Lily Raff McCaulou

these people treat being called racist like it is a slur, and treat slurs like they're mere differences of opinion

The president, who drones on about protecting women’s sports, publicly mocked the women’s gold-medal hockey team. A reminder this was never about protecting women’s sports and it was always about transphobia and misogyny.

I can't get over this number: in 2007, there were 360,000 newspaper jobs. Now, there are 80,000. "My local paper sucked!" Sure. What sucks even more? The void. "I get all my news from the Guardian!" No, the Guardian doesn't report on your town council, your school board, local cops.

Basically, to some of us.

Revealed: Epstein cultivated relationship with CBP officer, causing US investigation Guardian review of US justice department files reveals Epstein interacted with six CBP officers. The officer investigated denied any knowledge of trafficking underage girls

NEW: Jeffrey Epstein cultivated relationships with CBP officers at the airports he frequented.

Epstein emailed and texted with six CBP officers, invited them to his island, visited with them at the airport, and frequently sought to determine who was going to be on duty when he was traveling

Whoa.

We had to check out a book from the library to help my kids get started. They had watched other kids play but didn’t understand certain basics (how to build a workbench or something) and found it super frustrating at first.

Journalists Arrested in Cameroon While Reporting on Trump’s Secretive Deportation Program

"An Associated Press reporter was beaten by the police and detained along with three other journalists on Tuesday in Cameroon while reporting on a secretive Trump administration program to deport migrants to the Central African country, according to two of the people detained." (gift link)

‘He gave me my wings’: Jesse Jackson opened doors for Black women in politics Jackson, who died Tuesday, worked to diversify the electorate and brought Black women into Democratic politics who ascended to positions of power.

Spent today talking to just a few of the Black women who credit Jesse Jackson with their start in national politics. By inviting them in, he ensured they would help shape democracy for years to come. My latest on the coalition he built as part of his towering legacy: 19thnews.org/2026/02/jess...

Mia Valentina Paz Faria A 7-year-old from Venezuela who was living in Austin, Texas Detained for 70 days “I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”

UPDATE: Staff at the ICE concentration camp in Dilley, Texas have begun raiding the dormitories of kids and their parents to confiscate and destroy letters from the children. This is in response to the ace reporting by @micarosenberg et al for ProPublica:

“I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”

- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.

Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.

www.propublica.org/article/ice-...

the $75 million Jeff Bezos set on fire for that Melania propaganda piece could have funded most independent newsrooms for literally decades

Epstein victims’ lawyers ask judges to force takedown of released Epstein files, citing ‘thousands of redaction failures’ | CNN Politics Lawyers representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein are asking judges to force the Justice Department to take down the millions of Epstein-related documents it has posted online, saying in a letter dated ...

www.cnn.com/2026/02/02/p...

If your children got tear gassed today I want to hear from you, even if you don’t live in my district. You can contact my office at councilor.green@portlandoregon.gov

Judge orders 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his father be released from immigration detention | CNN A federal judge has ordered the release of 5-year-old Liam Conejos Ramos and his father from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, according to a ruling obtained by CNN.

“The order specifies the preschooler and his father be released “as soon as practicable” and no later than Tuesday as their immigration case proceeds through the court system.”

Journalist Don Lemon taken into custody after Minnesota church protest | CNN Politics Lemon and another independent journalist, George Fort, have been taken into federal custody in connection to a protest at a church earlier this month in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were taken into custody today by DOJ. www.cnn.com/2026/01/30/p... For reasons obscure. Gharges have not been released yet. The First Amendment alarm is about as high as it gets.

All Protests Matter But some matter more than others.

"Stay woke"

- A prayer.

Reminder that, as of the latest reports, Liam Ramos is still in prison in Texas - now for 5 days.

His parents are legal asylum seekers with no criminal record.

Tweet from Paul Farhi: Per former colleagues at the @washingtonpost: In a Zoom meeting today, Post foreign staff was told by editors that up to *half* the Post's newsroom will be cut imminently. Biggest cuts to foreign and sports staff. Sickening. 1:30 PM • Jan 26, 2026

A bloodbath at The Washington Post. What a terrible day for journalism.

It’s hard to overstate how freakish it is for law enforcement who just shot someone to be shuffled off to other assignments with no investigative period at all.

NYT video analysis confirms victim’s gun was removed before he was shot. So he was unarmed. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/minneapolis-shooting-federal-agents-video.html

Disabled son of ICE detainee dies after 30 days of hospitalization It had been months since Wael Tarabishi seen his father. The family is calling on ICE to release Maher Tarabishi so he may attend his son's funeral.

In October, ICE grabbed Maher Tarabishi.

He was a 24/7 caregiver for his disabled son Wael.

At the time of Maher’s detention, disability advocates warned that taking away Wael’s caregiver put his life at risk.

Wael died on Friday at age 30.

ICE caused his death.

They didn’t get to say goodbye.

Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026

Committee to Protect Journalists: "Israeli drone strike on vehicle kills three journalists in Gaza Amman, January 21, 2026 – The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for a transparent investigation after three journalists were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in central Gaza during an ongoing ceasefire. According to reports, the three were killed while on assignment for the Egyptian Committee, which oversees Egypt’s humanitarian work in the Palestinian territory, and in a jeep marked with the organization as they headed to cover tent encampments built by Egypt. They include freelance photographer Abed Shaat, a regular contributor to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Mohammad Qeshta, a spokesperson for the Egyptian Committee who reported news to his large Telegram following, and Anas Ghnaim, a freelance photographer and drone operator who worked for Smart Media, Palestinian health officials said. The Israel Defense Forces later confirmed targeting the vehicle, and said the occupants were suspected of operating a drone belonging to Palestinian militant group Hamas. “CPJ condemns Israel’s strike on a clearly marked civilian vehicle in central Gaza that killed freelance photojournalists Abed Shaat, Mohammad Qeshta, and Anas Ghnaim, amid an ongoing ceasefire,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Israel, which possesses advanced technology capable of identifying its targets, has an obligation under international law to protect journalists.” At least 207 other Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza – the vast majority by Israel – since the latest war in the territory began in 2023, including three since a fragile ceasefire came into effect in October."

103 days into the "ceasefire." Hours after Netanyahu joined Trump's "Board of Peace."

Israeli forces just killed 3 more journalists.

They were on assignment to film a camp in Gaza, to document the plight of Palestinians displaced by Israeli bombs.

Instead, Israel killed them.

I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.

What ICE is doing on US streets looks terrifying, but don’t forget: it could happen anywhere | Nesrine Malik This shocking moment is the outcome of a political, institutional and media environment that is not far off Britain’s, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik

“The abiding experience of living with authoritarianism is the sense not of imminent assault, but of the constant possibility that suddenly, you could be in trouble.”

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

"First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action;" who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."

I’ve been thinking a lot about this part from MLK’s Letters from Birmingham Jail; how so many “good” white people don’t want to think about race, don’t want to think about politics, don’t want to work for justice, and all the harm that negative peace has done

One of the stories that makes me the saddest out of this ICE invasion is one out of the Minnesota Star Tribune today about ICE agents eating at a little Mexican restaurant in the small town of Willmar, Minn, —and then, when they were done, arresting some of the workers.

A family member reacts after a federal immigration officer used a battering ram to break down a door before making an arrest on January 11, 2026, in Minneapolis.

Stunning photos from Minneapolis, including this one by John Locher for the Associated Press. www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

Exclusive: US gets first $500 million Venezuelan oil deal, holding some proceeds in Qatar The details shared with Semafor mark an initial milestone in the administration’s plan following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro.

The main bank account holding revenue from the Venezuelan oil sales is located in Qatar.

“There is no basis in law for a president to set up an offshore account that he controls so that he can sell assets seized by the American military,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

www.semafor.com/article/01/1...

F.B.I. Searches Home of Washington Post Journalist for Classified Material

Newsroom raids and searches of journalists are hallmarks of illiberal regimes, usually intended to intimidate journalists from reporting and to deter their sources from sharing information with them. We need to make sure these practices aren't normalized here. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/u...