How is this not bigger news? “A broad range of legal specialists on the use of lethal force have said the strikes are *** illegal, extrajudicial killings *** because the military cannot deliberately target civilians who do not pose an imminent threat of violence.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/u...

The Stephen Colbert segment last night about the James Talarico censorship was jaw dropping. I have never seen anything like that on network television. The funny thing is an even wider audience will see it now, after he told everyone to go to YouTube.

We will be talking with @szreports.bsky.social about her year tracking grocery prices. Listen at 10! on @wbez.org and call us at 866-915-9239! chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

Homan might want to read our story. A few months ago, we counted at least 170 Americans detained. They were *almost all Latino.* www.propublica.org/article/immi...

Obama: "The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous ... the sort of behavior that we've seen in authoritarian countries and we've seen in dictatorships, but we have not seen in America."

hello minnesota and beyond! thank you for your kind messages. it is very weird to be the news when you cover the news. i love this beautiful state and journalism, and i am hopeful for better days. but we will be forever changed bc of the last two months.

This is beautiful.

Thorough reporting by @pbsnews.org PBS NewsHour featuring **U.S. citizens** detained by immigration agents telling their stories: www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

All right. It’s been over a year of slogging through these grocery price checks here in Chicago, and this is what I found: (No paywall at the Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Public Media, thanks to our wonderful members) 🧵 (1/5) chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

Oh no, this sucks. My fave movie ever since our HS social studies teacher in Wisconsin in the ‘80s blocked out two class periods so we could watch the whole thing in the auditorium. Hard to imagine now. Bud Cort, Who Starred in 1971’s ‘Harold and Maude,’ Dies at 77 www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/m...

It looks like waves!

Lots of news tonight, but I’d hate for this story to get lost — Alex Pretti’s parents speak about their son, their firstborn: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...

US Olympic Curling Team member speaks out against ICE: "I'm proud to represent Team USA. But we'd be remiss if we didn't mention what's going on in Minnesota and what a tough time it's been. What's happening is wrong. There's no shades of gray."

Murmuration for you

Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell refused to answer questions at a deposition before the U.S. House's Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, according to lawmakers, drawing criticism from both Republican and Democratic members of the committee.

NYT Opinion (gift link) A revolting catalog that puts into words why we normal people feel so nauseated. Now We Know What All Those People Got From Epstein www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/o...

Getting melty but there’s still enough snow for some urban cross country skiing in Horner Park today. Chicago ❤️

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

Massie on Howard Lutnick: "He should just resign. Three people in Great Britain resigned for less than what we've seen Howard Lutnick lie about. He clearly went to the island, if we believe what's in these files. He was in business with Jeffrey Epstein."

I think many people are unaware how much some independent sources depend on the Associated Press, New York Times , Washington Post and NPR for the facts on which they base their woprk. Truly covering a wide range of news requires a lot of people, which is tough to do outside of legacy platforms.

A male hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) racing his reflection. Photo taken at Isleta Lakes, New Mexico on February 6, 2026. #nature #naturephotography #birds

This is Maria, a 6-year-old detained by ICE last year. She began to unravel soon after arriving at a detention center in Texas, wetting the bed after years without accidents, crying through the night and begging to breastfeed again. Most of all, she wanted to be reunited with her cat, Milo. 1/

Booooooo NBC’s poorly edited Olympic parade rebroadcast for skipping Lithuania (and everyone else between “I” and “M”)…… Booooooooooooooooo!

In related news about the Washington Post and the state of journalism today, Amazon "ran a $1.2 billion tax bill last year, down from $9 billion the previous year, even as its profits jumped by 45% to nearly $90 billion." That's in the wake of the 2025 tax bill www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Glad this is the top story.

the Epstein files are really devastating because they remind me of how many girls and women miss out on professional opportunities, mentorship and careers because of how many powerful, rich and influential men only view girls and women — and interactions with them — through the lens of sex

Peaking in Pink. This morning's sunrise in Chicago.

In the latest @pewresearch.org polling (Jan. 20-26), Trump is underwater with every faith group except White evangelicals and White Catholics: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Trump: "They say, 'Donald Trump is using the Justice Department to get even!' And I don't. But wouldn't I have a right to?"

For the political, business, and cultural elites, the emails show how proximity to wealth and status can override ethics and judgment. Epstein wasn’t shunned despite his crimes. He was courted, defended, and leveraged for his network long after his crimes were known!

In a wide-ranging interview this week with the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ, Marimar Martinez discussed her shooting, the federal government’s failed attempt to prosecute her and the role she now sees for herself in a fight for accountability.

Gift link: NYT: “…a president who has radically transformed the Justice Department and the F.B.I. by trampling over their political independence and using them as tools for personal retribution…” Trump Had Unusual Call With F.B.I. Agents After Election Center Search www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...

Russia has shifted its attacks from energy infrastructure to Ukraine’s transportation arteries, striking highways and railways critical to both civilian travel and military logistics, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday. www.ft.com/content/83ef...

WSJ: “.. The deal marked something unprecedented in American politics: a foreign government official taking a major ownership stake in an incoming U.S. president's company." @wsj.com www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

The video in this Minnesota Public Radio story is hard to watch, after seeing Renee Good and Alex Pretti

Incredible physical comedy here from O’Hara and Levy - from the massively funny CCCP1 episode of SCTV youtu.be/r9jU0ErlkQU

Looney stuff. But beautiful writing by @jonathankarl.bsky.social “In addition to being baseless, Trump’s claim [that Obama conspired 4 times in 2016 to overthrow the USgovt] ignores the fact that Obama was president in 2016…so he would have been overthrowing himself.” abcnews.go.com/US/trump-pos...

This is a really interesting and useful NYT video from a reporter who served in the Marines (gift link) How Battlefield Tech was Used in Minneapolis I wonder what other active duty military or veterans are thinking when they see these images. www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

Below is the buyout offer all CBS Evening News staff received today. "We hope you are excited about this vision, but we understand that some of you may not be, and we want to provide support. As such, we are offering an extraordinary chance to leave CBS News with an enhanced separation payment."

Gift link: Public service journalism by NYT, showing in pictures and words how the shooting of Alex Pretti unfolded moment by moment. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Gift link: Alex Pretti’s Friends and Family Denounce ‘Sickening Lies’ About His Life www.nytimes.com/2026/01/25/u...

Klobuchar: "Somehow 50,000 peaceful protesters in 10 below weather were able to march without any problems, and then the next day half a dozen ICE and CBP agents couldn't handle a guy with a cell phone taking video of them and shot him. I think it's pretty obvious what's going on here."

Good afternoon from downtown Chicago, where despite heavy snowfall, thousands have gathered for an anti-ICE/CBP demonstration in solidarity with the Twin Cities. More are still streaming in. Lt. Illinois Gov. Juliana Stratton just addressed the crowd, and called for ICE to be abolished.

Murphy on Bovino: "That was a bone-chilling interview. I was shaking while I was listening to it, in large part bc it takes just an unbelievable amount of gall to lie to the American public. Everybody saw that video ... it should freak the public out that the Trump administration lies this easily"

“This has to stop.” The Obamas’ statement:

We have reached the point where a judge literally has to order federal law enforcement officials not to destroy or mess with evidence from a homicide scene.

WOW on Pretti's denial of medical treatment "I informed the ICE agents that I am a physician, and I asked to assess the victim. At first, the ICE agents wouldn't let me through. ... But none of the ICE agents who were near the victim were performing CPR, ... None of the agents were helping him."

Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti. "Please get the truth out about our son."

A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.