CRIME DOESN’T PAY. APPARENTLY, THE MEMES DO. Penn State University’s alleged drug-ring scandal has already become internet folklore, spawning nicknames for 24-year-old Agostino Abbatiello like “Pablo Pledgescobar,” “Austin Powders,” “Nostrildamus” and “Kirk Cocaine.” Now somebody has figured out how to turn the chaos into a cash register. The merch is here: Is it tasteless? Maybe. […]

Reported by Samuel Oakford, Samantha Schmidt, Anthony Faiola and Karen DeYoung (Excerpt shared below. To read full report, go to: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/08/27/us-intervened-criminal-probe-venezuelan-oilman-alejandro-betancourt/) Senior U.S. officials intervened in an international criminal investigation into a Venezuelan businessman who was enlisted by the Trump administration to help assert control over Venezuela’s government and oil industries, according to two people familiar with the matter.  […]