YEAH, THAT SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT:

And what she's writing is "please I hope they find me" because that little girl was sex trafficked by Tren de Aragua. https://t.co/gEUsBuCsal

— John Carter (@martianwyrdlord) January 20, 2026

TRADE WARS: EU Nations Mulling $108B ‘Nuclear Option’ Against Trump’s Tariff Threats. “European nations are reportedly considering a ‘nuclear option’ to impose $108 billion worth of tariffs against the United States in response to President Donald Trump’s threat to enact stiff tariffs against eight nations if a deal is not reached to sell Greenland to the United States, but that move would be ‘unwise,’ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in Davos on Tuesday.”

THE STORY BENEATH THE STORY:

🚨🇺🇸 WHITE HOUSE QUIETLY REBUILDS SECRET UNDERGROUND BUNKER BENEATH EAST WING

So while everyone’s arguing about Trump’s giant White House ballroom, the actual action is happening underground.

They quietly tore out the old Cold War bunker under the East Wing and are rebuilding… pic.twitter.com/2DA5YjpSHM

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 20, 2026

UPDATE: Did Instapundit reader Matt Talbot call it or what?

NOT WELL: The Netherlands Housed Migrant Rapists With Students. Guess How That Turned Out.

THAT’S JUST A WARMUP FOR THE MAMDANI YEARS: New York City lost nearly 5,000 businesses last year.

The report, released Thursday by the Economic Development Corporation, showed more than 3,500 new businesses opened their doors in New York City during the second quarter of the fiscal year but that was offset by a loss of about 8,400 employers. That’s the weakest quarter for business formation since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report’s authors said.

The corporation’s report is the latest to highlight New York City’s shrinking business sector with employers looking to other low-tax states as Albany piles on new regulations and costs.

It also comes as Mamdani seeks to draw up support for higher taxes to pay for plans for universal childcare, tuition free college and free bus service in the city.

Mamdani’s plans call for increasing the state’s top corporate tax rate by about half, up to 11.5% from its current maximum of 7.25%, which has caused concerns among New York City’s business community. If approved, that would match the highest corporate rate in the nation next door in New Jersey. He’s also called for “wealth” tax and a $30 per hour minimum wage for the city.

Looks like New York City has a whole lot of “bad luck” in store — unexpectedly!

MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: The Obamas’ Power, Corruption, and Lies Are Things to Behold. “But we’re here to talk about Barack, because there’s money and then there’s money, and it’s vital to understand how the Obamas got the lucre to ‘buy everybody.’ Because let me tell you this much before we get into the filthy details: It was not from a black-owned business Michelle insists she buys from.”

TRANSPARENCY:

🚨X JUST DID WHAT NO OTHER PLATFORM HAS THE GUTS TO DO…

X released the source code for its new 𝕏 algorithm.

Every major platform has hidden behind "proprietary technology" excuses for years.

X just opened the black box.

The code reveals a sophisticated system powered by… https://t.co/e1c3EHEdXd pic.twitter.com/wHDOAsgopI

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 20, 2026

A GOOD START: Noem announces the arrest of over 10,000 illegal migrants in Minneapolis.

“Migrants.”

ICYMI: Trump Might Offer Asylum to Jews From WHERE?

TINSELTOWN BLUES: California losing over $1B to rival states for film, TV production — despite Newsom tax incentives.

California saw 20% fewer movie and TV projects filming in the state compared to a year ago, while spending on big and small screen productions also fell 22%, according to a new data analysis by The Hollywood Reporter.

The slump came even after Democrat Newsom signed legislation doubling California’s film and TV tax credit program from $330 million to $750 million annually, in an effort to keep such projects local.

“Although our overall numbers remain low, there are dozens of incentivized projects that have yet to begin filming,” FilmLA Vice President Philip Sokoloski told The Hollywood Reporter, urging patience as the expanded incentives begin to take effect.

Los Angeles alone logged just 19,694 filming days last year — a 16.1% drop from 2024 — underscoring how sharply production activity has slowed even in Hollywood’s backyard.

Production is down across the board, but bigger tax incentives aside, California is a lousy place to conduct any kind of business.

Above-board business, that is.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Happy One-Year Anniversary, Trump 47. “The fact that Trump got through the legal hell that Joe Biden’s DOJ goon squad subjected him to for four years with any positivity in him is miraculous. If ever anyone deserved to sour on the United States of America, it’s Donald Trump. Instead of letting it all get to him, he fought through the harassment so that he could try and put things right again in this country.”

DEMOCRATS HATE HUMANS:

Not only do Abigail Spanberger and Virginia Democrats want to ban gas leaf blowers, they also want to tax on electric lawn and landscaping equipment.

The cruelty is the point. pic.twitter.com/TimjZzosSN

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) January 20, 2026

Previously: Conditioning You for Socialism (Starting With Your Toilet).

CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: Hawaii Uses State’s Royal History to Justify Ban on Carrying Guns in Most of the State.

“Hawai‘i’s unique history—including its long pre-statehood existence as an independent kingdom—means that its residents never developed a practice of bringing guns into shops, convenience stores, and the like,” state Attorney General Anne Lopez wrote in a brief filed with the Supreme Court in December.

Alan Beck, a San Diego-based attorney who is representing the plaintiffs, says bringing the history of the Hawaiian Kingdom into the argument is invalid.

“What they’re really arguing is that the rights of my clients, who are U.S. citizens, should be dictated by the laws of a monarchy,” he said. “That’s not a position that’s really tenable.”

“No kings,” they told me.

THREAD:

The US and China have significantly decoupled since early 2020. The # of flights between the two countries is down roughly 70%. Two long-term residents I spoke with said the # of American expats is down 50-75% from the peak. The # of Americans studying in China is down ≈90%.
3/x

— John Arnold (@johnarnold) January 19, 2026

Two of the things China does best — speed and scale — used to be our specialties.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. Dems Hate ‘America First’ Because They Have Nothing to Offer Law-Abiding Americans. “It is imperative that we bring up projection in almost every conversation about the Democrats, because it’s the lifeblood of 21st century lefties. The majority of what they accuse us of is something that they embody (fascism) or are actively engaged in (shutting down free speech). TDS sufferers who were once Republican love to assert that ‘both sides do it,’ but that’s a truckload of hooey.”

THE ENDS REMAIN THE SAME, AND SO DO THE MEANS:

You know what other Democrat group used to attack peaceful worshipers in churches?

The Ku Klux Klan.

You Democrats never change.

— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) January 20, 2026

ANSWERING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Why Young Women Moved Left While Young Men Stayed Sane.

The gender ideology gap is widening across dozens of countries simultaneously. UK, Germany, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Poland, Brazil, Tunisia. Young women moving left on social issues, young men either stable or drifting right.

This matters because it rules out explanations specific to American politics. It’s not Title IX policy. It’s not #MeToo. It’s not the specific culture war of US campuses. Something bigger is happening, something that rolled out globally at roughly the same time.

South Korea is the extreme case. Young Korean men are now overwhelmingly conservative. Young Korean women are overwhelmingly progressive. The gap there is even wider than the US. Contributing factors include mandatory military service for men (18 months of your life the state takes, while women are exempt) and brutal economic competition. But the timing of divergence still tracks with smartphone adoption.

Whatever is causing this, it’s not American. The machine is global.

Read the whole thing, but here’s the money quote: “The mental health collapse among teenage girls tracks almost perfectly with smartphone adoption, with stronger effects for girls than boys. The same vulnerability that made social exclusion more costly in ancestral environments made the new consensus engines more capturing.”

CHANGE:

America's trade deficit plunges by half to the smallest in nearly 2 decades.

– Chinese imports crashed
– American exports grew
– Tariff inflation was absorbed by exporters
– Trillions of investment incoming

Instead of importing Chinese junk we’re importing factories. pic.twitter.com/usQYETT1IB

— Peter St Onge, Ph.D. (@profstonge) January 19, 2026

NO SURPRISES HERE: Top Cardiologist Issues Stark Warning on Child Gender Drugs — And It’s Not What Activists Want to Hear.

ANYTHING FOR LIKES:

It's hard to narrow down the worst thing that Don Lemon did yesterday. But it might be this moment, when after the church pastor asked Lemon to leave — he asks for "likes" and "subscribes" to his monetized YouTube channel from inside the church. https://t.co/Qu8vSyFDsa

— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) January 19, 2026

Jammie Wearing Fool added, “Prostitutes have more dignity.”

But as Heinlein noted, a good prostitute delivers value. Don Lemon, not so much.

OUCH: Stellantis stock off 43% as Jeep maker turns five, executes turnaround.

Filosa is executing a sales turnaround plan for the automaker and is particularly focused on its Jeep and Ram brands regaining U.S. market share following yearslong sales declines.

“The strategy that we have in front of us is a strong one and will lead us to growth if we execute well,” he told reporters Wednesday during the Detroit Auto Show. “So, I believe it’s a year of execution.”

Filosa did not rule out the possibility of regionally refocusing or shrinking the company’s vast portfolio of brands that also includes Italian nameplates Fiat and Alfa Romeo, which have not performed well domestically.

He said he believes the company should “stay together” following some speculation, including from Tavares, that it would be better to sell off assets or brands.

As a lifelong Jeep fan — the first “cool” car I remember riding around in was a late-’60s CJ-5 — I wish them well in turning things around.

ICYMI: Don Lemon Needs a Lesson in YOUR Rights (Courtesy of MLK on His Day).

And it looks like he might get one, courtesy of Harmeet Dhillon and [checks notes] the KKK Act.

Oh, that’s rich.

ALL THE VERY BEST PEOPLE ASSURED ME THIS WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCOMPLISH WITHOUT CONGRESS AND AMNESTY FOR THOSE ALREADY HERE: Q1 border crossings plummet 95% from Biden era, lowest in history.

SARAH HOYT’S SHOCKED ALREADY TOOK A XANAX: We Knew Kamala’s VP Search Was Bad. Turns Out, It Was Straight-Up Unhinged.

IT’S FRAUD ALL THE WAY DOWN: A third of federal agencies in audit lacked regular fraud monitoring or evaluation.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a technical appendix to its 2015 fraud risk management guidance this month, aimed at helping federal agencies strengthen how they prevent fraud in U.S. government programs. The reason? Many still lack basic safeguards.

Previous GAO reports have revealed the extent of fraud across the federal government.

A report from 2024 showed that the U.S. loses between $233 billion and $521 billion annually to fraud, based on data from 2018-2022.

“Fraud prevention, including deterrence, decreases the need to chase after and recover stolen funds,” read the latest report. “Demonstrating the value of fraud prevention can help inform antifraud resource allocation decisions.”

The new report builds on GAO’s 2015 Fraud Risk Framework, which outlines best practices for preventing, detecting and responding to fraud in federal programs.

The framework is organized into four components: establishing an antifraud culture; assessing fraud risks; designing and implementing control activities; and evaluating outcomes and adapting efforts.

GAO’s new technical appendix focuses specifically on the fourth component, which is how agencies can systematically evaluate the effectiveness of their fraud risk management activities and adapt them as needed.

Components five, six, and seven: Prosecute, prosecute, prosecute.