If someone joins ICE because they like being part of human rights violations, training won't solve the problem. But training IS an indicator of what we can expect at scale from thousands of new recruits being unleashed on America with guns and badges. It's about to get worse out there:

I wrote a (long) thing! I must also credit the LA Reporting Collective conversations that really informed a lot of this, especially @papayathemariah.bsky.social at @lapublicpress.bsky.social, @adamrose.bsky.social of @freedom.press, and photojournalist Zaydee Sanchez. And my work at @fi2w.org!

It's almost like this guy enjoys losing First Amendment cases and insists on doing so on the dumbest facts possible. Maybe station owners who didn't want to rock the boat when he threatened news will grow a spine now that he's messing with real money.

Journalism professors and editors must destroy the toxic dogma of “objectivity.” It’s a relatively recent invention, not historical legacy. Not inherently bad. But grossly misunderstood, which drives self-censorship. Job isn’t to attack Trump. But not to sanitize him! Just … quote him in context.

Largest single animal rescue case in history of Los Angeles. Report says maybe even the whole country! LA County says no animals will be euthanized. Charter flight even took dogs to other agencies. Big operation means big strain on local resources. If you can adopt or donate, now’s a good time …

Exhibit #37582649 in “monopolies might be bad” … where ya’ gonna go when you want to search for news and Google is literally changing the headlines of stories?

When ICE takes criminal defendants into immigration custody, other cases saw criminal charges thrown out because it denies them access to lawyers. (With prejudice, meaning can't be refiled!) So ICE is basically helping alleged criminals get off the hook in the name of ... what? Public safety?

“If this merger goes through, the guardrails are gone,” Jim Acosta said. “If we continue to go down this road it will be lights-out for the news industry. We need media options that are not controlled by the wealthiest and most powerful people in the country.”

Outstanding testimony by Jim Acosta on proposed Paramount-WBD merger, which would hand CNN+HBO to Ellison - who's also destroying CBS News. Opening statement worth your 8 mins. Lays out stakes of media capture by Trump buddies and how consolidation=censorship. It's not a done deal. #blockthemerger

At CBS News Radio, my dad interviewed the Beatles at peak of Beatlemania, Lucille Ball, Bing Crosby, Gene Autry, Marlene Dietrich, Jack Benny... and he was just one random reporter living the dream! Hard to fathom the role CBS News Radio played in building the America these people are tearing down.

I went to elementary school a few blocks from a park where monarch butterflies hibernate for winter. Hard to describe how magical it is to a little kid when MILLIONS of butterflies descent on your neighborhood. 🤯 Heartbreaking when only 2,000 were counted in recent years. Praying we save them.

SFGATE might be the most delightful/fun/quirky outlet on the west coast. Nonstop with interesting travel/daytrip stories. Any place depending on tourism should want to bend over backward to help them. Absolutely insane for feds to blacklist @sfgate.com.

Second day in a row I walked through Baywatch set on my coffee break. This time someone shouted “action!” as I was in the middle of it. 😬 Anyway, if you watch, I guess I’ll be the one playing “out of place man dressed responsibly in wide brimmed hat.”

California may bungle national politics so bad. 10 governor candidates in open primary. 2 advance to general. All 8 Dems could beat 2 GOP head-to-head. But if Dems split votes in primary, only 2 low-polling GOP advance. CA gov is key counterweight to Trump. Leads world's 4th largest economy. 🫠

Looks like Baywatch has started filming in Venice Beach. I don’t want to ruin the fantasy, but this is so fake. Nobody uses this many umbrellas around here.

Sounds like literal torture of a journalist by US, esp. given added claim that a woman assisting her "cried to see the abuse." Does anyone have knowledge of how ICE (or any federal custody system) does intake? Hollywood has long shown delousing in prisons but I'm unclear what's a real norm in 2026.

Does Trump not have Wikipedia? "The country has experienced the effects of at least 54 Atlantic hurricanes, or storms that were once tropical or subtropical cyclones, including 37 since 2000. The storms collectively killed 5,613 people, most ... in 1932." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

By the time you finish watching this video, you'll be able to explain the potential Warner Brothers-Paramount deal like an expert.

New circle of press rights hell unlocked. I don’t know any more than this post (which I confirmed is up on X), so not suggesting this went further than what’s written here. But big wake up call about entirely new concern for journalists.

Five words to reflect on from @adamrose.bsky.social “Culture eats policy for breakfast.”

/7 @adamrose.bsky.social scaring the living shit out of everyone talking about lessons of buying the right PPE to wear to cover protests because wearing the wrong goggles or face shield will “pop your eye out” or cause shrapnel

At the Press Freedom Summit ready for the first panel: A Darkening Legal Landscape: Threats to Press Freedom & Collective Action with panelists Ginny LaRoe, Frank LoMonte, & @adamrose.bsky.social I’m really thankful to be here but wish this wasn’t such a necessary panel today.

If judges are frustrated the Trump administration won’t follow their orders, wait until they learn what the internet is …

Civilization that has persisted for thousands of years “now dead” insists man whose cholesterol could take him out at any moment.

New rules for @starsandstripes.bsky.social prove the Pentagon is at war with itself. You can't claim to promote "independent," "impartial," and "credible" coverage while simultaneously doing everything to undermine it. Our troops and their families deserve better.

I can’t remember the last time I saw a $1 coin. Maybe a decade ago. Maybe longer. I don’t think I’ve ever spent one. Who is this for?

It's been nearly six months now since my felony charges were dismissed. The DOJ still has possession of my entire newsroom, because they've filed a notice of appeal (but have not actually filed the appeal yet). You can help me get back to doing full-time journalism: https://timburkelegalfund.org/

Among all the crazy conditions press face today, THIS aspect of work-life balance shouldn't be so hard. I've been there as a caregiver. Nice to see a union stepping up for a member so publicly. You can support by signing this petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...

Man who identifies as Secretary of War bans press photographers who didn't get his good side.

Jack Johnson. Such a beautiful lyricist. His war protest: "Shock and awful thing to make somebody think That they have to choose pushing for peace supporting the troops" "We say anytime, anywhere, just show your teeth and strike the fear Of God wears camouflage, cries at night and drives a Dodge"

"They have no accuracy whatsoever," says man who mixes up Greenland with Iceland, Armenia with Albania, and Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi.

Amid typical news biz headlines, this is so wholesome and heartening: "The extensive archives survived the fire, and Tim Schneider hopes that they can help return photos and revive cherished memories for community members who lost personal memorabilia to the smoke and flames." Good luck Pali Post!

One of the highlights of working at Paramount during peak of #metoo movement was coming into office and hearing, "Hey, this creep is gone" ... "Hey, that creep is gone." Article indicates this reversal isn't "statement about second chances" just hiring people who are now cheap. 🥴

The Arabs now have the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever variety.com/2026/tv/glob...

First they came for the journalists. We don't know what happened after that.

“This is the best healthcare that many aliens have received in their entire lives.” This is how the DHS ends their press release announcing the death of Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes in ICE detention in California. @lataco.bsky.social

I haven't said anything about this before, bc in the grand scheme of horrors this only rates as an inconvenience, but since others are experiencing it: Just three days after CBP arrested me for filming them outside Broadview on 9/27, my TSA Pre & Global Entry were suspended—and so were my wife's.

“Journalists pay the heaviest price,” Zadeh says. “The right of information is always the first casualty when the government [prioritises] its security objectives.”

The first op-ed I ever wrote was during the Gray Davis recall/Schwarzenegger election, saying we should have instant runoff voting (aka ranked choice voting). 25 years later, we're still stuck with political parties making a hot mess of everything. I'm also good with approval voting. Look it up.

Americans: "We want health care!" American government:

"At Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia, staff members have asked federal officials to decide whether a document that describes an abolitionist’s murder by a mob might 'denigrate the murderers.'" JFC. Yes, of course it does. It should. That's the point.

Every poll like this should ask respondents to point out Iran on a map, and we should be able to sort answers based on who answered correctly or not. Would be telling how many of those who approve of Trump's actions even know where Iran is. Or Venezuela, etc.

Watching headlines about Iran with single-digit death counts feels like the early days of Covid. Each death is heartbreaking. And you also get the feeling that soon, this moment will feel like simpler times when we could count the losses on two hands.

DC journalists have a golden opportunity. Just say something like "since they will be honoring an avowed enemy of free speech and a free press, I will not be attending the Correspondents' Association dinner this year." It's telling how many will not, even when handed to them on a silver platter.

Minneapolis-area prosecutors are investigating disgraced Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced today.

In case you're wondering about getting reliable information about Trump's latest war ... Iran ranks 176 out of 180 countries in @rsf.org World Press Freedom Index. Israel ranks 112. US ranks 57, and I bet will fall in May update. Main thing these regimes have in common is thought control.

Venezuela, Iran … one more decapitation strike of a head of state and per FIFA laws Trump will earn a hat trick.

Lots of comments about Trump's "FIFA Peace Prize"... ... meanwhile Iran is scheduled to send its national team to the US in a few months for the world's biggest sports event. Hard to imagine the World Cup proceeding in the US. Except the only thing more notoriously corrupt than Trump is FIFA.

This is a really troubling conviction that could scare people from filming ICE in public and chill First Amendment rights. Also, if the feds are actually concerned about its agents being doxxed, they’re complete morons: