[UPDATE BELOW] IT TOOK THEM UNTIL NOW TO FINALLY NOTICE ALL THE TORPEDOES CIRCLING BACK?

The New York Times just published an opinion by Daniel Richman titled ‘The Epstein Files Should Never Have Been Released’ pic.twitter.com/TPF4cLLu3n

— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) February 23, 2026

More from Ed Morrissey: NYT Disclosure Fail.

I thought the name on this column sounded familiar. Richman is a friend of Comey’s who had possession of memos by Comey that the former FBI Director had leaked through him as a way to force the appointment of a special counsel in 2017. Judicial Watch discovered the deception in 2019 after going to court over a FOIA demand:

On June 8, 2017, Comey testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee that he leaked memos of his conversations with President Trump “because (he) thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.” Columbia University Law professor Daniel Richman, a friend of Comey’s, reportedly“turned over copies of the former FBI director’s explosive memos … to the FBI, sidestepping a request by congressional committees to deliver the materials to Capitol Hill.”

The Justice Department previously argued to the court in a separate case that Comey’s leak of the memo regarding former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was unauthorized and compared it to WikiLeaks. Comey admitted to Congress regarding the “Flynn” memo, “I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter [for The New York Times] … I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.” The New York Times published a report about the memo on May 16, 2017. Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed the following day.

Interestingly, neither Richman nor Comey disclose this connection in this column, even though Richman specifically cites the Comey prosecution in his argument. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Hmmmm, indeed.

MOSCOW ISN’T EXACTLY FLUSH THESE LAST FOUR YEARS, EITHER: Cuba’s Russian Rescue Fantasy Falls Apart.

GOOD: CDL tests will become English only.

In a press conference, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Derek Barrs said the move will “strengthen safety and integrity on America’s roads.”

In addition to testing in English, the registration system will be updated with identification verification. Noncompliant CDL training centers and carriers will also be addressed.

“What we’re doing is implementing a rule that will say there’s one language in which you can take your test – it’s English only,” Duffy said. “You take the test in English. You can’t speak English; you can’t read English – you’re not going to do well on the test.”

Most signage in America, including electronic emergency messaging, is in English.

States will be asked to disqualify drivers not meeting English proficiency standards.

“We’ve got to hold every link in the chain accountable as we move through this entire process,” Barrs said.

If you can’t read the language of our roadsigns, you shouldn’t have a CDL.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: We Need to Talk About Artemis. “Things can’t continue like this.”

HMM: Supreme Court petitioned to decide if chilling faculty speech violates First Amendment.

A conservative UT Austin finance professor has petitioned the Supreme Court to review his lawsuit, arguing that administrative threats that suppressed his free speech activity constitute unconstitutional retaliation — even though he has not been demoted or officially censured.

The petition for review describes Professor Richard Lowery as “an outspoken professor” who “has a history of speaking, posting, and publishing on controversial topics such as DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), affirmative action, academic freedom, viewpoint diversity, and capitalism.”

The request to the high court comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in October upheld the dismissal of the case, affirming a lower court’s decision that Lowery did not suffer from any real administrative retaliation for his outspokenness aside from “grumblings” and “informal pressure.”

“University of Texas officials threatened Professor Richard Lowery with reduced pay, loss of a research post, and other consequences, if he did not stop publicly criticizing the UT administration. Wishing to avoid those outcomes, Lowery self-censored,” Lowery’s Supreme Court petition states.

The petition claims court precedent has established that employer threats suffice to establish a First Amendment retaliation claim “if they would dissuade a reasonable employee from speaking,” calling the Fifth Circuit “one of two outlier courts that require a completed adverse action, such as a discharge, demotion, or reprimand.”

Stay tuned…

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Gavin Newsom Wants Folks to Know He’s Down With the Struggle. “Newsom’s dyslexia is the Joe Biden’s stutter of 2026. We’re hearing a lot about it lately. Dems who can’t play a race card suddenly have childhood problems that they like to brag about having to overcome. In all of Joe Biden’s decades in Washington I never heard of his boyhood stutter until he started struggling with English during the 2020 presidential campaign. Newsom recently brought his dyslexia front and center in an attempt to dunk on Sen. Ted Cruz on X. That ended up being a huge self-own, but Democrats are incapable of being embarrassed by their own actions anymore. All it seems to have done is prompt Newsom to bust out the dyslexia excuse even more.”

IT’S ONLY OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY: Medicaid’s ‘perverse incentives’ tanking Colorado’s budget.

As economist Linda Gorman recently explained, the rapid 2010 expansion of Medicaid did not produce large gains in physical health, suggesting that the new expansion enrollees were mostly healthy people not in need of taxpayer-subsidized healthcare.

Because Medicaid spending in Colorado is mostly driven by enrollment, Gorman suggests the legislature target the bloated rolls to close the state’s budget hole and make healthcare spending more affordable and sustainable.

The Paragon report adds to that by noting Medicaid is “plagued by perverse incentives” that are fundamental to the programs’ structure due to its open-ended federal reimbursement of state spending.

“The policy encourages states to spend more to receive more federal money, leading to the proliferation of financing schemes that function as de facto money laundering mechanisms to obtain federal funds without commensurate state expenditures,” the report reads, in part. “The Affordable Care Act’s 90 percent federal reimbursement rate for able-bodied, working-age adults—providing roughly seven times more federal funding per state dollar than for traditional Medicaid enrollees—has diverted resources away from the truly needy.”

In Colorado, this has led to health care eating up one third of the state’s budget, quickly crowding out other budget priorities.

Exit quote: “It remains ultimately up to Colorado legislators to address the program’s systemic issues.”

I get the feeling that Medicaid grift and fraud are Denver’s budget priorities.

ICYMI: The Air Force’s Newest Pilot Takes Orders (for Now?) but Isn’t Human.

SMART PEOPLE SURE CAN ACT DUMB SOMETIMES:

This person is the head of AI safety and alignment at Meta

This is like watching a police safety instructor clean his gun while it's still loaded pic.twitter.com/C2eToSR3i1

— PoIiMath (@politicalmath) February 23, 2026

Some background here from earlier this month: And so It Begins: AIs Now Talking With One Another Behind Our Backs.

CHANGE: Trump poised to fill two influential appeals court vacancies.

Last week, Chief Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton, of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati, and Chief Judge Debra Ann Livingston, of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in New York City, announced their plans to assume senior status later this year. Both judges were appointed by President George W. Bush.

Judicial appointments have remained a central priority for the Trump administration, though vacancies on the federal appellate courts have been limited in recent years. The impending departures offer a significant opportunity to extend the administration’s influence over courts that routinely adjudicate consequential constitutional, regulatory, and commercial disputes.

The Sixth Circuit, which hears appeals from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, already holds a conservative supermajority. A new appointment there would likely reinforce the court’s existing ideological balance.

The Second Circuit presents a more consequential opening. Covering Connecticut, New York, and Vermont, the court presently maintains a narrow liberal majority. Given its prominent role in cases involving financial regulation, national security, and major civil litigation, a conservative appointment could have a meaningful impact.

That would nice.

FAIL, BRITANNIA:

🇮🇴WATCH: Chagossian First Minister Misley Mandarin has – from the new settlement on the Chagos archipelago – given Donald Trump formal permission to strike Iran from Diego Garcia.

He says: "We, the people of the Chagos Islands, give our blessing for the United States to use the… pic.twitter.com/3eKdeoVuZx

— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) February 23, 2026

Take that, Starmer.

#METOO: Experts Hope SCOTUS Will Champion Energy Independence.

DON’T WORRY, COLORADO DEMOCRATS ARE WORKING ON IT:

Congratulations, Colorado! We're almost in the top ten most expensive states to live. I'm sure @GovofCO and @BlueVotersCO can get us into the top ten this year! https://t.co/KOpXZO6gnO

— Michael Brown (@MichaelDBrown) February 24, 2026

DATA REPUBLICAN THREAD:

🧵THREAD: All about the foreign-influenced Western media called Grayzone and Iranian protests

Last month, 𝕏 celebrated the Iranian protests.

Then they … just disappeared from the headlines, and it came out quietly that hundreds and even thousands of protesters were brutally… pic.twitter.com/7jvOb775jZ

— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) February 23, 2026

More: “IRGC mouthpieces calling protesters Mossad agents is expected. What gets that narrative into Western discourse is a different layer: outlets that look like independent journalism but have documented financial ties to Iranian and Russian state media.”

Do read the whole thing.

THAT’S A LOT TO UNPACK IN JUST THREE TWEETS:

Are we doing the entire Press commenting on Gavin Newsom's behavior toward female reporters? Can you ask them?

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 23, 2026

I wonder why Axios or Politico or WaPo don’t seem to have asked similar questions*.

*I don’t actually wonder that.

SHOCKER: Kim Jong Un re-elected as ruling party leader in North Korea.

NOTHING’S SHOCKING: Apparently, Tucker Carlson Supports the Muslim Ownership of Christian Slaves.

CHANGE: New Louisiana SNAP rules limit soda and candy purchases for 750,000 recipients.

Approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Aug. 4, 2025, the two-year pilot initiative removes soft drinks, energy drinks and candy from the list of items eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits.

State health officials said making nutritious choices is essential to building healthier communities as rates of chronic disease rise. The project is intended to direct SNAP benefits toward nutritious foods to help reduce obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and other diet-related health issues while enabling families to make healthier choices.

“This is a pivotal step toward a healthier Louisiana,” LDH Secretary Bruce D. Greenstein said. “By focusing SNAP dollars on proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, we’re investing in the long-term health of Louisiana’s children and families, while reducing future health care costs. This decision ensures that nutritious choices are not only available — they’re the foundation of everyday life.”

“This waiver encourages Louisianans to put real food on the table — fresh produce, meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, breads and cereals — as well as to learn to make healthier choices when reaching for a pre-prepared snack or meal,” Louisiana Surgeon General Dr. Evelyn Griffin said. “Instead of picking up a soda and a candy bar on your way to work, you might opt for a bottle of water and a banana. Small changes can have a big impact on your health when you’re making them consistently. Moving the health outcomes needle for the better is what this waiver is all about.”

That’s a step forward, but if we have to have SNAP, purchases of most prepared foods should be limited.

CONSTITUENT SERVICE: Newsom Pardons Illegal Alien Attempted Murderer.

WELL, YES: Drones ‘change everything’ about combined arms combat, US Army aviation chief says.

While Army aviators are no strangers to unmanned systems, drones being fielded today are immensely different from those developed over the last two decades, many of which tended to be larger and required more manpower to operate, Gill said.

“In the last five to 10 years I would say we have seen a complete shift in what drone technology is and how it can be used,” Gill said. The net result, he added, is that drones are “no longer just the purview of Army aviation.”

“I would argue now with the proliferation of small drones and how cheap and effective they can be that Army aviation is just one minor user now. … Everybody is going to have drones in the airspace to some degree.

“It’s going to change everything. The nature of war is the same. It’s always an endeavor of human conflict. But the character of war is just fundamentally different.”

Whoever figures out first how to use drones to enhance maneuver warfare instead of shutting it down (as in the Russo-Ukraine War), probably wins the next major war.

TO BE FAIR, THEY’RE ALWAYS MAD ABOUT SOMETHING: The Left Is Big Mad at Kash Patel for Celebrating the Gold Medal Win With USA Hockey.

HMM: Austin Tucker Martin, gunman shot dead by Secret Service at Mar-a-Lago, was obsessed with Epstein files.

SKYNET SMILES: The Air Force’s Newest Pilot Takes Orders (For Now?) But Isn’t Human.

IF ANYBODY WANTS TO MAKE A PREQUEL TO ‘ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK’ (BUT PLEASE DON’T), MAYBE THIS IS HOW IT BEGINS: NYPD officers harassed, doxed by agitators in Mamdani’s NYC.

CHEATING TAKES TIME THAT JUST COUNTING LEGITIMATE BALLOTS DOESN’T: Virginia Democrats Push Extended Deadline for Counting Absentee Ballots 3 Days After Election Day.