Saturday Morning Covfefe: 5 Things With Olivia

Truth with a shot of espresso.

Whether you’re sipping an iced cafecito on the porch or enjoying a horchata latte (my newest obsession) after the week we’ve just had, I’ve boiled down five headlines the algorithms buried, added a bonus shot of espresso and one story to remind you the world still has a heart. Ready? Refill that mug and let’s hit it.

1. The Deportation Economy: The Dallas Fed drops a warning.

You know what doesn’t boost the economy? Mass deportations. According to the Dallas Fed, slashing unauthorized immigration, like what’s happening under Trump 2.0, is already dragging down our GDP. Growth is nearly a full percentage point lower this year than it would’ve been if immigration stayed on track. And inflation? Barely touched.

Translation: all the cruelty, none of the economic gain. One of the reports highlighted estimated a mass deportation scenario in which 1.3 million unauthorized immigrant workers are removed from the U.S. would lower the U.S. GDP 2.7%  from 2025 to 2028. 

👉 Immigration = labor force = growth.👉 Fear-based policy = bad economics.

Put simply: when you build your immigration strategy on rage, don’t be shocked when the economy tanks.

📎Link: Dallas Federal Reserve Bank Analysis

2. Empty grocery shelves. Grounded planes. Not from a hurricane or war, but from teen hackers.

A cybercrime crew called Scattered Spider, mostly English-speaking teenagers in the U.S. and U.K., is being called the most imminent cyber threat today. These aren’t basement hobbyists. They’re running sophisticated social engineering attacks, faking IT credentials, hacking help desks, then holding companies hostage with ransomware and extortion.

Who’s been hit? Here’s a snapshot: UK grocery chains, North American insurers, Airlines like WestJet, Hawaiian, Qantas, as well as Caesars Entertainment and MGM. Remember the $100M hit?

The FBI and Google’s threat teams are sounding alarms, because this isn’t one group; it’s a fluid marketplace of hackers pulling from Discord, Telegram, and a wider network called “the Com.”

They went quiet in 2024 after arrests. But now they’re back, harder, faster, smarter. And because they keep switching ransomware partners and rotating players, there’s no one head to cut off. This isn’t just a cybercrime story. ​​It’s potentially critical-infrastructure doom wearing a hoodie and AirPods.

📎 WIRED: The Scattered Spider Hackers

3. Loyalty or Bust (Kash’s Polygraph Purge)

FBI Director Kash Patel isn’t chasing spies, he’s chasing side-eye. Agents are being hauled in for polygraphs that grill them on a single question: “Have you ever criticized Kash Patel?” Fail the vibe check and you’re benched.

Why it matters:

• Morale hemorrhage: Career counter-intel pros are retiring early rather than submit to a loyalty test or they’re being removed from their jobs.

• Mission drift: While cyber gangs ground planes and border intel gaps widen, the Bureau’s top priority is…hurt feelings.

• Next shoe: Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, Patel’s podcast pal, threatens to quit over the Epstein-list flop, which would leave Kash without his MAGA hype man. Stay tuned for what happens in the Pam “Blondi” vs MAGA knockout. Ron DeSantis has entered the chat…

Bottom line: A law-enforcement agency founded on facts is drifting into loyalty tests. Forget the oath to the Constitution, just pledge devotion to one man. It’s a surefire way to “shrink the deep state”: scare the professionals until they walk out the door.

📎 NY Times: Patel's FBI Polygraphs

4. From Campus to ICE Cell, Now He’s Suing for $20 Million

Remember Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian grad student who helped peacefully end the Gaza encampment at Columbia? In March, ICE grabbed him off the street, flew him to a detention center in Louisiana, and tried to deport him. No charges. Just a memo from State calling his beliefs a threat.

• He missed his child’s birth.

• Spent 104 days in ICE custody.

• A federal judge called it unconstitutional and ordered his release.

And now? He’s suing the Trump administration for $20 million for false imprisonment, defamation, the works.

When I first wrote about Khalil, people asked me, “Why are you defending this guy? You’re national security.” Because this was the canary in the coal mine. This was never about one grad student, it was a test run for a tactic for others that could be used on any one of us.

Just ask Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian Columbia student and 10-year green-card holder who, in April 2025, was arrested by ICE during his citizenship interview in Vermont. No crime. No notice. Video shows hooded agents handcuffing him and driving him off. A judge halted his deportation, calling the incident “retaliatory” and likening it to McCarthy-era suppression.

Different moment. Same pattern. Speech as suspicion.

📎ICYMI: The Fine People and the Expendable Ones

📎AP: Mahmoud Khalil Sues

📎ABC New: Mohsen Mahdwawi

5. Walls Can Wait: Mexican Volunteers Show Up to Help Texans

Earlier this week I wrote about how gutted warning systems left Texans blind to the Guadalupe River disaster. While officials squabble over budgets, a 13-person volunteer squad from Mexico’s Fundación 911 waded into debris fields, and is now working 20-hour shifts with rescue dogs and river-extraction gear.

• They’ve already recovered victims and located survivors alongside exhausted local crews, who are repaying the favor with home-cooked meals and spare bedrooms.

• “Firefighters have no borders,” team lead Ismael Aldaba told reporters, filling the gap FEMA and Texas DPS couldn’t cover fast enough.

• And why was FEMA late? Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem reportedly sat on the deployment order for 72 hours, leaving federal search-and-rescue teams idling while the floodwaters rose. The head of FEMA has yet to make an appearance.

Big picture: While flood-warning budgets got slashed and FEMA’s stretched thin, our neighbors from the other side of the Rio Grande filled the gap. No paperwork, no politics, just pure mutual aid. A reminder that solidarity moves faster than bureaucracy, and that the “border crisis” narrative has a very different sequel when the water rises.

📎 ICYMI, my article: No Sirens, Just Darkness and Floods

📎 The Guardian: Mexican Volunteers Help Texas

☕ Bonus Shot of Espresso: The Earth Just Sped Up—No One Bothered to Tell Us

You ever feel like the days are flying by? Turns out, they literally are. On July 9th, the Earth spun so fast it set a record for one of the shortest days in modern history, shaving off 1.4 milliseconds from the usual 24 hours. Not making this up. Not metaphorical. Time is actually speeding up.

Scientists say it’s caused by the Moon’s gravitational tug wobbling Earth’s rotation. Here’s the kicker: it has happened six times since 2020, and by 2029 we may need to add a negative leap second, meaning clocks would briefly skip backward to keep up with our planet’s faster spin.

Why this matters:

• It messes with GPS, trading systems, and atomic clocks.

• Our entire digital infrastructure is built on precise timekeeping.

• No one’s completely sure why this is accelerating now.

The planet’s in a hurry. The rest of us are just trying to hang on. Next time someone says “what’s the rush?” say “hey it’s not me, it’s the planet!”

📎 Space.Com: The Earth is Spinning Faster

🐾 One Thing for Your Soul

Meet Sienna, the shelter dog who knew exactly what to do. Before she was even adopted, Sienna sensed a man having a seizure and sounded the alarm, alerting others in time to save him. Days later, she found her forever home, with a family whose oldest son has epilepsy, a condition marked by seizures. A reminder that kindness, instinct, and purpose can come from the unlikeliest souls and sometimes, they end up right where they’re needed most.

📎 ABC News: Sienna

Speaking of amazing animals…Ringo and Stevie just reminded me it’s the weekend. Time to trade headlines for fetch.

See you soon,

Olivia

PS: Forward this to one person who hasn’t been paying attention. The more eyes on the truth, the better our chances.