Empathetic MD

The last Columbia protester in ICE detention: Leqaa Kordia on her 9 months in captivity Leqaa Kordia has been held by ICE since her arrest in March 2025. Her attorneys say the White House is targeting the last remaining Columbia University protester in custody for her activism, using racism...

READ: Leqaa Kordia has been held by ICE since her arrest in March 2025. Her attorneys say the White House is targeting the last remaining Columbia University protester in custody for her activism, using racism and procedural tricks to prevent her release.
mondoweiss.net/2026/01/the-...

Cuba battling infectious disease ‘surge,’ Canadian travellers advised to take precautions Cuba is battling a 'surge' of several infectious diseases, the country’s most serious crisis in recent decades, according to an article published earlier this week.

Traveling to #Cuba?

Talk to your doctor about preventing #Chikungunya

www.ctvnews.ca/health/artic...

Since July, I've tracked at least 2,300 cases in which federal judges have ruled ICE has illegally detained people without bond or due process.

This is one that stands out:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Apparently legally carrying a concealed firearm is grounds for being shot by the US government. I wonder what the NRA thinks now.

Israel has cleared the final hurdle to begin construction on the E1 settlement project near Jerusalem that would split the occupied West Bank in two. The project has been under consideration for more than two decades but had been put on hold due to U.S. pressure.

Israel is violating international law requiring states to prohibit and eradicate racial segregation and apartheid.”

House Oversight Committee to Subpoena Billionaire Les Wexner over Epstein Ties The House Oversight Committee has secured subpoenas to seek testimony from billionaire Les Wexner and two executors of the estate of convicted serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The subpoenas come a...

www.democracynow.org/2026/1/8/hea...

ICE officers impersonating utility workers, Oregon lawmaker says NW Natural issues notice telling public how to ID its employees and contractors.

#PORTLAND - ICE agents are pretending to be utility workers to kidnap people. Stay vigilent. Verify. #fuckICE
www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Star Tribune identifies ICE agent who fatally shot woman in Minneapolis Jonathan Ross was dragged in a separate incident last year by a fleeing driver, according to court records.

The murderer’s name is Jonathan Ross. www.startribune.com/ice-agent-wh...

Expect to see a surge of proud ignorance and proplawganda about what you can say about ICE agent Jonathan Ross, identified by local media as the person who shot and killed Renee Good.

In particular, expect a repeat of Rittenhouse-era “accusing him of murder is defamation” rhetoric.

It’s not.
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Heat map of CDC data and PMC prevalence estimate

The U.S. is in the middle of a 12th wave of COVID. Career scientists at the CDC summarized this week in JAMA Internal Medicine that COVID continues to directly cause >100,000 deaths/year, with many excess deaths on top of that.

More at pmc19.com/data

Edmonton doctors call on Alberta government to declare state of emergency as hospitals overflow Call follows deaths of three patients in Grey Nuns Community Hospital emergency on Dec. 22

Doctors working in Edmonton’s major hospitals are calling on the Alberta government to declare a state of emergency because there is no more room to safely accept patients. #ableg @theglobeandmail.com

It’s not too late to get your flu shot (and your covid booster!) and wear a mask.

As Trump rolls back protections for wetlands, New Jersey maintains a higher standard The Trump administration is moving to narrow which wetlands qualify for federal protection. But New Jersey’s stricter legal framework shows how states can fight back. By � Rambo Talabong �for ...

www.dailykos.com/stories/2026...

Craig, one of Kenya’s last great “big tusker” elephants, stands facing the camera on a dry savanna landscape. His massive, curved ivory tusks sweep nearly to the ground as dust rises around his feet. The elderly bull’s weathered skin and calm posture emphasize his size, age, and rarity against the open plains and pale sky.

1. Heartbreaking news: the largest big tusker elephant in Kenya has died.

I feel so fortunate that I got to see Craig in the wild.

He was 54 years old and, thankfully, died of natural causes.

It’s safe to assume that Kenyan authorities have already removed his tusks to keep them from poachers.

Regime change in Afghanistan to remove the Taliban resulted in the return of the Taliban

Regime change in Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein resulted in the rise of Daesh (ISIS)

Regime change in Libya to remove Ghadaffi resulted in chaos and a decade plus of civil war

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Trump & Rubio hint Colombia, Cuba, and ... Mexico could be next on the U.S. intervention list Numerous commentaries have already covered a lot of ground regarding the Venezuela attack and abduction, so I’m just going to stick to excerpting two important pieces on the subject. From Jake Johnson...

www.dailykos.com/stories/2026...

#NoBloodForOil #Venezuela #MedSky

I Decided to Do a Little Digging into How Iraq Is Fairing Nowadays After American Intervention. Given Americans are now going to do Iraq 2.0 in Venezuela, I decided to dig into how Iraq is doing today. This is after the Iraq War that George W. Bush stated we had to do to protect Americans from W...

www.dailykos.com/stories/2026...

At least 40 people, including civilians and soldiers, were killed in the attack in Venezuela, according to a senior Venezuelan official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe preliminary reports. More than 150 U.S. aircraft were dispatched to knock out air defenses, so that military helicopters could deliver the Special Operations forces who assaulted Mr. Maduro's compound at 2 a.m. local time, U.S. officials said. The whole operation took two hours and 20 minutes.

Current death toll from the attack is 40 people

Boebert suggests that Trump vetoed a water project in her district because she voted to release the Epstein files.

BBC: Israel to bar 37 aid groups from Gaza.

Discuss.

Israel says it will halt operations of several humanitarian organizations in Gaza The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said the organizations that will be banned Thursday didn't meet new requirements for sharing staff members, funding and operations information.

Israel is banning the Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders from operating in Gaza starting on New Year’s Day. www.nbcnews.com/world/israel...

What I Saw at a Maternity Ward in Kenya After the U.S. Cut Off Food and Foreign Aid Photographs tell a story of two mothers determined to help their babies gain enough weight to leave the hospital — only to face little to no food again.

A maternity ward doctor donated his own blood during surgery to keep a pregnant patient alive.

One woman gained fewer than 10 pounds over her entire pregnancy.

Another collapsed and had seizures during labor.

Virginia Man Confesses to Placing Pipe Bombs Outside RNC and DNC Before Jan. 6 Insurrection A Virginia man has confessed to placing two pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., the night before the January 6, 2021, insurrection. Br...

www.democracynow.org/2025/12/29/h...

Imagine it being easier to just pay the 8 billion dollars and it won't affect you in the slightest. Man what have we done lol

Hundreds of residents signed up for FEMA buyouts after Helene. Not one has been approved. More than a year after applying for a federal buyout, many North Carolina homeowners have heard almost nothing definitive.

Hundreds of residents signed up for FEMA buyouts after Hurricane Helene. Not one has been approved.

The Best Poetry for Dark Winter Days Each collection speaks to a different seasonal mood, but all are worth slowing down with before the new year.

The ancient, contemplative form of poetry can capture, perhaps better than any other, the muffled quality of chilly afternoons and days spent indoors.

Why does this even require explaining?

ICE data confirms:
•Only 3.1% of people sent to CECOT have a violent criminal record
•Only 3.4% of people they arrested in Chicago have a violent criminal record
•More than 75K people they've arrested have no violent criminal record
•Nearly 100% are Latino

This is not due process. This Is Fascism.