J. Briggs / Decoded Forests

A White House Staffer Appears to Run Massive Pro-Trump X Account A popular right-wing account that called a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes "a masterpiece" appears to be run by a White House staffer, according to records reviewed by WIRED.

A White House staffer is running an anonymous pro-MAGA X account with nearly 300,000 followers.

The account, JohnnyMAGA, has never disclosed formal ties, blurring the lines of official WH messaging and organic digital support.
www.wired.com/story/a-whit...

Blind refugee abandoned by Border Patrol dies in Buffalo. A nearly blind refugee abandoned by Border Patrol miles from his home dies in Buffalo after having been missing for nearly a week.

US immigration officials picked up a blind Rohingya refugee last week in Buffalo, NY. Then, realizing they had no basis to deport him, they released him five miles from his home. He needed a walking stick and died trying to make his way back to his house: www.investigativepost.org/2026/02/25/b...

I really appreciate this TikToker with Tourette syndrome, Shay, for taking the time to educate so many of us (including me) about her disability and coprolalia in light of what happened at the BAFTAs with John Davidson when Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage.

I learned a lot.

The boys’ club: How Epstein’s influence shaped the exclusion of women in STEM In one email, an AI researcher suggested it’s “hard to be brilliant if you are worrying if you look fat or why another woman hates you.”

“Hard to be brilliant if you are worrying if you look fat or why another woman hates you or why you don’t own a kelly bag,” he wrote. To which Epstein responded: “It’s the tail of distribution , no really smart women – none.”

@jkutzie.bsky.social reports for @19thnews.org.

Iran sentences Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi to seven more years in prison Women’s and human rights activist, arrested at a demonstration in December, is said to be on hunger strike Iran has sentenced the Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to more than seven more years in prison after she began a hunger strike, her supporters said Sunday, as Tehran cracks down on all dissent following nationwide protests and the deaths of thousands at the hands of security forces. The new convictions against Mohammadi come as Iran tries to negotiate with the US over its nuclear programme to avert a military strike threatened by Donald Trump. Iran’s top diplomat said on Sunday that Tehran’s strength came from its ability to “say no to the great powers”, striking a maximalist position just after negotiations in Oman with the US. Continue reading...

Iran sentences Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi to seven more years in prison

1/ @motherjones.com reported extensively on this group, Freedom 250—and the larger effort to whitewash our history and get corporations to fund that destruction—in our cover story that went up last week: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

by @dfriedman.bsky.social and @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social

How a ‘crash out jar’ helped Marina Mabrey channel her competitive fire How Marina Mabrey’s "crash out jar" became a tool for accountability, emotional control, and peak performance.

Marina Mabrey has been in the know as of late for her viral “crash out jar”.

For NBC Sports, I wrote about the origin of the jar, and why its purpose could be a vehicle that helps the #WNBA’s crash out queen write the next chapter of her career.

BREAKING: The Epstein survivors are releasing this ad on this Super Bowl Sunday to send the message that they will not “move on” from the largest sex trafficking scandal in the world. #standwithsurvivors

Anything not to say a grown man attacked a child.

Trump's war on history As America's 250th anniversary approaches, the president wants to control the country's future by bulldozing its past.

As America’s 250th anniversary approaches, the president wants to control the country’s future by bulldozing its past.

This would be the first ICE detention center in New England afaik

it’s not necessarily that all these people in the epstein files participated in the raping of girls it’s that none of them cared and if he hadn’t been arrested and died they’d still be out there trying to be his friend

She's three months into dating a new guy. Is it okay for her to ask him to get his tattoos removed? Washington Post advice columnist Carolyn Hax gives her take.

Read more of Carolyn's columns: https://wapo.st/3Z9OxSx

There are 3,800 kids in ICE custody.

Trump admin is trying to deport LGBTQ+ asylum-seekers to countries where they'd be killed, lawyers say Attorneys say new transfer agreements and court tactics allow the U.S. to sidestep asylum rulings, risking removals to countries where LGBTQ people face imprisonment, torture, or execution.

SCOOP: The Trump administration recently signed an agreement with Uganda to accept asylum-seekers deported from the U.S.

Being LGBTQ+ is punishable by death there. And yet, DHS is trying to send queer and trans people there (and to Iran).

www.advocate.com/politics/imm...

Since we published this, Pam Bondi's X account has started posting mugshots of Minnesotans arrested for impeding ICE/CBP. Sharing a defendant's photo publicly in this way is forbidden under DOJ rules

I license my footage, in which I don't speak at all, to places like CNN, CBS, and KARE 11. I'm working with Mother Jones. I am primarily a writer, who has broken real, investigative stories. I'm not an activist or a fucking content creator, nor am I working in the style of one, thanks. Fuck off.

ICE violence is fueled by misogyny and white nationalism How the Trump administration has mobilized state-sponsored terror in Minneapolis and beyond.

The brutality we are witnessing in Minnesota is nothing short of state-sponsored terror.

It is a horrific illustration of what unfettered power does in the hands of leadership that celebrates and demands violence, especially from men.

Bovino has often used the phrase “turn and burn” to describe Border Patrol operations, a reference to actions like smashing windshields, using explosives to blow down the doors of homes and engaging in car chases.

DHS is using explosives on people’s homes???

“Bovino has often used the phrase “turn and burn” to describe Border Patrol operations, a reference to actions like smashing windshields, using explosives to blow down the doors of homes and engaging in car chases.” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...

I really enjoyed this one. Go get it!

The Minnesota v. Noem hearing is beginning before Judge Katherine Menendez.

Minnesota, Minneapolis, and St. Paul are seeking a TRO today to stop Operation Metro Surge.

Spending $200 billion on ICE is a terrible idea I've covered federal law enforcement for two decades. Here are the things that worry me most.

Just gonna leave this here:

Unrivaled co-founder and WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart held up an “Abolish ICE” sign during player intros ahead of Mist’s game this afternoon.

Photo via @unrivaledwbb.bsky.social

Arresting the people who feed them, the people who house them

Holy shit. Like Tiananmen Square levels of bravery.

DHS has shot 12 people during immigration enforcement operations since September:

We've gotten a lot of questions from journalists worried about raids after what happened to the WaPo reporter.

We can't stop the Trump admin from illegally seizing your devices, but here are 3 easy tips to mitigate the damage and protect your sources:

DHS does not use "verification" to issue public statements.

'A directive from above': Former NYT editor lays out how the paper pushes anti-trans bigotry In this in-depth interview, former New York Times editor Billie Jean Sweeney details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, how some staff tried to stop it, how it's directe...

this is worth reading. a longtime NYT insider confirms that the paper's abrupt turn into seething anti-trans bigotry came directly from the top: AG Sulzberg and his 2 deputies, Joe Kahn and Carolyn Ryan transnews.network/p/a-directiv...