In an effort to instigate their viewers to feel economic doom over the current U.S. military operations in Iran, ABC World News Tonight committed what could be charitably described as an egregious act of fake news. Anchor David Muir linked the just-released Consumer Price Index for February to rising gas prices, and achieved this by omitting a key phrase. Watch the brief as aired in its entirety on ABC World News Tonight on Wednesday, March 12th, 2026: FAKE NEWS: Watch as @ABCWorldNews David Muir falsely links February CPI data to the Iran operation. CPI came in at expectations. DAVID MUIR: To the economy tonight. Gas prices soaring amid the war in Iran and news on inflation on the rise. A new report showing the Consumer Price… pic.twitter.com/hzSP2IYeO5 — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) March 12, 2026 DAVID MUIR: To the economy tonight. Gas prices soaring amid the war in Iran and news on inflation on the rise. A new report showing the Consumer Price Index up 2.4% in February compared to one year ago. The national average for a gallon of gas now at $3.59, roughly 60 cents up last week. The Dow losing nearly 300 points today, falling to its lowest close this year. What Muir did here is that he sandwiched the CPI between mentions of rising gas prices, creating the illusion of intertwinement. Notice the weird sentence there: “Gas prices soaring amid the war in Iran and news on inflation on the rise.” But this is a false construction as one does not have to do with the other.  Per CNBC: Prices consumers pay for a broad range of goods and services rose in line with expectations for February, offering a final look at inflation pressures before an oil shock tied to the Iran war rattled the outlook. The consumer price index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.3% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.4%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Wednesday. Both numbers matched the Dow Jones consensus forecast. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, the core CPI posted a 0.2% monthly reading and 2.5% annual rate, compared with forecasts for 0.2% and 2.5%, also in line with the estimates. The key phrase that Muir left out? “As expected.” As in, economists EXPECTED inflation to come in where it did.  It is worth noting that the operation began on February 28th. February’s inflation had nothing to do with Iran and there was no reason to link these together except to instill fear in viewers. By definition, this was scant more than fake news.  

The news cycle emerging after the ISIS-inspired attempted bombing of anti-Islam protest and counter-protests outside New York’s mayoral residence has been disappointing, to say the least. There’s been rampant disinformation about both the target of the attack and the attackers, and an accompanying slew of corrections. CBS has taken a different path, choosing to highlight the heroes that have since emerged. Watch this wonderful profile of the heroes as aired on the CBS Evening News on Wednesday, March 11th, 2026: A bright spot amidst the terrible coverage of the attempted ISIS bombing at Gracie Mansion; @CBSEveningNews' profile of the hero @NYPDNews officers who went above and beyond, Chief Aaron Edwards and Sgt. Luis Navarro. pic.twitter.com/xFX3NjtPFD — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) March 12, 2026 TONY DOKOUPIL: Chief Aaron Edwards and Sergeant Luis Navarro are two heroic New York City Police officers who were just steps away from a smoking improvised bomb on Saturday, an attempted terror attack, according to the FBI. And they jumped right into action, their pictures going viral in the process. CBS National Correspondent Jericka Duncan spoke with them today about that life or death moment.  JERICKA DUNCAN: A chaotic scene erupted Saturday when a homemade bomb was thrown during a protest outside the residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. 46-year-old Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards jumped into action. This picture captured his bravery.  What in the heck were you thinking? AARON EDWARDS: Catch the bad guy. That is it, catch the bad guy. I am very impressed that I cleared that barrier. I was just laser focused on, you know, trying to catch this guy, and there was nothing that was going to stand in my way. DUNCAN: And what you can't see on camera, but just as impressive, the response from 38-year-old sergeant Luis Navarro.  You went toward the actual homemade device which was lit. LUIS NAVARRO: Yeah, so in that moment, I didn't think of anything. To me, it was to try to save as many lives as possible. DUNCAN: But you then learned that TATP is in this. This is a volatile substance that has been used in terror attacks. How are you processing that? NAVARRO: The only thing that went through my mind is: this could have been it. You know, that… DUNCAN: You said this could have been it. NAVARRO: This could have been it. DUNCAN: Chief Edwards says the path to this moment started with the 9/11 attacks. EDWARDS: I saw just police and first responders rushing to save people, and that inspired me to take the test. DUNCAN: Would you do it again? EDWARDS: Yes. NAVARRO: Yes. DUNCAN: Without reservation? EDWARDS: Without reservation. NAVARRO: Without reservation. DUNCAN: And we cannot get enough of that viral image of Chief Edwards. I asked him about some of the comments and read one of them to him that said “he got to be from New York with the way he hopped over that barrier.” Tony, it turns out, he's from Queens. DOKOUPIL: That’s New York. Jericka Duncan for us in New York. Jericka, thank you very much. Appreciate it. This profile brings refreshing relief to the onslaught of nonsensical coverage we’ve witnessed so far, whether it’s the constant references to the adolescent jihadis as “Pennsylvania teens”, or the gaslighting intended to convey that Mayor Mamdani was the intended target. This report tries to correct that by putting the spotlight where it belongs: on the heroes of that day. Special kudos to Jericka Duncan, who let the officers tell their stories in their own words. The nation needed to know that Chief Aaron Edwards was inspired by the brave NYPD officers that rushed into the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001, 23 of which gave their last, full measure of devotion alongside 37 of their PAPD brethren and 343 New York firefighters. Likewise, the nation needed to see Sgt. Luis Navarro’s selfless willingness to place himself in harm’s way by standing directly over the improvised explosive device, and hear Navarro describe what that felt like. The heroism of these men embodies a particular strain of American excellence that appears to be making a long-needed comeback. And we are thrilled to see that CBS is willing to platform that. The media hall monitors can continue to cry in their half-caf no-foam soy lattes.

TDS, or Trump Derangement Syndrome, where one's hatred for President Trump inhibits one's ability to think fairly and logically, where every move Donald Trump makes, everything he does, is viewed by the TDS sufferer as evil, has seemingly overwhelmed the liberal media's coverage of Trump dating back to his first run for the presidency. We shouldn't be surprised that it has manifested itself stronger than ever in their coverage of the war with Iran, something Fox News's Laura Ingraham pointed out Tuesday night on The Ingraham Angle Ingraham, focused her attention on the war coverage of CNN and The New York Times, labeling them The Ayatollah's Besties, and began by pointing out, "The drumbeat from the U.S. Press corps since Operation Epic Fury began has been relentlessly pessimistic, that despite America's superior fire power, Iran is grinding down the American military. She then read from an X post from Democrat Strategist Mark Penn. Iran Coverage The headlines abound: Iran Regime doing well, in control Trump under pressure to end war Khomeini son just as tough as Father US responsible for missile on school One headline after another essentially featuring Iranian propaganda as the news. Where are the… — Mark Penn (@Mark_Penn) March 10, 2026 Some Google searches reveal these are not actual headlines, but there are similar ones. Instead of "Iran Regime Doing Well, In Control," there's this from The Wall Street Journal: "Iran’s Leadership Signals It Is Still in Control and Able to Fight." Instead of "Khomeini son just as tough as Father," there's this in The New York Times:  Iran’s New Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei’s Son, Is a Mysterious Figure The succession of the slain leader’s son is seen as a signal of the Islamic republic’s defiance of Israel and the United States, and of continuity during crisis. Ingraham slammed the media's tendency to tilt against the American side: INGRAHAM: Posting on X, Democratic pollster Mark Penn put it very well, writing, The headlines abound. Regime doing well, in control. Trump under pressure to end war. Khamenei's son just as tough as dad. U.S. Responsible for missile on school. Where are the headlines 50 Iranian ships sunk or Iranian military assets destroyed or leadership tries to put on good showing despite internal chaos? Or Khamenei appointment creates hereditary theocracy. War plan progress unprecedented? Well, those stories should be told. Not because they are pro-Trump hype but because they're accurate. But, CNN seems hell bent on framing almost every development as a negative. When the current Iranian regime needs optimistic framing, it knows where to go. She then played a clip from CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reporting from Northern Iran to make her point. PLEITGEN: For the Iranians, as long as they are there, as long as their leadership structure is still effective and still very much intact and stable, and as long as they have that leverage in the Persian Gulf area, they believe that they can hold out for an extended period of time. And when you go out on the streets in Tehran, one of the things that you do notice is that there are a lot of security forces on the ground and also internally projecting that they are still very much in charge and still have very much have that grip on power. Sickening, and  there was more to come. INGRAHAM: And six days ago, CNN in Iran was essentially giving the world two thumbs up. PLEITGEN: Taking a quick break for a coffee along the way we have been driving for several hours. There's a couple things that we have noticed. Number one is that first of all, all the shops are open. All the shops are really well-stocked even with fresh things like for instance fruits and vegetables. Coffee, obviously, also available as well. And then, also, the gas stations, there is no long lines at gas stations. Fuel seems readily available, and you just don't see any sort of degree of panic anywhere. Laura: Well, I don't know, channeling his best Baghdad Bob? She then turned her attention to the New York Times coverage. INGRAHAM: What we're seeing from our media is just as disturbing as it is comical. Check out this analysis from the New York Times over the weekend: How Trump's war in Iran has echoes of Putin and Ukraine. This is disgusting and it's aggressively stupid. There is literally zero serious comparison there. America doesn't want to occupy Iran or take territory we deem to be historically ours, which is what Putin wants.... The Times should be ashamed of itself.  Ingraham then asked the burning question. INGRAHAM: We can all see Iran currently being hammered on all sides. So, where are the stories about how Iran with its Mideast missile and drone strikes has essentially made enemies of almost every main player in the region. ....There is no sense that Iran will be able to be wait us out and reconstitute their nuclear program or their missile program any time soon. That is ludicrous. The biggest threats are eliminated or will be soon. But for the beltway media types, they would rather propagandize for the enemy or at least appear to, than report on President Trump's successes.  And Ingraham finished with this likely accurate analysis, "And they wonder why their audience and readership is evaporating."

A now-deleted post from CNN downplaying a terror incident in New York City is drawing new scrutiny and, according to Media Research Center President David Bozell, it reveals deeper problems in the media’s approach to serious national security stories. During an appearance on Newsmax’s The Big Take, host Ed Henry highlighted CNN’s controversial social media post describing two suspects accused of throwing improvised explosive devices outside the mayor’s residence as “two Pennsylvania teenagers on what could have been a normal day enjoying New York City during abnormally warm weather.” The post quickly sparked backlash online. CNN later deleted it, admitting the language “failed to reflect the gravity of the incident.” Bozell said the episode was revealing. “The first thing I thought about was that old adage: a drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts,” Bozell said. “Some intern’s Twitter thumbs got ahold of this story and decided to ruin it for CNN today.” CNN's now-deleted post about the NYC Muslim terrorists shouldn't have come as a surprise. One of the co-authors of the piece is a she with they/them pronouns.@DavidBozell on with @edhenry pic.twitter.com/MTuKDKvfPA — Media Research Center (@theMRC) March 10, 2026 According to Bozell, the network also revised the underlying article multiple times throughout the day as criticism mounted — a sign, he suggested, of deeper editorial confusion. Henry then pointed to a striking new NBC News poll showing Democrats facing serious favorability problems with voters. The survey found the Democratic Party with a net favorability of –22, placing it below both Republicans and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — an agency frequently attacked by Democrats and the media. Bozell argued those numbers are even more remarkable given the overwhelmingly negative coverage ICE receives from major networks. MRC President @Davidbozell joins @edhenry to talk about how the Leftist media have waged a war against ICE, and yet the agency still polls higher than Democrats. "The press was 93% negative against ICE following the shooting of Renee Good in January." pic.twitter.com/D5EDxiFCkD — Media Research Center (@theMRC) March 10, 2026 According to research from the Media Research Center, broadcast coverage of ICE following a high-profile shooting earlier this year was 93 percent negative. Reports from ABC News and NBC News included 21 negative soundbites about ICE compared to just two positive ones, while CBS News aired 26 negative soundbites and only one positive. At the same time, the networks spent just 1.6 percent of their coverage discussing the crimes ICE was actually investigating. “If the press had covered ICE fairly,” Bozell argued, “imagine how much better ICE’s numbers would be compared to the Democrats.” For Bozell, the results show that even after months of overwhelmingly negative coverage, ICE is still viewed more favorably than the Democratic Party — a reality that raises serious questions about both media narratives and the Democrats’ standing with voters.  

The latest inflation data for consumer prices in February effectively kneecapped all of the media fear porn over the Trump tariffs. So what does the media do? It’s very simple: We won’t admit we were wrong, but Trump’s war in Iran is sure to make prices go up now! The Bureau of Labor Statistics’s consumer price index for February showed a muted 2.5 percent bump in core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy, marking the lowest rate of increase since 2021. The all-items index increase was also innocuous at 2.4 percent, in line with expectations but still reinforcing the argument that the Trump tariffs were NOT inflationary for all the lefty media kvetching to the contrary. But instead of acknowledging that the tariff doom prophecies never materialized, consumers were treated to goalpost-shifting headlines like this beauty from Bloomberg News, “US Core Inflation Slowed as Expected Before War With Iran.” To be clear: this is a textbook example of an apples-to-oranges juxtaposition. Any inflation that occurred prior to the month of March was more of a reflection of the fundamentals underlying the Trump economy amidst the tariffs the president imposed to reshuffle the deck on global trade. Any significant price hikes for March — if any — will reflect the brief market shocks in oil trading that occurred following a joint international effort to topple the Islamist regime in Tehran, which has been largely successful up to this point. Despite the shocks, oil prices have drastically fallen, emphasizing commodity traders anxiously trading off of doom headlines rather than market fundamentals. Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude oil indexes were trading at, around, or below $90 a barrel as of 1:37 p.m. EST on March 11. That’s after media talking heads like CNBC’s Jim Cramer stupidly plastered the airwaves and the internet with impulsive forecasts that prices would shoot up to as high as $200 a barrel, which never came close to happening.  With this mind, reading how the lefty media are now attempting to shift the focus away from their missed calls on tariff-driven inflation to the Iran war is proof positive that they’ll do anything and anything to get Trump even if it means putting logical consistency on the chopping block. CNN economics reporter Elisabeth Buchwald emphasized this trend clearly with her March 11 headline: “Inflation held firm last month — but the war with Iran could change that.” What’s crazy is that after spinning attention to the Iran war, she still tried to use the proverbial defibrillators to keep CNN’s obsession with the Trump tariff-driven inflation disaster narrative alive with a sub-header, “Tariffs showing up at the checkout.” She continued: The impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff continued to show up in the prices consumers pay for highly imported goods. Among those, apparel prices rose 1.3% last month and household furnishings increased by 0.3%.  CNN apparently has no problem looking utterly ridiculous by clinging to an argument that’s very much dead in the water at this point. Buchwald’s propaganda is about as nutty as when her colleague Allison Morrow audaciously conceded that Trump’s economic agenda “could work” but somehow will still hurt Americans.  Buchwald's piece is also pretty humorous coming from the same outlet that proclaimed the "war on inflation has been won" in August 2024 just a day after it was revealed that core inflation spiked 3.2 percent overall in July of that year, which is .8 percentage points higher than the current reading for February 2026.   Politico also played this stupid game. In its March 11 Playbook newsletter, reporter Eli Okun and intern Makayla Gray tried to get in a dig at Trump in this sensationalistic line item, “INFLATION NATION.” The authors railed how “In another world, President Donald Trump might be breathing a partial sigh of relief today at the latest Consumer Price Index report, which showed prices holding steady in February. In this one, the wartime economy has already rendered the data wildly out of date.” The authors channeled their inner Jim Cramer and tried to keep the idiotic $200-a-barrel rage bait talking point alive and cause a ruckus over the oil trading price shocks in March: Watch out for March: The bad news for Americans, and for Republicans hoping to avoid voters’ cost-of-living wrath, is that the U.S.-Israel war with Iran has already spiked oil prices, which will ripple out into the broader economy. AAA data shows U.S. gas prices today at an average of $3.58. And how does $200 a barrel sound? That’s what Iranian military leaders threatened today, per Reuters. Intense regional fighting showed no sign of letting up, as a U.K. agency said three cargo ships were attacked in or near the effectively shuttered Strait of Hormuz. Iran claimed that it completely controls the passageway.  Here’s a surprise (not): There was absolutely mention of the Trump tariffs. Coincidence? Not likely. The New York Times was no better. The newspaper’s reporters plastered its live business coverage feed with narrational spin jobs reflective of the overall goalpost-shifting headline: “Inflation Had Steadied Before War With Iran.” But what more can you expect from a newspaper that prematurely cried oil prices doom on Monday morning just before the oil benchmarks entered freefall hours later for one of the largest single-day market reversals in oil trading history?