When videos of explosions battering Caracas and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro being led away in handcuffs came to light on Saturday, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee said he was just as surprised as everyone else.

Take a few minutes to add your voice. Tell Congress: No war with Venezuela!

Update: the last victim of the Brown shooting was discharged from the hospital today.

With all of the craziness out there, we have to celebrate the small joys, right? I received the (uncorrected) full dust jacket for my forthcoming book from @liveright.bsky.social and @wwnorton.com and it made my day.

A federal appeals court ruled US President Donald Trump's administration cannot carry out steep cuts to federal grant funding provided by the National Institutes of Health to universities engaged in scientific and medical research reut.rs/3N7WzZk

webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1k... if you’re interested in this morning’s emergency security council meeting on Venezuela, it’ll start here at 10am. It was called by Colombia, and can help us get a sense of the public lines coming from a diverse group of countries

Nobody believes Trump will face consequences; he tried to violently overthrow the government, & not only did SCOTUS protect him from consequences, he was also _elected President a second time_ What Mark Kelly et al are doing—telling his _accomplices_ they’ll face consequences—is more significant.

We are now a rogue nation. Any rules-based global order is dead. Trump is a dictator, without Congress, public approval or legal restrain. And an axis of evil is carving up the globe

Let’s be clear: the Trump Admin is lying to the American people. This has never been about stopping drugs from coming to the US — it’s about grabbing Venezuela’s oil for his billionaire buddies. Trump has put American troops in harm’s way to boost oil company profits. Outrageous.

The wisdom of Mr. Rogers is eternal:

For those of us not in the cult, this is what we hear when anyone from the Trump administration speaks. For the people in the back, this is satire and so well done…

I don't understand how both FIFA and IOC can imagine holding international games in the US during this regime. If they stand firm on that, I hope most countries decide to boycott and hold alternative games somewhere else.

I mean . . .

The idiocy is very, very strong with Trump.

Before any discussions of who Trump is going to install to run Venezuela, consider that the Venezuelans have their own plans -- as any country would. This may not go the way the Mar-a-Lago plotters fantasize.

Call! Or write! @FCNL has a helpful widget (sample message you can/should edit) up on their website: fcnl.quorum.us/campaign/152...

Either it was a limited operation merely to arrest Maduro and move on, or, it is an ongoing major regime change committment that will open up a transition including international and private sector partners. It really can't be both

"If it wasn’t Shirley’s video, it would have been something else. If it wasn’t MN, it would have been somewhere else. If it wasn’t about daycare fraud, it would have been something else. Everything this administration does is about creating a fig leaf to justify its violent dismantling of democracy"

They can play word games all they like but "Integralists" in this context explicitly reject the U S. Constitution and hold up as models Franco's Spain or Pinochet's Chile. They are enemies of American democracy.

Welcome to the Public Domain, THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD (1930) 🚂 💪 Choo Choo Choo! We all learned about perseverance & trying from this iconic train. She thought she could, and she did 🥹 Learn more ➡️ blog.archive.org/public-domai... #PublicDomainDay #CopyrightFree

As we step into the new year, the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition honors the truth of Indian Boarding School history and the resilience of survivors and descendants. We invite you to learn more about our work here: boardingschoolhealing.org.

EN DIRECT, Nouvel An 2026 | Feux d’artifice et jeux de lumière sur l’Arc de triomphe : Paris a célébré la nouvelle année ; suivez les festivités dans le monde entier

The 255-page document, released on the last day of 2025, accounts for some eight hours of testimony. https://to.pbs.org/44LvaCE

To every nonprofit on the planet: Yes, we know midnight is the end of your fiscal year and you're eager to juice that annual total. If I haven't given after your 4th email today, sending me one more isn't going to make it more compelling. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in as NYC's first Muslim mayor on a Qur'an from the personal collection of the great Afro-Boricua intellectual Arturo Schomburg—as well as Qur'ans owned by Mamdani's grandparents. www.nypl.org/press/schomb...

Nothing about this quote about a “ballroom” suggests “peaceful transfer of power.”

From the comments

Help me figure out whether transit service planning is still the route I want to take 🥹🗺️🚌 Any service planners in Rhode Island, the Massachusetts South Coast, or the Boston region? 🌊

In December 1938, three American Quakers went to Gestapo headquarters to secure permission to help Jews leave Germany and provide humanitarian aid. When Nazi officers withdrew to deliberate, the Quakers held silent worship. Their request was granted, and hundreds of Jews emigrated to safety.

AI: cannot make plot summary of my book without confusing the youngest detective - 14 yo docklass - with the client - aristo in her mid 20s. AI shills: we will use this to code nuclear power operation software! Automate planes! Write legal contracts!

Signal boosting:

Come on, RI-eastern CT-SE MA, surely someone can make this happen! Who knows a guy who knows a guy (*generic* youse guys, no gender restriction) who's a transit service planner who Kenny can shadow?

A nice thread in which an actual expert patiently explains why the Secretary of Health and Human Service is not simply a liar, but an especially stupid one.

that video of "ICE cops" being pelted with snowballs in NYC is not actually in NYC and it is not ICE and it is from years ago...

Seems there is yet another app using the ICEBlock logo and charging people for access. It’s called ICEBlocker and it is not us. DO NOT DOWNLOAD or pay. Best we can tell is it’s Russian. We would never ask for money.

We Don't Know How Stephen Miller Fails www.emptywheel.net/2025/12/27/w...

In Charlotte, hundreds of outraged and concerned community members crowded the pews of Dilworth United Methodist Church to learn how to use whistles to alert their immigrant neighbors of the unwelcome presence of mass deportation agents👇🏽 open.substack.com/pub/americas...

God is against you, you covetous cruel oppressors who grind the faces of the poor and needy... James Nayler – A Discovery of the First Wisdom (1653)

This is exactly how you do it. And many more, please.

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. #Quakers #QuakersIreland #FaithInAction #GeorgeFox #PeaceTestimony

Interesting aspect of this one: Trump had argued his decisions on the Guard were effectively unreviewable by the courts. Apparently, SCOTUS isn’t quite ready to put itself completely out of business.

This hasn't received much attention but with 2nd seizure of oil tanker of Venezuela it will. The two tankers seized are oil China purchased. Seizures violate International Law. China has taken the issue to the UN. www.reuters.com/world/china/...

A judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to reallocate Homeland Security funding away from states that refuse to cooperate with certain immigration enforcement. https://www.wpri.com/news/politics/federal-judge-says-trump-administration-must-restore-disaster-money-to-democratic-states/

launching a new Trump class of battleship to protect the commander-in-thief from sharks.

Young Kim is the MAGA Trump boot-licking Republican in my area. She's the worst. But Esther Kim Varet is the Dem that will replace her if we help raise her profile( @estherkimvaret.bsky.social ), repost for her & for those who can afford to, make a contribution. Even $2 helps. EstherKimVaret.com

NEW: Watchdog group Public Citizen files federal Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against Trump Administration seeking copy of contract to construct new White House ballroom Here it is: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Perfect new genre of bsky post:

New from me, for @ms.now: "Having lived in Providence for most of my life...I say with certainty that the people here don’t want President Donald Trump using this tragedy to fuel his anti-immigrant agenda. It would be harmful and disrespectful to hijack our heartbreak for this purpose."