Jonathan Lambert

Free Speech in Deep Freeze - Nieman Reports On the ground in Minnesota, where journalists are working to tell the truth about government-sanctioned violence and spin

My friends at Niemanreports.org asked me to write about the experience of being a journalist on the ground in Minneapolis right now. I knew I wanted to tell reporters elsewhere how even this most hopeless of times has been clarifying and, in some ways, energizing. (1) share.google/ms1wKDQZmgep...

Donate to Washington Post 2026 layoff fund, organized by Rachel Siegel On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We ar… Rachel Siegel needs your support for Washington Post 2026 layoff fund

Whatever you think of the Washington Post at this moment, here's a chance to support the dedicated, hard-working journalists who were just laid off. If you have the means, your donation is most welcome. If you don't, a kind thought and maybe spreading the word to others is support enough 💙

Trump administration officials blocked FDA effort to fast-track review of psychedelic treatment Trump administration officials vetoed the FDA's plan to fast-track the review of a psychedelic treatment for severe depression, STAT has learned.

The White House has to approve all voucher recipients, and Trump officials have used the promise of speedier reviews to reward companies that help them advance political priorities. The episode involving Compass underscores the ways in which political pressure has shaped the voucher program.

St. Peter police chief intervenes, prevents federal agents from arresting resident The police chief of St. Peter intervened to prevent federal agents from taking a local resident who was observing ICE enforcement actions into custody. It is believed to the first time local police in...

"MPR News has learned that the police chief in the small southern Minnesota city of St. Peter intervened Thursday afternoon to prevent federal immigration agents from arresting a local resident" who had been observing federal agents. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Fear of ICE is keeping pregnant immigrants in Minnesota from critical care Health care providers in Minnesota said pregnant patients are having more complications linked to stress. But fear of immigration agents is keeping them from prenatal care.

Citing fear of ICE, pregnant immigrants in Minnesota are

-skipping prenatal care
-requesting home births, even when not medically advised
-going w/o adequate food

Many are experiencing complications providers say can be stress-onset: diabetes, high blood pressure, and even water breaking early

I'm at the Willard Hotel where I've been denied entry and kicked out of the Reclaiming Science event with NIH director Bhattacharya & other top agency leaders.

@jocelynkaiser.bsky.social and I registered for the event months ago yet were told capacity was full, even as they let in dozens of others.

The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules The rewrite was done to speed up the construction of a new generation of nuclear reactors. Critics warn it could compromise safety and public trust.

EXCLSUVIE: The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules and shared them with the companies they're meant to regulate, without making the new rules publicly available.

We've obtained a copy of the new rules and here's what we found.

www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...

U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies

More than 10,000 STEM PhD's have left or been fired from the federal workforce since Trump took office again.

NSF, EPA, DOE and USFS hardest hit.

www.science.org/content/arti...

8 weeks under siege in Minnesota • Minnesota Reformer Frank has a hard time explaining to his 8-year-old daughter why they rarely leave their home in the Twin Cities. Why she can’t go to school, and why he can’t work. “The only thing we tell her is that ...

and while you’re here, ready my story today: 8 weeks under siege in Minnesota minnesotareformer.com/2026/01/23/8...

Alex Pretti from his early days working at the VA

Alex from our time working together, while he was in nursing school. Later, he moved to ICU, working as a nurse to support critically ill Veterans. He had such a great attitude. We’d chat between patients about trying to get in a mountain bike ride together. Will never happen now

WHO removing Us Flag

Trump expands policy banning aid to groups abroad that discuss or provide abortions In addition to adding to the list of groups that will lose funding for providing or discussing abortion, the policy now also calls for ending aid to groups that embrace DEI.

The Trump administration is exporting it's domestic war on "woke" abroad.

In an expansion of the Mexico City policy, US foreign aid now won't flow to organizations that promote "gender ideology" and DEI, in addition to abortion.

www.npr.org/2026/01/23/n...

The divorce between the U.S. and WHO is final this week. Or is it? The U.S. is the only country allowed to withdraw from the World Health Organization. And Jan. 22 is the day when Trump's pullout announcement should go into effect. But ... it's complicated.

This is the week that the US withdrawal from the WHO is supposed to be finalized

I spoke with @npr.org about how damaging the withdrawal will be, especially since RFK Jr has greatly weakened US national capacity to tackle health emergencies

www.npr.org/2026/01/20/g...

The divorce between the U.S. and WHO is final this week. Or is it? The U.S. is the only country allowed to withdraw from the World Health Organization. And Jan. 22 is the day when Trump's pullout announcement should go into effect. But ... it's complicated.

The US is supposed to officially leave the WHO this week. WHO is saying it can't leave since it's not paid all it's dues.

Inside the "messy divorce" that's already having profound consequences for the health of Americans and the rest of the globe.
www.npr.org/2026/01/20/g...

Fear factor: Intimidation becomes a calling card as Twin Cities ICE surge widens Six weeks into the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, observers say there are signs that federal agents are employing violence more frequently and with little apparent restraint against citiz...

Six weeks into the immigration enforcement surge in the Twin Cities, observers say federal agents are employing violence more frequently and with little apparent restraint against citizens and noncitizens alike. (1) www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Trump has previously said that journalists should be jailed until they reveal the source of confidential leaks.

He suggested that the threat of prison sexual assault would lead reporters to cooperate with leak investigations.

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

Really working their way through the ol' First Amendment.

Jan. 6, 2021: A visual archive of the Capitol attack NPR’s Jan. 6 archive brings together reporting, video, documents and testimony to show what really happened during the Capitol riot. Explore the timeline, cases and evidence behind the attack.

Powerful reporting from my colleagues at NPR on the 5 year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol.
apps.npr.org/jan-6-archive/

Trump wants U.S. oil companies in Venezuela. Here's what to know President Trump wants more U.S. oil companies to "go in" to Venezuela. But there are economic, historical, and climate reasons that may not be easy. Here's what you need to know about oil in Venezuela...

Teenage me who decided to become an oil reporter in '03 because of the Iraq war 🤝 this moment

Here's NPR's explainer about Venezuela's oil industry🇻🇪 🛢️ (and Guyana's too 🇬🇾 🛢️)

Featuring @paashamahdavi.com @fmonaldi.bsky.social and more

U.S. vaccination rates are plunging. Look up where your school stands. Take a look to see what the kindergarten measles vaccination rates are in your area.

In a heroic data journalism effort involving scores of records requests, The Washington Post made it possible to search MMR vaccination rates at individual schools in much of the country.

Gift link to look up schools and learn about the post-pandemic plunge in vaccination rates: wapo.st/49zDc43

Flu cases are surging and rates will likely get worse, new CDC data shows Flu season is off to a rough start this year, according to new CDC data. The virus is spreading faster than in previous years and the surge is likely to get worse. Here's what you need to know.

It's shaping up to be a rough flu season.
www.npr.org/sections/sho...

America's new top health diplomat has strong opinions on abortion and gender Bethany Kozma leads a key global health office at the Department of Health and Human Services. In past experience in the public eye, she's campaigned against abortion and gender-affirming care.

NEW — Bethany Kozma has called gender-affirming care “absolutely infuriating," said “the idea that gender is fluid is evil,” and likened abortion to murder.

This week, she became America's top health diplomat.

www.npr.org/sections/goa...

America's new top health diplomat has strong opinions on abortion and gender Bethany Kozma leads a key global health office at the Department of Health and Human Services. In past experience in the public eye, she's campaigned against abortion and gender-affirming care.

Her job, leading the HHS Office of Global Affairs, isn't the most high-profile. But it could give her considerable influence in shaping bilateral health aid deals being hashed out now.

Some worry she'll push countries to adopt anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ policies.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...

America's new top health diplomat has strong opinions on abortion and gender Bethany Kozma leads a key global health office at the Department of Health and Human Services. In past experience in the public eye, she's campaigned against abortion and gender-affirming care.

NEW — Bethany Kozma has called gender-affirming care “absolutely infuriating," said “the idea that gender is fluid is evil,” and likened abortion to murder.

This week, she became America's top health diplomat.

www.npr.org/sections/goa...

One dam shapes the fate of millions. Extreme rain puts it at risk. Climate change threatens to push the world’s infrastructure to a breaking point.

As the planet warms, global infrastructure is increasingly imperiled by extreme weather it was never designed to handle.

The fight over a mysterious 130-year-old dam in India -- which one community sees as its salvation and another fears will be its doom -- shows what's at stake.
wapo.st/4qbE70a

The most striking official comment I've ever received from a government agency.

The fight to beat neglected tropical diseases was going well. 2025 could change that The campaign to prevent and treat these diseases has seen great success thanks to a USAID program. Now that program is gone.

Read to the end. NPR asked why the Trump team ended a low-cost program that cured millions of tropical diseases w drugs donated by pharma. The spokesperson replied with an NPR headline—“Farewell to USAID”—and said: “What do you think farewell meant?” www.npr.org/sections/goa...

The fight to beat neglected tropical diseases was going well. 2025 could change that The campaign to prevent and treat these diseases has seen great success thanks to a USAID program. Now that program is gone.

A small, but effective USAID program has played a leading role in driving down the burden of neglected tropical diseases around the world.

The Trump administration cut the program, and countries are scrambling to prevent these debilitating diseases from roaring back.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...

The fight to beat neglected tropical diseases was going well. 2025 could change that The campaign to prevent and treat these diseases has seen great success thanks to a USAID program. Now that program is gone.

When I asked the Trump administration about plans to continue funding these NTD programs, I got a screenshot of an NPR story from earlier this year headlined "Farewell to USAID."

Above the screenshot was their official comment: "What do you think farewell means?"
www.npr.org/sections/goa...

The fight to beat neglected tropical diseases was going well. 2025 could change that The campaign to prevent and treat these diseases has seen great success thanks to a USAID program. Now that program is gone.

When I asked the Trump administration about plans to continue funding these NTD programs, I got a screenshot of an NPR story from earlier this year headlined "Farewell to USAID."

Above the screenshot was their official comment: "What do you think farewell means?"
www.npr.org/sections/goa...