‘As everyone knows, I am an extraordinarily brilliant person…’

House Democrats launch Patel probe, demand he submit to alcohol abuse screening If the beleaguered FBI director was hoping the allegations about his alleged drinking problem would be a one-day story, he has reason to be disappointed.

Rep. Jamie Raskin is demanding that Kash Patel submit to an alcohol abuse screening:

"For the sake of our own security, we need to know, for example, 'how many drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day when you are drinking'?"

So funny that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche calls the reporter ‘extraordinarily rude’ for following up on a straightforward question and demanding a direct answer from Patel

ICYMI

National Gallery of Art receives $116M donation to lend works nationwide Billionaire Mitchell Rales, a former president of the NGA, provided the gift to fund a program that loans artwork to other American museums.

National Gallery of Art receives $116 million gift to fund the Across the Nation program, which lends artwork to other museums.

www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Column | Guerrilla art is flourishing in Trump’s Washington Anti-Trump street artists and anonymous collectives are using an old protest technique in Washington: Sending messages into the void.

‘It is not the quality of the art that matters, nor its power to galvanize immediate change. Rather, artists are doing their duty, acting like citizens, assuming that a real republic still exists and that people are still open to ideas and change.’

www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

Trump fought to keep the ballroom fundraising contract secret. Here’s what’s in it. The agreement governing hundreds of millions in private donations was kept secret until a watchdog group sued and a judge ordered it disclosed.

‘This document reveals that anonymous donations are the heart of this agreement. Who are these anonymous donors, and what are they hiding?’

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Commentary: He honked to support a 'No Kings' rally. A cop busted him A retired potato farmer in St. George, Utah, wanted to show his solidarity with demonstrators at an anti-Trump rally held deep in pro-Trump country. He sees politics behind the citation.

A Utah man honked his horn in support of No Kings protesters.

A police officer pulled him over and issued a citation.

Was politics at play?

Via @markzbarabak.bsky.social

www.latimes.com/politics/sto...

What??

One of the most telling pics of the year ... so far.

Trump Spills on 'Squawk’ Appearing on CNBC, Donald Trump pulled back the curtain on how his "Squawk Box" interview came together—revealing more than the network likely wanted and raising questions about its booking process.

‘That’s not how journalism is supposed to work. Hosts like Kernen are meant to hold power to account, not work to accommodate it.’

Good read from @oliverdarcy.bsky.social on the Trump interview on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’

www.status.news/p/donald-tru...

This is a great breakdown of Kash Patel’s lawsuit against @theatlantic.com

mRNA vaccines continue to show major promise.

In a small Phase 1 trial led by Dr. Balachandran, some patients with pancreatic cancer (one of the deadliest cancers) reached 6-year survival.

This is why sustained investment in science & research matters.

tinyurl.com/f4n4anhk

Ha! ‘That’s Miss Hilly’s special pie’!

Who owns presidential records? Trump's Justice Department says it's him The Trump administration asserts that a nearly 50-year-old law requiring the preservation of presidential records is unconstitutional. Historians warn important papers could be destroyed.

‘At stake is the fate of millions of papers and electronic messages – not just for Trump's second term in office, but for future presidents and people who want to understand them.’

www.npr.org/2026/04/20/g...

This is the best

BARTIROMO: So you're gonna sue them?

KASH PATEL: Absolutely. It's coming tomorrow

BARTIROMO: Tomorrow you will be dropping a lawsuit against The Atlantic?

PATEL: Yes I will. For defamation

Column: Why have so many men failed to learn the lessons of MeToo? As long as powerful men exist, some will continue to rationalize taking advantage of less powerful women.

‘Why is it so damn difficult for so many men with so much to lose to keep their pants zipped?’

Via @rabcarian.bsky.social

www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

The Broadway theaters that have staff out front shouting orders at the arriving audience members, though most of them have done nothing wrong — do they not know that people really, really don’t like being yelled at and/or treated like cattle? There is a better way.

“Participants include the secretary of state, Marco Rubio; the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth; and the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy.”

Will Hegseth be reading Ezekiel 25:17?

A truly heartbreaking *must-read* piece.

As author Josef Palermo says: 'There must be a firewall put in place by Congress to prevent this kind of hostile political takeover of the Kennedy Center from ever happening again.'

Congrats on “opening” a strait that was open six weeks ago, and all it cost was at least 13 dead service members, thousands of dead Iranian civilians, tens of billions in taxpayer dollars, our loss in global standing, and the Iranian regime’s increase in power. Phenomenal work.

Ha!

Federal judge sets new limits on Trump ballroom construction U.S. District Judge Richard Leon clarified that some national security work can continue while the overall project is halted.

‘National security is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity’

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Pope Leo XIV: Jesus told us, blessed are the peacemakers. But woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, or political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.

A Real Delivery DoorDash’s head of public affairs said on Tuesday that “no one is claiming it was a real delivery.” You wouldn't know it from the media coverage.

Maybe you can be excused if you thought that DoorDash delivery to Trump was real: Apparently a slew of news organizations (that should have known better) covered the staged event as though it was real

This is a great read from @parkermolloy.com

www.readtpa.com/p/a-real-del...

Allbirds shares soar 600% as it pivots from footwear to AI | CNN Business Shares of Allbirds — the 2010s pioneer of trendy sneakers and eco-conscious Millennial retail marketing — took flight in an almost comical fashion Wednesday morning after the company announced an extr...

Wow. I loved my comfy Allbirds

www.cnn.com/2026/04/15/i...

Trump's ambassador to the United Nations was asked by senators about Trump's threat to obliterate Iran — when he posted 'a whole civilization will die tonight.'

Mike Waltz described that threat as a "mean tweet."

Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono lists the overt political corruption and fraud by Donald Trump, his family, and his administration.

Go Mazie!

🔥

Colson Whitehead is always worth your time

Read it, then thank Manohla for the 🎁🔗