A Russian liquid natural gas tanker under Russian sanctions exploded suddenly about 150 miles off the coast of Libya on Wednesday, the AP reports. Libyan officials claimed 30 crew of ship, which had departed Russia’s Arctic coast and was bound for Egypt, were rescued after a distress call, and put on another vessel bound for Benghazi, a city considered holy in the global right wing religion.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline, that all-important psychic barometer for whether American democracy can continue to breathe or be steadily consumed by the tumors of corruption and fascism, has now surged past the $3.12 per gallon price it was at on January 20, 2025 to $3.19 per gallon, and will probably continue to rise over the next few days at least.

In a bulletin posted Wednesday the US Embassy in Qatar announced they’ve “ordered non-emergency US government employees and their family members to leave Qatar due to the threat of armed conflict. If safe to do so, Americans should leave Qatar now,” which is timely guidance.

Then they kind of contradicted themselves with “The US Embassy in Doha continues to maintain shelter-in-place for all remaining emergency personnel. We recommend all Americans in Qatar do the same until further notice. To the extent possible, remain inside your residence, hotel, or another structure, and stay away from windows. The US Embassy in Doha has suspended all routine consular services until further notice. Americans should contact ACSDoha@state.gov in case of emergency. Qatari airspace and maritime routes remain closed. The Salwa land border crossing to Saudi Arabia is currently open.” Quite the conundrum they’re forcing on folks eh?

An anonymous Republican strategist “close to the White House” is plainly freaking the fuck out, telling Politico Playbook he has “no problem blowing up the Iranians. But when you’re at war, that is 75 percent of your time. This is what Susie Wiles is gonna be doing, this is what James Blair will be doing. This is what senior staff will be dealing with. And that is a problem.”

“It needs to get over quick, otherwise this is a fucking nightmare. It already is a nightmare, because you’ve got the MAGA coalition just tearing at the seams. Anything in a game of subtraction right now is fucking disastrous. Anything that we do that hurts our own base… is catastrophic… They need to explain to the American people, they need, frankly, to do it pretty quickly. And specifically to the Republican base,” the strategist added and tragically the utterly frantic quotes stop there.

A shame, really. Would’ve pasted paragraph after paragraph of this pants-pissing.

🚨Comer to say Tim Walz 'enabled fraud,' failed whistleblowers in bombshell Minnesota hearing @FoxNews

“Instead of protecting the whistleblowers, the Walz administration protected the system that enabled fraud.”https://t.co/AUlvPyQcac

— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) March 4, 2026

“By a 54-29 percent margin, New York State voters support the Governor and Legislature allowing New York City to raise personal income taxes on City residents earning at least $1 million. New York City voters, 62-21 percent, and Democrats, 72-13 percent, overwhelmingly support it. The proposal from Mayor Zohran Mamdani has more tepid support from the downstate suburbs, 50-32 percent, and upstate, 48-35 percent, while independents lean toward opposition, 40-37 percent, and Republicans oppose 51-36 percent, according to a new Siena Poll of New York State registered voters released today. Governor Kathy Hochul – whose favorability rating dropped a few points but narrowly remains in positive territory – continues to lead Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, still largely unknown to voters statewide, by 20 points, 51-31 percent, from 26 points, 54-28 percent, in January. On six quotes read to voters without attribution – three Hochul quotes and three Blakeman quotes – voters, by wide, bipartisan majorities agree with each of them” – Siena polling.

“On March 3, Ecuadorian and US military forces launched operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations in Ecuador. The operations are a powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism. Together, we are taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere,” says US Southern Command in a press release

“‘We commend the men and women of the Ecuadorian armed forces for their unwavering commitment to this fight, demonstrating courage and resolve through continued actions against narco-terrorists in their country,’ said Marine Gen Francis L Donovan, commander of US Southcom.”

What if, just throwing this out there, that the “narcoterrorists” are just, say, communist dissidents who the Ecuadoreans told the Trump regime are narcoterrorists? Wouldn’t that be a hoot?

Republican Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw on Tuesday lost his primary to a challenger with two eyes, a state Representative named Steve Toth, Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman projects.

Texas Democratic state Representative James Talarico placed first – and almost certainly cleared 50 percent to win outright – in Tuesday night’s primary to try to be the first D to win a statewide race in the Lone Star State, defeating Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, who is great and would’ve made a damn fine Senator in a perfect world. Seriously she is wickedly funny and sharp and let’s hope this isn’t the last of her. She will be missed in next year’s House Oversight Committee hearings.

Talarico, a damn talented seminarian who speaks fluent Christian, is either a SERIOUS contender against Picasso-face Attorney General Ken Paxton or a longshot against incumbent Senator John Cornhole Cornyn, who is putting up a considerably harder-than-expected fight against Pax and currently leading, though Paxton is expected to pull ahead when the count is all said and done.

🚨 @WhatleyNC is officially our nominee for U.S. Senate in North Carolina! pic.twitter.com/0iRJhUFXuj

— GOP (@GOP) March 4, 2026

A man wearing a mask, sunglasses, and a camo hat was detained by cops outside of Picasso-faced Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Senate primary election night watch party in Austin on Tuesday night, later finding ammunition magazines in the man’s car, the Associated Press reports.

Further details were unavailable, but what the hell, why? Dude was obviously a Paxton fan.

“Since the launch of Operation Epic Fury, more than 9,000 Americans have safely returned home from the Middle East. If you are a US Citizen in the Middle East, and you want to come home, please register with the State Department at Step.State.Gov. The Department will identify where you are, and provide travel options to you. We are already chartering flights, free of charge, and booking commercial options, which we expect will become increasingly available as time goes on.”

“US Citizens may also call the 24/7 State Department Task Force at +1-202-501-4444,” posted convicted felon President Trump on Tuesday. Let’s see how competently this gets executed.

“Bracket busting season is upon us, but Domino’s Pizza Inc is dropping a deal worthy of a championship run. From now through the final basketball game on April 6, customers can enjoy Domino’s ‘Best Deal Ever’ promotion: any pizza with any toppings for just $9.99 each.”

“‘The games are almost here, and we knew we had to give basketball fans the MVP of all deals to enjoy as they watch the tournament with their friends and family,’ said Kate Trumbull, Domino’s executive vice president – chief marketing officer. ‘We created the Best Deal Ever to give customers the pizza they crave the most, when they crave it the most, at a craveable price. Basketball watch parties and pizza go hand in hand, so whether your bracket is thriving, busted or hanging on by a thread, at least your pizza game can be unbeatable with Domino’s Best Deal Ever,'” says Domino’s in a press release headlined “Domino’s® Brings Back Its Best Deal Ever for the Big Tournament.”

It’s the first-ever confirmed sighting of “Big Tournament” because Papa John’s or Pizza Hut or whoever else got the “March Madness” sponsorship first. An important landmark in the evolution of corporate weaseldom that for decades brought you the time-honored “Big Game” for brands whose competitors got the coveted Official Super Bowl® Sponsor partnership – or maybe didn’t want to pay the NFL to become, say, the official spermicidal lubricated condom of the Super Bowl.

Or the NFL wasn’t taking bids for an official spermicidal lubricated condom of the Super Bowl but would sue the condom company if they did use the Super Bo- ANYWAY, fast food pizza is germane enough to sitting on the couch watching sportsball so there’s a world in which Domino’s pays the NCAA the fees and advertises themselves as the official March Madness 2026 pizza sponsor.

This week’s Economist/YouGov national survey finds, for the first time in the question’s history, 50 percent of respondents overall supporting abolishing ICE and 39 against, with abolition even getting to 19 percent yes vs 74 percent no among Trump 2024 voters. It was 46 percent overall support to 41 percent opposed back in January in a snap poll after Alex Pretti’s murder in Minneapolis.

Convicted felon President Trump’s approval also sank to 38 percent, the lowest of his second term.

Yeah that’s our Senate Majority Leader, always thinking ahead to the possibilities of rescue for Americans stranded in the Middle East. Stitched in after that is Secretary of State Marco Rubio fumbling questions about the same topic and also getting pretty snappy with reporters asking him to remember what he said less than 24 hours ago about why convicted felon President Trump decided to attack and that the Israelis are really taking the lead. Rubio nows says he didn’t say that.

All this while the US consulate in Dubai is on fire from a drone strike and Punchbowl News’s Andrew Desiderio reports Indiana Senator Todd Young “went off about the WH’s and GOP leadership’s handling of the Iran situation during the closed-door Republican lunch,” earlier this afternoon.

Oily Commerce Secretary Howard Nutlick tells Axios he’s volunteered to sit for an interview with the House Oversight Committee to reconcile his inconsistent stories about his bud Jeffrey Epstein.

“I look forward to appearing before the committee. I have done nothing wrong and I want to set the record straight,” Nutlick told the bullet point factory news site of his previously unstraight record.

The closed-door interview has yet to be scheduled but will happenwithin the next few weeks.

“Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf. This will be available to all Shipping Lines. If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible. No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD. The United States’ ECONOMIC and MILITARY MIGHT is the GREATEST ON EARTH — More actions to come,” posted convicted felon President Trump on Tuesday.

Yes, the crews of those oil tankers will feel so much better about sailing past Iranian shores now that the owners of their concerns can “at a very reasonable price” insure the vessels should they be hit by a missile or drone, igniting the payload. The owners should just as assuredly feel confident that their claims for such losses will be honored by the famously honest operator who sold them.

Confirmed: Todd Blanche for CPAC USA 2026, March 25-28, in Grapevine, Texas. pic.twitter.com/4YLY2qAc3r

— CPAC (@CPAC) March 3, 2026