Janine Zacharia

Images from packed Palo Alto #NoKings march and rallies earlier today.

A leader of the MN House Democrats is murdered by a Republican pro-life activist. Rather than condemning political murder of his opponents, Elon Musk spreads the conspiracy theory that it was done by Democrats. Journalists don’t need to use any social media site. But they really shouldn’t use X.

‘Uncharted Waters’: Stanford Doctor Fired From US Vaccine Panel by RFK Jr. Speaks Out | KQED After Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices this week, one Bay Area doctor who was on the panel warned that the move will be disruptive.

www.kqed.org/news/1204420...

It is amazing to see one party openly calling for the arrest of their political opposition while multiple mainstream outlets run stories on the dangers of the extremism of protesters and social media users.

Democratic Senators and Reps should hold a sit-in in the Capitol. This is an outrageous abuse of power and an assault on elected officials.

California Sen. Alex Padilla handcuffed at Noem presser The senator was stopped and shoved back by multiple men.

🚨 Updatd on Padilla ejection from Noem conference

“I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” he said. He tried to speak further as he was forcibly removed into an adjoining room, where he yelled “Hands off!”

He was forced to the ground, detained, & handcuffed

Another video of Senator Padilla’s violent arrest at DHS Sec Noem’s press conference in LA. You can see him thrown to the ground by FBI agents and handcuffed.

(video shared by Padilla’s staff with Elex Michaelson of Fox LA and posted on X)

This is outrageous, and we need answers.

If this is how the Trump administration treated a United States senator while the cameras are on, ask yourself: what will they do to ordinary people?

For those paying attention, press conferences are the generally accepted forum where people like the DHS Secretary answer questions.

Sen. Padilla, for what it's worth, is the ranking member of the Judiciary subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety.

Sitting US Senator Alex Padilla forcibly wrestled to the ground and arrested by the FBI for attempting to ask a question of DHS secretary Kristin Noem.

Here's another angle from Fox News reporter Bill Melugin of Sen. Alex Padilla getting roughed up by law enforcement after he tries to question Kristi Noem at her presser:

“I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary. Because the fact of the matter is, a half dozen... Hands off!”

Coping with Cuts: Portraits of Loss after the U.S. Ceases Aid Operations Around the Globe - Peninsula Press A reporting project of Stanford Journalism’s Spring 2025 Foreign Correspondence Class

We published my Stanford Foreign Correspondence Class group project-Coping with Cuts: Portraits of Loss after the U.S. Ceases Aid Operations Around the Globe. A sad but necessary sampling of endless stories of hardship, loss, and U.S. betrayal. Kudos, students. peninsulapress.com/2025/06/06/c...

Trump Administration Ends Program Critical to Search for an H.I.V. Vaccine

“The N.I.H.’s multiyear investment in advanced vaccine technologies shouldn’t be abandoned on a whim like this,” he said. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/h...

Schools should help students navigate AI and fake news, Stanford experts say At a GSE Cubberley Lecture and School’s In crossover event, panelists emphasized the urgency of digital literacy. “Our students are living digital lives. It’s our responsibility to help them navigate ...

news.stanford.edu/stories/2025...

We are Harvard researchers. Trump’s cuts are endangering lives The president’s funding cuts at the university will harm cancer patients, ALS sufferers and 800 babies and toddlers, academics warn

“It’s an incredible waste of taxpayer dollars to interrupt research,” said Rice...“For my trial, more than $2 million has been spent on this incredibly complex study. It’s so incredibly wasteful.” www.thetimes.com/us/american-...

I've learned that in the lead-up to Hegseth's upcoming trip to Singapore, the Pentagon quietly attempted to block CNN producer Haley Britzky from serving as the designated television pooler. Because space on such trips is limited, the press corps designates a small group of reporters to travel with the secretary and share information with the broader press. Britzky had been slated for the role. But Pentagon officials- apparently irked by some of her tweets, despite their innocuous nature - relayed to CNN brass that she was not welcome.

The move was a plain act of retribution, a targeted attempt by the Pentagon to sideline a journalist for doing her job in a way that it did not like. It triggered immediate backlash. Reporters from other news organizations expressed outrage, with other outlets indicating that if Britzky was excluded, they too would pull out of the trip—effectively denying Hegseth the press coverage he relies on for visibility. “They don’t get to decide who covers them,” one correspondent told me. After a brief standoff, I'm told the Pentagon relented. Britzky will travel with Hegseth as originally planned. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment and a Pentagon spokesperson did not respond to a request for one Monday evening.

Pete Hegseth’s Defense Department tried to bar a CNN journalist from serving as a pool reporter for an upcoming foreign trip.

Other reporters threatened to boycott the trip.

Guess what happened next.

The Pentagon caved.

Via @oliverdarcy.bsky.social

www.status.news/p/pete-hegse...

This is what I've been saying. They need to show solidarity for one another.

Pope Leo, in his brief tenure, has advocated for a free press more than any member of Congress. "The suffering of these imprisoned journalists challenges the conscience of nations...calling on all of us to safeguard the precious gift of free speech and of the press. www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Criticism of Trump Was Removed From Documentary on Public Television

Criticism of Trump Was Removed From Documentary on Public Television www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/a...

Opinion | Harvard Derangement Syndrome

Many important points in this Steven Pinker piece. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/o...

An Open Letter to Leaders of American Institutions (5/19/2025)

"The public must have broad and undistorted access to reliable information about the government’s decisions and policies. The press must be free to report independently and critically without fear of official reprisal." knightcolumbia.org/documents/dm...

Alarm bells: Trump's first 100 days ramp up fear for the press, democracy - Committee to Protect Journalists Executive summary The first 100 days of the Trump administration have been marked by a flurry of executive actions that have created a chilling effect and have the potential to curtail media freedoms....

cpj.org/special-repo...

How this year’s Pulitzer awardees used AI in their reporting For a second year, the Pulitzer Prizes required applicants to divulge AI usage — one winner and three finalists disclosed.

Useful exploration of how A.I. tools helped with deep, accountability reporting and visualizations. www.niemanlab.org/2025/05/how-...

Digital media literacy in the AI era

Taking part in this discussion at Stanford shortly. To be honest, from what I'm seeking as I give talks to different age groups, I'm less worried about the young people than the older folks. events.stanford.edu/event/stanfo...

Migrants may have been deported to South Sudan despite court orders, lawyers say Lawyers for the immigrants said the hasty removals would violate a judge's orders barring the government from deporting people to countries where they are not citizens without giving them a chance to challenge that decision.

Trump's New Position on the War in Ukraine: Not My Problem In a reversal, President Trump appears to have backed off joining a European push for new sanctions on Russia, seemingly eager to move on to doing business deals with it.

U.S. Debt Is on Pace to Set a Record High, Going All the Way Back to 1790 If Republicans pass their tax and spending megabill, the record will arrive even sooner — putting Americas debt a more than 113 percent of the size of its entire economy.

Have you heard about Jake Tapper’s new book? It’s about Joe Biden being very old.

Do This: Spotting and Stopping Disinformation - Red Wine and Blue Do This: Spotting and Stopping Disinformation. Learn how to find trusted news sources with Janine Zacharia and Red Wine and Blue.

Do This: Spotting and Stopping Disinformation redwine.blue/do-this-spot...

EPA Reverses Course, Drops Limits on Three Dangerous PFAS Chemicals In a win for chemical companies like Chemours and 3M, the EPA has scrapped Biden administration rules targeting three toxic PFAS chemicals in drinking water, despite their links to cancer and immune s...

readsludge.com/2025/05/14/e...

Why are ICE agents such cowardly wusses? | Will Bunch Newsletter Plus, how the Trump-Leo divide was born in the ‘80s.

I love @willbunch.bsky.social. He always brings it. Although until now I had missed the story about the ball-tanning guy... 😱

www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...

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Speaking to @redwineblueusa.bsky.social May 22 about being a smart news consumer in our era of noise. "Red Wine and Blue is a national community of over half a million diverse suburban women working together to defeat extremism, one friend at a time." secure.everyaction.com/DInYU2SSR0mw... i