Coffee Talk with Tiff

It’s Friday.

Shitshow’s public schedule for…

04/10/2026:

They posted his weekend schedule:

As negotiations with Iran get underway and inflation hits 3.3 percent, the weekend agenda remains… steady: a MAGA Inc. gathering at a winery Friday night, cageside at a UFC fight Saturday, and Sunday likely spent at a golf resort for some well-earned “executive time.”

Negotiations:

.@VP departs for Islamabad, Pakistan: "As @POTUS said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand. If they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive." pic.twitter.com/9nNDGsMmId
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 10, 2026

Experts from the NSC, State Department and Department of Defense will be accompanying the delegation to Islamabad, per a U.S. official https://t.co/Qn5qfT7aCN
— Olivia Gazis (@Olivia_Gazis) April 10, 2026

The Washington Post reported Friday that U.S. negotiators plan to request the release of Americans detained in Iran during upcoming talks, according to people briefed on the plans. They went on to say that ask might be delayed depending on how well the talks go.

According to the post: Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are due to travel to Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, for the negotiations with Iran that are expected to start on Saturday. Experts say they face a difficult task in attempting to find common ground with the Iranians on major unresolved issues, including Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its remaining stockpile of enriched uranium.

Economy News:

The BLS released March inflation numbers.

New York Times economic reporter my fav., Ben Casselman did charts!

Consumer prices were up 3.3% in March, the fastest inflation rate of Trump's second term. The jump was driven almost entirely by higher energy prices, the direct result of the war with Iran. https://t.co/itZCuoHvcl pic.twitter.com/rFz3EsHE13
— Ben Casselman (@bencasselman) April 10, 2026

Energy prices were up nearly 11 percent in March, accounting for 0.7 of the 0.9 percentage point increase in overall prices. Gasoline prices were up more than 20 percent. pic.twitter.com/QRPYp6IxXC
— Ben Casselman (@bencasselman) April 10, 2026

The one exception may be airfares, which are up 14.9 percent from a year earlier. (The monthly data is very volatile though.) pic.twitter.com/Sq85nt7fKE
— Ben Casselman (@bencasselman) April 10, 2026

The combination of higher prices and slower wage growth is hitting workers' wallets. Average hourly earnings, adjusted for inflation, are barely up over the past year, especially for rank-and-file workers. pic.twitter.com/cHL689f7Rh
— Ben Casselman (@bencasselman) April 10, 2026

Tech Note (Mine, not the BLS): October and November inflation data are still missing due to government ineptitude, and we have not yet reached the point where those gaps are erased.

Speaking of the economy…

The BLS also released real wages data.

It’s not a huge decrease in real wages; it’s a huge decrease when combined with inflation.

The war of choice is also impacting consumer sentiment as reported by the University of Michigan:

Fast News Friday…

The First Lady gave some weird press statement regarding Epstein on Thursday.

Her full remarks can be found here at RollCall.com.

The timing of her remarks seems to be connected to this story from March:

This story has legs.
(gift) https://t.co/XmVYDVPnDp
— julie k. brown (@jkbjournalist) April 10, 2026

Last June, the man credited with introducing President Trump to his wife asked the administration for a favor.
Paolo Zampolli, a former modeling agent turned presidential special envoy, had learned that his Brazilian ex-girlfriend was in a Miami jail, arrested on charges of fraud at her workplace. They had been in a custody battle over their teenage son. Now he saw an opportunity.
He reached out to a top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, explaining that his ex was in the country illegally, according to records obtained by The New York Times and a person familiar with the communications. Could she be put in ICE detention? That could help him get his son back.
[snip]
The woman, Amanda Ungaro, was placed in ICE custody and ultimately deported, an outcome that may well have happened regardless of Mr. Zampolli’s meddling. But the ICE official’s willingness to spring into action for a Trump ally — even one in a low-level, largely ceremonial role — reflects a recurring theme of the second Trump administration: The levers of the federal government can be pulled to settle a personal score.
The New York Times. 03/20/2026

Back in the 1990s Paolo Zampolli, a friend of Trump and Epstein, created "ID Models" and brought the young Slovenian Melania Knaus to the US. She hooked up with Epstein, then Zampolli introduced her to Trump. She's now your First Lady and seems worried about this past. 2/ pic.twitter.com/8q9Ps2nCzM
— capitolhunters (@capitolhunters) April 10, 2026

It's unclear why Zampolli thought that deporting Amanda Ungaro to Brazil was the same thing as making her silent. An account with her name just started threatening to spill secrets. Immediately followed by Melania Trump's visibly nervous press conference about Epstein. 4/ pic.twitter.com/BcftuHqfti
— capitolhunters (@capitolhunters) April 10, 2026

This circle is still tight. In Mar 2025, Trump made Zampolli "Special Envoy for Global Partnerships". One of Zampolli's causes was getting Russian athletes back into international sports. Another: helping JD Vance campaign for the pro-Russia Viktor Orban. A small, dirty world. 6/ pic.twitter.com/gwmYg9sxGV
— capitolhunters (@capitolhunters) April 10, 2026

Following the weird press statement this appeared in my timeline:

But wait there’s more…

Absolute chaos in the White House. An expert Fox News correspondent confirms the West Wing had absolutely no idea what Melania Trump was going to say about Jeffrey Epstein. The East Wing completely blindsided the Trump administration with this massive bombshell. pic.twitter.com/0ZP72kluVM
— Furkan Gözükara (@FurkanGozukara) April 10, 2026

Doocey disagrees blindsided is the right word.

Popcorn Guy Relaxing GIFfrom Popcorn Guy GIFs

The Vatican has offered a statement regarding reports that during a meeting at the Pentagon that US officials threatened the Pope as reported by The Free Press.

JUST IN: The Vatican has just issued a statement regarding recent reports concerning former U.S. Nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre & U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby. The statement reads:

“As confirmed by His Excellency Christophe Pierre, former… pic.twitter.com/uOFWil647f
— Diane Montagna (@dianemontagna) April 10, 2026

The rest of the tweet says: “As confirmed by His Excellency Christophe Pierre, former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, his meeting with Mr. Elbridge Andrew Colby formed part of the Pontifical Representative’s regular duties and provided an opportunity for an exchange of views on matters of mutual interest. The account given by certain media outlets regarding this meeting does not correspond to the truth in any way.”

Treasury Secretary Bessent and Fed Chairman Powell met with US banks to warn about Anthropic’s Mythos AI cyber threat.

Powell, Bessent discussed Anthropic's Mythos AI cyber threat with major U.S. banks https://t.co/ztwUivzKts
— CNBC (@CNBC) April 10, 2026

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with major U.S. bank CEOs this week to discuss the possible cyber risks raised by Anthropic’s Mythos model, CNBC confirmed Friday.
The bank heads were already in Washington, D.C., for a Financial Services Forum board meeting when a special gathering was called on Tuesday to discuss Mythos, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named in order to share information about a confidential matter.
[snip]
Bloomberg and the Financial Times were the first to report the meeting with bank executives.
The Federal Reserve declined to comment to CNBC. The Treasury Department did not respond to a request for comment.
The surprise meeting between the bank chiefs and the two most powerful federal monetary regulators was a signal that the advanced capabilities of AI are a top concern in the Trump administration and could threaten the foundation of the U.S. financial system.
Earlier this week, Anthropic rolled out the new artificial intelligence model, Claude Mythos Preview, in a limited capacity due to concerns that hackers could exploit its capabilities.
CNBC News. 04/10/2026.