Serious crimes are being deliberately and dishonestly downgraded to keep them from public view and understate the severity of the crime problem in the Nation’s Capital - due to the orders and coercion tactics of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Police Chief Pamela A. Smith - a House Oversight Committee report released Sunday reveals. “During Smith’s time as Chief of Police, the Committee was made aware of allegations that senior MPD officials are deliberately falsifying publicly reported crime data to artificially lower public-facing crime rates in the District,” according to “Leadership Breakdown: How D.C.’s Police Chief Undermined Crime Data Accuracy,” an interim report presenting the results of transcribed interviews with eight MPD commanders under Smith’s authority. Since Smith took office in July of 2023, the commanders say, there have been clear “pressures placed on MPD personnel to lower the classifications of crime to present to the public the perception of low crime in the District”: “Specifically, there was an emphasis on the daily crime report (DCR), a public-facing dataset that only includes nine categories of felony offenses.” As a result, downgrading serious crimes to intermediate offenses that aren’t reported understates and hides the true severity of crime in D.C. Examples of ways they were forced to downgrade offenses to prevent them from being reported provided by the commanders include: Being instructed to reduce “assault with a dangerous weapon” to “endangerment with a firearm” because the victim was not actually hit with the bullet fired. Categorizing an obvious burglary as “unlawful entry and a theft,” in order to avoid inclusion in the crime count publicly reported. Chief Smith’s orders and coercion to downgrade the classification of crimes reportedly intensified in August when President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency in the Nation’s Capital and deployed a surge of federal law enforcement to protect its residents, prompting the Committee’s investigation: “The Committee, in its broad jurisdiction over the District, launched its investigation after receiving reports from reliable sources that senior officials at the MPD were deliberately lowering crime statistics prior to the President’s federal surge. Critics of the President’s surge had used crime statistics that claimed lower crime levels to argue that the surge was misguided.” As an example of Chief Smith’s disdain for the truth, testimony quoted her commenting on a commander under her authority: “I would rather him make something up than tell me that.” When subordinates refused to dishonestly manipulate crime statistics to her liking, Chief Smith would punish them, creating a culture of fear, intimidation, threats, and retaliation, the commanders told the Committee: “The Committee heard testimony from commanders that Chief Smith engaged in retribution in the form of retaliatory transfers and demotions against various MPD officials. “According to multiple commanders, Chief Smith either threatened to take or took action to remove or transfer MPD personnel who did not present her with favorable crime statistics or who—in Chief Smith’s judgement—questioned her actions.” While Smith is scheduled to resign on December 31, the report concludes that she needs to be dismissed immediately to ensure the manipulation of statistics and retaliation against honest subordinates doesn’t continue: “Crime classifications—which affect reported MPD crime data—have been and are still at risk of being artificially reduced to manipulate crime statistics at the expense of public safety even after Chief Smith’s resignation.”

Despite a loss of 168,000 federal government jobs, November’s unemployment situation was “little changed,” the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Tuesday. Due to the federal government shutdown, which lasted all of October and nearly half of November, BLS did not publish a report for October. As a result, much of Tuesday’s report compares November to September – preventing analysts and Fed Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell from placing much weight in the partial results. The November BLS report makes frequent use of the phrase “little changed” (emphasis added): “Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in November (+64,000) and has shown little net change since April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In November, the unemployment rate, at 4.6 percent, was little changed from September.” “In November, both the unemployment rate, at 4.6 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.8 million, were little changed from September.” “The jobless rates for adult men (4.1 percent), adult women (4.1 percent), Whites (3.9 percent), Blacks (8.3 percent), Asians (3.6 percent), and Hispanics (5.0 percent) showed little change.” “In November, both the labor force participation rate (62.5 percent) and the employment-population ratio (59.6 percent) were little changed from September. These measures showed little or no change over the year.” “Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.” Construction employment grew by 28,000 in November, as nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 19,000 jobs. Construction employment had changed little over the prior 12 months.” The unemployment rate in November (4.6%) was slightly higher than September’s 4.4% mark, but no comparison to October was available, due to the partial data available. November’s 64,000 increase in total nonfarm employment from October exceeded analysts’ expectations of 50,000 growth, but failed to fully offset September’s 105,000 job loss. President Donald Trump’s recent efforts to reduce the size of the bloated federal government suppressed nonfarm employment growth over the past two months – providing long-term benefit to the American taxpayers who fund government. Since September, federal government employment has decreased by 168,000, while total nonfarm employment (including federal) has decreased by 41,000. Without the decline in excess, tax-funded federal government jobs, total nonfarm employment would have increased by 127,000 since September, or 63,500 per month. Federal government employment has been reduced by more than a quarter-million jobs since Trump entered the White House in January, a number that might have been even higher without the vagaries of severance-incentive payments made to resigned employees who were counted as employed, BLS reports: “Federal government employment continued to decrease in November (-6,000). This follows a sharp decline of 162,000 in October, as some federal employees who accepted a deferred resignation offer came off federal payrolls. “Federal government employment is down by 271,000 since reaching a peak in January. “Federal employees on furlough during the government shutdown were counted as employed in the establishment survey because they received pay, even if later than usual, for the pay period that included the 12th of the month. Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the establishment survey.” The shutdown’s effect on data collection makes it unlikely November’s report will have any significant impact on the Federal Reserve’s decisions about interest rates, as Fox Business explains: “Kay Haigh, global co-head of fixed income and liquidity solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said that the ‘Fed is unlikely to put much weight on today's report given data disruptions.’ "‘Chair Powell commented last week that the report would likely be affected by shutdown-related distortions, making it a less reliable gauge of the labor market's health than usual,’ Haigh explained. "The report on December's employment data, released in early January ahead of the next meeting, will likely be a much more meaningful indicator for the Fed when it comes to deciding the near-term trajectory."

In his Monday night newsletter, former conservative media Benedict Arnold and Status founder Oliver Darcy expressed horror that the great people at NewsNation would hire “MAGA Media type personality” Katie Pavlich away from the Fox News Channel (and Townhall) to host a weekday primetime show and argued it “makes little sense”...unless it was to explicitly curry favor with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for approval of a local TV merger? That was the conspiracy theory Darcy spun to explain the machinations behind Pavlich being offered her own show and more money than FNC was offering to re-up as a contributor and fill-in host. In essence, Darcy argued Pavlich didn’t necessarily earn this position on merit but rather use her as a piece in “governmental chess.” Darcy started with allegations of how the deal came to together and laid out the pros and cons for Pavlich to leave a place she had been with for over a dozen years to a newer and smaller (but growing) channel. But he then took shots at Pavlich by using mocking a statement from the boss of NewsNation’s parent company Nexstar Networks hailing the hire of such “a seasoned journalist and commentator” who “will be a tremendous asset” at a network “committed to delivering straightforward, fact-based journalism” and “diverse viewpoints” “for all Americans.” Darcy seethed Compton referred to Pavlich as “a seasoned journalist” and ignored Pavlich’s 16 years at Townhall and 2012 book on the Obama administration’s Fast & Furious scandal: While ridiculous to pretend Pavlich is a “seasoned journalist,” the first half of Compton’s statement was at least aligned with how NewsNation has marketed itself to the public: as a nonpartisan, down-the-middle network that aims to be a refuge for those seeking information in a polarized media landscape. Which is precisely why the appointment of a MAGA Media type personality makes little sense[.] Sadly filled with such virulent hate for anyone not on the far-left or supportive of free speech, Darcy asked why would NewsNation hire such “a partisan opinion host in a prime time slot if the network is genuinely trying to position itself as a neutral destination for news.” What Darcy said here was it’s an outrage a conservative like Pavlich should be allowed to exist in any prominent position at any respectable network. Remember, Darcy has repeatedly pitched childish fits over Scott Jennings being allowed to utter a word on CNN. But Darcy then morphed into the famous GIF of Charlie Day’s chara cter on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia by suggesting “a deeper look into the political context” of Pavlich’s hire would suggest this was a purely cynical play by Nexstar to show the Trump administration they’re on their side. In turn, Darcy argued, Nexstar could then receive the green light from the FCC to complete their “$6.2 billion deal to acquire rival TEGNA, which owns more than 60 stations” even though they themselves already own “more than 200.” “That is no small hurdle and getting any media deal done in 2025 can be tough, given that the FCC is now chaired by Trump appointee Brendan Carr, who has made clear he will wield the power of his office to reward the president’s allies and punish his critics. Nexstar, of course...is doing what it believes it must,” Darcy surmised. He continued to imply he’s right because “installing a right-wing commentator in a prime time slot makes considerably more sense, even if it runs counter to NewsNation’s stated mission of neutrality” and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr had tweeted congratulations Monday to Pavlich. Dun dun dun! “Whether Pavlich’s hiring is intended to curry favor...is, of course, something Nexstar would never openly acknowledge...But in a regulatory environment where media companies are well aware of who holds the levers of power...such decisions aren’t made in a vacuum. Nexstar is playing governmental chess and Pavlich’s appointment is just the latest move on the board,” he concluded.

James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump character was simultaneously drugged up on Adderall and Ambien on NBC’s Saturday Night Live when he falsely described his seizing of a sanctioned Venezuelan oil tanker as piracy and bragged about shooting down Santa Claus. Fake Trump was aboard Air Force One taking questions from reporters when he turned to Andrew Dismukes, “Now, can a man ask me a question, please? Yes, you're kind of a man, what you got?”     The bit about desiring a question from a male reporter was SNL’s way of claiming that Trump only seems to go after female reporters because apparently Jim Acosta was not available for comment. As for Dismukes, he asked, “Okay, Mr. President, any comment on the oil tanker you seized off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday?” Johnson portrayed Trump as a hypocritical pirate on the matter: Yes, we're doing pirate now, arggh! You know, it’s interesting, last week I said Somalis were garbage, and now we're stealing the ships. Ironic, isn't it? Alanis, she's great in Dogma. She's at the end, but with regard to tanker, you know, I'm captain now, remember that, Captain Phillips? ‘I'm captain,’ I love that line. You know, Captain Phillips, one of my favorite captains after Crunch…Uh-oh, methinks Ambien has pulled into the lead, but don't worry, Adderall is still in the race. Seizing sanctioned ships is not piracy, unless you also think Russia is a victim of a piratical Germany. Dismukes then followed up, “Right. So, you'll continue to carry out strikes on Venezuela in the Caribbean?” After making some weird noises intended to mock the question, Johnson bragged about taking the campaign up a notch, “Yes. And you know, we're not just targeting drug boats, we're targeting suspected drug planes as well. In fact, we have some declassified video from a strike I can show you now. Do we have that clip? Where's the clip?” The video showed Santa and his sleigh being shot down by a missile, which led another horrified reporter to ask, “Was that Santa?” Fake Trump bragged, “Not anymore! Next question.” Of course, Santa is a magical being, so even if someone shot him, he would survive so that he could deliver coal to SNL. Here is a transcript for the December 13 show: NBC Saturday Night Live 12/13/2025 11:32 PM ET JAMES AUSTIN JOHNSON/DONALD TRUMP: Now, can a man ask me a question, please? Yes, you're kind of a man, what you got? ANDREW DISMUKES/REPORTER: Okay, Mr. President, any comment on the oil tanker you seized off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday? TRUMP: Yes, we're doing pirate now, arggh! You know, it’s interesting, last week I said Somalis were garbage, and now we're stealing the ships. Ironic, isn't it? Alanis, she's great in Dogma. She's at the end, but with regard to tanker, you know, I'm captain now, remember that, Captain Phillips? “I'm captain,” I love that line. You know, Captain Phillips, one of my favorite captains after Crunch, hoops, all berries. Why do you say “hoops?”  I prefer it when it's all crunch berries. Uh-oh, methinks Ambien has pulled into the lead, but don't worry, Adderall is still in the race. DISMUKES: Right. So, you'll continue to carry out strikes on Venezuela in the Caribbean? TRUMP: [weird noises] Yes. And you know, we're not just targeting drug boats, we're targeting suspected drug planes as well. In fact, we have some declassified video from a strike I can show you now. Do we have that clip? Where's the clip? [video of Santa getting shot by a missile] REPORTER: Was that Santa? JOHNSON: Not anymore! Next question.

Fox News media reporters Brian Flood and Joseph Wulfsohn reported President Donald Trump filed a “monster $10 billion lawsuit” on Monday against the taxpayer-funded British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for its 2024 "Panorama" documentary that blatantly distorted his comments on January 6, 2021 – merging together comments that were made nearly an hour apart, making him appear he was calling for violence at the Capitol. "We're gonna walk down to the Capitol. And I'll be there with you. And we fight — we fight like hell," the documentary showed Trump saying. In reality, Trump said, "We're gonna walk down to the Capitol. And we're gonna cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong."  It wasn't until 54 minutes later that Trump called on his supporters to "fight like hell" for an accurate vote count. Trump sued the BBC for both defamation and for a violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act for $5 billion apiece, as the president is seeking $10 billion total. The suit, filed in the Southern District of Florida Federal Court, was filed in a personal capacity and names BBC and BBC studios productions as defendants. Trump’s legal team claimed the defendants "timed the publication of the Panorama Documentary to be close in time to the 2024 Presidential Election" and the value of the president’s "personal brand alone is reasonably estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars." The lawsuit argues: "The BBC, faced with overwhelming and justifiable outrage on both sides of the Atlantic, has publicly admitted its staggering breach of journalistic ethics, and apologized, but has made no showing of actual remorse for its wrongdoing nor meaningful institutional changes to prevent future journalistic abuses." A BBC spokesperson told Fox News: "As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings." The mangled quote, which blew up in the British press, led to the resignations of BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and BBC director-general Tim Davie, and then a panic over the sinking brand.  The lefties are also concerned about the re-evaluation of the BBC's license-fee system of funding "public" media. British households pay £174.50 ($230) a year for BBC shows and services, which leads to conservative complaints about involuntarily supporting anti-conservative media. Former UK prime minister Liz Truss wrote at the time the scandal erupted: "I'm glad the US President and the rest of the world are seeing the BBC for what it is. Its failure to tell the truth on everything from transgender ideology to economics to Gaza has done huge damage to politics and government in this country. This should be the end of nationalised broadcasting."