Late last year, my colleague Elizabeth Stauffer reported that “ultra-conservative” candidate José Antonio Kast had won a landslide victory in Chile’s presidential election.
And by “ultra-conservative,” what is really meant is running for office by promising to take actions that normal people want and need. Kast, a Roman Catholic and lawyer, had a campaign centered on restoring order, cracking down on crime and illegal immigration, and revitalizing Chile’s market-oriented economic model through spending cuts and pro-business reforms.
How is Kast doing at this point? Less than a week after his inauguration, construction of a border wall between Chile and Peru began.
Less than a week after his inauguration, Chile’s arch-conservative president on Monday began overseeing preparations to build a border barrier — part of his flagship campaign promise to block immigrants from crossing illegally.
From Chile’s northern frontier area of Chacalluta, where legions of immigrants have slipped across the Peruvian border into one of the region’s most prosperous nations, Kast vowed to implement what he calls his “Border Shield” plan. Among other steps, it involves the construction of a physical barrier at the nation’s northern border made up of ditches and fences and patrolled by drones and the military forces.
…Kast assured the public that “for all of Chile, this is a milestone.”
“We have taken clear and concrete decisions to close our border to illegal immigration, drug trafficking and organized crime,” he said. “We want to implement this without any delay.”
With AI becoming increasingly present in everyday life, the race to build AI infrastructure is only speeding up. At the center of that race is the rapid creation of data centers, with new ones opening on a nearly weekly basis in America. But as more data centers begin to integrate AI infrastructure, the amount of electricity required to operate them is growing at an alarming rate. Data centers are now expected to account for roughly 40 percent of US power demand growth in 2026, and the gap between what we need and what we can build is widening fast.
On today’s episode of Explain to Shane, I am joined by Lynne Kiesling, a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where she leads the Electricity Technology, Regulation, and Market Design Working Group. Kiesling also directs the Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics at the Northwestern University Center on Law, Business, and Economics, and is a member of the US Department of Energy’s Electricity Advisory Committee. I am also joined by Steve DelBianco, president and CEO of NetChoice and a seasoned expert on internet governance. Their combined expertise on this issue can help us understand how we can power the AI revolution.
Democrats’ refusal to fund the Department of Homeland Security has exceeded any hypothesis of good faith. It is an unpatriotic attack on America’s frontline of defense during a time of war and potential Iranian sleeper cells, and an inexcusable burden on the department’s employees.
Last week, all Senate Democrats, except John Fetterman, again voted to block funding for DHS.
Financed in part by malign foreign powers who seek to defeat the United States, radical left activists have co-opted the Democratic Party. Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, head of the supposedly centrist New Democrat Coalition, typifies the illogic. “My concern about DHS is their absolute disregard of the Constitution and American citizens’ civil rights,” he said, adding, “So until we see officers who abuse citizens’ civil rights held to full account, until we restore full congressional oversight, I’m not giving another penny to ICE and CBP.”
The Pentagon is reportedly seeking over $200 billion from the US Congress to fund President Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran. If approved, the war funds will boost the US military campaign that began on February 28 and ramp up the production of weapons used during the conflict, according to a report by The Washington Post.
It’s been nearly three weeks since the US, along with Israel, began airstrikes against Iran to dismantle what the US military calls the “Iranian regime’s security apparatus.” So far, American forces have struck more than 7,800 targets and made over 8,000 combat flights and damaged or destroyed more than 120 Iranian vessels, according to U.S. Central Command.
U.S. companies will be allowed to do business with Venezuela’s state-owned oil and gas company after the Treasury Department eased sanctions, with some limitations, on Wednesday as the Trump administration looks for ways to boost world oil supplies during the Iran war.
The Treasury issued a broad authorization allowing Petróleos de Venezuela S.A, or PDVSA, to directly sell Venezuelan oil to U.S. companies and on global markets, a massive shift after Washington for years had largely blocked dealings with Venezuela’s government and its oil sector.
Separately, the White House said Trump would waive, for 60 days, Jones Act requirements for goods shipped between U.S. ports to be moved on U.S.-flagged vessels. The 1920s law, designed to protect the American shipbuilding sector, is often blamed for making gas more expensive.
The moves highlight the increased pressure that the Republican administration is under to ease soaring oil prices as the United States, along with Israel, wages a war with Iran without a foreseeable end date. Global oil prices have since spiked as Iran halted traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes through from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.
India is likely to double its installed power generation capacity from the current 520 Gigawatt (Gw) to 1,121 Gw by 2036, with non-fossil fuel sources contributing around 70 per cent of the total, according to the projections of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the apex power planning body under the Power Ministry.
The projection includes 315 Gw coal-based capacity, 20 Gw gas capacity, 22 Gw nuclear, 78 Gw of large hydro, 509 Gw solar, 155 Gw wind energy, 16 Gw biomass and 6 Gw small-hydro power capacity.
About 3,800 workers are on strike at Swift Beef Company, one of the largest beef processing plants in the United States. Workers at the plant, who belong to the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, overwhelmingly voted to strike after negotiations with the facility’s parent company, JBS USA, stalled. The strike draws immediate national attention because the Greeley plant represents a major part of the American beef supply chain.
Like nearly all job disputes, there are two sides to the argument: JBS USA leaders said the company offered competitive pay and benefits, while the union members were concerned about wages, workplace safety, and job conditions inside the plant.
JBS USA operates as the American division of the global meat company JBS S.A., which runs one of the largest beef processing operations in the world. This disagreement now places one of the country’s largest slaughter facilities in the middle of a labor standoff.
Most ranchers can still get cattle to market because the national herd is smaller, and that could give JBS some leverage in negotiations, since other slaughterhouses can absorb the Greeley plant’s work, Greiman said.
Feedlots hold clues to consumer costs
Yet an extended strike at Greeley could disrupt the industry, particularly in Colorado and neighboring states, said Jennifer Martin at Colorado State University’s animal sciences department.
“The feedlots, the people who have the cattle right now — the longer they sit kind of in a holding pattern, the more expensive they become to feed,” said Martin. “For consumers, it means that prices will likely go up.”
Diesel fuel, the lifeblood of U.S. industry, crossed an alarming and historic benchmark Tuesday.
Amid the Iran War and the Strait of Hormuz crisis, the U.S. average retail diesel prices have crossed $5 a gallon, the highest since December 2022.
This marks only the second time diesel prices have hit the historic 5-dollar benchmark, according to Reuters. Tuesday’s new average of $5.04 is now a record high, according to analysts at GasBuddy.
Meanwhile, gas prices across the country have surged 74 cents a gallon. This reportedly marks nearly a 30% increase over the past month, the highest monthly spike since Hurricane Katrina.
“The problem is, is we’re so strained financially coming into this issue,” explained Littleton, a third-generation farmer from Gibson County in the state’s northwest.
“We have had a couple of record losses over the last couple of years, so everyone’s kind of grabbing at straws anyway, and then to have input prices increase yet again, it just really couldn’t happen at a worse time.”
Littleton, who cultivates corn, soybeans, and wheat, is one of thousands of farmers nationwide who will pay significantly more this spring for the essential nutrients their crops require.
Nitrogen-based fertilizer is particularly crucial for corn, typically the largest crop in the U.S., which feeds the nation’s livestock and is converted into fuel for most U.S. vehicles.
This action has caused a significant slowdown in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical choke point for 20 per cent of the world’s oil and natural gas.
Two Indian-flagged tankers together carrying over 92,000 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas have arrived at ports in Gujarat state after safely passing through the Strait of Hormuz. New Delhi has been negotiating with Iran, but the government denies discussing the possible release of Iranian tankers it seized in February as part of the bargain. Meanwhile, global crude prices jumped again amid new Iranian attacks on the UAE.
During Tuesday morning’s cable news morning shows on MS NOW and CNN, blame was placed on Republicans for the lasting DHS shutdown caused by Democrat protests of immigration enforcement and ICE funding. The hosts of CNN This Morning, CNN News Central, and, of course,MS NOW’s Morning Joe ignored the Democrats’ impact on the shutdown, a growing media trend.
In a tease for the News Central segment, CNN This Morning host Audie Cornish teed up the story as a Republican attack on Democrats:
Okay, you guys, we want to talk a little bit more about the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security enters another week and as we mentioned earlier, very long lines at the airport as a result. So, Republicans want voters to blame Democrats. We’re going to talk about how this is going to play out.
In a tease for CNN News Central, CNN This Morning host Audie Cornish minimized the Democrats impact on the DHS shutdown and impacts to the TSA.
Instead, she stated “Republicans want voters to blame Democrats” for the shutdown. pic.twitter.com/UWdcdOu6s9
Bank of America has tentatively settled a lawsuit claiming it ignored suspicious financial transactions involving Jeffrey Epstein while he was sexually abusing hundreds of girls and women.
The proposed settlement was revealed in filings in Manhattan federal court on Monday, the same day that billionaire financier Leon Black was originally scheduled to be deposed in the case. Terms were not disclosed. The bank declined to comment through a spokesperson.
Though not a defendant, Black was recently described as a “critical witness” in the case by Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer for Epstein victims.
During a hearing last week, a lawyer for Black persuaded Judge Jed S. Rakoff to postpone Black’s deposition for 10 days on the grounds that the parties were close to settling. The lawyer, Michael Carlinsky, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Democrats are lambasting a top Trump adviser for dismissing concerns that high oil prices brought on by the war in Iran will raise costs for American consumers.
The adviser, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, acknowledged that a prolonged war would “hurt consumers” in a Tuesday morning interview on CNBC.
“We’d have to think about, you know, if that continued, what we would have to do about that,” he said. “But that’s, like, really the last of our concerns right now, because we’re very confident that this thing is going ahead of schedule.”
Hassett made the comment in the context of arguing that the economy is “fundamentally sound,” and would not be disrupted if the war in Iran were extended for a significant period of time.
Legal Insurrection has been following news about the massive raw sewage spill caused by the Potomac Interceptor rupture.
This crisis illustrates the predictable consequences of neglected maintenance and questionable spending priorities by DC Water, resulting from political and managerial choices that prioritized image and amenities over core infrastructure, with downstream Maryland communities bearing the public‑health impacts.
We also took a look at DC Water’s 9,900% error in reporting E. coli levels after the spill, which reported 242,000 MPN/100 mL as 2,420 and may have ultimately been the result of the agency’s emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, rather than concentration on mission priorities (e.g., technical competence and accurate, safety‑critical testing procedures and interpretation).
Finally, we have some good news to share regarding this historic spill. DC Water has finally completed the emergency repair and restored flow to the Potomac Interceptor, and is now shifting to long‑term pipe rehabilitation and environmental cleanup.
Officials announced the milestone Saturday after crews spent 55 days working around the clock to repair the damaged sewer line along the Potomac River.
The collapse, which happened Jan. 19, caused roughly 250 million gallons of sewage to spill into the Potomac River.
On Monday’s broadcast of “CNN NewsNight,” CNN Senior Commentator Van Jones said that “Democrats have to stick to their guns” on the DHS shutdown “because, as inconvenient as it is in an airport, it’s a lot more inconvenient to have ICE agents doing all kinds of terrible stuff, and they should be put back in a box.”
Host Abby Phillip asked, “This is starting to affect people. Van, you were saying you were in Austin this weekend. Is it time for Democrats to compromise?”
Jones answered, “No, I think Democrats have to stick to their guns, because, as inconvenient as it is in an airport, it’s a lot more inconvenient to have ICE agents doing all kinds of terrible stuff, and they should be put back in a box. However, I was in Austin, trying to leave South by Southwest. I had a 6 a.m. flight. I got there at 3 a.m. There were people, literally outside, wrapped around. It was complete — unbelievable lines. I had PreCheck and CLEAR. I barely made my flight. And then, they pulled the plane out, because it’s time to go, but the plane’s only half full, and the bags are there…so, we literally had to sit on the tarmac for an hour and then come back to re-balance the plane. Meanwhile, the people who could have made the plane balanced were stuck. It was just — the whole thing was so nutty.”
Oil tankers are crossing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s actions to choke traffic through the shipping route have not hurt the U.S. economy, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Tuesday, reiterating the Trump administration’s position that the war should be over in weeks, not months.
“Already you’re seeing tankers are starting to dribble through the straits, and I think it’s a sign of how little Iran has left,” he said.
“We’re very optimistic that this is going to be over in the short run, and then there will be price repercussions when it is over for a few weeks, as the ships make it to the refineries.”
Despite the turbulence, oil prices, which had been above US$100 a barrel, fell sharply and stocks rallied after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the US was “fine” to let some Iranian fuel vessels sail through the strait, and believed Indian and Chinese tankers had also passed through.
Ship-tracking data showed a Pakistan-bound oil tanker had passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, indicating that some countries are able to negotiate safe passage for their vessels.
On Sunday, Trump had demanded that countries relying heavily on oil from the Gulf should help protect the strait, and said he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would participate.
However, many – including Germany, Italy, Greece, Japan and Australia – said they would not send warships.
President Donald Trump said his administration will continue pursuing tariffs through alternative legal authorities after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a major portion of his administration’s tariff program earlier this year.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump criticized the ruling but emphasized that the decision did not eliminate his ability to impose tariffs through other laws.
“The Court knew where I stood, how badly I wanted this Victory for our Country, and instead decided to, potentially, give away Trillions of Dollars to Countries and Companies who have been taking advantage of the United States for decades,” Trump wrote.
Beijing said on Monday it has “lodged representations” and urged Washington to “correct its erroneous ways” after the US launched new trade probes last week, with negotiators from both countries meeting in Paris.
Washington’s trade investigations target 60 economies including China and will look into “failures to take action on forced labor” and whether these burden or restrict US commerce.
Those investigations came a day after a separate set of US probes centred on excess industrial capacity that target 16 trading partners including China, which Beijing’s foreign ministry criticised as “political manipulation”.
“We urge the US side to immediately correct its erroneous ways, meet China halfway… and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiations,” Beijing’s commerce ministry said in a statement.
