U.S. is insolvent; Trump blocks DHS funding deal; giant flying spiders spreading; you can't clone a clone; Pope deals with exorcist shortage.
It's International Waffle Day!
Trump gets mystery gift from Iran, sends ICE into airports to force the SAVE act.
President Trump happily accepts a mysterious "gift" from his enemies in Iran, but forces TSA agents to work without pay as air travelers wait in nine-hour lines, all because he refuses to approve a deal between congressional Republicans and Democrats. Plus, Trump is throwing untrained ICE agents into America's airports, and even though they're doing nothing to help move TSA lines, Josh Johnson is just glad to have them off the streets.
Subscriptions are free. There are no paywalls hiding stuff and links to paywalled sources are provided via gift articles (just close the popups asking for emails or subscriptions). That said, a paid subscription will help keep the lights on and, more importantly, keep the puppies and kitties in kibble and litter. If you don’t want to go the paid subscription route, please consider donating a buck or two.
—Kevin G. Barkes
(Most) everything you need to know for today:
March 25 is the 84th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 281 days remain until the end of the year. As of this writing, 1,031 days remain in Trump’s term of office.
(Until 1752, March 25 was the official date of the beginning of the year in England and its dominions.)
Knee-deep in the hoopla:
The latest on the Iran war from the Associated Press.
Senate Republicans pitch deal to end DHS shutdown, but Trump isn’t sold. The deal under discussion would fund the department except for the part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement charged with arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants. (Washington Post gift article)
World has ‘never experienced’ soaring refining margins like this, TotalEnergies CEO tells CNBC. In other words, yes, we’re gouging you. (CNBC via MSN)
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it. The numbers: $6.06 trillion in total assets against $47.78 trillion in total liabilities as of September 30, 2025. And that doesn’t include the obligations for Social Security and Medicare. (Fortune via Yahoo Finance)
The Trump administration paid these employees not to work for more than a year. It just called them back. Some employees sidelined for their diversity and inclusion jobs received a one year, stress-ridden sabbatical, but are now returning to similar jobs. (Government Executive)
Young graduates face the grimmest job market in years. My granddaughter graduated last year and still can’t find an opening in her field. (New York Times gift article)
Pope Leo XIV hosts International Association of Exorcists due to surge in cases linked to occultism, esotericism, and Satanism. (International Business Times)
Jehovah’s Witnesses ease rules on blood transfusions. Members can have their own blood removed, stored, and "given back" in medical procedures, but they still can’t receive blood from other persons. (BBC News via Yahoo News)
‘Dead End’: Radical 20-year study reveals genetic cloning hits a limit. You really shouldn’t clone a clone. Hey, Star Trek: The Next Generation warned about replicative fading in a rather bad 1989 episode called “Up The Long Ladder”.
Something rather grim happens when you stop taking GLP-1s: “metabolic whiplash.” (Futurism)
It’s not just vaccines — parents are refusing other routine preventive care for newborns. Wonder what the long term effects will be, evolutionarily speaking?
Delayed Nielsen data will show traditional TV back on top (for now). A forthcoming Nielsen report suggests U.S. viewers spent more time watching traditional TV than streaming in February, reversing well-established trends. (Wall Street Journal gift article)
Disney says it will find ways to peddle A.I. slop elsewhere after pulling out of OpenAI deal. Just three months after it was announced, Disney’s partnership with OpenAI has ended with OpenAI’s shuttering of its Sora AI video app. (Gizmodo)
New Mexico jury says Meta harms children’s mental health and safety, violating state law. Meta was fined $375 million (the company’s valued at $1.5 trillion). Meta stock was up 5% in early after-hours trading following the verdict, a signal that shareholders were shrugging off the news. (AP)
Warp speed, Mister Scott: Geneva’s CERN hails delicate test on transporting antimatter as a scientific success. (AP)
Spiders the size of a human hand are spreading throughout the US. And they can fly. Sort of. (Yahoo News)
The man who can find your wedding ring anywhere, even in the ocean. Island beaches and endless turquoise waves rarely confound Zoël Manguillier and his trusty Excalibur II metal detector. (Wall Street Journal gift article)
Late Night:
Would Ellison fire John Oliver and Bill Maher? Don’t bet on it. For all his complaints about late-night comedians, Trump clearly relishes his battles with them.
Jimmy Kimmel Live: The 2028 Summer Olympics are being held here in LA and they have released the official color palette, Melania hosted a global summit, Trump was in Memphis yesterday taking a VIP tour of Graceland, turns out he voted by mail in a Florida special election after yelling over the heinous crime of putting your ballot in a mailbox, the Trump administration is shelling out a billion dollars to a French energy company to cancel construction of wind turbines in North Carolina and New York, Trump declared victory in the war against Iran, there was some major progress yesterday thanks to a mysterious gift, former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani gave us an update on the plan to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, Markwayne Mullen is now the Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump used the swearing-in-ceremony to share his thoughts on our greatest threat, the Senate Judiciary Committee had a hearing on their investigation of the investigation of Trump’s efforts to overthrow the election, a new edition of This Week in Florida, and Jimmy talks to a man named "Palm Beach Pete" who went viral for looking like Jeffrey Epstein but is DEFINITELY NOT him! (Video)
Late Night with Seth Meyers: Trump wonders if he could have beat Elvis in a fight during Graceland visit; jokes Seth can’t tell. (Video)
Keep scrolling… lots of interesting stuff in Quote of the Day, Holidays, On This Day, Birthdays, and Deaths. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll learn something new.
History highlight:
1983 - The television special “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever” was taped before a live audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, for broadcast on NBC on May 16. The show was seen in over 33 million households (47 million viewers) and was the week’s highest rated program. Highlights included a Jackson 5 reunion, Michael Jackson’s performance of “Billie Jean“ from his Thriller album (in which he introduced his signature move, the moonwalk), Smokey Robinson‘s reunion with the Miracles, a Temptations / Four Tops “battle of the bands”, Marvin Gaye‘s inspired speech about black music history and his memorable performance of “What’s Going On“, and an abbreviated reunion of Diana Ross & the Supremes. The video linked here is from the laserdisc release, and contains segments which didn’t appear on the television broadcast. (Video)
Quote of the day:
Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless you can get away from it... In yourself right now is all the place you’ve got.
--Flannery O’Connor (Wikipedia link)
(More Flannery O’Connor quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
AIHA Awareness Day, American Red Cross Giving Day, A Whole Day for Whole Grain, International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members, International Day of the Unborn Child, International Waffle Day, Manatee Appreciation Day, Maryland Day, Medal of Honor Day, National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day, National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy, National Little Red Wagon Day, National Lobster Newburg Day, National Medal of Honor Day, Old New Year’s Day, Pecan Day, Say Their Name Day, and Tolkien Reading Day.
On This Day:
1996 – The European Union‘s Veterinarian Committee banned the export of British beef and its by-products as a result of mad cow disease (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy).
1995 – WikiWikiWeb, the world’s first wiki, and part of the Portland Pattern Repository, was made public by Ward Cunningham.
1983 - The television special “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever” was taped before a live audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, for broadcast on NBC on May 16. The show was viewed in over 33 million households (47 million viewers) and was the week’s highest rated program. Highlights included a Jackson 5 reunion, Michael Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean" from his Thriller album (in which he introduced his signature move, the moonwalk), Smokey Robinson's reunion with the Miracles, a Temptations / Four Tops "battle of the bands", Marvin Gaye's inspired speech about black music history and his memorable performance of "What's Going On", and an abbreviated reunion of Diana Ross & the Supremes. The video linked here is from the laserdisc release, and contains segments which didn’t appear on the television broadcast. (Video)
1982 – “Cagney & Lacey” premiered on CBS. (Video)
1979 – The first fully functional Space Shuttle orbiter, Columbia, was delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center to be prepared for its first launch.
1967 – The Turtles’ single “Happy Together” hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. (Video)
1965 – Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King Jr. successfully completed their 4-day 50-mile (80 km) march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.
1957 – The European Economic Community (“Common Market”) was established with West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg as the first members.
1957 – United States Customs seized copies of Allen Ginsberg‘s poem “Howl“ on obscenity grounds.
1954 – RCA manufactured its first color television receiver, featuring a 12.5-inch screen and costing $1,000.
1948 – The first successful tornado forecast predicted that a tornado would strike Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
1931 – The Scottsboro Boys were arrested in Alabama and charged with rape.
1911 – In New York City, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire killed 146 garment workers.
1655 – Saturn‘s largest moon, Titan, was discovered by Christiaan Huygens.
1632 – The first settlers arrived in Maryland.
421 – The Italian city Venice was founded with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo di Rialto on the islet of Rialto.
(For more comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1999 – Mikey Madison, American actress (“Anora”)
1984 – Katharine McPhee, American singer-songwriter and actress
1982 – Jenny Slate, American comedian, actress and author
1982 – Danica Patrick, American race car driver
1979 – Nate Bargatze, American stand-up comedian and actor (Video)
1965 – Sarah Jessica Parker, American actress, producer, and designer
1948 – Bonnie Bedelia, American actress
1947 – Elton John, English singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor (Video)
1943 – Paul Michael Glaser, American actor and director
1942 – Aretha Franklin, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2018) (Video)
1939 – D. C. Fontana, American screenwriter and producer (“Star Trek”) (died 2019)
1938 – Hoyt Axton, American singer-songwriter and actor (died 1999) (Video)
1937 – Tom Monaghan, American businessman, founded Domino’s Pizza
1934 – Gloria Steinem, American feminist activist, co-founded the Women’s Media Center
1928 – Jim Lovell, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (Apollo 13) (died 2025) (Video)
1926 – Gene Shalit, American journalist and critic
1925 – Flannery O’Connor, American short story writer and novelist (died 1964)
1922 – Eileen Ford, American businesswoman, co-founded Ford Models (died 2014)
1921 – Simone Signoret, French actress (died 1985) (Video)
1918 – Howard Cosell, American soldier, journalist, and author (died 1995) (Video)
1908 – David Lean, English director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1991)
1901 – Ed Begley, American actor (died 1970)
1881 – Béla Bartók, Hungarian pianist and composer (died 1945)
1867 – Arturo Toscanini, Italian-American cellist and conductor (died 1957)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2009 – Dan Seals, American musician (born 1948)
2008 – Herb Peterson, American businessman, created the McMuffin (born 1919)
2008 – Abby Mann, American screenwriter and producer (born 1927)
2006 – Buck Owens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1929) (Video)
2006 – Richard Fleischer, American film director (born 1916)
2005 – Paul Henning, American screenwriter and producer (Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres) (born 1911)
1992 – Nancy Walker, American actress, singer, and director (born 1922)
1988 – Robert Joffrey, American dancer, choreographer, and director, co-founded the Joffrey Ballet (born 1930)
1982 – Goodman Ace, American comedian and writer (born 1899)
1975 – Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian king (born 1906)
1918 – Claude Debussy, French composer (born 1862)
1857 – William Colgate, English-American businessman and philanthropist, founded Colgate-Palmolive (born 1783)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
Bookmark KGB Report Notes and check periodically for cartoons, memes, news, commentary and other stuff that didn’t fit or broke between e-mail newsletter issues. It’s also a great place to comment and chat.
Read for free with Kindle Unlimited!
If you like KGB Report, please share with a friend.
Subscribers get all content for free. If you sign up for a paid subscription, you get my eternal gratitude, and maybe some occasional photos of the dogs and cats here at the South Park Casa de Pelaje y Cajas de Arena.
Old KGBReport.com archives (not the stuff here on Substack), all the way back to the previous century.
Current weather in South Park, PA (Personal station on Weather Underground)
KGB Quotations Database Search (KGB Quote-A-Matic)
DCL Dialogue Online (an archive of my DCL Dialogue columns which appeared in DEC Professional (later renamed Digital Age) magazine from March, 1987 through December, 1995.)
Thanks for the digest KGB, and Flannery O’Connor: “In yourself right now is all the place you’ve got.”