Chris Crumpler

For years, California leaders accused oil companies of price gouging at the pump, but a state investigation found no evidence of that. Instead, a CBS News California investigation found what's really driving the highest gas prices in the U.S. cbsloc.al/3PPOHwW

From conversations, I don't get the impression it's Billy Donovan for #UNC. Hard to think Dusty May leaves Michigan. So where does UNC turn? Jerry Stackhouse? Someone off the board? They've got a search firm for a reason. Time running out with the portal opening Tuesday.

"I have been told that Billy Donovan will not entertain a conversation with UNC until after the Chicago Bulls season is over... I would expect names like Texas Tech's Grant McCasland, Vanderbilt's Mark Byington, and also Iowa's Ben McCollum to be on (UNC's) list." - @JonRothstein

I want to apologize for not responding to any of the 22 thousand comments my last post inspired. I’ve been filming all week and just noticed my observations about Jimmy Kimmel and a former plumber named Markwayne Mullin have gone viral. I've also noticed that many of the comments are from people who genuinely seem to believe that Jimmy wasn’t belittling plumbers at all, but was instead, simply trying to point out that Mullin is not qualified to lead the DHS. Here's a small smattering... Roger Bicknell... Mikey stop. Kimmel wasn't making fun of plumbers he was making fun of Mullin. Rebecca Piatt Gonzalez... Dearest Mike, it's not anything to do with his being a plumber. It's him NOT being skilled in Homeland Security. Patrick Wise... Being a plumber qualifies you to be a plumber. Period. The issue Jimmy and the rest of us at the adult table recognize is that jobs require certain training and experience and being a plumber does not qualify you to be Sec of DHS. Had Roger, Rebecca, Patrick and all the others who rushed to Jimmy’s Kimmel’s defense actually read what I had written, they would see that I did not suggest - even remotely - that a plumber was inherently qualified to hold a cabinet position. What I said was that being a plumber should not disqualify a person from holding such a position. Big difference. Doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, fireman, and university professors are no more or less qualified to run the DHS than plumbers, electricians, or carpenters – but should they all be dismissed as “unqualified” simply because they made a living in some other vocation? As I wrote in my original post, credentials and diplomas are great ways to bolster a person’s credibility, especially if we’re talking about mastering a specific skill. I think we can all agree that plumbers, accountants, mechanics, and surgeons should all have to prove themselves competent before hanging out a shingle. But what do their credentials and diplomas have to do with their actual competency? Are we not already surrounded by a legion of perfectly qualified experts who don't know what the hell they're doing? Moreover, what do credentials and experience have to do with wisdom, honesty, common sense, integrity, courage, the ability to lead, or any other virtue we’d like to have in our elected officials? There are plenty of legitimate reasons to question Mullin’s suitability for this role. But there’s no legitimate reason to disqualify him simply because he used to be a plumber. Just as there was no legitimate reason to dismiss AOC because she used to tend bar. As for the joke itself, here’s an honest question. If Senator Mullin was a retired doctor instead of a retired plumber, do you believe he would have would made the same joke? Roger, Rebecca, Patrick...be honest. Do you really think Jimmy would have said to his audience, "So, now we have a DOCTOR in charge of protecting us from terrorism? Hey – it worked for Dr. Suess – maybe it’ll work for Markwayne!" Personally, I don't. Not in a million years. Why? Because no one would have found it funny, that’s why. Even though doctors are no more “qualified” to protect us from terrorists than plumbers are, Jimmy knows that doctors are widely respected in society, and that plumbers are not. He knows that medical degrees and doctorates are aspirational credentials, whereas plumbing certificates are not. The entire premise of his joke was based on a personal bias that he knew his audience shared – a bias that presupposes plumbers are uneducated, one-dimensional workers who never made it to college, and are therefore "unqualified" to do anything but plumb. Jimmy is entitled to his opinion, along with anyone else who believes that Mullin is unqualified to lead the DHS. The Constitution, however, says otherwise, and so does the Senate. Likewise, reasonable people can disagree as to what is funny and what isn’t. Frankly, I couldn’t care less. What I do care about, is the extraordinary shortage of plumbers and electricians our country is facing, and the longstanding stigmas and stereotypes that continue to discourage people from considering a lucrative career in the skilled trades. Jimmy’s joke – and his audience’s reaction to it – is proof positive that those stigmas and stereotypes are alive and well. PS. We have a lot of money set aside to help train the next generation of plumbers. Apply for a scholarship at mikeroweworks.org Who knows? Could be the first step on your road to President..

With gasoline topping $4 a gallon, it now costs almost $145 to fill up a Ford F-150 pickup truck, a new analysis finds. cbsn.ws/4sapScI

BREAKING: @JUDICIALWATCH FOIA UNCOVERS FBI OBJECTIONS TO MAR-A-LAGO RAID! The documents also how leftist groups helped spur the targeting of President Trump over presidential records, FBI objections over there was "probable cause" to justify the planned raid on Trump's home, and evidence of leaks to left media about the investigation. The documents were produced in response to a Judicial Watch FOIA on "Plasmic Echo"--the code name for the secret investigation of the Trump records issue. KEY TAKEAWAYS •FBI’s Washington Field Office explicitly told DOJ it did not believe probable cause existed for a search warrant of Mar-a-Lago—including the former president’s residence and bedroom—yet DOJ proceeded anyway. Internal WFO emails dated July 12–13, 2022, state that WFO does not believe probable cause has been established for the search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, and that the case agent does not believe there is PC for the 45 Office or the bedroom due to recency and issues of boxes versus classified information. Despite this documented objection, DOJ directed the search to proceed on August 8, 2022. •A senior FBI WFO official raised concerns about DOJ’s handling of the pre-search contact with Trump’s attorney, citing a DOJ official’s statement that he “frankly doesn’t give a damn about the optics.” In an August 4, 2022 email, the WFO Assistant Special Agent in Charge requested that the FBI—not DOJ—make first contact with Trump attorney Evan Corcoran before the search. The official cited the “antagonistic relationship” built by DOJ with Trump’s counsel and quoted a DOJ official’s indifference to the optics of the search. •WFO repeatedly proposed less confrontational alternatives to a search warrant and was rebuffed each time by DOJ. Internal WFO documents outline multiple alternative courses of action rejected by DOJ: contacting Trump or his counsel directly; requesting DOJ contact Evan Corcoran; pursuing a consent search; and seeking a new NARA referral for presidential records. WFO wrote that five weeks fixated on probable cause for a search warrant have been counterproductive. •The investigation was opened as a Sensitive Investigative Matter on February 11, 2022 following FBI Headquarters direction, after coordination with the FBI’s Deputy Director, OGC, and DOJ. Multiple Import Forms document that on February 11, 2022, the Counterintelligence Division Associate Director met with the FBI Deputy Director, OGC, and DOJ and then directed WFO to open PLASMIC ECHO as a SIM. Named HQ participants included Lisa Gentilcore and Alan Kohler of the Counterintelligence Division. •Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and the National Security Archive sent a letter to the Attorney General and FBI Director requesting a criminal investigation—and that letter was routed into the PLASMIC ECHO case file and acted upon within days. A February 24, 2022 Import Form records that WFO was notified of a letter from CREW and the National Security Archive, dated February 8, 2022, requesting DOJ investigate whether former President Trump violated federal criminal law by willfully mutilating and destroying critical records of his presidency. It was assigned to the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division with a Sentinel due date of March 17, 2022. •The Washington Post was seeking confirmation of FBI outreach to witnesses in “Trump’s orbit” months before the August 8, 2022 search, and the WFO Public Affairs Officer documented the inquiry in the case file. A May 12, 2022 Import Form documents that the WFO Public Affairs Officer received a call from The Washington Post seeking confirmation that DOJ had issued subpoenas to NARA and that the FBI had begun reaching out to and/or interviewing individuals in Trump’s orbit related to the investigation. The officer provided no comment. [pp. 86–87 of 212] •CD Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. sent an all-hands email to Counterintelligence Division staff the day after the search, defending the investigation and stating it was conducted by the book in the most professional manner possible. Kohler’s August 10, 2022 email acknowledged erroneous press reporting but stated agents were prevented by DOJ and FBI policy from sharing investigative details, and that he vowed not to repeat the mistakes of the past. The email was forwarded into the PLASMIC ECHO case file the next day. •Director Wray sent a bureau-wide email the day after the search stating the FBI does not cut corners and does not play favorites, while the WFO’s own internal documents show field agents had formally disputed the probable cause basis for the search. Director Wray’s August 11, 2022 bureau-wide message—filed into the PLASMIC ECHO case file—stated the investigative steps taken were measured and scrupulously consistent with national security obligations. This was sent the day after WFO’s internal emails documenting its disagreement with DOJ over probable cause had already been filed into the same case record.