Peter Barth

Next month’s jobs report will be written in crayon with a gold star on top.

the palate cleanser in the five course pardon meal

NEW: FEC records show Elizabeth Fago donated $1 million to MAGA Inc, the Trump super PAC, in April.

She attended a fundraising dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on April 4.

She lobbied Trump to pardon her son, who had pleaded guilty to tax crimes.

3 weeks later, Trump issued the pardon.

Dropped cases against LA protesters reveal false claims from federal agents Revealed: records show border patrol gave inaccurate testimony about people it jailed. Prosecutors now face ‘embarrassing’ dismissals

NEW: Border patrol made false claims about Los Angeles protesters it jailed, misrepresenting basic facts of events that were filmed. I obtained records of officers acknowledging + "apologizing" for errors

The DOJ is now dismissing cases, an embarrassment for Trump-appointed US attorney Bill Essayli

A July 26 SkySat image from Planet Labs showing a large crowd of Palestinians visible around an aid convoy in southern Gaza. There are enough people in the crowd to make it very easily visible in the satellite imagery. There's a large amount of destruction in the area and an IDF outpost is nearby.

A massive crowd of Palestinians surrounding aid trucks is visible in July 26 SkySat imagery from @planet.com near the so-called Morag Corridor at 31.3104, 34.2822 in southern Gaza.

July 26 video from Ibrahim Alsallout on Instagram showed the crowd from the ground: www.instagram.com/p/DMkmVvNo6n...

No Proof Hamas Routinely Stole U.N. Aid, Israeli Military Officials Say Israel has long restricted or completely blocked aid to Gaza on the argument that Hamas steals it to use as a weapon of control over the population.

Breaking News: Israeli military officials say they have no proof Hamas routinely steals UN aid, undercutting a claim Israel has used to limit food for Gaza.

Episode 307: Five Stars (3.7.2025) “Christopher Kinahan is probably the most successful and entrepreneurial criminal that Ireland has ever produced.”

This is probably my favorite coverage of our @conplnk.bsky.social @johnmooneyirl.bsky.social @beaudonelly.bsky.social story about Christopher Kinahan’s online habits so far. Phoebe Judge and co. are some of the best crime podcasters out there week after week: thisiscriminal.com/episode-307-...

Under Siege From Trump and Musk, a Top Liberal Group Falls Into Crisis

NEW: In a sign of what could be in store for other targets of Trump & his allies, Media Matters is struggling to survive.

The Dem-aligned group has racked up $15m in legal bills, dialed back its criticism of Trump & Elon Musk, & contemplated closing.

@kateconger.com, @rmac.bsky.social & I report.

Google’s AI Is Destroying Search, the Internet, and Your Brain Google’s AI Overview, which is easy to fool into stating nonsense as fact, is stopping people from finding and supporting small businesses and credible sources.

AI overviews are destroying search, destroying websites, and are easy to game. Really bleak stuff here: www.404media.co/googles-ai-i...

We now have @planet.com SkySat imagery over this area from July 22. A zoomed-in look at the large area of IDP camps shows that they've been removed or destroyed by the IDF.

Also appears the Egyptian Cemetery, a @cwgc.bsky.social WW1 site, has been destroyed or damaged.

www.cwgc.org/visit-us/fin...

Revealed: Harvard publisher cancels entire journal issue on Palestine shortly before publication As Harvard’s feud with Trump escalated, so did tensions over an ‘education and Palestine’ issue of a prestigious journal. Scholars blame the ‘Palestine exception’ to academic freedom

We are disturbed by the recent decision of the Harvard Education Publishing Group to cancel the “education and Palestine” issue of the Harvard Educational Review.

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

This is probably the most detailed investigation we've ever done, proving which units and commanders were behind the use of cluster munitions in Kharkiv in the opening months of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The cops don’t like the idea of identifying themselves. The city sued @bencamach0.bsky.social for releasing LAPD’s headshot photos that the city gave to him in a public records request. He won and now you can search it to ID the cops in your neighborhood.
www.watchthewatchers.net

Congrats to Stephen Colbert for never bending the knee.

How Trump’s IRS May Unshackle Churches from Their Political Restraints As if everyday life in these United States wasn’t politicized enough, your local house of worship could soon become a part of the campaign battlefield.

The IRS may have now opened the door for dark money to flood into churches—a particular concern here in Texas, where lavish campaign-related spending by Christian billionaires from West Texas now exerts tremendous sway over state politics. www.texasobserver.org/trump-irs-te...

UnitedHealth’s Campaign to Quiet Critics The company has invoked the murder of an executive last year to complain about coverage in news outlets, on streaming services and on social media.

UnitedHealth Group has invoked the murder of an executive last year to argue that intense criticism of the company in news outlets, on streaming services and on social media risks inciting further violence.

American killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, family says A 20-year-old American was allegedly beaten to death by Israeli settlers while visiting family in the West Bank, according to Palestinian health officials and his family.

Beaten to death:https://abcnews.go.com/International/american-killed-israeli-settlers-west-bank-family/story?id=123700222

Holocaust Survivor Bernard Marks, 87 survivor of Auschwitz & Dachau confronting elected sheriff & I.C.E. Director

Trying to imagine the faces in the DHS intel meeting on Zoom as they list various things that confuse them, like skateboarders, people on bikes, and live streamers.

cant believe that this response from a sitting member of Congress from Florida, to one of his Dem colleagues, is real

Grok literally said "Heil Hitler"
archive.is/rzsQD

Masked, Armed and Forceful: Finding Patterns in Los Angeles Immigration Raids - bellingcat Bellingcat collected videos and images from recent immigration raids in Los Angeles, analysing trends and apparent tactics used by law enforcement.

Armed officers, frequent use of force and people grabbed on the street or at their places of work. Working with @evidentmedia.org and @calmatters.org we have monitored the LA raids, discovering recurring trends and tactics used by officers. www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/07...

Listen to me yap about using open source tools for cold case research

Built by the Northern Machine-Building Enterprise SEVMASH, ICC indicted war criminal Vladimir Putin's yacht Victoria departed the Black Sea and transited Bosphorus en route from Sochi to Pendik, east Istanbul.

Thanks! It’s a huge huge topic but hopefully some of those tips are helpful

How El Salvador’s Government Impeded a U.S. Probe of MS-13 President Donald Trump has praised Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele as a crime fighter, but new reporting based on interviews and documents reveals how senior Salvadoran officials have impeded a…

#ICYMI: U.S. agents suspected Bukele and some in his inner circle of diverting USAID funds to MS-13 leaders.

Agents sought to review any U.S. bank accounts held by 15 Salvadoran political figures including Bukele, other senior officials and their relatives.

The US had to temporarily ban flights to Haiti this winter because a plane that left Fort Lauderdale came under fire from an armed gang while trying to land at an airport in Port-au-Prince. But safe, sure.

Shot in the back serving in the US Army and now stabbed in the back by both a broken VA and ICE (whose agents cosplay as hardos but are too afraid to show their faces). Props to Juliana Kim and NPR for telling his story.

Sent to me from a source who took this video yesterday who says LAPD pushed an unhoused person walking in the crosswalk. The fall caused the woman’s head to crack open. LAPD dragged and left her bleeding on the sidewalk, providing no medical care. The person a group of onlookers took her to the ER.

Rep. Melissa Hortman killed, Sen. John Hoffman shot in 'targeted' shootings: Sources Two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses were shot by someone impersonating a police officer, sources confirmed to FOX 9. Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were killed.

Two important things to note:

1) the most significant violence we’ve seen this year was not against ICE or Trump or members of his administration, but against Democrats

2) when ICE scoffs at people asking for warrants or for identification, THIS IS WHY THEY ASK

www.fox9.com/news/melissa...