Tired: release all the Epstein files Wired: release all the X-files 🛸

A speeding driver killed a family of four, including a toddler and an infant. The judge in the case has signaled he will give the SF woman probation instead of prison. It's a stark example of how killing someone with a vehicle is often perceived and treated differently within the US justice system.

🥇

Sad news out of Northern California. Eight skiers have been confirmed dead and another is still missing after an avalanche in the Sierra Nevadas. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Images confirm xAI is continuing to defy EPA regulations in Mississippi to power its flagship datacenters

Another case against a person shot by DHS agents is falling apart. Minnesota's top federal prosecutor — a Trump nominee — says that “newly discovered evidence in this matter is materially inconsistent with the allegations” that federal officials submitted to court.

"The remote agent may not control the steering wheel, but they still make major decisions on where the vehicle navigates next." futurism.com/advanced-tra...

Please stay away from the freeways, queen www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

“The data raises questions about the degree to which campus surveillance technology intended for student safety is being repurposed to support immigration enforcement.” Reporting by @the74.bsky.social

NEW: ICE has a plan to lease offices across the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign. Today, @wired.com is publishing dozens of those locations. Many are near schools, medical offices, and places of worship. Vital work from @leahfeiger.bsky.social that I'm proud to publish.

Boyz Brunch™️

Another deadly day on LA streets, another round of media coverage that removes the driver from the act of killing people.

Find a better lede today, I dare you 💉 www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...

Elizabeth, a 10-year-old Minnesota girl, spent a month detained at the ICE facility in Dilley, TX before her release last night w/ her mom. Dilley now has a measles outbreak and hundreds of other kids remain detained. Elizabeth has flu-like symptoms and her mom has hives, a school official told me

With the awful WaPo layoffs and the state of journalism more broadly, if it's useful for any writers and reporters considering going indy, @molly.wiki, @xoxogossipgita.bsky.social of Aftermath, @jasonkoebler.bsky.social of 404 Media, @edzitron.com and me will do a little workshop next week.

Our founders, though deeply flawed, understood that democracy requires an informed citizenry and a government accountable to it people. That’s why the press is the only profession protected by the Constitution. It’s also why autocrats and oligarchs seek to control and destroy it.

"During the hearing, Le acknowledged that many at the DHS did not understand the seriousness of an order from a federal judge." Reporting by @sarabraun28.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

We really should do something about these inanimate objects somehow moving about and killing people in public.

Here are a few of the emails from Casey Wasserman, current chair of LA28, to Ghislaine Maxwell in the latest Epstein files drop

I needed this counterprogramming today (apologies to anyone experiencing actual winter who sees this)

In other tick-tock news

Know your chemical weapons. A real news graphic in 2026.

The StarTribune live blog is paywall free: - The man shot by federal agents this morning has died - Several witnesses have already been transported to the Whipple building. - ICE attempted to order local police from the scene, but O’Hara refused, sources said. www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...

Reporting from @samtlevin.bsky.social on another child taken by ICE in Minnesota. A federal judge ordered a two-year-old girl to be released from federal custody after she and her father were detained and transported to Texas. “Needless to say, she has no criminal history,” the judge wrote.

— Israel kills 3 journalists, including CBS contributor — AFP, the other impacted outlet, condemns killing & calls for investigation — CBS doesn't, instead peddles Israel's claim that they were targeting a group with "a drone affilliated with Hamas" Inside the Bari Weiss-led CBS response:

Major transit news out of Los Angeles. Looking forward to *maybe* taking this subway from the Valley to the Westside when I'm in my fifties — if LA Metro finds the money and keeps on schedule. Late fifties maybe. 🤞🏼 www.latimes.com/california/s...

"After our fourth student was taken yesterday, I just thought someone has to hear the story. They’re taking children.” @samtlevin.bsky.social reports the story behind this heart-wrenching photo. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

All the US-Greenland-Denmark news reminded me of this deeply unserious but much-needed fun piece I wrote early last year. 🇩🇰 www.latimes.com/california/n...

Behold: an early contender for headline of the year 🇦🇺 www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

An anonymously sourced report that ICE agent Jonathan Ross "suffered internal bleeding" after killing Renee Good was met with skepticism inside the CBS newsroom according to emails viewed by @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...

Before Machado's comments today, Nobel Prize organizers wrote on X: “A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel peace prize laureate cannot.”

“DHS probably has no idea whether ICE offered me a job, which is kind of the point of the article: they have no idea what they’re doing." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

"Somehow, despite never submitting any of the paperwork they sent me—not the background check or identification info, not the domestic violence affidavit, none of it—ICE had apparently offered me a job." Great read from @laurajedeed.bsky.social slate.com/news-and-pol...

How is New York's congestion pricing program going? 👇🏼 Trump's diss vs. MTA's data 👇🏼

A great question!

I can't stop thinking about this

Sharing some of our coverage today on Minneapolis ICE killing: Court records point to Jonathan David Ross as the ICE officer who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good. Reporting by @awinston.bsky.social

Today marks a year since raging fires devastated the Los Angeles region. Great reporting here from @gabriellecanon.bsky.social on lessons (hopefully) learned and where things stand with rebuilding in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

The Guardian US team is covering the fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis. Live updates here: www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...

A witness told local media that an ICE agent shot a woman in the face multiple times. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Just awful. Thankfully none of the kids struck by the driver were killed (and I appreciated seeing "driver" in the headline and not "car.") www.latimes.com/california/s...

Would absolutely cover the raccoon beat if that’s ever an option. 🦝 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

A family in Colombia has filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleging that Colombia citizen Alejandro Carranza Medina was illegally killed in a US airstrike in September. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

West Virginia governor's erroneous tweet about the condition of national guard members shot in DC is still up. It's been seen and shared considerably more than his tweet correcting the error. Good example of how false information, however unintentional, spreads too fast for the truth to catch up.

Follow our live blog for the latest on the shooting of national guard members in Washington DC ⬇️ www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...

As a reminder, the US leads high-income nations in traffic deaths. One key factor in that American exceptionalism is the way automobile safety is regulated (or not).

Go shawty, it's your birthday 🦛 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

“We don’t deserve the trust of the nation if we’re unclear about the divisiveness of swastikas,” a Coast Guard official told the @washingtonpost.com. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

"What are young and/or struggling journalists supposed to think when the most successful people in the business are the ones with malleable ethics and poor judgement (and, to be honest, pretty bad writers)?" @marisakabas.bsky.social with some sharp thoughts 👇🏼 www.thehandbasket.co/p/moral-rot-...