confirmation hearing to CA Senator Schiff’s request to review the EPA’s recent denial of Superfund designation for this environmental crisis,” she wrote in the letters. Aguirre also invited Zeldin to visit the region to see the disaster firsthand.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Schiff, Lawson-Remer, and Aguirre for comment on Zeldin’s post but did not hear back before publication.

A sewage treatment facility pumps in water from the Tijuana River outside of San Diego, Calif., on Sept. 19, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

A Decades-Long Crisis

The majority of the Tijuana River’s 120-mile course is within the northern Baja California state of Mexico, and only about five miles of its lower end crosses the border from Tijuana to San Diego and empties into the Pacific Ocean.

The Tijuana River pollution has gone on for decades, but the crisis has only become worse in the past few years with Tijuana’s fast-growing population, as well as the deterioration of water treatment infrastructure, said Phillip Musegaas, executive director of the non-profit San Diego Coastkeeper, in an article dated May 2, 2024, on the organization’s website.

In the past five years, over 100 billion gallons of pollutants have been discharged into the Tijuana River, raising major concerns about water quality and public health in the San Diego region, according to a recent Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, performed in October 2024 and released in January.

California leaders at federal and local levels, as well as community advocates and organizations, have in recent years pushed to generate momentum to tackle the complex transboundary pollution issue by introducing new legislation, securing federal funding, filing lawsuits, giving out air purifiers to residents in affected communities, and other means and proposals.

With tomorrow’s shutdown deadline looming (and the House gone on recess until March 24), Senate Democrats are scrambling to both kill the GOP bill that passed the house, and avoid the optics of a shutdown falling squarely on their shoulders after minority leader Chuck Schumer categorically rejected the bill on Wednesday, and instead floated a 30-day continuing resolution which would allow Democrats to stuff it full of their own pork to include in a revised package (that he doesn’t have the votes for)…

In short:

Schumer negotiating pic.twitter.com/iDmRuB0rXK

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 13, 2025

As the Senate opened Thursday, Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) – who filed cloture on the House-passed CR on Wednesday – said, “It’s time to fish or cut bait.“

And as the Associated Press notes, debates over funding the federal government routinely erupt in deadline moments but this year it’s showing the political leverage of Republicans, newly in majority control of the White House and Congress, and the shortcomings of Democrats who are finding themselves unable to stop the Trump administration’s march across federal operations.

Given that the Senate has 53 Republicans, one of whom is a definite ‘no’ (Rand Paul of Kentucky), at least eight Democrats need to cross party lines to avert a shutdown at midnight on Friday.

Update: Sen. John Fetterman told Punchbowl News, “I refuse to shut the government down.”

So there’s one.

Two Ways This Can Go

According to the chaps at Punchbowl News, there’s really two ways this can play out at this point:

Option one: Democrats can fold and take the deal on the table – providing the votes needed to advance the House GOP’s stopgap spending bill in exchange for a symbolic amendment vote on their own 28-day funding extension. This would be pure theater, giving Democrats the chance to go on record opposing a shutdown while letting Republicans push through their own bill anyway. The government stays open, Schumer saves face with progressives, and Republicans get what they wanted all along.

But make no mistake – this wouldn’t be a win for Schumer (a “fake BBQ’ing Palestinian“), who floated a 28-day CR that doesn’t have the votes to pass, even with a simple majority. Meanwhile, Republicans can sit back and let the clock force the issue. Time isn’t on the Democrats’ side, and at some point, they’ll have to face reality.

Option two: Schumer and Senate Democrats hold the line, block the House CR, and force a government shutdown.

That means federal workers furloughed, services delayed, and chaos come Monday morning when the full effects hit. And here’s the kicker – Trump’s people at the Office of Management and Budget get to decide exactly how painful this shutdown will be. White House sources are already warning that the former president will make sure Democrats feel every bit of the pressure.

But here’s where it gets ugly for Schumer: what’s the exit strategy? There isn’t one. The House is gone, meaning there’s no magic fix coming. And at some point, Democrats will have to explain why shutting down the government over a short-term CR that never had a shot at passing was somehow worth it.

So those are the choices: take the loss now and move on, or hold out, take the blame for the shutdown, and likely still take the loss later. Either way, Trump and Musk are watching from the sidelines, ready to make their next move while Washington does what it does best—trip over itself in broad daylight.

According to the White House, “They’re totally screwed.”

Stay tuned for updates…

*  *  *

Going, Going, Gone… we’ve only got three black hats left…

That was fast – black hats are gone, but we still have ~50 green waxed canvas hats until sometime in April. 

Combine with awesome multitool for free shipping.

Thursday saw more nuclear escalation nuttiness coming from heads of NATO states. This time it is NATO ‘eastern flank’ member Poland calling for more nuclear deterrence with an eye on Russia.

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has again called on the United States to deploy nuclear weapons to his country, following on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron last week saying he’s ready to extend France’s nuclear umbrella over all of Europe.

Duda’s fresh request of Washington came in an interview with the Financial Times, and some key lines were in the following:

Andrzej Duda said it was “obvious” that President Donald Trump could redeploy US nuclear warheads stored in western Europe or the US to Poland, a proposal the Polish president said he recently discussed with Keith Kellogg, US special envoy for Ukraine.

“The borders of Nato moved east in 1999, so 26 years later there should also be a shift of the Nato infrastructure east. For me this is obvious,” Duda said in an interview with the Financial Times. “I think it’s not only that the time has come, but that it would be safer if those weapons were already here.”

European leaders talking about “a shift of NATO infrastructure east” is precisely a key motive for Russia’s invasion in the first place – and such provocative rhetoric could only serve to escalate the full-blown proxy war.

President Duda as part of his rationale cited Russian tactical nukes currently stationed in Belarus, which sits to the immediate east of Poland.

“Russia did not even hesitate when they were relocating their nuclear weapons into Belarus,” Duda said. “They didn’t ask anyone’s permission.” So Duda is urging Washington to just do it, and similarly to not ‘ask permission’ or bother with consensus. 

Interestingly, on the question of Poland developing its own nuclear arsenal, he said this:

Duda, who is also supreme commander of Poland’s armed forces, echoed Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in saying that the country could alternatively get better protection from President Emmanuel Macron’s idea to extend France’s “nuclear umbrella” to cover European allies. 

But Duda poured cold water on Tusk’s suggestion last week that Poland could develop its own nuclear arsenal. “In order to have our own nuclear capability, I think it would take decades,” the president said.

France, which remains the only nuclear power in the European Union, has called for a debate over strategic forces – especially amid signals that the Trump administration could again withdraw support for Ukraine, and might even step back from being the biggest military supplier and funder of the NATO alliance generally.

As for President Macron and his recent jingoistic remarks… for many Liberals and EU bureaucrats, he is currently the hero of Ukraine, and yet he’s now literally teasing nuclear escalation while claiming some kind of ‘Munich moment’ nonsense, as if Putin is about to imminently send his army to march down the Champs-Élysées.

It appears President Duda and Poland is jumping on the bandwagon – but of course these eastern European countries as well as the Baltic states have long presented the most heated rhetoric aimed at Moscow.

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The White House released a statement Tuesday saying the Trump administration will not cut Social Security or Medicare after presidential adviser Elon Musk commented on cuts to entitlement programs.

On Monday, Musk spoke with Fox News about the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and said that most government spending is on entitlements, prompting media outlets to speculate that he plans to cut Social Security and Medicare.

“So, the waste and fraud in entitlement spending, which is most of the federal spending, is entitlements. So, that’s, like, the big one to eliminate,” Musk told Larry Kudlow in the Fox interview, adding that such cuts could create over $600 billion in annual savings.

The White House said in a statement titled “FACT CHECK: President Trump Will Always Protect Social Security, Medicare” that instead of pushing for cuts to Social Security and Medicare, Musk was talking about removing fraud and waste in entitlement spending.

“President Trump himself has said it (over and over and over again). Elon Musk didn’t say that, either. The press is lying again,” the statement read, with hyperlinks to Trump’s past statements on the issue.

The White House then asked: “What kind of a person doesn’t support eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending that ultimately costs taxpayers more?”

In the statement, the White House linked to government findings about fraud and waste such as a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report estimating that the United States stands to lose $521 billion annually to fraud, namely within the Medicaid and Medicare programs.

It also pointed to an August 2024 report from the Social Security Administration inspector general that discovered $72 billion in improper payments, a report that said the government has made $2.7 trillion in “improper payments” such as “payments to deceased individuals or those who no longer [are] eligible for government programs” over two decades, and a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services statement that it made $140 billion in “improper payments” last year.

During interviews with media outlets, Trump has often said he does not want to touch Medicare or Social Security, saying he instead wants to go after fraud within the two programs.

“Look, Social Security won’t be touched, other than if there’s fraud or something. It’s going to be strengthened. But it won’t be touched,” he told Fox News host Sean Hannity in February.

“Medicare, Medicaid, none of that stuff is going to be touched,” he said in the interview, adding he will move to remove any illegal immigrants receiving such payments.

In his 2024 campaign, Trump indicated on several occasions that he would not touch Medicare or Social Security, and at one point, proposed ending income taxes on Social Security checks. A projection from the Congressional Budget Office has shown the Social Security program will become insolvent by the 2030s.

Musk also spoke with Hannity in the February interview and said that federal spending has to be slashed or Social Security and Medicare will be impacted in the future.

“We either solve the deficit, or all we’ll be doing is paying debt,” Musk said. “It’s got to be solved, or there’s no medical care, there’s no Social Security, there’s no nothing. It’s got to be solved.

Another long-standing restaurant in one of Baltimore City’s popular bar districts is closing its doors, marking another casualty in the city’s imploding hospitality scene. While the farewell messages from these establishments offer little explanation for their abrupt departures, the broader message has been very clear: Years of lawlessness, gang violence resembling a war zone, carjackings, out-of-control youth, high taxes, and deteriorating public safety have taken a toll on business owners. Meanwhile, City Hall—under far-left Democratic control—continues marching the metro into economic demise as the city’s population tumbles to a century-low.

The latest restaurant that called it quits is Banditos Tacos & Tequila in Federal Hill. 

“Over the past 14 years, Banditos has become a neighborhood staple in Federal Hill and Baltimore City,” the restaurant wrote on Facebook earlier this week, adding, “Banditos Federal Hill allowed us the opportunity to create an amazing brand that has grown to multiple locations, something we could not have done without YOU!” 

According to the restaurant, the Federal Hill location will be sold, and GameOn Bar+ Arcade will be moving into the space “in the near future.”

Banditos hedged its bets with locations outside the city, including in Towson, Columbia, and White Marsh, Maryland, and in Fairfax, Virginia. 

The restaurant did not mention the exact reasons for abruptly exiting the city, but a trend has become evident in recent months: 

• Mother’s Grille shuttered its Federal Hill location in January after nearly three decades in business. 

• The Riptide seafood restaurant in Fed Hill also closed up in January. 

• Across the Inner Harbor, Bondhouse Kitchen in Fells Point halted operations in January. 

The abrupt exit of these restaurants—some of whose operators are now focusing on locations in surrounding counties—follows more than a decade of far-left activism by social justice warriors in control of City Hall who have prioritized a woke agenda instead of actually governing the city like effective managers.

The result of failed leadership over the last 15 years has accelerated business exodus and population collapse. 

While violent crime may have declined last year, many residents have lost patience with the rudderless Democratic Party and its failed social justice policies, which have ultimately backfired into a firey mess. 

Via Headline USA,

The Trump administration has launched a review of organizations that provide temporary housing and other aid to migrants, suggesting they may have violated a law prohibiting human trafficking.

The Department of Homeland Security has “significant concerns” that federal grants used to address a surge of migration under former President Joe Biden were used for illegal activities, wrote Cameron Hamilton, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

His letter, dated Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press, asks recipients of grants from FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program to provide names and contact information for migrants served and “a detailed and descriptive list of specific services provided” within 30 days. The letter says funding will be withheld during the review.

While it doesn’t explicitly threaten criminal prosecution, it raises concerns that recipients may have violated U.S. Criminal Code Section 1324, a felony offense against bringing people across the border illegally or transporting them within the United States. It also says executive officers must sign sworn statements that they have no knowledge or suspicions of anyone in their organizations violating the smuggling law.

FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Wednesday.

Hamilton’s letter suggests that the U.S. government is taking action to address a scandal that the House GOP has been chasing for years.

In May 2023, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to DHS Alejandro Mayorkas asking Mayorkas to provide information, communications, and documents related to the agency’s funding awards to NGOs at the southern border.

At the time, Jordan argued that NGOs are likely taking advantage of the administration’s loose funding guidelines to make a financial profit off of the border crisis.

Jordan cited a recent inspector general report that found more than $110 million in federal funds had been fraudulently spent by immigration nonprofits. The nonprofits “did not always provide the required receipts or documentation for claimed reimbursements” and “were unable to provide supporting documentation” for how the money was spent, the Office of the Inspector General reportedly found.

“NGOs simply tell DHS how many illegal aliens they encounter, and funding can be awarded without any documentation or receipts,” Jordan wrote. “Federal funding for migration-related NGOs at the border has increased dramatically at a time when federal resources for border security and immigration enforcement and local resources for emergency response and medical care have been strained to the breaking point.”

Last November, The Center Square revealed that the federal government allocated $159 million in FEMA funding to “provide humanitarian services to noncitizen migrants” in California alone since 2023.

FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program awarded $641 million to dozens of state and local governments and organizations across the country in the 2024 fiscal year to help them deal with large numbers of migrants who crossed the border from Mexico. They include the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Denver, as well as the United Way of Miami, the San Antonio Food Bank and several branches of Catholic Charities.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Gold prices broke out to a new record high this morning following President Trump’s latest threat to ratchet up tariffs against European imports.

Spot prices hit $2974 this morning…

This moves come just a couple of weeks after “Structurally higher central bank demand” pressured Goldman Sachs Precious Metals Research team to shift their year-end 2025 gold price forecast dramatically higher, from $2890 to $3100/toz with Lina Thomas and the team reiterating their ‘long gold’ trading recommendation.

The chaotic situation in the physical gold market remains with precious metal imports exploding…

…and while gold lease rates have normalized somewhat…

…the flow in COMEX vaults continues. Every single day for the past 3 months physical gold has been delivered to COMEX vaults bringing the total to a record 40.15MM oz or 1,250 metric tons

Precious metal speculators may have a problem as they reduced length into this surge…

Finally, we note that Gold’s recent strength has almost entirely erased bitcoin’s outperformance since the election…

Barbarous relic vs digital gold – who will win?

Finally, Goldman estimates a 5% additional rise in gold prices by December 2025 to $3,250 if concerns over US fiscal sustainability were to grow. 

Rising fears of inflation and fiscal risks could drive speculative positioning and ETF flows higher, while US debt sustainability concerns may push central banks, especially those holding large US Treasury reserves, to buy more gold.

Professional subscribers can read the full precious metals note here…

President Trump’s social-media tirade against hard-line deficit-hawk Thomas Massie has had a big effect — but not exactly the one Trump wanted. Since Trump’s late-night tantrum in which he called for the Republican congressman to be ousted via a primary challenge, the Kentucky congressman has raked in more than $200,000 in donations. That huge and growing windfall comes as the Republican Jewish Coalition promised to help make Trump’s dream of a Congress without Massie come true. 

Massie provoked Trump’s wrath on Sunday, when he vowed to vote against a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government through Sept 30 — but without spending cuts. “Why would I vote to continue the waste fraud and abuse DOGE has found?” wrote Massie on X. “We were told the CR in December would get us to March when we would fight. Here we are in March, punting again!” 

These two propositions are not compatible:

1. “We had to do a CR that extends Biden spending levels to September because we don’t have 60 Republicans in the Senate.”

2. “We will pass conservative spending bills in September.”

Because we still won’t have 60 Senate Republicans.

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 12, 2025

On Monday evening, a sputtering Trump used his Truth Social account to lash out at the libertarian-minded Massie:

“HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him. He’s just another GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble and not worth the fight. He reminds me of Liz Cheney before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!). The people of Kentucky won’t stand for it, just watch. DO I HAVE ANY TAKERS??” 

Eventually, the CR passed 217-213; thanks to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, it’s currently dead in the Senate. However, the follow-on effects of Trump’s political attack on Massie have continued — mostly in ways that add up to a big net-positive for Massie.

“I’ve received an amazing outpouring of support since I was attacked for voting No on the Biden-$-level CR. In fact, we just hit $205,000 from 2500 grassroots donors!” Massie wrote using his campaign’s X account late Thursday afternoon, urging like-minded people to help keep the trend going. Earlier he’d noted that the influx pushed the balance of his campaign coffer over $1 million for the first time.

I’ve received an amazing outpouring of support since I was attacked for voting No on the Biden-$-level CR.

In fact, we just hit $205,000 from 2500 grassroots donors!

Can you help me send a “huge” message by reaching $250,000 before the 48 hour mark?https://t.co/AgJY01IWPL https://t.co/cqS9qtflvz

— Thomas Massie for Congress (@MassieforKY) March 12, 2025

The sudden, non-election-year surge in contributions came alongside a social media reaction that saw a variety of conservatives and libertarians chiding the president for targeting Massie over his resolute opposition to profligate government spending, as the national debt marches toward the $37 trillion milestone. 

Totally agreed.
Conservatives should support Massie because he is one of the few who practices “America First” beyond just preaching it. https://t.co/MDvw4g7dS5

— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) March 11, 2025

Donald, take the L already FFS. All your allies with IQs above 95 are with Massie pic.twitter.com/3ZaOv36ZGy

— Tom Woods (@ThomasEWoods) March 11, 2025

Glenn Greenwald zeroed in on Trump’s bizarre likening of Massie to Liz Cheney:  

Of the many absurd aspects of Trump’s attack on Thomas Massie, the comparison of Massie to Liz Cheney has to be the most laughable. It’s honestly difficult to think of two people less similar to one another than Thomas Massie and Liz Cheney.

Of course, that’s not to say Trump’s call to oust Massie has been uniformly ridiculed. Indeed, the America-first Republican is once again in the crosshairs of a group that works to advance the interests of Israel, as the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) quickly promised to take a leading role in making Trump’s wish of ending Massie’s congressional career a reality. “RJC will be a leading force alongside President Trump in support of a viable candidate to defeat Massie,” RJC spokesman Sam Markstein told Jewish Insider.

Massie has made himself a top target of pro-Israel political organizations by repeatedly voting against aid to Israel — as he does where other countries are concerned. He has also voted against legislation that’s touted as opposing antisemitism but which, in practice, would curtail criticism of the State of Israel.  

This is the second recent round of Republican Jewish Coalition saber-rattling at Massie. Last month, amid Massie’s public consideration of a run for Mitch McConnell’s Senate seat in 2026, the group promised to do whatever it takes to keep him from ascending to the upper chamber. “If Tom Massie chooses to enter the race for US Senate in Kentucky, the RJC campaign budget to ensure he is defeated will be unlimited,” warned Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks.

Massie has yet to announce his decision, but on Wednesday he made it clear that contributions to his campaign fund would be available for either defending his current seat, or working to join Rand Paul in representing Kentucky in the Senate: 

Yes I could.

— Thomas Massie for Congress (@MassieforKY) March 12, 2025

Meanwhile, the whole dust-up has inspired plenty of social media content: 

Sir, they all love @RepThomasMassie pic.twitter.com/ARm1PVQFtD

— Being Libertarian (@beinlibertarian) March 11, 2025

You are not alone sir! pic.twitter.com/cXRzQpVgrv

— Holden Culotta (@Holden_Culotta) March 11, 2025

GM frens. Trump wants Massie gone for this simple stance. pic.twitter.com/OzLFKXDTs5

— Just Peachy Liberty (@JPeachyLiberty) March 11, 2025

pic.twitter.com/BeXiDy6lSZ

— Nick’s Dank Memes (@Nicksdankmemes3) March 11, 2025

Trump misjudged this one.

We stand with Massie! pic.twitter.com/JaoqwfMODY

— Good Morning Liberty (@GoodAMLiberty) March 11, 2025

Following the initial surge in jobless claims in the DC area to start the year, things have slowed notably in the last two weeks (although last week saw a modest rise in the number of people filing for first time benefits)…

Source: Bloomberg

Overall, initial claims fell last week – with non-seasonally-adjusted claims now at their lowest since November

Source: Bloomberg

Meanwhile what the fuck is going on with NY jobless claims data?

Last week claims exploded higher in NY…

And this week they collapsed…

Continuing jobless claims remain range-bound for the last six months around the 1.875mm Americans level…

Source: Bloomberg

We wonder if the discrepancy between DOGE-driven layoffs and the lack of signal in the claims data is related to the buyouts offered to federal workers – which may preclude them from applying for unemployment benefits.

Another day, another tariff-based headline…

President Trump threatened to enact a 200% tariff on European wine, champagne and other alcoholic beverages, the latest escalation in a brewing trade war between the US and the EU.

The president in a social media post on Thursday said that he would move forward with the import duties if the EU doesn’t repeal a tax on US whiskey, a measure put in place to retaliate against Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs that went into effect on Wednesday.

The European Union, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States, has just put a nasty 50% Tariff on Whisky. 

If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES. 

This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.

France – the biggest exporter of alcohols to the US – immediately responded after the country’s Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said France won’t give in Trump’s tariff threats and will “always protect” its industries. Trump is “escalating the trade war he chose to unleash,” Saint-Martin said, adding that France is “determined to retaliate with the European Commission and our partners.”

D. Trump lance la surenchère dans la guerre commerciale qu’il a choisi de déclencher.

La France reste déterminée à riposter avec la Commission européenne et nos partenaires.

Nous ne céderons pas aux menaces et protègerons toujours nos filières.

— Laurent Saint-Martin (@LaurentSMartin) March 13, 2025

Trump’s jab came a day after E.U. leaders announced that they would respond to the United States imposing 25% tariffs on up to €26 billion ($28.3 billion) worth of steel, aluminum and related products. The EU will also immediately begin consultations with member states, with the aim of adopting the additional lists of agricultural and industrial goods subject to tariffs as high as 25% by mid-April. As reported last night, the 27-nation bloc plans to react to the US in two waves: 

• First, with tariffs as high as 50 percent on U.S. products including Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Kentucky bourbon, which will take effect on April 1; 

• and second, a series of measures in mid-April that would target farm products and industrial goods that are important to Republican districts.

“Reimposing these debilitating tariffs at a time when the spirits industry continues to face a slowdown” will “further curtail growth and negatively impact distillers and farmers in states across the country,” Chris Swonger, the chief executive of the Washington-based Distilled Spirits Council, said in a statement on Wednesday.

The euro sold off against the dollar…

And US futures are fading…

European spirits and drinks makers dropped on the news: LVMH, which has wines and spirits divisions, falls 2%; spirits maker Pernod Ricard -3%, cognac producer Remy Cointreau -3.4%, Davide Campari -2.8%, Diageo -0.3%

Cue the re-retaliatory threats from Brussels… and around and around we go.