Yes, finally the tables are starting to turn...

The first thing Virginia Spanberger did after being sworn in as Governor of Virginia was repeal Youngkin’s executive order requiring state and local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE. This is the kind of leadership Democratic governors nationwide should be emulating.

"Make America Healthy Again" abcnews.go.com/Health/14-mi...

This is who voted against establishing DHS

Rand Paul: "To say it's not a war in Venezuela -- we still have hundreds of ships with a 100% blockade of the coast. That is an act of war. It's an ongoing war. To continue to take their oil -- ongoing war."

An instant classic. 🤡

Here's the link to the order by Judge Menendez restricting federal agents actions in Minnesota. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Democratic politicians facing frivolous criminal investigations from Trump: Kat Abughazaleh Elissa Slotkin Jason Crow Tim Walz Jacob Frey Letitia James Lisa Cook Mark Kelly Eric Swalwell Adam Schiff

Breaking: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are being investigated by the Trump DOJ for allegedly obstructing law enforcement activities, two U.S. officials told WCCO. It's unclear how Walz and Frey allegedly obstructed law enforcement or what they were allegedly obstructing.

JUST IN: Virginia's legislature just adopted a constitutional amendment that would end Virginia's rules that ban people from voting for life. Virginia currently is the only state that strips people of voting rights for life for any felony. Youngkin rolled back reforms. Now going to a referendum.

Some of the stories in here are absolutely chilling. One US citizen of Somali descent was just riding an elevator with ICE agents and then they detained him for almost half an hour in the freezing cold despite him showing agents his passport card. They only let him go once protestors showed up.

The fact that this headline is buried somewhere down the middle of the page highlights just how many horrific things are all happening at the same time.

🚨WHOA. The El Paso Medical Examiner says it will rule the death of a 55-year-old Cuban man at ICE's "Camp East Montana" tent camp as a homicide. He was allegedly choked to death by a guard during a "struggle" after he refused to enter a housing unit without his medications.

68-28 unfavorable with independents seems catastrophically bad

New poll from Navigator also with an incredible result; the largest drop in support for ICE since June was actually among *Republicans*, 25% of which now say they have an unfavorable opinion of the agency.

Sounds like the premise of a really bad Netflix movie, but it's real.

Pritzker: The Insurrection Act is designed for circumstances where your rights can’t be protected by local authorities This is exactly the opposite. Your civil rights are being infringed upon by CBP and ICE, and then they want to call in troops claiming that they’re protecting CBP and ICE.

Missing from the list are Nobel Prizes www.marthastewart.com/when-regifti...

Nobel committee to issue new FAQ re regifting Nobel prizes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuela's Machado says she presented Trump her Nobel Peace Prize to recognize his commitment to her country.

The Republican super majority has slowly been pulling funds for years from the university in Arkansas. We already had issues getting professors to want to teach in a red state and this will hurt us even more.

Add University of Arkansas to the growing list of state universities in red states killed by Republicans. I can't imagine anyone wanting to teach there, knowing their job offer could be revoked if they ever said anything a Republican legislator disagreed with www.law.com/2026/01/15/u...

The University of Arkansas's law school just withdrew the appointment of its new dean six days after hiring her because conservative politicians complained that she filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of transgender students

For better or worse, public law schools have to account for state politics when making decisions about who to hire as their next dean. But hiring someone and *then* rescinding the offer is something else altogether, and ought to be a huge black eye for the University of Arkansas.

JUST IN: New ACLU class action lawsuit in Minnesota seeks to bar ICE from stopping Latino and Somali residents without probable cause. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Virginia's legislative session only started yesterday, and it was a very big day. The House already passed four constitutional amendments on Day 1: —protect abortion rights —repeal the same-sex marriage ban —allow mid-decade redistricting —greatly expand voting rights restoration. Next: Senate.

Kristoff: "But in the well-being of ordinary citizens? A..study released Wednesday... based on a measure called the Social Progress Index suggests that in terms of quality of life, the United States ranks 32nd out of 171 countries, behind Poland, Lithuania and Cyprus www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/o...

BREAKING: Three-judge panel, on a 2-1 vote, refuses to block California from using its mid-decade redistricting map. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

"China’s surplus... reached $1.19 trillion, an increase of 20 percent from 2024...The enormous trade surplus for the full year came despite efforts by President Trump to use tariffs to contain China’s factories." www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/b...

The US in 2026: never ending illegality and violence over the past year, but stock market not bothered until investigation into Fed Chair b/c of impacts on stock prices.

Weaponized food: Trump now attacking the poorest of the poor again. Trump Officials Suspend SNAP For Thousands In Minnesota: What To Know. www.newsweek.com/trump-offici...

New York City parents may soon have access to free child care for their 2-year-olds, under a plan unveiled by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

My article "Elections, Courts and Democratic Crisis: Constitutional Structure and the 2020 Election" has now been published in the @uchilegalforum.bsky.social symposium issue on "Law in Times of Disaster." legal-forum.uchicago.edu/sites/defaul...

Breaking: Washington National Opera Leaving Kennedy Center www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/a...

EU, South America to form free trade zone. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/b...

BBC overview:

per my point about the mercator projection being the root of this whole thing

NEW: Data released by ICE shows that virtually the entire growth of detention in the last few months has been among people with no criminal record at all - no prior convictions (no matter how minor) and no pending criminal charges.

Timberwolves hold a moment of silence for Renee Nicole Good

Breaking: Fed. agents shoot 2 people during traffic stop in Portland Oregon www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/u...

We can draw a direct line from Jan 6, 2021 to Jan 7, 2026.

Vance saying things today that in before times would be viewed to be disqualifying for higher office, but now deemed by him to be necessary for winning the nomination of his party.

“.. In the last four months alone, immigration officers have fired on at least nine people in five states and Washington, D.C. All of the individuals targeted in those shootings were, like the woman killed on Wednesday, fired on while in their vehicles.” @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/u...

Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.

309-14 against. That's the scorecard of federal judges ruling on the Trump administration's attempt to treat *any* non-citizen who was never lawfully admitted as having been stopped at the border for purposes of detention w/o bail. Here's my earlier explainer: www.stevevladeck.com/p/195-the-im...

NEW: More than 300 judges — including 33 appointed by Trump himself — have now rebuffed the Trump administration’s bid to dramatically expand efforts to lock people up while they fight deportation. www.politico.com/news/2026/01/05/trump-administration-immigrants-mandatory-detention-00709494

NPR’s Jan. 6 archive brings together reporting, video, documents and testimony to show what really happened during the Capitol riot. Explore the timeline, cases and evidence behind the attack.

JUST IN: DOJ says it has finished reviewing *less than 1%* of the Epstein Files for potential release. Only 12,285 documents have been released while more than 2 million remain under review. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Partisanship no longer ends at the nation's borders.

It's time for a new generation to learn about the history of interventions in toppling foreign regimes during the Cold War.