Think More: Friday, August 28, 2026
The FBI's Catholic memo, in-state tuition suits, a Chinese bot farm, Venezuelan oil, Europe's ledger, and the campus fight over the SAT.
Lead · Justice Settles Accounts
Justice Department: The FBI Investigated Two Priests, Then Rewarded the Staff Who Did It
The Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group reported Thursday that the FBI’s Richmond Field Office investigated two Catholic priests and monitored their travel and communications, finding no tie to crime or extremism. Headquarters conceded the memo behind it was flawed. Richmond leadership defended the authors anyway and gave them positive performance reviews. The Department reviewed over 1,800 pages. Those responsible have been removed.
Justice Settles Accounts
Justice Sues Four More States Over In-State Tuition, Bringing the Total to 21
U.S. Department of Justice | justice.gov
The Department filed complaints Thursday against Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington, arguing their tuition and scholarship laws give illegal aliens benefits denied to citizens in conflict with federal law. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said the suits bring the total to 21 states. Five earlier suits have already produced orders enjoining similar laws.
In-state tuition for illegal aliens: Justice Department complaints filed August 27, 2026
21
States now sued by Justice
$10.5M
Reduced tuition at ASU alone
720
Arizona recipients, fall 2025
Who Writes the Energy Story
Comer Says the National Academy of Sciences Predetermined a Climate Review to Undercut the EPA
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform | oversight.house.gov
Chairman James Comer demanded withheld records Thursday from the National Academy of Sciences’ fast-tracked review of the EPA’s proposed rescission of the 2009 Endangerment Finding. The Committee alleges the nearly 1,500 pages already produced show a predetermined result and undisclosed conflicts. NAS is withholding minutes from closed meetings held last August, he wrote.
X Traced 200 Anti-Data-Center Accounts to a Chinese Bot Farm Running 200,000 Profiles
Kevin Killough | Just the News
X’s safety team says it identified a China-linked bot farm running roughly 200,000 accounts, 200 of them pushing opposition to AI data centers. The posts claimed data centers raise household power bills and strain the grid, some carrying AI-generated cartoons of operators enriching themselves. X calls it manipulation of a real policy debate.
The Hemisphere Hardens
Washington Is Negotiating an Ownership Stake in Venezuela’s Oil Fields
The Wall Street Journal reports that American and Venezuelan negotiators are discussing a U.S. ownership position in more than a dozen producing fields holding some 90 billion barrels of proven reserves. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and acting President Delcy Rodríguez are leading the talks. Bloomberg reports one option discussed is a 100-year lease.
Todd Bensman Warns Cartel Operatives Are Still Learning Drone Warfare Inside Ukraine’s Legion
Todd Bensman | The American Mind
Todd Bensman argues that Mexican and Colombian cartel operatives infiltrated Ukraine’s International Legion to learn first-person-view drone warfare, and that the pipeline persists. He concedes U.S. intelligence has not publicly confirmed the reports, which originate with European outlets. His remedy: condition further American aid to Kyiv on purging the operatives.
The Bill for the Old Order
Malloch and Cuello Tell Trump to Veto the Next UN Secretary-General
Theodore Roosevelt Malloch & Felipe Cuello | Lyceum
Theodore Roosevelt Malloch and Felipe Cuello press President Trump to use the veto before an August 29 deadline and block the leading candidates to succeed António Guterres. The United States funds 22% of the UN budget, they note, and has left nearly 100 UN bodies. Their alternative: a stripped-down Security Council.
Power Line Relays a Grim Ledger: Europe’s Share of Global Output Has Nearly Halved
Scott Johnson excerpts Guy Millière’s Gatestone essay arguing that European decline is now structural. By Millière’s figures, the original nine EEC economies fell from roughly 27% of global output in 1980 to 15.5% last year, while the American share rose slightly to about 26%. European tax revenue now averages above 40% of GDP.
The Campus Ledger
California Republicans Join 3,000 UC Faculty in Demanding the SAT Back
California Republicans have joined more than 3,000 University of California faculty urging the Regents to restore SAT and ACT requirements without waiting for a June 2027 recommendation. Gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton and Gloria Romero call the situation an academic crisis. The UC Student Association, representing more than 237,000 undergraduates, opposes reinstatement.
Pitt’s 2026-27 Catalog Carries Marxism Courses in Three Departments
Mike LaChance | Legal Insurrection
Legal Insurrection, relaying Campus Reform, notes that the University of Pittsburgh’s 2026-27 catalog lists Marxism courses in political science, German, and philosophy. One promises study of “contemporary attempts at rethinking Marxism.” The political science offering covers Lenin, Gramsci, and Cedric Robinson. The finding rests on a catalog keyword search.
